Pacific Notes: Calgary Injury Updates, Edmonton Prospect Targets
Flames defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka is on pace in his recovery from offseason hip surgery to be able to suit up for Team Finland at the upcoming World Cup of Hockey, writes Aaron Vickers from the Flames’ official site. Calgary GM Brad Treliving had the following to say about how his treatment is going:
“Based on today and based on the medical opinion, I would say it’s promising to likely that he be ready for that. Everything is looking good. He’s been back here for a little bit of time now and our staff has had a chance to check him out. Everything looks good. He’s been training. He’s been skating. I think there are a couple final checks to do, but everything is looking positive.”
Jokipakka was acquired at the trade deadline from Dallas along with prospect Brett Pollock and a 2016 2nd round pick (Dillon Dube) in exchange for Kris Russell, who happens to be the most prominent remaining unrestricted free agent on the open market. He got into 18 games with the Flames last year, recording six assists while seeing his average ice time increase by over three minutes compared to his playing time with the Stars. He’s likely to play in a third pairing role for Calgary this season.
[Related: Calgary’s Depth Chart]
More from the Pacific:
- In a separate piece from Vickers, center Daniel Pribyl, an offseason signing by the Flames, may not be fully healthy when training camp gets underway. The 23 year old underwent ACL surgery back in May. Pribyl, originally a sixth round draft pick of Montreal back in 2012 (168th overall but went unsigned), averaged a point per game (16 goals and 29 assists in 45 contests) with Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga last season which got him back on the NHL radar.
- The Oilers are interested in signing college free agent defenseman Matt Benning, reports Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Benning was a sixth round pick (175th overall) of the Bruins in 2012 but went unsigned prior to the August 15th deadline. Benning is the nephew of Vancouver GM Jim Benning (who was Boston’s Assistant GM when he was drafted) which has yielded speculation that the Canucks may be interested in the services of the 22 year old as well. (Update: Edmonton has indeed signed Benning to a two year deal.)
- Also from Matheson, he noted that the Oilers inquired about the availability of Blackhawks prospect Mark McNeill back at the draft in June. McNeill made his NHL debut last season but has spent the bulk of his professional career at the minor league level. The 23 year old former first rounder (18th overall in 2011) has to clear waivers if he doesn’t crack Chicago’s roster in training camp so it’s certainly possible that talks could rekindle closer towards the beginning of the season in mid-October.
Five Questions With USA Today’s Kevin Allen
The USA Today’s Kevin Allen was kind enough to sit down with PHR and survey the hockey landscape as the season is just under a month away from starting. Allen takes a look at early contenders, whether the Red Wings are in as much as trouble as some think, and of course, some insights on Jimmy Vesey.
Allen has written for the USA Today since 1986, and won the Lester Patrick Award in 2013 and the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 2014. He was also inducted into the USA Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014. Make sure to give Kevin a follow on Twitter @bykevinallen. You can also catch up on Allen’s coverage here.
PHR: Very early predictions: Who do you see as contenders for the upcoming season, barring any unforeseen injuries?
Allen: The Tampa Bay Lightning are my early pick to win it all. With Steven Stamkos now healthy and not worrying about his future, I foresee him uncorking a monster season. This team has all the necessary ingredients to win it all, and Jonathan Drouin will make the Lightning stronger by having a breakthrough season. Don’t be surprised if Andrei Vasilevskiy becomes the No. 1 goalie. That might allow GM Steve Yzerman the opportunity to deal Ben Bishop at the trade deadline to add another piece for his puzzle. I’m also not discounting the Pittsburgh Penguins, although we all know how challenging it is to repeat. Also, the Washington Capitals will be right there again. The Montreal Canadiens, with a healthy Carey Price, and the addition of Andrew Shaw, Alexander Radulov and Shea Weber, will be much improved. Radulov is not Alexander Semin.
In the West, I like the Chicago Blackhawks because Brian Campbell will make their defense whole again. The erosion of their depth does, however, concern me. I have the high-scoring Dallas Stars number two because I believe they will deal for a goalie near the trade deadline. Wouldn’t Bishop be a good fit for them? I have the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks in my next grouping. The Predators’ have more potential than fans seem to realize. P.K. Subban is a much better fit for coach Peter Laviolette’s attacking offensive system than Weber was. The Sharks will be the same force they were last May and June.
