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Ottawa Senators Recall Kevin Mandolese

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The Ottawa Senators lost Cam Talbot partway through last night’s game, and according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, the veteran netminder will be out at least through the All-Star break. Unfortunately, he isn’t the only goaltender in the Senators organization dealing with an injury.

Both Antoine Bibeau and Mads Sogaard are hurt, meaning the only recall option was Kevin Mandolese. Garrioch reports that Anton Forsberg is expected to make both starts of the upcoming back-to-back in Toronto and Ottawa.

Mandolese, 22, hasn’t appeared in the NHL yet, and is barely even holding onto an AHL spot. Through 12 games with the Belleville Senators, he has posted an .886 save percentage. That performance has earned him some extra time in the ECHL, where he has a .927 in six games.

In short, he’s not who the Senators need in the crease right now as they continue to try and compete in the Atlantic Division. Forsberg will have to try and take down the Maple Leafs and Canadiens on his own, and the club will have to hope that Talbot can return soon after the break.

All-Star Notes: Women’s Hockey, New Events, Luongo

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The NHL will once again use its All-Star weekend to showcase some of the best and brightest in women’s hockey. This year will see five international women’s hockey stars join the Skills Competition: United States forwards Alex Carpenter and Hilary Knight and Canadian forwards Sarah Nurse, Rebecca Johnston, and Emily Clark.

A trend began by Kendall Coyne Schofield’s participation in the Fastest Skater competition at the 2019 All-Star game, women’s hockey participation in men’s professional All-Star events has steadily increased since, mainly at the NHL and ECHL levels. The Athletic’s Hailey Salvian doesn’t believe this is confirmation that the five players will actually participate in the skills events, however, they will be involved somehow in the weekend’s events.

  • Florida Panthers hometown fans at the All-Star game will see a familiar face: Hall-of-Fame netminder and Panthers legend Roberto Luongo. The only retired number in Panthers history, Luongo will suit up as the league’s “celebrity netminder” in the Breakaway Challenge. At last year’s All-Star Game in Las Vegas, the first Breakaway Challenge since 2016, women’s hockey legend Manon Rheaume and actor Wyatt Russell made appearances in the event.
  • Lastly, the 2023 South Florida edition of the weekend will see three new events for the skills portion: the Enterprise NHL Splash Shot, Chipotle NHL Pitch ‘n Puck, and Discover NHL Tendy Tandem. The Splash Shot competition is a dunk-tank style target-based event with a twist: it takes place on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. The Pitch ’n Puck event is a hockey/golf combination, where players will compete using both hockey and golf shots to sink the puck (or ball) into a par-four hole. The Tendy Tandem event is all-goalie, with a tandem from each division competing as shooters and as netminders.

Ian White Signs With Norfolk Admirals

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Some people just love the game. Former NHL defenseman Ian White has signed a contract with the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL, after starting the season in the FPHL.

The 38-year-old White made a comeback last season, when he joined the Columbus River Dragons after a six-year absence from professional hockey. He scored 23 points in 37 games and returned to the FPHL with the Motor City Rockers this time around.

It’s been a long road for White, who has openly talked about his struggles with addiction. His wife Tess has lobbied the NHLPA for better treatment and support of their athletes, and the two were subjects of a mini-documentary from CTV/TSN’s Rick Westhead called “Left Behind.”

Returning to professional hockey is an achievement on its own, but climbing the ranks at age 38 is even more impressive. Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising, though, given how solid White was at the highest level. A silver medalist at both the World Juniors and World Championship, he played more than 500 games in the league and racked up 179 points.

Minor Transactions: 01/23/23

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It’s a bit of a light schedule for the NHL tonight, with just four games on. The news cycle remains busy, though, with the fallout from the Vancouver Canucks’ coaching change bleeding into today. There’s some other notable news from around hockey, though, and we’ll recap a list of those minor transactions right here.

  • 38-year-old defenseman Ian White will be trying his hand at professional hockey once again. Despite not having suited up for an NHL game since 2012-13 with the Detroit Red Wings and not playing in the AHL since 2015, he’s signed an ECHL contract with the Norfolk Admirals. White didn’t play hockey at all between 2015 and 2021 but has been playing low-level hockey in the FPHL over the past two seasons. He’s got 19 points in 25 games with the Motor City Rockers this season and could now make his ECHL debut in the twilight of his career.
  • A recently left-unsigned Edmonton Oilers prospect is on the move in the minors. Despite playing this season with their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield, the Edmonton Oilers did not sign 2020 sixth-round pick Filip Engaras out of college and let his rights expire. After playing the majority of the season with ECHL Fort Wayne, Bakersfield dealt Engaras to the Utica Comets today in exchange for fellow ECHL farmhand Garrett Van Wyhe.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Minor Transactions: 01/21/23

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After last night’s light schedule, today has been and will be full of NHL games. Highlights include a classic Saturday night rivalry matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, a Metropolitan Division showdown between the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes and a 2018 Stanley Cup Final rematch between the Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals. As fans across the hockey world soak in the wealth of games to be played tonight, teams in foreign and minor leagues are tweaking their rosters. We’ll track those moves here.

