DULUTH — Dylan Samberg and the Winnipeg Jets are avoiding arbitration, agreeing to a new three-year contract Wednesday.

The 26-year-old defenseman from Saginaw will make $5.75 million per year on average over the life of the new deal,

the team announced.

Samberg was a restricted free agent and had he and the Jets gone to arbitration this week, it would have resulted in a one-year contract that would make Samberg a highly sought-after unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2026.

According to The Athletic,

Samberg will be in line for a much larger payday when he’s eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in 2028.

A two-time Minnesota Class A state hockey champion at Hermantown High School and two-time NCAA champion at Minnesota Duluth, Samberg is coming off his best NHL season in 2024-25 with six goals and 20 points, despite missing over 20 games to injury. His plus/minus rating of plus-34 in 60 games was the best on the Jets and tied for sixth overall in the NHL.

Samberg has 51 career points via nine goals and 42 assists in 216 career games over four NHL seasons. He was drafted in the second round by the Jets in 2017 out of Hermantown High School and signed after his junior season at UMD in 2019-20. He played one full season for the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League before getting the call up to Winnipeg.

Samberg is one of four former Bulldogs signed to the Jets for 2025-26 along with Alex Iafallo and fellow Hermantown natives Neal Pionk and Cole Koepke.

* indicates player on two-way NHL/AHL deal

Dylan Samberg, Winnipeg Jets
Cole Koepke, Winnipeg Jets
Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets
Alex Iafallo, Winnipeg Jets
Justin Faulk, St. Louis Blues
Noah Cates, Philadelphia Flyers
Mikey Anderson, Los Angeles Kings
Carson Soucy, New York Rangers
Joey Anderson, Chicago Blackhawks
Dominic Toninato, Chicago Blackhawks*
Scott Perunovich, Utah Mammoth*
Riley Tufte, Boston Bruins*
Hunter Shepard, Ottawa Senators*
Ryan Fanti, Tampa Bay Lightning*
Isaac Howard, Edmonton Oilers*

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

FAIRBANKS – The Alaska Nanooks have announced the addition of senior-transfer, Alexander Malinowski. Malinowski is transferring to Fairbanks after three seasons at American International College (AIC).

“Fairbanks fans will be familiar with Alexander from his time with the Ice Dogs,” said head coach Erik Largen. “He is a talented player who plays extremely hard. He brings maturity and professionalism to the rink every day and is a tremendous teammate.” Malinowski, who hails from Linköping, Sweden, is a 5-11, 187-pound forward. Before attending AIC, Malinowski played one season for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) in 2021-22. In his lone-season, he donned the ‘A’ for the Ice Dogs and skated in 58 games, producing 75 points on 33 goals and 42 assists. He earned a NAHL (Midwest) All-Star Team selection for his production with the Ice Dogs.

Malinowski posted a career year in his first season at AIC. In 2022-23 he skated in 34 games, scored seven goals and assisted on 14 for a career-high 21 points. In year two, he skated in seven less games, but produced just as much, posting 20 points on a career-high nine goals and 11 assists in 27 games. His final season saw him post eight points on eight assists in 25 games. For his NCAA career, Malinowski has skated in 86 games, scoring 16 goals and 33 assists for 49 career points. In 2023-24, he was an NCAA AHA All-Academic Team selection. 

He intends on studying economics at UAF and is the eighth announced newcomer for the upcoming season, and is the first transfer announced this summer. 

Additional signees and newcomers will be announced in the coming weeks. 

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WESTFIELD — Amelia Park Arena’s third season of outdoor youth floor hockey, which began on May 17, concluded on July 26. The league, dubbed the AFHL, had 105 players spread across eight teams competing in two divisions, ages 7-10 and 11-15.

This year’s league championships went to Red Wings in the 7-10 division, who took down the Rangers with a score of 12 to 6 in the final game, and the Wild in the 11-15 division, who bested the Kraken, 4-0.

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“The goal of the AFHL is to provide a place for the children of our community to enjoy the awesome game of hockey. Floor hockey is played in sneakers, with the only required equipment being helmet, gloves and shin pads, making it a very inclusive sport. The cost to play is also far lower than ice hockey, adding another layer of inclusivity to the program,” said Amelia Park General Manager and AFHL founder Billy Fellows.

The inaugural season in 2023 was the first time in many years that the game had been offered in Westfield. Fellows said he was inspired to start the program in part by his own childhood experiences playing floor hockey at the Westfield Boys and Girls Club.