PHR: Concern seems to be rising about the Detroit Red Wings–everything from contract terms, direction, and what seems to be an aversion to invest in the youth of the team. Do you think that concern is warranted?
Allen: Yes, only because we simply have no idea how effective their younger players are going to be. The Red Wings are a hard read because there are too many variables. Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist seemed to take a step back last season, and it’s anybody’s guess whether Anthony Mantha will be an impact player. How sharp will Petr Mrazek be this season? The Thomas Vanek signing was a good roll of the dice, and Frans Nielsen will be a quality No. 2 center. But the Red Wings are the league’s mystery team. It wouldn’t be surprising if they missed the playoffs by 10 points, and it wouldn’t be shocking if they were the No. 4 or No. 5 team in the Eastern Conference.
PHR: Who do you feel had the best offseason?
- New York Rangers: Jeff Gorton improved the team speed with the addition of Michael Grabner. Nathan Gerbe is also quick. He signed skillful Pavel Buchnevich out of the Kontinental Hockey League. They stunned plenty of people by landing Jimmy Vesey and they changed their look by trading finesse center Derick Brassard for bigger and younger center Mika Zibanejad; Defenseman Nick Holden also wasn’t a bad pick-up.
- Montreal Canadiens: Addressed many problems. They will be more difficult to play against now because of the addition of Andrew Shaw and Shea Weber. In the long-term, the Canadiens will lose the Subban-for-Weber trade. But in the short term, Weber is the perfect fit for this team.
- Arizona Coyotes: Young GM John Chayka added Alex Goligoski, Jamie McGinn, Radim Vrbata and a few prime prospects. I like the addition of Lawson Crouse and Jakob Chychrun.
PHR: How will Jiri Hudler fit in with Dallas? Do you see a season closer to 2014-15 or 2015-16?
Allen: It’s a nifty pick-up by GM Jim Nill who knows Hudler well from their days together in Detroit. This merely adds to the team’s already strong offense. He still has magic in his hands. He should be a 55 to 60-point guy.
PHR: After all the hoopla with Jimmy Vesey, how do you see him fitting in with the Rangers?
Allen: He may play on a line with his buddy Kevin Hayes. Obviously, there are several examples of major college free agents not panning out. But scouts believe Vesey will be a quality NHL scorer. Depending upon whether he receives power play time, he might be a 20-goal guy this season.
Jets Notes: Howden, Season Statistical Predictions
Forward Quinton Howden couldn’t be happier to be playing for his favorite team writes the Winnipeg Free Press’ Jason Bell. Howden, who spent the last three seasons with the Florida Panthers, will have his work cut out for him, but is absolutely thrilled to be back where he grew up rooting for the Jets. The left wing has a lot of competition for one of the final forward spots but it doesn’t dampen the dream of playing for the team he worshipped. On what he brings to the Jets, Howden said:
I’ll bring my speed, that’s my biggest asset. If I can use that to my advantage, hopefully I’ll show what I’ve got.”
The Winnipeg Sun’s Paul Friesen also caught up with Howden and likened him to a “kid-in-candy-store” when it comes to playing for the Jets. Friesen writes that Howden is a player whose potential hasn’t been fully realized and was described as one of the fastest players in the Panthers’ organization. Howden’s “wide-eyed” approach to being a member of the Jets organization may not nail down a spot for him on the roster, but with the speed and enthusiasm, Howden certainly has a chance to make himself well known.
- The Hockey Writers’ Judson Rempel makes some predictions about who could lead the Jets in statistics come this season and the predictions aren’t surprising. Rempel opines that Mark Scheifele will lead the Jets in goal scoring while Blake Wheeler should pace the team in assists. Rempel also delves into analytics, writing that Mathieu Perreault should lead the team in Corsi% while Dustin Byfuglien will make the long skate to the penalty box more than anyone else.
Snapshots: Bobrovsky, Lehner, Hudler, Pirri
Aaron Portzline has an in-depth look at Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who Portzline believes is the key to the Blue Jackets return to success. Bobrovsky has suffered a slew of injuries and Portzline writes that the Blue Jackets are investing heavily in seeing Bobrovsky return to the level that earned him $7.425MM as the Jackets’ number one goalie. To ensure that Bobrovsky has the proper training while remaining healthy, Columbus hired Nelson Ayotte away from St. Louis and sent him to Europe to guide Bobrovsky’s training regiments. It isn’t a lack of training that has hurt him in the past; Portzline writes that the 27-year-old netminder tends to overtrain. Portzline adds that in order for Columbus to finally see improvement, a healthy Bobrovsky needs to steal some games while Jackets bench boss John Tortorella has to trust his backup goalie to ease some of the workload off of his number one option.
In other NHL news:
- Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner will sit out the World Cup of Hockey writes the Ottawa Citizen’s Ken Warren. The former Senators goalie has been nursing an ankle injury since the beginning of the 2015-16 season. Sabres general manager Tim Murray was quoted as saying that both the team and Lehner felt it was in his best interest to continue his rehab for training camp.
- Warren also writes that the biggest winners in free agency may have been the teams who waited for some of talented players to come down in price. Warren cites Jiri Hudler as an example, who came in at $2MM for the already offensively talented Dallas Stars. Warren also mentions the Rangers as another winner as they locked up Brandon Pirri to a one year, $1.1MM deal.
Snapshots: AHL Coaching Promotions, Price, Canadiens
The Toronto Sun’s Michael Traikos writes that the flow of coaches from the American Hockey League to the NHL continues steady. With the recent hire of Jared Bednar, Traikos reports that 23 coaches in the NHL have been a bench boss in the AHL at some point in their career. The wild success of Mike Sullivan, who was tapped by the Penguins mid-season from their own affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, seems to have once again made the AHL to NHL pipeline hot again. Traikos continues that teams are promoting coaches like they do players, investing heavily on both the ice and the bench. Jon Cooper, head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, is an example of that, as his guidance at both the AHL and NHL has paid dividends for the Bolts. Could Bednar’s success with the Monsters follow the pattern of Sullivan and Cooper?
In other NHL news:
- NBC Sports writes on the Canadiens today and includes a piece on Carey Price and what could happen should injury befall him again. Drawing upon the signing of Al Montoya, NBC’s James O’Brien isn’t so sure Montoya could handle the scrutiny that comes with being a netminder in Montreal. While writing that Montoya is an upgrade over Mike Condon, but adds that the Habs “live and die” by Price. Despite being a high pick in the 2004 (6th overall), Montoya has never risen to the level of being “the guy” and as O’Brien astutely points out, Montoya is a great pickup so long as he’s not relied upon in heavy doses. One another interesting point: will Marc Bergevin get a “Price pass,” should he go down again this season?
- In another Habs article on NBC, Joey Alfieri wonders where the Canadiens will finish this season. Noting the importance of having Price, Alfieri writes that the veteran goaltender has taken great lengths to improve his conditioning and diet. Montreal also added Shea Weber and Andrew Shaw, two critical pieces that should help a team decimated by Price’s injury last season. A healthy squad, with Price backstopping them, should help Montreal back to its winning ways.
Snapshots: Glass; Las Vegas; Leafs; Canadiens
News and notes from around the NHL:
- The Toronto Maple Leafs extended a training camp invitation to goaltender Jeff Glass, according to the Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle. Glass was a heralded Ottawa Senators prospect in 2004-05, propelling Canada’s World Junior team to Gold with a 1.40GAA and a .944 SV% in five games. The Canadian goalie spent the next four years with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate Binghamton Senators but was unable to crack the big league roster. Glass then went overseas to the KHL in 2009 and remained there on a variety of teams throughout his career. The goalie will be battling for an AHL position, as the Leafs already have Frederik Andersen and Jhonas Enroth under contract. Both goaltenders, however, are playing in the World Cup of Hockey this September, so the Leafs need someone to fill in between the pipes. Glass will be competing with Garret Sparks and Antoine Bibeau, both of whom had significant playing time last year with the Marlies.
