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Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

Matthew Virgilio Signs With Soo Greyhounds

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The Soo Greyhounds announced a player signing today, getting Matthew Virgilio to commit and sign a standard OHL player agreement. No big deal, one might think, given the fact that Virgilio was a fourth-round pick in this year’s OHL draft.

But it’s not that simple. Virgilio, at the time, was committed to the University of Michigan and had signed a tender in the USHL to play for the Tri-City Storm. Had that commitment not been in place, he easily would have gone in the first round of the OHL draft, quite near the top as one of the best defensemen in his age group.

The 16-year-old is considered a top prospect for the 2024 NHL Draft and will now get to show off his skills in the Soo for the next several years. General manager Kyle Raftis explained:

Matthew is a very polished defenseman who has the ability to move pucks efficiently, control play in all three zones, and also bring a physical edge and intensity to his game on the defensive side of the puck. The way he plays the game shows a high-level of maturity and poise that are rare traits to find with a player at his age.

The Greyhounds now list him at 6’0 183-lbs in their release, despite him only turning 16 a few months ago. For prospect watchers and draft gurus, he’ll be one to watch.

Calgary Flames Sign Rory Kerins

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The Calgary Flames are finalizing an entry-level contract with late-round prospect Rory Kerins, according to Darren Dreger of TSN. The news comes on the first day teams are eligible to sign prospects to contracts that begin in 2022-23, likely the plan for the young forward. Unlike some of the others that have inked deals today, Kerins is not undrafted and was still on the Flames reserve list after they picked him 174th overall in 2020. The team officially announced the deal not long after the report surfaced, and PuckPedia relayed that it will carry an average annual value of $847K at the NHL level.

It also won’t be the first time he signs a contract with the organization. Kerins inked an amateur tryout last year in order to play four AHL games with the Stockton Heat while the OHL season was canceled due to COVID restrictions. That taste of professional hockey certainly seems to have ignited something in the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds forward, as Kerins has 33 goals and 84 points in just 50 games.

That’s good enough for second in the entire OHL, only behind Windsor Spitfires star and Dallas Stars first-round pick Wyatt Johnston who has 85 in 46 games. Kerins’ 33 goals are good for third in the OHL behind two other high picks, Brennan Othmann and Luke Evangelista. All of that turns into a pretty good season for the young forward, who will now be secured a professional future starting next season. Given that he’ll turn 20 at the start of April, Kerins will likely play with Stockton in 2022-23 as he continues his climb toward the NHL. For now, he’ll stay with the Greyhounds and chase an OHL championship, or even a Memorial Cup.

Seattle Kraken Sign Tye Kartye

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The entry-level contracts continue, with an expansion team this time getting into the mix. The Seattle Kraken have signed Tye Kartye to an entry-level contract according to general manager Ron Francis, who spoke with Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic. Kartye, 20, is an undrafted forward currently playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Today was the first day teams are eligible to sign players to entry-level contracts for the 2022-23 season; Kartye’s age means he’ll be signing a three-year deal.

Kartye should already be very familiar with the Kraken, as he took part in their first development camp last summer. Like many Greyhounds in the past, he was also part of a Toronto Maple Leafs development camp, this time in 2019. The Kingston-born winger went undrafted, but has taken his game to an entirely new level this season, scoring 33 goals and 58 points in 45 games.

The fact that Francis is a legendary Greyhounds alumni likely didn’t hurt negotiations, but there is also an immediate attraction for free agent prospects when it comes to expansion teams. The Kraken will need all the young players they can get in the coming years as they try to build the program from the ground up, and Kartye will likely be one of the first members of the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the AHL team set to begin play next season. Originally selected 158th overall in the 2017 OHL Priority Selection, all of Kartye’s hard work has paid off. He scored just four goals in his first OHL season, missed all of 2020-21 because of COVID restrictions, and now has an NHL contract with his name on it.

Minor Transactions: 08/10/21

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The NHL is rounding out rosters by finishing restricted free agent negotiations, but that isn’t the only thing going on in the hockey world. With European leagues ramping up, the AHL preparing for a full schedule and junior players getting ready to show what they can do, there are plenty of minor transactions across the landscape. As always, we’ll keep track of notable ones right here.

