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Minor Signings: Russell, Berdin, Welsh

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The ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates have signed forward Mitchell Russell for the 2025-26 campaign, per a team announcement.

Russell, 24, was an undrafted free agent signing by the Sharks in 2022 from the OHL’s North Bay Battalion. Injuries limited him out of the gate, making just two appearances for the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder in his first professional season.

The 6’0″, 194-lb winger didn’t see NHL ice over the duration of his three-year, entry-level contract. He was non-tendered in June, making him an unrestricted free agent after he scored two goals in 12 games for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda and a 19-25–44 scoring line in 81 games for Wichita over his brief pro career.

He’ll now head to Savannah, the second-tier affiliate of the Panthers, to further his pro career. The team only has eight players under contract for 2025-26, including Russell, and will no doubt have most of their roster filled out by loans from their AHL parent, the Charlotte Checkers.

More minor moves from around the sport:

  • Former Jets goaltending prospect Mikhail Berdin is on the move in his native Russia, with the KHL announcing he’s signed a one-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan. Berdin, who became a Group VI unrestricted free agent in 2023, was limited to just 11 appearances last season with Avangard Omsk. He was spectacular when available, though, recording a .929 SV%, 1.87 GAA, and a 7-1-2 record. If the 27-year-old puts up a season like that for Ak Bars, he should put himself in contention for an NHL contract next summer.
  • Journeyman defenseman Nicholas Welsh has signed with the Manchester Storm of the EIHL, the United Kingdom’s highest level of competition. Welsh, 28, was a dynamic threat in the QMJHL and racked up 181 points in 329 junior games for Shawinigan and Moncton but only sniffed a pro career in North America, recording three points in 17 games for the Sabres’ AHL affiliate in Rochester in 2020-21. He’s since made stops in Slovakia, Germany, Finland, and Austria. He ended last season with Liiga’s KooKoo, where he had four points in 14 combined regular-season and playoff games.

West Notes: Isogai, Popovic, Nelson

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Earlier today, the AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, the Ontario Reign, announced a two-year AHL contract for an up-and-coming name from Canada’s Western Hockey League. The Reign shared that they’ve signed forward Kenta Isogai. No financial details were released.

The 20-year-old native of Nagano, Japan, recently completed his second season in the WHL. Though he started his WHL career with the Wenatchee Wild for the 2023-24 season, he was acquired by the Victoria Royals for the end of the season. He excelled at the WHL level, scoring 63 goals and 166 points in 123 games, achieving a +49 rating, along with 10 goals and 25 points in 16 postseason contests.

Given that he was also named to the WHL’s First All-Star Team last year, it’s a little surprising that Isogai has gone undrafted over the past few years. He’s a little undersized, but not to a serious degree, and should be given every opportunity to succeed in AHL Ontario.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • According to a team announcement, the Colorado Avalanche have hired Mark Popovic as their new skills coach. It’ll be Popovic’s first formal coaching position at the NHL level, although he’s been working as an informal consultant for the Avalanche for the past few years. He’s better known for his playing career at the AHL level, where he scored 36 goals and 134 points in 359 games from 2002 to 2007. He played under 100 games in the NHL with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Atlanta Thrashers.
  • The ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders, affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, announced today that they’ve signed forward Jaxon Nelson to an ECHL contract for the 2025-26 season. The former captain of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers had been playing for the AHL’s Providence Bruins the past few years, to disappointing results. Still, Nelson is only two years removed from scoring 19 goals and 31 points in 39 games for Minnesota.

East Notes: Keeper, Kowalsky, Terrance

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Despite signing a one-year contract with the Elite Ice Hockey League’s (EIHL) Glasgow Clan in late June, defenseman Brady Keeper won’t be playing out that contract with the team. In an announcement from the team, Keeper has decided to step away from hockey and retire at the age of 29.

A product of the NCAA’s University of Maine, Keeper signed with the Florida Panthers toward the end of the 2018-19 season as a collegiate free agent. He debuted with the Panthers during the 2018-2019 season, skating for 12:40 in a game against the Ottawa Senators on March 28, 2019. He recorded one blocked shot and two hits.

