Category: Europe

Hobart College Statesmen senior captain, center Zach Tyson(16) helped his team to the NCAA Division 3 Championship and will head to France2, signing a 1st pro deal with Mont Blanc for 2023/2024.

The 5’8″ 165 lbs. forward had a college high 11 goals last season with his 2 best frames coming as a freshman and junior, where he scored 27 points.

He played 3 sessions of juniors, winning the 2016 USPHL Premier and having his most productive run in his final campaign for South Shore Kings of the USPHL/NCDC.

We see the 25-year old from Dublin, OH playing his way up overseas.

After 18 games, worth 2 goals and 15 assists, he decides to return and signs with Huntsville Havoc of the SPHL for 2024/2025 and we expect him to see scoring success.

10th year center Rylan Schwartz(13) helped his club Lowen Frankfurt win the 2022 DEL2 Championship with 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 12 playoff games, and for his efforts earns a promotion up to their DEL team.

This will be his 7th year playing in either of Germany’s top leagues.

The 5’10” 192 lbs. forward left after a particularly good season for Orlando Solar Bears, scoring 23 goals and 19 assists in 40 ECHL games.

As an unrestricted free agent, graduating top scorer at Colorado College Tigers, he signed a 2-year entry deal with San Jose Sharks.

The 32-year old, who calls where he plays his half birth home, is likely pretty happy to be still playing good hockey.

For 2023/2024, he will stay on for a 3rd campaign with his champion club.

He would move down to DEL2 and signs with EC Kassel Huskies and does ok, especially in the playoffs.

At 34-years old, he is heading out for a new kind of hockey in the EIHL and signs with Glasgow Clan for 2024/2025.

Washington Capitals‘ 4th year center Shane Gersich(10) grabs another one-year, two-way deal to stick around in the prospect system.

The University Of North Dakota Fighting Hawks‘ 3-year forward has consistently put up respectable numbers for affiliate Hershey Bears.

He started his pro career with 3 NHL games fresh off his junior year at school, grabbed an assist and even skated a pair of playoff appearances en route to the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship.

The 24-year old has to be fairly happy with the way things are turning out for this 5th round pick in the 2014 draft (#134 overall).

For 2022/2023, he re-signs on a minor league deal to stay where he is after recording a career high 14 goals and 20 assists with a +4 rating.

After a 5th season where he’s been and a brand new 2023 Calder Cup Trophy to bear, he decides to look on and signs a 1-year deal with Vasteras IK of HockeyAllsvenskan, where he should do very well.

We pretty much thought what has occurred would, he takes a good frame in Sweden’s tier 2 league, scoring 19 goals and 13 assists in 48 games to a higher level of hockey next, signing with Iserlohn Roosters of DEL for 2024/2025.

After four solid seasons at Union College, scoring a collegiate career best 20 assists and 29 points in a COVID stopped 2019/2020, undrafted right wing Anthony Rinaldi(8) signed his first pro career with Kansas City Mavericks but after just 5 ECHL games with no points found the mix just didn’t fit and was traded to Greenville Swamp Rabbits.

The 6′ 188 lbs. forward has found his nitch with the new club, scoring 6 goals and 5 assists in 30 games with a +2 as a rookie.

We think the 25-year old native of Pierrefonds, QC can put up numbers like he did in two years of juniors, first in the BCHL (22-16-38), then the OJHL (38-35-72) for Kingston Voyageurs as assistant captain.

Coming off a rookie campaign scoring 7 goals and 6 assists in 43 games with a +1 rating looks like numbers that can be increased thinks Greenville Swamp Rabbits, who re-ups him for a 2nd, full 2021/2022.

After a 2nd solid frame in the league, he decided to leave for an opportunity to sign for 1-year with Les Jokers De Cergy Pontoise of Ligue Magnus for 2022/2023 and recorded 10 goals and 10 assists in 33 games, then added 7 points in 8 playoff matchups.

He’s moving over for 2023/2024 to the EIHL and agrees to terms with Dundee Stars, which should see him produce well.

After a first good season overseas, scoring a tidy 16 goals and 21 assists, he will take his game next to Germany3, where he signs with Tilburg Trappers for 2024/2025.

Undrafted, 2nd year left wing Blake Christensen(27) takes a weirdo COVID run rookie season with Bakersfield Condors, but only appearing in a limited 10 AHL games, getting a pair of tallies, including a game-winner.

The small 5’9″ 174 lbs. forward signs a new deal to play in the exact rink he spent his college days at, the Mass Mutual Center, inking for 2021/2022 with Springfield Thunderbirds.

He had four solid years, graduating with 48 goals, 71 assists, 119 points, while skating for an outstanding America International College Yellowjackets team in 142 Atlantic Hockey games.

The Coral Springs, FL native spent two seemingly uninspired campaigns in the USHL before leaving to the BCHL to finish up before school and produced pretty well with Wenatchee Wild.

He was also given a nice chance to play a little hockey in Fjordkraftligaen for Manglerud, connecting for a nice 4 goals and 5 assists.

