AHL Notes: Milner, Whitney, Ollas Mattsson
Goaltender Parker Milner provided the Washington Capitals with some depth in net this season, but the organization is content to move forward with him on an AHL contract instead of continuing his short-term NHL pact. Milner, 28, signed his first NHL contract back in February to close out the 2018-19, simply to serve as emergency depth as Washington pushed toward the playoffs. Milner has mostly played in the ECHL in his pro career after coming out of Boston College as a well-regarded prospect, but has settled in with the Capitals organization, splitting the past three seasons between the AHL’s Hershey Bears and and the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. The Bears announced today that they have re-signed Milner to a one-year contract, bringing him back for yet another year. Between potential future starter Ilya Samsonov and another promising young keeper in Vitek Vanecek, Milner is not guaranteed starts in Hershey again next season, but has shown that he is more than willing to spend time in the ECHL if asked.
- The Bears have also signed forward Steven Whitney to a one-year extension. Whitney is a long-time teammate of Milner’s, as the 28-year-old also played at Boston College and has spent the past two years with South Carolina and Hershey, respectively. Whitney stands just 5’7″, but like brother and former NHLer Joe Whitney, he doesn’t let his size (or lack thereof) prevent him from being a difference maker. Despite heading toward the latter part of his career, Whitney had arguably his best pro season in the AHL last year and will continue to be a valued forward for Hershey.
- As expected, Adam Ollas Mattsson is headed back home to Sweden. The SHL’s Malmo Redhawks have announced a two-year contract with the promising 22-year-old. Ollas Mattsson was a sixth-round pick by the Calgary Flames back in 2014 and, while it took some time, he broke out this year, skating in 65 games on an AHL contract with the Stockton Heat, recording 18 points and +22 rating. Yet, the depth on the blue line in Calgary made it unlikely that Ollas Mattson would be in the NHL ice time conversation any time soon. Rather than even wait to see if he was offered an NHL contract, Ollas Mattson is set to depart, as was reported earlier in the month. The former junior star in Sweden will switch teams, jumping from Djurgardens to Malmo, who are very excited to add the big defender.
Nashville Predators Ink New ECHL Affiliation
The Nashville Predators have entered into an affiliation agreement with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. The partnership is only for the 2019-20 season, but will give the Predators another minor league affiliate to send their prospects for development purposes. Everblades GM Craig Brush released a statement on the agreement:
We are thrilled to have the Nashville Predators as our new NHL affiliate. Nashville’s President of Hockey Operations and General Manager David Poile has done a remarkable job developing an expansion franchise into one of the most prominent teams in the NHL. We are looking forward to becoming an integral part of the development of players for the Predators and Milwaukee Admirals.
The Everblades were previously the ECHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes, given they shared at least partial ownership with the NHL franchise in the form of Peter Karmanos. The Predators meanwhile last had an ECHL affiliation in 2017 but ended the partnership with the Norfolk Admirals in mid-November. Before that, they had worked with the Cincinnati Cyclones for a decade.
Florida will represent a new opportunity for the Predators to send their raw or unpolished prospects, so that they can get large amounts of ice time without the pressure of the higher leagues. The ECHL is most notable for the goaltending alumni it has produced, which includes names like Jordan Binnington, James Reimer, Aaron Dell, Collin Delia and MacKenzie Blackwood. Former Nashville goaltender Dan Ellis even spent some time in the ECHL before making his NHL debut.
The Everblades finished second in the entire ECHL during this season with a 50-16-6 record but were unfortunately eliminated in the Kelly Cup semi-final by the Newfoundland Growlers.
Snapshots: Monarchs, Myers, Wagner
The Manchester Monarchs are no more. The ECHL team announced today that they would be ceasing operations after 18 seasons, meaning the Los Angeles Kings no longer have an affiliate in the league. According to Jon Rosen the Kings are expected to share an ECHL affiliate with another NHL team, though it is not yet clear who that will be.
The Monarchs franchise was actually founded in 1993 as the Huntington Blizzard, and have gone by several other names over the years including the Ontario Reign—the two minor league affiliates swapped in 2015, keeping a professional team that had been there since 2001 in the city. During their four-year run as the Monarchs in the ECHL, the team made the Kelly Cup playoffs every season and advanced to the third round in 2017. Several NHL players have spent time with the team, including 2018-19 rookies Jayce Hawryluk, Josh Brown and Jacob Middleton.
