Ivan Tkach-Tkachenko

Long-time NHL veteran John Mitchell is getting his first significant coaching opportunity.  QMJHL Charlottetown announced that they’ve hired him as their new head coach.  Mitchell was a fifth-round pick by Toronto back in 2003, making his NHL debut five years later, getting into 548 career games over parts of nine seasons.  He then spent parts of two seasons in Germany before calling it a career after the 2018-19 campaign.  To this point, Mitchell’s only coaching experience has come in Colorado’s AAA system (starting in 2020-21) but that will soon be changing.

Other news from the junior ranks:

• Capitals prospect Miroslav Satan won’t be staying in the CHL for 2026-27. HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas in Slovakia announced on their Facebook page that the winger has joined the team for the upcoming season.  Satan was a seventh-round pick back in 2024 out of Slovakia’s junior system, giving Washington four years of team control.  The son of a long-time NHLer by the same name, Satan split last season between OHL Saginaw and QMJHL Chicoutimi, tallying six points in 53 games between the two teams.  At this point, it seems rather unlikely that he’ll be signed over the next couple of years, barring a significant improvement in his play and production.
• Mammoth goaltender Ivan Tkach-Tkachenko is on the move as OHL Sarnia announced that they’ve signed him for the 2026-27 season. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2025 and has spent the past two seasons with Tolpar in Russia’s junior league.  Last season, Tkach-Tkachenko posted a 2.80 GAA and a .894 SV% in 27 games.  With the Sting’s starter in 2025-26 moving onto college, Tkach-Tkachenko could have a pathway to some significant playing time in short order.