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Boston Bruins To Name Maine Mariners As ECHL Affiliate

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June 30: The official announcement has been made. Maine will be the new affiliate of the Boston and Providence Bruins.

June 29: The Boston Bruins are set to bring their ECHL prospect much closer to home. The Portland Press Herald’s Glenn Jordan reports that their city’s ECHL franchise, the Maine Mariners, will soon become the official affiliate of the nearest NHL team, with the Bruins expected to make an announcement on Wednesday. This will mark the end of the Mariners’ relationship with the New York Rangers, Jordan notes, as well the break-up between Boston and the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators.

This is just the latest shake-up in the ever-changing minor affiliation landscape. A relatively stable set of relationships for quite a while during the 2000’s and into the early 2010’s, the last several years have brought a number of changes to the AHL and ECHL and their associations with NHL parent clubs. Maine, a 2018 ECHL Expansion team, did not play this past season due to COVID-19 but are set to return in 2021-22 with an exciting new partnership. Ironically, Atlanta also did not play this season due to the pandemic and the Bruins sent their ECHL prospects to the Jacksonville Ice Men. Even more ironic is that Jordan reports that Jacksonville will now become the new affiliate of the Rangers in place of Maine. This will displace the Winnipeg Jets, who will need a new ECHL affiliate with the Gladiators, Allen Americans, and Norfolk Admirals to choose from. The Jets could also opt not to partner with an ECHL team, as several other NHL teams have.

There is a bit of history to this move as well. The original Maine Mariners were an AHL team from 1977 to 1992, at which time they relocated and became – the Providence Bruins. There is also a long-standing relationship between not only Boston sports teams and Maine but the Boston-Providence-Portland trifecta. The Boston Red Sox for decades housed their AAA affiliate in the Providence suburb of Pawtucket and their AA affiliate in Portland. While the Pawtucket Red Sox relocated to Worcester this year, the Portland Sea Dogs are still standing. The Boston Celtics’ G-League affiliate, the Maine Celtics (formerly Red Claws) also play in Portland. The Mariners will have some stiff competition for Maine’s most popular minor league team, but between the multiple iterations of the Mariners sandwiching a long run by the AHL’s Portland Pirates and previous QMJHL teams in the state, Portland has always belonged to hockey and excitement will be at a new high with the Boston affiliation.

Snapshots: Heartlanders, Chicago, Hogberg

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The Minnesota Wild have announced a multi-year affiliation agreement with the new Iowa Heartlanders ECHL franchise. The minor league team is set to begin play in the 2021-22 season and will now have the support of an NHL organization. Wild GM Bill Guerin released a short statement on the agreement:

We are thrilled to announce a new ECHL affiliation agreement with the Iowa Heartlanders. We look forward to being a part of the Heartlanders inaugural season and helping grow the great sport of hockey while also having the opportunity to develop players at both the AHL and ECHL level in Iowa. This is an exciting day for our organization. 

Minnesota is already affiliated with the Iowa Wild of the AHL, meaning both of their development tiers are now located relatively close to home. More and more, NHL organizations are using the ECHL to develop young, raw talents that need more seasoning before joining the AHL. For goaltenders especially, the ECHL can be the perfect place to get professional games under your belt instead of just trying to improve during practice. Minnesota goaltender Cam Talbot for instance spent a few games with the Greeneville Road Warriors early in his career.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks could be taking a big swing this offseason, as Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus of The Athletic report that the team will explore adding either Dougie Hamilton or Seth Jones. Obviously, it’s not up to just the Blackhawks if either of those players is to end up in Chicago, but the fact that they’re looking at such a big move does give some insight into where the organization wants to go in the near future. Jones, who leads the hot stove almost every night after telling the Blue Jackets he wouldn’t re-sign right now, would cost the Blackhawks a large package in trade; one source suggested to Powers and Lazerus that it would cost a first-round pick, second-round pick, and a high-end prospect to land the defenseman. Hamilton meanwhile is a pending free agent, but the Hurricanes have allowed him to speak to other teams already. Carolina GM Don Waddell mentioned earlier today that the team could pursue a trade ahead of free agency if Hamilton finds a fit, though it’s not clear what kind of return it would take to pull that off.
  • As expected, Marcus Hogberg will return to Sweden next season, signing a four-year deal with Linkoping HC in the SHL. The deal has been rumored for several weeks, really ever since Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion announced that the team would not be issuing Hogberg a qualifying offer. Though he did play in 14 games for Ottawa this season, the Senators have a huge number of goaltenders in the system that can more than replicate his .876 save percentage.