  • Reid Duke, the first ever Vegas Golden Knight, has transferred to the Slovakian capital. HC Slovan Bratislava have signed Duke, 26, after he spent 16 games with rival Slovak club HK Nitra. It was Duke’s first professional season in Europe, having spent the past half-decade as a minor leaguer in the Golden Knights organization.
  •  The ripple effect of today’s news that Cole Caufield will miss the rest of the season has stretched to all three levels of the Montreal Canadiens organization. Laval Rocket star Alex Belzile was called up to the NHL roster, and taking his spot in the AHL is forward Ryan Francis. Francis, 21, was a fifth-round pick of the Calgary Flames at the 2020 draft. He starred for the Saint John’s Sea Dogs in the QMJHL last season, and won the Memorial Cup. He’s had a solid professional debut this year, scoring 21 points in 31 ECHL games, and now he’ll head to Laval with a chance to impress at the AHL level.
  • With yesterday’s news that goaltender Daniil Tarasov has returned from injury, the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters have sent goalie prospect Pavel Cajan to their ECHL affiliate, the Kalamazoo Wings. Cajan, 20, is an undrafted prospect who is in his first season as a professional. He’s struggled in the AHL thus far, with an .879 save percentage on a talent-depleted Cleveland team, although he has fared better in the ECHL, with a 3-0 record and .964 save percentage.
  • Netminder Joe Murdaca has now landed on his fourth ECHL roster of the month. The 24-year-old former QMJHL goalie has been signed by the Atlanta Gladiators. Gladiators netminder Tyler Parks was called up to the AHL yesterday, so the team needed a goalie, hence this signing of Murdaca. Murdaca, a champion in both the OHL and QMJHL, has a .897 save percentage in 26 career ECHL games.
  • Two players who were set to be released by their ECHL clubs yesterday, Neil Robinson and Brennan Blaszczak, were claimed off of waivers. Robinson, 27, is headed to the Jacksonville Icemen, his third team of the season, while Blaszczak, 26, was claimed by the Tulsa Oilers.

This page will be updated with any new notable moves. 

Minor Transactions: 01/20/23

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It’s a slow night on the NHL calendar, with just two games set to be played. It’s the second half of a two-game series between the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition to that contest, the Colorado Avalanche are taking on the Vancouver Canucks. While those four clubs do battle, teams across the hockey world are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • TJ. Brennan, a two-time Eddie Shore Award winner as the AHL’s best defenseman, has signed a two-year extension with his current club HC Ajoie. This is relatively big news for the Swiss side, as Brennan is an extremely accomplished defenseman in European and minor leagues. He signed in Ajoie over the summer from the ICEHL’s Red Bull Salzburg, after a season where he was an ICEHL All-Star, champion, and leader in defensive scoring. Brennan, 33, has 27 points in 39 games this season.
  • Former Ottawa Senator J.C. Beaudin has signed an extension to remain with his current club, Grizzlys Wolfsburg. Beaudin signed in Wolfsburg, a club in Germany’s DEL, this summer, his first signing away from North America in his professional career. The former Rouyn-Noranda Huskies star has 22 NHL games on his resume, and last played on this side of the Atlantic with the Laval Rocket last year. He scored 17 points in 41 games in Laval and has had real success in Wolfsburg, scoring 12 goals and 20 points in 30 games.
  • Former Kitchener Ranger Matthew Greenfield has stolen the show for the EIHL’s Sheffield Steelers this season, posting a .927 save percentage over the course of 32 games. His red-hot form has now had a ripple effect on the careers of two other netminders, as seen by today’s announcement that the Steelers have released Oskar Ostlund and signed Hayden Lavigne. Ostlund had originally been signed from the DEL to a two-year contract with the intention of him playing a major role. But after what the team called a “freak injury” before the Steelers’ first game sidelined him, Ostlund’s spot as the team’s number-one has been seized by Greenfield. Now, Ostlund will be able to continue his professional career elsewhere.
  • The ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets have released forward Neil Robinson. Robinson arrived in Fort Wayne from the Utah Grizzlies via trade in December. Robinson had fallen out of favor in Utah, having scored just five points in eleven games. He didn’t have much success in Fort Wayne, scoring just one assist in eleven games, and now will have to look elsewhere to continue his professional career.
  • The ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings have released forward Brennan Blaszczak today. The 26-year-old had been in the midst of his first extended stint in the ECHL of his career, having spent the prior two seasons in the SPHL with the Pensacola Ice Flyers. Despite being above a point-per-game in the SPHL, Blaszczak couldn’t quite hang on with either the Wings or the Savannah Ghost Pirates, and is handed his release having scored three points in eight total ECHL games.