- Team Canada is now without Brandon Montour for the rest of the IIHF World Championship, so were desperately trying to find a defenseman who could be added in the final roster spot. That defenseman is Philippe Myers, who today was added from the Philadelphia Flyers. Myers finally made his NHL debut this season and will now get the chance to represent his country on the world stage.
- The Boston Bruins have received huge contributions from depth forwards like Chris Wagner in the postseason, but will have to find another source for the time being. Wagner has returned to Boston for further tests on his injured arm, one that was seen in a sling after he blocked a shot against the Carolina Hurricanes and was forced to exit game three. The Bruins will insert Noel Acciari into the lineup for game four in Carolina. If Wagner does not return in these playoffs he’ll end the postseason with an impressive 44 hits in 12 games while contributing two goals.
Blue Jackets Sign Goaltender Daniil Tarasov To Entry-Level Contract
If current playoff hero Sergei Bobrovsky does indeed leave the Columbus Blue Jackets as a free agent this summer, they are lining up options to help replace him in net. After signing NLA star Elvis Merzlikins to his entry-level contract back in March, the Blue Jackets have now locked up another of their young European goalie prospects. The team has announced a three-year entry-level deal with Russian keeper Daniil Tarasov, set to begin in the 2019-20 season.
Tarasov, 20, was a third-round pick by Columbus in 2017 out of the top Russian junior league, the MHL. Tarasov was a consensus top-five goalie in his draft class, but immediately proved that he likely should have been selected earlier. The 6’5″ behemoth took the league by storm in 2017-18, posting a .928 save percentage and 1.85 GAA in 40 games. This year, he left the junior level behind and put up even better numbers in 25 appearances in the minor league VHL. He also made two appearances in the KHL with Salavat Yulaev Ufa and many expected that he would play for Ufa again next season. That won’t be the case though. Tarasov is taking the opposite approach of Merzlikins, a fellow Columbus third-rounder who took his time developing overseas, instead opting to make the jump at a very young age for a goalie.
More likely than not, Tarasov is several years of AHL (and possibly some ECHL) play away from pushing for an NHL spot, but stranger things have happened. The Blue Jackets currently count existing backup Joonas Korpisalo and new addition Merzlikins as their top options heading into next year, assuming both restricted free agents sign extensions. Tarasov and Matiss Kivlenieks would be next in line if no other changes are made. Columbus still has one other option in Europe who could come over in Finnish standout Veini Vehvilainen, who is considering making the move if he is allowed to compete for NHL time. Vehvilainen or a trade or free agent acquisition could push Tarasov further down the depth chart and into ECHL territory next season, but at just 20 years old he has plenty of time to continue growing and proving that he is a future NHL talent.
Snapshots: Blackhawks, Matthews, Bean
The Chicago Blackhawks have announced a three-year extension with their ECHL affiliate the Indy Fuel. The agreement will take them through the 2021-22 season and means the Fuel will remain affiliated with the only NHL team they’ve ever known. The Indianapolis franchise came into the ECHL in 2014, though haven’t yet found a ton of success. In their five-year run, the Fuel have only qualified for the Kelly Cup playoffs once and were swept out of the first round that season by the Toledo Walleye.
More and more around the league the ECHL is used as a development team crucial in the early years of raw or unexpected prospects. Notably it is a place where young goaltenders can sharpen their skills while playing a lot, something that Blackhawks netminder Collin Delia did as recently as 2017-18. Delia played ten games for the Fuel during that season and now looks like a potential starting option for the Blackhawks going forward. Justin Holl of the Toronto Maple Leafs is also an alumni of the Indy program, having started his professional career there by playing 66 games for the team in 2014-15.
- Speaking of the Maple Leafs, the team announced today that Auston Matthews has undergone a procedure to remove hardware from a 2014 surgery. Matthews broke his femur while playing in the USNTDP several years ago, and according to Pierre LeBrun of TSN the screws leftover from that procedure may have been causing back pain for the young star. This explains why Matthews will not be playing in the upcoming IIHF World Championship, though it is not expected to affect his offseason training schedule.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled Jake Bean from the AHL once again, though with the Charlotte Checkers starting their second round playoff series tomorrow evening he may not be on the roster very long. Bean has been up and down in the playoffs to give the Hurricanes some additional defensive depth as they deal with injuries to Calvin de Haan and Trevor van Riemsdyk, but he has yet to suit up. The 20-year old was named to the AHL All-Rookie team this season and made his NHL debut by suiting up twice for the Hurricanes earlier in the year.
