Minor Transactions: Stevens, Newkirk, Fontaine, Jandric
John Stevens, a veteran of nearly 400 career AHL games, will depart Liiga’s Kiekko-Espoo after one season there, according to a team announcement on social media. Stevens signed with the club last summer, a move that appeared to end – or at the very least suspend – an AHL career spanning back to the 2016-17 season. Stevens won the Calder Cup with the Abbotsford Canucks in 2024-25, but didn’t get to play in their playoff run.
A former captain at the NCAA level for the Northeastern Huskies, Stevens developed into an impactful AHL scorer in Abbotsford. He was more of a bottom-six piece during the early portion of his AHL career in the New York Islanders organization with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, but a mid-season trade to the Canucks organization in 2020 helped spark a greater level of contributions. Stevens scored a career-high 19 goals and 43 points in 2021-22, and had a solid 35 points in 68 games as recently as 2023-24. For AHLers who have exceeded their status as “development players,” finding a way to stick in the league can be a challenge. Stevens’ 2024-25 season saw his production decline by 20 points, which appears to have spelled the end of his time in North America’s second-best league. His debut season overseas saw him score 10 goals and 23 points and wear an “A” for a Kiekko-Espoo side that reached the Liiga postseason.
Other minor transactions from across the hockey world:
- Another former Islanders prospect, Reece Newkirk, has elected to swap the North American minor leagues for Finland’s top division. Newkirk, 25, has signed a one-year contract with JYP Jyväskylä for the 2026-27 season. A 2019 fifth-rounder by the Islanders, Newkirk spent three seasons in their minor-league system serving as an AHL/ECHL bubble player. He developed into a point-per-game ECHL player for the Worcester Railers while serving in a depth capacity for Bridgeport. Newkirk exited the Islanders’ farm system in 2024 and has bounced around a bit, most recently settling with the Syracuse Crunch and their ECHL affiliate, the Orlando Solar Bears. Newkirk ranked No. 2 on the Solar Bears in scoring this past season with 51 points in 52 games, while also dressing in 15 games for the Crunch.
- Former New York Rangers prospect Gabriel Fontaine has signed a two-year contract with reigning German champions Eisbären Berlin, reports Jörg Lubrich of German outlet Bild. The 29-year-old was a 2016 sixth-round pick of the Rangers and spent a half-decade in the AHL (2017-2022) before heading overseas. Fontaine’s European career began in Liiga with Lukko Rauma, but he struggled in 2023-24 scoring just 13 points in 36 games. He transferred to Germany that summer, and ended up finding a home in Berlin, where he scored 19 goals and 40 points en route to a DEL title. He signed with Red Bull Munich last summer, but wasn’t able to repeat the success he had in Berlin, scoring just 21 points in 37 games. Now, Fontaine will return to Berlin and look to help their title defense.
- The Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the DEL announced the signing of ECHL champion Chris Jandric to a one-year contract. Jandric, 27, crossed the Atlantic and signed with the DEL’s ERC Ingolstadt last summer, and he ended up playing in just 28 games during the team’s regular season. Previously, Jandric had spent the entirety of his professional career split between the AHL and ECHL. A former top NCAA defenseman with North Dakota, Jandric developed into a legitimate No. 1 defenseman at the ECHL level, with his 50 points in 54 games helping lead Trois-Rivières Lions to a Kelly Cup title in 2025. He wasn’t able to bring that level of play over to the DEL with Ingolstadt, but he will hope that can change in Nürnberg.
Afternoon Notes: Stone, Devils, Korczak
The hole in the Vegas Golden Knights lineup will remain as they head into Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Winger Mark Stone will miss his fifth-straight game with a lower-body injury sustained in Game 3 of the second round, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic. He had three goals and seven points in nine playoff games prior to his injury.
