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Minor Transactions: 08/24/22

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We’re inching closer to the opening of NHL training camps, and most teams have finalized their offseason work. That being said, there are still some players looking for a spot for next season, especially in minor leagues and in Europe. We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • The Edmonton Oilers’ AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, added defenseman Adam Brubacher today on a one-year, two-way (AHL/ECHL) deal, per a team announcement. Brubacher, 26, turned pro in 2020 after a four-year career at the Rochester Institute of Technology and made his AHL debut with the Manitoba Moose. Brubacher split time last season between the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks and ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets and should add some depth to a Condors blue line that could be without valuable contributors such as Dmitri Samorukov or Vincent Desharnais for extended periods next season.
  • Veteran KHL defenseman and 2010 Boston Bruins draft pick Maxim Chudinov signed a full contract with KHL club Ak Bars Kazan. Chudinov had been with the team on a tryout contract until now. Chudinov did not play in 2021-22 but was a KHL regular from 2010-2019, taking the ice for three KHL clubs.
  • The Kunlun Red Star, the KHL’s Chinese franchise, signed Canadian forward Brett Pollock to a one-year contract. Some might remember Pollock as a former star winger for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL and a 2014 second-round pick of the Dallas Stars. Pollock split time last season between the IceHL and the Swedish Allsvenskan and joins a Kunlun team in desperate need of help after a last-place finish in 2021-22.
  • Former Chicago Blackhawks prospect and 2016 top-50 draft selection Chad Krys is headed overseas. After being traded from the Blackhawks to Toronto last season in exchange for enforcer Kurtis Gabriel, Krys played in 36 games for the Toronto Marlies and has evidently decided that Europe is the best place to continue his pro career. Krys has signed a contract with the IceHL’s Vienna Capitals and will look to help them return to the playoffs this season.
  • Cedric Pare, a former Boston Bruins sixth-rounder who scored 88 points in his final QMJHL season, has signed a contract with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL. Pare spent 2021-22 in the AHL with the Belleville Senators, scoring 10 points in 41 games. Pare returns to an ECHL where he has had success in the past, as he scored 40 points in 67 games in his rookie ECHL season with the Utah Grizzlies.

German Rubtsov Signs In KHL

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2016 Philadelphia Flyers first-round pick German Rubtsov has signed a one-year contract with Spartak Moskva in the KHL, per the team.

Rubtsov, a 24-year-old center, was taken 22nd overall in 2016 with the upside of being a high-end, two-way middle-six center. Things have never quite panned out for him at the professional level, though, as his AHL production had steadily decreased over the past few seasons. The Flyers dealt Rubtsov to the Florida Panthers as part of the Claude Giroux trade last season.

Down the stretch, Rubtsov had just one goal in six regular-season and playoff games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. It wasn’t enough to convince the Panthers to issue him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent this summer.

At 24, Rubtsov is nearly in his prime already. Although it is just a one-year deal, it’s extremely likely that Rubtsov’s chance at an NHL career, or even a career in North America, is completely gone. There’s always the chance that a move back home and a different system is able to help Rubtsov rediscover his game, but it would have to be a magnificent step forward for an NHL team to come calling for him next offseason.

Next season in Moscow, Rubtsov will join a Spartak team that’s made the playoffs for the past five seasons.

Adam Huska Signs In KHL

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After making his NHL debut this season with the New York Rangers, Slovak netminder Adam Huska has signed a one-year contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL for 2022-23, as announced by the KHL on Twitter today.

Huska, 25, was a seventh-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Rangers. After the draft, he immediately showed why it was a worthy pick. Huska won the USHL Goaltender of the Year Award and led the league in both goals-against average (1.82) and save percentage (.931) in 37 games with the Green Bay Gamblers.

Then, after a three-year collegiate career with the University of Connecticut, Huska turned pro, primarily spending each of the last three seasons with the Rangers AHL affiliate in Hartford. He had his best AHL season yet in 2021-22, posting a 10-13-6 record and a .902 save percentage in 29 games. He also represented Slovakia at the World Championship for the second straight season, this time as the bona fide starter.

