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International Notes: Smith, Yip, Josefson, Barron

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As the Shanghai Dragons begin their first season in the KHL under their new name, they’re parting ways with a pair of longtime fixtures under the club’s former moniker, Kunlun Red Star. Former NHL winger Brandon Yip and goaltender Jeremy Smith will not return to the club in 2025-26, the league announced today.

Both Smith and Yip played long enough for Kunlun to earn Chinese player licenses and suited up for the country in top-level competition when they hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics. Yip served as captain and also helped them gain promotion from Division 2A to Division 1B of the World Championship that same year.

Yip continued to serve as Kunlun’s captain until last season, but injuries limited the former Avalanche and Predators forward to two assists in eight games. He played parts of seven seasons for Kunlun since joining the club in 2017, and the 40-year-old now presumably ends his professional career as the franchise’s all-time leader in goals (92), assists (93), and points (185).

As for Smith, the former ECHL MVP and longtime NHL farmhand had been Kunlun’s starter since he first headed overseas in 2019. The 36-year-old Michigan native was arguably one of the league’s best netminders, considering the often porous defense in front of him, logging a respectable .912 SV% in 184 games for the club despite holding an overall record of 53-103-12.

Elsewhere from around hockey:

  • Ex-Devils forward Jacob Josefson’s attempted comeback after three years away is successful, at least for now. After skating for SHL club Djurgårdens IF on a tryout basis during the preseason, he’s landed a full contract with the club for the upcoming regular season, the team announced today. The 34-year-old, who has only played for Djurgården in his home country, dating back to his youth hockey days, has not played a professional game since 2021 and has served in their front office for the past three seasons. He had a 20-44–64 scoring line in 315 career NHL games with New Jersey and Buffalo from 2010 to 2018.
  • After spending the last four seasons with AHL Tucson in the Arizona and Utah organizations, power winger Travis Barron is headed to Austria on a one-year deal with Black Wings Linz of the ICEHL. He was a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer and turned 27 last month. He was previously pursuing KHL offers but was evidently unsuccessful, leading to him signing in a less competitive but still premier European league. A seventh-round pick by the Avalanche back in 2016, Barron has 43 goals and 93 points in 305 career AHL games.

Minor Transactions: Kempe, Novak, Berger

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Former Coyotes forward Mario Kempe is continuing his career overseas on a one-year contract with Austria’s EC-KAC, the club announced.

The older brother of top Kings winger Adrian Kempe is entering his 18th professional season, the vast majority of which were spent in Europe. Now 36, he was a fifth-round pick of the Flyers back in 2007 but only played five games for their AHL affiliate in 2008-09 before returning overseas. His only NHL experience came later in his career with Arizona, recording a 6-7–13 scoring line in 70 games across the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

Injuries have diminished the once-effective scorer in recent years. He spent last season in Finland with Tappara, scoring 11 points in 30 games for the Liiga club. He now joins EC-KAC in the ICEHL – still a major pro league in Europe, but not at the level of the KHL, SHL, Liiga, or Swiss NL. He’s spent most of his career in his native Sweden, recording 56 goals and 115 points in 328 career SHL games for Djurgårdens IF, MODO Hockey, Rögle BK, and Luleå HF.

More moves from around the hockey world:

  • The Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s AHL affiliate, announced today they’ve signed forward Jakov Novak to a one-year deal. He spent the last two years in the Canadiens organization on minor-league deals with AHL Laval and ECHL Trois-Rivières. He was over a point-per-game for the latter club last season (57 in 53 GP) en route to a Kelly Cup championship. The 26-year-old winger was a 2018 seventh-round pick of the Senators but had his signing rights later traded to Montreal, which never signed him to an NHL deal.
  • The Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, are signing left-shot defender Carter Berger, Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey reports. Berger, 25, was a fourth-round pick by the Panthers in 2019 but never signed. He spent his first pro season last year under contract with AHL Hartford but played almost exclusively on assignment to ECHL Bloomington, where he had an 8-25–33 scoring line with a -7 rating in 67 games.

Snapshots: Benák, Dornbach, Finland

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Wild fourth-rounder Adam Benák is headed to the CHL for his post-draft season. The OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs announced they’ve signed him to a development deal after selecting him second overall in this year’s CHL Import Draft.

While Benák has always displayed a high-ceiling offensive game, his 5’8″, 163-lb frame meant he was never going to challenge for a premier draft slot. Instead, the Czech pivot fell to Minnesota at No. 102 overall following a strong year with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms. The speedy two-way center led the team in scoring with 59 points (17 G, 42 A) in 56 games in his first season in North America, earning USHL All-Rookie Team and Second All-Star Team honors.

