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Ducks Sign Calle Clang, Jan Mysak To Two-Way Deals

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The Ducks have signed restricted free agent goaltender Calle Clang to a two-way deal for the upcoming season, according to a team announcement. The team also announced a two-way agreement for RFA forward Jan Mysak. Financial terms were not disclosed by the team but PuckPedia reports that Clang’s deal is worth $775K in the NHL and $85K in the minors, while Mysak’s is worth $775K and $90K, respectively.

Clang, 23, was a third-round pick of the Penguins in 2020, and Anaheim acquired his signing rights in the deal that sent Rickard Rakell to Pittsburgh in 2022. He looked like quite an intriguing prospect at the time and was amid a run of three strong seasons in professional leagues in his native Sweden. Now, his development has stalled since he arrived in North America at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

The former Champions Hockey League winner with Rogle BK has made 68 appearances for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls in the last few years, logging a 3.15 GAA and a below-average .896 SV% with a 22-32-8 record. His save percentages have slowly declined, from .904 in a five-game trial in 2022-23 to .897 in 2023-24 to .895 last season.

Clang, who stands at 6’2″ and 194 lbs, won’t be in contention for an NHL roster spot in the fall with Lukas Dostal, Petr Mrazek, and Ville Husso ahead of him on the depth chart. He could be in line for extended playing time in San Diego if Husso ends up as part of a three-goalie rotation in the NHL. Still, even that isn’t a given with three other young goalies under contract competing for minor-league playing time in Vyacheslav Buteyets, Damian Clara, and Tomas Suchanek.

Mysak is newer to the Ducks organization than Clang. Anaheim acquired in a minor prospect swap with the Canadiens last season, sending underperforming first-rounder Jacob Perreault the other way.

While Perreault is no longer with the Habs, Mysak extends his stay in Orange County on the heels of a decent showing for San Diego in 2024-25. A second-round pick in 2020, Mysak put together an 18-24–42 scoring line in 68 games after ending the previous season with just one goal in 18 games for the Gulls.

Now 23, the Czech forward has some call-up potential this season if injuries strike. If so, it would be the NHL debut for the 5’11”, 190-lb Mysak, who’s entering his fourth professional season.

Both players will be restricted free agents again next summer. Anaheim now has 38 out of 50 contract slots filled.

Mammoth Sign Michael Carcone To One-Year Contract

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4:03 p.m.: Carcone’s deal is now official and carries a league-minimum cap hit of $775K, according to KSL Sports’ Cole Bagley.

10:23 a.m.: The Mammoth are bringing back unrestricted free agent winger Michael Carcone on a one-year contract, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

The move is one of the more surprising of the offseason, considering Carcone was one of the first players in the league to declare he would be testing free agency after the regular season ended. Evidently, there wasn’t considerable interest in him on the open market, and the Mammoth still wanted him around as offensive insurance for their bottom-six forward group.

Carcone, 29, was a longtime AHL fixture but burst onto the scene with the Coyotes in 2023-24, scoring 21 goals in 74 games despite averaging just 11:16 of ice time per contest. The move to Utah wasn’t kind to him, though.

Utah made Carcone a healthy scratch for a larger portion of the campaign, only playing him in 53 games. When he dressed, his shooting percentage had dropped by half from the prior season. He scored only seven goals and 19 points, despite seeing a slight increase in average ice time of 10 seconds when he was in the lineup. Things came to a head late in the season, as Utah chased down a playoff spot, and Carcone only appeared in one of their final 10 games.

There’s no guarantee that Carcone will slot into the opening night lineup in the fall. The Mammoth have acquired and sent away an equal amount of impact forwards, leading to a refreshed but still full-looking group. The 5’9″ winger will be competing with names like the similarly undersized Kailer Yamamoto and enforcer Liam O’Brien for the 12th and final spot in the forward lineup, presumably as their fourth-line left wing, assuming there are no pressing injuries.

Utah will have 46 out of the maximum 50 contracts on the books for next season after registering Carcone’s deal.

Image courtesy of Brad Penner-Imagn Images.