Stone continues to fill a top role with the Golden Knights when healthy. He finished the regular season with 28 goals and 73 points in 60 games – a full-season pace of 39 goals and 100 points. Vegas has bumped Pavel Dorofeyev up to the top-line, and added Brandon Saad to the lineup, in Stone’s absence. Dorofeyev has excelled, with six goals and seven points since Stone went down. Saad has two assists, including on the opening goal of the Western Conference Finals. Vegas will continue to bank on their production while Stone targets a Game 3 return.
Other notes around the hockey world:
- The New Jersey Devils have picked up their third-year option with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder per a team announcement. New Jersey began their affiliation with the Thunder in the 2017-18 season, two seasons after the club relocated to the city in place of the Stockton Flames. Adirondack has made the postseason in five of their seven seasons in partnership with the Devils, going as far as the Conference Finals twice. They were knocked out of the 2026 Kelly Cup Playoffs in a first round series that went to seven games and featured three overtimes. Their lineup was led by Devils’ defense prospect Jeremy Hanzel and goaltender Jeremy Brodeur, son of Devils legend Martin Brodeur.
- Former New York Rangers prospect Ryder Korczak will continue his career in Slovakia’s top league. He has signed a one-year contract with HC Slovan Bratislava of the Tipsport Liga per a team announcement. Korczak spent last season on a one-year deal with Vlci Zilina. He finished the year with a team-leading 21 goals, and 44 total points, in 52 games played. The 2021 third-round pick was unable to continue his scoring spark into the AHL. He racked up 35 points in 117 games across two seasons with the Hartford Wolf Pack – and 10 games with the Syracuse Crunch. Korczak was a premier junior scorer, racking up 246 points in 248 games across six seasons in the WHL. He seems to have found the same spark overseas and should move into a key role on a Bratislava squad that finished second in Slovakia this season.
Wild Name Jacksonville Icemen New ECHL Affiliate
The Minnesota Wild have reshaped the lower tier of their developmental pipeline, officially announcing a multi-year ECHL affiliation agreement with the Jacksonville Icemen beginning with the 2026-27 season.
The Icemen will now serve as the primary ECHL home for Minnesota’s prospects, filtering talent up to the AHL’s Iowa Wild. Jacksonville takes over the role from the Iowa Heartlanders, who recently requested and received approval from the ECHL Board of Governors for a voluntary suspension of operations for the upcoming season.
A voluntary suspension allows a franchise to temporarily pause on-ice operations without forfeiting its league membership. The Heartlanders’ ownership group intends to use the hiatus to evaluate strategic alternatives, seek out potential new investment partners, and restructure the front office to secure a more viable, long-term economic foundation in Coralville. With the Heartlanders stepping away for at least the year, Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin had to look elsewhere to keep the organization’s three-tier development system intact.
In Jacksonville, the Wild land a highly stable partner. The Icemen have led the ECHL in sellouts over the last four seasons at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, providing a vibrant minor league environment for incoming prospects. Jacksonville also brings plenty of experience dealing with the upper ranks, having previously served as the ECHL affiliate for the Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, and Winnipeg Jets.
For Minnesota, shifting its ECHL pipeline to Florida represents a significant geographic leap from their previous local setup in America’s Heartland. However, partnering with a robust, high-attendance franchise like the Icemen offers a reliable, top-tier development environment for the Wild’s young depth pieces while the Iowa Heartlanders navigate their corporate future.
West Notes: Hintz, Faksa, Helenius, Hejduk
The Dallas Stars got a major boost to their forward corps yesterday when they welcomed back Mikko Rantanen. Unfortunately, they’ll likely have to wait until the Stanley Cup playoffs to have all of their forward depth back.
According to the deputy managing editor, Adam Kimelman, injured forwards Roope Hintz and Radek Faksa are more than a week and a half away from returning. Still, they are making positive strides in their recoveries, as both skated today and are expected to return for the postseason.