  • Kirill Kudryavtsev, a potential first-round pick in 2022, has signed with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for the upcoming season. The 17-year-old defenseman was the sixth overall pick in the recent CHL import draft, and has decided to come over to continue his development in North America. The Greyhounds now list him at 6’0″ 185-lbs. Kudryavtsev recently won the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament with Russia, posting two points in five games.
  • Giorgio Estephan, a 2015 draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres, has decided to take his talents overseas. The 24-year-old forward has signed with HC Litvinov of the Czech league on a one-year deal with an option for 2022-23. A 2019 Kelly Cup champion with the Newfoundland Growlers, Estephan played 19 games for the Stockton Heat this year.
  • Riley Woods played 26 games for the Colorado Eagles this season, but is off to Sweden after signing with MODO. The 23-year-old forward went undrafted out of the WHL, but has dominated at the ECHL level and held his own in the AHL. His deal overseas is just for one year.
  • The Belleville Senators have added Zac Leslie, Colby Williams and Tyrell Goulbourne on AHL contracts for next season. Goulbourne, 27, is the only one with any NHL experience, having played 11 games for the Philadelphia Flyers. The former Kelowna Rockets star failed to register a single point in those games and has just five in his last 71 games at the AHL level.
  • Ryan Kuffner, who signed an entry-level deal out of Princeton in 2019 and played 10 games with the Detroit Red Wings, has now agreed to a one-year deal with the Iowa Wild. The 25-year-old spent last season playing in Germany, where he registered 14 points in 31 games. Kuffner is actually signing a two-way minor league deal, meaning he’ll make different salaries depending on if he’s playing in the AHL or ECHL next season.
  • Vincent Arseneau has signed with the Abbotsford Canucks for next season, staying with the Vancouver Canucks AHL affiliate. The 29-year-old forward has played the last four seasons with the Utica Comets, scoring four goals in 13 games this year.
  • The Syracuse Crunch have signed defenseman Ryan Jones to a one-year, AHL deal.  The 25-year-old played in 29 games last season with AHL Rochester, his first professional action after completing his college career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

This page will be updated with other minor transactions

Toronto Notes: Six, Murray, Robertson

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The NWHL has a new franchise in one of the biggest hockey markets in the world. Today the Toronto Six were announced as the sixth team in the expanding women’s professional league, revealing their colors and logo in the process. The NWHL quickly started plans for expansion into Toronto last year after the dissolution of the CWHL.

The new Toronto team already has more than a dozen players under contract, but that doesn’t include Jaycee Gebhard who they selected sixth overall in the recent draft. Gebhard decided a few days ago to sign with Brynas IF in Sweden’s SDHL after captaining Robert Morris University.

  • Even though the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t playing right now, they continue to make news as media members speculate about the future. That speculation has landed on Frederik Andersen this week, and whether or not the team will go out to acquire a different goaltender as he approaches free agency. Matt Murray, who has a connection to Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe from their time with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the AHL has been suggested as a possible replacement. Murray is also in a situation with the Pittsburgh Penguins that may lead to a breakup, given the strong play and relative cost of Tristan Jarry. Luke Fox of Sportsnet addresses the Murray speculation in his latest mailbag, writing that he’s not convinced that the Pittsburgh netminder would be an upgrade on Andersen. The staff here at PHR gave our own takes on what Pittsburgh should do with Murray and Jarry recently.
  • One player that is hoping to play in Toronto regardless of who is in net behind him is young forward Nick Robertson, who told Joshua Kloke of The Athletic (subscription required) that his focus is “on the NHL right now.” It’s hard to have a better post-draft season than the 18-year old Robertson, who scored 55 goals and 86 points in just 46 games for the Peterborough Petes, while also starring for Team USA at the World Juniors. The 5’9″ forward fell all the way to 53rd overall in last year’s draft, but will already be pushing for an NHL roster spot come training camp. For what it’s worth, Dubas has already said he’ll give Robertson “every opportunity” to make the team next season.

Minor Transactions: 04/20/19

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For the first time in NHL history, the top seed in each conference has been eliminated in the first round after the Colorado Avalanche knocked off the Calgary Flames last night in Game Five. The Flames now join the Tampa Bay Lightning in an earlier-than-expected off-season after the two teams combined for one win in nine games. Beyond that, the other two division winners – the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators – are in the weeds with both series tied 2-2, while the owners of the second-best record in each conference – the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks – are on the brink of elimination at 3-2. It’s been a wild Round One thus far and things should only get more interesting moving forward. To prepare for the chaos, teams continue to make minor moves to support their playoff rosters:

