CANTLON: HOCKEY NEWS & NOTES VOLUME 38 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The AHL Belleville Senators made a big announcement last Wednesday night in a YouTube Zoom call in a new fashion with Ottawa/Belleville Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, Ottawa/Belleville Senators President of Business Operations, Anthony LeBlanc, and Belleville Mayor, Mitch Panciuk.

The Mayor announced that the City Council has agreed to amend the original LOI (Letter of Intent) and has chosen to amend the Lease and License Agreement, originally dated September 26, 2016, along with other guarantees and agreements to assist the Belleville Senators during the pandemic.

Essentially, the city of Belleville has deferred all payments, interest calculation, and the free-rent period for a full 16 months to the end of the presumed 2020-21 season. This will result in the pushing back of the commencement date of rent and principal repayments during a time that the Senators’ attendance is negatively impacted.

In addition, both parties have agreed to extend the term of the original Lease and License agreement to June 30, 2027, which is an additional 22 months longer than was in the negotiated first lease term while maintaining the renewal option to defer the free rent arrangement until the end of the 2021-22 season. The negotiated terms and scheduled level of payments are extended until June 2027.

The Belleville Senators may not possibly be allowed to have fans at the start because a PHO (Public Health Order) will prohibit fans at Yardmen Arena because of the COVID-19 crisis.

This could be the blueprint other AHL teams will attempt to negotiate in their markets.

ECHL

ECHL teams are dropping like flies. They are only 13 teams of their 26 left with two publicly stating they’re on the fence as the first part of the regular season is set to start on Thursday.

Eleven teams will kick off the 33rd season Friday night, nine months after the league shut down. The teams are the South Carolina Stingrays, Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Jacksonville IceMen, Orlando Solar Bears, Florida Everblades, Kansas City Mavericks, Tulsa Oilers, Wichita Thunder, Utah Grizzlies, Rapid City Rush, and Allen Americans.

Two other teams are slated to come in next month in Ft. Wayne Komets, and Toledo Walleye, which will raise that number up to the aforementioned, thirteen.

On Monday, the Cincinnati Cyclones, Idaho Steelheads, and Kalamazoo K-Wings, each threw in the towel for the 2020-21 season.

AHL players are being shipped in greater numbers to ECHL teams so they can get playing time.

The Milwaukee Admirals sent six players to Florida (ECHL), including Patrick Harper (New Canaan/Avon Old Farms).

The Allen American got three players, two from the Iowa Stars and one from the San Jose Barracuda.

Rapid City picked up one from the Arizona Coyotes.

Ex-Pack, now with the Wheeling Nailers, Michael Pelech, enters the 2020-21 season fourth on the league’s all-time games played list at 705. When he plays in his 67th game, he would pass Louis Dumont for third place in league history.

Pelech’s 372 assists rank sixth in ECHL history. He needs 28 more assists to become just the third player in league history to reach the 400-assist mark in his career. Pelech sits 21st on the all-time list with 541 points. He looks to become only the eighth player, all-time, to reach 600 career points in ECHL history.

He originally signed this season with the Atlanta Gladiators, but when the team voluntarily suspended their season, he signed with Wheeling.

The ECHL did have some good news. The proposed Trois-Rivieres franchise formally signed a five-year lease agreement with the city of Trois-Rivieres, and its Mayor Jean Lamarche last week.

The last piece for the ECHL BOG will be to formally approve the expansion franchise’s application. It’s expected to do just that. The team will announce then it will be affiliated with the NHL Montreal Canadiens and the AHL Laval Rocket and unveil the team and color schemes in the spring of 2021.

The group known as DSE (Deacon Sports Management) will pay, for five years, at least $435,000 (Canadian) in base rent to the city of Trois-Rivieres to occupy the arena known as the Trois-Rivieres Coliseum which replaces the aging Coliseum built-in 1939 with a brand new 4,310 seats with 20 luxury loge seating at the intersection of Route 55 and 40. The rental amount could reach up to $650,000 (Canadian) considering the compensation on the sale of tickets.

The team has yet to be named. It’s likely to be associated with the Canadiens in some fashion.

