Evening Notes: Gillies, O’Connor, Nardella
A former third-string option at the NHL level enjoyed his time in the ECHL so much last season that he wants another go at it. According to a team announcement, the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears have signed netminder Jon Gillies for the 2025-26 campaign.
Despite being in the professional ranks for the last decade, Gillies is best known for his work at the collegiate level. Putting together an impressive season with the NCAA’s Providence College, Gillies managed a 24-13-2 record in 39 games with a .930 SV%, 2.01 GAA, and four shutouts during the 2014-15 season. Gillies played so well behind the Friars that they were able to win the first National Championship in program history.
He put together a few good years with the AHL’s Stockton Heat, but couldn’t replicate the success he had in college. From 2015 to 2023, Gillies managed a 78-71-32 record in 184 appearances with a .904 SV% and 2.94 GAA with the Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Arizona Coyotes, and Columbus Blue Jackets organizations. He played in seven games for the Solar Bears last season.
Other notes from this evening:
- The Colorado Avalanche are getting some good news from one of their better bottom-six players. According to AJ Haefele of the DNVR Avalanche podcast, Logan O’Connor‘s recovery from surgery is going ahead of schedule. He posits that O’Connor should only miss between 10 and 16 games, which would forecast his return to early November, nearly a month earlier than expected.
- The AHL’s Manitoba Moose are adding some veteran experience to their coaching staff for the upcoming season. Earlier today, the team announced that they’ve hired Bob Nardella as an assistant coach for the 2025-26 AHL season. Nardella has spent more than a decade with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, moving from the team’s skills coach to the assistant coach before serving as the head coach last year.
Adam Raška Signs With HC Sparta Praha
After six years playing in North America, forward Adam Raška is returning to his native Czechia. According to a team announcement, the Extraliga’s HC Sparta Praha has signed Raška for the 2025-26 season.
Today’s signing marks the conclusion of Raška’s unimpressive professional career in North America. He was drafted 201st overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks. During his draft season, he had a quietly successful campaign with the QMJHL’s Rimouski Océanic, scoring 13 goals and 21 points in 35 games.
Aside from a brief loan to HC Oceláři Třinec in 2020-21, Raška spent another year with the Océanic, scoring 12 goals and 25 points in 22 games, including another three goals and six points in eight postseason contests. Still, that’s the last time he’s registered much offensive success in his career.
Raška transitioned to the professional ranks a year later, scoring five goals and 14 points in 49 games for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. Still, it didn’t take long for the Sharks to realize what they had in Raška, as they allowed him the opportunity to debut in the NHL that same year.
He quickly became a hard-nosed forward who was willing to play aggressively, with nearly zero offensive potential. There’s definitely a place for that at the NHL level, but Raška took too many penalties and never turned into a true shutdown forward. Two years ago, the Sharks traded Raška to the Minnesota Wild along with a 2026 fifth-round selection for defenseman Calen Addison.
Similar to his time in the Bay Area, Raška spent much of his time with the Wild’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, with limited NHL action. He played primarily for Iowa last season, scoring five goals and 14 points in 56 games with 83 PIMs. He’s planning on staying true to his roots in his transition back to Czechia, saying, “My biggest advantage is being such a jerk on the ice. Making the opponent’s game uncomfortable and making room for our guys to play better.“
The Significance Of Sergei Fedorov’s Jersey Retirement
Earlier today, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they’d be lifting Sergei Fedorov‘s No. 91 to the rafters in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes in mid-January of the upcoming campaign. As much as Fedorov has earned the honor, it marked a significant shift in attitude from the organization toward the former Russian star.
Fedorov’s story with the Red Wings began in the 1989 NHL Draft after being selected with the 74th overall pick, which fell in the fourth round at the time. Under the leadership of General Manager Jim Devellano, Detroit became one of the first clubs to target Russian players in the draft. At the time, most of the league viewed this strategy as a fool’s errand due to the significant challenges players faced in defecting from the Soviet Union.
Thanks to the efforts of writer Keith Grave and Jim Lites, who was Detroit’s Executive Vice President at the time, the team encouraged Fedorov to defect from the Soviet Union and leave his CSKA Moscow club. Ultimately, Fedorov did both things, leaving the 1990 Goodwill Games with Lites on a plane to Detroit.
Fedorov started playing for the Red Wings in the 1990-91 NHL season and never looked back. He drew praise from around the league almost immediately, scoring 31 goals and 79 points in 77 games during his rookie campaign. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to win the Calder Trophy that season, but Fedorov quickly became one of, if not the most talented, players in the league.
