International Notes:Menell, MacInnis, Gilmour, Jokipakka

It appears that defenseman Brennan Menell has signed a three-year extension to continue his stay in the KHL. Menell has apparently re-signed with Dynamo Moskva to extend his career overseas. The smooth skating defenseman was able to re-capture some of his scoring touch is his return to the KHL after suffering through an offensive drought in the 2021-22 season. Menell had returned to North America for 2021 with the Toronto Marlies and couldn’t find any consistency before being dealt to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the remainder of the season. He finished out the year and signed a deal with Dynamo last summer.

This past season in the KHL the 25-year-old put up two goals and 22 assists in 44 games to finish seventh on the team in scoring. It was a return to form for the Minnesota native as he had shown an offensive flair in his only previous KHL season in which he scored 38 points in 47 games for Dinamo Minsk.

In other international notes:

• Center Ryan MacInnis has re-signed with Adler Mannheim of the DEL on a one-year deal. The St. Louis native was a second-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2014 and played 26 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets over two seasons, tallying just a single assist. The big, strong forward is the son of NHL legend Al MacInnis and had a terrific OHL career with the Kitchener Rangers, but at this point given his lack of offensive production it’s hard to see him returning the NHL.
• Sticking with Adler Mannheim, they have signed defenseman John Gilmour to a contract. Gilmour was a seventh-round pick of the Calgary Flames in 2013 and played this past season with Minsk Dynamo where he put up nine points in 52 KHL games. The Montreal native has previously dressed in games for the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres, notching five points in 37 NHL games.
• Finally, Adler Mannheim also signed defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka to a contract.  The 31-year-old Finland native last played in the NHL during the 2016-17 season with the Ottawa Senators and Calgary Flames. That final NHL season saw the rearguard notch six points in 41 NHL games. Jokipakka spent last season in Liiga where he had 19 points in 50 games playing for Ilves.