CHL Notes: Mitchell, Satan, Tkach-Tkachenko
Long-time NHL veteran John Mitchell is getting his first significant coaching opportunity. QMJHL Charlottetown announced that they’ve hired him as their new head coach. Mitchell was a fifth-round pick by Toronto back in 2003, making his NHL debut five years later, getting into 548 career games over parts of nine seasons. He then spent parts of two seasons in Germany before calling it a career after the 2018-19 campaign. To this point, Mitchell’s only coaching experience has come in Colorado’s AAA system (starting in 2020-21) but that will soon be changing.
Other news from the junior ranks:
- Capitals prospect Miroslav Satan won’t be staying in the CHL for 2026-27. HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas in Slovakia announced on their Facebook page that the winger has joined the team for the upcoming season. Satan was a seventh-round pick back in 2024 out of Slovakia’s junior system, giving Washington four years of team control. The son of a long-time NHLer by the same name, Satan split last season between OHL Saginaw and QMJHL Chicoutimi, tallying six points in 53 games between the two teams. At this point, it seems rather unlikely that he’ll be signed over the next couple of years, barring a significant improvement in his play and production.
- Mammoth goaltender Ivan Tkach-Tkachenko is on the move as OHL Sarnia announced that they’ve signed him for the 2026-27 season. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2025 and has spent the past two seasons with Tolpar in Russia’s junior league. Last season, Tkach-Tkachenko posted a 2.80 GAA and a .894 SV% in 27 games. With the Sting’s starter in 2025-26 moving onto college, Tkach-Tkachenko could have a pathway to some significant playing time in short order.
Minor Transactions: 8/30/25
With international and junior leagues starting to get their preseasons underway, there have been a lot of minor moves in recent days. Here’s a rundown of those with some NHL ties.
- Capitals prospect Miroslav Satan has changed teams as OHL Saginaw recently announced that they’ve signed him for the upcoming season. The 19-year-old forward was a seventh-round pick by Washington in 2024, going 204th overall but struggled considerably at the USHL level last season in his first taste of playing in North America. In 45 games combined between Sioux Falls and Omaha, Satan managed just three goals and one assist while he also suited up in three games for the Slovaks at the World Juniors. Washington has until June 1st, 2028, to sign him so there’s still lots of time for Satan to turn things around; he’ll hope a different league will help make that happen.
- After spending the last decade in Tampa Bay’s organization (primarily in the minors), UFA winger/defenseman Daniel Walcott announced (Twitter link) that he will not be returning to Syracuse. The 31-year-old played in 494 games for the Crunch over 10 seasons while also getting into one game with the Lightning. The AHL has a restriction on how many veterans a team can dress and that is likely playing a role in Walcott not returning for an 11th year with the team.
- While the Sabres non-tendered forward Bennett MacArthur in June, he’ll technically remain affiliated with the organization as their ECHL affiliate in Jacksonville announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year deal. The 24-year-old split last season between the ECHL affiliates of Pittsburgh and Buffalo, notching 10 goals and 20 assists in 64 games.
- Meanwhile, another non-tendered Sabres UFA this summer has also secured a place to play for the upcoming year as Dynamo Moscow of the KHL announced that winger Alexander Kisakov’s tryout was successful and that he has been given a one-year deal. The 22-year-old was a second-round pick in 2021 but struggled in the AHL, notching just 25 points in 93 games over the course of his three-year, entry-level contract.