Benák has excelled in international play. He’s had 21 points in just 10 games for Czechia’s under-18 team at the last two Hlinka Gretzky Cups, winning a pair of silver medals, and also had seven points in four games at this year’s under-18 World Championship. He’ll almost surely land a spot on the country’s World Juniors team this winter.

Elsewhere from around the hockey world:

  • After mixed results in North America, former Wild minor-leaguer Casey Dornbach has signed in Austria with Pioneers Vorarlberg of the ICEHL. Undrafted, Dornbach garnered some NHL interest as a college free agent in 2023 but ended up settling for a deal with AHL Iowa. He managed just two points in 13 games for the club, instead spending most of his time in the ECHL before leaving for a role with Finland’s Jukurit midway through last season. The former ECAC Rookie of the Year had 40 goals and 124 points in 138 NCAA games with Harvard and Denver.
  • To the surprise of no one, Finland will continue with its defense-first mentality as it builds out its roster for the 2026 Olympics, head coach Antti Pennanen and GM Jere Lehtinen told NHL.com’s Varpu Sihvonen. They’re looking to defend their gold medal from the 2022 edition, this time with NHLers in tow. Sebastian Aho, Aleksander Barkov, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, Mikko Rantanen, and Juuse Saros have already been named to their roster. Interestingly enough, their head coach from the 2022 win, Jukka Jalonen, will now be behind the bench for host country Italy, who are groupmates with Finland.

Snapshots: Lawrence, Wassilyn, Schneider

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2026 projected top-10 pick Tynan Lawrence was a high pick in the QMJHL Entry Draft one year ago by the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, leading to speculation he may jump there for his draft year. That doesn’t appear to be the case, per Jonathan Hudon of Le Quotidien, who relays Lawrence is expected to remain with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks for 2025-26 instead.

Lawrence, a late birthday for the class who turns 17 next weekend, is a 6’0″ center currently pegged to go in the No. 6-No. 10 overall range in preseason rankings. The New Brunswick native has played in the United States since 2022, when he opted to head to renowned prep school Shattuck St. Mary’s to continue his development. He joined Muskegon last season, posting 54 points in 56 regular-season games before guiding the Lumberjacks to a Clark Cup championship, posting 18 points in 14 playoff games to be named MVP as a 16-year-old rookie in the high-end junior league.

He would have been a big get for Chicoutimi and joined what looks like a stronger-than-normal class out of the QMJHL next season, but he’ll instead stay south of the border with a commitment to Boston University for the 2027-28 campaign still on the books (although that will presumably get moved up to the 2026-27 campaign).

Elsewhere from around the hockey world:

  • Sticking with next year’s draft, projected first-rounder Braidy Wassilyn is also a Boston University commit. There was some speculation he might join them as a 17-year-old freshman for the upcoming season but that won’t happen, according to Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects. The 5’11” forward will instead remain with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs, where he had an 8-31–39 scoring line in 62 games last season.
  • Heading overseas, former NHLer Cole Schneider has signed with Italy’s HC Bolzano in the ICEHL, the club announced. The 34-year-old American headed to Europe last summer after a lengthy AHL career, winning the Norwegian league scoring title with 64 points in 45 games for Storhamar. Schneider, who had one assist in six career games for the Sabres, also has 574 points in 776 career AHL games.

Maxime Lagace Signs In Austria

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Former NHL goaltender Maxime Lagace is joining the Graz 99ers of Austria’s ICEHL, according to a club announcement Wednesday.

Lagace, 32, last appeared in the NHL with the Lightning in the 2021-22 season. He remained in their organization the following season with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch before making the move overseas for 2023-24.

The longtime No. 3/4 option has spent the last two years in Sweden with the SHL’s Farjestad BK. He was their starter last season ahead of Ducks prospect Damian Clara but had a tough regular-season performance, posting a .887 SV% and 2.64 GAA in 31 appearances. That was still good for a 17-10-2 record, though, and he was exceptional with a .927 SV% and 1.63 GAA in 11 Champions Hockey League games as Farjestad finished as the runner-up in the continental tournament.

Instead of returning to North America, Lagace will continue being content with playing a starring role in Europe. He’ll be one of the top goaltenders in the less competitive ICEHL, joining a 99ers roster that also contains former NHLers Korbinian Holzer, Kevin Roy, and Josh Currie.

Lagace first stepped into action with the Golden Knights in their inaugural season amid a rash of injuries in their crease, making 16 of his 20 career appearances in the 2017-18 campaign. He struggled with a .867 SV% and 3.92 GAA but still managed a 6-7-1 record with some exceptional goal support. He has a career 8-9-1 record with one shutout and an .870 SV%.