Minors Notes: Heartlanders, McKinnon, Senn

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One of the ECHL’s 2021-22 expansion teams is now official. The team slated to play in Coralville, Iowa beginning next season will officially be called the Iowa Heartlanders, the league announced today. The team debuted a buck logo that also implies a gold, black, and gray color scheme. The Heartlanders, on obvious nod to their Iowa locale, will also use the local wild prairie rose as a secondary logo. While Iowa finally has a name and logo, their yet-to-be-named expansion companions in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec have the all-important NHL affiliation, having linked up with the Montreal Canadiens. Iowa has yet to strike a deal of their own, however the obvious link would be to the Minnesota Wild, whose AHL affiliate also plays in the state. The Wild were affiliated with the Allen Americans this past season, but there has been no word on whether that relationship will continue or if Minnesota will instead recruit the newfound Heartlanders.

  • Ian McKinnon made quite a name for himself in just a short time in the AHL this season and has now been rewarded. On loan from the Jacksonville Ice Men to the Providence Bruins for ten games this year, McKinnon racked up a whopping 81 penalty minutes. It was enough to finish third in the league in total PIM while obviously taking the PIM per game crown. McKinnon was a physical force and unafraid to drop the gloves, but also contributed three points in those ten games as well, including his first AHL goal in the Bruins’ division title-clinching season finale win. It was enough to earn him an AHL deal for next year, as the Providence Bruins have announced a one-year pact. The junior-level journeyman has finally found his stride in the pros and the Bruins are looking forward to seeing what he can do moving forward with some experience now under his belt.
  • One player who may not be as thrilled about playing in the minors is New Jersey Devils goaltender Gilles Senn. A restricted free agent this summer, the 25-year-old played exclusively with AHL Binghamton this season – and poorly at that – after seeing NHL action last year and doesn’t seem to be happy with that career progression. Word out of Senn’s native Switzerland is that the netminder is “on the market.” The GM of National League squad HC Davos, Marc Gianola, claims that his off-season plans to make a change in goal shifted when he heard that Senn could be available. Senn played six seasons with Davos prior to making the jump to North America and could be eyeing a return, especially with the GM publicly acknowledging his interest. However, if Senn does choose to return to Switzerland, there will be no shortage of interest. Is that enough to convince him to abandon his NHL pursuits? A decision will be made one way or another shortly with the off-season coming up quickly.

Schedule Notes: North Division, Future, ECHL

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The NHL has released the start times for the final three games of the North Division schedule, set to be played between the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. Both teams are out of the playoff race and will now finish the year with a pair of afternoon tilts. The game on May 19 is especially noteworthy, as its 1:30pm MT start leaves the possibility for the North to start its playoffs that evening. Starting the playoffs the same day the regular season concludes is something deputy commissioner Bill Daly hinted at yesterday as the league tries to get through the 2020-21 season without any further delays.

The other three divisions will already be well into their first-round playoff matchups, with things kicking off on Saturday with the Washington Capitals hosting the Boston Bruins. Those two teams will meet tonight as well, though the Bruins aren’t going to risk any injuries; Boston will rest Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, Taylor Hall, David Krejci, Craig Smith, Sean Kuraly, Charlie Coyle, Charlie McAvoy, Ondrej Kase, Matt Grzelcyk, Mike Reilly, Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Lauzon, Kevan Miller, and Tuukka Rask this evening.

  • As for the future, the league is expected to go back to the schedule matrix and playoff format that was used during the 2018-19 season, according to Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com, with the exception of course of the Seattle Kraken being added to the Pacific Division and the Arizona Coyotes moving to the Central. Past the 2021-22 season though things may change, as Daly explained they are canvassing clubs to find out what it will look like down the line. The deputy commissioner suggested they may be able to release information on the 2022-23 scheduling format before the 2021-22 season starts.
  • There are other leagues preparing for a more regular 2021-22 campaign as well, including the ECHL which released its schedule today. The minor league will kick things off on October 21 and play 972 games through April 17, 2022. The ECHL will have 27 teams for next season, including new ones from Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and Coralville, Iowa.

