Three Players Placed on Waivers Today Including Two Former First-Round Picks

The NHL saw some significant roster changes on Friday, with a number of teams making choices that could affect their season. Kailer Yamamoto was taken off the Utah Hockey Club's roster after being waived. Pavel Novak, a forward, has also had his contract terminated by the Minnesota Wild by placing him on waivers. These actions were taken a day after Chad Ruhwedel, a defenseman for the New York Rangers, cleared waivers and became available for reassignment to the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack. After joining the Utah Hockey Club on a professional tryout, Kailer Yamamoto, a former first-round pick, showed enough promise during the preseason to secure a one-year, two-way contract.

However, It was announced Friday afternoon that forward Kailer Yamamoto had been placed on waivers by the Utah Hockey Club in order to be assigned to the Tuscon Roadrunners of the AHL.

The 26-year-old Yamamoto has played an average of 10:40 per game this season and has scored zero points in three games with Utah. In 10:44 of action during Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, he was minus-1.

Yamamoto played for the Edmonton Oilers for the first six seasons of his NHL career, scoring 50 goals and 118 points in 244 games during the regular season. He scored eight goals and sixteen points in 59 games while playing for the Seattle Kraken the previous season.

Pavel Novak has faced many obstacles and battles during his time with the Minnesota Wild thus far. After being selected in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, Novak's first significant setback was learning that he had Hodgkin's lymphoma, which prevented him from playing in the 2022-2023 season. When Novak returned to the ice, he played for the Iowa Heartlanders in the ECHL and the Iowa Wild, Minnesota's AHL affiliate. Novak made two appearances for the Heartlanders this season, but he struggled to get his feet wet and finished with a minus-1 rating.

Lastly, the Boston Bruins waived Riley Tufte, a 26-year-old winger, after he failed to score in two games this season. Although he still has time to improve, the former Dallas Stars first-round pick has only played in 20 NHL games and scored two goals and three points. This is just another sign that he might never establish himself as a regular in the league.