This page will be updated throughout the day. 

Minor Transactions: 01/19/23

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It’s a busy night on the NHL schedule, with 13 games set to be played. Highlights include the league-leading Boston Bruins taking on Eastern Conference rivals, the New York Rangers, the Edmonton Oilers facing the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Toronto Maple Leafs battling the Winnipeg Jets. As fans across the world enjoy all this NHL action, teams in minor and overseas leagues are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • Former Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers forward Juho Lammikko has signed a two-year extension to remain with his current club, Switzerland’s ZSC Lions. Lammikko will remain in Zurich after signing there from Vancouver in the summer. He’s been a quality contributor at Switzerland’s highest level, leading the Lions in goals with 15 in 24 games.
  • The Montreal Canadiens organization has swapped the levels of two of its minor league netminders. Big Joe Vrbetic, a seventh-round pick at the 2021 draft, is headed to the ECHL, while Philippe Desrosiers is headed to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. Vrbetic has struggled thusfar in his professional debut, with a .872 save percentage in 11 games.
  • On January 11th, we covered how former ECHL star Darik Angeli had left his club, the EIHL’s Belfast Giants. We now know where Angeli is headed. He’s signed a contract with Vienna Capitals, a team in the ICEHL, a league comprising of teams in Austria, Italy, Hungary, and Slovenia. He heads to the Austrian capital after a moderately successful stint with Belfast, where he scored 12 points in 24 games.
  • The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe has reported that ECHL defenseman Cole Fraser has left his current club, the Toledo Walleye, to sign with the EIHL’s Dundee Stars. The 23-year-old blueliner was a fifth-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2017, and has played in the ECHL for the bulk of his professional career.
  • The ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays acquired forward Jackson Leppard from the Allen Americans in exchange for forward Gavin Gould. It’s a change of scenery deal for each player, as Leppard has struggled after an impressive 20-goal, 35-point professional debut, while Gould, who has just eight points this season, heads back to Allen after scoring above a point-per-game there last season.

Minor Transactions: 01/17/23

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This Tuesday night is a busy day of games, as we’ve grown accustomed to such a pattern on the NHL schedule. The night is highlighted by two crucial divisional matchups between high-powered teams, with a Florida/Toronto and Seattle/Edmonton matchup on tap for this evening. Some notable tidbits are trickling in from outside the NHL transaction wire today, though. As always, we’ll keep track of them right here.

  • The AHL’s Calgary Wranglers assigned forwards Rory Kerins and Matt Marcinew to the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush today, per a team tweet. The 20-year-old Kerins is in the first year of his entry-level contract with the Flames, and the 2020 sixth-round pick keeps up a strong scoring pace in professional hockey. He has 27 points through his first 26 games in the ECHL with Rapid City, and he’s gotten his first two AHL points in six games up with the Wranglers. Kerins finished second in OHL scoring last season, notching 118 points in 67 games with the Soo Greyhounds. Marcinew, an ECHL veteran, returns to Rapid City after serving as an extra body for the Wranglers. He hasn’t appeared with Calgary this season but has 37 points through 33 ECHL games.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Minor Transactions: 01/13/23

