Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

EIHL

Minor Transactions: 8/3/24

at CDT | by 3 Comments

It’s unlikely that there will be considerable activity on the NHL transactions front at this point of the summer but some of their affiliates have been busy in recent days.  Here’s a rundown of those moves and any news on former NHL players.

  • Free agent winger Nick Swaney has signed a one-year deal with AHL Chicago, per a team announcement (Twitter link). The 26-year-old spent the last four years in Minnesota’s system but was limited to just seven games due to injuries last season.  Swaney had 30 points in 48 AHL contests in 2022-23, resulting in him making his NHL debut as well.
  • Former NHL blueliner Joe Morrow is sticking around in England as he has re-signed with EIHL Manchester, per a team release. The 31-year-old played in 162 NHL games over parts of five seasons with Boston, Montreal, and Winnipeg, collecting 32 points.  Last season with the Storm, Morrow had 27 points.  He has had somewhat of a nomadic journey since leaving North America, spending time in Belarus, Finland, Kazakhstan, Russia, Switzerland, and now England.
  • Nick Jones, who spent the last four seasons on Winnipeg’s AHL team, has opted for a change of scenery as Vlci Zilina of the Slovak Extraliga announced on their Instagram page that they’ve inked the winger to a one-year deal. The 28-year-old had 16 points in 47 games with the Moose last season but now qualifies for the lower tier of veteran status with more than 260 career AHL appearances (but below the main veteran threshold of 320) which likely limited his North American options this summer.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

International Notes: Butcher, Currie, Trivigno, Bednard

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After spending the last two years buried in the minors, a veteran NHL free agent is heading overseas for the first time in his career. Defenseman Will Butcher, who made the NHL All-Rookie Team and finished ninth in Calder Trophy voting in 2017-18, has signed a one-year contract with Kazakhstan’s Barys Astana of the KHL, per a team announcement.

Butcher began 2023-24 on a two-way contract with the Penguins, posting seven points in 14 games for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before being traded to the Wild in January. He didn’t receive a call-up to Minnesota after the move, instead finishing the season with nine points in 24 games on the farm with AHL Iowa. The 29-year-old reached the UFA market on July 1.

The 2013 fifth-round pick of the Avalanche last suited up in the NHL for the Sabres in 2021-22, where he posted eight points and a -10 rating in 37 games in a bottom-pairing role. Despite attending the University of Denver, Butcher opted not to sign in Colorado after graduating in 2017 and instead landed with the Devils as a free agent.

Viewed as one of the top college FAs in quite some time after captaining the Pioneers to a national championship, Butcher was a power-play force in his rookie campaign in New Jersey with 44 points in 81 games, but he was never able to rediscover that kind of offense. He carried decent possession metrics at even strength even when his point totals dipped, but NHL teams quickly soured on his undersized 5’10”, 190-lb frame.

Other recent international signings of note:

  • Former Oilers forward Josh Currie, who spent last season in the AHL with the Belleville Senators on a two-way deal with Ottawa, has signed with German club Kölner Haie, per a press release from the team. It’s the Canadian’s second stint overseas after suiting up with the KHL’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Currie last suited up in the NHL with the Penguins for one game in 2020-21 and had five points (two goals, three assists) in 21 games worth of call-up action with Edmonton in 2018-19. The 31-year-old has been productive in the AHL, racking up 240 points in 383 games in parts of seven seasons.
  • Left winger Bobby Trivigno has found a home overseas after being non-tendered by the Rangers last month, landing a two-year deal with Brynäs IF of the Swedish Hockey League. New York signed the 25-year-old as a free agent out of UMass in 2022, but he didn’t see an NHL call-up over the course of his entry-level contract. The diminutive but energetic winger produced 12 goals and 45 points in 117 games with AHL Hartford.
  • Former Panthers goalie prospect Ryan Bednard is heading to England with the EIHL’s Nottingham Panthers, per a team announcement. Bednard, 27, was a fifth-round pick of the Cats in 2015 and signed his entry-level deal after a successful three-year stint at Bowling Green but never got a chance in the NHL. He was non-tendered in 2021 and has bounced around on AHL and ECHL contracts since. The Michigan native spent most of last season with the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits, with a .911 SV% and a 20-12-0 record in 33 games.

Morning Notes: Kirk, Chytil, Drouin

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Gritty forward Liam Kirk has agreed to a deal with the Eisbären Berlin of the DEL, Germany’s top league, as announced by the team. The deal continues his journey around Europe, with Kirk playing in Czechia and Finland in each of the last two seasons, following a two-year career in North American pros. The Arizona Coyotes selected Kirk in the seventh round of the 2018 NHL Draft, making him the third Englishman to be selected in the draft.

