2023 Cleveland Monsters Offseason Player Tracker

SEASON SYNOPSIS

At the start of the 2022-23 season, the Cleveland Monsters were quite optimistic about the trajectory the season ahead would take. With brand new head coach Trent Vogelhuber at the helm of the ship and a roster full of young talent, the Monsters had their sights set on playoffs. Unfortunately, the injury bug hit their parent club — the Columbus Blue Jackets — hard and never let up. Due to constantly having a depleted roster, the Monsters struggled to develop any sort of consistency. 

At the end of the season, a record of 33-32-5-2 wasn’t enough for the Monsters to squeak into the expanded playoffs. They ended up finishing sixth in the North, a mere three points out of the playoffs. 

Now despite the inconsistencies, forward Trey Fix-Wolansky shone bright for the Monsters, leading the team in goals (29), assists (42), total points (71), and power play goals (11). He also placed top 10 in the league in the aforementioned categories. 

David Jiricek and Jake Christiansen added some stability to Cleveland’s blue line. 

Jiricek’s stat line of 6-32-38 and 20 power play assists helped earn him a spot on the inaugural 2022-23 AHL Top Prospects Team. He also won AHL Rookie of the Month in December after notching 12 points in nine games. 

Christiansen grew into a solid defender as the season trudged along. He could often be found helping draw up plays and capitalizing on errant pucks. His 11-23-34 stat line was the cherry on top of a strong year.

(List accurate as of Sept. 13th, 5:35pm ET)

UNDER CONTRACT AND RE-SIGNINGS

Forwards

• Tyler Angle – Last year of entry-level contract
• Emil Bemstrom – Final year of two-year, two-way NHL contract
• Jake Gaudet – Last year of AHL contract
• Mikael Pyyhtiä – Second-to-last year of entry-level contract
• Cameron Butler – Signed a three-year, entry-level NHL contract on March 16 (played for Cleveland and the Oshawa Generals of the OHL in 2022-23)
• Josh Dunne – Signed one-year, two-way NHL contract extension on June 15
• Carson Meyer – Signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract extension on June 23
• Trey Fix-Wolansky – Signed a two-year, two-way NHL contract extension on June 27
• Roman Ahcan – Signed a one-year AHL contract on June 30
• Owen Sillinger – Signed a one-year AHL contract on July 7

Defensemen

• Cole Clayton – Last year of AHL contract
• David Jiricek – First year of his entry-level contract
• Ole Julian Bjorgvik Holm – Second-to-last year of entry-level contract
• Samuel Knazko – Second-to-last year of entry-level contract
• Stanislav Svozil – First year of entry-level contract (entry-level slide; played for Columbus, Cleveland, and the Regina Pats of the WHL in 2022-23)
• Billy Sweezey –  Last year of two-year, two-way NHL contract
• Corson Ceuleman – Signed a PTO for the 2022-23 season; signed an entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets on March 7
• Jake Christiansen  – Signed one-year, two-way NHL contract extension on June 5
• Marcus Bjork – Signed one-year, two-way NHL contract extension on June 30

Goaltenders

• Pavel Cajan – Last year of AHL contract
• Jet Greaves – Last year of entry-level contract

NEW ADDITIONS

Forwards

• James Malatesta – First year of entry-level contract (entry-level slide; played for the Québec Remparts of the QMJHL in 2022-23)
• Hunter McKown – Second-to-last year of entry-level contract (played for Columbus and Colorado College [NCAA] in 2022-23)
• Dmitri Voronkov – Signed a two-year, entry-level NHL contract* on May 4 (played for Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL in 2022-23)

* – Contract includes European Assignment Clause, detailed in Article 11 – 11.19 of the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement — “The SPC of any Player may contain a clause that provides that, in the event his NHL Club Loans the Player to a club outside the NHL, during the period of such Loan, the Player shall have the option to be Loaned to a club of his choice outside North America.”

DEPARTURES

Forwards

• Justin Richards – Signed a one-year, two-way NHL contract with the Buffalo Sabres on July 1
• Cole Fonstad – Signed a one-year DEL contract with the Straubing Tigers  on July 17
• Alex Whelen – Signed a one-year contract with ECHL Atlanta on August 14
• Joona Luoto – Signed a three-month try-out plus option with SC Bern of the Swiss NL on September 12
• Erik Bradford – Signed a one-year contract with ECHL Kalamazoo on September 13

Defensemen

• Brendan Miller – Signed one-year, one-way AHL contract with the Iowa Wild on July 3
• Dillon Simpson – Retired; announced as assistant coach for Univ. of North Dakota on August 24

FREE AGENTS

Forwards

• Brett Gallant – UFA (AHL)
• Robbie Payne – UFA (AHL)

(Special thanks to CapFriendly and Elite Prospects for all the contract terms and definitions for this offseason player tracker!)

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Other 2023 AHL Off Season Trackers :

Links will be updated as articles are released.

Central

• Chicago Wolves
• Grand Rapids Griffins
• Iowa Wild
• Manitoba Moose
• Milwaukee Admirals
• Rockford IceHogs
• Texas Stars

Pacific

• Abbotsford Canucks
• Bakersfield Condors
• Calgary Wranglers
• Coachella Valley Firebirds
• Colorado Eagles
• Henderson Silver Knights
• Ontario Reign
• San Diego Gulls
• San Jose Barracuda
• Tucson Roadrunners

Atlantic

• Bridgeport Islanders
• Charlotte Checkers
• Hartford Wolf Pack
• Hershey Bears
• Lehigh Valley Phantoms
• Providence Bruins
• Springfield Thunderbirds 
• Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

North

• Belleville Senators
• Cleveland Monsters
• Laval Rocket
• Rochester Americans
• Syracuse Crunch
• Toronto Marlies
• Utica Comets