As the start of NHL training camps draws ever closer, the news cycle for the world’s top pro hockey league is beginning to pick up after a slow few weeks. Today saw one of the better UFAs still left on the market finally sign a contract for next season (Tyler Motte, to the Tampa Bay Lightning), and a one-time 40-point scorer and first-round pick land with the Pittsburgh Penguins on a PTO. (Colin White)
Overseas, many of Europe’s top professional hockey teams are still competing in the Champions Hockey League tournament. Five games were played today, highlighted by Skellefteå AIK’s 5-2 road victory against last year’s tournament champions, Tappara Tampere. 2023 17th overall pick Axel Sandin Pellikka led the way with a goal and an assist from the blue line, a notable and encouraging performance for fans of the Detroit Red Wings.
With the season inching closer for many teams across North America and Europe, teams are still adding and subtracting players to prepare for the campaign. As always, we’ll keep track of those moves here.
- Yesterday, the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones re-signed their leading scorer from the 2022-23 season, Zack Andrusiak. Andrusiak, 25, has found his footing as a star in the ECHL since arriving in The Queen City, scoring a total of 52 goals and 118 points in 97 career games with the club. Before becoming a Cyclone, Andrusiak had struggled in North America’s third-tier league, putting up modest numbers as a member of the Idaho Steelheads and dismal production in one shortened stint with the Orlando Solar Bears. Andrusiak’s heightened form in Cincinnati has drawn the attention of AHL teams, as Andrusiak has earned AHL call-ups with two teams and played in a total of four American league games. This contract extension returns a crucial scorer to Cincinnati’s roster to help them defend their 2022-23 Central Division title.
- The Omaha Lancers of the USHL have acquired netminder Croix Kochendorfer from the Sioux City Musketeers in a trade, with a draft pick headed to Sioux City in return. Kochendorfer is a 19-year-old goalie prospect who played almost half of the Musketeers’ games last season, posting a .896 save percentage across 30 games. Sioux City looks poised to run with undrafted 2023 prospect Samuel Urban in net, while the Lancers have a more uncertain standing in their crease thanks to the early departure of Michael Hrabal, the recent 38th overall pick who will play at UMass Amherst this fall. Hrabal’s departure combined with this trade gives Kochendorfer a strong opportunity to take on an even greater role in the USHL.
- In another USHL goalie move, Belarus’ Yan Shostak will continue his development with the Lincoln Stars, heading to play in North America for the first time in his career. The 19-year-old spent last season playing in Russia’s junior league, posting a .929 save percentage in 20 games despite a 4-11-2 record. He is the brother of Konstantin Shostak, the current number-one netminder for Severstal Cherepovets in the KHL. The younger Shostak undoubtedly hopes he’ll reach the heights in pro hockey his brother has achieved, and in order to do so he’ll look to perform well in the USHL with Lincoln.
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