Kirk was drafted out of the EIHL, England’s top league, but moved to the OHL in the season following his draft. He appeared in 110 games across two years with the Peterborough Petes, recording 47 goals and 97 points. Kirk returned to the EIHL after the OHL canceled their 2020-21 season and once again performed well on home turf. With a strong training camp to boot, Kirk earned his entry-level contract with the Coyotes ahead of the 2021-22 season. But Kirk suffered a season-ending knee injury just eight games (and three points) into the season. He’d return for one AHL game and 15 ECHL games in 2022-23 but moved to Finland midway through the year. His contract was terminated ahead of the 2023-24 season, giving Kirk full reign to pursue a European career.

That’s the path Kirk is continuing with this move, although his production could warrant the attention of North American pros in the future. He scored 19 goals and 30 points in 52 games in the Czechia Extraliga this season, ranking fourth on his team in goals in his first year in central Europe. He now moves to an Eisbären Berlin team coming off their 10th DEL Championship. Berlin is also home to former NHLer Zach Boychuk, as well as former NHL prospects Yannick Velilleux, Frederik Tiffels, Ben Finkelstein, and Ty Ronning.

Other notes from around the league:

  • New York Rangers centerman Filip Chytil is feeling better after missing Game 4 with illness. He is hoping to be an option in Game 5, head coach Peter Laviolette tells NHL.com’s Dan Rosen (Twitter link). Chytil recently returned from a long absence with a concussion, with Game 3 marking his first game since November. Jonny Brodzinski filled in for Chytil on Saturday, with two faceoff wins marking the only change to his stat line. Chytil will look to add to his 13 points in 31 career postseason appearances with a strong Game 5, likely slotting abck into his third-line role should he be cleared.
  • There is reportedly a chance that Colorado Avalanche forward Jonathan Drouin is healthy enough to play in Game 4, shares Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now (Twitter link). Drouin suffered a lower-body injury in the final game of Colorado’s regular season. He returned to practices partway through last week but still had no timetable for a return, outside of a hope that he’d be ready at some point in the second round. It seems that time is drawing close – tremendous news for an Avalanche offense that’s given Drouin plenty of platform to thrive. He scored a career-high 56 points through 79 games this season, including 19 goals. It was a statement year after Drouin seemingly flatlined with the Montreal Canadiens. He’ll look to reignite the flame in Colorado’s push for the Stanley Cup – his first playoff appearance since 2020.

Minor Transactions: 12/25/23

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the holidays fully upon us, we have arrived at a short break on the pro hockey schedule. The only two games to appear on the schedule for today are in Kazakhstan’s professional league, with both HK Almaty and Kulager Petropavlovsk collecting victories today.

But although game action has understandably stopped today, there is still some activity in terms of player movement. As always, we’ll recap those moves here:

  • After playing 129 games in the ECHL across three seasons and four different teams, defenseman Elijah Vilio has elected to transfer overseas to the Dundee Stars of the EIHL. The 26-year-old began his professional career in 2021-22, signing with the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators after a standout stretch playing college hockey in British Columbia. He had a solid rookie year, scoring 30 points in 64 total games, but he was traded to Rapid City in March of that season and then traded once again before the month was over. Vilio began 2022-23 with the Norfolk Admirals but was eventually traded to the Savannah Ghost Pirates, who extended him for 2023-24. Vilio had six points in 10 games this season, but has not appeared in their lineup since December 2nd, and now will join a Dundee team in need of some assistance. Dundee head coach Mark LeFebvre said the team has “struggled to get pucks transitioned from our defensive zone to the neutral zone,” and is optimistic that the addition of Vilio will help the team in that area as they look to climb the EIHL standings.
  • Gregor MacLeod, currently a top-10 scorer in Germany’s DEL, has signed a two-year extension with his current club Kölner Haie. The 25-year-old former Drummondville Voltigeurs star began his pro career playing on AHL deals with the Grand Rapids Griffins but ultimately fizzled out there with both Grand Rapids and their ECHL affiliate the Toledo Walleye. In Summer 2021, MacLeod elected to try his luck overseas and signed with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers, a club he found instant success with. His 17 goals and 49 points in 56 games last season brought Nürnberg to the postseason, and his success there saw him get poached by Cologne, who inked him to a one-year deal. That signing has paid major dividends as MacLeod currently leads his team in scoring, so the two parties today elected to extend their business relationship by another two seasons.
  • After a solid 30-game start to his rookie Liiga campaign, Juuso Ketola has been signed to a one-year contract extension by his current club, HPK. The 23-year-old right-shot blueliner earned his shot in Liiga after scoring 41 points in 37 games in Finland’s second-tier Mestis last season. So far with HPK Ketola has shown no signs of slowing down, and his 15 points this season rank second on his team behind only Liiga veteran Teemu Rautiainen and former AHL All-Star Danick Martel. Ketola combines offensive ability with a physical edge, and his strong start in Liiga has earned him another season with HPK at the very least.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Minor Transactions: 12/20/23

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s another busy day across the world of professional hockey, even though there are just three total contests on the NHL schedule. In Europe, big games are set to be played in Czechia, Finland, Slovakia, and more while in North America there are some intriguing contests not just on the NHL schedule but in the AHL as well.

