The Utah Hockey Club has announced that they’ve signed goaltender Jaxson Stauber to a two-year, two-way extension. The deal comes with an AAV of $775,000 at the NHL level and $350,000 in the AHL.
Stauber took over as the backup when Connor Ingram stepped away from the team for personal reasons. In six NHL games, he went 2-1-1 with a .892 save percentage and a 3.26 goals-against average.
He also played in 21 games with the Tucson Roadrunners, Utah’s AHL affiliate, where he had a 12-7-2 record with a .897 save percentage and a 3.14 goals-against average. Unfortunately, Tucson was knocked out of the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs earlier this week.
Stauber also has a cool piece of trivia attached to him. On November 30, he recorded the first shutout in Utah franchise history, a 6-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
NHL Draft Lottery Set For May 5 — How High Can Utah Pick?The NHL has announced the date for the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery. It will take place on Monday, May 5th. With the Utah Hockey Club now in the bottom 11 teams, the question is: where exactly did they finish—and how high can they move up?
Utah's AHL Affiliate Tucson Roadrunners Season Is OverUtah Hockey Club's AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, has been eliminated from the AHL's Calder Cup Playoffs.
Karel Vejmelka Will Join Czechia At IIHF World Championships Utah Hockey Club's Karel Vejmelka will represent Czechia at the 2025 World Championships in May. He will be representing Czechia for the fourth straight year, which saw him win gold on home soil last year in Prague.
On Tuesday, the Reading Royals and the Philadelphia Flyers announced a multi-year affiliation agreement that will see Reading continue to serve as the ECHL affiliate of the Flyers.
The affiliation agreement runs through the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons with an option for a third season (2027-28).
This new agreement is an extension of the original affiliation agreement made in 2014, with four prior extensions made since then (2016, 2019, 2021 and 2022).
The Flyers, Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL) and Royals form the closest geographical chain of affiliates in professional hockey. Santander Arena is 39 miles southwest of Lehigh Valley's PPL Center and 67 miles northwest of Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center. Meanwhile, the Phantoms play 70 miles north of Wells Fargo Center.
"We’re excited to continue our affiliation agreement with the Flyers and Phantoms for the foreseeable future,” Royals president David Farrar said in a statement. “Since the Berks County Convention Center Authority (BCCCA) took over ownership of the Royals, we feel the relationship has been valuable to all parties involved. We’re all excited for the upcoming season and look forward to watching future Flyers take the ice at the Santander Arena.”
Royals head coach Jason Binkley added, "the affiliation relationship with the Flyers and Phantoms has been a great asset to our players and team. We look forward to developing more players with the Flyers while achieving the ultimate goal of bringing the Kelly Cup back to Reading.”
Flyers General Manager Daniel Briere is pleased with how the relationship between the Flyers and Royals has been over the years.
“We are very happy to extend this affiliation with Reading," Briere said. "The Royals are a first-class organization and I've seen how beneficial this relationship is to the development of players on both the Phantoms and the Flyers, especially this season with Jacob Gaucher making his NHL debut and playing a pivotal role in Lehigh Valley."
Gaucher, 24, became the 38th player in franchise history to reach the National Hockey League after playing for Reading when he debuted with the Flyers on Sunday, Feb. 2nd, 2025 against the Colorado Avalanche. Gaucher is one of five players to make their NHL debut with Philadelphia after playing in Reading in the affiliation's tenure (Tyrell Goulbourne, Hayden Hodgson, Felix Sandström, Max Willman).
The Royals have a proud history of affiliations with NHL franchises that has included stints with the Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals.
The renewed agreement between the Flyers and Royals extends the longest tenure Reading has had as an NHL team’s affiliate at 12 years with the option for a 13th.
The Flyers were founded in 1967 and were one of the six expansion franchises introduced in addition to the Original Six in the NHL. They’ve won two Stanley Cup titles in 1974 and 1975 and 16 division titles. Comcast Spectacor Chairman and CEO Dan Hilferty leads the franchise while President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones and Briere direct its on-ice talent.
The Royals were purchased by the Berks County Convention Center Authority in 2019, paving the way for the Royals to bring competitive professional hockey to Berks County for years to come.
The 2025-26 season will be the Royals 24th season in Reading after the franchise was relocated from Columbus as the Columbus Chill ahead of the 2001-02 season. The Royals won the Kelly Cup in 2013 and are five-time division champions.
As the Vegas Golden Knights prepare for a pivotal Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild, HC Bruce Cassidy and his players are emphasizing urgency.
