Devils Reassign Dennis Cholowski
Feb. 24: Not surprisingly, New Jersey shared today that Cholowski has been re-assigned to AHL Utica. The former first round defenseman was able to practice with the team during the break, but will not add to his 15 game season total with New Jersey at this time. The Devils host Buffalo tomorrow in their first game post-Olympics.
Feb. 18: The Devils made Hameenaho’s and White’s recalls official today. They also summoned defenseman Dennis Cholowski and goaltender Jakub Malek from AHL Utica to serve as extra practice players while they await the return of their Olympians.
Feb. 13: The Devils will recall forward Lenni Hameenaho and defenseman Colton White back to the NHL roster after the Olympic break, per James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. As things stand, they won’t need to make any corresponding moves.
Hameenaho, 21, appeared in the first nine games of his NHL career in the weeks leading up to the break. The early returns were strong for the 2023 second-round pick. He notched two goals and four points with a +1 rating. The right-winger played his natural position, usually on a line with Arseny Gritsyuk and Cody Glass. That trio controlled a dominant 75% of expected goals at 5-on-5, per MoneyPuck. It’s easy to see why New Jersey wants to squeeze as much momentum as they can out of that group when league play reconvenes later this month.
Hameenaho’s adjustment to the NHL game is a great sign that a rough campaign for the club’s AHL affiliate in Utica hasn’t steered him too far off his development path. The 6’1″ Finn has a 9-13–22 scoring line and a -13 rating through 34 minor-league games, a figure that improbably leads the team in scoring.
He made his offensive ceiling evident with a pair of spectacular post-draft campaigns in his home country for Ässät. In 2024-25, he erupted for 20 goals and 51 points in 58 Liiga games to lead under-20 players in scoring.
Now, as one of New Jersey’s brightest prospects, he appears set to finish out the season in a top-nine role. While playoffs are essentially out of the question, a strong finish should position him well to crack the opening night roster next fall.
White, 28, has spent most of his pro career in the minors but has been a pleasant surprise as a call-up option when needed this season. Injuries have forced the lefty in 23 appearances, in which he’s recorded four assists and a +2 rating. They’re his first games at the top level since suiting up a career-high 46 times for the Ducks in 2022-23.
A stay-at-home specialist, White is averaging just 12:15 of ice time per game but has been a no-fuss option in bottom-pairing minutes. He’s controlled 47.7% of shot attempts and 53.9% of expected goals at even strength, so he’s done a good job of helping the Devils control quality scoring chances against lesser competition.
Devils Loan Jakub Málek To Liiga’s Ilves
Ilves of the top-level Finnish Liiga announced they’ll receive Devils goaltending prospect Jakub Málek on loan for the 2024-25 season. New Jersey signed Málek to his entry-level contract earlier this offseason, and the Rome Daily Sentinel’s Ben Birnell reported at the time that he’d be heading to Ilves this year.
Málek, 22, will return to the club he’s spent the last two seasons with. He was a fourth-round pick of the Devils in 2021, and the 6’4″ Czech netminder has done well in European professional leagues since. His post-draft year was electric, backstopping VHK Vsetín of the second-tier Czech league with a .932 SV% and 1.95 GAA in 31 games en route to being named the circuit’s best goaltender. Clearly ready for top-flight action, he headed to Finland, where he’s put up a strong .910 SV% and 2.24 GAA with four shutouts and a 25-11-9 record in 49 appearances over the past two years.
Needless to say, he’s trending upward and his chances of making the NHL at some point over the next few seasons seem high. But it won’t be next year, as a bit of a goalie logjam in Newark means he’ll be better served getting some guaranteed playing time with Ilves. The Devils already had prospects Tyler Brennan and Isaac Poulter under contract and slated for AHL Utica this year, as well as unsigned RFA Nico Daws.
Málek will likely arrive in North America in the fall of 2025, better positioned to command AHL starts and eventually become a call-up option.
Devils Sign Jakub Malek To Entry-Level Deal
1:03 p.m.: New Jersey plans to loan Málek back to Ilves for the 2024-25 season, reports the Daily Sentinel’s Ben Birnell.
12:29 p.m.: The Devils have signed goaltender Jakub Málek to a two-year, entry-level deal, per a club announcement Monday.
Málek, 22, was the Devils’ lone fourth-round selection in the 2021 draft, going off the board at 100th overall. The 6’4″, 190-lb netminder just wrapped up his fourth season spent primarily in the professional ranks, the last two of which have come in Finland with the Liiga’s Ilves.
In 27 appearances last season, Málek was strong with a 2.32 GAA, .915 SV%, two shutouts and a 16-4-5 record. He started three playoff contests for Ilves as well, posting a 1.87 GAA and .910 SV% as they were upset in five games in the quarterfinals by seventh-place KalPa after finishing with a 33-13-7-7 record in the regular season, second in the Liiga.
In his rookie campaign with Ilves last season, Málek posted a 9-7-4 record in 22 appearances with a .903 SV%, 2.15 GAA and two shutouts. The Czech netminder had spent his entire career in his home country up to that point, getting nearly all of his professional experience with VHK Vsetín in the 1. liga, Czechia’s second-tier pro league behind the Extraliga.
He made his debut there as a 16-year-old all the way back in 2018-19, accumulating a 2.13 GAA, .923 SV%, four shutouts and a 30-16-0 record in 47 appearances across four seasons. In 2021-22, his final season with Vsetín before making the jump to tougher competition in Finland, he was named to the 1. liga’s year-end All-Star Team, as well as taking home Best Goaltender and Best Junior Player honors.
Málek has flown under the radar when discussing Devils prospects, but his overall showing overseas against professional competition has been promising. He outperformed 32-year-old Jonas Gunnarsson in the Ilves crease this season and worked his way into a 1A role, suggesting he should be ready to face AHL action in Utica immediately upon arriving in North America.
New Jersey’s goaltending depth will be in flux this summer as the team looks to find an above-average starter on the trade market, but Málek’s signing indicates that their two pending UFAs at the minor-league level, Erik Källgren and Keith Kinkaid, won’t be back. Even so, it will be a crowded crease in Utica and in ECHL Adirondack. The Devils are expected to retain trade deadline pickup Jake Allen as a backup to their new addition, which still leaves Tyler Brennan, Nico Daws, Isaac Poulter and Akira Schmid under NHL contract at the minor-league levels. Daws or Schmid will likely be moved out in an eventual trade for a starter, though, likely leaving Málek and either Brennan or Poulter manning Utica’s crease with one odd man out starting games for Adirondack.
Málek will be a restricted free agent upon expiry in 2026. He’ll remain waiver-exempt for the life of his ELC unless he plays more than 60 NHL games. He was under contract with Ilves next season, one which the Devils have evidently bought him out of.