Although the NHL’s annual holiday roster freeze will now stop player movement in the NHL, player transactions are still happening across the wider world of pro hockey. As always, we’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • 2018 New York Islanders second-round pick Bode Wilde has transferred from Slovakia’s HC Banska Bystrica to the EIHL’s Cardiff Devils. Wilde has made the decision to leave his Slovak club after just 21 games there, ending a tenure that began when he signed there in the offseason. Signing with Banska Bystrica marked Wilde’s return to European pro hockey (he spent 2020-21 with HockeyAllsvenskan’s Västerviks IK) and he finishes his time there with nine points in 21 games. The six-foot-three former U.S. National Team Development Program defenseman now heads to Cardiff to join one of the EIHL’s top teams this season.
  • Atro Leppänen, one of the fastest-rising players in Finnish pro hockey, has had an option in his contract exercised by his club Vaasan Sport, meaning he will remain with the club for an additional season. The 25-year-old defenseman was playing in Finland’s fourth tier of hockey as recently as 2018-19, before eventually becoming the second-tier Mestis’ top-scoring defenseman last season. That earned him a shot in Liiga with Sport, and he has excelled so far in his rookie year. His eight goals and 15 points rank inside the top-15 in league defensive scoring and his 23:07 average time-on-ice per game is currently tied for the fourth-highest in the entire Liiga. He’s undoubtedly been a revelation for Sport and the decision to retain his services for another season was likely an easy one for the club.
  • Veteran forward Jonas Berglund, a veteran of nearly 400 SHL games, has signed a two-year contract extension with his current club Luleå Hockey. Berglund, 33, is now in his seventh consecutive campaign at Luleå, the club he developed at starting as a youth player. Although he’s never been a major offensive contributor, the defensive forward has been a consistent presence in the team’s lineup through a highly successful period in club history. While championship glory has eluded Berglund and Luleå, in Berglund’s most recent stretch the club has reached both the SHL and Champions Hockey League finals as well as an additional SHL and CHL semifinal. The hope will be that within this season and the additional two covered by this extension Berglund and Luleå will be able to finally take home some hardware after getting so close over the past few years.
  • Veteran forward Jonathan Hazen has signed a two-year contract extension with an option for a third year with Swiss National League side HC Ajoie, a club he has represented since 2015-16. Although the former Val d’Or Foreurs and Cincinnati Cyclones star never quite made it past the ECHL in North America, he has become one of the best and most important players in Ajoie’s club history. A member of the Swiss second division when he joined, Ajoie has now been part of the first-tier National League and is in its third season with that status. Hazen, who ranks fourth in all-time scoring for the club, scored a whopping 81 points in 46 games en route to the club’s promotion, and his 33 points in 38 games helped save the club from relegation last season. With 12 goals and 21 points in 23 games this year, Hazen remains Ajoie’s most important offensive player and a key piece in Ajoie’s efforts to avoid relegation once again this season.
  • The ECHL’s Florida Everblades have acquired former Vegas Golden Knights fourth-round pick Slava Demin from the Allen Americans in exchange for future considerations. Demin, 23, is in his rookie professional campaign, having concluded a five-year NCAA career last spring. He suited up for three college hockey programs in that span: Denver, UMass, and Merrimack College. Although he never quite put together an overwhelming offensive season Demin’s size allowed him to be an imposing physical presence at times. He’s scored five points with a -15 rating for the Americans and will now join the blueline group with the Everblades, a team that has surrendered the second-fewest goals in the ECHL. He replaces forward Jake Bricknell on the Everblades’ roster, who was released after just one game.
  • 2018-19 Hobey Baker Award finalist Patrick Newell appears on his way out from his ECHL club the Orlando Solar Bears, potentially ending his comeback to North American hockey after just 14 games played. The 27-year-old former St. Cloud State University star signed his entry-level contract with the New York Rangers after as stellar 47-point senior season. He only managed 13 points in his rookie AHL campaign, though, and by the end of 2020-21 he had played his way out of the AHL. He left for Norway, where he starred for Stjernen Hockey, and then split last season between the ICEHL’s Fehérvár AV19 in Hungary and HockeyAllsvenskan’s Södertälje SK in Sweden, helping the latter club reach the postseason.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Minor Transactions: 12/10/23

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

In what is a relatively uncommon sight for a Sunday, the NHL’s schedule is brimming with interesting contests to enjoy today. Two of the league’s best teams are set to face each other in a 2014 Stanley Cup Final rematch when the New York Rangers take on the Los Angeles Kings, while out west a heated rivalry is rekindled with the Vegas Golden Knights taking on the San Jose Sharks.