Breaking Down The Direction Of The Ducks

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The Ducks are still well under the salary cap ceiling, sitting about $29MM below the limit with four players left to sign to complete a 23-man roster (as per PuckPedia). While that’s certainly a lot of space under the cap, it’s not necessarily a positive sign, given how the Ducks have exhausted their salary cap space by signing and trading for high-priced veterans who are past their prime. A few years ago, the Ducks seemed poised for success, but they have made little progress in their rebuild, and if anything, their recent moves have hindered what could have been something special.

When Pat Verbeek became the general manager of the Ducks in February 2022, he knew the team was in the midst of a rebuild and aimed to make them a contender. He had a plan, and from a broad perspective, his approach to bring in veterans made sense to support younger players and a prospect pool ranked 12th, according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. The Ducks had been focusing on youth for a while and had some promising young players starting to get significant NHL minutes. Bringing in experienced players who had been there before would provide emerging stars like Trevor Zegras with a mentor figure to help them develop into skilled professionals.

The Ducks had a poor start to Verbeek’s tenure, falling further down the standings in 2022-23 with a 23-47-12 record to finish last in the Western Conference. On the ice, the Ducks finished 31st in the NHL in goals for and 32nd in goals against, with a -129-goal differential. The team’s performance can’t solely be blamed on Verbeek, who had only been in the role for a few months before summer 2022. However, his influence was evident in certain aspects of the team, particularly in the signings of a few free agents, some of whom were successful, while others were not.

Verbeek signed Frank Vatrano to a three-year deal in July 2022, which proved to be a great bargain. However, he also signed Ryan Strome to a five-year, $25MM contract. Strome has recorded 41 points in each of the last three seasons, but his below-average defensive metrics offset some of his offensive contributions. Defencemen John Klingberg and Nathan Beaulieu were also acquired that offseason and struggled to adjust to Anaheim’s lineup, posting some of the worst numbers of their careers. Klingberg was traded to Minnesota before the NHL Trade Deadline, and Beaulieu finished the season and has not played in the NHL since.

In the summer of 2023, Verbeek continued his trend of overestimating veterans by signing a couple of 33-year-old veterans, defenceman Radko Gudas and Alex Killorn. The Gudas signing was for three years at $4MM per season and was a sensible gamble given his abilities at the time. Gudas doesn’t put up points, but he has been reasonably practical, and rebuilding teams generally need to overpay in free agency. The Killorn signing, however, raised many eyebrows even though he was coming off a 64-point season with Tampa Bay. Killorn was signed to a four-year deal worth $25MM ($6.25MM annually) and has not come close to delivering enough value to justify his contract. That signing started a significant trend in Anaheim that continues today: overvaluing players’ past contributions.

Moving forward, Verbeek arguably made his best move in early 2024 when he acquired forward Cutter Gauthier from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick. That move was a significant victory for the Ducks, strengthening their pool of young players with star potential.

After the Gauthier trade, Verbeek went back to work adding high-priced veterans to the lineup, trading for defenseman Brian Dumoulin in July 2024, and then eventually making a head-scratching trade for Jacob Trouba in late 2024. The Dumoulin trade turned out to be good business, as he was later flipped to New Jersey at the Trade Deadline for a second-round pick and a prospect, but the Trouba deal never made sense and still looks like a mistake to this day. The New York Rangers not only managed to get out from beneath Trouba’s $8MM cap hit but also received some value from Anaheim, acquiring defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a 2025 fourth-round pick. Trouba has value due to his physicality, ability to block shots, and willingness to get involved in transition; however, his mobility and turnovers are significant issues that have persisted in Anaheim, not to mention his hefty cap hit. Verbeek then followed up this trade by moving on from Cam Fowler in a deal with St. Louis, where he retained $2.5MM in salary.

Continuing with his trend, Verbeek then acquired Chris Kreider from the Rangers along with a fourth-round pick, giving them another chance to move on from a bad contract. The Ducks sent back a third-round pick and the 2023 second-round pick (59th overall), Carey Terrance. The jury is still out on the Kreider move, and he remains a net-front presence who can still skate, but his numbers took a significant hit next season, and the Ducks are gambling on a 34-year-old with a lot of hard miles on his body to recapture his game. Kreider did have 22 goals last season, so it’s not impossible to imagine him providing value to the Ducks, but at $6.5MM per season for two more years, the Ducks overpaid for another veteran who may or may not work out.