The Rangers didn’t issue him a qualifying offer this offseason, however, making him an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. With a bit of a higher-upside prospect in Olof Lindbom likely heading to Hartford this season (and Team Canada World Junior goaltender Dylan Garand), there was an organizational crunch for goalie spots. Huska was the odd man out after not displaying great numbers in the AHL the past few seasons, despite the hot start to his development.

Minor Transactions: 08/20/22

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Weekends in August don’t typically yield too much activity on the transaction front, at least in the NHL.  However, with international seasons starting up soon, there continues to be regular player movement overseas.  Here’s a rundown of some recent moves there.

  • Canadiens prospect Dmitri Kostenko has been loaned out for the upcoming season as Spartak of Russia’s MHL announced that they’ve loaned the 19-year-old to Kunlun of the KHL. Kostenko was a third-round pick of Montreal in 2021 (87th overall) and spent most of last season in Russia’s second-tier league, the VHL, picking up 14 points in 40 games.  Kostenko also suited up in seven games with Spartak at the junior level, recording nine assists.
  • Josh Dickinson, the younger brother of Canucks forward Jason Dickinson, has decided to try his hand at playing overseas as MoDo of the Swedish Allsvenskan announced they’ve signed the 24-year-old to a one-year deal. Dickinson spent three years in Colorado’s system on an entry-level deal before joining Detroit on a minor league pact last season where he had 13 points in 48 AHL games plus 28 more in 21 games at the ECHL level.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

Dmitri Ovchinnikov Heading To KHL

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The Toronto Maple Leafs won’t have Dmitri Ovchinnikov in North America this season. After the young forward signed his entry-level contract in February and made his AHL debut with the Toronto Marlies at the end of the year, he has now signed a new one-year deal with Sibir Novosibirsk and will transfer to the club for the upcoming season.

This loan does not cancel Ovchinnikov’s contract with the Maple Leafs, only delays his debut as a full-time member of the AHL club. The talented 20-year-old forward scored twice in his seven games with the team this spring, after rarely seeing the ice in his 17 KHL appearances.

Hopefully, he’ll be able to claw out a bigger role for his Russian club and start contributing as he has at the MHL level, where Ovchinnikov has been better than a point-per-game player the last three seasons. The fifth-round pick is under contract with the Maple Leafs for two more seasons.

Minor Transactions: 08/18/22

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While Nazem Kadri has certainly stolen the spotlight today, there will be a handful of smaller moves that are also worth recognizing. As always, we’ll keep track of those notable minor transactions right here.

  • The Ontario Reign have signed Alan Quine to a one-year AHL contract, bringing over the former NHL forward after he spent last season with the Henderson Silver Knights. Quine, 29, last played in the NHL in 2019-20 and has 106 regular season games to his name.
  • One of the players that saw his exclusive draft rights expire this week, Brandon Kruse, has found a one-year AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies. The 2018 fifth-round pick failed to ink an entry-level deal with the Vegas Golden Knights by the deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent.
  • Nikita Popugaev, who once announced his retirement from hockey to pursue life as a social media influencer, has signed with HK Sochi in the KHL. A fourth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2017, his NHL rights are still technically owned by them and will be indefinitely.
  • Logan Day is headed from Lehigh Valley to the Hershey Bears, signing a one-year AHL deal with the latter. The undrafted defenseman had 19 points in 72 games for the Phantoms last season.
  • Lehigh Valley, meanwhile, has re-signed Charlie Gerard to another AHL contract, bringing back the undrafted forward for another year. In 55 games last season, Gerard had six goals and 12 points.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Minor Transactions: 08/17/22

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All eyes are on the World Juniors today, where four quarter-final games will be played. Finland, Germany, Sweden, Latvia, Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, and the U.S. are all trying to punch their ticket to the next round, and a chance at international glory. As the next wave of NHL talent continues to battle, minor league and European teams continue to fill out rosters for the upcoming season.

