Tyler Sikura

It’s a busy hockey day across the world, as the Champions Hockey League prepares for Game Day 6. This brings together a slew of exciting matchups, including a bout between Sweden’s Farjestad and Germany’s Munich Red Bulls. Farjestad has excelled in the CHL so far this season, winning four of their five games and averaging 4.4 goals-for and 1.8 goals-against on a per-game basis. Munich is coming off a tough loss in their home league but boasts one of the few offenses that can keep up with Farjestad. Munich also has the league’s scoring leader: former NHL first-round pick Jonathon Blum.

Hockey fans will have plenty to keep them busy with seven CHL games, and nine NHL games, on the slate today. The transaction wire remains as busy as the action on the ice and, as always, we’ll track notable player movement here.

• Scott Harrington has been released from his professional try-out with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls and decided to head overseas, signing a one-year deal with the ZSC Lions of Switzerland’s National League. Harrington, now 30, joins a handful of NHL cast members on the Lions – including Dean Kukan, Mikko Lehtonen, and Yannick Weber. That’s a lot of former NHL talent on the Lions blue line, where Harrington will look to carve out a role. ZSC is also home to Montreal Canadiens prospect Vinzenz Rohrer, who is playing his first year with ZSC’s top team after playing for their U17 team prior to his move to Canada.
• Tyler Sikura has left the Wilks-Barre/Scranton Penguins in favor of HC Bolzano in Italy. Bolzano plays in the ICE Hockey League, or ICEHL, along with top teams like EC Salzburg Villacher SV. Bolzano now boasts seven North Americans in their forward group,  including former 40th-overall pick Christian Thomas.
• Libor Hajek has signed a minor-league deal with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. This contract comes after Hajek attended the Pittsburgh Penguins’ training camp on a professional try-out. Hajek split the 2022-23 season between the New York Rangers and the Hartford Wolf Pack, recording a single assist in 16 NHL games and six points in 24 AHL games. Hajek has been apart of the Rangers organization since 2018, when he was a feature of the trade that sent Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
• Veteran forward Brendan Perlini has signed a PTO with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, per a team release. Perlini attended Carolina Hurricanes training camp this season on a PTO but did not earn a contract. With Charlotte, Perlini replaces forward Jonah Gadjovich on their roster, who was snapped up by the Checkers’ NHL affiliate, the Florida Panthers, on a one-year deal yesterday. The 2014 12th overall pick spent last season with the Chicago Wolves, recording ten goals and five assists for 15 points in 26 games. He last appeared in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers in 2021-22, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be doing so again anytime soon.

This page may be updated throughout the day.