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Minor Transactions: 08/20/19

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Even while the biggest news of the day revolves around unsigned restricted free agents like Matthew Tkachuk and Mitch Marner, teams are still working to fill out their organizational depth charts. As we keep track of all the minor moves around the world of hockey, we’ll fill you in right here. Keep checking back as this page will be updated throughout the day:

  • The Hartford Wolf Pack have officially signed Jeff Taylor to an AHL contract, bringing in the 25-year old defenseman after he spent last season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Taylor didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Penguins organization this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent. He recorded eight points and 33 penalty minutes last season.
  • 17-year old forward Michael Posma has announced his commitment to Boston College for the 2020-21 season. After being selected three times in the USHL draft he is expected to play for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders this year before joining BC. In 27 games last season at the high school level, Posma recorded 46 points. He is eligible for selection in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
  • Ryan Verbeek is back from a one-year stint overseas playing in France and will join the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. The nephew of former NHL forward Pat Verbeek, Ryan hasn’t had quite the same smooth path in his hockey career. Nevertheless he’ll start his North American professional journey this season, coincidentally (or not) with the ECHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings where his uncle serves as assistant GM.

Minor Transactions: 08/18/19

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It’s the dog days of summer, and while many prominent free agents, restricted and unrestricted, remain unsigned, major NHL signings are few and far between. Yet, minor league teams, foreign clubs, and college programs continue to make make moves in preparation for the coming season. Keep up with all of those minor transactions here:

  • Northeastern University landed a pair of high-quality graduate transfers last week in University of New Hampshire forward Brendan van Riemsdyk and Merrimack College goalie Craig Pantano, both of whom are expected to be major contributors. However, they’ve also now suffered a loss. After two disappointing seasons to begin his collegiate career, center Bobby Hampton has opted to leave the program, reports USCHO. Hampton will enroll at Penn State University and will join the Nittany Lions for the 2020-21 season with two years of NCAA eligibility remaining. Hampton joined Northeastern in 2017 with high expectations after leading the USHL’s Cedar Rapids Rough Riders in scoring the season prior, but recorded just seven points combined in his first two college seasons.
  • Trevor Yates had up and down between the AHL and ECHL last season and he’s already well on his way to a similar start to the 2019-20 campaign. After signing with the ECHL’s Reading Royals on Friday, Jason Guarente of the Reading Eagle already reports that Yates will be in camp with their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, trying to instead earn an AHL contract, with Lehigh or elsewhere. A former star for the Cornell University Big Red, Yates’ pro career got off to a slow start last year, but he finished strong with a point-per-game stretch in the ECHL. The 24-year-old forward has the size and intelligence to be a key two-way forward in the AHL or, as he slowed late last season, a top-line forward at the “AA” level.
  • The AHL’s Manitoba Moose have re-signed defenseman Charles-David Beaudoin to a one-year extension, the team announced. Beaudoin has played a part-time role for the Moose in each of the past two seasons, recording 15 points combined over the past two seasons. The 25-year-old righty took an unorthodox route to the AHL, spending two years at the University of Quebec – Trois Rivieres after his QMJHL junior career before jumping from USports to the pros, and will look to take on a larger role in his third AHL season.

Minor Transactions: 08/16/19

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As August continues and we get further into contract negotiations, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the league. We’ll keep updating as more come in:

  • After spending the last several seasons in the ECHL, Dominic Alberga has decided to take his talents overseas. The 27-year old will play for HC Bolzano in the Italian league this season after scoring 46 points in 41 games with the Norfolk Admirals last year. Alberga actually got his first extended chance in the AHL, suiting up 16 times for the Tucson Roadrunners as well.
  • Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson’s younger brother Kenny Johnson has committed to Penn State University for the upcoming season after spending the last few years in the BCHL. Also a defenseman, the younger Johnson went undrafted but recorded 20 points in 51 games last season split between the Penticton Vees and Victoria Grizzlies.
  • Former Cornell standout Trevor Yates has signed on with the Reading Royals of the ECHL, giving them another weapon up front for the 2019-20 season. Yates bounced around the minor leagues last year and split time between the Grand Rapids Griffins, Toledo Walleye, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Wheeling Nailers.

