Jul. 10—BEMIDJI — Heading into the offseason, in looking for holes on the Bemidji State men's hockey team's projected roster for the 2026-27 season, there was a big one on the right side of the blue line.

The Beavers had just two right-handed defensemen last season: Isa Parekh and Ben Vigneault. However, Parekh went in the transfer portal and committed to Maine.

Last season, left-handed veterans like Mitch Wolfe and Vince Corcoran ate minutes playing on their off-hands, but both have graduated, as did AJ Macaulay and Patrik Satosaari.

That's where Luca D'Amato comes in handy for BSU and head coach Tom Serratore. Not only does he provide a need as a USports transfer from the University of New Brunswick, but he's bringing a scoring touch with him.

"I like to jump in the rush and be offensive, but defense comes first for me," D'Amato said. "I think I have a good first pass and good IQ. I can see the ice well, but you have to do it on both ends of the ice."

D'Amato, a 5-foot-9, 161-pound native of Maple, Ontario, had two goals and 23 assists in 35 USports games last season. New Brunswick finished with a record of 20-10 and finished third in the 2026 USports University Cup.

D'Amato will become the fourth Bemidji State player to have played both NCAA and USports games when he takes the ice next season. Defenseman Hudson Thornton was in line to play USports, but gained NCAA eligibility before enrolling at the University of Saskatchewan.

"You go from being an (over-ager) in the (Ontario Hockey League) to a first-year guy in USports, the adjustment to playing against older and bigger guys is real," D'Amato said. "It's heavy. I had to adapt in that first month or so, just with how aggressive it is. You're going to have to take hits in USports. That's just how it is."

D'Amato played four OHL seasons for Flint and Oshawa. His final two seasons of his major junior career were his best — 29 goals and 77 assists in 176 regular-season and postseason games. The Generals made it all the way to the J. Ross Robertson Cup finals in both of those seasons, losing to the London Knights each time.

D'Amato played with some of the NHL's top prospects with the Generals, including the New York Islanders' Calum Ritchie and the Anaheim Ducks' Beckett Sennecke.

"The last two years in Oshawa, we had pretty good squads," D'Amato said. "It helps a lot when you play with some of the guys I played with, the guys in the NHL now. For me, I just wanted to get better every year in the OHL. I wanted to develop the best I could to help the team win. That's what I want to do in NCAA."

D'Amato and the Beavers spoke during the 2024-25 season after the NCAA amended its eligibility rules to allow Canadian Hockey League players to gain NCAA eligibility. He ultimately played one year of USports in New Brunswick.

"The relationship myself and my family has with Bemidji is great," D'Amato said. "Talking to Tom over the last two years, it's been great. Tom reached out this year and last year as well. We were thinking of committing last year ... and I ended up going to New Brunswick. I had a good year, and I think Bemidji was the number one spot for me to go next. Tom always had that interest in me, and I'm pretty pumped to play there."

From afar, D'Amato kept tabs on Bemidji State. After his commitment was made public in early May, he started familiarizing himself with the 2026-27 roster.

While playing in the OHL, D'Amato played against current Beavers Oliver Peer and Max Namestnikov. He also skated against Ethan Miedema, who played with Namestnikov in Guelph.

"It's a good squad," D'Amato said. "The guys coming in are good as well. For me, I think coming D-I is just about winning. Yeah, I want to play pro hockey down the road, but I want to go in there, help the team win and do what I can."

CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks will be without star center Connor Bedard for at least the first month of the regular season after he underwent surgery on his left shoulder Wednesday morning.

Bedard will miss about four months while recovering, team physician Dr. Michael Terry announced, setting up the fourth-year center for a November return at the earliest.

While practicing last week in his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia, Bedard slipped into the boards during a drill. He left the ice holding his shoulder in clear pain.

It was a similar scene to when Bedard injured his right shoulder in the final seconds of the Hawks’ 3-2 loss Dec. 12 in St. Louis. He was knocked down by center Brayden Schenn on the final faceoff, then skated off the ice with a grimace.

That injury wound up sidelining Bedard for 12 games. The Hawks went 5-6-1 in that span.

Bedard fractured his jaw during his rookie season in 2023-24, forcing him to miss 14 games. Barring a quicker-than-expected recovery, he now is slated to miss time for the third of his four NHL seasons.

