Grigori Denisenko, Egor Sokolov among 20+ player NHL waiver list for Sept. 28
The National Hockey League’s annual preseason waiver rush continued on Saturday, with eight teams collecting placing 23 players on waivers as they continue to cut down their preliminary rosters.
Notable among the players waived on Saturday: Vegas Golden Knights forward Grigori Denisenko, who, at 24 years of age, has firmly cemented himself as a top-tier AHL forward but has been unable to establish himself at the highest level.
The Florida Panthers originally selected Denisenko with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, but the 5’11” winger has appeared in just 32 NHL games with the Panthers and Golden Knights to this point in his career, collecting seven points (all assists). The Novosibirsk, Russia product is under contract with Vegas for the coming season at a $775,000 NHL cap hit.
Here’s the full list of players waived on Saturday, as first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman:
Calgary Flames: Jonathan Aspirot, Clark Bishop
Colorado Avalanche: Wyatt Aamodt, Kevin Mandolese, Keaton Middleton
Nashville Predators: Anthony Angello, Kevin Gravel, Jake Lucchini
New York Islanders: Tyce Thompson
Seattle Kraken: Maxime Lajoie
Utah Hockey Club: Egor Sokolov
Vegas Golden Knights: Cal Burke, Grigori Denisenko, Mason Geertsen, Robert Hagg, Dysin Mayo, Mason Morelli, Gage Quinney
Washington Capitals: Ethen Frank, Hardy Haman Aktell, Alex Limoges, Chase Priskie, Riley Sutter
Today:
Aspirot, Bishop (CAL)
Aamodt, Mandolese, Middleton (COL)
Angello, Gravel, Lucchini (NASH)
Thompson (NYI)
Lajoie (SEA)
Sokolov (UT)
Burke, Denisenko, Geertsen, Hagg, Mayo, Morelli, Quinney (LV)
Frank, Haman Axtell, Limoges, Priskie, Sutter (WASH)
Also notable among that list is Ethen Frank, who played a leading role in the Hershey Bears capturing the Calder Cup as AHL champions this past spring. The 26-year-old forward collected 29 goals in 64 games with the Bears during the regular season and added 10 more in 18 playoff games with the club.
Finally, it’s worth shining a spotlight on Egor Sokolov, who joined the Utah Hockey Club this past summer through a trade with the Ottawa Senators for Jan Jenik. Sokolov, a 2020 second-round pick of the Senators, is a 6’3″ winger with two points in 13 career NHL games.
Friedman also confirmed on Saturday that the 18 players placed on waivers Friday by the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken, and Vancouver Canucks all went unclaimed.