He spent the next few years moving from the Panthers to the Vancouver Canucks, before finally landing in the Montreal Canadiens organization in the 2023-24 season. Outside of an additional game with Florida, he’s only played in the AHL, finishing his career with 10 goals and 31 points in 129 games with a -2 rating and 208 PIMs. Unless he changes his mind on retirement in the next few years, his last professional hockey contest will have come with the AHL’s Laval Rocket in 2024.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Maine Mariners of the ECHL, affiliated with the NHL’s Boston Bruins, have added a lot of experience in their new head coach and General Manager. According to a team announcement, the Mariners have hired Rick Kowalsky as their next bench boss and General Manager, who was recently the head coach of the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals in the 2005-06 season and has won one coach of the year award in the AHL and another in the ECHL.
  • Carey Terrance, the main asset acquired by the New York Rangers from the Anaheim Ducks for Chris Kreider, is already making positive impressions in the organization. In a recent interview with Dan Rosen of NHL.com, the Rangers’ player development coach, Jed Ortmeyer, said of Terrance, “He was like, ’Yes, let me know. I want to be coached. You’re never going to hurt my feelings. I want to know. That was great to hear. He wants to be coached. He wants to get better and he’s hungry. He’s eager to learn and he wants to be great.“

Minor Transactions: Zbořil, Frasca, Fulp

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Former Bruins first-rounder Jakub Zbořil has terminated his contract with Czechia’s HC Dynamo Pardubice, the club announced today. The Extraliga squad didn’t say whether the termination was so that Zbořil could pursue an NHL return or if he intends to remain overseas.

Now 28, the left-shot defenseman headed to Pardubice last summer after becoming an unrestricted free agent and failing to land a contract from a camp tryout with the Devils. Zbořil made 30 regular-season appearances, scoring 14 points with a plus-four rating. That was his best offensive output in a season since he scored 19 points in 58 games for the AHL’s Providence Bruins in 2019-20.

The 2015 No. 13 pick never panned out for Boston, but he seemed to get things back on track back home in Czechia and will now look for a different opportunity, likely in a more competitive European league like the KHL or SHL if he doesn’t anticipate returning to the NHL. He has 16 points and an even rating in 76 career NHL appearances, all with the Bruins.

There’s more minor moves from across the hockey world:

  • Free agent forward Jordan Frasca has signed a one-year deal with the ECHL’s Reading Royals, the Flyers’ affiliate announced. Frasca, 24, spent last season in the Predators organization after being acquired from the Penguins in last summer’s Cody Glass trade. Injuries limited him to just five appearances with ECHL Atlanta, though, where he scored one goal and four assists. He has 50 points in 81 career ECHL games over the last three years and now takes his talents to Reading after being non-tendered by Nashville.
  • Ex-Islanders defense prospect Aidan Fulp has caught on in the Sabres organization on a deal with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, per a team press release. Fulp was an undrafted free agent signing by the Isles out of Western Michigan in 2023 but was non-tendered this summer when his entry-level contract expired. The 25-year-old righty posted 13 points in 84 games for AHL Bridgeport since turning pro along with a -29 rating.

West Notes: Kaprizov, Stars, Grizzlies

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On yesterday’s rendition of the Insider Notebook from Bleacher Report, Frank Seravalli provided an update on the ongoing extension negotiations between the Minnesota Wild and star forward Kirill Kaprizov. Seravalli indicated that he believes the Wild will sign Kaprizov to an eight-year, $120MM contract ($15MM AAV) when everything is said and done.

Kaprizov would narrowly beat out Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers as the sport’s highest-paid players. Still, that’s before Draisaitl’s teammate, Connor McDavid, signs his next contract. Despite carrying the highest AAV in NHL history, the rumored deal for Kaprizov would fall $4MM short of Alex Ovechkin’s 13-year, $124MM contract signed with the Washington Capitals in 2008, which remains the largest contract in NHL history.

The Novokuznetsk, Russia native has all the leverage in his negotiation with Minnesota, scoring 185 goals and 386 points in 319 games since starting his career during the 2020-21 campaign. There’s an open and credible debate whether Kaprizov is worth more than Draisaitl. Still, the Wild’s only pathway to contention is through their star winger.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • According to a team announcement, the Dallas Stars have elected Joe Nieuwendyk and Ralph Strangis to their organizational Hall of Fame. Nieuwendyk spent seven years as a Star, scoring 178 goals and 340 points in 442 games, helping the team to their first and only Stanley Cup championship in 1999. Meanwhile, Strangis began his broadcasting career with the Minnesota North Stars and remained with the team when they relocated to Dallas. He retired after the 2014-15 NHL season.
  • As covered by Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune, the city of West Valley has approved the sale of the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. Since the town had a minority stake in the team, approval from the City Council was required for the sale. The team is expected to be sold to Pro Hockey Partners LLC and moved to Trenton, NJ, after the 2025-26 ECHL season.