The full NHL schedule, which is expanding to 84 regular-season games, will be released July 16 and is expected to begin in late September.

Bedard’s injury could affect contract extension negotiations with the Hawks, who selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft. He is a restricted free agent this summer.

Bedard, who turns 21 this month, has 203 points (75 goals, 128 assists) in 219 career games.

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NHL free agency has begun.

The Chicago Blackhawks are looking to add players and reshape their roster amid heightened pressure to win in 2026-27. Here are the latest signings, trades and rumors around the team.

Blackhawks re-sign goalie prospect Drew Commesso

The Hawks agreed to terms Monday with 23-year-old goaltender prospect Drew Commesso on a two-year, two-way contract. The deal carries an $875,000 salary-cap hit and runs through the 2027-28 season, after which he again will be a restricted free agent.

He’s the first of four RFAs to re-sign with the Hawks this summer. The other pending contracts are Connor Bedard, Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro.

Commesso is seen as the possible future backup to Spencer Knight, as Arvid Söderblom isn’t expected to remain with the Hawks after his contract expires following the 2026-27 season. For now, Commesso likely will spend another season with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.

In 114 regular-season games with Rockford, Commesso has a 49-51-13 record, a .906 save percentage, a 2.75 goals-against average and seven shutouts. He has appeared in five career games for the Hawks, including his first NHL shutout Jan. 10 versus the Nashville Predators.

The Hawks drafted Commesso in the second round (No. 46) in 2020.

Veteran Ilya Mikheyev signs with Tampa Bay Lightning

Veteran right wing Ilya Mikheyev signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, per agent Dan Milstein, ending his two-season run with the Hawks. Mikheyev, 31, is another 30-plus-year-old player to leave the team, joining Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy, all of whom were traded at the deadline last season.

General manager Kyle Davidson chose to keep Mikheyev at the March 6 trade deadline, saying he hoped the Omsk, Russia, native would stay for the near future while younger players develop. The sides were unable to agree to a deal, and Mikheyev will now take his penalty-kill excellence to the Lightning.

Led by Mikheyev, The Hawks finished last season with the league’s second-best kill. His aggressiveness on the puck helped keep opponents out of the offensive zone.

New faces will have to pick up the slack in the veteran’s absence. Newly signed Cole Smith could be that player — he spent an average of 1:54 per game on the penalty kill last season for the Nashville Predators and Vegas Golden Knights.

Mikheyev registered a career-high 36 points (18 goals, 18 assists) in 77 games last season and averaged 17:26 of ice time with a plus-2 rating.

Mikheyev came to the Hawks with forward Sam Lafferty in a June 2024 trade with the Vancouver Canucks, with whom he also played for two years. He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who signed him as a free agent in 2019 after he went undrafted.

Blackhawks sign right wing Cole Smith

Cole Smith, 30, signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the Hawks on Wednesday for the team’s first deal in free agency. The undrafted forward had 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 63 games with the Nashville Predators and Vegas Golden Knights in 2025-26, his sixth NHL season. He has 25 goals and 39 assists in 292 career games.

Veteran defenseman Ian Cole signs with Blackhawks

Ian Cole on Wednesday signed a one-year, $4 million contract to join the Hawks’ defenseman core. The Ann Arbor, Mich., native spent the last two seasons with the Utah Mammoth, playing 82 games in both.

The addition of Cole, 37, brings a veteran voice to the Hawks locker room. He has 223 points (38 goals, 195 assists) with a plus-168 rating, 1,834 blocked shots and 1,253 hits across 990 career games with nine teams.

Blackhawks add defensive depth to AHL roster

Defensemen Dylan Anhorn, 27, and Connor Mackey, 29, will join the Rockford IceHogs on two-way contracts. The signings add defensive depth for the Hawks.

Anhorn played 95 games over the last two-plus seasons with the Manitoba Moose in the Winnipeg Jets system, registering 34 points (six goals, 28 assists). His contract is for one-year with a $850,000 salary-cap hit.

Mackey had 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 62 regular-season games with the Hartford Wolfpack while appearing in three games for the New York Rangers in 2025-26. The defenseman’s contract is for two-year and $1.875 million.

Late Tuesday, the Hawks signed two forwards — Dillon Boucher and Connor Mylymok — to matching one-year, two-way contracts worth $850,000.