“Floor hockey was an amazing part of my childhood that I will never forget. It created so many memories, friendships and even eventually led me to start playing ice hockey. I think it’s just such an important program to be offering for the youth of our community,” he said.

The AFHL has continued to grow every season, starting with 85 kids its first season and adding 10 more each year, and Fellows said he is hopeful the trend will continue. “It was awesome to see interest right away in our first year and even better to see a steady growth,” Fellow said, adding, “I really need to emphasize that it would not be possible without the help of the volunteer coaches who pave the way for these kids.”

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Fellows said one of the eight coaches who made year three of the AFHL a massive success is Blandford resident Mark Rizzo, who was excited to talk about the program.

“The Amelia Park youth floor hockey program is more than just a place for kids to play, it’s a staple of community growth and development. It teaches young athletes the value of teamwork, discipline, hard-work and perseverance, while also creating a welcome space where families come together and friendships are formed. None of this would be possible without Billy and the dedicated staff at Amelia Park, whose passion and commitment make this program such a positive force for our kids and the local community,” Rizzo.said..

The passion of the Amelia Park staff that Rizzo speaks of came into play for the championship games, where staff put in the effort to make the games extra special for the kids, adding in extras like the pre-game national anthem, music between whistles and a medal presentation for the winners.

This year’s league championships went to Red Wings in the 7-10 division, who took down the Rangers with a score of 12 to 6 in the final game, and the Wild in the 11-15 division, who bested the Kraken, 4-0.

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The AFHL will return in May 2026, with the annual registration period opening up early February. More information on the Amelia Park Arena at 21 S. Broad St. in Westfield may be found at www.AmeliaParkArena.org, or by calling 413-568-2503.

Read the original article on MassLive.

The USA Gymnastics Foundation has awarded $162,500 in 2025 scholarships and grants for men’s artistic gymnasts and Regional Elite Team support.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (July 30, 2025) – The USA Gymnastics Foundation has awarded $162,500 in 2025 scholarships and grants for men’s artistic gymnasts and Regional Elite Team support.

Nearly $97,000 in academic scholarships were awarded to 32 athletes competing in men’s collegiate gymnastics programs. In addition, more than $65,500 was provided to the six USA Gymnastics men’s Regions to assist with costs relating to the Elite Team Cup competition and various camps and clinics throughout the season. Nearly $11,000 was allocated to each region.

“Grants from the USA Gymnastics Foundation are integral to strengthening all levels of the USA Gymnastics men’s artistic program,” USAG Vice President of men’s gymnastics Jason Woodnick said. “We are looking to build on our Paris 2024 success at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, and providing support for both our grassroots and collegiate athletes is key to that success.”

The 32 scholarship recipients are listed below by program.

Arizona State GymAct
Hunter Flechsig — League City, Texas
Connor Koepp — Las Vegas, Nev.

Georgia United GymAct
Jaydin Ashford — Bessemer, Ala./Auburn University

University of Iowa GymAct
Alexander Riley — Cary, Ill.

University of Minnesota GymAct
Jack Gagamov — Mundelein, Ill.

Northern Illinois University
Reece Deidrick — Boise, Idaho
Hunter Etherton — Lebanon Junction, Ky.
Lucas Gutman — Hillsborough, N.J.

New York Alliance
Adam Burger — Middletown, N.Y./Rochester Institute of Technology

Simpson College
Alexander Campbell — Cleveland, Ohio
Tzar Lyons — Littleton, Colo.

Springfield College
Mason Lupp — Middletown, Pa.
Kaleb Palacio — Bacliff, Texas
Gustavin Suess — Portland, Ore.

Stanford University
Kiran Mandava — Cypress, Texas
Michael Scheiner — Great Falls, Va.
Robert Nieves — Littleton, Colo.

University of California-Berkeley
Liam DeWeese — Murphy, Texas
Will Horenziak — Montgomery, Ohio

University of Washington
Riley Lineman — Seattle, Wash.
Drake Miesel — Lake Stevens, Wash.
Mitchell Payumo — Carlsbad, Calif.

College of William & Mary
Connor Barrow — Houston, Texas
Brayden Bates — Clermont, Fla.
Alexander Grapsas — Eureka, Mo.
Niko Greenly — Reno, Nev.
Nicholas Kosarikov — Spring, Texas
David Moroney — Owings Mills, Md.
Richard Pizem Jr. — Brecksville, Ohio
Michael Weiner — Newton, Mass.
Evan Wilkins — Franklin, Tenn.
Gavin Zborowski — Arvada, Colo.