His talent reached its peak during the 1993-94 season, when Fedorov scored 56 goals and 120 points in 82 games, en route to winning the Hart Memorial Trophy, Frank J. Selke Trophy, and Lester B. Pearson Award (later renamed the Ted Lindsay Award). This season serves as the last time a player for the Red Wings has been crowned as the league’s MVP.
His dominance continued for the next two years, helping Detroit reach its first Stanley Cup Final in nearly three decades. The Red Wings weren’t able to top the summit, but they had now cemented themselves as a force to be reckoned with throughout the NHL world.
They wouldn’t have to wait long for that championship. During the 1996-97 season, consequently, the third year of the famed ‘Russian Five’ made up of Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Viacheslav Fetisov, and Vladimir Konstantinov, the Red Wings won their first Stanley Cup since 1955 against the Philadelphia Flyers. Unfortunately, this was the informal beginning of the end of Fedorov’s tenure in Detroit.
To contextualize, the Red Wings’ owner at the time, Mike Illitch, was beloved by his players. Illitch demonstrated an insatiable desire to win, immediately making him one of the most revered owners in sports by his fan base. The loyalty he showed to his players was one of his best qualities; however, it became the wedge that began prying Fedorov away from HockeyTown, as Illitch required a reciprocal loyalty in return.
Becoming a restricted free agent before the 1997-98 season, Fedorov held out for a new contract with Detroit. He ultimately decided to sign a $38MM contract with the Hurricanes, which included some questionable signing bonuses. Carolina included a $14MM signing bonus for simply putting pen to paper, another $2MM bonus for reaching the 21-game plateau during the 1997-98 campaign, and a whopping $12MM bonus if his team were to make the Conference Final that season, which was put in to dissuade the Red Wings from matching the offer.
Not to be outspent by anyone, Illitch and the Red Wings reluctantly matched the offer, but ended up paying Fedorov $28MM in signing bonuses by the end of the campaign, which still stands as the largest amount ever given to an NHL player. Fedorov went on to win two more Stanley Cups with the Red Wings (1998 and 2002), though the recent contractual holdout severely tarnished his relationship with Detroit’s ownership.
This culminated in Fedorov’s departure from the Red Wings after the 2002-03 NHL season, signing with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on a five-year, $40MM contract. It was the nail in the coffin for any relationship between Detroit’s ownership and Fedorov, as the Russian superstar reportedly rejected a five-year, $50MM contract and a four-year, $40MM contract to remain in Detroit. Since that time, despite winning an MVP award, three Stanley Cups, and being a dominant force in the league, the Red Wings and their fans harbored no affection for Fedorov over the next two decades.
As the old moniker goes, time has healed the wounds between Detroit and Fedorov. He suited up for the team during the 2013 Winter Classic Alumni Game and received a warm welcome from the Detroit faithful at a ceremonial puck drop in 2015 after his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. It’s important to note that despite his number not being officially retired until this season, no Red Wing has donned No. 91 since the 2002-03 campaign.
There may still be several fans of the Red Wings, particularly those who experienced the team’s greatness in the late 1990s and early 2000s, who will never forgive Fedorov for leaving. Still, despite featuring alumni such as Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman, there’s a strong argument that Fedorov is the most talented player to ever don the ‘Winged Wheel’, and the organization is rightfully honoring him as they should have long ago.
Photo courtesy of Julian H. Gonzalez, Detroit Free Press.
Prospect Notes: Mania, Whitelaw, Poletin
With NCAA rosters being finalized and CHL training camps starting up soon, there’s been a flurry of activity involving NHL prospects finding new homes to continue their development for 2025-26. One of those names is ex-Kings prospect Matthew Mania, whom Ryan Sikes of Puck Preps reports will play for the University of Michigan after he announced his commitment in June.
Mania, 20, had one year of OHL eligibility remaining as an overager, but taking advantage of it is rare for a prospect with NHL aspirations. He’ll make the jump to a more challenging environment in the Big 10 conference after seeing some stagnant development since L.A. selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 draft.
The 6’1″ right-shot defenseman spent his first three junior seasons with the Sudbury Wolves before getting dealt to the Flint Firebirds last offseason. As would be expected, Mania recorded a career-high 38 assists and 45 points with a +10 rating in 2024-25, but that wasn’t much of a significant pop from his draft-year production with the Wolves three years ago (10-28–38, +21, 67 GP).
Mania joins a Michigan blue line that also landed some younger, higher-profile freshmen for 2025-26, including fellow ex-OHLer and 2024 Flames third-rounder Henry Mews. He’ll look to stand out and eventually earn an NHL contract as a free agent. Since he was drafted out of the CHL, L.A.’s signing rights expired on June 1 of this year and will not be re-extended by virtue of his move to college.
