Minor Transactions: 08/17/18
The hockey machine continues to chug along this offseason, with veteran players finding homes overseas and junior stars swapping sweaters. We’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.
- Matt Frattin has re-signed with Barys Astana in the KHL, returning to the league after playing in Switzerland at the very end of last season. Frattin, a former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect scored 29 points in 42 games during his first taste of KHL action last year and should find success again going forward. In 135 NHL games, Frattin recorded just 35 points but always showed flashes of a high offensive ceiling. Now 30 years old, his NHL career is likely behind him.
- Former NHL defenseman Karl Stollery is heading to Jokerit of the KHL, leaving Dinamo Riga after a successful 2017-18 campaign. Stollery logged huge minutes for the club and also participated for Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics. After a great four year career at Merrimack College, Stollery tried to grind his way through the North American minor leagues and only managed to suit up for 23 NHL contests.
- The Hershey Bears have signed Logan Pyett and Adam Morrison to AHL contracts, giving the team some more experience for this season as they look to bounce back. Pyett is a former Detroit Red Wings prospect who has played in the KHL the last few seasons, while Morrison was originally selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in round three of the 2009 draft. The 27-year old goaltender has spent most of his professional career in the ECHL, but regularly posts solid numbers and should give the Bears some depth at the position.
- The Oshawa Generals have traded four draft picks to acquire Giovanni Vallati from the Kitchener Rangers, bringing in the Winnipeg Jets prospect to give them another puck-moving defenseman for this season. Vallati has a ton of talent though still is learning how to use those skills to lock down the defensive zone and play a more consistent game. Two second and two third round picks was the cost to acquire the 18-year old, meaning the Generals will hope to get immediate dividends from Vallati.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Team Canada, Junior Snubs
The NHL released its three stars of the week today, with Brayden Schenn leading the group. Schenn has found brilliant success since being traded to St. Louis, already with 37 points in 31 games. Always possessing elite talent, some believed Schenn would never become the dominant presence he was projected to be when the Los Angeles Kings took him fifth-overall. He’s already been traded twice in his career, but looks ready to obliterate his previous career-high of 59 points and become an integral part of any St. Louis success.
Jake Allen and Brian Elliott round out the stars of the week, both posting perfect records and incredible save percentages. Allen and Elliott were teammates just two seasons ago, when the Blues went to just their second Conference Finals in nearly 30 years. With zero Stanley Cup victories in their history, Allen and Schenn will look to change the franchise fortunes this year.
- Team Canada has made two roster changes for the upcoming Channel One Cup, which beings on Wednesday morning in Russia. Marc-Andre Gragnani and Quinton Howden will replace Gilbert Brule and Karl Stollery for the Olympic tune-up, both coming from Minsk of the KHL. Howden, the older brother of Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Brett Howden, is still just 25-years old and was a first-round pick in 2010. While he’s finding much more success in the KHL than he ever did in NHL, one has to wonder whether an impressive showing at the Olympics would open up some eyes in North America. His Russian deal only runs through the end of April 2018, after which he could potentially sign with any team.
- Corey Pronman of The Athletic examined all the so-called “snubs” from World Junior selection camps, including top-10 picks in Michael Rasmussen and Owen Tippett. Alex DeBrincat, who was cut from last year’s Team USA despite being arguably the best offensive player in the entire CHL and is now enjoying a successful NHL campaign at age-19, had some words of encouragement (via Scott Powers of The Athletic) for Chad Krys, one of the listed snubs. Krys attended the tournament as a 17-year old, but hasn’t been asked back since, and is now starring at Boston University.
Hockey Canada Names 25 Players To Pre-Olympic Tournament
Hockey Canada has released another roster for a pre-Olympic tournament, this time the Channel One Cup in Moscow from December 13-17. This and the Spengler Cup—which is scheduled for December 26-31 in Switzerland—are the final two tournament looks for Team Canada before they send a roster to Pyeongchang.
We learned earlier today that Jarome Iginla wasn’t going to make it back from his hip injury in time to play in either tournament, making him a long shot for the Olympic squad. This group, which includes many of those who’ve already suited up international for Canada this year, will likely make up most of the eventual roster sent to South Korea. The 25-man team is as follows:
F Wojtek Wolski
F Matt Frattin
F Derek Roy
F Taylor Beck
F Ryan Garbutt
F Eric O’Dell
F Brandon Kozun
F Rene Bourque
F Linden Vey
F Gilbert Brule
F Matt Ellison
F P.A. Parenteau
F Max Talbot
F Teddy Purcell
F Rob Klinkhammer
D Karl Stollery
D Shawn Lalonde
D Chay Genoway
D Chris Lee
D Maxim Noreau
D Simon Despres
D Stefan Elliott
D Mat Robinson
Olympic Preview: Hockey Canada Announces Karjala Cup Roster
The roster for the Karjala Cup has been announced for Team Canada, and it represents a sneak peek at who will likely suit up for the country at the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics. Canada has joined the tournament—held November 8th-12th in Finland—as a sort of tune-up for the Olympics, and their roster is littered with former NHL players.
Perhaps the most interesting name though is Dylan Sikura, the Chicago Blackhawks prospect who returned to the college ranks this season for his final year. Chicago was willing to sign him this spring after his junior year, but Sikura instead returned to try and win a national championship with Northeastern. A sixth-round pick, Sikura could become a free agent next summer, but is almost guaranteed to sign with the Blackhawks when his year ends. His addition could be big for Chicago down the stretch, as he represents another talented offensive threat.