Like Rantanen, Faksa is dealing with an injury he suffered during the Winter Olympics in Milan. Meanwhile, Hintz has been recovering from a lower-body injury he suffered during the Stars’ loss to the Colorado Avalanche on March 6th. Regardless, being one of only two teams to have already clinched a spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Stars will spend their remaining nine games ensuring home-ice advantage against the Minnesota Wild in Round One.
Additional notes from the Western Conference:
- Team content manager, Zach Dooley, shared that the Los Angeles Kings were without forward Samuel Helenius at practice today. Dooley indicated that Helenius was “dinged up” in the Kings’ loss to the Utah Mammoth last night and is considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Helenius, 23, is in his second year with Los Angeles, registering four goals and eight points in 45 games throughout his sophomore campaign.
- The ECHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche, the Utah Grizzlies, has brought in the son of one of the franchise’s former legends. According to Brogan Houston of Deseret News Sports, the Grizzlies have signed Marek Hejduk, son of Milan Hejduk, to a professional contract. Hejduk recently concluded his collegiate career at Harvard University, scoring two goals and seven points in 32 games throughout his senior season. Over his entire tenure with the Crimson, Hejduk registered 17 goals and 32 points in 124 contests.
Snapshots: Benak, Cruikshank, Heartlanders
Minnesota Wild prospect Adam Benak announced on social media today that he has committed to play college hockey at Western Michigan University. Benak, a 2025 fourth-round pick of the Wild, has elected to join the reigning NCAA champions, presumably for the 2026-27 season. Benak is currently playing for the Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL, where he has been one of the league’s most productive 18-year-old players. Of players his age, Benak’s 68 points in just 42 games ranks third in total points and second in scoring rate.
The move to college hockey will be the next test for a player who has found a way to be a productive force at the USHL level, OHL level, and on the international stage. Entering the season, Benak was ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the Wild’s system by the team at Elite Prospects, with scout Sebastian High writing that while he has middle-six upside, his “path to an NHL role is long and winding,” in large part due to his status as an undersized forward. Today’s announcement settles that the next step for Benak on his road to pro hockey will be the NCAA, and scouts will likely be curious to see if he’ll be able to translate his quality production from junior hockey to the college ranks.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- The AHL’s Hershey Bears announced that veteran forward Grant Cruikshank has signed a one-year AHL contract extension to remain with the organization for the 2026-27 season. The 27-year-old has had a solid 2025-26 campaign, setting a career-high for games played (52), goals (nine), and points (14) in a single AHL season. After a five-year college career, Cruikshank began his time as a professional in the ECHL, but after scoring 43 points in 35 games as a rookie, he quickly elevated himself to the AHL side of the AHL/ECHL bubble. Last season, he got into 31 games for the Bears, and this year, he’s been able to carve out a regular role in head coach Derek King’s lineup. He’s become a far more regular fixture on the Bears’ penalty kill, a unit that ranks No. 15 in the AHL, and it’s his development into a reliable defensive forward that has likely earned him this early extension. While he may not have a clear path to the NHL, he could look forward to a long AHL career as a penalty-killing defensive forward, perhaps in the mold of longtime Bridgeport forward Jeff Kubiak.
- The ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders announced today that the league’s Board of Governors approved the team’s decision to voluntarily suspend operations for the 2026-27 season. In their announcement, Heartlanders owner Michael Devlin called the move “an incredibly difficult decision” but one that “is the most responsible course” as the team reviews options for the franchise’s long-term sustainability. The Heartlanders are the ECHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, and have players who are signed to, or have previously signed, NHL contracts on their roster, including Elliot Desnoyers, Cameron Butler, and Stevie Leskovar. Iowa went 36-25-11 last season but has fallen to 19-30-5 this year, No. 28 of 30 teams in league standings. According to HockeyDB, they rank last in the ECHL in average attendance per game.
Evening Notes: Tanev, Avalanche, Fibigr
Due to a significant groin injury, veteran defenseman Chris Tanev has been limited to 11 games this season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Again trying to rehabilitate the injury, THN’s Nick Barden reported that Tanev took to the ice on his own today, and the Maple Leafs will decide by the end of the weekend if he’s good to return to practice.
