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Hurricanes Sign Ivan Ryabkin To Entry-Level Contract

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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: Penguins Ownership, Canucks, Pradel

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A few days ago, a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested that a new prospective owner for the Pittsburgh Penguins had emerged in the Hoffmann Family of Companies. In a subsequent report from Jason Mackey and Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the two allege that there’s much more smoke than previously believed.

According to the article and the multiple sources listed, the Hoffmann Family has a decisive lead on the other interested group led by Mario Lemieux, and may have already encouraged the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) to sell their entire stake in the Penguins since the Hoffmann Family is willing to pay the $1.75BB, on line with Forbes’ valuation of the franchise. There has been considerable secrecy throughout the sale process. Still, the sources listed by Mackey and Vensel believe that the Hoffmann Family has already signed a letter of intent with FSG.

It’s important to note that a letter of intent doesn’t necessarily confirm a sale. It simply allows the interested party an exclusive negotiating window and allows them a deeper look into the organization’s financials in good faith. Still, if the Hoffmann Family is seriously considering the full $1.75BB price for the Penguins, it’ll be hard for another buyer to come forward with a better offer.

Additional snapshots:

  • Drawing nearer to the start of training camp and preseason, the Vancouver Canucks announced a few changes to their Hockey Operations department. In a public announcement, General Manager Patrik Allvin revealed three significant staff changes: Brian Hamilton has been promoted to Head Equipment Manager, Ian Beckenstein has been appointed as the Video Coach, and Taylor Phillips has taken on the role of Executive Assistant of Hockey Operations. In terms of outside hires, the team brought in Evan Mathias as the Assistant Video Coach.
  • Recent draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, Michal Pradel, will remain with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm for another year rather than join the WHL’s Regina Pats. According to a report from Kevin Allen of DET Hockey Now, Pradel will stay with the Storm so that he can play under the tutelage of former Red Wings Assistant Coach John Torchetti, who was named Tri-City’s new head coach this offseason. Although he spent much of the year in his native Slovakia, Pradel appeared in 14 games for the Storm last season, securing a 9-4-0 record with a .899 SV% and 2.41 GAA.

Pat Maroon Joins USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks As Assistant Coach

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After announcing his retirement earlier this year, longtime NHL winger Pat Maroon is making his first foray into coaching as an assistant with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, the team announced Friday.

Maroon, 37, jumps behind the bench just a few months after his final NHL game and does so into the United States’ top junior environment – a league he never played in himself despite spending his early development south of the border. The St. Louis native played Tier II juniors in the U.S. for the NAHL’s Texarkana and St. Louis Bandits, where his immense offensive success and physicality made him a sixth-round pick by the Flyers in 2007, before jumping to the OHL with the London Knights.

He’ll now help oversee a Lumberjacks roster that already has a few notable names locked in for 2025-26. Among them is Canadian center Tynan Lawrence, a projected top-10 pick in the 2026 draft, who refuted CHL interest to stay in Muskegon. Also on Muskegon’s roster are NHL-drafted forwards Melvin Novotny (Sabres, 2025, 7-195) and Viktor Nörringer (Predators, 2024, 4-127). Lawrence returns from last season, when he helped the Lumberjacks win their first Clark Cup title since their inception in 2010.

That trio will have the benefit of working with a three-time Stanley Cup champion in Maroon, who turned an odd development path into an NHL career spanning 14 years with over 800 appearances and 300 points.

Snapshots: Datsyuk, Voit, Simpson

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On a press run for his upcoming “Magic Game” in his hometown of Yekaterinburg, Russia, Detroit Red Wings legend Pavel Datsyuk made a surprisingly bold claim about his former team in a recent interview with Sergey Demidov of RG Media. Throughout his playing career, Datsyuk was a prototypical hockey player when it came to conversations with the media, making only plain statements if he chose to speak with them, which makes his recent comments seem somewhat out of character.

In the interview, Datsyuk claimed that Detroit’s rebuild is taking longer than normal, given the unprecedented run of success they had from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s. Either knowingly or unknowingly took a shot at Detroit’s leadership on the ice, saying, “Perhaps what the team lacks is standout leaders – but that’s true not only for Detroit, it applies to hockey in general. Players are maturing more slowly these days, and some never mature at all, staying teenagers forever.”

The comment raises concerns about how effectively Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, and Patrick Kane are guiding the Red Wings in the right direction. This uncertainty may also extend to the next generation of Detroit’s stars, including Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider.

Datsyuk certainly has a leg to stand on when it comes to the leadership required for sustained success at the NHL level. His career began during the 2001-02 season on a Red Wings team that boasted 10 future Hall of Famers at the time, and he was a part of the most recent Detroit team to qualify for the postseason during the 2015-16 season.

Other snapshots:

  • According to a team announcement, the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies, affiliate of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, have added to their forward depth with a new signing. The Grizzlies have signed former 2021 fifth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ty Voit, to a one-year contract for the 2025-26 season. Voit spent last season with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, scoring eight goals and 37 points in 63 games. He had an impressive final season with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting in 2022-23, scoring 24 goals and 105 points in 67 games with a +16 rating.
  • The Boston Bruins’ third-round pick from the 2025 NHL Draft is on the move in the USHL. The USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms announced they have acquired Cooper Simpson from the Tri-City Storm for a collection of players and draft picks earlier today. Simpson scored seven goals and eight points in nine games for the Storm last season and has committed to the University of North Dakota beginning in the 2026-27 NCAA season.

Bruins Prospect Cole Spicer Won’t Play At Arizona State University

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Boston Bruins forward prospect Cole Spicer won’t move forward with his commitment to Arizona State University, per Brad Elliot Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. Spicer previously played two years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, but returned to the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints for the 2024-25 season. He was set to join Arizona State as a junior-year transfer this fall. Instead, it will be a fall of uncertainty for the 2022 fourth-round pick.

Of note, Spicer’s split from ASU could be a result of being sidelined. He was said to be dealing with significant injury issues, per sources available to Ty Anderson of Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub. Spicer dealt with concussions through his time in junior and collegiate hockey, and has been severely limited through multiple parts of the last two seasons. He missed 20 games with Minnesota-Duluth in 2023-24 due to a concussion and being declared academically-ineligible for the second semester. His injury woes continued through this season, as he missed 25 games with Dubuque for various reasons. He even sustained an injury in his very first game with the Fighting Saints.

The plot around Spicer’s relationship with hockey has grown thick. He cited recovery from concussions as a major limiter of his academic performance in a 2024 interview with Joe Haggerty of the Boston Sports Journal. Spicer also cited the mental health challenges that came with routine absences, low-scoring, and battles through concussion recovery. Struggles with concentration and mental health are two common, but often underdiscussed, symptoms of concussions that can drag on beyond official clearance to return.

Spicer was once a top prospect in America’s 2004 age group. He was recruited to the U.S. National Team Development Program’s 2004 cohort in 2020, after a 15u AAA season that saw him post 51 goals, 118 assists, and 169 points in 63 games with Honeybaked. Spicer struggled to earn a starring role at the NTDP behind Logan Cooley, Frank Nazar, and Rutger McGroarty. He was relegated to a bottom-six role in both seasons, and scored just 21 points in 46 USHL games with the Program. Still, his high-motor and gritty forechecking was enough to convince Boston to draft Spicer with the 117th-overall pick in 2022.

Spicer followed his draft selection with a move to the Bulldogs lineup. He again found himself trapped behind a stacked top-six, and scored just six points in 32 games from a fourth-line role in his freshman year. He added nine points in 17 games as a sophomore, before stepping away from the team. It was a quartet of underwhelming seasons for the feisty centerman – but one that he made up for with a return to the USHL this season. He scored 35 points in 37 games on the full year, good for Dubuque’s team-lead in points-per-game.

As things stand, there appears to be no clear path forward for Spicer. At age 21, he’ll no longer have eligibility to return to the USHL or CHL. He could transfer to a third – or, fourth, after an initial commitment to North Dakota – collegiate program, though another NCAA move would be a surprise on the heels of this news. With that, it seems minor-league, or European, pros will be his best options, should he decide to continue his career next season. The Grand Forks-native will be one to watch for Bruins fans trying to get a full picture of the team’s pipeline.

Snapshots: Tsyplakov, Knyzhov, Phillips

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The Islanders settled with winger Maxim Tsyplakov before an arbitration hearing earlier today, with the two sides agreeing to a two-year deal with a $2.25MM cap hit. Tsyplakov came down significantly from his initial ask of a $3MM AAV to get the deal done, reports Stefen Rosner of NHL.com. Tsyplakov’s camp lowered their ask to the $2.75MM range once they realized they wouldn’t get Isles general manager Mathieu Darche to acquiesce and dole out a $3MM cap hit. However, when that still wasn’t doing the trick, they ended up settling for the eventual $2.25MM figure out of fear that an arbitrator would dole out a lower award, Rosner reports, particularly as Tsyplakov would only have been eligible for a one-year contract if he reached a hearing, as he was only one year away from UFA eligibility.

Here’s more from around the hockey world today:

  • The Canucks’ AHL affiliate in Abbotsford announced four signings today, including former Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov. His brief 81-game NHL career with San Jose was derailed by a core muscle surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2021-22 season, and he hasn’t played in the NHL since the Sharks bought him out following the 2023-24 campaign. He landed a PTO with the Penguins in training camp last fall, but that only yielded an AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The 27-year-old lefty was later traded to the Grand Rapids Griffins in March. He totaled six points and a +1 rating in 26 appearances for the two clubs, along with one assist and a -6 rating in six appearances for the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones.
  • Flames defense prospect Mace’o Phillips will delay his college commitment for the University of Minnesota for a year and instead join the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers for his post-draft season, Ryan Sikes of Puck Preps reports. Calgary’s third-round pick (No. 80) in last month’s draft will now wait to join the NCAA ranks until 2026-27. The 6’6″, 234-lb shutdown lefty spent last year with the U.S. National Team Development Program’s under-18 squad, where he posted six points and a -11 rating with a whopping 103 PIMs in 60 appearances.

International Notes: Brennan, Cerny, Dello

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Former NHL defenseman T.J. Brennan has played in Europe ever since the pandemic hit in 2020. While he’s spent most of that time in Switzerland, he’s now making the jump to HK Olimpija Ljubljana, the lone Slovenian club in Austria’s ICEHL, the team announced on Facebook.

Brennan, 36, was the first pick of the second round in the 2007 draft by the Sabres. While he’s long been a high-end point producer from the blue line at the minor league and European levels, his all-around game never translated into a full-time NHL career. He only made 53 big-league appearances with the Sabres, Panthers, and Maple Leafs between the 2011-12 and 2016-17 campaigns, scoring 13 points with a -22 rating.

The New Jersey native has spent the last three seasons with Switzerland’s HC Ajoie in the National League, the country’s top flight. The team isn’t very good, fighting to stay in the league in a relegation series in two of the last three years, but Brennan still managed 63 points in 109 games for the club.

He now returns to the ICEHL, still among Europe’s better leagues, where he spent the 2021-22 season with EC Salzburg. He was named a league All-Star and won a title with Salzburg, leading the league in scoring by a defenseman with 47 points in 48 games. While he’s now four years older, he’ll look to recapture some of that success with his new Slovenian side.

A few more recent international signings of note:

  • After going undrafted this year, 2007-born defenseman Stepan Cerny is continuing his development in North America after his European team, Czechia’s Mountfield HK, announced he’s departing the club to join the USHL’s Fargo Force. Cerny won a silver medal with Czechia’s under-18 squad at last year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup and put up great numbers with Mountfield’s under-20 club, putting up a 6-27–33 scoring line in 36 regular-season games. However, the lefty clocks in at just 5’9″ and 139 lbs, making it hard to imagine him as anything more than a late-round pick. He’ll look to grow both physically and in his on-ice progression with Fargo in hopes of being selected in 2026 as an overage pick. He was selected No. 13 overall in the 2024 CHL Import Draft by the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques, but he opted to remain at home for his draft year.
  • There’s more news out of Czechia: longtime AHL defenseman Tory Dello has joined Extraliga club HC Energie Karlovy Vary, the club announced over the weekend. Dello, 28, was a two-time Big 10 champion with Notre Dame and has recorded a 13-43–56 scoring line with 134 PIMs and a +37 rating in 229 AHL games since turning pro in 2020. He spent last season on a two-way deal with the Red Wings and was traded to the Devils in the league’s lone post-deadline trade, posting eight points in 39 games split between Detroit’s and New Jersey’s affiliates in Grand Rapids and Utica.

Predators’ Ryan Ufko Recalled, Set To Make NHL Debut

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The Nashville Predators have recalled defense prospect Ryan Ufko and are expected to award him his NHL debut on Monday per Nick Kieser of Nashville’s 102.5 The Game. It is the first call-up of Ufko’s pro career.

Nashville drafted Ufko with in the fourth-round of the 2021 NHL Draft, after a standout year with the USHL’s Clark Cup Championship-winning Chicago Steel. Ufko followed a breakout juniors performance and draft selection with three seasons playing for the University of Massachusetts. He carried over his red-hot play right away, netting 31 points in 37 appearances – just two points shy of Scott Morrow’s mark for the lead in scoring among Minutemen defensemen. Alongside Morrow, Ufko served in a top role for UMass as they chased a Hockey East championship.

Ufko’s scoring pace took a slight dip in his sophomore season – when he tallied just 24 points in 32 games – though he did manage to grow from five goals to eight goals. He continued that growth while finding a new gear in his junior year, ending the season with 10 goals and 26 points in 37 games. That scoring coincided with a noticeable full-ice impact and helped Ufko push his squad to a conference semi-final exit. His game was noticeably more energetic, confident, and – above all else for the five-foot-10 defender – physical than in years prior. Nashville opted to strike while the iron was hot, signing Ufko to his entry-level contract and assigning him to the AHL at the end of the UMass season.

That decision proved immediately fruitful. Ufko has found another step in the pro ranks, with six points in nine regular season games and 10 points in 15 playoff games to close out the AHL’s 2023-24 season. He’s continued to grow into form this season, netting eight goals and 29 points in 71 games while earning more-and-more ice time as the year has gone on. Ufko certainly doesn’t have the explosive scoring of some top defense prospects, but the momentum he’s gained in Milwaukee has been admirable. With their season effectively lost, Nashville will give Ufko a chance to continue his momentum into the top flight. He becomes the seventh rookie to make his NHL debut with Nashville this season.

Oilers Notes: Carfagna, Clattenburg, Rodrigue

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Sunday has been a busy day for the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL ranks. It was kicked off when the Bakersfield Condors announced that they’ve signed college free agent Damien Carfagna to an amateur try-out for the remainder of the season. Carfagna will turn pro after wrapping up his junior year of school at The Ohio State University. He was first draft eligible in 2021, during his time with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL.

Carfagna was a high-impact defender in juniors on the back of strong play on both blue lines. He began his final year in the USHL – the 2021-22 campaign – with a strong 37 points in 40 games with the Green Bay Gamblers, then joined the eventual championship-winning Sioux City Musketeers via trade and contributed an additional 13 points in 31 games. Carfagna moved to the University of New Hampshire in the following year, and managed a stout 16 points in 35 games as a freshman. He moved to Ohio State for his sophomore season, and saw a dip to just six points in 34 games in his first year as a Buckeye. But Carfagna straightened that out this season, finishing the year with 28 points, six penalty minutes, and a plus-16 in 38 games.

He’ll now look to maintain his strong footing into the pro ranks. Carfagna is likely to serve as a depth option, rotating in-and-out of the lineup, through Bakersfield’s final seven games of the season.

Other notes out of Edmonton:

  • Joining Carfagna on the Bakersfield blue-line will be Connor Clattenburg, who the Oilers have reassigned to the AHL after the end of his OHL season. Clattenburg has spent the last two seasons with the Flint Firebirds and totaled 35 points, 108 penalty minutes, and a plus-two in 46 games this season. His OHL career – which was split between tenures with the Firebirds and Soo Greyhounds – ends with 74 points in 162 career games. Edmonton drafted Clattenburg in the fifth-round of the 2024 NHL Draft – drawn in by the hard-hitting style of the six-foot-two, 205-pound centerman. Clattenburg will also serve a depth role through Bakersfield’s remaining season.
  • Longtime Bakersfield goaltender Olivier Rodrigue is expected to receive his first career NHL start on Monday night per Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Rodrigue made his NHL debut in relief of Calvin Pickard on March 27th, after the latter allowed five goals on 29 shots. Rodrigue went on to allow one more goal on eight shots. Pickard has allowed 13 goals and platooned starter Stuart Skinner has allowed 15 in their last five games respectively. With that precedent, and a playoff spot all but guaranteed, Edmonton will look for a spark with their AHL starter. Rodrigue has set a 18-15-7 record and .899 save percentage in 40 AHL games this season. He posted a .916 in 37 games, and a .912 in 29 games, in the last two seasons respectively.

Predators Prospect Gunnarwolfe Fontaine Signs ATO With Iowa Wild

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It appears the Nashville Predators will elect not to sign 2020 seventh-round draft pick Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, who has instead signed an amateur try-out with the AHL’s Iowa Wild. The Predators were set to lose Fontaine’s rights at the end of this season if they didn’t sign him to his entry-level contract. They’ll expedite the process here, allowing Fontaine to turn pro in the AHL after completing his graduate season at The Ohio State University.

Fontaine was drafted after his second season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel. He scored 26 goals and 57 points in 45 USHL games that season, apt support to a Steel roster that also contained Brendan Brisson, Sam Colangelo, Mackie Samoskevich, and Matthew Coronato. Fontaine followed his draft selection by moving to Northeastern University for the 2020-21 campaign. He scored a stout six goals and 15 points in 21 games of his freshman season, and grew to 25 points in 39 games in his sophomore year.

But Fontaine seemed to plateau a bit after the 2021-22 season. His scoring dipped as high-tier teammates like Cameron Lund and Justin Hryckowian began challenging his ice time. Fontaine managed 30 points in 35 games as a junior and fell to 27 points in 36 games in 2023-24. He failed to find his groove as Northeastern’s leading playdriver – sparking a search for bigger minutes at OSU in his graduate year. Fontaine did grow to 40 points in 40 games in the Big Ten – marking his first point-per-game season since his draft-year campaign in the USHL. He’ll look to bring that momentum to the AHL, with hopes that strong play can push him back into the attention of NHL clubs.

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