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Minor Transactions: 09/15/22

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NHL hockey is nearly here. Rookie tournaments have started, and training camps are soon to follow. Over the next few weeks, we’ll keep track of all the notable minor signings to see where minor league and fringe players will ply their trade this season.

  • The Calgary Flames’ 2021 second-round pick, William Stromgren, is switching SHL clubs. The forward spent last season with Rogle BK and scored a hat-trick in his first game this season for Rogle’s junior team. Per a team announcement, Stromgren has signed a two-year contract with Brynas IF, the club he said he believes is the best place for his development.
  • Former New York Rangers prospect Gabriel Fontaine has nearly 200 AHL games on his resume, and now he’s chosen to leave that league and head overseas to continue his playing career. Fontaine has signed a contract with Lukko of the Finnish Liiga, and will head there hoping to find better offensive results than he had last season, when he scored just 13 points in 39 games.
  • Nate Pionk, the brother of Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk, is back in the ECHL. After splitting time last season between the ECHL and the SPHL, Pionk has signed a one-year deal with the Indy Fuel. Pionk had nine points in 29 games for the South Carolina Stingrays last season and will likely play a depth role for the Fuel as they look to rebound from a difficult 2021-22 campaign.
  • After turning pro with the Wichita Thunder last season, former Colgate Raider Tyler Jeanson will head overseas to continue his career. Per a team announcement, Jeanson has signed a contract with Nykopings SK of the Swedish third-tier HockeyEttan. Jeanson had just 29 points in his 114-game collegiate career but was a member of Colgate’s leadership team as a senior, and he will bring that skillset to Nykopings.
  • Goalie Jake Kielly, who was in the playoff bubble with the Vancouver Canucks in 2020, is headed to Europe. The netminder has signed a contract with the EC Kassel Huskies of the German second-tier DEL2. Kielly has played at both the AHL and ECHL levels since he finished his collegiate career at Clarkson University and will compete with DEL2 veteran Jerry Kuhn for ice time with the Huskies.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Colton Point Signs AHL Contract

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The development of young goaltender Colton Point hasn’t gone to plan so far, and after going unqualified by the Dallas Stars this summer, he has now signed an AHL contract with the Bakersfield Condors.

Selected in the fifth round in 2016, Point would go on to star at Colgate University, winning a gold medal with Team Canada at the World Juniors along the way and appearing to be a rising prospect in the Stars system. Unfortunately, the 6’5″ goaltender didn’t make a very smooth transition to professional hockey and to this point carries an .882 save percentage through 29 appearances in the AHL.

After spending most of last year in the ECHL with the Idaho Steelheads, it made sense when Point wasn’t issued a qualifying offer and became an unrestricted free agent. Still, adding a 24-year-old netminder on a minor league deal is a worthwhile gamble for an organization like the Edmonton Oilers, who have struggled to develop young netminders over the past several years. While a minor league contract does not officially make him a member of the Oilers, the team will have control of his development and usage while in the system.

Point, a finalist for the Hobey Baker in 2018 after posting a .944 save percentage as a sophomore, has a long road ahead of him if he is to ever get to the NHL.

Minor Transactions: 09/08/22

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The feeling of hockey is starting to come back, as players report to team facilities to get their workouts in and new faces arrive to start familiarizing themselves with the area. In just a few weeks there will be NHL action, meaning time is running out to make those last-second roster changes. As always, we’ll keep track of any notable minor moves right here.

  • The Hershey Bears have agreed to terms with Michael Kim and Matthew Strome, signing them to AHL contracts for the upcoming season. The Strome last name will certainly draw some attention, though he hasn’t been nearly as successful as his brothers when it comes to professional hockey. Selected 106th overall in 2017 by the Philadelphia Flyers, Strome has been playing in the ECHL for parts of the last few seasons, only seeing a full AHL campaign in 2021-22 for the first time.
  • Alexandre Carrier (no, not that Alexandre Carrier) has signed with the Savannah Ghost Pirates for the upcoming season. This Carrier is a 31-year-old ECHL stalwart, who has made a career in the low minors without ever being much of an offensive threat. In 357 games, he has just 23 goals and 71 points but has racked up 615 penalty minutes.

This page will continue to be updated with any further transactions

Minor Transactions 09/07/22

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We are less than three weeks away from preseason action around the league and just over a month away from the 2022-23 regular season. NHL teams have a few things left to do before getting started and minor league clubs a few more still. As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor transactions from around the hockey world.