Still, there’s no guarantee Tanev will even return this season. After missing a month of action from November 1st to December 23rd, Tanev appeared in only three games before suffering a similar injury. He opted for rehab instead of surgery at the time, and it appears he’s trying to do the same thing this time around.
However, the door remains open on surgery, and it may be the most beneficial option. It would give Tanev ample time to recover and ramp up physical activity throughout the offseason to ensure he’ll be healthy for the 2026-27 campaign. Toronto could still return to the postseason conversation when they return from the Olympics, but they’ll have their work cut out for them in a hotly contested Atlantic Division.
Additional notes from this evening:
- The Colorado Avalanche have announced a new ECHL expansion franchise for the 2026-27 season. The New Mexico Goatheads will replace the Utah Grizzlies as Colorado’s ECHL affiliate next season, and the latter team will be moving to Trenton, NJ. It’ll be the newest ECHL affiliation with the Avalanche since the Colorado Eagles moved to the AHL in 2018.
- According to his Instagram account, defenseman prospect Jakub Fibigr has committed to Ohio State University for next season. The 19-year-old Czech was drafted by the Seattle Kraken in the seventh round of the 2024 NHL Draft. He’s scored nine goals and 33 points in 44 games split between the OHL’s Brampton Steelheads and Windsor Spitfires this season.
Snapshots: Clara, Reschny, Olsen
Anaheim Ducks prospect Damian Clara had a performance for the ages today in Italy’s loss to Sweden in the group stage of the Winter Olympics. In front of a home crowd, Clara gave Italy a chance to upset the Swedes, making 46 saves. Per The Hockey News’ Derek Lee, Clara was forced out of Italy’s loss with what appeared to be a lower-body injury while making a save. There has not been any word on the extent of Clara’s injury, or if he will be fit to play in Italy’s next game, which is Friday against Slovakia.
If Clara is not fit to play, Italy will turn to Milan native Davide Fadani, who has a .922 save percentage in 22 games this season with Swiss National League side EHC Kloten. Clara, 21, was a 2023 second-round pick of the Ducks, and has spent this season playing in Sweden’s top pro league, the SHL. Through 30 games with Brynäs IF, Clara has an .888 save percentage.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Calgary Flames 2025 first-round pick Cole Reschny is questionable for the University of North Dakota’s games this weekend against the University of Miami (Ohio), according to Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. Reschny left UND’s game last weekend with a lower-body injury. The former WHL Victoria Royals star has had a strong start to his NCAA career, scoring 25 points in 24 games. He could be a large part of the Flames’ future, as he was ranked as the league’s No. 76 skater prospect by the team at Elite Prospects.
- Former Winnipeg Jets prospect Ryan Olsen was released by the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder today, ending his three-week stint in Kansas. The 2012 sixth-round pick helped the Colorado Eagles, now of the AHL, to a Kelly Cup championship in 2018, and has moved around since that point. He spent the following two seasons in the AHL, including a 17-goal, 34-point season with the San Antonio Rampage in 2018-19, before moving to Germany’s second division. Olsen spent the last two seasons in the DEL2 before beginning this season in Germany’s third division. His stint in Wichita, which ends with zero points in six games played, was Olsen’s first opportunity in North American pro hockey since October 2023.
Rangers Reassign Anton Blidh, Spencer Martin
The New York Rangers made a trio of transactions to prepare their roster for the Olympic break, reassigning forward Anton Blidh and netminder Spencer Martin to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
In a corresponding move, the club recalled netminder Hugo Ollas from their ECHL affiliate, the Bloomington Bison. Because CBA rules stipulate that a team must carry three healthy goalies at all times, the Rangers needed to recall a goalie from somewhere if they wanted to send Martin down.
Since recalling Hartford starter Dylan Garand would be relatively counter-productive to their goal of positioning Hartford to win as much as possible during the break, Ollas became the natural choice for the recall.