The schedule for overseas hockey today is similarly jam-packed, with contests playing out across most of Europe’s top professional leagues. As always, we’ll keep track of notable player movement from that circuit as well as the North American minor leagues here:

  • Former college hockey star Jordan Kawaguchi has decided to retire from the game after two seasons playing professional hockey in order to pursue a career in business. Once a Hobey Baker Award finalist, Kawaguchi was an extremely impactful player for the University of North Dakota. He captained the team in his final season there and racked up 40 goals and 126 points in 136 career games with the program, taking home a multitude of individual awards. After college, he signed a one-year entry-level deal with the Dallas Stars and began his pro career with their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. He scored 23 points in 49 games, but that was not enough for the team to keep him in the American League as he spent the following year in the ECHL. His 52 points in 58 games helped the Idaho Steelheads boast the ECHL’s best regular-season record, but injuries continued to accumulate for the player and he decided to move on from the game.
  • Swiss National League club HC Fribourg-Gottéron has re-signed their all-time leading scorer, Julien Sprunger, for an additional season. It’s hard to overstate the importance of Sprunger to HC Fribourg-Gottéron’s modern history. The 37-year-old has been with the club for almost his entire life, emerging as a star in 2005-06 just as the club had to be saved from bankruptcy. Although he has not brought them their first National League championship, he has won an MVP, led the league in goals twice, and led the team on multiple deep playoff runs. The club’s captain since 2014-15, Sprunger has brought Champions Hockey League play to the team on five occasions, and has represented Switzerland at four IIHF Men’s World Championships as well as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
  • Norwegian right-shot defenseman Johannes Johannesen has signed a two-year contract with Liiga’s Lahti Pelicans, moving on from the SHL’s Rögle BK after playing just 14 games with the club. The 26-year-old earned a shot with Rögle after an impressive two-year stint with Mora IK in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. He scored 22 points in 49 games helping lead Mora on a respectable promotion push. Johannesen also brings extensive international experience, including from this past year’s IIHF Men’s World Championships in which he served as an alternate captain for Norway and helped the nation achieve a historic upset victory over eventual champions Canada. Pelicans are in need of defensive reinforcement as they have surrendered the second-most goals against in the entire Liiga, so the hope will be that the experienced Johannsen can be the kind of impact addition they sorely need.
  • Ässät Pori alternate captain Tuomas Salmela has signed a one-year contract extension with the club. The six-foot-two left-shot blueliner joined Pori after spending a half-decade in Tampere with Ilves. He has nearly 300 games of experience in Liiga and has also represented his club in the Champions Hockey League on two occasions. Pori has been pleased with Salmela’s “unyielding” style of play in a regular role for the club, so the parties have therefore elected to extend their business relationship for another season. Ässät are currently seventh in the Liiga standings although their defense has been outstanding: they have surrendered the fewest goals in league play of any club.
  • With the EIHL’s Sheffield Steelers set to lose blueliner Sam Jones, who represents England at World Championship events, for at least the next six weeks the club has elected to bring in some external help. The Steelers have signed defenseman Zach Vinnell away from their EIHL rival Glasgow Clan, adding a 25-year-old currently playing his first full season of professional hockey. The native of Cochrane, Alberta played four seasons of college hockey at Merrimack College and Bowling Green State University, and he dipped his toes into the waters of professional hockey at the end of last season. He signed a short-term contract with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel, ultimately skating in 18 combined regular season and playoff contests. He scored a solid 11 points in that span, earning him a shot with Glasgow. He scored five points in 15 games in Scotland before yesterday’s transfer news brought him to Sheffield.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

Minor Transactions: 12/08/23

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s a busy day around the world of sports, hockey included. Not only are sports fans everywhere likely captivated by the free agency of baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, a process that is being diligently covered by our friends at MLB Trade Rumors, but there is also player movement activity across the many leagues of pro hockey to pay attention to. Trade rumors are flying around a few quality NHL defensemen, and the waiver wire is active as well. As always, we’ll keep track of notable player movement from minor and overseas leagues here.