Minor Transactions: 04/20/19
For the first time in NHL history, the top seed in each conference has been eliminated in the first round after the Colorado Avalanche knocked off the Calgary Flames last night in Game Five. The Flames now join the Tampa Bay Lightning in an earlier-than-expected off-season after the two teams combined for one win in nine games. Beyond that, the other two division winners – the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators – are in the weeds with both series tied 2-2, while the owners of the second-best record in each conference – the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks – are on the brink of elimination at 3-2. It’s been a wild Round One thus far and things should only get more interesting moving forward. To prepare for the chaos, teams continue to make minor moves to support their playoff rosters:
- It’s goalie carousel day in the NHL, as clubs continue to swap out their AHL options in net as emergency third-stringers. The Colorado Avalanche did just that last night, taking Joe Cannata with them to Calgary to close out the Flames. Cannata, a minor league veteran out of Merrimack College, has spent almost all of the past two seasons in the ECHL, but has the AHL experience to provide emergency assistance if needed. With the Colorado Eagles also in the postseason, Cannata should continue to work with the Avs while the AHL tandem stays put.
- After Josef Korenar accompanied the San Jose Sharks to Vegas for Games Three and Four, it is the more experienced Antoine Bibeau who gets the call for Game Six. Bibeau and Korenar split time evenly with the Barracuda this season, with Korenar having the advantage statistically, but it’s Bibeau and his two NHL appearances that get the call this time around. The Sharks aren’t taking any chances with one more loss ending their season.
- The Washington Capitals announced today that they have swapped deep keepers ahead of Game Five, sending Vitek Vanecek back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears and recalling young Ilya Samsonov. Samsonov was stellar in Hersey’s playoff debut on Friday, but will use his night off to travel to D.C. rather than back up Vanecek for the Bears.
- Defenseman Mac Hollowell has been reassigned from his junior team, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, whose season has ended, to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, who are just beginning their postseason. Hollowell, a fourth-round pick of the Maple Leafs last year, enjoyed a breakout season to end his junior career and Toronto is likely eager to see how he can translate his game to the pro level. The puck-mover should also be a major boost for the Marlies in their Calder Cup title defense.
AHL Notes: Smith, Sadek, Boka, Afanasyev
After wrapping up a four-year collegiate career at Bowling Green State University, defenseman Adam Smith was ready to turn pro. While the Nashville Predators were not prepared to offer the 2016 seventh-round pick an entry-level contract, the invisible hand of the market still guided Smith to the organization. The Predators’ AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, announced a two-year AHL deal with Smith today. The contract will begin with 2019-20, as Smith finishes out this season on an amateur tryout offer. Smith, 22, is not much of an offensive asset on the blue line, but played an important role for Bowling Green en route to an NCAA Tournament appearance as a dependable defensive presence. If he continues to progress over a couple years in the minors, Smith could find himself with an NHL deal with Nashville down the road.
- Former Big Ten rivals Jack Sadek and Nick Boka have become teammates at the pro level this last month after the duo signed amateur tryouts with the AHL’s Iowa Wild. The defense pair are both recent draft picks of the Minnesota Wild – Boka in the sixth round out of the University of Michigan and Sadek in the seventh round out of the University of Minnesota, both in 2015 – but did not do quite enough in their college tenures to earn entry-level contracts right away. Instead, they were asked to show that they were worthy of a continued investment by the Wild, starting with a stint with the ECHL’s Allen Americans. Now, both players have been recalled by Iowa as the first step toward getting closer to an NHL deal. Both Sadek and Boka are right-handed shots with good size who improved over their four years in college, so there is a lot to like about the prospects. However, they both have work to do to earn an extended look with the organization.