Blidh, 30, is one of Hartford’s key veterans and has been recalled a few times this season to play a fourth-line role in New York. He has one assist in four NHL games this season and eight points in 35 AHL games. Blidh scored 19 goals and 36 points with the Wolf Pack last season, and is under contract through next season with a two-way structure and a $385K annual guarantee.
Martin, 30, was a mid-season signing by the Rangers, one that helped them shore up their goaltending depth amidst an injury suffered by star Igor Shesterkin.
Martin had over 60 games of NHL experience when he left North America over the summer to sign with the KHL’s CSKA Moscow. Martin put up a .905 save percentage across 13 games before leaving the KHL to get an NHL opportunity with the Rangers organization. In six games with Hartford this year, Martin has a .906 save percentage. He also has six NHL games played this year, but only has an .864 save percentage in that limited sample.
As for Ollas, the 23-year-old is a massive goalie prospect in the middle of his second professional campaign in the organization. The 6’8″, 238-pound netminder has an .895 save percentage in 14 games for ECHL Bloomington this season.
ECHL Players Go On Strike, New CBA Pending Approval
Dec. 27th: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the ECHL and PHPA have reached a tentative agreement to end the strike. Multiple outlets reported that players will return to their teams in the next few days in “good faith”, assuming that each side ratifies the new deal.
Dec. 26th: ECHL players officially commenced a strike effective today at noon Eastern. All games scheduled for tonight have been postponed. Multiple teams have announced plans to bring in new sets of players to avoid further postponements. Those players will presumably come from the SPHL and FPHL, the fourth and fifth tiers of pro and semi-pro hockey in North America.
Dec. 22, 7:15 PM: Sure enough, in an update shared by the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (Twitter Link), the ECHL players will go on strike effective December 26, after concerns on unfair labor practices have not been heard, and their new Collective Bargaining Agreement has not yet materialized.
In the announcement, PHPA Executive Director Brian Ramsay emphasized that members are simply seeking basic fair standards for working conditions and are eager for a resolution, remaining hopeful that the ECHL will negotiate, reach an agreement, and soon resume play. Teams are currently inactive until 12/26 due to the holidays, raising speculation of the strike today before it became official.
Later in the evening, the ECHL issued an official update regarding the strike. They outlined their goal of reaching an agreement that supports the players while maintaining a “sustainable business model” that remains accessible to fans. Although it touches on a potential 16.4% salary cap increase, travel restrictions, and holiday breaks, there is no discussion of the equipment issue raised by the players.
Dec. 22, 5:00 PM: Amidst ongoing negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the ECHL Players released a statement, shared through the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (Twitter Link). Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet also shared that a possible five-year deal on a new CBA between the PHPA and the AHL is closing in, but there has been little progress on a deal for the ECHL, and a strike may result.
The message emphasized that, despite nearly a full calendar year of bargaining, a new collective agreement has not been secured. The players noted the ECHL’s “unlawful conduct”, in which they made changes related to mandatory subjects of bargaining, even engaging in regressive bargaining.
Ultimately, the players’ concerns about health and working conditions continue to be disregarded. The statement also mentioned that the league recently sent direct communications “in an attempt to bully and intimidate players with tactics that violate US labor law”. Therefore, it appears that the latest development has only further widened the gap between the league and its players in potential negotiations, and a strike could be on the horizon.
The statement ended with “The ECHL appears by their behavior to prefer bullying to bargaining and does not respect the process nor the players’ right to negotiate a fair settlement”.
One such concern, voiced by the players, is the need for properly fitting helmets. The ECHL has an equipment deal with Warrior, a major supplier of ice hockey equipment, which originated in 2019-20. Such deals in minor league hockey are not uncommon, as the AHL also has a deal with CCM. However, aside from not being able to select their preferred option, ECHL players say they have even been supplied with used equipment, which is simply unacceptable at this level of professional hockey.