For DSE, the lease includes the rental of ice hours, the use of boxes, the management of food concessions, revenue from advertising displays, the operation of the souvenir shop, and the ticket office.

The team’s president and CEO, is former CFL Montreal Alouettes, and AHL Laval Rocket executive, Mark Weightman, who was the closer brought in to seal the deal, and the team GM and vice-president will be former NHL’er, Marc-Andre Bergeron, who has been a special advisor for DSE in this whole process.

Junior A BCHL was scheduled to start their season on Monday but announced the start date has been pushed back until after the New Year. The BC PH0 (Public Health Order) issued in BC was not allowing 19-year-olds on the ice to practice, so almost half the team couldn’t practice with the other half.

It’s being done in the name of safety, but this was no rhyme, or reason, or logic attached to it.

The Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) just started to play with two games. Just one of the current five teams has not played.

Two teams, Thief River Falls (Minnesota) Norskies, and Wisconsin (Spooner) Lumberjacks have opted not to play this season because the border with Canada remains closed.

PLAYER MOVEMENT

Classy ex-Wolf Pack, Raphael Díaz, 35, according to Swiss media, will sign a four-year deal with HC Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland-LNA) starting next season that will take him to the end of his career. He presently is skating for EV Zug (Switzerland-LNA) this season who offered him a three-year deal. He has eight points in 12 games and has been team captain for four-of-his-five-seasons with EV Zug since he left Hartford.

Jonathon Martin of the Tucson Roadrunners heads off to Lausitzer (Germany DEL-2).

Troy Terry departs the Grand Rapids Griffins for Torpedo Novgorod (Russia-KHL).

David Kase, of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, is loaned to HC Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic-CEL).

Colton Beck departs the Iowa Wild to EV Landshut (Germany DEL-2) and becomes the 20th player assigned to Germany.

J.D. Dudek, who signed with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the offseason out of Boston College, has been loaned to Boden HF (Sweden HockeyEttan Division 2) making 200 AHL players to be signed or loaned to European teams.

Daniel Urbani of Canisius College (AHA) heads to Wichita (ECHL) on a try-out.

Craig Pantano of Northeastern University (HE) signs a try-out with Rapid City (ECHL).

203 Division-I players have signed North American deals. 337 total college players Division-I and Division-III have signed pro deals in North America and Europe.

The conference breakdown is Hockey East (38), NCHC (35), the Big 10 (34), ECACHL (33), WCHA (32), AHA (28), and Division-1 independent Arizona State has four.

Ex-Pack defenseman, Jeff Taylor, the designated scratched player last season, who played just ten games and played in 21 games with the Maine Mariners signs with the Jacksonville IceMen (ECHL).

Ex-Pack Alex Kile signs with Florida (ECHL), and Ben Freeman (UCONN) signs with Wheeling (ECHL) on a try-out deal after Maine suspended operations for this season.

Because of the roster influx from the AHL ex-Pack, Justin Salvaggio was cut after signing a deal in the offseason with Wichita.

Forward, Matt Crasa who skated for the Selects Academy at South Kent Prep program has de-committed from the Sacred Heart University Pioneers (AHA) and next year he will be at UMASS-Lowell River Hawks (HE). Crasa is presently skating for the Fargo Force (USHL) after last season toiling for the Cowichan Valley Capitals (BCHL). He has been drafted by Fargo, this past spring, last year by the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL), last year by the Amarillo Bulls (NAHL) twice, and in 2017 by the Windsor Spitfires (OHL).

Another ex-Pack defenseman, Chris Summers, has elected not to return to Europe because of the pandemic. So, he and the Nuremberg Ice Tigers (Germany-DEL) have mutually agreed to cancel the last year of his contract.

Ex-Sound Tiger, Brandon DeFazio, the son of former New Haven Nighthawk, Dean DeFazio, after six games was released by HC Brno (Czech Republic-CEL), but he signs with ERC Ingolstadt (Germany-DEL).

Jack Finley, the oldest son of ex-Pack and Ranger, Jeff Finley, now an amateur scout for the Winnipeg Jets, saw him sign his first pro deal, a standard ELC deal.

The entry-level deal for the Tampa Bay Lightning draftee is $925K-(NHL) and $80K (AHL) for the 6’6 215 lb. right-winger.