  • Former Philadelphia Flyer Jackson Cates, the brother of Flyers center Noah Cates, has been released from his tryout agreement with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. The 26-year-old University of Minnesota-Duluth product signed with the Flyers as a college free agent and ended up playing in 20 total games for the club across three seasons. He spent more time in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, including a 65-game slate with the team last year in which he managed 23 points. The Flyers elected not to re-sign Cates for 2023-24, resulting in him latching on with the Islanders on tryout agreements. After 12 games in Bridgeport Cates has only managed one point, though, and that point came all the way back on October 14th. Now he’ll likely have to look for opportunities elsewhere to continue his professional career.
  • Former Moncton Wildcats captain Nicholas Welsh has transferred from Liiga’s JYP Jyväskylä to the Augsburg Panthers of the German DEL. The 26-year-old offensive defenseman is no stranger to the DEL. He played for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers from 2021 to 2023 before electing to sign in Liiga over the summer. His 22-game run with JYP did not go well, as he managed just three points in that span and saw his ice time decline sharply from the start of the year. He’s likely to find more success with Augsburg, who are in need of defensive reinforcements after an injury to veteran David Warsofsky. Welsh last played in North America in 2020-21, when he got into 17 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
  • 28-year-old Adam Brodecki, a veteran of over 300 SHL games, has signed a short-term contract with the SHL’s Frölunda HC. Brodecki spent last season with Rytíři Kladno in the Czech Extraliga, scoring 20 points in 45 games, but lingered on the free agent market before signing a short-term deal with the Växjö Lakers, helping them as injury issues struck their forward corps. Now, Brodecki will get the chance to represent Frölunda as they are set to lose a few players to Sweden’s World Juniors squad.
  • Former WHL star Jaedon Descheneau has signed a one-year deal with the DEL’s Berlin Polar Bears, according to a team announcement. The five-foot-eight former St. Louis Blues prospect heads to Germany for a second tour of duty there, as he also spent 2018-19 as a top offensive player for Düsseldorfer EG. Although began his pro career in North America, Descheneau left the AHL/ECHL circuit after just one season. He bounced from California to Switzerland, then to Germany, then Sweden, then to Finland, and now is headed back to Germany. Along the way Descheneau has generally been a productive offensive player, although he has struggled with injuries and inconsistency over the last two years. With Berlin currently sat at the top of the DEL table, they add a talented scorer in Descheneau.
  • Former WHL champion Reece Harsch, a six-foot-four right-shot defenseman, has elected to leave the EIHL’s Fife Flyers in the midst of a second campaign there. The former Seattle Thunderbirds blueliner began his pro career in 2021-22, skating in five AHL games for the Abbotsford Canucks and seven ECHL games for the Toledo Walleye. The then-23-year-old would that summer depart for Scotland, where he would play in 50 games for the Flyers. Now, after 10 games this year with Fife, Harsch has decided to leave the club and potentially look elsewhere to continue his young professional career.
  • 2022 Seattle Kraken fourth-round pick Tyson Jugnauth has decided to leave the University of Wisconsin Badgers, the number-six team in men’s college hockey, in order to join the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. The Winterhawks acquired Jugnauth’s WHL playing rights via trade earlier this week, trading four draft picks to be able to add the player. Jugnauth had seen his role decline as a sophomore after his 15-point freshman campaign, and for the team’s last game, he was listed as a seventh-defenseman. As an offensive player who prioritizes speed and puck-carrying ability, Jugnauth’s development would be best served by having stability in terms of role and who his defensive partner is. That’s not something he was finding at Wisconsin, so he’s elected to join the Winterhawks rather than remain with the Badgers.

Minor Transactions: 11/23/23

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

As today is American Thanksgiving and 14 NHL games were played last night, the schedule for high-level hockey in North America is relatively light today.

Although it’s just OHL and QMJHL teams that will play today on this side of the Atlantic, over in Europe things are, as one would expect, quite a bit more active. The entirety of Sweden’s SHL will play today, as will eight teams in Finland’s Liiga and two apiece in the German DEL and Swiss NL. With an eye on today’s games, we’ll keep track of notable player movement throughout the hockey world here.

