{"id":530791,"date":"2026-03-10T10:01:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T10:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/530791\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T10:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T10:01:08","slug":"benak-cruikshank-heartlanders-pro-hockey-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/530791\/","title":{"rendered":"Benak, Cruikshank, Heartlanders \u2013 Pro Hockey Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minnesota Wild prospect Adam Benak<\/a>\u00a0announced on social media today<\/a> that he has committed to play college hockey at Western Michigan University. Benak, a 2025 fourth-round pick of the Wild, has elected to join the reigning NCAA champions, presumably for the 2026-27 season. Benak is currently playing for the Brantford Bulldogs of the OHL, where he has been one of the league\u2019s most productive 18-year-old players. Of players his age, Benak\u2019s 68 points in just 42 games ranks third in total points and second in scoring rate.<\/p>\n

The move to college hockey will be the next test for a player who has found a way to be a productive force at the USHL level, OHL level, and on the international stage. Entering the season, Benak was ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the Wild\u2019s system by the team at Elite Prospects<\/a>, with scout Sebastian High writing that while he has middle-six upside, his \u201cpath to an NHL role is long and winding,\u201d in large part due to his status as an undersized forward. Today\u2019s announcement settles that the next step for Benak on his road to pro hockey will be the NCAA, and scouts will likely be curious to see if he\u2019ll be able to translate his quality production from junior hockey to the college ranks.<\/p>\n

Other notes from around the NHL:<\/p>\n

The AHL\u2019s Hershey Bears announced<\/a> that veteran forward Grant Cruikshank<\/a> has signed a one-year AHL contract extension to remain with the organization for the 2026-27 season. The 27-year-old has had a solid 2025-26 campaign, setting a career-high for games played (52), goals (nine), and points (14) in a single AHL season. After a five-year college career, Cruikshank began his time as a professional in the ECHL, but after scoring 43 points in 35 games as a rookie, he quickly elevated himself to the AHL side of the AHL\/ECHL bubble. Last season, he got into 31 games for the Bears, and this year, he\u2019s been able to carve out a regular role in head coach Derek King\u2019s lineup. He\u2019s become a far more regular fixture on the Bears\u2019 penalty kill, a unit that ranks No. 15 in the AHL, and it\u2019s his development into a reliable defensive forward that has likely earned him this early extension. While he may not have a clear path to the NHL, he could look forward to a long AHL career as a penalty-killing defensive forward, perhaps in the mold of longtime Bridgeport forward Jeff Kubiak<\/a>.
\nThe ECHL\u2019s Iowa Heartlanders announced<\/a> today that the league\u2019s Board of Governors approved the team\u2019s decision to voluntarily suspend operations for the 2026-27 season. In their announcement, Heartlanders owner Michael Devlin called the move \u201can incredibly difficult decision\u201d but one that \u201cis the most responsible course\u201d as the team reviews options for the franchise\u2019s long-term sustainability. The Heartlanders are the ECHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild, and have players who are signed to, or have previously signed, NHL contracts on their roster, including Elliot Desnoyers<\/a>, Cameron Butler<\/a>, and Stevie Leskovar<\/a>. Iowa went 36-25-11 last season but has fallen to 19-30-5 this year, No. 28 of 30 teams in league standings. According to HockeyDB<\/a>, they rank last in the ECHL in average attendance per game.<\/p>\n

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