In parts of nine AHL seasons, Lagace also posted a 2.79 GAA, .905 SV%, 13 shutouts, and a 126-68-38 record in 244 appearances. He scored a goalie goal with the Chicago Wolves in the 2018-19 season (video link).

International Notes: Brennan, Cerny, Dello

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Former NHL defenseman T.J. Brennan has played in Europe ever since the pandemic hit in 2020. While he’s spent most of that time in Switzerland, he’s now making the jump to HK Olimpija Ljubljana, the lone Slovenian club in Austria’s ICEHL, the team announced on Facebook.

Brennan, 36, was the first pick of the second round in the 2007 draft by the Sabres. While he’s long been a high-end point producer from the blue line at the minor league and European levels, his all-around game never translated into a full-time NHL career. He only made 53 big-league appearances with the Sabres, Panthers, and Maple Leafs between the 2011-12 and 2016-17 campaigns, scoring 13 points with a -22 rating.

The New Jersey native has spent the last three seasons with Switzerland’s HC Ajoie in the National League, the country’s top flight. The team isn’t very good, fighting to stay in the league in a relegation series in two of the last three years, but Brennan still managed 63 points in 109 games for the club.

He now returns to the ICEHL, still among Europe’s better leagues, where he spent the 2021-22 season with EC Salzburg. He was named a league All-Star and won a title with Salzburg, leading the league in scoring by a defenseman with 47 points in 48 games. While he’s now four years older, he’ll look to recapture some of that success with his new Slovenian side.

A few more recent international signings of note:

  • After going undrafted this year, 2007-born defenseman Stepan Cerny is continuing his development in North America after his European team, Czechia’s Mountfield HK, announced he’s departing the club to join the USHL’s Fargo Force. Cerny won a silver medal with Czechia’s under-18 squad at last year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup and put up great numbers with Mountfield’s under-20 club, putting up a 6-27–33 scoring line in 36 regular-season games. However, the lefty clocks in at just 5’9″ and 139 lbs, making it hard to imagine him as anything more than a late-round pick. He’ll look to grow both physically and in his on-ice progression with Fargo in hopes of being selected in 2026 as an overage pick. He was selected No. 13 overall in the 2024 CHL Import Draft by the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques, but he opted to remain at home for his draft year.
  • There’s more news out of Czechia: longtime AHL defenseman Tory Dello has joined Extraliga club HC Energie Karlovy Vary, the club announced over the weekend. Dello, 28, was a two-time Big 10 champion with Notre Dame and has recorded a 13-43–56 scoring line with 134 PIMs and a +37 rating in 229 AHL games since turning pro in 2020. He spent last season on a two-way deal with the Red Wings and was traded to the Devils in the league’s lone post-deadline trade, posting eight points in 39 games split between Detroit’s and New Jersey’s affiliates in Grand Rapids and Utica.

Minor Transactions: 6/10/25

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With the European transaction wire looking much busier than the NHL one at this point in the calendar, it’s worth taking a look at some former NHLers on the move overseas at Pro Hockey Rumors:

  • Former Blue Jackets first-rounder Gabriel Carlsson has signed a three-year contract with Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League. It’s a return to his home country for Carlsson, who departed the NHL for the SHL’s Växjö Lakers in 2023 but spent last season in Switzerland with the National League’s EV Zug. The 6’5″, 205-lb lefty recorded 18 points in 81 NHL games, mostly for Columbus, aside from a six-game run with the Capitals in his most recent NHL campaign. He spent most of that year with AHL Hershey, where he won a Calder Cup championship. Considering that stands as the defender’s most notable career accomplishment, he’s likely set to play the remainder of his career in Europe. The 28-year-old had 11 points, 40 PIMs, and a plus-four rating in 39 games for Zug this year.
  • Power forward Darren Archibald, who got a cup of coffee in the NHL in the late 2010s with the Canucks and Senators, is headed to Hungary to suit up for Fehérvár AV19 in the Austrian ICEHL. Now 35 years old, the Ontario native has spent the last four seasons in Germany with Grizzlys Wolfsburg, where he had a 70-60–130 scoring line with 117 PIMs in 196 DEL games. Archibald scored six goals, eight assists, and 14 points in 55 NHL games with Vancouver and Ottawa in the 2013-14, 2017-18, and 2018-19 seasons before heading to Europe in 2020. He previously logged 16 points in 15 ICEHL games with the Vienna Capitals in 2020-21.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

International Notes: Pysyk, Raffl, Leskinen

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Prague’s HC Sparta of the Czech Extraliga announced they’ve brought in former NHL defenseman Mark Pysyk for the 2025-26 campaign. The 33-year-old hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2021-22 campaign with the Sabres, and, although he was slated to play 2022-23 with the Red Wings after signing there in free agency, missed the entirety of that season due to an Achilles injury. He’s been working his way back to consistent playing time since, spending parts of 2023-24 with the Penguins’ and Flames’ farm teams before heading overseas. He spent this year in Finland with Liiga’s SaiPa, recording nine points and a +11 rating in 36 regular-season games before advancing to the championship series, coming up short to KalPa in the final. With Pysyk’s 521 games of NHL experience with the Sabres, Panthers, and Stars in the fold, Prague rejoins him with a couple of recognizable names, including 2018 Stanley Cup champion Michal Kempny and Mammoth reserve list netminder Josef Korenar.

