Training camps are fully underway, and we are now at the point where there are preseason games every night. As training camp rosters are cut down, there is a ripple effect of that player movement that can impact teams in minor or foreign leagues whose seasons may already be underway. We’ll keep track of all the minor league/overseas league transactions here.
- The Buffalo Sabres’ AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, announced today that they’ve re-signed forward Michael Mersch to a one-year AHL contract extension. Mersch, an AHL veteran scorer, is the Americans’ captain and one of their top players. The 29-year-old had the most productive season of his career in 2021-22, scoring 26 goals and 54 points, and now he receives a contract extension as a reward for his efforts.
- The Seattle Kraken’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, announced the signings of four players today: forwards Luke Stevens, Nick Pastujov, Pascal Laberge, and Hugo Roy. All three spent most of last season in the ECHL, and were signed to one-year contracts. Some might remember Laberge as a top prospect from the 2016 draft, where he went 36th overall to the Philadelphia Flyers, while others might know Pastujov as the brother of Anaheim Ducks prospect Sasha Pastujov. All four forwards will head to Coachella Valley to compete for a lineup spot in coach Dan Bylsma’s team.
- The ECHL’s Allen Americans announced the signing of forward Colton Hargrove, a 2012 seventh-round pick of the Boston Bruins. Hargrove was a quality middle-of-the-lineup AHL player from 2015-2019 before he left to play overseas in Austria. Hargrove did not play hockey during the 2021-22 season and will resume his professional career with the Americans, a sort of “hometown” club for the Dallas, Texas native.