Utah HC’s Kailer Yamamoto, Bruins’ Riley Tufte placed on waivers; Wild to terminate Pavel Novak’s contract

On Friday, the Utah Hockey Club placed forward Kailer Yamamoto on waivers, while Boston Bruins forward Riley Tufte was also placed on the wire.

Also, the Minnesota Wild placed forward Pavel Novak on waivers for the purpose of contract termination.

Also, New York Rangers defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, the only player put on the wire on Thursday, cleared and is expected to be assigned to the team’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Both Yamamoto and Tufte have appeared in NHL games so far this season.

Yamamoto initially came to the new team in Salt Lake City on a professional tryout but earned a one-year, two-way contract thanks to a solid performance during the preseason. The 26-year-old played in three games for UHC, last playing 10:44 of ice time in Utah’s 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. Yamamoto played a season-high 11:01 on Oct. 19 in a 2-1 overtime win over the Bruins.

In three games, the Spokane, Washington native has registered one shot on goal and a plus/minus of -1 while averaging 10:40 of ice time.

Tufte has played just twice for the Bruins this season. He joined the Original Six franchise when he signed a one-year, $775,000 contract in July. He last appeared in a game on Oct. 16 in a 5-3 win over the Avalanche. He has averaged just 8:23 of ice time with a -1 rating and four penalty minutes.

Across four NHL seasons, also spending time with the Dallas Stars organization, Tufte has played in 20 NHL games, scoring two goals and an assist.

Novak was originally taken by the Wild in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft. However, he has yet to play in the NHL. He had to sit out the entire 2022-23 season after battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma. When he returned to play last season, he split time between Minnesota’s primary affiliate, the Iowa Wild, along with their ECHL farm team, the Iowa Heartlanders.

The Czech winger has played in two games with the Heartlanders in 2024-25, posting a -1 rating.