Former Sharks First-Rounder Changes KHL Teams

Canadian defenseman Ryan Merkley, 24, has been traded within the KHL from Kunlun Red Star to Avangard Omsk in exchange for monetary compensation, the latter club announced on Saturday.

“After parting ways with Darren Dietz, the team needed a right-handed offensive defenseman for the power play,” said German Chistyakov, general director of HC Avangard. “After analyzing several candidates, we settled on Ryan Merkley – he is a technical wizard who can start an attack, move the puck on the blue line, make a sharp pass or score with a direct shot. His skills will add variability to Avangard both on defense and on offense.”

Born in Oakville, Ont, Merkley played junior hockey for the OHL’s Guelph Storm and had a spectacular 2017-18 season with 67 points in 63 games from the back end, and was chosen to play for Canada that season at both the Ivan Hlinka Memorial and the IIHF U-18 World Championship. He was subsequently chosen in the first round, 21st overall, by the San Jose Sharks in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

While he followed that up with two more solid junior seasons, his offensive abilities did not transfer to the pros, as he produced just 53 total points over 129 AHL games between 2019 and 2023. In 39 NHL games with the Sharks in 2021-23, Merkley scored one goal and added five assists, eight penalty minutes, and was a minus-10.

Over a season and a half with Kunlun – the KHL club that is nominally based in China but hasn’t played there in more than four years – Merkley produced 37 points and 82 penalty minutes in 83 games.

Both teams involved in the trade could use a reversal of fortune. Kunlun is currently 10th out of 11 teams in the KHL’s Western Conference, while Avangard – normally a league powerhouse, is 10th out of 12 teams in the East.

This was the second deal between Avangard and Kunlunin in the past eight days – Avangard acquired the KHL rights to Nail Yakupov and Turner Ottenbreit in the previous deal. Avangard also signed free agent Michael McLeod on Tuesday. McLeod and Ottenbreit have yet to appear in a game while Yakupov has two assists in three games. The team’s roster also includes ex-NHLers Ryan Spooner and Reid Boucher.