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Kasimir Kaskisuo

Minor Transactions: 2/14/2025

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The first set of games in the coveted 4-Nations Face-Off have come and gone, speaking plenty of positives for North America while the European side both need to find another kick. But the pause in the NHL season hasn’t slowed down the news cycle in professional leagues around the world, with plenty of former NHL talent on the move or cementing their stay overseas. As always, we’ll track the minor moves from Valentine’s Day here…

  • Former Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo has signed a standard player contract with the ECHL’s Bloomington Bison. Kaskisuo played in two games for the Norfolk Admirals earlier this season. He lost both matchups and allowed seven goals on 55 shots. He was a bit more successful with the AHL’s Laval Rocket last season, posting a modest .909 save percentage and a 7-4-0 record in 13 games. Kaskisuo has journeyed around the hockey world over the last few seasons. He climbed through the minor leagues from 2015 to 2020, and made one start each with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Nashville Predators in 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. He followed those spot starts up with a trip to Sweden, spending two years and 60 games with the SHL’s Leksands IF. Kaskisuo performed well with a move to pro starts, totaling a 26-31-0 record and .904 save percentage. He slowed down in his latter Finnish starts, prompting a return to North America that he’ll look to now spark in Bloomington.
  • Top Switzerland club the SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers have extended three former NHL talents to two-year contract extensions. The group is led by former Minnesota Wild lineup piece Victor Rask, who ranks third on the Lakers in scoring with 30 points in 47 games this season. It’s his best Swiss year yet, after he totaled 34 points in 59 Swiss games over the last two seasons. Rask previously recorded 223 points in 506 career NHL games. Rask is joined in re-upping by defenseman Nicklas Jensen and winger Tanner Fritz, who have followed similar paths to Switzerland. Jensen was a first-round selection in the 2011 NHL Draft, but managed just 31 NHL games and six points before he decided to the KHL. He added 220 games in Russia, and joined the Lakers in 2022. Fritz had a bit more success in North America. He mounted a nine-year career in the AHL that rewarded him with 221 points across 347 games. Those appearances were interspliced with 42 career NHL games – but Fritz couldn’t find the scoring push to hold up a top-flight role. He started the 2024-25 season in Canada’s North Peace Hockey League, but joined the Lakers partway through the year. That’s proven a good bet, with Fritz netting 12 points in 14 games so far. This extension will now give him a chance to carry those numbers over the course of a full season.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Bruins Recall Eight Players

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The Bruins have recalled eight players ahead of tonight’s preseason finale against the Capitals, the team announced. Forwards Riley Duran, Brett Harrison, Georgii Merkulov and Jaxon Nelson; defensemen Michael Callahan and Jackson Edward; and goaltenders Ryan Bischel and Kasimir Kaskisuo are now on the roster and will be available for Saturday’s game after previously being cut from the camp roster.

It’s final auditions for in-season recalls for most players on this list. Perhaps it’s most true for Duran, who seemed to grab some attention in his first NHL training camp. The Boston 2020 sixth-round pick turned pro following his junior year at Providence College. The 22-year-old’s point production has never jumped off the charts, but he does have some upside as a fourth-line energy piece. The 6’1″, 174-lb forward can play both center and wing and closed out his 2023-24 season with four points in 11 games for AHL Providence. He’ll head back to the P-Bruins after tonight’s game, but another strong showing could vault him up to being one of the top recall options if injuries affect Boston’s bottom-six forward group.

Harrison, 21, is looking to get back on track in Year 2 of his pro career. The 2021 third-rounder lost most of his draft year to the COVID-19 pandemic but responded well the following two years, averaging around a point per game with OHL Oshawa and Windsor. He was limited to 47 appearances with Providence last year, though, totaling five goals and nine assists for 14 points.

Merkulov will start the season back in the minors, but the soon-to-be 24-year-old continues to push for a longer look at the NHL level. The well-rounded offensive pivot has been consistently trending in the right direction after being an under-the-radar undrafted free agent signing in 2022. He set career highs across the board with Providence last season, leading them in scoring with 30 goals and 35 assists for 65 points in 67 games. He logged his first four NHL appearances, too, posting a +1 rating and three shots on goal while averaging 10:35 per game.

Nelson, 24, is entering his first pro season after spending the last five years at the University of Minnesota. The hefty 6’4″ center had 31 points in 39 games with the Golden Gophers last year while serving as team captain before signing with the Bruins and closing out the year with a goal in seven games for Providence.

Callahan, 25, was a fifth-round pick of the Coyotes back in 2018, but Boston acquired his signing rights via trade in 2022. He’s now an alternate captain with Providence, and he’s entering his third full pro season. The former Providence College captain checks out as a well-rounded stay-at-home defender at the AHL level and was given some of the toughest minutes on the P-Bruins last year, posting 17 points and a -14 rating in 70 games.

Among the two defenders, Edward carries a bit more NHL upside. The 20-year-old has far more room to grow after being selected 200th overall in the 2022 draft. He played a key role on the OHL champion London Knights last season, recording 30 points and a +43 rating in 59 games – a major offensive breakout for the physical shutdown defender. He’ll make his pro debut with the P-Bruins this month.

