CHL Transaction Roundup: Cootes, Alcos, Battaglia, Radkov
The trade deadlines in the three CHL leagues are fast approaching and there has been a significant uptick in transactions in recent days. Here’s a rundown of some recent moves around the various leagues involving NHL-drafted players.
- Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes is on the move as WHL Prince Albert announced that they’ve acquired him from Seattle in a 12-piece swap. Cootes, the 15th overall pick last June, got into three games with Vancouver to start the season before being sent back to the Thunderbirds where he was quite productive with 23 points in 17 games. Most recently, Cootes played for Canada at the World Juniors, collecting two goals in seven contests.
- Another Canucks youngster was dealt as WHL Kelowna picked up defenseman Parker Alcos from Edmonton, per a team release. The blueliner was a sixth-round pick in 2024 and has 14 points in 31 games so far this season. Vancouver has until June 1st to sign him or they’ll lose his rights, meaning this stretch run will be particularly important for Alcos.
- Flames 2024 second-rounder Jacob Battaglia has been acquired by OHL Flint, per a team release. The Firebirds are sending eight draft picks to Kingston in return for the forward. The 19-year-old has 14 goals and 13 assists in 36 games this season. Battaglia will be eligible to play full-time in the AHL next season, making him a particularly expensive rental player.
- QMJHL Saint John announced that they’ve acquired Canadiens prospect Arseni Radkov from Blainville-Boisbriand. The goaltender was a third-round pick last June, going 82nd overall and is in his first and only season at the junior level. He has a 3.01 GAA and a .894 SV% in 23 games so far this season. Radkov is committed to play at UMass next season.
Hurricanes Assign Ivan Ryabkin To Juniors
The Hurricanes assigned center prospect Ivan Ryabkin to the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League on Monday, according to a team press release.
Ryabkin, 18, had begun the season in the pros with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. A second-round pick this year (No. 62 overall) from the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League, he was not subject to the NHL’s transfer agreement with the Canadian Hockey League. He was thus eligible for a full-time minor-league assignment.
However, today’s news means Ryabkin cannot be called up to Carolina (unless under emergency conditions) or reassigned to the Wolves until his junior season is over. Charlottetown picked up Ryabkin’s CHL rights in this year’s import draft and will now reap the benefits of that selection, albeit a few months later than most expected.
Carolina sending Ryabkin to the AHL to begin his post-draft season was a surprise. While often touted as a first-round talent based on skill alone, there were league-wide concerns over the Russian pivot’s conditioning and two-way game.
Nonetheless, the Canes saw enough of his offensive ceiling in Muskegon, where he scored 19 goals and 30 points in 27 games, to at least give him some initial reps in the pro game. He filled a role as an agitator in Chicago, averaging north of two penalty minutes per game, but it’s clear his offensive game needs more development before he’s ready to shoot for a top-six job in the AHL.
In 25 games with the Wolves to begin his pro career, the 5’11”, 205-lb Ryabkin scored one goal and six assists with a -2 rating. Tabbed as the No. 6 prospect in Carolina’s system by Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff and No. 8 by Elite Prospects, the Canes will look for Ryabkin to feature among Charlottetown’s top offensive producers – if not their points-per-game leader – down the stretch.-
Atlantic Notes: Lightning, Carlo, Montembeault, Beckman
A pair of core players for the Lightning appear to be close to making their returns from injury. Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times notes (Twitter links) that winger Brandon Hagel and defenseman Erik Cernak took part in today’s morning skate. Hagel has missed nearly two weeks due to an upper-body injury sustained against Florida, taking one of Tampa Bay’s top scorers out of the lineup as he has 18 goals and 13 assists in 32 games. Head coach Jon Cooper relayed (via Encina) that Hagel is now in the day-to-day range. Cernak, meanwhile, has missed a little more than a month due to an undisclosed injury that wasn’t the same as the lower-body issue that briefly kept him out in November. He has four assists, 43 blocks, and 40 hits in 19 games so far this season. Both players are on IR (Cernak is on LTIR, more specifically) so roster spots will need to be freed up before they can be put back onto the active roster.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Maple Leafs defenseman Brandon Carlo took part in Toronto’s morning skate today as he works his way back from foot surgery, relays David Alter of The Hockey News. The 29-year-old has missed the last six weeks with what was originally termed as a maintenance thing but he wound up having a procedure done earlier this month. Carlo is in his first full season with Toronto and has two assists and 34 blocked shots in 18 games while averaging just over 20 minutes per game of playing time. While he’s back skating, there remains no firm timetable for a return to the lineup.
