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Kevin Poulin

Minor Transactions: 09/06/23

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Today was a busy morning in the hockey news cycle, with the Arizona Coyotes and Pittsburgh Penguins making notable front-office moves while the Toronto Maple Leafs added some potential scoring depth on a professional tryout. There’s also some notable movement on the transactions wire from other leagues, however, so let’s dive into today’s moves:

  • After two post-draft seasons with the OHL’s Barrie Colts, Vegas Golden Knights defense prospect Artur Cholach is staying in junior hockey for one more season with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede, per an announcement from the Colts. Cholach, 20, remains unsigned after the Golden Knights selected him in the sixth round, 190th overall, in the 2021 NHL Draft. His exclusive signing rights did not expire this summer because he only played OHL hockey after his draft date – he played his draft season with Sokil Kyiv in the Ukrainian Hockey League, meaning they have until June 1, 2025, to sign him to an entry-level contract. Over the past two seasons with Barrie, Cholach scored four goals and added 30 assists for 34 points in 116 contests whilst recording a cumulative +9 rating. He also notched eight assists in five games for the Ukrainian national junior team at the 2022 Division 1B World Junior Championship.
  • The AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds have signed defenseman Ryan Jones to a one-year deal, according to a league release. Touted as a physical two-way defender out of the USHL’s Lincoln Stars in the 2016 NHL Draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected him in the fourth round but did not sign him to an entry-level contract when he finished his collegiate career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 2020. He’s spent the three seasons since on AHL deals, including the last two seasons with the Syracuse Crunch, recording 27 points, 114 penalty minutes and a +4 rating in 137 games. Now a full-time bottom-pairing defender at the AHL level, Jones, 27, will look to grasp a spot on the Seattle Kraken’s AHL affiliate, who already added Mitch Reinke to their defense corps by way of their parent club earlier this week.
  • Veteran goaltender Kevin Poulin announced his retirement on his Instagram page.  The 33-year-old played in 50 NHL games over five seasons with the Islanders before embarking on a bit of a unique journey overseas, spending time in Kazakhstan, Croatia, Switzerland, Germany, and Sweden.  Poulin spent the last two years playing on an AHL deal in Montreal’s system, playing primarily with AHL Laval.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

Minor Transactions: 07/19/22

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It hasn’t even been a week since free agency opened but things have already slowed to a crawl. After hundreds of NHL contracts were handed out, minor league deals are starting to come fast and furious. We’ll keep track of the notable minor transactions right here.

  • The Manitoba Moose have agreed to terms with three players to AHL deals, bringing back Evan Cormier, Thomas Caron, and Isaac Johnson. Cormier, a fourth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2016, had a .905 save percentage in 14 games for the Moose this season.
  • In addition to first-round pick Emile Poirier, the Laval Rocket have also signed Alex Green and Kevin Poulin to AHL contracts for the upcoming season. Poulin, 32, was excellent for Laval this season, registering a .920 save percentage in 30 appearances.
  • Scott Wilson, Stanley Cup champion and veteran of more than 200 NHL games, has signed another AHL contract with the Charlotte Checkers. The 30-year-old winger was a force for the team this season, scoring 24 goals and 40 points in 71 games while being his normal hard-working two-way self.
  • The ECHL’s Allen Americans have added an interesting player fresh out of college hockey. Hank Crone, 24, signed a one-year contract with the Americans after a strong final collegiate season with Northern Michigan University. In 32 games Crone had 44 points and showcased his all-around game as one of the team’s most heavily relied-upon forwards. Crone will make his pro debut in Allen and hope to translate his collegiate success to professional hockey.
  • Veteran professional winger Andrew Johnston was among the British EIHL’s top scorers in 2019-20, and now he’s returning to that league after two successful seasons in France. Johnston has signed a contract for 2022-23 with the EIHL’s Nottingham Panthers, per a team announcement. The former ECHL journeyman had 31 points in 39 games for the Rouen Dragons of the French Ligue Magnus and will join a Panthers squad eager to improve on last season’s disappointing first-round playoff exit.
  • The Minnesota Wild AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, announced that they have signed three players to one-year, two-way (AHL/ECHL) contracts: Mitchell Balmas, Kevin Conley, and Patrick Curry. Balmas, 24, is a former junior hockey star who led the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in scoring in his final season in juniors. 2021-22 was Balmas’ professional debut and he split time between the AHL and ECHL, and had five points in ten AHL games and 12 points in 17 ECHL games. Conley, 25, is the former captain of the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks and made his professional debut as well last season, with three points in six games for the ECHL’s Reading Royals. Curry, 26, hasn’t quite cut it as an AHL forward yet, with just eight points in 53 career games, but he had a lot of success as an upperclassman at Boston University and had eight points in his five-game ECHL run with the Toledo Walleye.
  • Orli Znojmo of the European ICEHL could have a tough time repeating last season’s run to the playoffs. Two days ago, the team lost their leading scorer, Anthony Luciani, and it seems they’ve lost their captain this offseason as well. Per an announcement from his new club, Radim Matus, Orli Znojmo’s captain, has signed with Eisbaren Regensburg of Germany’s second-tier DEL-2. Regensburg are looking to establish themselves in DEL-2 after being promoted from the German third tier earlier this year, and Matus should be able to help them achieve that goal.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Kings UFA Kevin Poulin Signs In Sweden

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Kevin Poulin’s return to North America wound up being short-lived.  The pending Kings unrestricted free agent has opted to head back overseas as IF Bjorkloven of the Swedish Allsvenskan announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year contract with a one-year option if the team earns a promotion to the SHL.

The 30-year-old found himself without a team for a good chunk of the season before Detroit brought him in on an AHL tryout on Boxing Day to serve as injury insurance.  The Kings lured him away in February with an AHL contract and then converted him to an NHL deal two weeks later to give them the option to recall him later in the season following the trade of Jack Campbell to Toronto.  However, the pandemic shut down any possibility of that happening and so his season wrapped up with just seven AHL games where he posted a 2.62 GAA with a .914 SV%.

Poulin has parts of five years of NHL experience under his belt, all with the Islanders and his deal with the Kings at least provided a chance for him to get another chance.  However, with the uncertainty surrounding next year in the AHL, heading to Sweden where there is a likelier chance of games being played is the safer move for him at this point.  Los Angeles likely won’t need to sign a replacement for him either as prospect Jacob Ingham will be eligible to turn pro next season and should take Poulin’s place with AHL Ontario.

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