Marlies Sign Alexander Nylander, Luke Grainger, Brandon Baddock
The Toronto Marlies have announced that they’ve signed forwards Alexander Nylander, Luke Grainger, and Brandon Baddock each to one-year, AHL contracts. The new deals will mark a return to Toronto for Nylander and Baddock, while Grainger will be making the first move of his career after spending his first pro season in the San Jose Sharks’ system last year.
The trio of signings will be undoubtedly headlined by Nylander – who re-ups with the Marlies after successfully playing through a one-year contract with the club last season. He ranked second on the team in scoring with 23 goals and 44 points across 64 games. That production was enough to earn Nylander five games at the NHL level, though he failed to record any scoring. Nylander was formerly the eighth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, but he’s spent the better part of the last eight seasons thriving in the minors but struggling to keep his footing in the majors.
Nylander has racked up an impressive 254 points across 394 games at the AHL level. That includes a career-yaer in the 2022-23 season, when he notched 50 points, split evenly, in 55 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. But despite rivaling point-per-game scoring in the minors, Nylander’s best NHL season stands as the 2019-20 campaign, when he scored just 26 points in 65 games with the Chicago Blackhawks. That was the only season of his career spent solely in the NHL, and an AHL contract suggests he still has ground to gain before earning a spot on top of Toronto’s call-up list.
Nylander will continue to be supported with the Marlies by bruising forward Baddock, who joined the team via a mid-March trade that sent future considerations back to the Rockford IceHogs. Baddock went on to rack up one point and 11 penalty minutes in seven games with the Marlies, bringing his year-long totals up to eight points and 97 PIMs in 45 games. That performance speaks well to Baddock’s M.O. – he’s a hefty winger who earns his keep with big hits and extended time in the penalty box. His best season came in 2018-19, when he recorded 154 PIMs in 67 games with the Binghamton Devils – over 20 more penalty minutes than his next-highest season.
Rounding out the move is depth forward Grainger, who spent the bulk of last season with the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder. The small-but-mighty forward signed with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda at the end of the 2023-24 season, and played nine games for the club over the last two seasons. But after notching just one goal in those performances, he was deemed better suited for the third tier of pros. That proved a sensible bet, as Grainger posted 21 points in 36 games of Wichita’s season. A new deal in Toronto should come as a bode of confidence in the 25-year-old forward. He could get a chance to carve out a role in the Marlies’ bottom-six in training camp, but could be headed back to the ECHL if any more conditioning is needed.
College Notes: Graf, Schlaine, Bradley, Basse, Grainger
Winger Collin Graf is widely expected to sign his first professional contract in the coming days. Regarded as one of the top college free agents available, most of the league had made inquiries and he’s in the process of whittling down his list. To that end, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports (Twitter link) that the Rangers are no longer in the mix for the 21-year-old. Meanwhile, The Athletic’s Michael Russo adds (Twitter link) that the Wild are believed to still have a chance at signing him. Graf is coming off another strong season at Quinnipiac where he recorded 22 goals and 27 assists in 34 games. Wherever he signs, it’s quite likely he burns the first season of his entry-level deal this year; he’d be eligible to play down the stretch in the regular season but not in the playoffs.
Other news from around the college ranks:
- Devils prospect Artem Schlaine has entered the transfer portal, relays Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick by New Jersey back in 2020 (130th overall) and has spent four seasons in college, two with the University of Connecticut and the last two with Northern Michigan University. Schlaine had a bit of a down year offensively compared to a year ago but still had 23 points in 27 games this season, good for second on the Wildcats in scoring. The transfer means New Jersey should retain his rights for one more summer.
- Red Wings prospect Chase Bradley is looking to test free agency this summer, Divver reports in a separate tweet. The 22-year-old was a seventh-rounder back in 2020 and while he has only played three years of college, he’s four years removed from being drafted and thus can leave school to test the open market. Bradley had 11 goals and 11 assists with the University of Connecticut this season in his junior year.
- Blackhawks goalie prospect Dominic Basse has transferred to St. Lawrence, the school announced (Twitter link). The 22-year-old was a sixth-rounder of Chicago in 2019, going 167th overall. Basse played his first two years at Colorado College before spending the last two at St. Cloud State. Last season, Basse posted a 2.75 GAA with a .896 SV% in 25 games and with Ben Kraws turning pro and signing with Dallas, he should have a shot at a heavy workload for his final collegiate campaign.
- San Jose’s AHL affiliate announced the signing of Luke Grainger to a tryout agreement. The 24-year-old had a very successful senior year with Western Michigan, posting 14 points and 34 assists in 38 games, leading some to wonder if he’d get an NHL contract. It doesn’t appear that will be coming just yet and while he’s on the Sharks’ affiliate, they don’t hold his NHL rights with this signing.