  • Veteran SHL defenseman Anton Myllari has chosen to swap leagues. Per a team announcement, Myllari signed a contract with the Lahden Pelicans of the Finnish Liiga. Myllari, 31, spent last season with Brynas of the SHL, getting into 51 games. Myllari has nearly 200 games of SHL experience under his belt and has also manned the blueline for teams in Denmark and Austria. He heads to a Pelicans team eager to improve after a mediocre 29-win 2021-22 campaign.
  • ECHL teams have been making some last-minute additions in advance of next season, and one of those teams is the Cincinnati Cyclones. The team announced today that they’ve signed 21-year-old forward Dakota Betts to a one-year contract. The deal is Betts’ first professional contract, and the 21-year-old is coming off of a solid final season in the OHL In 61 games the now-21-year-old Betts registered 33 points, which ranked fourth on a poor Niagara IceDogs team.
  • The Reading Royals announced that they’ve signed forward Kamerin Nault to a one-year contract. Nault, 27, has 99 games of ECHL experience on his resume and got into three AHL games in 2020-21 with the Manitoba Moose. Nault’s best ECHL season came in 2019-20 when he scored 16 goals and 32 points in 40 games for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits.
  • Former Belleville Senator Andrew Sturtz has signed a one-year deal with the Orlando Solar Bears, per a team announcement. Sturtz, 27. did not play during the 2021-22 season but had a solid 2020-21 campaign with the Rapid City Rush, scoring 28 points in 33 games. Sturtz was a top scorer for the Penn State Nittany Lions in his collegiate career and will look to help the Solar Bears improve upon a 2021-22 campaign where they just missed out on a playoff berth.

Tye Felhaber Signs In ECHL

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In the spring of 2019, as Tye Felhaber was wrapping up an incredible final season with the Ottawa 67s, that saw him score 76 goals in 86 games between the regular season and playoffs, the Dallas Stars signed the undrafted forward to a three-year entry-level contract. It was a lottery ticket that cost nothing more than a contract slot, and gave another outstanding young hockey player a chance to test himself at the professional level.

Felhaber ended up playing 41 games for the Texas Stars the following season but was held to just two goals, as his offensive touch didn’t follow him to the AHL. Earlier this year, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning who have a history of working with talented junior scorers, but even they couldn’t turn things around. By the summer, Felhaber was left unqualified by the Lightning, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Now, he’ll try to work his way back up the ladder by first signing with the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL. He (along with Logan Barlage and Scott Allan) was introduced by the team today as new bodies for the minor league club.

Given that he is 24, it is likely too late for Felhaber to make it as an impact NHL player. But given his early ECHL performance – 12 goals in 20 games – the Komets may have a star on their hands. Felbhaber’s rights are no longer owned by the Lightning.

Minor Transactions: 09/04/22

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Just a few weeks from now, NHL teams will be taking the ice to do battle in the preseason. Meanwhile, minor league and European clubs continue to make additions to their own rosters in preparation for the regular season. As always, we’ll keep track of today’s notable minor moves right here.

  • Veteran defenseman Adam Almqvist, a 2009 seventh-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings, has signed a one-year deal with KHL club Traktor Chelyabinsk. Almqvist spent 2021-22 with another KHL club, Dinamo Minsk, and scored 26 points in 41 games. The Swedish blueliner has 2 games of NHL experience under his belt, both coming in 2013-14, and he played a major role for the 2012-13 Grand Rapids Griffins, who won the Calder Cup. By playing in the KHL, Almqvist, who has represented Sweden in international tournaments in the past, will be ineligible to be called up to the Swedish national team.
  • Minor-league fixture Arvin Atwal, who has served as an AHL/ECHL tweener defenseman for most of his professional career, is headed back to North America. After spending 2021-22 with HK Spisska Nova Ves of the Slovakian league, Atwal has chosen to sign a one-year deal with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones. The 26-year-old blueliner has 583 PIM’s in 177 career ECHL games and should bring some physicality to a Cyclones franchise he played for from 2016-17 through 2018-19.
  • Dominik Furch, a longtime starting netminder in European leagues, has signed closer to home. The 32-year-old Furch backstopped Farjestad BK to an SHL championship last season and has signed a three-year contract with HC Kometa Brno. Furch, who has spent much of his career as a quality starting goalie in the KHL, brings championship experience to a Brno club that had a mediocre 2021-22. Perhaps most notably from an NHL perspective, the addition of Furch could displace Matej Tomek as the team’s starting goalie, which would be a setback in the career of the Philadelphia Flyers 2015 third-round pick.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Minor Transactions: 09/02/22

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Just a few weeks from now, NHL teams will be taking the ice to do battle in the preseason. Meanwhile, minor league and European clubs continue to make additions to their own rosters in preparation for the regular season. As always, we’ll keep track of today’s notable minor moves right here.

  • Max Martin, who played 13 games for the Texas Stars last season, has signed a new one-year deal with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits for 2022-23. The WHL champion went undrafted out of junior but had inked a deal with Texas to make the jump to the AHL. After just 22 games, he’ll now compete in the ECHL for the upcoming season.
  • CapFriendly completed a bit of housekeeping today, moving Bogdan Trineyev, Adam Sykora, Adam Edstrom, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Dmitri Ovchinnikov, Marco Kasper, Noah Ostlund, and Mikael Pyyhtia to the “loaned” designation, indicating they will be playing overseas this season. There are no real surprises among the group, though it does include some top prospects that should be in North America in the coming years.
  • Alex D’Orio, who had been on an entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins until this summer, has signed with IF Bjorkloven of the Swedish second tier. D’Orio became an unrestricted free agent when the Penguins decided to not issue him a qualifying offer.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Minor Transactions: 09/01/22

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We are into September and preseason hockey is right around the corner. The summer has flown by and now teams must put the finishing touches on their rosters ahead of training camp. Like always, we’ll be keeping track of any notable minor moves right here, keeping you up to date on the entire hockey world.