- The AHL may have another “true rookie” to look forward to next season. USHL standout Egor Afanasyev, who many see as a fringe first-round pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, appears destined to follow in the footsteps of fellow imports like Klim Kostin and Martin Kaut by jumping right to the pro level next year. Afanasyev de-committed from Michigan State University earlier this year and has not been looking to join another college program next season. Meanwhile, he was drafted into the OHL by the Ottawa 67’s and had his rights traded to the Windsor Spitfires this season, but there has been little to no talk of him joining the junior squad. Instead, the Russian-born power forward clearly prefers to play in the AHL next season. He does have the size to do so; Afansyev stands 6’3″ and over 200 lbs. and plays with an edge to match. He also has the skill, as he has scored at better than a point-per-game clip this season for the Muskegon Lumberjacks and the deeper analytics indicate he has been even better than that. Ultimately, the team that drafts Afanasyev will decide on what the best next step would be in his development, but as his draft stock continues to rise it is becoming increasingly likely that he makes his pro debut in 2019-20.
Minor Transactions: 04/07/19
With the regular season ending Saturday, many teams, especially those who didn’t go to the playoffs, have decided to assign some of their younger players to the AHL to continue to get some playing time. Playoff teams could be adding to their rosters for the upcoming playoff run. Stay tuned to see transactions throughout the day.
- The Carolina Hurricanes announced they have recalled defenseman Jake Bean from the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Bean, the team’s first-round pick in 2016, has had an impressive season in his first full season in the AHL and has been recalled several times by the Hurricanes despite having played in just two games. Bean has 13 goals and 31 assists this year with Charlotte. He will likely fill in for Calvin de Haan, who has already missed a week with an upper-body injury.
- The New Jersey Devils announced they have assigned several of their young players to join the AHL’s Binghamton Devils, including forwards Joey Anderson, Nathan Bastian, Michael McLeod and Brett Seney. Anderson has played in 34 games for New Jersey, having scored four goals and seven points. Bastian has spent most of his season with Binghamton where he has played 56 games this season, tallying 17 goals for them, while McLeod has appeared in 52 games with 31 points with Binghamton. Seney has spent more of his season with New Jersey, having scored five goals in 51 games for the NHL squad.
- CapFriendly is reporting that the Nashville Predators have recalled forward Zac Rinaldo from his conditioning stint with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. Rinaldo was assigned in Milwaukee on Apr. 2 despite undergoing what was considered to be season-ending shoulder surgery in February. He hasn’t appeared in a game since Jan. 1. He played three games for Milwaukee.
- The Boston Bruins announced they have assigned four players to return to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. The team will send forwards Trent Frederic, Anton Blidh and Zach Senyshyn as well as defenseman Jeremy Lauzon to their former team. Frederic played 15 games for Boston, but didn’t register a point. Blidh played in one game, while Senyshyn played in two games, registering one goal. Lauzon played in 16 games for Boston.
- Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned defenseman Adam Clendening to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. The 26-year-old has spent all but four games with Cleveland, putting up four goals and 36 points in 43 games.
- The Detroit Red Wings announced a flurry of moves today as they have assigned eight players to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, including forwards Christoffer Ehn, Martin Frk, Matt Puempel and Dominic Turgeon, defensemen Jake Chelios, Joe Hicketts, Filip Hronek and Dylan McIlrath. The team also assigned goaltender Kaden Fulcher to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye.
- The New York Rangers have assigned several players to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL, according to the AHL transactions page. The team has returned forward Vinni Lettieri and defensemen John Gilmour and Ryan Lindgren. The 24-year-old Lettieri played 27 games for the Rangers this season, but was dominant in Hartford, posting 23 goals and 46 points in 44 games. Gilmour has also dominated in Hartford, putting up 20 goals in 66 games, while Lindgren added needed physicality for Hartford in 63 games as well.
- The Philadelphia Flyers announced they have returned forward Corban Knight and defenseman Mark Friedman to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. Knight, who was injured for much of the season, has only played in four games for Phantoms this season, putting up six points. Friedman, who made his NHL debut Saturday, has played 71 games for Lehigh Valley this season.
- The Washington Capitals announced they have assigned forward Nathan Walker to the Hershey Bears of the AHL. The 25-year-old Walker has appeared in three games for the Capitals, but will return to Hershey wher he played 54 games this season, posting 14 goals and 34 points.