- As expected, the Canadiens announced (Twitter link) have recalled goaltender Sam Montembeault from his conditioning stint. The 29-year-old has struggled this season, posting a 3.65 GAA with a .857 SV% in 15 appearances, resulting in a demotion to third-string status after Jacob Fowler was recalled. Montembeault played in two games while on assignment, turning aside 47 of 52 shots in a pair of losses to Cleveland.
- Senators prospect Lucas Beckman has been traded in the QMJHL as Chicoutimi announced that they’ve acquired him from Baie-Comeau for a pair of players and two draft picks. The goaltender was a fourth-round pick back in June, going 97th overall. In 23 games with the Drakkar this season, he has a 3.29 GAA along with a .905 SV%, numbers that are a considerable step back from 2024-25 when he was on more of a contending team. Ottawa holds Beckman’s signing rights until June 1, 2027.
Minor Transactions: 12/20/2025
The midpoint of the season has sparked a flurry of action across the hockey world. Some players are finally being moved from a slow start to the season, while others are finding their first contracts of the year. The notable moves have been rounded up and captured below:
- Former New York Islanders center Leo Komarov has signed a one-year contract with HC Davos of Switzerland’s National League. The 38-year-old Estonian spent the last two seasons with HIFK of Finland’s Liiga. He scored 23 points in 55 games with the club, but wasn’t able to secure a contract for this season. That will change with a move to Switzerland, marking the eighth professional hockey league that Komarov has played in – on top of tenures in Finland’s Mestis and Liiga, Russia’s KHL, the AHL and NHL, and Sweden’s SHL. He will offer Davos veteran depth.
- Also signing an overseas contract is former Buffalo Sabres goaltender Dustin Tokarski, who has left his professional try-out contract with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins to sign a deal with Lowen Frankfurt of Germany’s DEL. Tokarski made two appearances with Grand Rapids on his try-out, posting one win and a .929 save percentage. He posted a .897 Sv% in 21 AHL games, and a .902 Sv% in six NHL games, in the Carolina Hurricanes’ organization last season. He’ll join Frankfurt for the second-half of the year and could have an open path to the starting role, with all three of Frankfurt’s goaltenders posting sub-.900 Sv% through the first half of the season.
- Hard-hitting Utah Mammoth prospect Tomas Lavoie has been traded in the QMJHL. He will head to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in exchange for five draft picks, including a first-rounder, headed back to the Cape Breton Eagles. Lavoie was a core piece of the Eagles this season, offering stalwart defense and reliable puck-moving. The former third-round pick has 21 points in 24 games this season and could bring a reliable, shutdown role to a Saguenéens lineup currently leaning on high-octane defenders like Alex Huang.
- Seattle Kraken prospect Alexis Bernier will also head to the Saguenéens in exchange for Leo-Gabriel Gosselin and five draft picks. Bernier is a volume shooter who racked up 14 goals and 46 points in 59 games with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar last season, but hasn’t yet played this year. He could be due for a major breakout after rivaling point-per-game scoring last season, which should only bolster a Saguenéens lineup that has already propped up shoot-first wingers Maxim Massé and Émile Guité. The Saguenéens will go all-in on this season before likely losing Masse, Guite, and many others to pro deals.
