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International Notes: Schneider, Pettersen, Dichow

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With Islanders goalie Cory Schneider not playing once this season while clearing waivers, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll look to stay in the NHL or look at options overseas.  If he opts to consider the latter, Lugano of the Swiss NLA could be a landing spot as Watson’s Klaus Zaugg notes that Lugano is pondering making an offer to the 35-year-old for next season.  It’s worth noting that Schneider holds dual citizenship between the United States and Switzerland which could certainly make him an intriguing option for teams in that league where he wouldn’t take an import position.  If Schneider does decide he wants to keep playing and doesn’t anticipate getting an NHL offer, signing in Switzerland – with Lugano or elsewhere – would certainly make some sense.

More from the international hockey world:

  • Calgary winger prospect Mathias Emilio Pettersen has joined Norway’s entry for the upcoming World Championships, notes Torie Petersen of the Flames’ team site. The 21-year-old was a sixth-rounder back in 2018 (167th overall) and recently wrapped his first season in North America, putting up a decent six goals and eight assists in 29 games with AHL Stockton.
  • Canadiens prospect Frederik Dichow has signed a one-year deal with Kristianstad in Sweden’s Allsvenskan, per a team announcement. The 21-year-old goaltender was a fifth-round pick of Montreal back in 2019 (139th overall) and was supposed to play with Sudbury of the OHL this season.  Instead, with that league not playing this year, he was limited to six appearances with two teams in Denmark this season and will undoubtedly be looking for more playing time next season.

Minor Transactions: 04/28/21

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The playoff chase is heating up in the NHL, but elsewhere most leagues are winding down. The KHL season came to an end today with Avangard Omsk hoisting their first Gagarin Cup. The SHL, the Swiss NLA, and the German DEL are all down to just four teams apiece following the conclusion of their quarterfinal playoff rounds, while the Finnish Liiga is halfway through their quarterfinals with just six teams still alive. Even the AHL season is coming to a close, with no Calder Cup up for grabs and the regular season schedule over for some North Division teams and ending early next month for all others. As the leagues come to a close and players turn toward the future, it can cause some notable ripples in the NHL market. Here are some of those minor, but meaningful moves:

  • After a dozen pro seasons, former NHL defenseman Victor Bartley has called it a career. The 33-year-old made the announcement in the most subtle way possible, changing his personal Twitter account to description to “retired professional hockey player” following the conclusion of his brief season with Unia Oswiecim in Poland. Bartley has spent the past four season in Europe, two with the KHL’s Kunlund Red Star and another with the SHL’s Orebrok HK. However, he spent the previous six seasons under contract in the NHL. Bartley spent parts of five seasons with the Nashville Predators, including skating in 50 games with the team in 2013-14. He also spent time with the Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota Wild, totaling 121 NHL games between the three clubs.
  • The Boston Bruins won’t be reuniting with Linus Arnesson next season. The 26-year-old defenseman, a 2013 second-round pick, recently became a free agent at the conclusion of his SHL season. A solid stay-at-home defender who played well in a few AHL seasons, there was some belief that Arnesson might look at an NHL return following several strong seasons overseas. However, he has decided to stay at home in Sweden rather than try his luck again in North America, at least for one more year. Djurgardens IF, the program that Arnesson played his developmental hockey with, has welcomed their product home on a one-year deal, the team announced. Perhaps Arnesson will try to re-connect with the Bruins next summer, but his value seemingly decreases with each passing year.
  • The Ottawa Senators are hoping that they can finally bring over one of their own second-round picks, 2017 selection Marcus Davidsson. The 22-year-old two-way forward has had somewhat of an up-and-down stretch over the past few years in the Swedish ranks, with 2020-21 as more of a low point, but was once a highly-regarded prospect and has shown flashes of NHL ability. Davidsson finished the season on a strong note though, joining Sodertalje SK of the Allsvenskan for 14 games and recording 8 points and a +5 rating along the way. However, the team announced today that Davidsson will not be remaining with Sodertalje moving forward. This frees Davidsson up to make the jump to North America if he chooses, perhaps getting back on his development track with some time in the AHL for the Senators. Ottawa risks never getting anything out of the high pick if he remains in Sweden and keeps bouncing around and not taking the next step forward in his career.
  • EHC Munich wrapped up their DEL season recently and today confirmed the departures of a number of player. The list reads as a who’s who of former NHLers, including Derek Roy, Chris Bourque, Andrew Ebbett, and Keith Aulie. None of the four are realistic candidates to return to the NHL at this late point in their respective careers, but could still be off to make a difference elsewhere in Europe and potentially to guide current and future NHL prospects.