He is waiting to start his second season with the Spokane Chiefs (WHL) on January 8th when the WHL season is scheduled to begin. The continued closure of the border between the US and Canada may prevent that.

He has signed a provisional contract with the West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL) to play, this season. However, the start has been pushed back from December 8th until after the New Year.

The KHL Game of the Week is being broadcast for those interested in watching.

This week, SKA St. Petersburg lost to Dynamo Riga (Latvia) 4-3 in a shootout.

In regulation play, St. Petersburg got two goals by former Wolf Pack, Malte Stromwall, who had a game-high six shots on goal. His goals were his first two with the team. He was acquired about ten days ago from HK Sochi for three players. He wears jersey #88.

Stromwall was robbed in OT of what would have been the hat-trick game-winner on the doorstep off a setup from former AHL’er, Linden Vey (Manchester).

The Wolf Pack never saw this player in his only season in Hartford.

Dynamo Riga had two OT powerplays, but couldn’t cash in. Riga has former Wolf Pack forward, Evgeni Grachev. Their head coach is ex-Pack, Peter Skudra. His team won just their second road game of the season in 15 contests.

One player who played well was Mikus Indrašis, 30, who only has played in Latvia. He deserves a shot at a one-year deal.

Two of the Top 10 KHL scorers have CT college connections.

Justin Danforth #5 (Sacred Heart University) and #7 Brian O’ Neill (Yale University).

WJC TOURNAMENT UPDATE

COVID-19 has no boundaries.

Two Rangers prospects tested positive and have been sent home. Team Canada sent defensemen Matthew Robertson, a 2019 second-rounder (49th overall) over from the Edmonton Oil Kings, and forward Ridly Greig, the son of former Hartford Whalers’ forward Mark Greig.

The Swedish have been hit hard by COVID-19. They saw center Karl Henriksson (2019 second-round – 58th overall Frolunda HC) cut from the roster along with three other players just before joining the camp due to infections.

Sweden also lost their head coach, Tomas Montén. The Swedish Ice Hockey Association announced that Joel Ronnmark will serve now as head coach of the Swedish U-20 national team at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Two other assistant coaches, Anders Lundberg, and Adam Almqvist Andersson (video coach) were replaced by Anders Eriksen as an assistant coach, and Jason Pietrzykowski, who normally works for the Edmonton Oilers, will join the Swedish team in Edmonton as their video coach.

Lundberg, Almqvist Andersson, and Nizze Landén (goaltending coach) will support the Swedish U-20 national team remotely as advisers, as will Todd Woodcroft, who is currently the University of Vermont Head Coach and who coached in Sweden for several years with the national team.

In fact, every country with a team in the tourney who are in their own bubble final selection camps have experienced problems.

Switzerland had forward Yves Stoffel test positive for the virus during the second round of PCR testing and won’t be able to make the trip to Edmonton for the World Juniors.

Switzerland has felt the brunt of losing three players.

Another forward, Jannik Canova, who had close contact with Stoffel, has been ordered to quarantine and will miss the tournament. Forward, Kevin Lindemann, who tested positive during the first round of testing, will be staying home as well.

The PCR test that is being administered to all players, each must have three negative tests during camp to begin the trip to Edmonton on Sunday.

The Germans have lost three players on Wednesday as forward Elias Lindner tested positive.

This comes one day after the German Ice Hockey Federation ruled out forwards Lukas Reichel and Nino Kinder with positive tests.

Germany added Enrico Henriquez-Morales, and Jan-Luca Schumacher, from their on-call roster to the training camp on Wednesday.

All of this occurs as the December 13th departure deadline date rapidly approaches, when all camps must end and teams will begin to fly to Edmonton for the mandated 14-day Canadian quarantine requirements before the start of the tournament at Rogers Place.

In more late-breaking news Team Russia announced its WJC team and both UCONN Huskies players, defenseman Yan Kuznetsov (Calgary) and Vladislav Firstov (Minnesota) made the squad.

Amazingly, they’re the first two collegiate based Russian players to make a Russian team. The WJC tourney starts Christmas Day and the Russians’ first game is against the United States at 9:30 PM.