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Former Vancouver Canucks Prospect Signs New Deal Overseas After Contract Termination
Photo credit: AHL
A former Vancouver Canucks prospect will be remaining in Europe for at least another year after finding a new team for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Earlier this summer, the KHL announced that CSKA Moscow and Cole Cassels, a former Vancouver Canucks prospect, had mutually agreed to terminate his contract, making him a free agent.
"CSKA terminated the contract with forward Cole Cassels by mutual agreement. Last season, the 30-year-old American played for Avangard and CSKA - in total, he played 58 games and scored 12 (2+10) points." the KHL said."
Nearly a month after becoming a free agent, Cassels has finally found a new home in Europe with just over two weeks to go until the puck is set to drop on the 2025-26 campaign.
Former Vancouver Canucks prospect Cole Cassels finds new club in Europe
In a press release on the team's official website on Wednesday, HKM Zvolen in the Slovak Extraliga announced that they've agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Cole Cassels.
HKM Zvolen Sports Manager Patrik Ryba spoke about the team's decision to sign Cole Cassels this week, saying that after a long negotiation with him and his camp, they're very happy to finally get the former Canucks prospect under contract for the upcoming season.
Note: the quotes in this story are translated from Slovak
"We had excellent references for him from Andrei Podkonický, who managed him in Omsk, and also from other players who had previously played with or against him. The negotiations were very long due to various circumstances, but in the end we managed to reach an agreement, which we are very happy about," Sports Manager Patrik Ryba said.
Ryba says the addition of Cassels has to do with their current injury situation and they hope he can return to being an offensive producer after registering only 11 points in 56 KHL games with Avangard Omsk and CSKA Moscow last season.
"Before the start of the season, we were still looking for a quality center who would fit into our game concept. Cole is a well-built forward with balanced offensive and defensive activity, and after the last defensively focused season, he would like to return to his offensive strengths with us. Cole is currently the seventh legionnaire in our squad, but from next season, a maximum of six can play in an extra league match. The important fact is that Gianni will not be ready for a full match load until sometime in October or November. We needed to address the current situation, as we still have several injured forwards." Ryba said.
Cassels, a native of Hartford, Connecticut, was a third round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2013 where he was taken ahead of current NHLers such as Oliver Bjorkstrand, Juuse Saros, Miles Wood, Nick Paul and Andrew Copp.
The 30-year-old spent three seasons in the Vancouver Canucks organization after making the jump to professional hockey in 2015 and after the 2017-18 season, the club decided not to issue him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Source: HKM Zvolen
Cole Cassels arrives at the Desert Castle
Cole Cassels arrives at the Desert Castle
Previously on Vancouver Hockey Daily
| POLL | ||
AOUT 28 | 929 ANSWERS Former Vancouver Canucks Prospect Signs New Deal Overseas After Contract Termination Do you think Cole Cassels will return to North America following the 2025-26 season? | ||
| Yes | 184 | 19.8 % |
| No | 745 | 80.2 % |
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