Minor Transactions: 03/19/21

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While the NHL trade market is swirling with rumors and the college free agent market has begun to heat up, there has been far more anticipation than actual transactions of late. Yet, in Europe there are teams already looking ahead to next season and players whose current campaigns are coming to an end. The KHL is already through the first round of the Gagarin Cup playoffs, while the SHL, Liiga, NLA, and others are in the stretch run. Keep up with these notable moves and more with today’s minor transactions:

  • After a surprising first-round sweep at the hands of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, the off-season has arrived earlier than hoped for perennial KHL contender Jokerit. The Finnish club hasn’t wasted any time with making their intentions for next season known either, quickly re-signing many of their core players who had been on expiring contracts – a group familiar to NHL fans. Jokerit has announced new contracts for four key players: two-year extensions for forward Markus Hannikainen, defenseman Alex Grant, and goaltender Anders Lindback and a one-year deal for forward Henri Ikonen. Hanikainen, 27, just completed his first season in the KHL after spending the past five years with the Columbus Blue Jackets (and briefly the Arizona Coyotes). Lindback, perhaps the most recognizable name, has been in Europe for three years now, but spent eight seasons in North America, totaling 130 NHL games with five different teams. Grant, known more for his status as top defender in the AHL in nearly 500 career games, has spent the past three years with Jokerit since leaving North America. Ikonen, 26, is a former Tampa Bay Lightning prospect who has played in the KHL for the past four years since his entry-level contract expired. With many of Jokerit’s other top players also signed beyond this season, including several more former NHLers, the team will return the bulk of a roster than finished fifth in the KHL’s Western Conference this year and hope that they can take another step forward in 2021-22.
  • The season has also ended abruptly for the KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novogord, although not entirely unexpectedly as they were swept in the first round by the powerhouse Ak Bars Kazan, the Eastern Conference regular season champions. With his Russian campaign now over, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled young forward Semyon Der-Arguchintsev from his loan, writes Mike Davies of the Peterborough Examiner. Rather than rush SDA back from Russia to play in the AHL right away, the Leafs allowed him to complete his KHL season. The 20-year-old forward recorded six points in 17 games for Torpedo as a part-time player, and did play in all four playoff games but was held off the score sheet. He is now ready to return to more consistent, valued role with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, making his North American pro debut. A former standout with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes, SDA is an impressive offensive talent who should be able to make an impact in the minors.
  • Longtime Montreal Canadien David Desharnais is wrapping up his second season with HC Fribourg-Gotteron of the Swiss National League, his third season abroad since leaving the NHL. It’s been his best season in Europe by a wide margin, as Desharnais has recorded 36 points in 39 games and has established himself as a veteran leader for Fribourg-Gotteron, who currently sit in second place in the NLA standings with the postseason approaching. Despite this success and many years of NHL experience, the 34-year-old center does not seem too focused on attempting a return to North America. Instead, he has signed a one-year extension to stay in Switzerland, the club announced. Barring another point-per-game Swiss season next year (and even if then), this likely puts an official end to Desharnais’ NHL career.

Minor Transactions: 02/19/21

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While the NHL season is already past the quarter pole, the AHL is still just getting started and Canadian juniors are still working on a return, while on the other hand the NCAA is headed toward tournament time shortly and European leagues are in the home stretch of the season. With so much variation in seasons, there is no telling what could be happening on any given day. One thing that is certain is that there continue to be notable moves outside the NHL on a daily basis:

  • There is no shortage of demand for Cory Conacher in Switzerland. The veteran NHL forward previously spent the 2015-16 with SC Bern of the Swiss National League before returning to North America. Even before last season ended, and it was clear that Conacher’s four-year stint with the Tampa Bay Lightning was over, there were reports that Swiss clubs were clamoring to bring him back. Conacher wound up signing with Lausanne HC this off-season, but is on the move again. Conacher has left Lausanne to return to Bern, but this is not simply a rental contract between the 31-year-old and the NLA’s 11th-place team. Instead, Bern has announced a three-year deal, including the remainder of this season, keeping Conacher in the NLA through at least 2022-23. Given the fanfare that Conacher enjoys in Switzerland and a new multi-year contract, it is probably safe to say that we have seen the last of him in the NHL.
  • After negotiating his release from the AHL’s Laval Rocket earlier this week, Sam Vigneault has now signed with the Eispiraten Crimmitschau of the DEL2, Germany’s second-tier league. It is a strange transition for Vigneault, a former Columbus Blue Jackets prospect. Granted he has never been able to rise above the AHL in his pro career, but he has still been a serviceable player in the minors. To drop to the level of the DEL2 is unexpected and, though it is only a contract for the remainder of the season, one has to wonder what the future holds for Vigneault.
  • William Wallinder, the first pick in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings, is looking ahead to next season with the SHL in his sights. A long-time member of MODO, suiting up for their junior teams and over the past two seasons in the second-tier Allsvenskan, the 18-year-old Wallinder will be a free agent after this season and is looking for a new challenge. After being heavily courted by a number of SHL teams, Swedish news source Kvalls Posten reports that Wallinder has elected to sign with the SHL’s Rogle BK. The two sides have only agreed to terms thus far and nothing official has been disclosed, but expect Wallinder to suit up for Rogle for at least one season if not longer. Should he find success at the top level in Sweden, the Red Wings won’t want to wait too long to bring the big, smooth-skating defender to North America.

Minor Transactions: 02/17/21

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It has been a rare slow day for internal NHL transactions, with few recalls and assignments to and from the taxi squad and AHL. Yet, down in the minors there continue to be other notable moves, as well as constant changes for familiar names overseas. Here are some of the day’s key minor transactions:

  • Sam Vigneault has requested and been granted a release from his AHL contract, the Laval Rocket announced. The team provided no other details beyond that it was a mutual decision to part ways. Vigneault, 25, signed with Laval this off-season but had not had the opportunity to play with the club yet. After three seasons within the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, all spent with the Cleveland Monsters including on an AHL contract last year, Vigneault’s first pro foray away from the club was short-lived. It remains to be seen if the forward will look for another opportunity in the AHL (or ECHL) or instead head overseas.
  • It has already been a whirlwind start to the season for goaltender Angus Redmond. The former Anaheim Ducks prospect was traded to the Edmonton Oilers last year and, while he wasn’t re-signed by the team, attended training camp with their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Still unable to earn a contract, Redmond signed with the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks just this past weekend and played in a pair of games with the team. Now, he’s on to a new team. With the Toronto Maple Leafs currently using intended AHL starters Michael Hutchinson and Joseph Woll for themselves right now and another keeper, Ian Scott, currently injured, the Toronto Marlies have announced that they have signed Redmond to an AHL contract for the remainder of the year. Once the Toronto goalie pipeline returns to normal, Redmond will likely return to the ECHL but will have an opportunity to prove himself in the AHL for the time being.
  • The ZSC Lions, currently sitting pretty in second place in the Swiss National League, have announced a number of extensions to keep their successful roster together. Among those returning is NHL veteran Marcus Kruger, who has battled injuries this year but has been even better on a per-game basis than he was in his first season with ZSC last year. Kruger, 30, is just two year removed from competing in the NHL, but seems content to stay in Switzerland, signing a one-year extension. Other notable names earning new contracts are former NCAA standout Garrett Roe, who has found stardom in Europe and and even played for Team USA at the 2018 Olympics, and Dario Trutmann, formerly of the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers and a World Juniors hero for the Swiss.

Justin Abdelkader Signs In Switzerland

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After being bought out by Detroit back in the offseason, veteran winger Justin Abdelkader has found a place to play.  EV Zug of the Swiss NLA announced that they’ve signed the 33-year-old to a contract for the remainder of the 2020-21 season.

In his prime, Abdelkader was a capable top-six power forward, twice reaching the 40-point mark while recording at least 100 hits in all of his 11 full NHL seasons.  However, his offensive production dried up considerably in recent years including a goalless 2019-20 campaign where he managed just three assists in 49 games which resulted in the Red Wings opting to pay him more than $6MM in total over the next six years to get out of his contract.

If Abdelkader can have some offensive success overseas, it’s not entirely implausible to think that a team could view him as a possible fourth line fit or PTO candidate for 2021-22 so there could be a lot at stake for him over the next couple of months.  However, he’ll have to wait a little while before he can get overseas as he will now look to get his work visa approved.

Brendan Perlini Signs In Switzerland

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After failing to land an NHL contract, free agent winger Brendan Perlini has decided to give it a go overseas as Ambri-Piotta of the Swiss NLA announced that they have signed Perlini to a contract for the remainder of their season.

It has been a tough run for the 24-year-old who has yet to live up to his first-round draft billing (12th overall to Arizona in 2014).  After a sluggish start to his 2018-19 season, Perlini was included in the Dylan Strome–Nick Schmaltz swap, giving him an opportunity for a fresh start with Chicago.  He managed a dozen goals in 46 games following the move and it looked like he’d be in good shape for an improved 2019-20 season.

That didn’t happen.  Instead, he was a frequent scratch in October and was eventually traded to Detroit for defensive prospect Alec Regula.  This change of scenery didn’t work out for him though as he managed just one goal and three assists in 39 games with the Red Wings and was unsurprisingly non-tendered back in October.

Perlini is still certainly young enough to work his way back onto the NHL radar but he’s going to have to show that the offensive skills he showed in junior haven’t completely diminished.  That process will now begin in Switzerland.

Denis Malgin Clears Waivers

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Jan 6: Malgin has cleared and can continue to play in Switzerland.

Jan 5: The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed another depth forward on waivers. Denis Malgin has hit the wire as he continues to play in Switzerland for Lausanne. Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said he would not interrupt that season for a player who was not guaranteed a roster spot, so Malgin will finish the year in the NLA before returning to North America. To do that, he needed to be waived at some point.

Still, Malgin is an interesting candidate to be claimed if some team wants to throw a wrench in the Maple Leafs’ plans. The 23-year-old forward actually has 192 games of NHL experience and scored 22 points in 51 games with the Florida Panthers in 2017-18. Malgin signed a new one-year, one-way $700K contract with the Maple Leafs in October but was still pushed down the depth chart by several free agent additions.

For now, should he clear he will continue to play for Lausanne, where he has 22 points in 19 games. The undersized forward is a candidate to join the Maple Leafs later on after his season ends, giving them some additional depth down the stretch.

Minor Transactions: 12/21/20

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The countdown has begun to the start of the NHL season and as expected there is no shortage of moves being made in response. Combine a slew of recalls from loans with the usual moves from the junior, collegiate, and European levels and there was plenty going on across the hockey world on Monday:

  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Pius Suter from Switzerland’s ZSC Lions, the club announced. Suter was signed as a free agent by the Blackhawks this summer after a career year in the NLA. The Swiss forward stayed home when the NHL season was delayed but is finally ready to make his move to Chicago to show that he has what it takes to play in the NHL. The Blackhawks also recalled Swiss prospect Philipp Kurashev from the NLA’s HC Lugano. Kurashev played well in his first AHL season, but Chicago hopes the dynamic forward can take another step forward this year.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled a recent free agent addition of their own in Radim Zohorna. The big power forward had returned to his Czech club, BK Mlada Boleslav, while awaiting the NHL season but will now report to Penguins camp, the team announced. Zohorna faces an uphill battle to crack the NHL roster but the Penguins are excited to see what he can do in the AHL.
  • After returning to his former KHL club Dinamo Minsk on loan, Yegor Sharangovich has been recalled by the New Jersey Devils, the team announced. The young forward has played well in the AHL over the past two seasons, but took his game to a new level during his brief stay in Belarus. The Devils hope that is the game that will show up in training camp and at whichever level Sharangovich ends up this season.
  • Goaltender Jacob Ingham’s stint in the ECHL didn’t last long, as the league’s transactions indicate that he has been recalled by the Los Angeles Kings after two games with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Ingham didn’t exactly impress in the minors either, but he is still a top prospect who will look to impress in training camp and win the top role in the AHL this season.
  • Forward Max Veronneau will not be among the second wave of NHL free agent signings. After just one season in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, the Princeton product has signed in Sweden. The SHL’s IK Oskarshamn has announced a one-year deal with the skilled forward, who seemingly feels he has a better chance of impressing future NHL suitors overseas than with a season in the AHL.
  • QMJHL standout Nathan Legare, a prospect of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is on the move. On the first day that the QMJHL has re-opened trading, Baie-Comeau Drakkar has traded their captain and last season’s leading scorer to the Val-d’Or Foreurs. It’s a hefty return for the prized prospect: a future first-, third-, and a trio of fourth-round picks, as well as rookie forward Justin Sullivan. 
  • The fallout of the Ivy League’s cancelled winter season extends beyond just this year. Ivy League schools do not use graduate student-athletes, meaning current seniors missing their seasons cannot use their fifth and final year of NCAA eligibility at their current schools. UMass has reaped the benefits with a pair of additions today, as Cornell’s Cam Donaldson and Dartmouth’s Matthew Baker have committed to transferring to Amherst next year, reports Jeff Cox of the New England Hockey Journal.

Blackhawks Recall Brandon Hagel

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Brandon Hagel’s time in the Swiss NLA has come to an end as NHL.com’s Brandon Cain notes (Twitter link) that the Blackhawks have recalled the winger from HC Thurgau.  He is expected to spend the holiday season back home before making the trip to Chicago for training camp as things stand.

The 22-year-old opted to head overseas back in late September and it certainly was a good decision as he picked up eight goals and seven assists in 14 games to put him second on the team in scoring.  It’s a step up offensively from his production in the minors last season (in terms of points per game) when he had 19 goals and 12 assists in 59 games with AHL Rockford.  He did well enough to earn one game with the big club right before the pandemic shut down the rest of the season.

Hagel will soon head to training camp with an eye on trying to earn one of the final spots on the roster but at this point, it seems more likely that he’ll wind up back with the IceHogs or perhaps on the taxi squad if those plans get finalized.  He’s entering the final year of his entry-level contract so a lot will be at stake in this shortened season.

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