Brennan Menell

Brennan Menell (born May 24, 1997) is an American-Russian professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing under contract with HC Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In July 2023, he received Russian citizenship.[1][2]

Brennan Menell
Menell at the 2020 AHL All-Star Game
Born (1997-05-24) May 24, 1997
Woodbury, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
KHL team
Former teams		 Dynamo Moscow
Minnesota Wild
Dinamo Minsk
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2017–present

Playing career

Undrafted, Menell played for the Vancouver Giants and Lethbridge Hurricanes in the Western Hockey League before signing as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild on a three-year, entry-level contract after impressing on an invitation to attend training camp on September 26, 2017, having been undrafted in the NHL Entry Draft.[3]

In his final year of his entry-level contract with the Wild, Menell was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, for the third consecutive year. In the 2019–20 season, Menell established a career high with 47 points in 57 games for Iowa, finishing second among AHL defensemen in scoring and first in assists with 42. As Iowa's franchise record-holder in nearly all offensive categories for blueliners, with 101 assists and 116 points in 199 games over his AHL career, Menell was selected to the AHL First All-Star Team.[4] During the season, he was recalled by the Wild and made his NHL debut against the Anaheim Ducks on December 10, 2019.[5][6] He featured in 5 games with the Wild, going scoreless.

As an impending restricted free agent with the Minnesota Wild and with the uncertainty of a delayed commencement of the 2020–21 North American season, Menell opted to sign abroad by signing a one-year contract with Belarusian club, HC Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), on August 29, 2020.[7]

On July 28, 2021, his signing rights were acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Minnesota Wild for a 7th round draft pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.[8] He was then signed a one-year, two-way, $750,000 contract with Toronto on August 1, 2021.[9] On March 23, 2022, a day after the trade deadline, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for future considerations.[10] He completed the season playing with the Flyers AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, collecting 6 assists through 18 games.

As a free agent from the Flyers, Menell opted to return to the KHL after securing a one-year contract with Russian club, HC Dynamo Moscow, for the 2022–23 season on September 19, 2022.[11]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2014–15 Vancouver Giants WHL 57 2 19 21 16 — — — — —
2015–16 Vancouver Giants WHL 69 7 46 53 36 — — — — —
2016–17 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 70 12 59 71 29 20 5 12 17 10
2017–18 Iowa Wild AHL 72 8 17 25 14 — — — — —
2018–19 Iowa Wild AHL 70 2 42 44 25 11 0 4 4 4
2019–20 Iowa Wild AHL 57 5 42 47 36 — — — — —
2019–20 Minnesota Wild NHL 5 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2020–21 Dinamo Minsk KHL 47 5 33 38 60 5 1 6 7 0
2021–22 Toronto Marlies AHL 20 1 4 5 15 — — — — —
2021–22 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 18 0 6 6 19 — — — — —
2022–23 Dynamo Moscow KHL 44 2 22 24 6 6 0 3 3 2
NHL totals 5 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
KHL totals 91 7 55 62 66 11 1 9 10 2

Awards and honors
Award Year
AHL
All-Star Game 2020 [12]
First All-Star Team 2020 [4]

References
  1. "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 27.07.2023 № 554 "О приеме в гражданство Российской Федерации"". pravo.gov.ru (in Russian). 2023-07-27.
  2. "Brennan Menell: I want to talk Russian as Dietz does". Kontinental Hockey League. August 1, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  3. "Minnesota Wild Recalls Defenseman Brennan Menell From Iowa". Iowa Wild. 2019-12-05. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  4. "2019-20 AHL First, Second All-Star Team announced". American Hockey League. May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  5. McLellan, Sarah (2019-11-01). "Woodbury's Brennan Menell to make NHL debut with Wild vs. Ducks". StarTribune.com. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  6. Mizutani, Dane (9 December 2019). "Woodbury's Brennan Menell fulfills lifelong dream with Wild – Twin Cities". Twincities.com. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  7. "An agreement is reached to sign Brennan Menell" (in Belarusian). HC Dinamo Minsk. August 29, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  8. "Maple Leafs acquire Brennan Menell in trade with Wild". Toronto Maple Leafs. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  9. "Maple Leafs sign defenceman Brennan Menell to one-year, two-way contract". Sportsnet.ca. August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  10. "Brennan Menell traded to the Philadelphia Flyers". American Hockey League. March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  11. "Brennan Menell signs with the Blue and White" (in Russian). HC Dynamo Moscow. September 19, 2022. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  12. "Bracco, Liljegren added to All-Star roster". American Hockey League. 2020-01-26. Retrieved 2020-02-01.


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