With the American Hockey League entering the final month of its regular season, which ends on April 19, NHL.com has the latest biweekly notebook breaking down all the happenings around the league as teams make a push to the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Multiple first-round picks have begun playing for new AHL teams coming out of the NHL Trade Deadline. Prospects for the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Vegas Golden Knights are making news as well.
Top prospects get fresh starts
A number of NHL first-round picks found new AHL homes prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6.
Defenseman David Jiricek moved from the Minnesota Wild to the Philadelphia Flyers for forward Bobby Brink. For Jiricek, the Flyers are his third NHL organization; the Columbus Blue Jackets selected him with the No. 6 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and sent him to the Wild in a multiplayer trade on Nov. 30, 2024. The 22-year-old had divided this season between Minnesota and its AHL affiliate, Iowa; he had 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 24 games for Iowa and no points in 25 games for Minnesota. The Flyers immediately assigned him to their AHL affiliate, Lehigh Valley. He scored in his debut March 7, had three assists in a 4-3 overtime win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Pittsburgh Penguins) on Saturday and has six points (two goals, four assists) in his first five games with Lehigh Valley.
Forward Brennan Othmann is with Calgary (Calgary Flames) after being acquired from the New York Rangers for forward Jacob Battaglia, and has three assists in five AHL games since the trade. Selected by the Rangers with the No. 16 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the 23-year-old has 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) in 31 AHL games with Calgary and Hartford (Rangers).
Forward Lukas Reichel, chosen by the Chicago Blackhawks with the No. 17 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, also moved to his third NHL organization when the Boston Bruins acquired him from the Vancouver Canucks. It’s the second trade of the season for the 23-year-old after the Canucks had acquired him from the Blackhawks on Oct 24, 2025. He had one assist in 14 games with Vancouver; in 23 games with Abbotsford, the Canucks AHL affiliate, he had 13 points (six goals, seven assists). Reichel was expected to make his NHL debut against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday after being recalled on an emergency basis from Providence of the AHL on Wednesday. Reichel had five points (one goal, four assists) in three games with Providence.
Yakemchuk excelling with Belleville
Ottawa Senators top prospect Carter Yakemchuk continues to make his case for an NHL look.
Selected by the Senators with the No. 7 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, the defenseman had six assists in back-to-back games last weekend for Belleville, Ottawa’s AHL affiliate. The 20-year-old has 35 points (nine goals, 26 assists) in 48 games this season. He ranks second in the league among rookie defensemen, two points behind Tyson Jugnauth of Coachella Valley (Seattle Kraken)
Yakemchuk’s effort won him recognition as the AHL’s player of the week for the period ending March 15. He had four assists in a 6-3 win against Hershey (Washington Capitals) on Saturday. The following night, in a rematch at Hershey, he had two assists to help Belleville to a 5-2 win.
NCAA prospects infuse Lehigh Valley roster
The Flyers continue to stock Lehigh Valley with incoming NCAA talent.
Philadelphia signed forward Noah Powell on March 11 to a three-year entry-level contract that starts next season, and assigned him to Lehigh Valley after selecting the 21-year-old in the fifth round (No. 148) of the 2024 draft. Before signing, he had played at Arizona State University, where he had 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 34 games.
Powell immediately got to work and played three games in three days for Lehigh Valley last weekend, but has yet to find the scoresheet in his first four AHL games.
The Flyers also signed Notre Dame University forward Cole Knuble, the son of long-time NHL forward Mike Knuble, to a two-year entry level contract March 17 (that contract also begins next season) and assigned him to Lehigh Valley. He has yet to make his AHL debut.
Selected by Philadelphia in the fourth round (No. 103) of the 2023 NHL Draft, the 21-year-old had 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists) in 36 games with Notre Dame, one season after he was a Hobey Baker Award nominee last season as a sophomore, when he had 39 points (12 goals, 27 assists) in 34 games.
Hemmerling giving helping hand to Henderson
Vegas Golden Knights forward prospect Ben Hemmerling is making observers take notice in his second pro season.
It had been a challenging path for Hemmerling; after the Golden Knights chose him in the sixth round (No. 177) of the 2022 draft, he missed most of last season because of injuries and did not make his pro debut with their AHL affiliate, Henderson, until March 8, 2025. He finished with a goal and an assist in 17 games.
But he had 10 points (six goals, four assists) in nine games for Henderson last month and was named the AHL’s top rookie for February. His work has continued in March, too; the 22-year-old had four goals and an assist in a 7-5 win at Abbotsford on Sunday and his 21 goals in 55 games rank him third among AHL rookies behind forward Quinn Hutson (26 goals) of Bakersfield (Edmonton Oilers) and Ilya Protas (25) of Hershey. Hemmerling is fourth in scoring among league rookies with
42 points (21 assists).