In Game 2, the Golden Knights were far too lackadaisical with the puck, coughing up turnovers in dangerous positions. They also weren't sharp enough in their coverage, something that affected them in Game 3.
In Game 5, Cassidy won't let it happen again.
"You can have a game, like Game 2, where you didn’t manage the puck and took ourselves out of it. But those days need to be behind you."
Cassidy has thrown his lines in the blender, searching for offence and consistency on the defensive side of the puck. He may have found it in Game 4 and has decided to stick with the lines that have the hot hand.
The lines are headlined by a new trio of William Karlsson, Jack Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev, a trio that had never played together but got positive results in 6:52 of ice time.
The other three combos consist of Brandon Saad, Tomas Hertl and Mark Stone; Ivan Barbashev, Nicolas Roy and Reilly Smith; Tanner Pearson, Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar.
The Wild should feel confident heading into Game 5 despite the loss in Game 4. They seem to have solved Adin Hill at times. The 28-year-old has allowed three or more goals since Game 2, but showed signs that he was finding his game.
Each game has been won by the team that scores first, placing more pressure on starting the game with intensity and focus.
Puck drop is set for 6:30 PM PST at T-Mobile Arena.
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Captain Mark Stone Epitomizes Leadership Role For Golden KnightsLAS VEGAS -- When the Golden Knights traded for Mark Stone in 2019, general manager Kelly McCrimmon knew the franchise landed much more than one of the most talented 200-foot forwards in the NHL.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced they have recalled 14 players from the Toronto Marlies following their AHL affiliate's first round playoff loss to the Cleveland Monsters.
Forwards Alex Steeves, Jacob Quillan, Nicholas Abruzzese, Reese Johnson, Alex Nylander, and Roni Hirvonen were recalled.
Six defensemen including Matt Benning, Cade Webber, Topi Niemela, William Villeneuve, Mikko Kokkonen, and Marshall Rifai were recalled.
Goaltenders Matt Murray and Dennis Hildeby will also join the Maple Leafs. Artur Akhtyamov has been serving as the team's third goaltender.
The Maple Leafs have recalled the following players.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) April 29, 2025
F Alex Steeves
F Jacob Quillan
F Nicholas Abruzzese
F Reese Johnson
F Alex Nylander
F Roni Hirvonen
D Matt Benning
D Cade Webber
D Topi Niemelä
D William Villeneuve
D Mikko Kokkonen
D Marshall Rifai
G Matt Murray
G Dennis…
All 14 players will join the Maple Leafs as 'Black Aces' that will allow them to practice with and be around the team during their playoff run.
While none of these players are likely to see playoff action Steeves - who finished second in the AHL with 36 goals in 59 games - Quillan, Nylander, Hildeby, and Murray have all played NHL games this season.
This is a common move for playoff teams as the NHL's roster limits and salary cap do not apply in the playoffs.
Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' AHL Page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more. Make sure you bookmark The Hockey News' AHL Page for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more.
After getting a bye for the first round of the AHL playoffs, the Laval Rocket will finally start its quest for the Calder Cup on Wednesday night. At the same time, the Montreal Canadiens will try to avoid elimination against the Washington Capitals in D.C., with Rocket’s number one goaltender, Cayden Primeau, acting as backup for the big club.
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Pascal Vincent’s men will take on the Cleveland Monsters in the best-of-five division semi-final. In four meetings during the regular season, the Rocket had a 2-0-2 record against the Ohio-based franchise. The Rocket was the regular-season champion, while the Monsters finished fifth in the North Division.
The Rocket elected to play the first two games away and the last three in Laval. With Primeau being with the Canadiens, newly signed goaltender Jacob Fowler will be tasked with manning Laval’s net, and he’ll be facing one of the hottest goaltenders down the stretch, Jet Greaves.
The 24-year-old netminder was a big reason the Columbus Blue Jackets almost qualified for the playoffs, winning seven of his last NHL games. In 11 games with the Jackets this season, he posted a 7-2-2 record with a 1.91 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage.
Meanwhile, the Rocket can rely on a fully healthy David Reinbacher. The right-shot defenseman had a tough year, sustaining a knee injury that cost him most of his season in a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The young defenseman didn’t lose his season, though. In an interview with RG.org, he explains that he became a student of the game, learning the team’s system and attending meetings usually reserved for players who are in the lineup.
Game one of the series between Laval and Cleveland is set for 7:00 PM on Wednesday night, game two on Friday at 7:00 PM, and game three on Sunday at 3:00 PM. You can catch all the action and a glimpse of the Canadiens’ future on RDS.
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