AHL, ECHL Affiliations For 2025-26

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There haven’t been many affiliation changes between NHL clubs and their minor-league feeders from last season to the upcoming campaign. There are no affiliate swaps to report, but the ECHL’s continued expansion has shifted the picture slightly as the Double-A league looks to eventually match its NHL and AHL parents in size at 32 teams apiece. Incoming are the Greensboro Gargoyles for 2025-26, who will give the ECHL 30 member clubs and will become the Hurricanes’ full-time second-tier affiliate after they split the Bloomington Bison with the Rangers last season.

That leaves just the Blue Jackets and Senators without a dedicated ECHL team for their AHL club to work with. Here’s the full list of every club’s minor-league affiliates for the 2025-26 season:

Anaheim Ducks

AHL: San Diego Gulls
ECHL: Tulsa Oilers

Boston Bruins

AHL: Providence Bruins
ECHL: Maine Mariners

Buffalo Sabres

AHL: Rochester Americans
ECHL: Jacksonville Icemen

Calgary Flames

AHL: Calgary Wranglers
ECHL: Rapid City Rush

Carolina Hurricanes

AHL: Chicago Wolves
ECHL: Greensboro Gargoyles

Chicago Blackhawks

AHL: Rockford IceHogs
ECHL: Indy Fuel

Colorado Avalanche

AHL: Colorado Eagles
ECHL: Utah Grizzlies

Columbus Blue Jackets

AHL: Cleveland Monsters
ECHL: n/a

Dallas Stars

AHL: Texas Stars
ECHL: Idaho Steelheads

Detroit Red Wings

AHL: Grand Rapids Griffins
ECHL: Toledo Walleye

Edmonton Oilers

AHL: Bakersfield Condors
ECHL: Fort Wayne Komets

Florida Panthers

AHL: Charlotte Checkers
ECHL: Savannah Ghost Pirates

Los Angeles Kings

AHL: Ontario Reign
ECHL: Greenville Swamp Rabbits

Minnesota Wild

AHL: Iowa Wild
ECHL: Iowa Heartlanders

Montreal Canadiens

AHL: Laval Rocket
ECHL: Trois-Rivieres Lions

Nashville Predators

AHL: Milwaukee Admirals
ECHL: Atlanta Gladiators

New Jersey Devils

AHL: Utica Comets
ECHL: Adirondack Thunder

New York Islanders

AHL: Bridgeport Islanders
ECHL: Worcester Railers

New York Rangers

AHL: Hartford Wolf Pack
ECHL: Bloomington Bison

Ottawa Senators

AHL: Belleville Senators
ECHL: n/a

Philadelphia Flyers

AHL: Lehigh Valley Phantoms
ECHL: Reading Royals

Pittsburgh Penguins

AHL: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
ECHL: Wheeling Nailers

San Jose Sharks

AHL: San Jose Barracuda
ECHL: Wichita Thunder

Seattle Kraken

AHL: Coachella Valley Firebirds
ECHL: Kansas City Mavericks

St. Louis Blues

AHL: Springfield Thunderbirds
ECHL: Florida Everblades

Tampa Bay Lightning

AHL: Syracuse Crunch
ECHL: Orlando Solar Bears

Toronto Maple Leafs

AHL: Toronto Marlies
ECHL: Cincinnati Cyclones

Utah Mammoth

AHL: Tucson Roadrunners
ECHL: Allen Americans

Vancouver Canucks

AHL: Abbotsford Canucks
ECHL: Kalamazoo Wings

Vegas Golden Knights

AHL: Henderson Silver Knights
ECHL: Tahoe Knight Monsters

Washington Capitals

AHL: Hershey Bears
ECHL: South Carolina Stingrays

Winnipeg Jets

AHL: Manitoba Moose
ECHL: Norfolk Admirals

Snapshots: Flames, Pridham, Humphreys

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The Calgary Flames have signed a multi-year extension with the Rapid City Rush, their ECHL affiliate. The exact terms of the deal were not disclosed. This will continue a partnership that began in the 2022-23 season. Rapid City has finished sixth in the ECHL’s Mountain Division, and missed the postseason, in all three of their seasons under Calgary’s organizational roof.

