It’s the dog days of summer and, as such, it’s going to be a difficult to pull together anything of great substance from around the league. Most of the major news — the Utica Comets official announcement, Texas Stars jersey unveiling, and Calder Cup Final — has already happened, but that doesn’t mean we can’t give it our best.
(From L to R) AHL grads Nick Leddy, Brandon Bollig, Andrew Shaw, and Bryan Bickell pose together during the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup Parade. via @Bollig87
TRANSACTIONS
As with any off-season, and with the transient nature of the minors, it’s high time for some of our favourite AHLers to hit the bricks and find their next gig. As such, we bid adieu to the following:
- Chad Kolarik of the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins is off to Sweden, where he’ll join Linkoping of the Swedish Hockey League. Kolarik suited up for 277 games and posted 98 goals, 111 assists, and 211 PIM.
- Phillipe Dupuis, also a Penguin, is moving on. He has signed a contract with the Hamburg Freezers of the DEL. In 308 AHL games, Dupuis has tallied 73 goals, 91 assists, and racked up 143 PIM.
- The Providence Bruins are saying goodbye to defenseman Colby Cohen. Cohen, 24, has signed with Assat of Finland’s SM-Liiga. Over 164 games in the AHL, Cohen was good for six goals and 37 assists from the blue line.
NOTES
- Former Nashville Predators assistant coach Peter Horachek will be the new bench boss for the San Antonio Rampage (Florida Panthers affiliate) next season. Horachek was relieved of his duties with the Predators at the end of the 2012-13 season. His previous minor league head coaching experience includes a Turner Cup victory as IHL Champion with the Orlando Solar Bears, and 80 games behind the bench of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals in 2002-03.
- Rockford Ice Hogs grads Brandon Saad, Marcus Kruger, Andrew Shaw, Nick Leddy, Brandon Bollig, and Ben Smith will all get their names on the Stanley Cup for their contributions to the Chicago Blackhawks victory.
- The NHL draft takes place tomorrow (June 30), and will definitely produce some shuffling. As is often the case, AHL prospects will play a role in some of the day’s smaller deals, so be sure to come to American Hockey Blog on Draft Day to see what shuffling your team has done.
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