We think the 25-year old is still getting his wheels on the cart.

After scoring 18 goals and 10 assists on loan to Worcester Railers, he signs a 1-year ECHL deal for 2022/2023 to stick around and pot more tallies.

He records a career best 15 assists in his 2nd frame through 35 games, but gets an offer to join HC Thurgau for their SL playoff run and jumps at the opportunity.

In 4 contests, he has a goal and 2 assists with a +2 rating, but could have suffered an injury.

For 2023/2024, he decides to return to the Railers and hopes to build on what he established with them early.

He maybe doesn’t quite score as much as he did in his rookie campaign, but has a new high assists with 15.

New league club Tahoe Knight Monsters see the upside in his game and sign him for 2024/2025.

5th year center Myles Powell(17) helps his team HV71 win the 2022 HockeyAllsvenskan Championship with a nice job, 3 goals and 10 assists in 15 games and earns an SHL promotion, but in the process jumps ship and signs to rival IK Oskarshamn for 2022/2023.

The 5’9″ 181 lbs. forward, former R.I.T. Tigers‘ captain scored 13 goals and 26 assists as a senior before heading to Rochester Americans and affiliate Cincinnati Cyclones to start his pro career.

He stayed there for his rookie season not connecting in the AHL, but was a point-per-game guy in the ECHL.

The Comox, BC native bounced around the minors for the next two years before heading overseas.

At 27-years old he’s still elevating his game.

He scores 9 goals and 6 assists in 50 games, but will head back to the lower league in Sweden to take up with IF Bjorkloven for 2023/2024.

In 41 games, scoring 20 goals and 23 assists is very good, so he will next take his game to DEL, where he signs with ERC Ingolstadt for 2024/2025.

Undrafted left wing Logan Cockerill(9) spent the last 2 seasons of 5 as team captain at Boston University Terriers.

The 5’9″ 180 lbs. forward had his best year scoring as a freshman with 8 goals and 12 assists, but he’s a +8 skater through school.

He did two campaigns with the USNTDP with very decent results.

The Brighton, MI has decided to turn pro and signs with BIK Karlskoga and will play tier 2 Hockeyallsvenskan in Sweden for 2022/2023.

In 31 games, he gets 7 goals and 7 assists with a +4 rating, then adds another tally in 4 playoff match ups.

For 2023/2024, the former New York Islanders‘ 7th round pick in 2017 (#201 overall) is coming back home to sign a 1-year ECHL deal with Jacksonville Icemen, where he will play with brother Garret.

He nets 10 goals and 27 assists in 63 games with a +6 rating and is set to return in an Icemen jersey 2024/2025.

Rookie left wing Jack Olmstead(9) blew up scoring in Finland’s Division 2 for Amals SK to the tune of 28 goals and 29 assists in 27 games played and wants to return close to home late season, signing with Kalamazoo Wings for their playoff run.

The 5’10” 181 lbs. forward played 3 years at Miami University (Ohio) Redhawks, but wasn’t really a big scorer and that came after 2 years of little use with University Of Michigan Wolverines.

From Troy, MI, the 25-year old only did 1 NAHL season, popping the scoring for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights for 23 goals and 30 assists.

We are interested to see if his scoring can extend into the ECHL, but we suspect he’ll connect.

He doesn’t much connect in his time back and looks to an opportunity in Germany3 with EC Bad Tolz for 2024/2025.

Colgate University Raiders‘ senior left wing Levi Glasman(20) signs in the newly named CEHL for 2024/2025, agreeing with Golden Sharks Mechelen.

He was never a big scorer through college, his junior year scoring 3 goals and 6 assists was his best.

The 6’2″ 174 lbs. forward will likely score better in this league, as he did and was a 20+ goal and assist scorer in 3 years of the BCHL.

From Minnedosa, MB, the 25-year old is out seeing what kind of pro game he’s got.

New York Rangers signed undrafted, unrestricted free agent center Justin Richards(90) to a two-year entry level deal after he completed his third season at University Of Minnesota-Duluth, where he helped the team win consecutive NCAA Championships in 2018 and 2019.

He scored a career high 14 goals in 24 games in 2020/2021.

The 5’10” 188 lbs. forward was originally reassigned to affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack.

In his AHL debut, he introduced himself to his new club with a pair of assists and went on to grab 4 goals and 7 assists in 24 appearances with a +3 rating before his recall.

He was little different in his first game up posting a 1st NHL point, an assist after winning a face-off, through 18 shifts for 10:11 total ice time in a 5-4 win to close out the season with no playoff push.

For his rookie season, he would spent it entirely in the minors.

Left without a qualifying offer, he next signs with Cleveland Monsters on a minor league deal that gets boosted by agreeing to terms with parent club, Columbus Blue Jackets.

He appears in a pair of games and grabs a 2nd assist.

Next up, he would head to Rochester Americans for 2023/2024.

For 2024/2025, he’s made probably one of his best decisions, moving forward, signing a 1-year deal with Dusseldorfer EG of DEL.