Boston, New Jersey Renew ECHL Affiliates

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The Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils have both renewed partnerships with their respective ECHL affiliates, the Atlanta Gladiators and Adirondack Thunder. Devils assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald released a short statement on the extended relationship with the Thunder:

On behalf of the New Jersey Devils, we are pleased to continue our partnership for the 2019-20 season with our ECHL affiliate, the Adirondack Thunder. Giving players consistent ice-time and exposure in all situations at the ECHL Level will help them develop throughout all levels of the New Jersey Devils organization and its affiliates. We are excited to work together with the management, players and coaches for our third consecutive season in Adirondack.

The Gladiators franchise has been partnered with the Bruins for several years now, starting in the 2015-16 season after they relocated from Gwinnett and parted ways with the Arizona Coyotes. During that time they’ve made the Kelly Cup playoffs just once and have an overall record of 124-133-31. Still, they are a valuable place for the Bruins to continue to develop their raw or long-shot prospects before bringing them into the AHL.

Meanwhile the Thunder have made the playoffs in each of their four seasons in the ECHL, all with some sort of partnership (informal or not) with the Devils. Last season saw them go 37-26-9 under head coach Alex Loh despite using a total of nine different starting goaltenders throughout the year.

Minor Transactions: 08/14/19

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As August continues and we get further into contract negotiations, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the league. We’ll keep updating as more come in:

  • The San Diego Gulls have signed six players to one-year AHL contracts. Alex Broadhurst, Brent Gates, Luke Gazdic, Hunter Drew, Steven Ruggiero and Roman Durny will all join (or rejoin) the organization and provide plenty of experience and depth to the minor league club. Notably the group includes two players, Gates and Ruggiero who are set to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the week now that their college careers are over. Signing them to AHL contracts keeps them in the organization, though technically does not maintain their exclusive draft rights.
  • The Belleville Senators are bringing Francois Beauchemin back on a one-year two-way AHL contract. Not to be confused with the former NHL defender, Beauchemin is a 23-year old forward that played 40 games for the club last season. The undrafted winger also scored 16 points in 27 games for the ECHL’s Brampton Beast, a team he may find himself playing for again this year.
  • The San Antonio Rampage have signed Josh Wesley to a one-year AHL contract. The son of former NHL defenseman Glen Wesley was drafted in the fourth round in 2014 but has yet to make his way to the NHL. In fact, the 23-year old spent most of last season in the ECHL.

St. Louis Blues Extend ECHL Affiliation

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The St. Louis Blues have agreed to a one-year extension with the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL. 2019-20 will be the third year the two organizations have partnered, giving the Blues a second minor league team to develop their prospects.

Tulsa actually advanced to the third round of the Kelly Cup playoffs last season, their best year since joining the ECHL. Led by star Adam Pleskach, who scored 38 goals and 75 points, the team put up a 42-24-6 record in the regular season. Like most teams, the Blues use their ECHL roster for raw or long-shot prospects but also continue to develop potential future goaltenders. Stanley Cup champion Jordan Binnington spent time in the ECHL during the early part of his career, and last season saw second-round pick Evan Fitzpatrick start 25 games for Tulsa.

As more and more teams invest heavily in their development systems, the low minors continue to increase in importance. If Fitzpatrick ends up back in the ECHL next season he can focus entirely on his training, instead of trying to learn a new organization and city.

Minor Transactions: 08/13/19

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As August continues and we get further into restricted free agent contract negotiations, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the hockey landscape. We’ll keep updating as more come in:

  • Northeastern has announced a pair of graduate transfers for the upcoming season, one with a very familiar hockey name. Brendan van Riemsdyk, younger brother of NHL players James van Riemsdyk and Trevor van Riemsdyk, will join the Huskies after three seasons at the University of New Hampshire. Undrafted, the 23-year old forward had 16 points in 36 games last season.
  • Former Kelly Cup champion Gabriel Verpaelst has signed on with the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL for next season, bringing his physicality to a new organization. Verpaelst has racked up 706 penalty minutes in 292 ECHL games including 65 fighting majors.
  • The Halifax Mooseheads and Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL have completed a trade, swapping Cameron Whynot and a 2021 third for Xavier Parent. Whynot was the ninth overall pick in the most recent QMJHL draft and is already a 6’2″ defenseman at the age of 16. He is eligible for selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, but still has a lot of development to do in junior. Parent meanwhile was also a high pick, selected fourth in 2017 by the Mooseheads. He recorded 34 points in 67 games last season and was part of the gold medal-winning Hlinka-Gretzky team. He was eligible this season but went undrafted by the NHL likely thanks in part to his 5’7″ stature.