Verbeek followed up this trade by moving Zegras for a second and fourth-round pick, in exchange for forward Ryan Poehling. While Poehling is quite suitable as a depth forward, the return felt disappointing for an injury-prone player with considerable offensive talent. Zegras has struggled with injuries over the past few seasons and may not work out in Philadelphia. However, for a team like the Ducks, which seems willing to gamble on veterans returning to form, it was unusual to see them sell low on a relatively young forward who could still bounce back.

Finally, you have the Ducks’ last handful of moves, which include trading goaltender John Gibson for Petr Mrazek (and two draft picks) as well as the signings of Mikael Granlund and Ville Husso. The Gibson trade was good business for Anaheim and moved them away from a player who had made headlines for the past couple of seasons, as his timeline didn’t match the one the Ducks were on. Acquiring Mrazek as part of the package was also reasonable, as it provided Anaheim with a temporary backup to play behind Lukas Dostal. What didn’t make sense was giving Husso two more years at $2.2MM per season, as he has been a below-average goaltender for the last three seasons and spent more time in the AHL last season than he did in the NHL. Now, the goaltender market was certainly weak this summer, but handing out that kind of contract to an AHL-level goalie to play in the minors is a major misfire.

Anaheim completed their free agent moves by signing forward Granlund to a three-year, $21MM contract. Granlund is a solid offensive player who can generate points and is a great passer. However, he is only two summers removed from being a salary cap dump in Pittsburgh and is nowhere near worth a $7MM price tag. He doesn’t contribute much defensively, but should boost their 30th-ranked offence.

Now, people will point to the veteran acquisitions and say that Anaheim has plenty of cap space, so it doesn’t matter if they spend money on players like Husso and Granlund. But the fact is that Anaheim was in a prime position to contend by now, yet they have made things worse by acquiring older, slower players who haven’t helped the younger ones so far.

Fans might also argue that Anaheim isn’t going to contend this year or next, so having these veterans on the books doesn’t affect the long-term strategy. However, Anaheim could have better utilized and weaponized its cap space to bring in younger players or acquire other assets by taking on teams’ bad contracts, similar to the strategy Pittsburgh has employed. There is nothing wrong with overpaying players during a rebuild, but eventually, the bill comes due. For Anaheim, it seems they are still paying that bill, and they might continue to do so for a few more seasons.

Photo by Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Blackhawks Sign Anton Frondell

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July 15: As was foretold, Frondell put pen to paper on his entry-level deal today, the team announced. The deal carries the maximum entry-level cap hit of $975K.

July 12: So far, only four of 32 first-round picks have signed their entry-level contracts.  That number should soon be increasing as Expressen’s Gunnar Nordstrom reports that the Blackhawks will be signing Anton Frondell to his first contract early next week.

The 18-year-old was the third overall pick last month, giving Chicago what they hope will be another future high-end center to have behind Connor Bedard down the road.

Frondell spent the majority of last season at the Allsvenskan level, a second-division professional league.  He played in 29 games with Djurgarden and fared quite well, notching 11 goals and 14 assists in 29 games.  Frondell also notched seven points in 16 playoff games, earning his team a promotion to the SHL for 2025-26.

Frondell has one year left on his contract back home and it’s expected he will remain there next season instead of making the jump to come to North America.  Nordstrom relays that the youngster isn’t expected to attend training camp with Chicago to focus on the start of the SHL regular season which begins on September 13th.

Once the season in Sweden comes to an end, Frondell would then be eligible to join Chicago, potentially suiting up for them for a handful of games down the stretch if Djurgarden doesn’t have a long playoff run.  As long as he plays in nine or fewer games for the Blackhawks next season, an outcome that seems likely, Frondell’s deal will slide and still have three years remaining on it heading into 2026-27.

Maple Leafs Sign Miroslav Holinka To Entry-Level Deal

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The Maple Leafs have signed 2024 fifth-round pick Miroslav Holinka to a three-year, entry-level contract, per a team press release. Financial terms were not disclosed by the team but PuckPedia reports that the deal will carry a $918K cap charge.

Holinka, 19, made the jump to North America last season after playing his draft year in Czechia with HC Ocelari Trinec, split between their pro club and their under-20 squad. The offensive-minded center was spectacular in the Czech juniors in 2023-24, scoring 20 goals and 41 points in just 29 games.