The full roster can be found below
F Wojtek Wolski
F Mason Raymond
F Derek Roy
F Brandon Kozun
F Eric O’Dell
F Gilbert Brule
F Rene Bourque
F Matt Ellison
F Quinton Howden
F Dylan Sikura
F Andrew Ebbett
F Matt Frattin
F Christian Thomas
F Rob Klinkhammer
D Karl Stollery
D Zach Whitecloud
D Chay Genoway
D Chris Lee
D Maxim Noreau
D Simon Despres
D Jesse Blacker
D Geoff Kinrade
D Mat Robinson
Snapshots: Petersen, Kovalchuk, Neal
The Buffalo Sabres are still patiently waiting on a decision from goaltender Cal Petersen on whether or not he’ll start his professional career with the team, or wait for free agency next month. After Petersen declared he would not be returning to school, the Sabres had a 30-day window in which to sign him. John Vogl of the Buffalo News writes that Petersen’s camp is still quiet on his upcoming decision.
The goaltender will become a free agent on July 1st with everyone else through coincidence, and would be highly sought after as a potential future starting goalie. He would be signing a two-year entry-level contract, but after three outstanding years at Notre Dame is considered more polished than many other goaltending prospects. There is a chance he could be in the NHL before that ELC expires, making him extremely valuable to any team that signs him.
- New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero joined TSN 1050 today and was asked a series of questions about Ilya Kovalchuk‘s potential return. Shero told Pierre LeBrun and the other hosts plainly once again that it’s Jay Grossman (Kovalchuk’s agent) that is guiding the ship right now in terms of which teams are in contact with the Russian sniper. He’ll wait until they have a deal worked out before reaching out and seeing if there is a trade to be made with the interested team. Shero did confirm that Kovalchuk still does intend on returning, despite any rumors out of the KHL that he’s re-considering his position.
- The Florida Panthers and New York Rangers have both given promotions to their player development staff. Florida has upgraded former captain Bryan McCabe from Director of Player Development to Director of Player Personnel, while New York has installed Jed Ortmeyer as Director of Player Development. The Rangers have also hired Steve Eminger as a Pro Scout after last playing in the AHL in 2015-16. Eminger spent three seasons for the Rangers during his playing career.
- James Neal played most of the playoffs with a broken hand, according to Nashville Predators GM David Poile at the final team press conference (via Thomas Willis of the team site). The power forward broke it in game one of the Western Conference final, and came back to score the overtime winner that game. Neal has just one year left on his contract and could potentially be exposed by the Predators in the upcoming expansion draft, something Poile is trying his hardest to avoid.
- Karl Stollery has decided to take his talents to the KHL, as the free agent defender has signed on with Dinamo Riga. Stollery played 11 games with the New Jersey Devils last season, registering just three points. The former Merrimack College standout has just 23 NHL games under his belt but will now try to take the next step in the Russian league.
Minor Transactions: 2/6/2017
Derek Grant is headed back to Buffalo. The Nashville Predators had claimed Grant from the Sabres earlier this season, but after addressing their need for grit by trading for Cody McLeod and more recently Vernon Fiddler, Grant became expendable. The Predators placed Grant on waivers yesterday and the Buffalo News now reports that his former team has picked him up. If the Sabres were the only team to put a claim in on Grant, they now have the flexibility to reassign him to the AHL over the next 30 days if they so choose, as the team that previously placed him on waivers. Grant has four assists this season, three in 35 games with Buffalo and one in six appearances with Nashville. The 26-year-old grinder is far from an NHL-caliber offensive contributor, but is a capable of being a reliable energy line player and isn’t afraid to drop the gloves.
In other news around the league:
- A day after sending Karl Stollery to the AHL’s Albany Devils, New Jersey has recalled the defenseman. John Moore has begun skating with the team, but is not ready to return to action. Stollery provides a good option for blue line depth in the meantime. He has three assists in nine games for the Devils this season, while logging over 16 minutes of ice time per game.
- The Nashville Predators have swapped goaltenders with their AHL affiliate, sending Juuse Saros to Milwaukee and recalling Marek Mazanec. Saros is 5-3-2 with the Predators, and has an excellent 0.941 SV% and 1.79 GAA. In the AHL, he’s 12-2 with a 0.932 SV% and 1.92 GAA. Meanwhile Mazanec has struggled this season, with two losses in four appearances with the Predators. He has a rough 0.839 SV% and a 4.72 GAA. He’s been a little better with the AHL’s Admirals, going 12-10 with a 0.910 SV% and a 2.61 GAA.
- The Vancouver Canucks have demoted forward Brendan Gaunce to Utica of the AHL. The former first round pick has five assists in 47 games with the Canucks. He had just one goal in 20 games last season, but has been much better with the Comets, scoring 17 goals and 38 points in 46 games last season. The Canucks will need Gaunce to pick up his offensive game if he’s going to be an impact player like he was in the OHL where he scored 236 points in 258 games.
- Forwards Timo Meier and Marcus Sorensen have been recalled to the San Jose Sharks. Meier has four points in 21 games with the Sharks and 15 points in 18 games with the Barracuda, while Sorensen has 27 points in 39 games at the AHL.
- In a corresponding move, the Sharks have also assigned Tim Heed and Kevin Labanc to the AHL, as per Kevin Kurz of CSN.
Pro Hockey Rumors’ Zach Leach contributed to this post.