  • Tyler Irvine has signed a one-year minor league contract with the Cleveland Monsters, after splitting last season with the Utica Comets and Adirondack Thunder. The 26-year-old forward had 42 points in 49 games with the Thunder but just five in 20 matches with Utica. Given it is a two-way AHL/ECHL contract he is signing, there’s no guarantee he stays at the higher level.
  • Gordie Green, who had been with the Toronto Marlies and Newfoundland Growlers last season, has signed a new deal with the Toledo Walleye. Green had 47 points in 57 games for the Growlers last year and was a huge part of their run to the Kelly Cup Eastern Conference Finals.
  • Belarusian defenseman Artyom Levshunov has been approved to play in the USHL this season, according to Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News. The 16-year-old won’t be eligible for the NHL draft until 2024 and now will have a chance to get in front of more scouts in North America.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Minor Transactions: 08/31/22

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August has come and gone, as teams prepare for the upcoming 2022-23 season. Activities will start ramping up over the next few weeks and some new contracts might filter in as well. With minor league seasons on their way as well, we’ll keep track of all the minor transactions right here.

  • Frank Hora, who spent most of last season with the Syracuse Crunch, is headed back to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, where he played previously. The 26-year-old defenseman had seven points in 42 games with Syracuse and is still looking for his first AHL goal.
  • Josh Teves is headed overseas after spending last season with the Rochester Americans. The 27-year-old defenseman has signed a one-year contract with JYP in Finland, and has already arrived there to join the club. Teves sits with just one NHL game played in his career so far.
  • Brandon Saigeon, who was a fifth-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2018, has signed a new ECHL contract with the Kalamazoo Wings. In 49 games last season for the Wheeling Nailers, he had 21 points.
  • Odeen Tufto is one of five players that have signed one-year AHL contracts with the Tucson Roadrunners, joining Noah Laaouan, Reece Vitelli, Kaid Oliver, and Tyler Parks. Tufto, 25, failed to receive a qualifying offer this summer from the Tampa Bay Lightning after his entry-level contract expired.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Minor Transactions: 08/30/22

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As far as late August goes, we’ve had a pretty busy 24 hours in the NHL, with the trade of Adin Hill to the Vegas Golden Knights last night, followed by a massive extension for Tage Thompson to stick with the Buffalo Sabres for seven more years. Not to be forgotten, the Minnesota Wild also added that forward they were rumored to be looking for, inking former Anaheim Ducks prospect Sam Steel to a one-year deal. Busy as the last day was in the NHL, there’s still action going on around the hockey world, and we’ll keep track of some of those other transactions here:

  • A big trade went down in the WHL this afternoon, the Saskatoon Blades announcing they’ve acquired forward Conner Roulette and a third-round pick in the 2026 WHL prospects draft from the Seattle Thunderbirds in exchange for overage forward Kyle Crnkovic (link). The 20-year-old Crnkovic spent the previous five seasons with the Blades organization. Always a solid contributor, he broke out in 2021-22, tallying 39 goals and 55 assists in 68 games for Saskatoon. Roulette, 19, was a fourth-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2021 and has spent the previous four years with the Thunderbirds, having his own breakout this past season with 24 goals and 42 assists in 65 contests.
  • Former Nashville Predators draft pick Wade Murphy is headed back to North America, signing with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL, after spending last season in Austria (link). A seventh-round pick by Nashville in 2013, the forward has spent the bulk of his professional career in the ECHL after a three year college career. The stint in Austria was a successful one for Murphy, who had 23 points in 38 games for Ljubljana Olimpija, the most he’s had in a professional season to date.
  • The Laval Rocket, the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, have signed forward Brett Stapley to a one-year AHL contract for the 2022-23 season, the team announced (link). Stapley, 23, was a seventh-round pick by Montreal back in 2018 and recently finished up his fourth season at the University of Denver. The North Vancouver, BC native had a solid college career, capped off by a breakout 2021-22 with 18 goals and 25 assists in 41 games. With the Canadians in a full rebuild, if Stapley can have a strong transition from college to the professional ranks, he may still have a chance to break into the NHL.
  • The Jacksonville Icemen announced they have signed Jake Witkowski to a one-year contract (link). The forward recently finished his college career, playing four years at Boston University prior to a season at Canisius College in 2021-22, where he had 11 points in 32 games. Interestingly, Witkowski is older than the typical college free agent, having turned 26 a few days ago.
  • Toronto Marlies defenseman Joseph Duszak won’t be returning for the 2022-23 season, instead heading to Dinamo Minsk of the KHL (link). Duszak, 25, spent three years at Mercyhurst College, joining the Marlies after an impressive 47 points in 37 college games in 2018-19. The Long Island native would split the 2019-20 season between the Marlies and the Newfoundland Growlers (the Marlies’ and Toronto Maple Leafs’ ECHL affiliate), joining the team full-time thereafter. Like in college, Duszak broke out in his third full professional season, recording seven goals and 45 assists in 61 games on the Marlies blueline this year.

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