That breakneck pace didn’t hold up as Holinka arrived in the much more competitive WHL with the Edmonton Oil Kings. However, he was still among their top producers on a per-game basis and had a 19-26–45 scoring line in 47 appearances.

The 6’1″, 185-lb center also cracked Czechia’s roster for the 2025 World Juniors, where he scored a goal and three assists in seven games en route to a bronze medal. While he could technically jump to the AHL this season – he turns 20 in November and wasn’t subjected to the AHL/CHL transfer agreement anyway since he was drafted out of Czechia – it wouldn’t be surprising to see him remain with the Oil Kings for another year of development. If he’s intent on turning pro, a lower-stakes environment like the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones may be a better fit for Holinka, who is still somewhat of a raw talent.

Since Holinka is signing at 19 and turns 20 before Jan. 1, 2026, he’s not eligible for an entry-level slide. His contract will take effect this season no matter if he sees NHL action or not, so he’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2028.

Jets Sign Tyrel Bauer To Two-Way Deal

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The Jets announced they’ve re-signed depth defenseman Tyrel Bauer to a two-way contract. The restricted free agent will earn a $775K NHL/$100K AHL/$125K guaranteed salary breakdown, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press reports.

Bauer, 23, will return to the Jets organization for his fourth professional season. The 6’3″, 207-lb righty has spent his entire career with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose since turning pro in 2022, serving as a No. 6/7 option there with a willingness to drop the gloves.

A sixth-round pick in 2020, Bauer was never a point producer in junior hockey, and that’s carried over to his time with the Moose. The Alberta native has only four goals and 16 points in 162 career AHL games, logging 291 penalty minutes and a -39 rating.

It’s a tad surprising to see Winnipeg dole out an NHL contract to Bauer since the possibility of a call-up at any point in his career is slim to none, unless he makes a move to forward to make him a more palatable enforcer. Nonetheless, it appears they view him as a valuable depth piece for his intangibles and will keep him in the system for another season after his entry-level contract expired two weeks ago.

Bauer will remain under team control next summer upon expiry. He’s still two years away from being eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency, which he’ll almost certainly qualify for if he gets to that stage.

Winnipeg now has 43 contracts out of the maximum 50 on the books for this season and still has to sign RFAs Parker Ford, Dylan Samberg, and Gabriel Vilardi to new deals.

Pacific Notes: Willander, Raty, Lekkerimaki, Eichel, Uljanskis, Thornton

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After the Canucks made another piece of offseason business in trading goaltender Arturs Silovs to the Penguins over the weekend, The Athletic’s Thomas Drance took a deep dive into the roster math that lies ahead and what other moves could be coming.

Among those could be something of a crunch on defense. After signing 2023 first-rounder Tom Willander to his entry-level contract in May, Drance reports the club has him penciled in on Vancouver’s opening night roster, not on assignment to AHL Abbotsford to begin his professional career. He expects that the defenseman named Elias Pettersson, not their highest-paid forward of the same name, has received a similar designation.

As such, Drance relays to expect Vancouver to carry 13 forwards and eight defensemen out of the gate instead of the slightly more commonplace 14/7 breakdown, with prospect Victor Mancini and recent depth signing Pierre-Olivier Joseph likely the only legitimate candidates for the eighth spot. Mancini is still waiver-exempt, so that could work in Joseph’s favor.

For the forwards, Aatu Raty has the best candidacy for a job out of all their young fringe NHLers coming off a Calder Cup championship with AHL Abbotsford because of “the club’s needs down the middle,” Drance writes. One name that likely won’t be in contention for a depth job is top wing prospect Jonathan Lekkerimaki.

