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Griffin Mendel

Minor Transactions: 8/16/24

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As per usual, we’re keeping track of some of the notable moves from around the minors and European leagues today:

  • Diminutive winger Austin Ortega won’t be heading to Russia after all. The 30-year-old California native signed a one-year deal with Admiral Vladivostok of the Kontinental Hockey League back in May, but the league announced today that Admiral had terminated his contract. Ortega spent a brief period in the Ducks’ system after graduating from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2017, and while he was immensely productive with 45 points in 29 ECHL games and 21 points in 35 AHL games, he didn’t earn an NHL contract. He’s been overseas since 2018 and spent the last three seasons with EHC Munich in Germany, where he won a DEL championship in 2023.
  • As reported earlier in the week, former Hurricanes defense prospect Griffin Mendel is heading to the Czech Extraliga on a one-year deal with Rytiri Kladno, the team announced. Mendel, 25, split last year between the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals while on a two-way deal with Carolina, but the 6’6″ left-shot was limited to 14 points and a -6 rating in 52 games across the two leagues. He wasn’t given a qualifying offer back in June, becoming an unrestricted free agent.
  • 26-year-old defenseman Griffin Luce has settled for an ECHL deal with the Islanders’ affiliate, the Worcester Railers, after spending last season on a two-way deal with the Predators’ AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. Luce checks in at 6’3″ and 216 lbs and was demoted to Nashville’s ECHL affiliate in Atlanta for most of last year, where he had 12 points in 63 games with a -9 rating. The stay-at-home defender will look to work his way back up the organizational depth chart and perhaps earn an AHL deal with New York’s primary affiliate in Bridgeport later on.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

International Notes: Mendel, Petrovsky, Bellerive

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Free agent defenseman Griffin Mendel is considering a move to Czechia’s Rytiri Kladno after failing to land a qualifying offer from the Hurricanes earlier this summer, sources tell Elite Prospects.

Mendel, 25, spent most of last season on loan to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves after signing a two-way contract with Carolina in July 2023. Undrafted, Mendel played four seasons of collegiate hockey at the University of Denver and played a fifth year for Quinnipiac before turning pro on an AHL deal with the Wolves in 2022. He impressed enough in his first professional season, playing in all 72 regular-season games alongside Carolina’s prospects and recording 19 points, to earn his first NHL pact.

But Mendel slipped out of an everyday role with the Wolves last season. The 6’6″, 220-lb defender was limited to 44 appearances, recording two goals, six assists, eight points, 35 PIMs, and a -9 rating. He spent a brief time on assignment to the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals, with whom the Hurricanes had a working agreement last season, posting six points and a +3 rating in eight games there.

Without much of a path to NHL time, he’ll look to carve out a role overseas. In doing so, he may join the long list of players to suit up alongside Jaromir Jagr professionally. The 52-year-old will return to Kladno for his eighth straight season since leaving the NHL in 2017. It’ll mark Jagr’s 37th straight season playing professionally, likely to last as a record for quite some time.

More updates from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean:

  • Former Wild forward prospect Servac Petrovsky has found a safety net for this season with Czechia’s Bili Tygri Liberec, where the club says he’s been participating in training camp and preseason on a tryout basis. Petrovsky, 20, was a sixth-round pick of Minnesota in 2022 but became a free agent in June after failing to land an entry-level contract following the close of his junior career with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack. He might still have an opportunity to land an NHL contract, though, as the Czech club noted he’ll be attending rookie camp with the Utah Hockey Club in hopes of earning a deal. If he doesn’t, though, Liberec confirmed they’ll sign him for 2024-25. Petrovsky had 55 points in 57 games with Owen Sound last season and was electric at the 2024 World Juniors for his native Slovakia, leading them in scoring with five goals and four assists in five games.
  • After a tumultuous 2023-24 campaign, AHL mainstay Jordy Bellerive is continuing his career overseas with Sweden’s AIK, the club announced in a press release. The 25-year-old forward began last season on a contract with the Flyers’ affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but was traded twice during the season and ended up logging time with the San Jose Barracuda and the Syracuse Crunch. Once an undrafted free agent signing by the Penguins, Bellerive struggled to produce with just 12 points in 59 games across the three clubs. He hasn’t been affiliated with an NHL club since being non-tendered by Pittsburgh in 2022.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Griffin Mendel

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The Carolina Hurricanes are in an interesting situation regarding their organizational depth. Their previous AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, made the choice to operate independently for 2023-24, leaving Carolina without a dedicated farm team at the highest minor-league level.

It hasn’t stopped Carolina from retaining some talent who spent last season in Chicago on AHL deals, however. Today, they announced the signing of defenseman Griffin Mendel to a one-year, entry-level contract worth $775K at the NHL level and $75K at the AHL level. He’s also been awarded a $15K signing bonus, bringing the cap hit of his contract to $790K.

Mendel, 24, was the only skater to play in all of Chicago’s 72 games last season, an impressive feat for a rookie. In his first full professional season, the hulking Kelowna-born defender exceeded all expectations after middling offensive production in college, posting nine goals and 19 points along with a -11 rating. That’s the highest point total Mendel has posted in a single season at any level dating back to U-15 play.

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound defender is technically already a pro-league champion, appearing in one Calder Cup Playoff game for the then-champion Wolves in 2022 after signing an AHL deal at the end of the season. Before turning pro, Mendel played four college seasons with the University of Denver before transferring to Quinnipiac for a fifth and final season in 2021-22. He also attended Carolina’s training camp in 2022 on a tryout.

Although the left-shot Mendel has certainty over his financial situation next season, he doesn’t know where he’ll play yet. Carolina still doesn’t have a designated place to assign their minor-league players next season.

Mendel will be a restricted free agent next offseason, and he’ll be due a qualifying offer worth $813,750 on a two-way contract, save for the unlikely event he plays at least 60 NHL games in 2023-24.

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