  • The most active team in pro hockey yesterday may have been the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, who sit sixth in the ECHL’s Western Conference with a 7-5 record. On November 22nd, the club made two trades and two free agent additions. The first trade was technically made by AHL teams, with the Cyclones-affiliated Hartford Wolf Pack acquiring forward Tim Doherty from the Chicago Wolves, and then loaning Doherty to Cincinnati. Doherty is a 28-year-old scorer who played college hockey at the University of Maine and has broken out as a star ECHLer with the Maine Mariners. He scored 21 goals and 73 points in just 69 games last season, and has eight points through ten games this campaign. He’ll instantly be expected to be a difference-making offensive forward for the Cyclones.
  • The Cyclones didn’t end their offensive additions with Doherty, though, as they also signed winger Lincoln Griffin to a contract. The versatile forward was claimed off of waivers by Cincinnati from the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in 2021, and that decision instantly paid dividends for the club. Griffin scored 21 goals and 46 points in his first 57 games with the club, and then scored 17 goals and 37 points in 2022-23, en route to the ECHL All-Star game. He signed with Slovakia’s HK Nitra for 2023-24, but with just two points in 12 games, Griffin has elected to forgo the rest of the season in Nitra to return to his old stomping grounds in the Queen City.
  • To make room for these forward acquisitions, the Cyclones dealt forward Adam Berg in a trade with the Utah Grizzlies. Berg, 26, is in his second ECHL season after getting into 19 games near the end of 2022-23 with the Cyclones. Berg was signed to Cincinnati after a strong final season playing Canadian university hockey at Brock University, a year where he scored 15 goals and 29 points in 24 games. Berg has just two points in eight games so far this season for Cincinnati, so perhaps this change-of-scenery trade to Utah will help Berg better establish himself in the ECHL. Berg is the second forward the Grizzlies, who have the third-fewest goals scored in the ECHL, have added this week. They also signed former SPHL scorer Aaron Aragon as well.
  • The final addition by the Cyclones from yesterday was on the defensive side of the equation. The team signed blueliner Josh Burnside, returning a fixture from the Cyclones’ 2022-23 squad back to Cincinnati. The left-shot defenseman skated in 61 games for Cincinnati last year, posting 13 points and 42 penalty minutes. The former Mississauga Steelheads top-four defenseman signed in England this past summer, with the EIHL’s Coventry Blaze. He went on to play four games for Coventry before he elected to leave the club and return to the ECHL.
  • Defenseman Adam Holwell, a 2017-18 Memorial Cup and QMJHL champion with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, has transferred from the EIHL’s Fife Flyers to Erste Liga’s Corona Brașov, a club in Romania. The Canadian blueliner, who posted 141 points in 329 career QMJHL games, began his pro career last season with his hometown Newfoundland Growlers in the ECHL. Holwell wasn’t great there, though, scoring just three points in 18 combined regular season and playoff games. He didn’t return to the ECHL for his first full campaign as a professional, instead signing in Scotland with the EIHL’s Fife Flyers. Holwell only managed one point in eight games for Fife, and has not played since a November 5th loss at the Guildford Flames where he registered a -3 rating. With Fife winning three of four games since Holwell last dressed for the team, a mutual parting of ways appears to have been the best course of action for both player and club. Holwell will now head to Romania, where he’ll look to carve out a regular role for a team currently sitting in the middle of the standings of the Erste Liga, a league comprised of clubs from both Romania and Hungary.
  • HockeyAllsvenskan’s Kalmar HC has signed veteran netminder Christian Engstrand to a one-year contract. The 35-year-old was playing on a short-term contract with the ICEHL’s EC-KAC, and had posted a 6-1-1 record, .939 save percentage, and 1.48 goals-against-average in eight games there. Kalmar is in need of some help in net, as while Jonathan Stålberg has been serviceable as the starter, 19-year-old backup Alexander Hellnemo has shown himself to not quite be ready for such a role. The 35-year-old Engstrand is a quality veteran goalie with some accomplishments on his resume. Most recently, Engstrand led the ICEHL in save percentage and goals-against-average for EC-KAC last season. Earlier in his career, Engstrand had achieved many feats in Swedish pro hockey, such as posting a .935 save percentage in 2012-13 for Linköping HC, posting a .950 save percentage in the Champions Hockey League in 2015-16, and leading Mora IK to promotion from HockeyAllsvenskan to the SHL in 2016-17. While he has not played in Sweden since 2020-21 with HC Vita Hästen, Engstrand is an experienced netminder capable of backstopping Kalmar for their push for SHL promotion.
  • Eero Elo, once a quality goal scorer in the Finnish Liiga, KHL, and both Swiss leagues has signed with EHC Freiburg of the German second-tier DEL2. The 33-year-old former Minnesota Wild prospect spent last season playing second-division hockey in Switzerland for HC Thurgau, scoring 20 goals and 44 points in 53 combined regular season and playoff games. Once a player who scored 26 goals in Liiga, Eero has regressed since those days and has not played in a premier European league on a regular basis since his 2019-20 season split between Liiga’s Lukko Rauma and NL’s SCL Tigers. Freiburg are currently 10th in the DEL2 standings, though they rank second in the division in goals scored. Perhaps adding even more firepower through the addition of Elo is what the club needs to climb the DEL2 table.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Minor Transactions: 11/16/23

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

NHL hockey is going international today as the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators are set to face off in Stockholm, Sweden. All 14 clubs in Sweden’s top professional league, the SHL, play today as well, meaning it’s a hectic day for hockey in the country. Elsewhere in Europe, potential top 2024 draft prospect Konsta Helenius’ Liiga side Jukurit is set to take on JYP, while the current DEL leaders Eisbaren Berlin are taking on the Augsburg Panthers.

Player movement across the hockey world in both minor and foreign leagues mirrors how busy the schedule is, and as always we’ll keep track of notable transactions here.

  • Lucas Lessio, a former NHLer who began what has been an extensive career in European hockey in 2016-17, has left his club HC Bolzano of the ICEHL to sign in the DEL2 with Krefeld Pinguine. Although Krefeld have had a decent 9-7-1 start to the season, they have made a significant add in Lessio. The 30-year-old former Arizona Coyote played for Krefeld for two years from 2020 to 2022, scoring 37 goals and 62 points in 93 games. He was with the club when they suffered relegation from the DEL, and now with this signing, he’ll have the chance to lead them back to the German top flight.
  • Jerome Flaake, a two-time DEL champion and a veteran of over 700 DEL games has been signed by Krefeld alongside Lessio. The 33-year-old Toronto Maple Leafs 2008 fifth-round pick was a star player for the now-defunct Hamburg Freezers, though he never quite reached the same heights again in the DEL. Last season, Flaake helped ERC Ingolstadt reach the DEL finals, and now after scoring just three points in 12 games for Augsburg, he’s headed down a division to help Krefeld with their promotion push.
  • Former Montreal Canadiens prospect Arvid Henrikson has signed with AIK of the Swedish second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. The big six-foot-five blueliner has spent this season so far with Västerviks IK, playing a total of 16 games. Henrikson hadn’t received more than bottom-pairing minutes for the club since October and has not played at all in over a week. Now he’ll play with AIK, a club he once captained at the U-18 level. It’s a big step up in the standings for Henrikson, who moves from HockeyAllsvenskan’s 13th-ranked club to the team currently third in the standings and looking like a potential promotion candidate.
  • Former Providence College forward Bryan Lemos has decided to leave the EIHL’s Guildford Flames, citing homesickness, to return to the ECHL’s Indy Fuel, the club he played for in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Lemos only managed three points in nine games for Guildford, though he did conclude his time there with a goal in the team’s big 3-1 victory over the reigning champion Belfast Giants. Lemos has had success with the Fuel before, and has scored a total of 25 goals and 67 points in 92 games with the club.
  • Journeyman American blueliner Charlie Dodero has signed with the ICEHL’s HK Olimpija Ljubljana today, adding a sixth country to the list of places he has played in during his career. The former Sudbury Wolves alternate captain spent last season in France’s Ligue Magnus with the Rouen Dragons, helping the club capture a French title and the Champions Hockey League spot that comes alongside it. Before 2022-23, Dodero was a regular face in the Central European ICEHL with two Austrian clubs, the Vienna Capitals and Graz99ers. Dodero last played in North America in 2018-19 with the Idaho Steelheads and has 46 AHL games on his resume, all of them coming with the Syracuse Crunch. Now, Dodero will look to add some edge to their blueline in the Slovenian capital, looking to help a club that is at the moment just a few places ahead of his former ICEHL teams near the bottom of the league’s standings.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Minor Transactions: 11/15/23

at CDT | by 2 Comments

There’s a lot of activity around the world of professional hockey today, both in terms of player movement and in terms of games on schedule. The Champions Hockey League continues today with two Round of 16 contests, including a contest between the reigning German and Swiss champions. Over in Finland, Liiga resumes today, with Devils prospect Lenni Hämeenaho’s Ässät Pori up against JYP.

On the player movement front, there has been quite a bit of activity recently as the European break for international hockey has concluded. As always, we’ll keep track of notable moves here.