Michael Houser To Make NHL Debut

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The Buffalo Sabres will have an unfamiliar face in net tonight when they take on the New York Islanders. Michael Houser will make his NHL debut after nearly a decade in the minor leagues, playing mostly in the ECHL.

The undrafted goaltender spent three seasons with the London Knights of the OHL and made his professional debut with the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2012. Since then he has been shipped around, suiting up for the San Antonio Rampage, Ontario Reign, Manchester Monarchs, Cleveland Monsters, Fort Wayne Komets, and Tucson Roadrunners. He has spent basically this whole season as a practice goaltender, not even seeing any action for the Rochester Americans. Houser’s last appearance was in March 2020 with the ECHL’s Cyclones.

Coming into the season, an NHL debut wasn’t even a possibility for Houser. The minor league veteran had signed an AHL deal meaning he couldn’t even serve as the taxi squad netminder. But after injuries started to pile up, the Sabres signed Houser to his first NHL deal on March 19 and kept him as the third goaltender while the rest of his position peers were coming in and out with various injuries. Now, after the latest Sabres netminder, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen suffered a lower-body injury on Saturday, Houser will get the chance of a lifetime.

Grinding in the ECHL isn’t glamourous, but Houser has managed to make 255 appearances there over his long minor league career. He was named Goaltender of the Year in 2019 after posting a .922 save percentage, going 29-7-5 in the process. Excellence isn’t anything new to Houser, who was once named not only goalie of the year in the OHL but won the Red Tilson Trophy as the most outstanding player. It’s been a very long road since then, but the 28-year-old will now be in an NHL net for the first time.

The Sabres have also been given an exemption from the league in order to sign Stefanos Lekkas to a professional tryout. The 25-year-old undrafted netminder is in his first professional season after four years at the University of Vermont. He could serve as backup for Houser tonight, but won’t actually get an entry-level deal.

Minor Transactions: 04/13/21

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The trade deadline has passed and movement in the NHL will slow considerably for the next several weeks. Still, deals for college free agents and international players should keep trickling in as players start to make decisions about their hockey-playing future. We’ll keep track of the notable minor moves right here.

  • The Rochester Americans have signed Brent Gates, Brendan Warren, and Stefanos Lekkas to professional tryouts. Gates, originally selected in the third round by the Anaheim Ducks, has split the last few seasons between the San Diego Gulls and Tulsa Oilers (with a short stop with the Indy Fuel). Once captain of the University of Minnesota, the 23-year-old Gates never signed an NHL deal. Warren comes with much the same story, a third-round pick that spent four years playing college hockey and never signed an NHL deal. Lekkas, a goaltender, also played four years of NCAA hockey, but was never drafted in the first place and has spent the majority of his career so far in the ECHL.
  • According to AHL reporter Mark Divver, the Chicago Wolves have signed Zach Solow to an amateur tryout, an interesting result for a player that some believed would land an NHL contract after his senior season at Northeastern. The undersized forward had 24 points in 21 games this season while serving as captain, but will now have to prove his worth in the minor leagues before earning an entry-level deal.

This page will be updated throughout the day

San Jose Sharks Sign Zach Sawchenko

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The San Jose Sharks snuck a signing in before the deadline, as AHL goaltender Zach Sawchenko has earned his first NHL deal. The Sharks have announced that Sawchenko has signed a two-year entry-level contract that starts this season. CapFriendly adds that the deal carries the minimum salary for both years, $700K in 2020-21 and $750K in 2021-22, for an AAV of $725K. Sawchenko will have an AHL salary of $80K in both seasons, albeit prorated for the current year.

