After 21 players became unrestricted free agents over the weekend, news is trickling in on where they will start their professional careers. The Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins have already snatched up a couple of the high profile names, but the Dallas Stars won’t be left out of the fun. Mark Divver of Rinkside Rhode Island reports that Ryan Shea is expected to sign with Dallas following his four-year career at Northeastern.
Shea, 23, was a fourth-round pick by the Blackhawks in 2015 and is coming off an impressive 31-point season as captain of the Huskies. The 6’1″ defenseman will start his career with the Stars organization, though it’s not clear exactly whether an NHL entry-level contract or an AHL pact is coming.
- AHL contracts are what many of these unsigned draft picks end up getting, like Nikita Pavlychev who has signed a one-year deal with the Syracuse Crunch. The 23-year old center played four years for Penn State but ended up failing to reach a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins who drafted him in 2015. The Russian-born Pavlychev is a defensive stalwart, using his 6’7″ frame to lock down opposing forwards and disrupt passing lanes.
- As expected, the Detroit Red Wings have loaned Mathias Brome to the SHL for the next few months. Like their other loans, Brome will return for NHL training camp as he looks to make the jump to North American professional hockey for the first time. The 26-year old only recently signed his first NHL contract after scoring 43 points for Orebro HK in 2019-20.