Flames Assign Matvei Gridin, Activate Jonathan Huberdeau
The Calgary Flames have assigned winger Matvei Gridin to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers to make room to activate Jonathan Huberdeau off of injured reserve. Huberdeau has been sidelined since sustaining an undisclosed injury in a preseason matchup against the Vancouver Canucks on October 1st. He missed the first seven games of Calgary’s season.
Gridin played in the first four games of his NHL career to start the season, but found his way to the press box after posting one goal and a minus-three. He is among Calgary’s top prospects, and is set to become one of just six 19-year-olds in the AHL. A taste of NHL minutes, and continued pro challenge in the minors, could be exactly what Gridin needs to grow his game.
He looked fast and flashy in the QMJHL last year, posting 96 points in 72 games over the course of the Shawinigan Cataractes’ full season. That performance earned him the QMJHL’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ award. The 2024 first-round pick spent two seasons in the USHL prior to his draft. He scored 99 points in 108 total games in the league. That includes a league-leading 83-point season in 2023-24, the second-highest scoring season in Muskegon Lumberjacks history.
While Gridin develops in the minors, Huberdeau will look to keep up his momentum from last season. He scored 16 points in 18 games to finish the 2024-25 season, pushing him to 28 goals and 62 points in 81 games on the year. It was Huberdeau’s highest-scoring season since he posted 115 points with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22. His dip in scoring with the Flames has shadowed his last three seasons, but he showed a click next to Morgan Frost and Matthew Coronato that could propel the Flames’ offense this season. Coronato currently leads Calgary in scoring, with three points in five games. Frost has two points.
Sabres Cut Three Players From Training Camp
Moving quickly toward getting their team down the required 23-man roster, the Buffalo Sabres have returned three prospects to their respective junior programs after the first day of training camp. The Sabres announced that defensemen Simon-Pier Brunet and David Bedkowski, and netminder Samuel Meloche have been cut from the roster.
Brunet will return to the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres after spending the last three years with the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Buffalo selected the 19-year-old with the 123rd overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, and he scored eight goals and 32 points in 60 games with a +10 rating last season with the Voltigeurs. The Sabres likely expect a slow-paced development, given that Brunet has already committed to the NCAA’s Merrimack College for the 2026-27 season.
Meanwhile, Bedkowski could take even longer to reach the NHL, if he does. The 6’5″, 220lbs, 18-year-old blue liner spent last year with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack, scoring three goals and seven points in 30 games with a whopping 73 PIMs. The former 71st overall selection of the 2025 NHL Draft makes his presence known by his high-level physical play and his ability to fight.
Like Brunet, Meloche is another QMJHL product, this time with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, who has also committed to an NCAA program for the 2026-27 season. Last season, as the Huskies’ starter, Meloche recorded a 30-14-6 record in 51 games with a .900 SV% and 2.90 GAA, along with five shutouts. Meloche, 18, was drafted with the 116th overall pick by the Sabres in the 2025 NHL Draft and has committed to Northeastern University.
Evening Notes: Evangelista, Canadiens Rookies, Cootes
Negotiations between winger Luke Evangelista and the Nashville Predators have begun to stall per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, who reports that yearly salary is what’s created the wedge. Evangelista is one of the top unsigned restricted free agents after players like Connor Zary and Marco Rossi both found new deals. The 23-year-old Evangelista posted an impressive 10 goals and 32 points in 68 games last season. It was a suitable encore to the 16 goals and 39 points he posted in 80 games of the 2023-24 season.
A pair of successful scoring seasons would surely make the player’s camp confident in earning a hardy salary. Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cole Sillinger recently signed a two-year, $4.5MM contract extension, while New Jersey Devils forward Dawson Mercer recently signed a three-year, $12MM contract. Those could be the boundaries for a short-term, bridge contract for Evangelista, who has certainly proved he can stick in Nashville’s top nine. Should contract talks continue to stall, the Predators could opt for a one-year, sub-$1MM contract and kick negotiations back to next summer.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Montreal Canadiens have assigned a group of rookies back to their respective leagues after rookie camp came to a close. In turn, Montreal assigned defensemen Carlos Handel to the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, Andrew MacNiel to the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, and Bryce Pickford to the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. Goaltenders Arseny Radkov and Mikus Vecvanags will return to Russia and Latvia, respectively. The team has also returned a handful of rookie camp invites. All of the moves come as expected, though it rings as exciting news for fans of Medicine Hat and Halifax, as their top defenders return for another season.
