Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
School’s out.
Tweaks to late-season rosters around the American Hockey League continue as NCAA talent begins to sign on and jump into the thick of the stretch drive to the Calder Cup Playoffs.
March is always a hectic time for AHL rosters. The NHL trade deadline. The AHL trade/loan deadline. Prospects from the Canadian Hockey League and European clubs trickle in as their seasons conclude.
U.S. college hockey is one of those talent sources. The NCAA national tournament began Thursday, but for players whose schools did not make the cut and who have elected to turn pro, the AHL is a logical next stop. More could join them as teams are eliminated from the tournament, which concludes April 10-12 with the Frozen Four in St. Louis.
Players coming out of the NCAA ranks have a few different contractual options. Some are NHL draft picks who sign an NHL deal that starts next season. In that case, they can sign an amateur tryout agreement with that NHL team’s AHL affiliate. They can also go the path of signing an AHL contract. And some others will find opportunities that may lead to eventual contracts.
Columbus Blue Jackets star defenseman Zach Werenski is one of the most high-profile examples of an NCAA player joining an AHL team late in the season. In 2016 after completing his second season at the University of Michigan, Werenski, a first-round draft pick by Columbus, elected to turn pro and join the Lake Erie Monsters. He immediately made himself an impact player and took on a top role as the Monsters advanced through the postseason and captured their first Calder Cup championship. For Werenski, then only 18 years old, going to the AHL provided a bridge from the college game that he used to help his transition to a long NHL career.
Let’s review some of the players who have already made that jump this month.
Brett Chorske – Charlotte Checkers
The Chorske name is a familiar one for hockey fans.
Brett Chorske’s father, Tom, played 596 NHL games and was a Stanley Cup champion who also spent time in the AHL with Sherbrooke and Utica.
Brett is a 23-year-old forward out of Colgate University who also played his first two college seasons at Colorado College. This season at Colgate, he broke out with 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists) in 36 games. Charlotte signed him to an amateur tryout deal for the remainder of the 2024-25 season, as well as to a two-year AHL contract that commences next season.
Chorske isn’t the only new Checker whose father had NHL and AHL time. New Hampshire defenseman Colton Huard, 24, is also with the Checkers on an ATO; his father, Bill, played 223 NHL games along with AHL time for Utica, Providence, and Lowell.
Noah de la Durantaye – Syracuse Crunch
Princeton Tigers defenseman and captain de la Durantaye signed an ATO with Syracuse this week after completing his senior collegiate season. The Montreal native was twice an ECAC All-Academic Team selection.
The Crunch have also added forward Cooper Flinton from Dartmouth. A 2021 draft pick by Tampa Bay, Flinton had 24 points in 32 games as a junior for the Big Green this season.
Will Dineen – Laval Rocket
Like the Chorske name, the Dineen name carries plenty of weight in hockey.
The son of long-time AHL head coach Kevin Dineen, who also played 19 seasons in the NHL, Will just finished his college career at Yale. Captaining as a senior, the 24-year-old forward had 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 30 games to earn a shot with the Rocket. He has made two appearances so far with Laval.
Tyler Kopff – Rochester Americans
Kopff chose to turn pro after two seasons at Brown University, where the 21-year-old forward finished second in team scoring with 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 32 games. He is joining the Amerks on an ATO after getting a two-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres for 2025-26.
Jackson Kunz – Abbotsford Canucks
A 2020 fourth-round pick by the Vancouver Canucks, Kunz is a 22-year-old forward turning pro following four seasons at North Dakota. This season he finished with 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 36 games to earn a contract with Abbotsford for next season.
Noah Laba – Hartford Wolf Pack
Laba has a new two-year entry-level deal with the New York Rangers that includes an ATO with Hartford for now.
Laba, 21, just had 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) in 29 games for Colorado College. A top face-off option, he also was a Second Team All-American and the NCHC Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2023-24. He scored a shorthanded goal in his pro debut for the Wolf Pack on Mar. 21.
Laba’s Colorado College teammate Ty Gallagher got a two-year AHL deal from Providence and also scored in his debut with the Bruins on Mar. 21.
