Earlier this year, we covered reports indicating that former Ottawa Senators top prospect Logan Brown was in talks with clubs in the KHL with an eye towards playing in that league for the 2026-27 season. A full contract never materialized, though, and now Brown has finally found a landing spot to begin his season.
According to an official announcement, Brown has signed with HC Ajoie, who are based in Porrentruy, Switzerland and compete in Switzerland’s National League.
Brown signed a contract that will last until the end of the 2026 calendar year. The deal contains an option to extend for the rest of the 2026-27 season.
Brown is set to join a roster with several former NHL players, including former AHL MVP Daniel Carr and former Dallas Stars top prospect Julius Honka. Brown, 28, is set to begin his European pro career as a result of this signing.
His professional career thus far has been spent entirely in the NHL and AHL. Last season, Brown played 31 games for the AHL’s Ontario Reign, scoring 16 points.
The 2016 No. 11 overall pick has 99 NHL games and 26 points on his resume.
Other transactions from around the hockey world:
Former Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Rinat Valiev was released by the ECHL’s Bloomington Bison today, per the league’s official transactions wire. Valiev signed with the Bison in early September, but did not appear in the club’s season-opening overtime victory over the Kalamazoo Wings.
The 31-year-old has bounced around the pro leagues in Russia and Kazakhstan over the last few years, last appearing in North America during the 2019-20 AHL season. Valiev may be remembered by some for being part of the trade that sent longtime Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec to the Maple Leafs back in 2018, a rare trade between the two rival clubs.
Kyle Crnkovic, a star scorer in both the WHL and ECHL, has decided to try his luck in the European professional circuit. The 24-year-old winger has signed a one-year deal with KalPa Kuopio, a club in Finland’s Liiga.
Standing 5’7″, 165 pounds, Crnkovic went undrafted despite owning a career-high of 94 points and winning a championship at the WHL level. He began his professional career in the ECHL in 2023-24 with the Tulsa Oilers, and has since played largely in North America’s third tier save for sporadic call-ups to the AHL.
In 175 career ECHL games, Crnkovic has scored 153 points. KalPa are likely hoping Crnkovic’s scoring record in the ECHL will translate to Liiga.
KalPa has scored just 30 goals this season in 13 games, which ranks near the bottom of the 17-team league.