- Top Vancouver Canucks prospect Braeden Cootes was absent from the team’s final rookie camp scrimmage on Sunday, per Thomas Drance of The Athletic. Drance later added that Cootes was held out for precautionary reasons and will still attend training camp next week. That will keep the reigning 15th overall pick on track to take his first crack at breaking into the NHL. Cootes had a strong season with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds last year. He dominated the middle of the ice with quick plays all year long, working up to 63 points and 60 games in total. Cootes seems most likely set for a return to Seattle next season, though a strong training camp could earn him the chance at sticking in the pros for nine games.
Blues Sign Justin Carbonneau, Nikita Susuev
The St. Louis Blues have signed 2025 first-round pick Justin Carbonneau to his entry-level contract. The team also announced they’ve signed 2023 seventh-round pick Nikita Susuev to his entry-level deal. Carbonneau was one of 33 forwards named to the Blues’ 2025 training camp roster on Wednesday. Reports suggest that he could even have a chance at making the NHL roster straight out of camp, per Marco D’Amico of RG Media.
PuckPedia reports that Carbonneau will have a cap hit of $975K before performance bonuses and an AAV of $1.392MM with those bonuses factored in. They add that Susuev, who doesn’t have any performance bonuses in his deal, will have a cap charge of $855.
Word that Carbonneau could be headed for pro games sooner rather than later comes as no surprise. He was the main standout at the team’s 2025 rookie camp, held immediately following the NHL Draft. Fans were quickly tuned into the high-energy, hefty, and aggressively-physical style that Carbonneau brings to the ice. He was perhaps the best play-driver in the QMJHL last season, and finished the year with 46 goals – tied for the league-lead – and 89 points – second in the league – in 62 games played. Carbonneau was also the only player in the league to record more than 60 points and penalty minutes (61).
Draft pundits praised Carbonneau’s heft and strength throughout the season. He already stands at 6-foot-2, 205-pounds – plenty of size to cushion an early move to the NHL. If he doesn’t make the Blues, or if the team opts to return him after nine games, he will return to the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada for a fourth season. He has already amassed 168 points in 162 games with the team.
On the other side, Susuev – often spelled Susuyev – could finally make a push away from Russian hockey. He has bounced around the country’s major, minor, and junior leagues over the last three seasons. He’s also bounced around organizations, and ended up suiting up for five different clubs – helped along by three different loan-outs – last season alone. His stat line became a slog as a result – officially sat at 12 points in 21 MHL (junior) games, five points in 14 VHL (minor-pro) games, and one point in seven KHL (major-pro) games.
Susuev did spend the majority of the 2023-24 campaign, his age-19 season, on the KHL’s Spartak Moskva. He only racked up six points in 40 games from a depth forward role, but nonetheless gained invaluable experience on a team that finished fourth in their conference. He’s a high-skill winger, with the flash to beat defenders and the instinct to crash the net. His hockey IQ was praised by Russian scouts ahead of the draft, and he could quickly become an interesting player to follow if and when he joins the AHL ranks. For now, Susuev has officially missed the start of Spartak’s season due to injury, and it is unclear what his next step will be.
Hurricanes Sign Ivan Ryabkin To Entry-Level Contract
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed 2025 second-round pick Ivan Ryabkin to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal carries $235K in signing bonuses and a $85K salary at the AHL level. The NHL salary grows each year – from $775K, to $850K, to $895K. Ryabkin is expected to delay the start of the contract by moving to the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders this season, though rumors suggest he could make a push for the AHL roster out of training camp, per Elite Prospects’ Cam Robinson.