  • It’s goalie carousel day in the NHL, as clubs continue to swap out their AHL options in net as emergency third-stringers. The Colorado Avalanche did just that last night, taking Joe Cannata with them to Calgary to close out the Flames. Cannata, a minor league veteran out of Merrimack College, has spent almost all of the past two seasons in the ECHL, but has the AHL experience to provide emergency assistance if needed. With the Colorado Eagles also in the postseason, Cannata should continue to work with the Avs while the AHL tandem stays put.
  • After Josef Korenar accompanied the San Jose Sharks to Vegas for Games Three and Four, it is the more experienced Antoine Bibeau who gets the call for Game Six. Bibeau and Korenar split time evenly with the Barracuda this season, with Korenar having the advantage statistically, but it’s Bibeau and his two NHL appearances that get the call this time around. The Sharks aren’t taking any chances with one more loss ending their season.
  • The Washington Capitals announced today that they have swapped deep keepers ahead of Game Five, sending Vitek Vanecek back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears and recalling young Ilya Samsonov. Samsonov was stellar in Hersey’s playoff debut on Friday, but will use his night off to travel to D.C. rather than back up Vanecek for the Bears.
  • Defenseman Mac Hollowell has been reassigned from his junior team, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, whose season has ended, to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, who are just beginning their postseason. Hollowell, a fourth-round pick of the Maple Leafs last year, enjoyed a breakout season to end his junior career and Toronto is likely eager to see how he can translate his game to the pro level. The puck-mover should also be a major boost for the Marlies in their Calder Cup title defense.

AHL Notes: Studnicka, Conway, Bouchard, Jones, Howdeshell

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The Providence Bruins face the tall task of defeating the Charlotte Checkers in their first-round match-up of the Calder Cup Playoffs, after Charlotte’s historic season earned them the top seed in the Eastern Conference. If Providence is able to do so, it will likely be in no small part due to the efforts of their newest addition. Forward Jack Studnicka, the Boston Bruins’ 2017 second-round pick and the player considered by many to be their top prospect, has joined Providence following the end of his junior season. In a strange turnaround, Studnicka and the stacked Niagara Ice Dogs simply could not figure out fellow Bruins prospect Kyle Keyser in net and were surprisingly knocked off by his Oshawa Generals in the second round of the OHL Playoffs. Oshawa had traded Studnicka to Niagara earlier in the season, yet somehow emerged from the match-up with their former captain. Now, Stunicka has to move on from his junior season and try to help Providence immediately in their own playoff run. He was able to make an instant impact last year, recording five points in five games with the P-Bruins. This time around, he could be an even bigger threat. Studnicka scored at better than a point-per-game pace with both Oshawa and Niagara this season, totaling 83 points in 60 games. He’s also trying to impress the Boston brass, as Studnicka’s OHL career is over and this is his first step toward cracking the Bruins’ roster next season. Adding a motivated and talented top prospect to the mix should be a major boost for Providence.

The P-Bruins have also added a local product to the roster, reports Mark Divver of The Providence Journal. Divver writes that Providence College senior Scott Conway has joined the team and has signed a one-year AHL contract as well. Conway, 24, is coming off an interesting collegiate career, in which he showed consistent success but also flashed next-level ability that never fully manifested. After his freshman year at Penn State University, in which he recorded a respectable 26 points in 34 games, Conway opted to leave the program and played the 2015-16 season outside of the NCAA with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees. Conway was a star in the BCHL, amassing a league-leading 116 points while skating alongside Colorado Avalanche center Tyson Jost and quickly committed to a new college team in Providence. Yet, in three seasons with the Friars, Conway’s numbers were no better than they were with the Nittany Lions. It’s thus unclear what the ceiling may be for the experienced English forward, who dominated the junior-A level, but failed to reach stardom at the college level. The Bruins likely got a good look at the local product and willing to see what he can bring to the table next season.

  • Like Studnicka, two other highly-touted junior prospects have also joined their respective AHL teams for the playoff run. Defenseman Evan Bouchard, who played in seven games with the Edmonton Oilers to begin the season, has been assigned to the Bakersfield Condors, the team announced. Last year’s tenth overall pick notched 53 points in 45 games with the OHL’s London Knights this year and added another three points at the World Juniors with Team Canada. Bouchard is a near-lock to make the Oilers out of camp next season and can further improve those odds with a strong stretch of play for the Condors. Ben Jones, a seventh-round pick of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, has already proven to be a steal and will look to advance that title with his first pro experience. A teammate of Studnicka’s in Niagara, Jones led the team with 102 points on the year, but was held in check in the postseason compared to his fellow Ice Dogs standouts. Nevertheless, Jones will still be an exciting addition for the Chicago Wolves after a top-ten scoring season in the OHL. Having graduated from the junior level, this is also a peak into what’s in store for Jones next season in the pros.
  • Like Conway, another promising undrafted prospect has been brought in by an AHL team just prior to the postseason, only that team didn’t qualify for the postseason. Forward Keeghan Howdeshell of the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds has signed a one-year deal with the Tuscon Roadrunners, his former club revealed. The Roadrunners are already looking ahead to next season after failing to grab one of the final spots in the Western Conference playoff picture, much like their parent club. Howdeshell, 21, finished tied for second in scoring for the Greyhounds this year with 77 points in 66 games. The U.S. National Team Development Program product seemed likely to be drafted but was instead passed over several times. He has since re-established his value and will look to translate his game to the pro level with Tuscon next season. A strong campaign could lead to Howdeshell earning an entry-level deal with the Arizona Coyotes.

