Sports stats



AHL Cleveland Monsters

Blue Jackets Assign Four Players to Monsters

April 8, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Cleveland Monsters News Release


CLEVELAND - The AHL's Cleveland Monsters, top affiliate of the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, announced Saturday that the Blue Jackets assigned forwards Trey Fix-Wolansky and Joona Luoto, and defensemen Marcus Bjork and David Jiricek to the Monsters. Fix-Wolansky appeared in eight games for Columbus this season and added 28-41-69 with 38 penalty minutes in 57 games with Cleveland. Luoto supplied 1-0-1 in five appearances for the Blue Jackets this year and added 14-11-25 with ten penalty minutes and a +2 rating in 44 appearances for the Monsters. In 33 appearances for the Blue Jackets this season, Bjork registered 3-8-11 with 42 penalty minutes and added 6-7-13 with 18 penalty minutes in 41 appearances for the Monsters. In three appearances for Columbus this season, Jiricek logged two penalty minutes and added 6-32-38 with 34 penalty minutes in 51 appearances for Cleveland.

A 5'7", 186 lb. right-shooting native of Edmonton, AB, Fix-Wolansky, 23, was originally selected by Columbus in the seventh round (204th overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft and contributed 1-1-2 in 14 career NHL appearances for Columbus during portions of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. In 162 career AHL appearances, all for Cleveland, spanning parts of four seasons from 2019-23, Fix-Wolansky contributed 59-78-137 with 131 penalty minutes. Fix-Wolansky embarked on his professional career with the Monsters during the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs, supplying 1-1-2 in three games played. Prior to his professional career, Fix-Wolansky notched 93-152-245 with 202 penalty minutes and a +5 rating in 216 career WHL appearances for his hometown Edmonton Oil Kings spanning parts of three seasons from 2016-19. In 2018-19, Fix-Wolansky served as Edmonton's captain and was named to the WHL (East) First All-Star Team.

In 27 appearances for Tappara Tampere in Finland's Liiga last season, Luoto posted 9-5-14 with 12 penalty minutes and a +8 rating and earned the Jari Kurri Award as Liiga's Playoff MVP, helping Tappara claim the 2021-22 Liiga Championship. A 6'3", 192 lb. left-shooting native of Tampere, Finland, Luoto, 25, tallied 1-0-1 with two penalty minutes in 21 career NHL appearances for the Winnipeg Jets in 2019-20 and Columbus in 2022-23, and added 2-6-8 with 22 penalty minutes in 29 AHL appearances for the Manitoba Moose in 2019-20 as well. In 175 Liiga appearances for Tappara and HIFK Helsinki spanning parts of five seasons from 2016-19 and 2020-22, Luoto contributed 35-26-61 with 66 penalty minutes and a +24 rating. Luoto additionally helped Tappara claim the 2018-19 Liiga Bronze Medal, 2017-18 Liiga Silver Medal, and the 2016-17 Liiga Championship. Luoto also represented Finland at the 2016-17 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship.

A 6'4", 211 lb. right-shooting native of Umea, Sweden, Bjork, 25, registered 17-47-64 with 98 penalty minutes in 204 appearances for Orebro HK, the Malmo Redhawks, and Brynas IF in Sweden's SHL spanning four seasons from 2018-22. Prior to his professional career, Bjork logged 1-2-3 with six penalty minutes in eight appearances for the USHL's Omaha Lancers in 2016-17.

A 6'3", 189 lb. right-shooting native of Klatovy, Czechia, Jiricek, 19, was selected by the Blue Jackets in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. In 67 appearances for Plzen HC in the Czech Extraliga spanning parts of three seasons from 2019-22, Jiricek logged 8-12-20 with 85 penalty minutes and a +14 rating and was named the Extraliga's 2020-21 Rookie of the Year. Internationally, Jiricek represented Czechia at the 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, helping Czechia claim the Silver Medal at the 2022-23 World Juniors and earning 'Best Defenseman' honors at the tournament, along with inclusion on the post-tournament media All-Star Team. Jiricek also helped Czechia claim the Bronze Medal at the 2021-22 IIHF World Championship.

Stay up to date on all Monsters news with the Monsters Mobile App presented by University Hospitals available to download at the Apple Store or Google Play Store. Be sure to follow the Monsters on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Check out the Cleveland Monsters Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central