  • Kyle Wood, a third-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2014, has signed on with Kunlun Red Star of the KHL for 2022-23. The 6’7″ behemoth never did play in the NHL but was a strong contributor at the AHL level for several years. He left for Germany in 2020 and played in Czechia last season.
  • Similarly, Tomas Schemitsch has gone to Sweden to join the Malmo Redhawks, after playing in the AHL the last several seasons. The Florida Panthers’ third-round pick had 23 points in 71 games for the Cleveland Monsters last year.
  • The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have re-signed Alex Kile to a one-year AHL contract, after he impressed down the stretch. The undrafted forward was mostly an ECHL contributor the last few seasons but now seems to have found a spot with the Phantoms.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Cedric Paquette Signs In KHL

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After spending part of last season in the minor leagues for the first time in years, Cedric Paquette is heading to the KHL. The free agent forward has signed a contract with Dinamo Minsk for the upcoming campaign.

Paquette, 29 (just a few days ago), played 24 games for the Montreal Canadiens and 14 for the Laval Rocket in 2021-22. That was his first minor league experience since 2014-15, when he was still just a young player with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

For his career, Paquette has racked up 95 points in 448 games, playing limited minutes as a bottom-six center. Given that he didn’t score a single goal for the Canadiens in his 24 games – and the emergence of some other young players for the team – it wasn’t a surprise that they didn’t bring him back this year.

But heading to the KHL may still raise some eyebrows, given how close to NHL-caliber he still is. During his short time in the minor leagues, he showed exactly why he doesn’t belong there, scoring nine goals in 14 regular season games.

Paquette will certainly be a name to remember for next offseason, though a year spent in the KHL isn’t going to help his stock unless his offensive game goes through the roof. It is perhaps a sign of just how difficult it is right now for fringe players to land deals as teams continue to deal with tight financial situations.

Minor Transactions: 08/15/22

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The dog days of summer are upon us, with even AHL rosters pretty much filled up. Training camp is right around the corner and the hot stove is about as cool as ever. Still, there are some daily transactions around the hockey world that are worth detailing.

  • 2010 first-round pick Brandon Gormley is sticking around in the KHL, after signing with HK Sochi for the upcoming season. While he played just 58 games at the NHL level, Gormley has been a strong contributor in the minor leagues and Europe.
  • Sam Anas has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Hershey Bears, giving the team one of the most dynamic offensive players in the minor leagues. Anas, 29, has never played in an NHL game but had 64 points in 75 games last season for the Springfield Thunderbirds and now has 284 points in his AHL career.
  • Pat Nagle is heading back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, signing a one-year AHL contract for next season. The 34-year-old veteran goaltender had a .904 save percentage in 22 games with the team in 2021-22.
  • The Edmonton Oilers opted not to sign prospect Filip Engaras today, per CapFriendly, losing his exclusive signing rights, but he’s remaining in the organization. He’s signed to a two-year AHL contract with the Bakersfield Condors, beginning this season.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Yevgeni Kashnikov Signs In KHL

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The San Jose Sharks will have to wait to see Yevgeni Kashnikov in North America again. The 2021 draft pick has signed a two-year contract with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the KHL, ending his time in the QMJHL.

Kashnikov, selected 199th overall last year, was already an overage prospect who will turn 20 in December. He recorded 13 goals and 32 points in 62 games for the Gatineau Olympiques last season, playing both defense and forward. His 6’6″ frame and love of physical hockey made him a feared opponent (especially at the junior level), as Jacob Mathieu found out in March, when the two dropped the gloves.

With his return to Russia, Kashnikov’s exclusive draft rights will now be held indefinitely, meaning the Sharks can wait and see if he turns into something worthy of an NHL contract. For a seventh-round pick that is nothing more than a lottery ticket, this is actually sort of a beneficial thing for the team. Had he stayed in North America, Kashnikov’s rights would have expired next June as a player drafted out of the CHL.

Now, he’ll get to use that size in the KHL and see if he can develop a bit more, while the Olympiques gain another import slot to fill. Marcel Marcel, who they selected 42nd overall in this year’s import draft, arrived yesterday.

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