Ayrton Martino – Texas Stars
The Dallas Stars organization got one of their most intriguing prospects under contract this week, signing Martino to a two-year contract that activates next season. In the meantime, the 22-year-old forward has joined Texas on an ATO.
Dallas took Martino in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft, and he is coming off a breakout season at Clarkson University. Martino recorded 49 points (24 goals, 25 assists) in 37 games to lead the ECAC in scoring. He also was a First-Team honoree, a Player of the Year finalist, and a Hobey Baker Award nominee.
Martino will take a familiar path for young Dallas prospects. Texas forward Justin Hryckowian, who is second in AHL rookie scoring this season with 54 points (19 goals, 35 assists), joined Texas late last season out of Northeastern.
Martino is not the only new face on the Texas roster. Clarkson teammate Trey Taylor, a defenseman, and Dartmouth forward Sean Chisholm have also signed ATO’s with Texas. The 23-year-old Taylor captained Clarkson and finished with 29 points (nine goals, 29 assists) in 39 games. He went undrafted but signed a two-year entry-level contract with Dallas on the same day as Martino. Chisholm, 24, had 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) in 33 while also serving as a captain.
Ian Moore – San Diego Gulls
Harvard captain. It’s an impressive title that Moore, a senior defenseman, held this season.
The Anaheim Ducks took Moore, who finished with 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 32 games this season, in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft. He ended up staying at Harvard for a full four seasons before signing an ATO with San Diego on Mar. 19. The Gulls have not hesitated to test him early, putting him into three games already (two assists).
Will Francis, a Minnesota-Duluth defenseman, is another addition in San Diego. It has been anything but a straight-line path to the Gulls for the 24-year-old Francis, who also has signed an ATO with the team. He has faced multiple bouts with leukemia and was limited to a combined six games with Minnesota-Duluth in his junior and senior seasons.
Forward Owen Lindmark is another new member on the San Diego roster. Only 23 years old, he played six seasons at Wisconsin, the last two as a graduate student. Named captain this season, he had nine points (five goals, four assists) in 37 games. He is with the Gulls on an ATO.
Ryland Mosely – Cleveland Monsters
Wisconsin has supplied plenty of new AHL faces early. One of them is Mosely, a 25-year-old forward who just finished with 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists) in 37 games with Wisconsin. It was his first season at the school after transferring from Michigan Tech. He got an ATO as well as a contract with the Monsters to start next season.
John Prokop – Toronto Marlies
Prokop, a 23-year-old defenseman out of Union College, signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs that starts next season. For now, though, the Leafs have him joining the Marlies on an ATO. He is coming off a 27-point (eight goals, 19 assists) in 36 games as a junior. Last season, he was an ECAC First All-Star Team member as well as a Hobey Baker Award nominee after he posted 35 points (eight goals, 27 assists) in 36 games.
Joining Prokop with the Marlies will be Dartmouth forward Luke Haymes, who got a two-year deal with the Leafs for next season along with this season’s ATO. Haymes, 21, was limited by injury to 22 games this season but had 18 points (12 goals, six assists). He was an All-Ivy League First Team member and an ECAC First All-Star Team selection in 2023-24, his sophomore campaign.
Jake Schmaltz – Providence Bruins
Schmaltz has a new one-year AHL contract with Providence to begin next season after completing his senior year at the University of North Dakota. A 2019 draft choice by Boston, Schmaltz is a cousin of Utah Hockey Club forward Nick Schmaltz and former NHL and AHL defenseman Jordan Schmaltz.
Gleb Veremyev – Bridgeport Islanders
As the New York Islanders go about restocking their prospect ranks, Veremyev joins the fold after three seasons at Colorado College, where he had 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in 37 games this season. He earned a two-year contract with New York for next season and is with Bridgeport on an ATO.
Bridgeport has also added defenseman Max Dorrington from nearby Sacred Heart University. Dorrington, 23, had 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 38 games. His younger brother, 20-year-old Jackson, is also new to the AHL. After three seasons at Northeastern, the defenseman has joined the Hartford Wolf Pack after signing a three-year entry-level deal with the Rangers. Max and Jackson are distant cousins of Art Dorrington, who in 1950 became the first Black player to sign an NHL deal when he joined the Rangers organization.
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
