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Jacob Melanson

Minor Transactions: 3/7/25

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Similarly to the NHL, AHL playoff rosters are also due today before the trade deadline. Any player currently rostered in the AHL is eligible for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, regardless of a future call-up. Today’s list will continue to grow until the 3 p.m. deadline.

  • According to a team announcement, the Dallas Stars have reassigned defenseman Lian Bichsel to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. Although the reassignment came with a formal announcement from the team, it should only serve as a paper transaction for Bichsel to ensure he’s eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs. The rookie defenseman has scored two goals and three assists in 20 games for the Stars this season, averaging 14:54 of ice time per night. He’s made his presence known by averaging over four hits a game, but he’s been on the wrong end of some highlight videos early in his NHL career. Dallas confirmed it as a paper transaction later, recalling Bichsel quickly after the deadline.
  • As alluded to yesterday, the Philadelphia Flyers have confirmed the reassignment of netminder Aleksei Kolosov to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Given that he’s been Philadelphia’s third-string option for much of the season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kolosov’s reassignment extend beyond the trade deadline. The second-year netminder has a 4-8-1 record in 15 games with the Flyers this season with a .870 SV% and 3.45 GAA. His performance hasn’t been any better with AHL Lehigh Valley as he’s recorded a 2-4-1 record in seven AHL contests with a .874 SV% and 3.59 GAA.
  • The Calgary Flames are making Adam Klapka available to their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, per a team report. Similarly to Kolosov, this reassignment may extend through the deadline. Klapka has spent much of the year in AHL Calgary, scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 31 contests. He’s been far less utilized by the Flames, registering one goal in 13 contests and averaging 8:10 of ice time per game.
  • According to Andy Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey, the San Jose Sharks are expected to reassign defenseman Jimmy Schuldt and Jack Thompson to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. As a minor contextual update, Max Miller of The Hockey News believes Thompson’s reassignment is a paper transaction to make him eligible for the AHL postseason. Despite low scoring output, Thompson has been an effective defenseman for the Sharks this season, averaging a 92.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength, the best on the team among defensemen with more than 20 games played.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets announced they’ve reassigned forward Joseph Labate to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. As one of the most feel-good stories of the 2024-25 campaign, Labate took the ice in the NHL for the first time in eight years this season. The 31-year-old winger had spent the last several years bouncing around on AHL contracts with a one-year pitstop in the KHL. He scored six goals and 13 points in 33 games with AHL Cleveland before being elevated to an NHL contract with the Blue Jackets.
  • After announcing that defenseman Colton Parayko would miss the next six weeks due to a knee injury, the St. Louis Blues were expected to make a recall on defense. The team announced that recall this morning, sharing that they’ve brought up Matthew Kessel from their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Phoenix, AZ native has already spent time as a seventh defenseman for the Blues this season, tallying three assists in 27 games while averaging 13:05 of ice time per game.
  • Strictly as a paper move, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Chicago Blackhawks have reassigned forward Colton Dach and defenseman Ethan Del Mastro to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Both players will remain in the Blackhawks’ lineup for the rest of the season before they are returned to AHL Rockford at the end of the season, should they qualify for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs. Dach has scored two goals and six points in 18 games with Chicago, while Del Mastro has registered two goals and three points in 12 contests.
  • As expected, the Detroit Red Wings have placed forward Carter Mazur on injured reserve one day after his debut. Mazur suffered a dislocated elbow approximately one minute into his NHL career, and he’s likely done for the regular season. In a corresponding transaction, the Red Wings have recalled forward Dominik Shine from their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. Shine is only a couple of weeks removed from signing the first NHL contract of his career, tallying one assist in four games for Detroit in late January.
  • The Montreal Canadiens announced they’ve reassigned forward Owen Beck and goaltender Jakub Dobes to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, for eligibility in the Calder Cup playoffs. Beck has been an extremely effective forward for the Rocket this year, scoring 13 goals and 32 points in 47 games. Meanwhile, Dobes has made a name for himself in Montreal, managing a 6-2-1 record in 10 games with a .909 SV% and 2.63 GAA, including one shutout.
  • The Los Angeles Kings aren’t entirely sold on Brandt Clarke’s future with the team. A report from Greg Wyshynski of ESPN this morning indicated the Kings were shopping Clarke on the trade market, and they’ve now reassigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, along with Samuel Helenius (Twitter Link). Both players should be back on the NHL roster tomorrow, with the move signifying they’ll be eligible for the AHL postseason. Still, it’s a notable development as it indicates Los Angeles may want Clarke in the AHL for the Reign’s postseason run rather than their own.
  • According to a team announcement, the Carolina Hurricanes have reassigned defenseman Riley Stillman to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Stillman filled in for Dmitry Orlov in last night’s contest but didn’t make it through the full game due to getting his face cut by a skate. He finished last night’s contest against the Boston Bruins with zero points after skating in 18 seconds of the game’s action.
  • In addition to Schuldt and Thompson, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News shares that the Sharks have reassigned defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin and forward Collin Graf to AHL San Jose. They’re both expected back on the Sharks’ roster later today or tomorrow, but the roster move will make them eligible for the AHL postseason. Mukhamadullin and Graf have both spent much of the year with the Barracuda. In short order, Pashelka reports the Sharks have recalled both players back to the NHL roster.
  • Due to another injury to netminder John Gibson on Wednesday, the Anaheim Ducks were expected to recall another goaltender. Anaheim announced they’ve recalled Ville Husso from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, to fill the void left by Gibson. It’s Husso’s first call-up with the Ducks since being acquired from the Red Wings on February 24th. He posted a 1-5-2 record in nine games in Detroit this season with a .866 SV% and 3.69 GAA.
  • For the fifth time this year, the New York Rangers have assigned defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Ruhwedel has primarily played for AHL Hartford this season in his first extended stay in the AHL since 2016-17. The veteran defenseman has recorded three goals and 12 points in 36 contests with a +8 rating.
  • After a flurry of trade activity over the last couple of days, the Seattle Kraken are making a small roster move for the benefit of their AHL roster. The Kraken announced they’ve reassigned forwards Jacob Melanson and Ben Meyers to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, and have recalled John Hayden in a corresponding transaction. The former debuted in the NHL last night, notching four hits and one takeaway in 9:53 of ice time.
  • In a major boost to their playoff chances, the AHL’s Providence Bruins will have several players available for the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs. Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports the Boston Bruins have papered down Marat Khusnutdinov, Vinni Lettieri, Patrick Brown, Ian Mitchell, Riley Tufte, and Matthew Poitras to the AHL for their postseason eligibility. All six players are expected back on the Bruins roster by this evening or tomorrow morning.
  • As expected, the Buffalo Sabres have papered down forward Jiří Kulich to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Kulich has been an impressive player for AHL Rochester over the last few seasons and should continue to be in the postseason. He’s scored 53 goals and 94 points in 123 games on the Americans’ roster.  Later in the day, the Americans announced that forwards Isak Rosen and Joshua Dunne were recalled on an emergency basis so they won’t count toward the post-deadline limit.
  • According to a team announcement, the Edmonton Oilers have returned defenseman Cam Dineen to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, from his emergency recall. Unlike many of the roster moves on today’s list, Dineen has a solid chance of playing the remainder of the year with AHL Bakersfield. The 26-year-old defenseman has scored five goals and 29 points in 45 games for the Condors this season while only registering one game with the Oilers.
  • In addition to recalling Emil Andrae, the Philadelphia Flyers are also making two more player recalls to their NHL roster. The team announced they’ve recalled forwards Olle Lycksell and Rodrigo Abols to the NHL roster for Saturday’s game against the Seattle Kraken. Abols has scored one goal and one assist in nine games for the Flyers this season, while Lycksell has gone scoreless in six contests.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have joined in on the mix of teams ensuring their top prospects are eligible for the AHL playoffs. They have assigned defenseman Victor Mancini, forward Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and goaltender Arturs Silovs to the AHL. Lekkerimaki has three points in 12 NHL games this season, while Mancini didn’t manage any scoring in his sole appearance with the Canucks so far. Silovs has operated as the team’s third-string goalie and has a 1-6-1 record and .858 save percentage on the year.  All three players were subsequently recalled soon after the deadline.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Jack St. Ivany from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an emergency basis.  The 25-year-old has played in 19 games with Pittsburgh this season, recording one assist while averaging 16:22 of playing time per game.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Seattle Kraken Recall Ben Meyers, Jacob Melanson