- With an injury to goaltender Corey Crawford Friday, the Chicago Blackhawks recalled Kevin Lankinen from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. He wasn’t needed, however, and the team announced they have returned the young goaltender to the IceHogs. The 23-year-old fared well in his rookie season with Rockford, putting up a .911 save percentage and a 2.47 GAA in 18 appearances.
- The Ottawa Senators announced they have assigned defenseman Andreas Englund to the Belleville Senators of the AHL. Englund played three games for Ottawa this season.
- Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jaycob Megna cleared waivers Sunday and assigned to the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. The 26-year-old Megna played 28 games for the Ducks while playing 35 for the Gulls.
AHL Notes: Penguins, Kurashev, Kings, Rangers, Motte
The Pittsburgh Penguins have tapped the pipeline from Northeastern University yet again, as the organization as brought in the Huskies’ top-scoring forward from this season on an AHL contract. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have announced that Brandon Hawkins has signed a contract for the 2019-20 season and the slick right winger will join the team on an amateur tryout for the rest of this season. Hawkins, 24, took an interesting path through his collegiate career, but it all worked out. Hawkins played two seasons at Bowling Green State University before opting to transfer to Northeastern, but was forced to sit a year due to NCAA transfer rules before playing two more years. Yet, in his fifth and final college season, Hawkins put together 21 assists and 33 points to lead all Huskies forwards. Hawkins will be an asset at the minor league level for the Penguins and could push for an NHL deal with a strong season. The intriguing forward is yet another Northeastern standout to turn pro lately; star goaltender Cayden Primeau (MTL) and dynamic defenseman Jeremy Davies (NJ) both signed entry-level contracts, while Liam Pecararo has joined the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds on an ATO. The Huskies are holding out hope that Tyler Madden (VAN) doesn’t unexpectedly join the pro ranks as well.
The WBS Penguins also added Jan Drozg to their roster on a tryout basis to close out the year. Drozg, 20, is a 2017 fifth-round pick of Pittsburgh’s who signed his entry-level contract last month. After another dominating offensive season for the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes – 62 points in 60 games and another six points in six playoff games – Drozg is eyeing the pro level. This brief stint in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is just a precursor to what should be a full-time role next season, potentially with a chance to see some games in Pittsburgh if things go well.
- Another promising prospect joining his drafted organization on an ATO is Chicago Blackhawks’ breakout star Philipp Kurashev. Kurashev was a fourth-round pick out of the QMJHL just last year, but has drastically improved his stock this season with 65 points in 59 games for the Quebec Remparts, as well as another five points in the team’s first round playoff series, on top of a point-per-game performance for Team Switzerland at the World Juniors. The 19-year-old will look to make it a trifecta of strong showings in his time with the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs. Kurashev is a long shot to make the Blackhawks out of camp next year, but it never hurts to get a look at a prospect against pro competition.
- Two other teams adding interesting prospects to their affiliates’ rosters are the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. The Kings have brought in two 2018 draft picks on ATO’s in fourth-round forward Aidan Dudas and sixth-round goaltender Jacob Ingham. The pair of OHLers each made strides this season and L.A. can now see how they do with the Ontario Reign when the competition is raised. The Rangers have also added a junior player, but alongside two college free agents. Jake Elmer, an undrafted forward who enjoyed a breakout season with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, signed an ELC with New York in March and will get his first taste of the AHL down the stretch before turning pro full-time in the fall. Joining him for now and hoping to land AHL contracts are Harvard University captain Lewis Zerter-Gossage and American International College captain Shawn McBride. The pair of experienced locker room leaders will look to make a good impression on the Hartford Wolf Pack.
- While some junior and college players are just now embarking on their first pro experience, some in the AHL are already looking ahead to their next pro gig. Iowa Wild goalie C.J. Motte, who played largely in the ECHL this season but performed well in a handful of AHL games, has reportedly already signed his next contract and it isn’t with Iowa. Instead, Motte is heading to Austria to join the EBEL’s HC Innsbruck, the team announced. With the NHL off-season coming significantly later than many of the European markets, this kind of overlap isn’t uncommon. However, it is strange for Motte to still be playing with one team having already committed to another as soon as the season ends.