“It sounds like the club is open to slow-cooking Lekkerimäki in the AHL to begin next season,” Drance said. “The gifted scoring winger is waiver exempt, and the club wants to be cautious about managing his development and not rushing him.” Older but lower-ceiling names like Arshdeep Bains and Linus Karlsson will be in contention for open fourth-line/press box slots instead.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • There isn’t anything new to report on extension talks between the Golden Knights and star center Jack Eichel, writes David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. An “open line of communication” remains after negotiations reportedly began over the past few months, but the needle hasn’t moved much since.
  • Ducks defense prospect Darels Uljanskis is making the jump from Europe to North America to finish out his junior career, via Derek Lee of The Hockey News. Anaheim selected the left-shot Latvian in the seventh round last year. He’ll play out 2025-26 for the OHL’s Flint Firebirds after recording 39 points and a +12 rating in 44 games for AIK’s under-20 squad in Sweden last season.
  • The Sharks announced on Tuesday that they’ve formalized a front-office title for Hall-of-Famer Joe Thornton, naming him as a player development coach and hockey operations advisor amid a slew of other minor staff changes. Thornton had remained in the San Jose area and worked frequently with the club in an unofficial capacity since retiring in 2022, but the franchise icon will now be firmly embedded in the process of building the team’s next window of championship contention.

The Devils Have Spent Efficiently This Summer

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The Devils had a disappointing first-round exit in this year’s playoffs, which capped off a frustrating season marked by injuries to key players, inconsistent play, and a bottom six that underperformed. The team started the season well but struggled in the second half, failing to meet the high expectations that had been set for them.

While it was undoubtedly a disappointment, there were lots of takeaways for the young Devils stars, and it should help them in the long run. The Devils entered the summer with a handful of small holes and did well to make some improvements without overspending in the free agent market. This should enable them to maintain their core and surround their stars with a formidable supporting cast.

New Jersey entered the off-season with just over $12MM in cap space and a few issues to resolve. Their first move was to trade forward Erik Haula and his $3.15MM cap hit to the Nashville Predators for a fourth-round pick and Jeremy Hanzel. The 34-year-old Haula had been a dependable player for the Devils, but his decline in offensive production last season (11 goals and 10 assists in 69 games) made him expendable, and the Devils acted quickly to make the trade. This move allowed the Devils to enter free agency with $15MM in cap space, which they promptly used to sign forwards Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov.

The 31-year-old Brown regained his form last season with the Edmonton Oilers, reaching the 30-point mark for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Brown was once a reliable depth scorer, but injuries and inconsistency interrupted his production for a couple of seasons before his resurgence last year.

Brown signed a four-year, $12 million contract and is expected to provide the Devils with steady bottom-six minutes while creating offensive chances for himself and his teammates. He remains a good skater, which helps him defensively and also allows him to carry the puck effectively and drive transition plays.

While his deal might be a bit lengthy, the cap hit is quite manageable and shouldn’t hinder New Jersey too much in the latter part of the contract. He could see time on New Jersey’s third line, possibly alongside Dawson Mercer.

The one-year deal that Dadonov signed for a $1MM base salary was a significant discount for a player who recorded 20 goals and 40 points last season in 80 games. The 36-year-old received less than a minute per game on the power play and did most of his offensive work at 5-on-5, tallying 33 of his 40 points.

Dadonov doesn’t drive play like he used to, but he remains a capable passer who can still skate well and should be able to provide the Devils with valuable minutes at minimal cost. Surprisingly, he had to accept such a low number, but considering his age and the fact that teams are prioritizing youth, there might not have been much of a market for his services.

Another solid move the Devils made was re-signing backup goaltender Jake Allen to a five-year, $9MM contract. The 34-year-old was the top goaltender available in free agency, and many thought he would earn over $4MM per season, with AFP Analytics projecting a two-year deal worth $7MM.

Allen did better financially, spreading his earnings over an additional three years, but it was well short of the $5MM per season he reportedly sought at the end of June. Last season, Allen’s numbers were well above average, with a 2.66 goals-against average and a .908 SV%.

A closer look reveals he was more excellent with the Devils than those numbers indicate, posting 18.4 goals saved above expected (per MoneyPuck). The Devils did a great job keeping Allen’s cap hit as low as possible and retained one of the better backup options in the NHL for less than the typical rate for backups.

The deal might cost more in total years, but by years four and five, New Jersey could likely bury Allen’s cap hit in the AHL for minimal cost if needed. The rising salary cap will also influence years four and five, as Allen’s $1.35MM salary could be near league minimum depending on revenues at that time.

The Devils also made several depth AHL signings, adding forwards Angus Crookshank and Juho Lammikko, as well as defenseman Calen Addison. These moves are likely to have minimal impact at the NHL level but should provide Utica with valuable players and potential call-up options.