- The Las Vegas NHL team moves one step closer to a team name this week after allegedly filing for a variety of potential team names, including the Desert Knights. Bill Foley, the Las Vegas expansion team owner, has consistently expressed interest in a name that included Knights or Hawks, and Desert Knights seems to be the one that poses the least risk intellectual-property wise. The ‘desert’ moniker may have been added to avoid conflict with the London Knights, an OHL team in London, Ontario, Canada.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs announced its Rookie Camp tournament roster today, and 2016 NHL Draft first overall pick Auston Matthews is not among the players listed. The team does list four picks from that draft, and the rest of the tournament is made up of AHL players and players from previous drafts—including highly-touted prospect Mitch Marner. The tournament consists of three games against rookie teams from the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
- The Montreal Canadiens also released their Rookie Camp tournament roster today. Notable players include 2016 NHL Draft ninth overall pick Mikhail Sergachyov and goalie prospect Zach Fucale. Sergachyov came over from Russia to play for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL in 2014-2015 and led all defensemen in goals with 17 in 67 games. Unlike Alex Nylander, however, Sergachyov would return to the OHL if he does not make the Canadiens NHL roster because he was drafted by the Windsor Spitfires rather than loaned from a European club. Goalie Zach Fucale was called up by the Canadiens last season after Carey Price battled injury, but the young prospect did not see the ice before being sent back down to the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL.
Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: McCarron, Chabot, Matthews, Nylander
Continuing on with Pro Hockey Rumors 2016-17 rookie profiles, we remain in the Atlantic Division. Included among today’s batch of first-year players is the most recent #1 overall draft choice, Auston Matthews. You can find the previous editions here, here and here.
Michael McCarron (Montreal) – A quick look at Montreal’s depth chart shows the Canadiens could surely use some size up front and McCarron is someone who boasts that trait in spades. At 6-foot-6 and 231 pounds. McCarron would easily be the largest forward on the ice for Montreal by a wide margin. But size isn’t the only quality he brings to the table; McCarron can also add some offense.
In his first taste of professional hockey, McCarron recorded 17 goals and 38 points for the St. John’s IceCaps in the AHL. That’s solid production for a first-year pro who played most of the season at 20-years-old.
McCarron would also get his first taste of the NHL playing 20 games with the Canadiens and scoring his first career big league goal. He also had a -10 plus-minus rating and although plus-minus ratings aren’t necessarily a good indicator of two-way prowess, it does suggest McCarron could use more polishing in the AHL. However, if he does get his chance in Montreal thi year, McCarron should at least add physicality and skill to the team’s bottom-six.
Thomas Chabot (Ottawa) – The Ottawa Senators used their first-round pick in 2015 on skilled, two-way defenseman Thomas Chabot and there is a decent chance he debuts this season in Canada’s capital. Scouting reports credit Chabot for being quick-thinking and an excellent skater; both traits that will fit well into today’s style of play in the NHL. But if Chabot wants to make an impact in the NHL he’ll have to ramp up the intensity.
Ottawa assistant GM Randy Lee felt Chabot’s performance at the team’s summer development camp was not up to par and evidently communicated that to the top prospect, as written about by Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun.
“I thought Thomas should have been a bit more intense, I thought Thomas should have dominated. I think Thomas should look at the landscape and see we’ve got six signed defencemen (to NHL contracts) … Thomas and I have talked about it.”
Clearly the Ottawa organization has high expectations for Chabot and will give him every chance to make the team this season. The Senators do have six NHL-caliber blue liners under contract, all of whom with significant professional experience. Erik Karlsson, Cody Ceci, Marc Mathot and Dion Phaneuf should hold down spots in the club’s top-four with Mark Borowiecki and Chris Wideman forming the third pair. Of the group, Wideman has the least amount of NHL experience with just 64 games played. However he does have nearly three seasons of AHL experience under his belt as well. Chabot will have his work cut out for him if he wants to suit up for the Senators this season.
Auston Matthews (Toronto) – Matthews, the first overall choice in the June’s entry draft, will be an early favorite for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. He is considered a future face-of-the-franchise player and while maybe not quite on the same level with Connor McDavid, last year’s top pick, in terms of being a “generational” talent, Matthews is still an exciting prospect.
