📝 by Patrick Williams
Dysin Mayo is changing sides.
A fixture with the Tucson Roadrunners for parts of seven seasons, the 26-year-old defenseman has landed with the rival Henderson Silver Knights following a trade Wednesday between Arizona and Vegas.
Mayo departs Tucson as the team’s all-time leader in games played (279), a run that begin with the franchise’s first-ever game on Oct. 14, 2016. He also played 82 NHL games with the Coyotes, including 15 this season.
With Daniil Miromanov on recall to the Golden Knights and injured, Mayo gives the Henderson blue line a needed right-handed option to go with captain Brayden Pachal and Kaedan Korczak.
Mayo is the second experienced addition to the Silver Knights in the past week, following the acquisition of power forward Gemel Smith on loan from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 16. Smith, who had been with Syracuse, netted two goals and an assist in helping the Silver Knights to a crucial 5-4 overtime victory on Wednesday night in Calgary.
Going into tonight’s rematch with the league-leading Wranglers, the Silver Knights are 11 points behind Tucson for the closest available playoff spot in the Pacific Division.
Along with packing up for a six-game road trip, the Charlotte Checkers also got a roster shake-up on Wednesday.
Charlotte picked up goaltender Spencer Knight and forward Grigori Denisenko on loan from the Florida Panthers, with goaltender Alex Lyon going to Florida in the exchange.
Denisenko, 22, has 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in 37 games with the Checkers this season, while the 21-year-old Knight, who went 13th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, returns to Charlotte following a two-game stint earlier this season — including a 23-save shutout against Cleveland on Jan. 21. In 21 games with Florida, Knight has gone 9-8-3 with a 3.18 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.
Charlotte has also signed long-time AHL playmaking forward Cory Conacher to a professional tryout deal.
Conacher played two games in November with the Belleville Senators before suffering an injury. The former AHL MVP and Calder Cup champion has put up 331 points (127 goals, 204 assists) in 356 career AHL games, to go along with 75 points in 193 appearances in the NHL.
The Checkers are in Providence, Bridgeport and Springfield beginning Friday, the first of two consecutive three-in-three weekends.
The Manitoba Moose and Milwaukee Admirals each put seven-game point streaks on the line when they face off in the opener of a two-game set in Winnipeg tonight.
The Moose are coming off a 5-1 romp against Grand Rapids on Monday afternoon, and hold a two-point lead on Rockford for the Central Division’s third spot, just four points back of the second-place Admirals. Milwaukee had a six-game winning streak come to an end in a 3-2 overtime loss to Texas on Sunday.
The Admirals have won four of six meetings between the teams this season. The season series wraps up with Saturday afternoon’s rematch at Canada Life Centre.
Patrick Williams has been on the American Hockey League beat for nearly two decades for outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, The Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM! Sports, and is currently the co-host of The Hockey News On The ‘A’ podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