Regarding player conditions, travel schedules are a major concern. According to the players, the ECHL considers bus trips home as days off, even though travel time can be nine hours or more. Thankfully, it appears the league is now willing to give players one day off each week; however, it has shown no interest in negotiating a proper holiday break.
Teams have not played since December 21, which especially puts them into the spotlight for a possible strike; however, they are scheduled to jump right back into action on December 26, an especially short turnaround considering the rigorous travel schedules, if players were to have any chance to spend time with family and friends for the holidays.
Overall, such developments are extremely unfortunate for the league. Over the past decade, the ECHL has expanded across the country, far beyond the East Coast, even north of the border into Quebec. New franchises in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, and Augusta, Georgia, have been announced for 2026; however, given recent news, it may be a turbulent start.
Besides offering another level of professional hockey closer to home for those coming out of the NCAA, CHL, and USports, allowing lower-level players to follow their dreams and play for a living, the ECHL brings the sport to dozens of communities across North America. With most teams operating on razor-thin profit margins and heavily reliant on ticket sales, the league offers a tightly knit community-first culture. It offers market testing for cities to make their case. Although the league’s Utah Grizzlies are set to move to New Jersey, they played a vital role in setting the foundation for hockey in Utah, building up to the state taking in the Utah Mammoth.
Additionally, while any NHL-signed prospect who is assigned to the ECHL faces a serious uphill battle to reach the highest level, that does not mean it does not happen. To start the 2025-26 NHL season, 60 ECHL alums were on opening-night rosters. The number continues to grow. Today, many NHL organizations lean on the ECHL to send overlooked young AHL prospects down another level to get vital ice time in a bid to extend their careers.
Late bloomers such as Carter Verhaeghe, Yanni Gourde, and Jordan Binnington, all longtime NHLers who have won Stanley Cups, spent time in the ECHL on their path to the top. For any player in the ECHL, such hope persists that they could be next in line.
Now at a crossroads as they’ve grown into 32 teams, the hope is that the ECHL will hear the concerns of its players, who help drive so much of the game’s development in North America’s smaller communities, and work out their differences for a better tomorrow. For now, eyes will be on the ECHL for a possible strike, which could occur as soon as December 26.
Minor Transactions: 11/15/25
While regular season play around the hockey world has been underway for a while now, there are still some free agents looking for places to suit up. A pair of former NHLers were able to find new deals recently; those are among the moves in our latest minor transactions roundup.
- Veteran goaltender Dustin Tokarski has signed a tryout deal with AHL Grand Rapids, per a team release. The 36-year-old has 86 career NHL appearances under his belt over parts of ten seasons but has seen plenty of action in the minors with 444 outings in 16 years. Last season, Tokarski played in six games with Carolina (winning four), posting a 2.18 GAA and a .902 SV% while also getting into 21 outings with AHL Chicago where he had a 2.84 GAA and a .897 SV%.
- Former NHL winger Linus Omark has left his team in Switzerland to play for his home team in Sweden’s third division as Overtornea announced on their Facebook page that they’ve signed him. Omark had 32 points in 79 career NHL games between Edmonton and Buffalo but has been playing overseas since 2014, spending time in four different countries. Omark made quite the first impression for his new team, picking up six points in his debut.
- Veteran Luke Witkowski isn’t ready to call it a career as SHL Brynas announced that they’ve signed him for the remainder of the season. The 35-year-old, who has played both on the back end and the wing, is joining the team as a defenseman. Witkowski has 13 points, 162 penalty minutes, and 292 hits in 132 career NHL games over parts of seven seasons. In 2024-25, he suited up with SHL Skelleftea, notching three points in 25 games.
- The Oilers have reassigned defenseman Beau Akey from ECHL Fort Wayne to AHL Bakersfield, per the AHL’s transactions log. The first-year pro missed the first month of the season with an injury and was sent down to the Komets in what amounted to a four-game conditioning stint where he had his first professional goal.