There’s more from the top-level European leagues:

  • Longtime NHL winger Michael Raffl is heading back home to Austria on a one-year deal with EC Salzburg of the ICEHL, per a club announcement. The longtime Flyers depth scorer last suited up in the NHL with Dallas in the 2021-22 campaign. He’s spent the three years since in Switzerland with the National League’s Lausanne HC, serving as captain for the latter two. Injuries have limited him to just 55 total appearances in that time, but he did well in limited action last year (5-9–14 in 16 GP). He’ll now get to play with his older brother Thomas Raffl in his home country. The latter has been with Salzburg since the 2010-11 season and served as captain since 2019.
  • Luleå HF of the Swedish Hockey League announced they’ve agreed to terms with defenseman Otto Leskinen on a two-year deal. A former Canadiens prospect, the Finnish rearguard had spent parts of three of the last four seasons in his home country’s Liiga with Tappara but now moves to the slightly more competitive Swedish circuit for the first time in his career. The 28-year-old got into six NHL games with Montreal over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns and last appeared in North America with AHL Laval in 2022-23. A smallish lefty with good offensive instincts, he led Tappara’s defense in scoring this year with 38 points in 52 games.

Nick Bonino Re-Signs In IceHL

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Former Pittsburgh Penguins centerman Nick Bonino has re-signed with the IceHL’s HK Olimpija Ljubljana, per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports. Bonino originally signed with the Slovenian club last November, after being released from his contract with the New York Rangers earlier in the year.

Bonino only appeared in half of the Olimpija Dragons’ season thanks to the mid-season signing. But he still managed a successful season, finishing the year with 17 points in 22 games and the highest point-per-game pace (0.77) on his team. It was a refreshing surge in scoring after he scored just five points in 45 games with the New York Rangers last season. Bonino hasn’t scored more than 20 points since the 2021-22 season, when he tallied 16 goals and 26 points in 80 games with the San Jose Sharks.

One more year in the IceHL will give Bonino a chance to play a full year, and cross the 20 point threshold, with his new club. At 37 years old, it seems unlikely the centerman entertains a return to North American pros at any point. Until he proves that sentiment wrong, Bonino’s NHL career will sit at 159 goals, 199 assists, and 251 penalty minutes in 868 games. He won back-to-back Stanley Cups when he served as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ third-line center from 2015 to 2017.

Overseas Notes: Raanta, Gélinas, Cramarossa

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Longtime NHL netminder Antti Raanta is in talks to join Swedish Hockey League club Linköping HC for 2025-26, Mattias Persson of Hockeynews.se reports. The 35-year-old Finn suited up for Genève-Servette in Switzerland this year after retiring from the NHL, posting a 2.74 GAA and .902 SV% in 24 games. The 2022 Jennings Trophy winner last played with the Hurricanes in 2023-24, a disastrous campaign that saw him land on waivers amid posting a .872 SV% in 24 games behind one of the league’s better defenses.

Here’s more on the international market:

  • Former Avalanche and Devils defenseman Éric Gélinas is staying in Finland with Liiga club Luuko for another season, the team announced. Gélinas, now 33, will suit up for the same team in back-to-back years for the first time since a four-year run with Sweden’s Rögle BK from 2018 to 2022. The 6’4″, 227-lb lefty with a booming slapshot was limited by injury to 21 games with Lukko this season but managed 6-11–17 for his best per-game offensive showing in quite some time. A second-round pick of New Jersey in 2009, Gélinas had 14-41–55 in 189 career NHL games with them and Colorado from 2013 to 2017.
  • Austria’s Vienna Capitals will not be renewing the contract of NHL veteran Joseph Cramarossa, the club announced earlier this week. Cramarossa, 32, signed on with the ICEHL club last offseason after parts of two seasons in Germany and posted 8-15–23 in 32 games. The center last touched NHL ice in 2022-23, suiting up four times for the Wild before they mutually terminated his contract for a mid-season move overseas. He has 5-8–13 in 68 NHL appearances with the Ducks, Canucks, and Wild – 59 of which came in the 2016-17 campaign.

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