Brennan Menell (born May 24, 1997) is an American-Russian professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing under contract with HC Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In July 2023, he received Russian citizenship.[1][2]
| Brennan Menell | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Menell at the 2020 AHL All-Star Game | |||
| Born |
May 24, 1997 Woodbury, Minnesota, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| KHL team Former teams |
Dynamo Moscow Minnesota Wild Dinamo Minsk | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2017–present | ||
Playing career
editUndrafted, Menell played for the Vancouver Giants and Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Western Hockey League before signing as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild on a three-year, entry-level contract after impressing on an invitation to attend training camp on September 26, 2017, having been undrafted in the NHL Entry Draft.[3]
In his final year of his entry-level contract with the Wild, Menell was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, for the third consecutive year. In the 2019–20 season, Menell established a career high with 47 points in 57 games for Iowa, finishing second among AHL defensemen in scoring and first in assists with 42. As Iowa's franchise record-holder in nearly all offensive categories for blueliners, with 101 assists and 116 points in 199 games over his AHL career, Menell was selected to the AHL First All-Star Team.[4] During the season, he was recalled by the Wild and made his NHL debut against the Anaheim Ducks on December 10, 2019.[5][6] He featured in 5 games with the Wild, going scoreless.
As an impending restricted free agent with the Minnesota Wild and with the uncertainty of a delayed commencement of the 2020–21 North American season, Menell opted to sign abroad by signing a one-year contract with Belarusian club, HC Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), on August 29, 2020.[7]
On July 28, 2021, his signing rights were acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Minnesota Wild for a 7th round draft pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.[8] He was then signed a one-year, two-way, $750,000 contract with Toronto on August 1, 2021.[9] On March 23, 2022, a day after the trade deadline, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for future considerations.[10] He completed the season playing with the Flyers AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, collecting 6 assists through 18 games.
As a free agent from the Flyers, Menell opted to return to the KHL after securing a one-year contract with Russian club, HC Dynamo Moscow, for the 2022–23 season on September 19, 2022.[11]
Career statistics
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2014–15 | Vancouver Giants | WHL | 57 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Vancouver Giants | WHL | 69 | 7 | 46 | 53 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Lethbridge Hurricanes | WHL | 70 | 12 | 59 | 71 | 29 | 20 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 10 | ||
| 2017–18 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 72 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 70 | 2 | 42 | 44 | 25 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2019–20 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 57 | 5 | 42 | 47 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Dinamo Minsk | KHL | 47 | 5 | 33 | 38 | 60 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 20 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 18 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Dynamo Moscow | KHL | 44 | 2 | 22 | 24 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | Dynamo Moscow | KHL | 66 | 8 | 37 | 45 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| KHL totals | 157 | 15 | 92 | 107 | 78 | 21 | 1 | 21 | 22 | 4 | ||||
Awards and honors
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| AHL | ||
| All-Star Game | 2020 | [12] |
| First All-Star Team | 2020 | [4] |
References
edit- ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 27.07.2023 № 554 "О приеме в гражданство Российской Федерации"". pravo.gov.ru (in Russian). 2023-07-27.
- ^ "Brennan Menell: I want to talk Russian as Dietz does". Kontinental Hockey League. August 1, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ^ "Minnesota Wild Recalls Defenseman Brennan Menell From Iowa". Iowa Wild. 2019-12-05. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ a b "2019-20 AHL First, Second All-Star Team announced". American Hockey League. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ McLellan, Sarah (2019-11-01). "Woodbury's Brennan Menell to make NHL debut with Wild vs. Ducks". StarTribune.com. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ Mizutani, Dane (9 December 2019). "Woodbury's Brennan Menell fulfills lifelong dream with Wild – Twin Cities". Twincities.com. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
- ^ "An agreement is reached to sign Brennan Menell" (in Belarusian). HC Dinamo Minsk. August 29, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
- ^ "Maple Leafs acquire Brennan Menell in trade with Wild". Toronto Maple Leafs. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ "Maple Leafs sign defenceman Brennan Menell to one-year, two-way contract". Sportsnet.ca. August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ "Brennan Menell traded to the Philadelphia Flyers". American Hockey League. March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ "Brennan Menell signs with the Blue and White" (in Russian). HC Dynamo Moscow. September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ "Bracco, Liljegren added to All-Star roster". American Hockey League. 2020-01-26. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
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