Minor Transactions: 03/24/19
It was a busy day across the NHL yesterday; 28 of 31 teams took the ice, with games in the early afternoon on the east coast to late night on the west coast, the Boston Bruins and Winnipeg Jets clinched playoff spots, and the Colorado Avalanche and Montreal Canadiens won crucial games in their postseason push. There isn’t quite as much action today, with only five games on the docket, but the few match-ups are arguably even more important than any yesterday. After dropping the first game of a home-and-home, the Chicago Blackhawks will look to keep their playoff hopes alive against the Avalanche, while the Columbus Blue Jackets are also desperate for a win to get them back in the playoff picture, visiting the Vancouver Canucks. The Philadelphia Flyers cling to slim playoff hopes as they visit the Washington Capitals, as the Arizona Coyotes face a tough task of their own, also in dire need of ending their recent skid, as they go up against the New York Islanders on the road. Finally, the Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes could be jostling for wild card seeding when they face off in Raleigh tonight. With another slate of games that stretches all day long, it’s possible to watch each of these key match-ups today. While you’re doing so, follow along here to see what the teams are doing behind the scenes:
- The Anaheim Ducks announced a pair of moves last night, just prior to their game, calling up forwards Sam Steel and Kiefer Sherwood from the nearby San Diego Gulls of the AHL. The Ducks are headed toward a bottom-five finish in the league this season and are testing out their young players as they already look toward next year. Steel, 20, has five points in 17 games with Anaheim this season, while Sherwood, 23, has been a more regular contributor with ten points in 47 games. One would expect both young forwards to be given every chance to earn a starting role in 2019-20, beginning with an increased workload down the stretch.
- Arizona Coyotes prospect Dennis Busby has joined the organization on a tryout basis for the rest of the season. The AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners announced that the Flint Firebirds standout, who missed much of the past two seasons due to injury, has been added to the roster on an ATO. It is commonplace for junior prospects to get some pro experience in the AHL late in the season on tryouts, but there is a little more at stake for Busby. The 2018 fifth-round pick has yet to be tendered an entry-level contract and the Coyotes may have some concern after he played in just 29 OHL games combined in the last two years. The puck-moving, right-shot defender could be a valuable asset and a strong showing in Tuscon would go a long way in proving to the Coyotes that he is worth holding on to. The Roadrunners also signed a familiar name to a PTO yesterday, adding former second-round pick and fan favorite Akim Aliu to the roster on loan from the ECHL. Aliu, now 29, is hockey’s foremost Nigerian-Ukrainian-Canadian player and, at 6’4″, 225 lbs., plays an entertaining physical brand of hockey, whether he’s lined up at defense or forward.
- The Detroit Red Wings announced they have swapped emergency defensemen as the team has recalled Dylan McIlrath from the Grand Rapids Griffins and assigned Libor Sulak to the AHL. Sulak had been recalled Wednesday, but has been sidelined by an illness for the last two games, so the team opted to bring in McIlrath to replace him. The 26-year-old McIlrath was the 10th pick overall in the 2010 draft, but has appeared in just 43 NHL games since then and hasn’t played there since playing five games with the Florida Panthers in 2016-17. Since being acquired from Florida that same year, McIlrath has played exclusively for the Griffins since then.
- The Colorado Avalanche have recalled forward A.J. Greer from the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. Greer, who has been going up and down several times already this season, was sent down on Thursday to the AHL. The 22-year-old has fared well in the AHL with 18 goals and 42 points in 48 games with the Eagles. He has a goal and an assist in 15 games with the Avalanche so far this year.
- The Buffalo Sabres announced they have recalled defenseman Lawrence Pilut from the Rochester Americans of the AHL. The blueliner has appeared in 25 games for the Sabres this year, but was sent to Rochester in late February to work on his skills. With injuries to Zach Bogosian and Matt Hunwick injured, the team needs Pilut to help out. The 23-year-old was almost a point-per-game defenseman with the Amerks with 26 points in 28 games. He has a goal and six points with the Sabres in his rookie campaign.
- The Los Angeles Kings announced they have recalled Michael Amadio from the Ontario Reign of the AHL and will go with the team on their upcoming three-game road trip. Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen adds the team will not take forward Brendan Leipsic on the road trip in favor of Amadio. The 22-year-old has played 37 games for L.A. this season with four goals and eight points, while posting six goals and 22 points in 24 games with the Reign.