The two goalies, Bischel and Kaskisuo, aren’t signed to NHL contracts. Bischel, 25, signed an AHL deal with Providence this offseason after posting a .924 SV% in five seasons with Notre Dame. Kaskisuo, meanwhile, is in both NHL and AHL camp with the Bruins on a PTO. The 31-year-old Finn spent last season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, posting a .909 SV% in 13 games for the Canadiens affiliate.

Bruins Sign Kasimir Kaskisuo To PTO

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The Boston Bruins have signed goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo to a professional try-out agreement. The move adds another goaltender to Boston’s training camp, as the team continues to negotiate a new contract with presumed starter and restricted free agent, Jeremy Swayman.

Kaskisuo has become a journeyman around the hockey world, though his career formally began as a collegiate free agent in 2016. He signed a minor-league deal with the Toronto Marlies that year and proceeded to play his way into a routine role as one of Toronto’s many platooned goalies. He’d serve in that role for parts of five seasons, split by a brief stint with the Chicago Wolves. Kaskisuo never broke out as a star goaltender but he was proudly consistent, posting a .905 save percentage in 129 games through his first six years as a pro.

But with no clear opportunities to the NHL, Kaskisuo decided to take his talents overseas in 2021, signing with the SHL’s Leksands IF. He served as the team’s starter in 2021-22, recording an impressive .910 save percentage across 40 games, but struggled through just 14 appearances in 2022-23. Kaskisuo followed the down year with a return to North America, joining the Laval Rocket for last season and playing 13 games behind Jakub Dobes and Strauss Mann. Kaskisuo posted the highest save percentage (.909) of the bunch.

Kaskisuo will now look to continue his North American career by joining one of the most uncertain goalie rooms in the league. The Bruins have yet to sign star starter Swayman to a deal for the 2024-25 season, leaving Joonas Korpisalo and Brandon Bussi as the team’s top two options. Boston quickly runs out of depth behind that tandem, with just Michael Dipietro and Ryan Bischel signed behind their assumed starting-pair. That could pave the way for Kaskisuo to earn routine ice time, though it may once again come as part of a confused goalie tandem.

Kasimir Kaskisuo, Justin Kloos Sign In Sweden

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Two more veteran minor league players have decided to take their talents to Sweden, as Kasimir Kaskisuo and Justin Kloos have signed with Leksands IF of the SHL. Both players have signed two-year contracts through the 2022-23 season.

Kaskisuo, 27, went undrafted out of the Finnish junior level and only signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs after two years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs during the 2019-20 season, he was completely left out to dry by his teammates, who had seemingly given up on playing for their head coach. Mike Babcock was fired four days after Kaskisuo lost 6-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins, not a great memory for the young goaltender. He got into a game this season for the Nashville Predators as well, stopping all three shots he faced in relief of Pekka Rinne, but those two appearances are the entirety of his NHL career thus far.

Two NHL games and a contract overseas is the same story for Kloos, who suited up once for the Minnesota Wild and once for the Anaheim Ducks before heading to the KHL last season. The 27-year-old was once a superstar in the Minnesota high school hockey scene, scoring 103 points in 31 games for Lakeville in 2011-12. That success continued at the University of Minnesota, where he captained the Golden Gophers and recorded 150 points in 155 games. Unfortunately, even with some legitimate minor league success, the 5’9″ forward failed to receive many opportunities at the NHL level and is likely going to finish his career with just those two games. In 48 KHL games last season he recorded 20 points.

International Notes: Kaskisuo, Iskhakov, Weise

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Predators goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo has been on an NHL contract for the past five seasons but only has two career appearances at the top level to this point of his career.  As he’s set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, it appears some international opportunities will be presenting themselves; Leksand (SHL) GM Thomas Johansson told SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson that they are considering going after the 27-year-old for next season.  Kaskisuo was Nashville’s taxi squad goaltender this season and made just a single appearance lasting 15 minutes while not getting any AHL time so at this point, simply going somewhere where he will have a chance to play would certainly be appealing.

Elsewhere around the international hockey world:

  • Islanders prospect Ruslan Iskhakov opted to turn pro last season after spending two seasons at the University of Connecticut but instead of signing with New York, he went overseas and played in Finland. Despite finishing tied for third in scoring with TPS Turku with 38 points in 54 games, the 2018 second-rounder is on the move again and once again, it’s not to New York.  Instead, Adler Mannheim of the DEL announced that they’ve signed the 20-year-old to a one-year deal for next season.  It’s worth noting that the Isles only hold his rights through August 15, 2022, so if he doesn’t sign with them for next season, he’ll become a free agent.
  • After not playing this season, it appears as if winger Dale Weise is set to resume his career. Svensson reports in a separate column that the veteran has agreed to terms with IK Oskarshamn of the SHL with an official announcement expected in the next few days.  The 32-year-old is a veteran of 513 career NHL games across five separate organizations and became a free agent last fall after his contract with Montreal was not renewed.

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