Brennan Menell

Brennan Menell
Menell at the 2020 AHL All-Star Game
Born (1997-05-24) May 24, 1997 (age 26)
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

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]

Playing career

Undrafted, 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

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

Award Year
AHL
All-Star Game 2020 [12]
First All-Star Team 2020 [4]

References

  1. ^ "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 27.07.2023 № 554 "О приеме в гражданство Российской Федерации"". pravo.gov.ru (in Russian). 2023-07-27.
  2. ^ "Brennan Menell: I want to talk Russian as Dietz does". Kontinental Hockey League. August 1, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  3. ^ "Minnesota Wild Recalls Defenseman Brennan Menell From Iowa". Iowa Wild. 2019-12-05. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  4. ^ a b "2019-20 AHL First, Second All-Star Team announced". American Hockey League. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  5. ^ McLellan, Sarah (2019-11-01). "Woodbury's Brennan Menell to make NHL debut with Wild vs. Ducks". StarTribune.com. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  6. ^ Mizutani, Dane (9 December 2019). "Woodbury's Brennan Menell fulfills lifelong dream with Wild – Twin Cities". Twincities.com. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  7. ^ "An agreement is reached to sign Brennan Menell" (in Belarusian). HC Dinamo Minsk. August 29, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  8. ^ "Maple Leafs acquire Brennan Menell in trade with Wild". Toronto Maple Leafs. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "Maple Leafs sign defenceman Brennan Menell to one-year, two-way contract". Sportsnet.ca. August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  10. ^ "Brennan Menell traded to the Philadelphia Flyers". American Hockey League. March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  11. ^ "Brennan Menell signs with the Blue and White" (in Russian). HC Dynamo Moscow. September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  12. ^ "Bracco, Liljegren added to All-Star roster". American Hockey League. 2020-01-26. Retrieved 2020-02-01.

External links