  • Former superstar Premier League goalkeeper Petr Čech will now have the chance to play at the highest level of professional hockey in the United Kingdom. The reigning EIHL champion Belfast Giants, who also competed in the Champions Hockey League this season, have signed Čech on loan as a temporary solution to the injury issues the club is currently wrestling with. Although it is likely that Čech’s celebrity influenced this signing far more than his on-ice ability, he is at least a somewhat capable hockey goalie. This season, he’s playing for the Oxford City Stars in a lower level of British hockey, and has posted a .900 save percentage in six games.
  • Veteran defenseman Teemu Suhonen has led both of Finland’s top two divisions of pro hockey in scoring by a defenseman at times in his career, but he has slowed down in recent years. After signing a short-term deal with Liiga’s Vaasan Sport, Suhonen’s exceptional start to the season has now earned him a full-year deal. Suhonen has played in nine games for Sport, and has chipped in three goals and 10 points. He’s playing a significant role for the club that often sees him skate in over 20 minutes per night, and at 34 this contract will allow him to continue to re-establish himself as a top offensive blueliner in the Finnish Liiga.
  • Adam Samuelsson, the son of 1080-game NHL veteran Ulf Samuelsson, has signed with the ECHL’s Maine Mariners. The 23-year-old isn’t quite the player his father was, but he does have some impressive experience on his resume. A U.S. National Team Development Program product, Samuelsson won a Silver Medal at the IIHF World Under-18’s in 2018 and would go on to make his pro debut playing third-division hockey in Sweden. Samuelsson made his ECHL debut last season and split the campaign between the Newfoundland Growlers and Tulsa Oilers, scoring a combined four points and 63 PIM’s. A hulking six-foot-six rearguard, Samuelsson will bring even more size and physicality to a Mariners blueline that doesn’t have a single player below six feet tall.
  • Rookie ECHLer Nick Nardella has been traded from the Idaho Steelheads to the Wichita Thunder in exchange for future considerations. Nardella, 24, is a five-foot-ten winger who had a decent start to his professional career last season, scoring three goals in three games for the Iowa Heartlanders. That earned him a shot with the Steelheads, but he struggled to make an impact and the team has now dealt him after just three games. Seeing as the Thunder are just 4-7-1, perhaps they believe the addition of Nardella can help jump-start a sputtering offensive attack.
  • Another ECHL rookie, former Michigan State Spartans forward Adam Goodsir, has been traded from the Worcester Railers to the Iowa Heartlanders in exchange for future considerations. The 25-year-old has scored three points in eight games this season for the Railers, and he earned his spot with the team after a decent showing in a late-season cameo at the conclusion of his collegiate career. The Heartlanders currently rank second-to-last in their division for goals scored, so this reinforcement could help them climb in the standings should he hit the ground running.
  • Matthew Barnaby Jr, the son of 834-game NHL veteran Matthew Barnaby, has signed with Finnish second-tier club RoKi. The Buffalo, NY native, 25, has made the decision to not return to the ECHL and instead try his luck in Europe. Barnaby spent last season with the Orlando Solar Bears, scoring 12 points in 42 games in a bottom-six role. Barnaby worked his way into the ECHL from the SPHL and will now seek to do the same in Finland, putting some good games on tape to potentially earn a contract later on in a higher-level European league.
  • Former college hockey star Ian Scheid, once a top defenseman for Minnesota State Mankato, has reached an agreement on a mutual contract termination with his club, HC Slovan Bratislava of the Slovak Extraliga. Scheid, 28, signed a two-way, AHL/ECHL deal at the end of his collegiate career and split 2020-21 between the AHL’s Colorado Eagles and ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies. He used that campaign s a launching pad to land him a deal with the DEL’s Straubing Tigers, a club he would spend two seasons with. After helping Straubing to the German playoffs for two consecutive seasons, Scheid signed with Slovan but struggled to make an offensive impact. He’ll now look for a new team after scoring just four points in 15 games in the Slovak capital.
  • Johnny Walker has made the decision to end his time with the EIHL’s Dundee Stars after eight games played. The 27-year-old Arizona native, once a point-per-game scorer in the NCAA with the Arizona State Sun Devils, has left Dundee according to an official team announcement. Walker scored two points in eight games to go along with 12 penalty minutes, and one wonders if a return to the ECHL is in the cards since he spent 2022-23 with the Utah Grizzlies. Walker made more of an impact last season with Utah, scoring 12 goals and 18 points in 33 games to go along with 171 penalty minutes.
  • After spending 17 games with Liiga side HPK Hameenlinna to start the season, defenseman Elias Ulander has transferred to Västerviks IK of the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan. A veteran of 116 Liiga contests, has had quite the hockey journey in recent years, seeing time with clubs in Liiga, Mestis, Denmark, and Slovakia. He returned to Liiga for this season after a solid 2022-23 in Slovakia that saw him help HK Spisska Nova Ves to a respectable playoff run, but his time with HPK was not the most impressive. After losing six of his last seven games with HPK, Ulander appears to have decided that playing in HockeyAllsvenskan is likely more suited to his talents at this current stage of his playing career.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top