As July comes to a close and we get closer to the end of arbitration hearings and contract holdouts, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the league. We’ll keep updating as more come in:
- Former Cornell standout and Bridgeport Sound Tigers goaltender Mitch Gillam has signed a one-year contract with the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL. The Edmonton Oilers affiliate will bring in the 26-year old to solidify the crease after he posted .925 and .906 save percentages through his first two years in the ECHL.
- Casey Bailey is back in North America on a professional tryout with the Hershey Bears after spending last season in the KHL. The Penn State product signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015 out of school and ended up playing 13 NHL games between them and the Ottawa Senators, but spent most of his professional career in the AHL. The 27-year old has good size and strength but never could quite find a way to elevate his game to the NHL level on a consistent basis.
- Former AHL All-Star Mark Mancari has decided to retire after parts of four seasons in Germany. The 34-year old has taken a job as an assistant coach with the Niagara IceDogs of the OHL. Mancari played 42 games in the NHL over the years but was a standout at the AHL level, recording 558 points in 692 regular season games.
Gavin – this doesn’t quite read right: “goaltender Mitch Gillam has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL” The article states he was coming *off* an AHL contract w/Bridgeport, but that this is an ECHL deal. Or, was this a two-way AHL/ECHL deal, described somewhere else?
No you’re right, the AHL part was a mistake. The deal is an ECHL contract, though that can be turned into an AHL PTO if he needs to come up for any short period of time.
Thanks! Sounds like the usual ECHL fare. Appreciate the update!