Sawchenko, 23, was once a highly-regarded young prospect. A two-time WHL First Team All-Star with the Moose Jaw Warriors and a member of Canada’s 2015 U-18 World Juniors team, Sawchenko looked like a budding NHL prospect, but was somehow never drafted. He even attended two years at the University of Alberta, with his stellar numbers again pointing toward pro potential. The Sharks finally gave the netminder a shot last season, signing him to a minor league contract. He found success right away, putting up strong numbers in limited AHL and ECHL action, and this season has been even better. Through two seasons, Sawchenko has a .912 save percentage and 2.76 GAA in 16 AHL games and a .928 save percentage and 2.42 GAA in 20 ECHL games.

Signing Sawchenko now serves a couple different purposes for the Sharks. Firstly, San Jose needed another pro option this season following the trade of Devan Dubnyk. The team plans to use other youngsters Josef Korenar and Alexei Melnichuk as interchangeable backups to Martin Jones for the rest of the year, so Sawchenko is unlikely to see any NHL action too quickly. However, there are no other pro goalies in the system for San Jose and in the event of an injury at the NHL level Sawchenko would become third-string and would likely be on the taxi squad down the stretch or in the postseason should the Sharks qualify. Signing Sawchenko to a two-year deal this season also allows the Sharks to reduce his cap hit for next season below the league minimum without actually having to pay him the full salary for this season. In the event that he is able to crack the NHL roster at any point next season, Sawchenko will be as affordable a player as possible.

New York Rangers Sign Hunter Skinner

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After impressing so far in his first taste of professional hockey, Hunter Skinner has earned himself an entry-level contract with the New York Rangers. The deal will begin in the 2021-22 season, with Skinner signing an AHL contract for the remainder of 2020-21.

The 19-year-old defenseman has played in 26 games with the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL this season as he waited for the OHL to return to play, but hasn’t looked like he needs any more junior seasoning. In those 26 appearances, Skinner has seven goals and 17 points, holding his own against players sometimes more than a decade his senior. He currently ranks third among all ECHL defensemen in goals.

Not bad for a fourth-round pick in 2019, who needed just one year with the London Knights of the OHL to really take his game to a new level. The 6’2″ defenseman was also part of this year’s Team USA at the World Juniors, winning gold (though he played just one game).

There is certainly work to be done, but Skinner took another strong step in his development this season and should be a full-time member of the Hartford Wolf Pack in 2020-21.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Max Willman

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The Philadelphia Flyers have rewarded a player that has been grinding for years, signing Max Willman to a two-year two-way contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $750K and begins in the 2021-22 season.

Originally selected by the Buffalo Sabres way back in 2014, Willman played four years at Brown University, one at Boston University and then spent last season splitting time between the ECHL and AHL in the Flyers system. An incredibly hard worker, the 26-year-old forward has finally landed the NHL contract that seemed out of reach and can now compete for a role with Philadelphia next season.

There’s no guarantee he sees time at that level, but it’s been a great start for Willman in 2020-21 as he plays on an AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In 11 games he has six goals and eight points, earning Player of the Week honors in early March. Because of his age, Willman isn’t limited by the entry-level system and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Michael Houser

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The Buffalo Sabres have added some goaltending depth to the organization, signing Michael Houser to a one-year contract. The deal is worth $700K at the NHL level and represent’s Houser’s first NHL deal since his entry-level contract expired in 2015.

With Linus Ullmark out due to injury, the Sabres have Carter Hutton, Jonas Johansson and Dustin Tokarski (taxi squad) all at the NHL level to fulfil the league requirements. That leaves Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as the only other goaltender in the organization signed to an NHL deal, something that could become an issue should the team have to deal with any other injuries.

Houser, 28, will be the beneficiary of that situation, earning an NHL deal despite not even having much experience at the AHL level. The undrafted netminder has spent most of his career in the ECHL, including 26 games for the Cincinnati Cyclones last season. Now on this new contract, he can be recalled to the taxi squad if necessary.

As John Vogl of The Athletic points out, it isn’t necessarily injury that the Sabres are preparing for, but potentially a trade of Hutton or Johansson. Both goaltenders are free agents after the season, with the latter qualifying as a Group VI unrestricted free agent if he fails to play 18 more games before the end of the season. If they deal either one, Houser’s contract allows the team to keep Luukkonen in the minor leagues, instead of recalling him to the taxi squad.

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