Minor Transactions: 08/12/19

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As August continues and we get further into restricted free agent contract negotiations, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the hockey landscape. We’ll keep updating as more come in:

  • The Hershey Bears have signed Cole Ully to an AHL contract for the upcoming season, bringing in the former Dallas Stars prospect after two years spent mostly in the ECHL. Ully was drafted in the fifth round in 2013, but has still yet to really make a big impact at the AHL level.
  • The Fort Wayne Komets have signed Brycen Martin and Olivier Galipeau to ECHL deals, giving them some added defensive depth. Martin, 23, was actually a third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2014 but has only played in 21 AHL games and was not given a qualifying offer this offseason.
  • The San Antonio Rampage have added some veteran goaltending to the mix, signing Adam Wilcox to a one-year AHL contract. Wilcox has played four seasons of professional hockey since leaving the University of Minnesota and even has an NHL appearance under his belt. The 26-year old put up an .896 save percentage in 28 games with the Rochester Americans last season.

Snapshots: Brodie, Marner, Staal

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The Calgary Flames still need to shed some more salary in order to fit in what is expected to be a big contract for Matthew Tkachuk, and Sportsnet’s Eric Francis suggests on radio that T.J. Brodie might have to be the one to go. The defenseman has been involved in trade speculation for some time and as Francis notes, the team has two up-and-coming options in Rasmus Andersson and Juuso Valimaki (not to mention Oliver Kylington, who is also pushing for an NHL spot.)

The Flames already shed themselves of some money by buying out Michael Stone recently, but project to have just over $7.75MM in cap space to sign both Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane. The 29-year old Brodie has just one year left on his current contract with a $4.65MM cap hit and is still an effective offensive option from the blueline. Francis worries that the Flames may have to part with another player to find a fit for Brodie after a deal earlier this offseason fell apart with the Toronto Maple Leafs thanks to Nazem Kadri’s no-trade clause. With just a month left before training camps open, Flames GM Brad Treliving still has plenty of work to do.

  • Speaking of the Maple Leafs, they too have an unsigned restricted free agent holding things up. Mitch Marner still doesn’t have a contract for the 2019-20 season, but linemate John Tavares doesn’t seem worried. Speaking with TSN this weekend, Tavares explained that “there’s still some time” for the contract to be worked out and is hopeful that Marner is there on the first day of training camp. The Maple Leafs currently project over the salary cap for the upcoming season but have more than $10MM tied up in Nathan Horton and David Clarkson who will be placed on long-term injured reserve at some point.
  • Jared Staal has been hired by the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears as an assistant coach, transitioning to a new role in professional hockey. The younger brother of Eric Staal, Jordan Staal and Marc Staal played two games for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2012-13 but had spent most of his career in the minor leagues. His playing days ended after suiting up for the Edinburgh Capitals of the EIHL in 2016-17. The 28-year old was originally drafted in the 2008 second round, but couldn’t quite climb to the same heights as his brothers. Perhaps he’ll get to that level as a coach, something he’s obviously getting an early start on.

Minor Transactions: 08/08/19

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As August continues and we get further into contract negotiations, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the hockey landscape. We’ll keep updating as more come in:

  • Anthony Florentino has signed a one-year contract with the Worcester Railers of the ECHL, continuing his professional career after two seasons with the Cincinnati Cyclones. Originally selected in the fifth round by the Buffalo Sabres in 2013, Florentino stayed at Providence College for all four years and never did get an NHL contract. Last year saw the defenseman record eight points in 62 games for Cincinnati.
  • The Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL have convinced one of their import selections to sign for the 2019-20 season, inking Vitali Pinchuk according to his agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey. Pinchuk was the 62nd pick in the CHL Import Draft earlier this year and will leave Belarus to start his North American career. The 17-year old is eligible for selection in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
  • Peter Worrell has been a member of the amateur and youth hockey community in Florida since his retirement more than a decade ago, and will now join the Panthers organization directly. The former NHL enforcer has been named the director of the Florida Panthers IceDen where he will continue to help build the hockey community in the state. Worrell played 342 games for the Panthers during his career, racking up 1,375 penalty minutes.

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