The Rush are among the middle siblings of the ECHL, entering the league as an expansion team ahead of the 2008-09 season. They had a stunted inaugural season, but managed to blaze their way to a Kelly Cup Championship win in 2010. That kicked off a string of playoff appearances that continued through 2015. Rapid City announced their first NHL affiliate, a partnership with the Arizona Coyotes, on the heels of those six consecutive postseason appearances. They’d stay with Arizona for two seasons, only to be dropped by the club for two years, and then reaffiliated from 2019 to 2022. Rapid City was once again dropped by Arizona ahead of the 2022-23 season, opening the door for a quickly-organized partnership with the Flames. While the club hasn’t found much league success under Calgary’s guard, they have managed to promote 14 players to the AHL and NHL lineups over the course of three seasons. That includes top Flames prospect Rory Kerins, who scored 37 points in 38 games with the Rush in 2022-23.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Chicago Blackhawks forward prospect Jack Pridham has announced he will stay with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers for one more season, rather than moving to Boston University, per Josh Brown of The Waterloo Region Record. Pridham scored 27 goals and 54 points in 48 games with Kitchener last season. His marks led the team in both goals and points per game. It was his first year in the OHL, after spending all of last season and the start of this season with the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors. Pridham ranked second in scoring on the Warriors with 48 points in 54 games last season, prompting Chicago to select him in the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft. He’s a burly winger with a heavy, physical frame and hard shot. He’ll look to step into a starring role with the Rangers next season, then continue his career with the BU Terriers in 2026-27.
  • Joining Pridham in a return to Kitchener will be Colorado Avalanche prospect Christian Humphreys, per Brown. Humphreys began the season at the University of Michigan, but opted to move to the OHL after scoring just one assist in the Wolverines’ first 10 games of the season. He went on to score 11 goals and 33 points in 28 games with Kitchener, and added 10 more points in 13 playoff games. Humphreys formally entered the NCAA transfer portal earlier this summer, but will instead opt to stay in juniors in hopes of joining Pridham on Kitchener’s top-line. He was a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, following two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program, where he spent time on the wing of James Hagens and Brodie Ziemer, or centering Teddy Stiga and Max Plante.

Snapshots: Larionov, Rotenberg, Vellucci, Bjorklund

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Top Russian club SKA St. Petersburg announced on Monday that they’ve relieved head coach Roman Rotenberg of his duties, and hired Igor Larionov as an immediate replacement. The move concludes Rotenberg’s four-year tenure as SKA’s head coach, which began when he took over for Valeri Bragin partway through the 2021-22 season. It is currently unclear if Rotenberg will continue on in his role as SKA’s Vice Chairman, though it’d be hard to imagine the prolific Russian stepping down after 14 years in the club’s front office.

SKA has seemed to fall short in every single season as of late. They lost in the conference finals each year between 2021 and 2023, then followed it up with earlier exits in the last two years. St. Petersburg also finished seventh in the KHL’s Western Conference this season, despite tremendous performances from star youngsters Ivan Demidov and Alexander Nikishin, midseason acquisition Evgeny Kuznetsov, and top goalie prospect Yegor Zavragin. A seventh-place finish is SKA’s lowest since the 2008-09 season, when they finished eighth.

To curb that poor momentum, SKA will turn to Igor ’The Professor’ Larionov. The legendary Russian player served as SKA’s Director of Hockey Operations in 2008-09, but didn’t kick off his coaching career until he began supporting Russia’s U20 club in 2019-20. He moved to KHL club Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in 2022-23, and has led the club to quaint finishes and conference quarterfinals exits in each of the last two seasons. Larionov was a true star in the NHL. He won three Stanley Cups across his 14-year career, and served as a gut-punch scorer on the Detroit Red Wings at the turn of the century. His career concluded with 644 points in 921 NHL games, sprinkled across tenures with five different clubs.

Other notes from across the league:

  • The Chicago Blackhawks have rounded out their coaching staff with the hire of Mike Vellucci into an assistant coach role. Vellucci has spent the last five seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and served as an assistant on the gold-medal winning Team USA at this summer’s World Championship. He’s a seasoned-in name in the hockey world, having served as the general manager and head coach of the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers from 2001 to 2014, then pursuing an assistant GM and Director oh Hockey Operations role with the Carolina Hurricanes until 2019. Part of his time with Carolina also saw Vellucci serve two years as head coach of the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, who he led to a Calder Cup championship in 2019. He also served one year as the GM and head coach of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Vellucci should be another strong veteran voice to help guide Chicago’s young roster to a new era.
  • The Washington Capitals have signed AHL depth goaltender Garin Bjorklund to a one-year, two-way contract for next season. He will make a league-minimum $775K at the NHL level and $110K at the AHL level. Bjorklund spent the bulk of this season with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, where he posted a .927 save percentage and 21-4-1 record. Those marks stand as the sixth-highest save percentage and wins in the league, despite Bjorklund ranking 35th with 29 total appearances. It was a true breakout year for Bjorklund, capped off by a 2-0-0 record and .942 save percentage in the first two AHL games of his career. A new deal should give the 22-year-old a chance to gain footing in the AHL next season, and potentially eye the starter’s role should he be able to keep up the stonewall performances.

Snapshots: Eklund, Colton, Ullmark, ECHL

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Sharks winger William Eklund is in stable condition after being taken to the hospital after being cut on the wrist in a tune-up game for the upcoming World Championship, Eklund’s agent, Todd Diamond, told Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.  The incident occurred during a board battle with defenseman Filip Hronek.  Diamond noted early indications are that no key tendons or nerves were cut on the play.  The tournament begins next week, with Sweden as the event’s co-host. However, given the injury, it wouldn’t be surprising if Eklund didn’t participate now.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Avalanche forward Ross Colton took part in today’s morning skate in a non-contact jersey, relays Ewan Rawal of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link). The 28-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in the series opener against Dallas and hasn’t played since; the non-contact restriction today suggests he won’t be available for the series’ final game tonight.  Colton got off to a hot start this season before dealing with some injury issues, finishing up with 16 goals and 11 assists in 61 games.
  • Speaking at Ottawa’s locker clean-out day, Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark told reporters, including TSN’s Claire Hanna (Twitter link), that while he indicated that he’d have liked to play for Sweden at the upcoming World Championship, the team has decided to go in a different direction. Sweden is a co-host of the event, but they already have their three goalies for the event in Samuel Ersson, Arvid Soderblom, and Arvid Holm.
  • On Friday, the ECHL announced it will welcome New Mexico into the league for the 2026-27 season. They will be the 31st franchise, getting closer to being lined up with the 32 in the NHL and AHL.  The Stars will serve as hockey operations consultants to help the franchise get up and running, while suggestions for the team’s name are now being taken.

Metro Notes: Sullivan, Brunicke, Royals

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If the New York Rangers had it their way, they’d have their new head coach signed in the next couple of days. According to Elliotte Friedman from Sportsnet, the Rangers are expected to pursue Mike Sullivan’s services aggressively.

Before he was brought into the Penguins organization to be the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2015-16, and before he served as the Canucks assistant coach and Blackhawks development coach, Sullivan served as the Rangers assistant coach from 2009-2013.

During that time, John Tortorella was the Rangers’ head coach, while Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan were the team’s captains. Unfortunately, Sullivan had already left the organization by the time New York returned to their first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years in 2014. 

Other notes from the Metro Division:

  • In his offseason series regarding Pittsburgh Penguins’ players, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review took a look at prospect Harrison Brunicke’s developmental status. As one of the team’s higher-end prospects, Brunicke competed for a spot on the Penguins opening night lineup before the 2024-25 campaign started. Unfortunately, due to a wrist injury that limited him to 10 games for the AHL Penguins, Rorabaugh believes Brunicke is likely another year away from becoming a full-timer in Pittsburgh.
  • According to a team announcement, the Philadelphia Flyers have extended their affiliate agreement with the ECHL’s Reading Royals. The extension will run through the 2026-27 ECHL season, and will serve as the 12th consecutive season the two organizations have held a partnership.

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