Veteran winger Kevin Labanc won’t be returning to North America for the upcoming season. Instead, SC Rapperswil-Jona in Switzerland announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year deal. The 30-year-old looked to be a breakout performer in San Jose in 2018-19, recording 56 points in 82 games.
However, his production didn’t come close to that since then, eventually leading to a reduced role. A stint in Columbus in 2024-25 didn’t go much better with just a dozen points in 34 games, resulting in Labanc heading overseas to the KHL last season. In 55 games with Shanghai, he had 15 goals and 19 assists and now will get to try his hand in another new league.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
A Blue Jackets prospect is making his way to the WHL as the Victoria Royals announced that they’ve signed Filip Novak. The 18-year-old was a seventh-round pick last month out of Sparta Praha’s junior system in his native Czechia. Novak had 35 points in 28 junior games last year, earning himself nine appearances at the Extraliga level.
That showing was good enough for the Royals to trade a pair of third-round picks to Lethbridge to acquire his rights after he was a first-round selection in the 2025 CHL Import Draft.
Earlier this week, the Panthers announced that they have signed a three-year affiliation extension with ECHL Savannah. The Ghost Pirates are entering their fifth season of operation and were Florida’s affiliate for the last two years. Savannah made the playoffs for the first time last season and has had a handful of Florida prospects play for them so far, goaltenders Cooper Black and Kirill Gerasimyuk along with winger Kai Schwindt.
Unrestricted free agent defenseman Kyle Masters has committed to the University of Alberta at the USports level for next season, the school announced on its Instagram page. The 23-year-old primarily played in the ECHL over his three-year, entry-level contract while being traded four times, including twice to Carolina, which non-tendered him last month.