Mac Hollowell Signs Entry-Level Contract

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed one of their impressive defensive prospects, inking Mac Hollowell to a three-year entry-level contract. Hollowell is currently playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. The deal will kick in for the 2019-20 season.

Selected 118th overall last June in his second year of eligibility, Hollowell went back to the OHL for his overage season and currently leads all OHL defensemen in scoring with 72 points in 59 games. The undersized, right-handed defenseman is a natural powerplay quarterback and can move the puck with ease through his junior competition. The big test will come next season though when he will be jumping into professional hockey.

There is an obvious connection between Hollowell and Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, who ran the Greyhounds before moving to Toronto. The small defenseman also represents Dubas’ vision of a blue line loaded with players capable of moving the puck quickly and effectively up to their talented forwards. Obviously Hollowell has a long way to go to see the NHL—if he gets there at all—but this season certainly proved he could dominate the junior ranks if given the opportunity.

Arizona Coyotes Assign Barrett Hayton To OHL

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The Arizona Coyotes have decided that Barrett Hayton isn’t ready for the NHL after all. The team has assigned the top prospect back to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL, where he will continue his development as one of the most dynamic two-way centers in junior hockey.

Hayton was kept around a little longer than the preseason in order to give him a taste of NHL life, though he never actually entered a game for the Coyotes. The fifth-overall pick from June was something of a surprise selection, but the Coyotes and GM John Chayka have sung his praises since then. Underutilized last season in Sault Ste. Marie, Hayton should take on an even bigger role and show off why Arizona picked him so high. Even at just 18-years old he could join the Canadian World Junior team, especially if the management believes it would be their only chance at him before he heads to the NHL.

An excellent defensive center, Hayton has big offensive upside as well and should only add to the depth the Coyotes are trying to build down the middle. Though there is still some debate over whether Alex Galchenyuk can play the position full time, or whether Clayton Keller would be capable of a switch, the team already has several NHL-caliber options to grow the team around. Hayton should challenge that group next season, though there is no guarantee he even makes the club in 2019-20. If he doesn’t, the Greyhounds could be one of the best teams in the OHL for several years, and potentially compete for the Memorial Cup.

Morgan Frost, Isaac Ratcliffe Sent Back To Junior

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The Philadelphia Flyers have cut their training camp roster by two players, sending star prospects Morgan Frost and Isaac Ratcliffe back to their respective junior teams. While it doesn’t come as a total surprise, there were some who hoped Frost would push for a roster spot with the Flyers this season after his outstanding 2017-18 campaign. Instead, both young players will return to the OHL where they can continue to dominate the competition and develop towards their full potential.

As we discussed during our most recent PHR Live Chat, Frost still has some developing to do at the junior level despite his huge step forward last season. After scoring just 62 points in the 2016-17 season, Frost became the go-to offensive weapon for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and led the club with 112 points. That production continued into the OHL playoffs with another 29 points in 24 games and shouldn’t stop this season. Selected 27th overall in 2017, Frost was always known to have a huge offensive ceiling but there was some who doubted his ability to reach that full potential given his slight frame. He’ll get a chance to keep working on his defensive ability while being a candidate for the OHL scoring lead, and should play a key role on the Canadian World Junior team.

While Ratcliffe was selected a few picks later at number 35 in 2017, he is almost as exciting for Philadelphia fans who are looking towards the future. The opposite of Frost, Ratcliffe is an imposing physical specimen standing 6’6″ and is able to use his size effectively in the offensive zone. His 41 goals easily led the Guelph Storm—in fact, the second most was 24—and he even scored in his two-game stint with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the end of the year. There is a lot of room to grow for Ratcliffe in his overall game, but he should be able to continue to put the puck in the net this year at the OHL level.

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