Ryabkin was once lauded as the top Russian in the 2007 birth year, and even considered a potential top-20 prospect after his age-17 season. That standing took a tumble over the course of his draft season, as concerns over his workout regiment and discipline grew with Russian club Moscow Dynamo. The resulting split prompted Ryabkin to the move to the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks in January, after he scored just one goal and 12 points in 15 MHL games.
The mid-season move proved instantly profitable for both Ryabkin and Muskegon. The high-volume winger totaled 26 goals, 46 points, and 100 penalty minutes over a combined 41 games in the USHL. His scoring presence was the final heave that pushed Muskegon to their first Clark Cup Championship in franchise history. Ryabkin filled the sniper role to a tee, perfectly complimenting high-energy playmaker Tynan Lawrence and nifty power-forward Vaclav Nestrasil Jr..
News of his first NHL contract will make Ryabkin a must-watch player as training camps roll around. He still measures at a hefty 5-foot-11, 205-pounds, and stood out as an unpoised hitter on what was a heavily penalized Lumberjacks lineup. His scoring prowess at the junior level is unquestioned, but the 2025-26 season will be about proving his competition, drive, and level-headedness both on and off of the ice. Breaking into the minor-leagues at 19 would go a long way towards showing that growth. Ryabkin made his debut in the KHL and VHL – Russia’s top pro leagues – early into the 2024-25 season.
Snapshots: Kane, Penguins Hall of Fame, New QMJHL Franchise
While Patrick Kane has accomplished nearly everything in his Hall of Fame career, one key achievement has eluded the American: Olympic gold. As the United States Men’s Olympic Orientation Camp started Tuesday, Kane, 36, made it clear that he wants more one shot at Olympic success, per NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika.
“The one thing that’s kind of missing is a gold in best-on-best, right?” Kane said. “It would be fun to have that opportunity.”
While Kane was named as a participant in the orientation camp, his spot on the Olympic roster is far from secure. However, coming off a 59-point season — which included 45 points over the final 43 games — Kane believes he still has the game to make the roster based on his current performance, not his past success.
With three Stanley Cups, a Hart Memorial Trophy, an Art Ross Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy, and over 1,200 career points, Kane has built one of the greatest careers by any American player. But the long-time Blackhawk and current Red Wing feels he still has what it takes to get Team USA over the hump.
“Yeah, that’s all it is, is gold, and trying to get over the hump of Canada,” Kane said. “They’ve won the last two Olympics in best-on-best and the last two World Cups in best-on-best. Yeah, that’s what it’s all about, to win the gold.”
Elsewhere in the hockey world:
- After a 12-year hiatus, the Pittsburgh Penguins are reintroducing their Team Hall of Fame, announcing 10 new inductees. The list includes six former players and four former coaches or executives. Players Tom Barrasso, Ron Francis, Jaromir Jagr, Chris Kunitz, Larry Murphy, and Kevin Stevens, along with Scotty Bowman, Eddie Johnston, Jim Rutherford, and Ray Shero, were selected, per a team release. The release stated that the 10 honorees will be inducted over the course of the next three seasons. While the specifics of who will be inducted first have not yet been announced, the team is planning a ceremony for the first home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 25, per Triblive’s Seth Rorabaugh. Penguins GM Kyle Dubas personally called nine of the 10 inductees to inform them of the honor. In the case of Shero, who sadly passed away in April, Dubas called his sons, Rorabaugh adds.
- The residents of Lewiston, Maine may have a familiar activity to enjoy, as NHL.com’s Mark Divver reported today that the city could be in line for a new QMJHL franchise. As Divver notes, Lewiston previously had a QMJHL franchise from 2003 to 2010. At that time, the team played out of the famous Colisee, which had a capacity of 4,000. The Colisee is most known for hosting the iconic 1965 fight between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston.