Former first-round pick Kailer Yamamoto was placed on waivers by Utah and in a separate move, the Minnesota Wild terminated the contract of a cancer survivor. Friday saw some <a href='https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/utah-hcs-kailer-yamamoto-bruins-riley-tufte-placed-on-waivers-wild-to-terminate-pavel-novaks-contract' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>big roster moves across the NHL</a>, with several teams making decisions that could impact their season. The Utah Hockey Club waived forward Kailer Yamamoto, thus removing him from the roster. The Minnesota Wild have also placed forward Pavel Novak on waivers to terminate his contract. These moves came just one day after New York Rangers defenseman Chad Ruhwedel cleared waivers, thus making him available for reassignment to the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL. Kailer Yamamoto, a former first-round pick, <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/utah-hockey-club/kailer-yamamoto-gets-signed-to-a-pto-with-utah-hockey-club' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>who joined the Utah Hockey Club on a professional tryout</a>, impressed enough in preseason to earn a one-year, two-way contract. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/UtahHC_PR/status/1849874254507958452'> </a></blockquote></div> The 26-year-old forward from Spokane, Washington played three games with Utah. His most recent performance was on Thursday, where he logged 10:44 of ice time during Utah's 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Earlier in the season, he recorded a season-high 11:01 in a 2-1 overtime victory against the Bruins. Despite his efforts, Yamamoto has not been able to significantly impact the scoresheet, registering just one shot on goal and a minus-1 rating through his three games. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/friedgehnic/status/1849874729861054866'> </a></blockquote></div> In his journey so far with the Minnesota Wild, it has been quite a challenge and fight for Pavel Novak. Drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft, Novak's first big hurdle came when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, forcing him to miss the entire 2022-23 season. Upon his return to the ice, Novak split time between the Iowa Wild, Minnesota's affiliate in the AHL, and the Iowa Heartlanders in the ECHL. This season, Novak appeared in two games with the Heartlanders, posting a rating of minus-1 but struggled to get his feet wet. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/WolfPackAHL/status/1849885004807143727'> </a></blockquote></div> It was a different story for defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, however, when <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/new-york-rangers/defenseman-who-played-many-years-with-penguins-shockingly-placed-on-waivers' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>he became the only player to be placed on waivers</a> Thursday. He went unclaimed and was reassigned to the Rangers' AHL affiliate. His veteran presence and added depth on the blue line can only go so far in helping the Hartford Wolf Pack as he remains committed to continuing his professional career in the minors. In each case, unique situations have unfolded, but the recent waiver placements by each and their subsequent career paths mainly realize that professional hockey is an ever-moving target. The immediate weeks ahead will likely sort out the futures of Kailer Yamamoto, Pavel Novak, and Chad Ruhwedel as they look for opportunities to prove their worth in either the NHL or the AHL.