Now that much of their business is done, the Devils will focus on signing defenseman Luke Hughes to a long-term deal. AFP projected he could receive $5.75MM annually on a three-year bridge deal or $8.386MM on a six-year long-term contract.

With the Devils holding about $6.9MM in available cap space, they may decide to go short-term with the 21-year-old and delay more permanent commitments to maintain flexibility heading into next season.

The Devils’ summer won’t blow anyone away, but adding a couple of forward pieces and keeping their goaltending depth with minimal cap space was a good move for a team that plans to run it back with almost the same core, assuming they re-sign Hughes. This time, the Devils will be hoping for better luck and more consistency.

Photo by Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Bruins Sign John Farinacci To Two-Way Deal

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The Bruins have signed restricted free agent forward John Farinacci to a two-way contract, according to a team press release.

Farinacci, 24, would have spent four seasons at Harvard if not for COVID after being drafted in the third round by the Coyotes in 2019. He did not sign an entry-level contract with Arizona and instead reached an agreement with the Bruins immediately upon becoming a free agent in August 2023 following his senior season. He’s spent most of the past two seasons playing in the AHL for the Bruins’ affiliate in Providence.

Farinacci made his NHL debut in Boston’s final game of the 2024-25 regular season, scoring a goal on his lone shot in 10:58 of ice time against the Devils. The 5’11” center also went an impressive 6-for-8 on draws in that game and recorded three hits.

In 58 regular-season games with the Providence Bruins last season, the New Jersey native scored 10 goals, 28 assists, and 38 points while taking just three minor penalties and recording a plus-nine rating. While he only had one goal in eight Calder Cup Playoff games, he did manage to finish seventh on the team in regular-season scoring and matched his 2023-24 point total in 13 fewer appearances.

If Farinacci appears on the NHL roster in the 2025-26 season, he’ll earn the prorated league minimum of $775K; the team didn’t disclose his minor-league salary. The cousin of Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato will likely be a Group VI unrestricted free agent next summer unless he manages to play in 79 NHL games in the upcoming season.

The Bruins have now filled 45 of their 50 standard contract slots for 2025-26.

Sabres Sign Radim Mrtka To Entry-Level Contract

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The Buffalo Sabres have signed towering defenseman Radim Mrtka to a three-year, entry-level contract. The team recently selected Mrtka with the ninth overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. He hails from Czechia, but spent the better half of last season with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL.  PuckPedia reports that the deal will carry a cap hit of $975K while Mrtka will be eligible for $1MM in Class A performance bonuses per season, making the AAV $1.975MM.

Mrtka is, in a lot of ways, a truly rare defender. He was among the tallest in his draft class – third tallest at the NHL combine – but skates with a fluidity and confidence on the puck that’s simply second-to-none. Mrtka has no issue in transitioning from defense to offense, plus the awareness and stickhandling to drive play confidently through all three zones. He was often the flashy perimeter playmaker making passes to Vancouver Canucks first-round pick Braeden Cootes in the slot. That duo helped Mrtka reach 32 assists and 35 points in 43 WHL games this season, after beginning the year with four assists in 10 games of Czechia’s U20 league.

Mrtka was a perfectionist in Czechia’s junior leagues prior to moving to Canada. He scored 11 points in 19 U20 games last season, and earned the first three games of his pro hockey career in Czechia’s Extraliga. He also attended eight games of the World U-17 Hockey Challenge, scoring four points, and five games of the World U18 Championships, with no scoring. He returned to the latter tournament this season, and managed four points in five games.

With news of his entry-level contract, Mrtka will firmly set himself up for a return to the WHL’s Seattle, unless he can make the Sabres roster out of training camp. He’ll use a full year in juniors to continue honing his stocky, puck-moving talent into something that can jump to the NHL in the years to come. It’s rare for defenders with this mix of size and skill to not pan out – and Mrtka seems well on the way to walking in the path of 6-foot-8 defenseman Tyler Myers.

Like Mrtka, Myers returned to the WHL for one season after his draft selection, before breaking into the NHL with 11 goals and 48 points in the 2009-10 season – enough to win out the 2010 Calder Trophy for ’Rookie of the Year’. Myers has since scored 395 points in 1,066 career games. Mrtka even wore Myers’ #53 when he took the ice for Buffalo’s post-draft development camp, despite spending the season wearing #21 in Seattle.

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