Welcome to the month of June! And the signings keep coming…
-Per RDS, the Devils signed center Jan Mandat to an AHL contract. The 20-year-old native of the Czech Republic just completed his second season with Val d’Or (QMJHL), where he picked up 64 points (20 goals, 44 assists) in 62 games. He added two goals in 6 playoff appearances.
-Also on Tuesday, New Jersey came to terms on a 3 year, 2 way contract with 2014 6th round draft pick Brandon Baddock, just getting in under the deadline to sign ’14 draft selections. Baddock just finished his fourth season with Edmonton of the WHL, where this year he served as team captain and scored a career high 22 goals in 68 games, along with 13 assists and 143 penalty minutes. He actually signed an ATO with Albany late in the 2014-15 season, but never appeared in a game.
Now to check on the Calder Cup Finals:
Hershey, after finishing off the Marlies in 5 games, find themselves in a 2-0 hole against Lake Erie as the series shifts to Cleveland on Monday night. The Monsters have picked the right time to be on a hot streak, winning 13 of 15 postseason games (both losses to Grand Rapids in the second round), including their last seven in a row. They can wrap up their first Cup as early as next Saturday. Why so long in between games? There’s another event called the NBA Finals taking over the Monsters home building this week, as the Cavaliers host Golden State in Game 3 Wednesday, Game 4 on Friday.
Thoughts Inside The Box 