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It’s a light Friday on the NHL calendar, with just three games for NHL fans to enjoy. Among those games is a highlight, though, with the Winnipeg Jets, a Central Division contender, taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins, who are hoping to gain ground in an extremely competitive Eastern Conference playoff race. As fans across the world take in these games, teams in minor and overseas leagues are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • Former AHL blueliner and 2014 San Jose Sharks second-round pick Julius Bergman is moving down a division. The 27-year-old defenseman, who is perhaps best known as part of the 2019 Matt Duchene trade, has signed with Sodertalje SK of Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan, the league below the top-tier SHL. Bergman has played 28 games at the SHL level this season with Brynas, but he hasn’t managed to register a point. He’ll now head down a level in order to help Sodertalje make a push toward promotion.
  • Lukas Klok, a former member of the Arizona Coyotes organization, has signed a contract for the rest of the season in the Swiss League. He’s headed to HC Lugano, just a short period after leaving the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners in order to sign in the SHL. Klok played four games in Tucson, 11 for Rogle in the SHL, and now heads to Switzerland to play for his third team since departing the KHL.
  • 2022 New York Islanders third-round pick Quinn Finley has been traded in the USHL. Finley, 18, has been sent from his current club, the Madison Capitals, to the Chicago Steel, home of several top prospects including Jayden Perron and Macklin Celebrini. This trade allows Finley to join the USHL’s best team as he prepares to play for the University of Wisconsin in the fall.
  • 2020 Florida Panthers seventh-rounder Elliot Ekmark is headed to HockeyAllsvenskan on a one-month loan. His current club, SHL side Linkopings HC, have loaned him for a month to IF Bjorkloven, one of the best teams in the Swedish second division. Per CapFriendly, the Panthers have until June 1st, 2024 to decide whether to extend Ekmark an entry-level deal in order to retain his exclusive rights. Ekmark has played seven games at Sweden’s highest level this season and has registered three points.
  • Just two days after he parted ways with Brynas, former NHLer Kevin Roy has found a new home. Liiga’s HIFK Helsinki has signed a contract for the rest of the season with Roy, 29. Roy spent last season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, scoring 33 points in 62 games. This year, his six-game run with Brynas is the only place he’s played, and he scored one goal in that six-game run.
  • Matej Machovsky, a former member of the Detroit Red Wings organization, has left his current club, KalPa of the Finnish Liiga. Per a team announcement, KalPa is alleging that Machovsky breached his contract with the team, and it’s possible that Machovsky’s ability to transfer to another club could be impacted. The 29-year-old netminder left his native Czechia to sign in Finland last summer, and now seemingly faces significant uncertainty as to the future of his professional career.
  • Veteran DEL forward Phil Hungerecker has signed an extension to remain with his current club, Schwenninger Wild Wings. The 28-year-old former DEL rookie of the year signed with the Wild Wings last summer and has helped them thus far stand comfortably outside the league’s relegation zone, scoring 10 points in 37 games in the process.
  • Severi Lahtinen, an established contributor in Liiga, has had the next two years of his contract confirmed by his current club, JYP Jyvaskyla. The 24-year-old has scored 19 points in 33 games this season and has helped JYP make a modest jump in performance so far this season.
  • One of the many young players hoping to help get Djurgardens IF back to the SHL this season, David Blomgren, has signed a contract extension to remain in Stockholm. The 19-year-old forward has developed in Djurgardens’ junior teams for many years, impressing at each level he’s played at. This season is his debut on Djurgarden’s first team, and he’s played 30 games so far at the HockeyAllsvenskan level, scoring six points and helping Djurgarden stay within striking distance of promotion.
  • The ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals have acquired the playing rights to goaltender Logan Flodell from the Allen Americans. Flodell, 25, arrives in Norfolk coming off of a nightmarish stretch with the Americans. In eleven games he’s posted a 1-9 record, a 3.86 goals-against-average, and a grisly .889 save percentage. Flodell will presumably compete with yesterday’s waiver claim, Joe Murdaca, for opportunities in the crease for the Admirals. These transactions illustrate the ripple effect that can happen across a three-tiered NHL organization when a goaltender faces an absence. Predators prospect Tomas Vomacka was called up to AHL Milwaukee yesterday after Yaroslav Askarov left to make his NHL debut. Left with just one goalie given the absence of Vomacka, the Admirals have now claimed one goalie and acquired another via a trade. These moves illustrate how the circumstances of just one netminder at the top of an organization can cause major changes to the careers of multiple players lower down the totem pole.
  • A top player in the German third division has been rewarded by heading up a level. Krefeld Pinguine, a team in Germany’s second-tier DEL2, has signed Victor Knaub to a contract. The 26-year-old has been playing with EV Fussen in the third tier of German hockey scoring 19 points in 17 games. Now he gets a chance to impress with a club that was in the DEL just a year ago.

This page will be updated throughout the day. 

Minor Transactions: 01/12/23

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There are quite a few intriguing contests on the NHL calendar for tonight, including a celebration of now-retired defenseman P.K. Subban in Montreal as the Canadiens take on the Nashville Predators. Fans can also enjoy two of the NHL’s top-10 teams, the Boston Bruins and Seattle Kraken, do battle as well, among many other games. As people across the hockey world take in these matchups, numerous teams in overseas leagues and minor leagues are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll track those moves here.

