Doan, Brodeur, Vokoun staying put

Thirteen Type 3 free agents signed with their original teams today including two top goaltenders and Shane Doan,  Stockholm’s highlt sought-after RW. Geneva kept three more members of its championship team in the fold. Geneva: Greg Zanon, 3 years with player option, $1.75m.; Brad Stuart,  3 years with player option, $2.8m.; Adam Hall, 3 years…

Suter, Weber resigned in Oslo

Among the highlights of the first round of free agent signings: Oslo convinces Shea Weber and Ryan Suter to stay in Norway for the next three years; Belfast locks up its two goalies – Cory Schneider and Devan Dubnyk for three years; Geneva convinces five pieces of the Cup-winning team to stay long-term Zach Parise…

Free Agent Frenzy or Fizzle?

There are 229 players out there waiting to find out how much money EURO teams might offer them to play this season. Some of them (sorry, Krystofer Barch) won’t get offers. But others may be viewed as key pieces to team puzzles. All of them may be affected by a collective caution that is wafting…

The final four picks reviewed

Pick 69: Drew SHORE was selected by Copenhagen as a future centerman. Shore was born in Denver, lives and plays in Miami and will shove off for Denmark in a year. With the Florida Panthers, he is getting a lot of ice time and is fourth on the team in shots on goal. He has…

Draft Roundup: Picks 38-68

Pick 38: Fredrick NORRENA, a 33-year-old goalie, goes to Oslo on a three-year contract to back up American Jimmy Howard. Pick 39: Josef VASICEK, the big LW who can fire the puck, may have to fight for regular shifts if Stockholm resigns two aging veterans: Ryan Smyth and Steve Sullivan. Pick 40: Olexander POBYEDONOSTSEV, a…

Draft roundup: Picks 20-37

Here’s a quick look at who got whom since the last report. Pick 20: Talgat  ZHAILAUOV goes  from his home country of Kazakhstan to Munich, where he is by far the youngest center and obviously a key building block for the franchise’s future. Short but thick, Zhailauov is said to be a good skater with great…

Prague gets 3 young stars today

Prague, with three of the seven picks between numbers 13 and 19, started the barrage with the most recognizable name available in the draft. Nail Yakupov, the Russian sensation who went first overall in the 2012 NHL draft, is now a right winger for the Southern Conference power that finished sixth overall in Season 1.…

Vrana to Gothenburg; Turk to Scotland and a trade rumor

Two more picks and a trade rumor this afternoon in the EURO League draft. With the 11th pick, Gothenberg selected Canadian-born Petr Vrana, who is loaded with speed, finesse and passing ability. The 21-year-old now joins a stable of good young LWs on the Gothenburg roster: Milan Lucic, Carl Hagelin and Zack Boychuk are all…

Helsinki goes for defenseman; Berlin, London pick wingers

Nerius Alisauskas, an 18-year-old defenseman with a booming slapshot, will journey directly north from his home in Lithuania to play for Helsinki this season. Alisauskas was selected with the 8th overall pick in the EURO League draft today, becoming the fourth defenseman off the board. His future will include Jack Johnson, Marc Staal and Jared…

3 of 6 draft picks have been defensemen

Half of the six players selected thus far in the EURO League draft have been defensemen. That includes the first two – Staffan Kronwall, who went to Athens, and Maxim Chudinov, who was selected by Minsk. The most recent selection, 18-year-old Ken Kuusk of Estonia, will join 22-year-old Alex Pietrangelo and a crowded but young…