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Former Sharks First-Rounder Leaves KHL Team For 'Family-Related Situation'

KHL club Avangard Omsk and 24-year-old Canadian defenseman Ryan Merkley have mutually agreed to terminate their contract, the club announced on Saturday. The contract was “due to the player’s family-related situation.”

Family is a commonly cited reason for terminating a KHL contract mid-season. Linden Vey also left Omsk in early November, officially “to manage family issues” and then signed in Switzerland with Fribourg-Gottéron 10 days later. In January, Tony DeAngelo left SKA St. Petersburg for “family reasons.”

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 2021-22, Merkley scored one goal and added five assists, eight penalty minutes, and was a minus-10.

Merkley spent the entire 2022-23 in the minors split between the San Jose and Colorado Avalanche organizations.

Merkley has played almost two full seasons in the KHL. Over a season and a half with Kunlun Red Star, he produced 37 points and 82 penalty minutes in 83 games. Earlier this season, Merkley was traded from Kunlun to Omsk in exchange for cash. Merkley had 12 points and 12 penalty minutes in 29 games since the trade.

Omsk currently sits sixth out of 12 teams in the KHL’s Eastern Conference.