More from the NCAA/CHL world:
- Officially moving on from Michigan after entering the transfer portal months ago is Blue Jackets center prospect William Whitelaw. He’s not going very far, though – reigning national champions Western Michigan announced on Instagram they’ve brought him in for his junior campaign. It’ll be the third school in as many years for the 2023 fifth-rounder, who spent his freshman year at Wisconsin before transferring to Michigan last summer. The undersized (5’9″, 174 lbs) pivot has a 21-14–35 scoring line in 72 career collegiate games.
- After selecting him first overall in this year’s CHL Import Draft, the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets officially announced they’ve signed Islanders prospect Tomas Poletin. The Isles selected Poletin, 18, in the fourth round back in June. The Czech winger spent his draft year in Finland, scoring 13 goals and 20 points in 25 games for Pelicans’ under-20 club while also appearing in 15 Liiga games without a point.
USA Hockey Announces Olympic Orientation Camp Roster
Like their northern counterparts, USA Hockey will host an orientation camp later this month as NHLers prepare for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, the first time they’ll be at the event in 12 years. Their event will take place in their headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan, on Aug. 26 and 27 and is “largely an administrative and team-building event and includes no formal on-ice activity or public component,” the organization said.
Their list is comprised of 44 players – two more than Canada’s – but will need to be reduced to a maximum of 25 (22 skaters and three goalies) by the time final rosters for the event are due. Orientation camp rosters are non-binding – others can still work their way in – but it’s certainly an uphill battle for anyone not viewed as an outside contender six months out from the tournament.
All countries suiting up for men’s hockey had to lock in six players to their roster earlier this summer. For the U.S., that was Jack Eichel, Quinn Hughes, Auston Matthews, Charlie McAvoy, Brady Tkachuk, and Matthew Tkachuk.
Here’s the full orientation camp roster, with an asterisk by each of the six players already locked into the roster:
Forwards
Matt Boldy (Wild)
Cole Caufield (Canadiens)
Logan Cooley (Mammoth)
Kyle Connor (Jets)
Jack Eichel (Golden Knights)*
Conor Garland (Canucks)
Jake Guentzel (Lightning)
Jack Hughes (Devils)
Patrick Kane (Red Wings)
Clayton Keller (Mammoth)
Matthew Knies (Maple Leafs)
Chris Kreider (Ducks)
Dylan Larkin (Red Wings)
Auston Matthews (Maple Leafs)*
J.T. Miller (Rangers)
Frank Nazar (Blackhawks)
Brock Nelson (Avalanche)
Shane Pinto (Senators)
Jason Robertson (Stars)
Bryan Rust (Penguins)
Tage Thompson (Sabres)
Brady Tkachuk (Senators)*
Matthew Tkachuk (Panthers)*
Vincent Trocheck (Rangers)
Alex Tuch (Sabres)
Defensemen
Brock Faber (Wild)
Adam Fox (Rangers)
Luke Hughes (Devils)
Quinn Hughes (Canucks)*
Noah Hanifin (Golden Knights)
Seth Jones (Panthers)
Jackson LaCombe (Ducks)
Charlie McAvoy (Bruins)*
Brett Pesce (Devils)
Neal Pionk (Jets)
Jake Sanderson (Senators)
Brady Skjei (Predators)
Jaccob Slavin (Hurricanes)
Alex Vlasic (Blackhawks)
Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets)
Goaltenders
Joey Daccord (Kraken)
Connor Hellebuyck (Jets)
Jake Oettinger (Stars)
Jeremy Swayman (Bruins)
KHL’s Shanghai Dragons Sign Ivan Chekhovich, Three Others
The KHL’s Shanghai Dragons continue to fill out their roster ahead of their first season under their new name. Today, they announced the signing of four forwards with considerable North American experience – Ivan Chekhovich, Max Ellis, Nate Sucese, and Riley Sutter.
Chekhovich is the only one with NHL experience. The 5’10” winger was a seventh-round pick by the Sharks in 2017 and, after some standout offensive showings with the QMJHL’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar, looked like a potential steal. Unfortunately, his offense dried up as soon as he reached the pros. He only ever got a four-game call-up to San Jose in 2020-21, recording an assist and a -3 rating in 10:29 of ice time per game.
The Russian native only managed 32 points in 70 games for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda in parts of four seasons. When his entry-level contract expired in 2022, the Sharks issued him a qualifying offer to retain his rights, but he ended up signing in the KHL with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. He’s remained in Russia ever since, and San Jose is set to lose his signing rights on July 1 next year.
