Pacific Notes: Miromanov, Phillips, Cholach
The Flames haven’t done much this summer on the back end. Joel Hanley was re-signed after he became an unrestricted free agent, Kevin Bahl received a long-term deal, and Rasmus Andersson has not been moved despite plenty of trade speculation. The expectation is that 2024 first-rounder Zayne Parekh will be on the roster as well; he remains ineligible to be sent to the AHL. As a result, Postmedia’s Daniel Austin suggests that Daniil Miromanov could be the odd man out on the back end barring any further movement. The 28-year-old played in a career-high 44 games last season, notching nine points and 55 blocked shots while averaging 17:41 per contest. A right-shot defender signed for one more year at $1.25MM, there’s a good chance Calgary would be able to generate some trade interest in him in training camp if he does wind up being on the outside looking in at a roster spot.
More from the Pacific:
- Still with the Flames, prospect Mace’o Phillips has decided where he will be playing this season. Green Bay of the USHL announced on its Instagram page that the blueliner has committed to playing for them in 2025-26. Phillips was a third-round pick last month by Calgary, going 80th overall after spending last season with the U.S. National Team Development Program. It should be one-and-done with the Gamblers as Phillips is expected to suit up for the University of Minnesota in 2026-27. By delaying going to college, the Flames could have up to five years to sign him to his entry-level contract.
- While now-former Golden Knights prospect Artur Cholach didn’t sign by the June 1st deadline leading to his rights being relinquished, he will remain with the organization as their AHL affiliate in Henderson recently announced that the blueliner had signed a one-year contract for the upcoming season. The 22-year-old was a sixth-round pick back in 2021 and played his first professional campaign last season, getting into five games with Henderson and 54 with ECHL Tahoe where he had seven goals and 16 assists.
Minor Transactions: 09/06/23
Today was a busy morning in the hockey news cycle, with the Arizona Coyotes and Pittsburgh Penguins making notable front-office moves while the Toronto Maple Leafs added some potential scoring depth on a professional tryout. There’s also some notable movement on the transactions wire from other leagues, however, so let’s dive into today’s moves:
- After two post-draft seasons with the OHL’s Barrie Colts, Vegas Golden Knights defense prospect Artur Cholach is staying in junior hockey for one more season with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede, per an announcement from the Colts. Cholach, 20, remains unsigned after the Golden Knights selected him in the sixth round, 190th overall, in the 2021 NHL Draft. His exclusive signing rights did not expire this summer because he only played OHL hockey after his draft date – he played his draft season with Sokil Kyiv in the Ukrainian Hockey League, meaning they have until June 1, 2025, to sign him to an entry-level contract. Over the past two seasons with Barrie, Cholach scored four goals and added 30 assists for 34 points in 116 contests whilst recording a cumulative +9 rating. He also notched eight assists in five games for the Ukrainian national junior team at the 2022 Division 1B World Junior Championship.
- The AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds have signed defenseman Ryan Jones to a one-year deal, according to a league release. Touted as a physical two-way defender out of the USHL’s Lincoln Stars in the 2016 NHL Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected him in the fourth round but did not sign him to an entry-level contract when he finished his collegiate career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2020. He’s spent the three seasons since on AHL deals, including the last two seasons with the Syracuse Crunch, recording 27 points, 114 penalty minutes and a +4 rating in 137 games. Now a full-time bottom-pairing defender at the AHL level, Jones, 27, will look to grasp a spot on the Seattle Kraken’s AHL affiliate, who already added Mitch Reinke to their defense corps by way of their parent club earlier this week.
- Veteran goaltender Kevin Poulin announced his retirement on his Instagram page. The 33-year-old played in 50 NHL games over five seasons with the Islanders before embarking on a bit of a unique journey overseas, spending time in Kazakhstan, Croatia, Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden. Poulin spent the last two years playing on an AHL deal in Montreal’s system, playing primarily with AHL Laval.
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