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After trading Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier today, the Seattle Kraken opened up a pair of roster spots. Newly acquired Michael Eyssimont will take one of those spots, and the Kraken announced they’re recalling Ben Meyers and Jacob Melanson for additional depth.

Meyers has been an infrequent depth option for the Kraken this season. Despite longer-term injuries to Gourde and captain Jordan Eberle throughout the 2024-25 campaign, Seattle hasn’t called upon Meyers too much. He signed a one-year, $775K contract last summer and has gone scoreless in seven games for the Kraken, averaging 8:10 of ice time per game.

He’s a completely different player in the AHL. He’s second on the Firebirds in scoring with 19 goals and 40 points in 45 AHL contests and continues to show the offensive potential he flashed during his last year at the University of Minnesota in 2021-22. At the time of writing, his production this season brings his career totals to 36 goals and 89 points in 107 AHL games.

Meanwhile, today’s roster move is the first call-up of Melanson’s career. Unfortunately, a lower-body injury cost him approximately the first 30 games of the season. Still, he’s performed adequately upon his return, scoring seven goals and 10 points in 27 contests for AHL Coachella Valley.

Should Melanson draw into the Kraken’s lineup tomorrow night, the former 131st overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft will join James Malatesta (Columbus Blue Jackets) and Joshua Roy (Montreal Canadiens) as the only fifth-round picks from that draft to make their NHL debuts.

Snapshots: Domi, Kraken Prospects, Vrana, Wotherspoon

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As soon as Max Domi signed with Chicago just minutes into free agency last summer, the expectation was that he’d be traded at the deadline when there wasn’t much money left on his one-year, $3MM contract.  However, in a recent 32 Thoughts appearance, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports (video link) that it’s not a guarantee that Domi moves.  He’s enjoying a nice bounce-back year with the Blackhawks, collecting 11 goals and 13 assists in 36 games so far, good for second on the team in scoring.  He’s also winning draws at a career-best clip of 56.3%.  If he’s happy in his role and having some success, it may make more sense for Chicago to try to extend the 27-year-old.  That’s a discussion GM Kyle Davidson is expected to have with Domi’s representation in the coming weeks.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • A pair of Kraken prospects are on the move in the CHL. OHL London announced that they’ve acquired forward Ryan Winterton from Hamilton as part of a four-player trade.  The 19-year-old was a third-round pick (67th overall) in 2021 and has 46 points in 37 games so far this season.  Meanwhile, Sherbrooke of the QMJHL announced the acquisition of winger Jacob Melanson from Acadie-Bathurst.  The 19-year-old has 25 goals in just 27 games this season.  Both prospects have already signed their entry-level contracts with Seattle.
  • The Red Wings will extend Jakub Vrana’s conditioning stint by three more games, relays MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has already played in three games and was held off the scoresheet and the team feels he could benefit from a longer stretch in the minors.  This is the only extension that Detroit can give Vrana; he’ll have to be recalled once these three games are up.
  • The Devils announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon to AHL Utica. He was recalled last week for his second stint with the big club this season but didn’t get into a game with New Jersey; his last NHL appearance came back in January 2017.  So far this season, the 29-year-old has two goals and seven assists in 23 games with the Comets.

Jacob Melanson Suspended Two Games

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7:03 pm: As announced by NHL Player Safety, Melanson has been suspended for two games for his illegal check to the head against Hamblin. In the video explanation for the decision, the Department provided the following justification:

This is an illegal check to the head. It is important to note that both elements of the illegal check to the head rule are satisfied on this hit. First, the head is the main point of contact; as Melanson’s shoulder makes contact with the head of Hamblin, and it is the head that absorbs the majority of the force of this hit. Second, the head contact on this hit is avoidable. Melanson chooses an angle of approach that cuts across the front of Hamblin’s body, missing his core and picking the head. If Melanson wants to deliver this hit, he must stay low and choose an angle that leads to a full-body check through the shoulder or chest, rather than one that makes the head the main point of contact.

Melanson will serve the suspension in the next two consecutive games that he is eligible to participate for Seattle.

11:05 am: There is a chance that Jacob Melanson is suspended for an NHL game before he even makes his debut. The young winger will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety today for an illegal check to the head of Edmonton Oilers prospect James Hamblin.

Should he earn a suspension that stretches into the regular season, there is a way around it. The team could essentially keep him on the roster for an extra few days before sending him back to junior, though with the waiver crunch the Kraken are already going to experience, that may not be an option. Otherwise, the suspension would be waiting for Melanson whenever he does make it back to the NHL.

Of course, it also might just keep him out of preseason action, and not carry over to the regular season, given it happened so early in the exhibition schedule.

Melanson, a fifth-round pick of the Kraken in 2021, is known for his physicality and for going over the line at times. Earlier this year he was given a four-game suspension in the QMJHL for taking a run at an opponent, extending his leg to contact knee-on-knee. He also racked up 85 penalty minutes in his 54 games, though his game did prove effective. The young forward also registered 35 goals, breaking out offensively and becoming an interesting NHL prospect.

For now, he’ll have to wait to see what punishment is coming down from the league. If he ever does make the NHL, he’ll be under a watchful eye, as a preseason suspension will be taken into account in any further supplementary discipline decisions.

Seattle Kraken Sign Four Players

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The Seattle Kraken have inked a pair of draft picks, signing Jacob Melanson and Ryan Winterton to three-year, entry-level contracts. Both players were selected in the 2021 draft and are still eligible to return to their junior teams this season, allowing these entry-level deals to slide forward.

Melanson, selected 131st overall in 2021, broke out this season with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL, scoring 35 goals in just 54 regular season games. That was enough to earn the fifth-round pick this entry-level deal, though before he has any thought of professional hockey, he’ll have to go back and prove he can take his game to an even higher level in 2022-23.

Winterton meanwhile was picked much higher, 67th in 2021, and had an even better season for the Hamilton Bulldogs. The OHL champion posted 20 goals and 46 points in 37 games, while adding another 19 in 18 playoff games en route to the Memorial Cup finals. The young forward won’t turn 19 until September 4, a birthday that made him one of the very youngest players in the entire 2021 draft class. His future looks bright at the moment and the reward of an entry-level contract is a nice piece of motivation for his next OHL season.

The team has also announced contracts for Austin Poganski and Cameron Hughes, as they continue to load up their minor league system in preparation for the first season for the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Poganski has signed for one year, while Hughes is getting a two-year deal.

Filling an entire minor league roster is no joke, so Poganski and Hughes should both get lots of ice time with the Firebirds. Neither one should really be challenging for an NHL roster spot though, with very limited experience at that level. Poganski played 16 games for the Winnipeg Jets this year but failed to record a since point (he now has zero through 22 career matches), while Hughes has played just two games at the NHL level (and also has zero points).

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