The 26-year-old has been inconsistent since returning home, but could be one of the Dragons’ higher-ceiling scoring options. He scored a career-high 36 points in 47 games for Vityaz Moscow Region, which has paused operations due to financial instability, last season.
Joining him on the wing will be the undersized Ellis, a former Maple Leafs undrafted free agent signing out of Notre Dame. The 25-year-old had 34 points in 87 games for AHL Toronto in parts of three seasons before his signing rights were traded to the Stars in June 2024 for the rights to then-pending UFA Chris Tanev. Ellis did not sign with Dallas and instead landed in Finland with Liiga’s Jukurit, where he had 18 points in 25 games last season before going point-per-game in five relegation contests to help them stay in the top flight next season.
Sucese, also a 5’9″ former undrafted free agent signing, has a longer pro track record. The 29-year-old has spent the last five seasons in the AHL in the Coyotes, Wild, Hurricanes, and Rangers organizations on two-way NHL deals and minor-league contracts. He heads overseas for the first time after posting a 52-57–109 scoring line in 276 career AHL contests, including 28 points in 56 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack last year.
Shanghai will be just the second pro team in Sutter’s pro career. The bulky 25-year-old center was a third-round pick by the Capitals in 2018, and while he’s remained under NHL contract with the team up until this summer, he never took the ice for the big club and played exclusively for AHL Hershey. The son of former Flyers captain Ron Sutter is a two-time Calder Cup champion with the Bears and had 65 points in 279 games for them before becoming a Group VI unrestricted free agent this year.
Morning Notes: Blues, Fedorov, Ciernik
Aside from 2023 10th overall pick Dalibor Dvorsky, forwards Aleksanteri Kaskimäki and Dylan Peterson have the best chance among the Blues’ young AHL-bound prospects of seeing NHL ice at some point this season, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic relays.
Both are coming off their first full minor-league season with Springfield, although Kaskimäki is the younger one. The 21-year-old Finnish pivot was a third-rounder in 2022 and adjusted well to North American ice in his first season stateside, tying for fifth on the team in scoring with an 11-23–34 line in 63 games.
Peterson, two years Kaskimäki’s senior as a 2020 third-rounder, was in his first pro season altogether after four years at Boston University. The 6’4″ center/winger is more of a checking piece than a scorer – evidenced by his 82 PIMs – but still managed 13 tallies in 52 appearances for the Thunderbirds.
Rutherford posits they’ll have the upper hand over some potentially higher-ceiling scoring options like 2023 No. 25 pick Otto Stenberg, who only arrived in Springfield midway through last season. The organization would like to give him some more runway in the minors before considering him for a call-up.
More from around the hockey world:
- More than 20 years after his last game for the team, the Red Wings announced today they’ll be retiring Sergei Fedorov‘s No. 91 before their game on Jan. 12 against the Hurricanes. Fedorov, perhaps the most high-profile member of Detroit’s ‘Russian Five,’ sits fourth in franchise history in points per game (1.05), and his cumulative +276 rating is the best of any Red Wings forward. He was a defining member of Detroit’s 1997, 1998, and 2002 championship teams and also won a pair of Selke Trophies and a Hart, twice cracking the 100-point threshold in the process.
- Flyers prospect Alex Čiernik is hoping to continue to re-energize his development after getting past some injury troubles, he told Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The 2023 fourth-rounder signed on with Pelicans in Finland’s Liiga for the upcoming season – his first in a top-flight European pro league – and will be coached by former Flyers forward and development coach Sami Kapanen. He scored 23 points in 46 games last season for Nybrö Vikings IF in Sweden’s second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan after missing most of his post-draft season due to multiple head injuries.
Blues Sign Milan Lucic To Professional Tryout
The Blues have signed left winger Milan Lucic to a professional tryout, the team announced.
Lucic, 37, last played in the NHL with the Bruins in October 2023. While on injured reserve for an ankle injury, he was arrested in November and charged with assault and battery for a domestic incident. Those charges were later dropped in February 2024, but he remained in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program throughout the season and did not return to Boston for the balance of the season and became an unrestricted free agent.
Late last offseason, Lucic expressed interest in making an NHL return but said he was still in the assistance program, making him ineligible to play until he was cleared by league medical staff. He was never suspended or disciplined by the league as a direct result of his charges. The Blues confirmed in their press release today that he has been cleared from the program and thus reinstated by the league.
