The Cleveland Monsters signed a pair of undrafted junior players today to AHL contracts, inking Ivan Kulbakov and Bobby MacIntyre to one-year deals. Both players are now 20 years old and will be leaving their respective junior leagues for 2017-18.
Kulbakov is coming out of the USHL after an impressive rookie season with the Youngstown Phantoms, where he went 30-16-1 and recorded a .919 save percentage. The Belarussian goaltender went undrafted even after a relatively impressive showing at the 2015 World Juniors, where he had a standout performance against the Czech Republic, stopping 44 of 48 shots to keep the game close. His height likely held him back as a goaltending prospect, as he stands just 6’0″ tall, well under the average NHL goaltender.
MacIntyre on the other hand is a forward who’s coming off a huge season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. Registering 80 points in 63 games, MacIntyre easily paced his club and ranked 15th in the league. Size is the culprit once again, as MacIntyre stands just 5’9″ and would have trouble adapting to the more physical NHL game. That said, he does possess some solid offensive upside and the move to Sault Ste. Marie in 2015 seemed to spark something in him. While there is still a long way to go to crack the Columbus Blue Jackets’ roster, there is definitely a place for him on the AHL squad as a tenacious offensive player.
The Cleveland Monsters? I’m still a believer any team in Cleveland should be called the Barons. Great name, poor circumstances surrounding the NHL franchise.