Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Jakub Demek

AHL Notes: Demek, Syracuse, FloSports

at CDT | by 2 Comments

In what will be his final development camp with the Vegas Golden Knights, prospect Jakub Demek hopes to refine his game enough to make his NHL debut next year. In a write-up from Paul Delos Santos of the NHL, it was made clear that Demek is ready to be a leader both on and off the ice with the Golden Knights organization.

He was originally drafted 128th overall by Vegas in the 2021 NHL Draft and participated in his first professional season last year. The Golden Knights have a requirement that its prospects participate in development camp after their first full professional season and Demek quickly became one of the group’s leaders. This is one of the main pillars of Vegas’ development path as director of player development, Will Nichol, remarked, “[When you’re at your last developmental camp], there’s that last piece of development — leadership. That’s a huge part of the development as you keep passing the baton on with culture“.

Demek suited up in 55 games for the organization’s AHL affiliate in Henderson last year where he scored seven goals and 16 points. The Golden Knights recalled Demek from the AHL last year in late February but he did not make his NHL debut. The young Slovakian still has a few key developmental items to take care of before he becomes a full-time member of Vegas’ roster but that is where he is aiming for the 2024-25 NHL season.

Other AHL notes:

  • The AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Syracuse Crunch made a couple of hires today as the team announced it would bring in Alex Maring as the head athletic trainer and Tyler Bacarro as a physical therapist. Maring moves on from the New York Islanders as he served in the same role with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Worcester Railers for the last two years. It will be Bacarro’s first shot in hockey as he previously served as a physical therapy fellow with the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Maring is preceded by Brad Chavis, who served as the Crunch’s head athletic trainer for the last 12 years.
  • According to Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey, the top affiliate of the NHL will have a new streaming platform for the 2024-25 season. Androckitis reports that AHLTV will be migrating to FloSports; the streaming platform deals in many athletic competitions including baseball, football, lacrosse, gymnastics, etc. AHLTV previously served as the ’one-stop shop’ for all AHL games for the last several years including many archived matchups.

Golden Knights Recall Grigori Denisenko

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Golden Knights recalled right-winger Grigori Denisenko from AHL Henderson on Friday, per a team announcement. To open space on the active roster, the team returned rookie right-winger Jakub Demek to the minors.

Denisenko, 23, is the latest in a series of minor-league call-ups that’s seen time on the NHL roster with forwards William Carrier, Pavel Dorofeyev, Jack Eichel, Brett Howden, and Mark Stone all out with injuries. He’s played in four games for Vegas this year, going without a point while averaging 9:57 per game.

A first-round pick of the Panthers in 2018, Denisenko signed a two-year, $1.55MM deal to remain in Florida after reaching restricted free agency last summer. However, he was claimed off waivers by the Golden Knights when the Panthers attempted to send him to the minors after he failed to make the team out of camp in October.

Vegas placed him on waivers again the day after claiming him, but Florida opted not to bring him back to the organization. As such, he was assigned to Henderson to begin the campaign, where he’s up to 14 goals and 40 points in 47 games on the season. It’s his best offensive showing since coming to North America in 2020, although it hasn’t yet translated into NHL success.

It’s unclear if Denisenko will slot into the lineup against the Sabres tomorrow or if the Golden Knights plan to keep him around as a 13th forward. If he draws in, it would be on their fourth line, currently staffed by a trio of AHL call-ups in Byron Froese, Mason Morelli, and Sheldon Rempal.

Meanwhile, Demek has yet to make his NHL debut after being recalled twice last month. The 6-foot-4 forward out of Slovakia has five goals and 13 points in 44 games for Henderson during his first professional season. Vegas selected him in the fourth round, 128th overall, in the 2021 draft.

Golden Knights Recall Jakub Demek, Place Brett Howden On IR

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Golden Knights recalled forward Jakub Demek from AHL Henderson on Friday, per a team announcement. Forward Brett Howden was moved to IR in a corresponding transaction, per CapFriendly.

Howden, 25, was scratched for last night’s 7-3 loss to the Maple Leafs and is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. As a result of today’s IR placement, he has been ruled out of the first two games of Vegas’ upcoming road trip and is eligible to return on Feb. 29 in Boston.

The 20-year-old Demek has never been recalled in his professional career. Selected by Vegas in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, the Slovak winger could be in line to make his NHL debut against the Senators on Saturday.

He’s currently listed as a projected scratch on CapFriendly’s depth chart for Vegas, but an already banged-up forward core got injured further when Paul Cotter took a hard hit from Toronto rookie Matthew Knies last night. Cotter finished the game, however, meaning Demek’s recall may be precautionary in case any other Vegas forwards come down with the injury bug in the next 48 hours.

Selected out of HC Kosice in the Slovak Extraliga, Demek came to North America after being picked up by Vegas in the Entry Draft and spent the following two seasons with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings and Kamloops Blazers, playing in back-to-back Memorial Cups. He didn’t quite crack the point-per-game mark at the junior level but hovered near it and remains on track to deliver the expected value for his draft billing.

Now in his first professional season, Demek has five goals and 13 points through 44 games with the Silver Knights, along with a -5 rating. Vegas would rather let the 6-foot-4, 210-lb forward continue working with development staff in Henderson. However, injuries to five regular forwards (William Carrier, Pavel Dorofeyev, Jack Eichel, Howden, and captain Mark Stone) have forced them to reach deep into their pool of minor-league players.

Demek is in the first season of his three-year, entry-level contract with a cap hit of $851,683. He remains waivers-exempt and will be an RFA in 2026.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top