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Minor Transactions: 08/05/20

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With six NHL playoff games a day suddenly on the docket, summer days are now filled with hockey. Yet, the qualifying round and round robin games are not the only news-makers in the hockey world. Here are some minor moves from across several levels, including an NHL loan, a pair of AHL extensions, and some NCAA commitments:

  • With the delayed start to the season among North American leagues, there has been a rash of overseas loans among NHL prospects in recent weeks. Florida Panthers prospect Rodrigo Abols has now also joined that list. Abols, a late 2016 pick out of Latvia, is set to return to the SHL’s Orebro HK to begin next season, the team announced. Abols played in the AHL with the Springfield Thunderbirds this season, but previously played with Orebro for the two seasons prior. He will return to Sweden on a short-term loan for now that expires in mid-November, allowing for the young forward to compete in training camp and in the AHL if the Panthers so desire, but it would also not be a surprise to see the project player stay in the SHL for the year.
  • The Ontario Reign, AHL affiliate of the L.A. Kings, have announced one-year extensions for forwards Blaine Byron and Jacob Doty. Byron, a former Pittsburgh Penguins prospect and a University of Maine standout, has been a force in the AHL through three pro seasons. Byron has recorded 72 points in 136 games, including a career-high 34 in 53 games this season. Acquired by Ontario from Springfield mid-season, Byron was one of the Reign’s best players down the stretch and could be in for a big 2020-21 season. Doty, a 27-year-old journeyman, made his return to the AHL this season but recorded just one point in 18 games for Ontario. However, he provides experience and work ethic for the young farm team.
  • Harvard University has made headlines lately for losing players, both current and committed, due to the Ivy League’s ban on fall sports this year. However, they got some good news today in the form of a commitment from twin brothers with a well-known last name. Marek and Daniel Hejduk, the sons of career Colorado Avalanche star and Stanley Cup champ Milan Hejduk, each announced on Twitter today that they have committed to play at Harvard. While the 16-year-olds are still at least two seasons away from joining the Crimson, Marek is already slated to join the U.S. National Team Development Program next year and Daniel could follow. The pair seem likely to have some NHL Draft prospects by the time they are ready to move to the NCAA.
  • As for another brother duo headed to the college ranks, 16-year-old defenseman Seamus Powell announced on Instagram that he will follow his brother Eamon Powell to Boston College. Eamon, a USNTDP graduate who is set to join the Eagles this coming season, is a 2020 NHL Draft prospect expected to be selected in the second or third round in November. Seamus, a comparable small, offensive defenseman, will join the USNTDP this coming season and will be draft eligible in 2022, when he is also expected to enroll at BC.

Minor Transactions: 08/03/20

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The NHL is back and we’re well into the qualification round. As the hockey world focuses on those playoff matchups, minor league and European teams continue to build their depth for an upcoming season. As minor signings roll in, we’ll keep track of them right here.

  • The Iowa Wild have signed Jarrett Burton to a one-year AHL contract, bringing him over from the Rochester Americans. Burton had a dreadful season in 2019-20, scoring just one goal and recording two points in 39 games. The 29-year old went undrafted and has had to grind his way up from the ECHL.
  • Ben Freeman has started his professional career, signing with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL after four years at the University of Connecticut. Freeman captained the Huskies in 2019-20, recording 28 points in 33 games.
  • The Colorado Eagles have re-signed Kevin Davis and Peter Tischke, bringing both young defensemen back to give them some extra depth. Combined, Davis and Tischke played 18 games for the Eagles last season, spending most of the year in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies.

Islanders Prospect Linus Soderstrom Signs In Finland

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Linus Soderstrom’s first season in North America didn’t go particularly well and the Islanders prospect won’t be sticking around for a second one.  Instead, he is heading to Finland as Assat Pori of the SM-liiga announced that they’ve signed the goaltender to a one-year contract.

It was only a few years ago that the 23-year-old looked like an up-and-coming prospect.  He posted a stellar 1.34 GAA and .943 SV% in 22 SHL games back in 2016-17 which helped him earn his entry-level contract with New York.  Unfortunately, injuries limited him to 14 games in 2017-18 while on loan back to Sweden and wiped out his season entirely in 2018-19.

Soderstrom stayed healthy this season but was a victim of a numbers game as the Islanders had six goalies under contract in the pros.  As a result, he was frequently relegated to backup status at the ECHL level and accordingly, he only got into four games and struggled to a 4.49 GAA with a .870 SV%.

While there could have been a path to more playing time next season with their top two AHL netminders (Christopher Gibson and Jared Coreau) both unrestricted free agents, the delayed start to next season at the lower levels in North America makes sense as he’ll have more of a guaranteed path to playing time.  Considering how little he has played over the last three years, simply getting some game action to try to get his development back on track is a wise move.

New York can retain Soderstrom’s NHL rights with a qualifying offer this summer and considering he has already signed, there is little risk in doing so even though things certainly haven’t gone well the last few years.

Oilers Loan Markus Niemelainen To Finland

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Markus Niemelainen’s return to North America will wait a little while longer.  The Oilers announced that they have loaned the defenseman to Assat Pori of the Finnish SM-liiga to start next season.

The 22-year-old just recently signed his entry-level deal back at the end of April after spending the past three seasons in Finland, the most recent of which came with Assat where he had a goal and six assists along with 42 PIMS in 55 games.  Edmonton drafted him in the third round in 2016 (63rd overall) out of Saginaw of the OHL but he only spent one more year there before heading back home.  That did allow Edmonton to hold his draft rights longer at least as instead of having them for two years, they had them for four and used all of them to determine if he was worth signing.

With the AHL announcing earlier this week that they have changed their target start date for the 2020-21 season to December 1st, there will likely be a steady stream of these moves in the coming days.  Niemelainen isn’t expected to contend for a roster spot with Edmonton for next season so this move allows him to get some development time in before what will likely wind up being a truncated AHL season.

Maple Leafs Loan Mikko Lehkonen To Jokerit Of The KHL

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It turns out that Mikko Lehtonen’s time in the KHL isn’t over yet after all.  The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they have loaned the blueliner back to Jokerit to start next season.  He’s expected to report to the team next week.

Toronto signed the 26-year-old back in May after he and Jokerit agreed to a mutual termination of his existing KHL deal and the Maple Leafs beat out several other NHL suitors for his services.  He’s coming off quite a year, one that saw him pick up 17 goals and 32 assists in 60 regular season games (plus four points in six playoff contests before COVID-19 shut down their postseason).  He was limited to a one-year, entry-level contract due to his age and he’ll actually hit the open market again in the 2021 offseason.

Lehtonen will be the second Toronto player loaned out to the KHL to start next season as it was reported earlier this week that Egor Korshkov would be loaned to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to get some playing time in before training camps start up.

It’s that performance that has many expecting that he’ll be a part of Toronto’s back end when the puck drops on the 2020-21 season which is pegged to be in early December as things stand.  Loaning Lehtonen out in the meantime will allow him to get some playing time and should help give him a leg up in training camp.

Minor Transactions: 07/30/20

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The NHL is back, kicking things off with some exhibition action between rivals. As the hockey world focuses on exhibition games, minor league and European teams continue to build their depth for an upcoming season. As minor signings roll in, we’ll keep track of them right here.

  • Former St. Louis Blues defenseman Petteri Lindbohm has signed on with a new NLA team for the 2020-21 season, inking a deal with EHC Biel. The 26-year old played 40 games for the Blues between 2014-2017 but recorded just three NHL points.
  • 2008 second-round pick Danny Kristo will play for Kunlun Red Star of the KHL this season after spending last year in Switzerland. Picked 56th overall in his draft year by the Montreal Canadiens, Kristo never did make it to the NHL.
  • Chicago Blackhawks prospect Roope Laavainen has signed a contract with IPK in the Finnish second league, meaning he won’t be coming to North America this season. The 21-year old fourth-round pick played 40 games in the top league in Finland last season, recording four points.

Minor Transactions: 07/28/20

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The NHL is back, kicking things off with some exhibition action between rivals. As the hockey world focuses on Pittsburgh-Philadelphia, minor league and European teams continue to build their depth for an upcoming season. As minor signings roll in, we’ll keep track of them right here.

  • Swiss journalist Gregory Beaud tweets that Lausanne HC of the NLA will announce two more foreign signings once the NHL season is complete, following their deals with Cory Conacher and Brian Gibbons today. While not confirmed yet, he believes that Mark Barberio of the Colorado Avalanche will be one of those to head to Switzerland next season.
  • NHL draft pick Martins Dzierkals will be returning to Dinamo Riga next season, signing a deal with the KHL team after spending last season in Finland. Dzierkals, 23, was picked 68th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015 but never signed and subsequently saw his draft rights traded to the Vegas Golden Knights earlier this year.
  • The Manitoba Moose have signed Nathan Todd to a one-year AHL contract, bringing back a player who spent 16 games in their uniform this season. Todd is an elite offensive presence at the ECHL level, but has just one point in 27 career AHL games.

Minor Transactions: 07/23/20

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As the NHL gets ready for their upcoming postseason, minor league clubs are preparing for next season. When some minor signings come in we’ll keep track of them right here.

  • Nick Boka and Luke Boka have signed with the Fort Wayne Komets for the 2020-21 season, getting a chance to show what they can do when on the same ice. The Michigan brothers took very different paths to professional hockey, with Nick attending the University of Michigan after being drafted by the Minnesota Wild in 2015 and Luke playing five seasons for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL, captaining them the last two.
  • Steven Ruggiero has signed with the Adirondack Thunder, after spending last season in the Anaheim Ducks organization. The 23-year old defenseman was a sixth-round pick in 2015 but never signed with the Ducks after his college career ended, meaning that even though he was in their system on an AHL deal he was technically an unrestricted free agent. Ruggiero had nine points in 57 games for the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL last season.
  • Those Oilers have grabbed a pair of players from Adrian College, signing Dean Balsamo and Joey Colatarci for the upcoming season. It’s not every day that a pair of teammates from Division III schools get a chance to play professional hockey, but these two each earned DIII All-American honors for 2019-20.
  • The Kalamazoo Wings have signed Raymond Brice out of Michigan Tech, where he served as captain during the 2019-20 season. Brice never could get his offense to translate to the college level, meaning professional hockey may serve as an even greater challenge.

Minor Transactions: 07/22/20

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As the NHL gets ready for their upcoming postseason, minor league clubs are preparing for next season. When some minor signings come in we’ll keep track of them right here.

  • Jordan Szwarz, who played mostly for the Belleville Senators this season, has signed with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL for 2020-21. Szwarz scored 36 points in 46 games for Belleville, but actually also got into three contests with the Ottawa Senators. Those weren’t his first opportunities in the NHL, as he’s now totaled 50 games at the highest level.
  • The Iowa Wild have signed four new contracts, adding Phil Beaulieu, Kameron Kielly, Jesse Mychan, and Josh Maser on AHL deals. All four contracts are just for one year as the organization keeps adding to their depth for the upcoming season. For everyone but Mychan, who won the Kelly Cup with the Colorado Eagles in 2018, this will be their first opportunity in professional hockey.
  • Speaking of the Eagles, Matt Abt and Ian Scheid have both signed with Colorado for the upcoming season. Abt spent the last two seasons with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, while Scheid is coming out of Minnesota State University (Mankato).

Minor Transactions: 07/21/20

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As the NHL gets ready for their upcoming postseason, minor league clubs are preparing for next season. As some minor signings come in we’ll keep track of them right here.

  • The Manitoba Moose have signed Trent Bourque to an AHL contract for the 2020-21 season. Bourque, 22, spent the vast majority of last season in the ECHL with the Brampton Beast after finishing his OHL career, recording 20 points in 42 games with the minor league club. A sixth-round pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2017, he became an unrestricted free agent in 2019 when the team decided not to sign him to an entry-level contract.
  • Ryan Strome’s name came across the KHL newswire today, but that doesn’t mean the New York Rangers forward is heading to Russia. His KHL rights were dealt in a trade involving Alexander Polunin, a two-time World Junior medalist who spent last season with Yaroslavl. Should Strome ever decide to head overseas to the KHL, that’s who would have exclusive rights to sign him.
  • After three years with the Cardiff Devils of the EIHL, Bryce Reddick is coming back stateside. He has signed with the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL along with Cody Sylvester, who has been playing in Germany for the last several seasons. Sylvester, 28, was actually a star for the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL before performing quite well at the ECHL level in 2014.

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