While once one of the league’s top power forwards in his early days with Boston, Lucic took on bottom-six journeyman status as soon as he entered his 30s. The 6’3″, 240-lb lefty hasn’t had 30 points in a season since the 2017-18 campaign. In his last three seasons plus his four-game stint with the Bruins in 2023, he averaged 10 goals, 24 points, a -12 rating, and 198 hits per 82 games while averaging 12:16 of ice time per night. For his career, he’s got a 233-353–586 scoring line in 1,177 games.
The Blues haven’t had any major roster turnover at forward this offseason, and with Lucic not playing in nearly two years, he’s at best battling for a press-box role or a two-way deal out of the gate in camp. It’s unclear if he’d be willing to accept an AHL assignment if it helped facilitate an NHL return. The Vancouver native has never played in the minors – he jumped straight from juniors to Boston when he began his NHL career back in 2007.
Even then, it’s hard to see where he fits in if not in a minor-league role. St. Louis already has its bottom-six forward group filled out, plus two extras with Nick Bjugstad, Mathieu Joseph, Jake Neighbours, Oskar Sundqvist, Pius Suter, Alexandre Texier, Alexey Toropchenko, and Nathan Walker all relatively safe locks for spots. That doesn’t include much room for top prospect Dalibor Dvorsky to land a job, let alone a veteran reclamation project like Lucic.
Scheifele Excited To Add Toews To Mix
Count Winnipeg Jets alternate captain and first-line center Mark Scheifele among those excited about the addition of longtime NHL captain Jonathan Toews. Calling Toews’ signing with the Jets “the perfect storm,” Scheifele expressed excitement about adding the three-time Stanley Cup champion and Winnipeg native, per NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest.
“Coming back to Winnipeg, coming back from not playing for a couple of years, I thought it all made so much sense. I was obviously hoping that we were the front-runner and we’re very excited to have him,” said Scheifele.
Toews signed a one-year deal with Jets on June 20, marking his return to the NHL after being sidelined since April 2023 after being diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). After a trip to India to seek additional healing practices, Toews announced in May that he intended to make a comeback, and ultimately chose to play for his hometown team.
While it’s difficult to predict how Toews will perform after such a long layoff, he’s expected to slot into a top-nine role and could provide the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners with a dependable two-way presence, which was a hallmark of his game during his time with the Blackhawks. Toews, along with fellow recent signees Gustav Nyquist, Tanner Pearson, and Cole Koepke, will look to pick up the offensive slack left behind by Nikolaj Ehlers, who signed with the Carolina Hurricanes this offseason.
Scheifele acknowledged that losing Ehlers is a challenge, but believes the team can take the next step in their success after being eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the second round of the playoffs.
“I think the biggest thing for us is to take those expectations and use it as motivation. You want to be just as good as last year, but at the same time, it’s about winning a Stanley Cup and that’s the end goal. We didn’t get that done last year and that at the end of the day, is our biggest goal,” he said.
Mark Kirton Passes Away
Former NHL forward Mark Kirton, who spent six seasons in the league, passed away on Sunday, per a league announcement. He was 67.
Kirton played 266 games in the NHL from 1979 to 1985. This included stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs (who drafted Kirton in the third round of the 1978 NHL Draft), the Detroit Red Wings, and the Vancouver Canucks. His most productive season came in 1981–82, when he posted a career-high 42 points with the Red Wings. Interestingly, his career high in goals (17) came during his final season with the Canucks.
An advocate for ALS research, Kirton joined the board of ALS Action Canada after being diagnosed with the disease in 2018. Though his prognosis eventually left him confined to a wheelchair, it never diminished his unwavering efforts to advance research and raise awareness for ALS. This included his efforts to unify all seven Canadian-based NHL teams to raise funds for imperative research. Nine months later, Kirton’s long-time friend and ex-NHL Darryl Sittler announced on Parliament Hill in Ottawa that Kirton’s seven-team effort raised more than $1 million. That same day, Wayne Gretzky, who was in attendance for the announcement, called Kirton, “A hero of mine.”
The NHL Alumni Association also announced Kirton’s passing, highlighting his strength, compassion, and the lasting legacy he leaves behind—both in the hockey world and within the ALS community.
“Mark’s career in the NHL was defined by determination, teamwork, and heart. Off the ice, he brought those same qualities into his fight against ALS. Faced with one of life’s toughest challenges, he chose to become a voice and champion for others, raising awareness and inspiring hope. His courage was unshakable, his advocacy was selfless, and his spirit touched everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. Mark was not only a teammate but also a friend, mentor, and role model,” the release said.
Kirton is survived by his wife, Lisa, and their three children. Pro Hockey Rumors sends our condolences to Kirton’s family, friends, and loved ones.