  • 2018 Dallas Stars second-round pick Albin Eriksson has signed an extension with his current club, BIK Karlskoga, a team in Sweden’s second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. The Stars let their exclusive rights to sign Eriksson expire last summer, seemingly not seeing enough development in his game to merit signing him to an entry-level deal. The six-foot-three winger has fared better in the Allsvenskan than he did in the SHL and Liiga, and he’s currently leading Karlskoga in goal scoring with 14 goals and 26 points in 33 games.
  • Veteran Liiga forward Panu Mieho has left for Sweden, signing a two-year contract with Timra in the SHL. By signing this deal, Mieho leaves Ilves Tampere in his fifth year with the club. Mieho’s scoring has been down this season, as he’s managed just seven points in 23 games, so perhaps the 27-year-old is hoping this move to the SHL can help improve his form.
  • Harri Pesonen, captain of Switzerland’s SCL Tigers, has signed a two-year extension to remain with his team. Pesonen is actually a former NHLer, having played four games for the New Jersey Devils in 2012-13. He’s played exclusively in Europe since 2014, and has been an elite forward in the Swiss league. Pesonen has scored 26 points in 34 games this year for the Tigers and is a two-time IIHF World Champion and a one-time Olympic Gold Medalist.
  • Former Boston College star Julius Mattila has signed a one-year extension with his current club, Lukko, of the Finnish Liiga. An alternate captain at Lukko, Mattila has been a consistent scorer in Finland. He has 78 points in 153 career games in Finland’s top league and helped Lukko win the 2020-21 Liiga title.
  • HC Sparta Praha has signed two players to two-year contract extensions: Ondrej Miklis and David Nemecek. Miklis, 26, transferred from Kladno in 2021 and is establishing himself in Czechia’s top league. Nemecek, 27, is a top defenseman for Prague. He is in his third season with the team and has spent three seasons of his career in North America, having patrolled the blueline in the OHL, WHL, and USHL.
  • Sandro Schonberger is going to continue his captaincy of the DEL’s Straubing Tigers for another season. The German forward is in his fifteenth season with the Bavarian club, and he’s in his tenth as the team’s captain. Despite a budget that is reportedly one of the lowest in the DEL, the Tigers have managed to consistently reach the DEL’s playoffs under Schonberger, a testament to the 35-year-old’s leadership and play.
  • Another DEL veteran has signed an extension with his current club: Sven Ziegler. The 28-year-old forward, who is a veteran of over 400 DEL games, will remain with the Iserlohn Roosters for another season, per a team announcement. Ziegler has been with the Roosters for the past two seasons, leaving Straubing in 2021 to sign in Iserlohn.
  • Former Kootenay Ice forward Arnaud Jacquemet has signed a two-year extension to remain with his current team, Geneve-Servette HC. The 34-year-old is closing in on a decade spent playing in Geneva and is in his fifth season as an alternate captain for the team. On his watch, Geneva has managed to win two Spengler Cups, and this year he’s scored seven points in 26 games.
  • Yesterday, just a short period after acquiring him via trade, the Orlando Solar Bears released goaltender Joe Murdaca. The acquisition of Murdaca led to the team’s release of veteran netminder Brad Barone, and now with Murdaca gone, it means the Solar Bears have let go of two netminders in under a week. It’s likely that the return of prospect goalie Jack LaFontaine from the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch had something to do with these moves, as he’ll now resume his role as the Solar Bears’ undisputed number-one goalie. The Solar Bears were Murdaca’s sixth career ECHL team, and now he’s moved on to his seventh, having been claimed off of waivers by the Norfolk Admirals.
  • Jordan Kaplan, the 25-year-old brother of Philadelphia Flyers third-round pick Devin Kaplan, was released by the Newfoundland Growlers yesterday, per the ECHL’s official transactions page. Kaplan made his professional debut with the Adirondack Thunder last season, scoring 32 points in 65 games after a four-season collegiate career spent at Sacred Heart University and the University of Vermont. He signed with the Norfolk Admirals in August, but after scoring just one point in 11 games he left to join the Reading Royals. Kaplan got just three games in Reading before he was released, and just under a month ago he signed in Newfoundland. Now, he’s been claimed off of waivers by the Worchester Railers.
  • Just one day after signing him, the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen have released forward Kyle Blaney. The 31-year-old ECHL veteran scored 43 points in 65 games last season for the Kalamazoo Wings and will now be forced to find a new team to continue his career with, now that this signing in Jacksonville has ended without a single game played.

This page will be updated throughout the day. 

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