Matthews already demonstrates excellent two-way ability and at 6-foot-2, 216 pounds has the requisite size to handle the rigors of a long NHL season. Additionally, his experience playing professionally against full-grown men in Switzerland should help facilitate his transition to the NHL. The Leafs have lacked a truly elite center since Mats Sundin left the club following the 2007-2008 campaign but all signs point to Matthews quickly filling that void.
William Nylander (Toronto) – The Maple Leafs have done an excellent job of adding high-end young talent to the organization in recent years and Nylander is part of the wave of top prospects preparing to lead Toronto to the top of the standings. Nylander reached the NHL last season and held his own in 22 games scoring six goals and 13 points while averaging 16:20 of ice time per contest.
Nylander also excelled playing for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL, tallying 18 goals and 45 points in 45 regular season games. In the postseason he added seven goals in 14 contests for the Marlies. It’s expected he’ll have a spot to lose in the Leafs’ top-four to open the season and has the skill to be one of the club’s top offensive producers.
Hockey apparently runs in the Nylander family blood as William’s father Michael carved out a solid NHL career playing for seven NHL clubs over a 15-year career. Alexander Nylander, William’s brother, was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the 2016 entry draft.
Anaheim Ducks Sign Max Jones To ELC
Update (4:00pm): Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register fills in some of the financial details, via Twitter. The deal comes with an NHL salary of $925K and an annual AHL pay rate of $70K.
Cap Friendly adds that the pact contains no performance bonuses in any of the three years. The tweet suggests this is the first ELC in seven years signed by a player chosen 24th overall that did not include performance bonuses.
2:49pm: After drafting Max Jones 24th overall in the latest entry draft, the Anaheim Ducks have signed him to a three-year, entry-level contract. No financial details were released.
Jones, 18, played last season in London alongside fellow first-rounders Olli Juolevi and Matthew Tkachuk and was a finalist for the OHL Rookie of the Year award. His 52 points in 63 games ranked him second among league rookies and sixth on the Memorial Cup winning Knights.
While he is still extremely young, Jones has matured physically and stands at 6’3″ 205 lbs. He uses that long frame and size to remove defenders from the puck, but can get a little overzealous in the physical side of the game. His 106 penalty minutes ranked him second on his team and eighth in the entire league. That would seem to lend itself perfectly to Randy Carlyle and the type of hockey the Ducks play; they led the league in fighting last season and brought in Jared Boll this offseason.
While Jones may not have the offensive flourish of some of his first round contemporaries, he’s almost a lock to make it to the NHL in at least a bottom-six role. If his skating and creativity progress, he could find himself in a scoring power winger slot on an Anaheim team in the next few years.
Glen Miller also contributed to this post
Arizona Adds Three Players On AHL Deals
Amid all the news about the Arizona Coyotes and their acquisition of Dave Bolland, Lawson Crouse and skating coach Dawn Braid, comes another announcement that the organization has signed three more players to minor-league deals with the AHL. Hunter Fejes, Mark Cooper and Austin Lotz have all agreed to two-way AHL deals.
Fejes, the most well-known out of the bunch, was drafted by the Coyotes in the sixth round in 2012 before heading to Colorado College for four seasons. He began his professional career last year when he got into 10 games for the Springfield Falcons (the former affiliate of Arizona, now known as the Tucson Roadrunners) down the stretch. The former high school stand out took a while to get his feet under him in college, but put up 22 points in 36 games in his senior year. Now 22-years old, he’ll have to work extremely hard if he’s to ever crack an NHL roster.
Cooper, 24, is coming off a more successful college career that saw him put up 91 points across four years at Bowling Green. Undrafted out of Scarborough, Ontario the big winger will add some leadership and a two-way presence for the Roadrunners this season.
The last signee was goaltender Austin Lotz out of the WHL. Lotz played four seasons for the Everett Silvertips before joining the Medicine Hat Tigers as an over-ager last year. Overall, he’s put up a 75-63-17 record with a 2.96 GAA and .902 save percentage in the Western Hockey League, and will fight for starts in the AHL or ECHL this season.
Blues Notes: Steen, Pietrangelo, Sobotka
In Jeremy Rutherford’s latest post for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he walks us through a few notes from Blues camp.
- Alex Steen seems to be progressing admirably from the shoulder surgery he underwent in June. Originally given a four to six month timeline, Steen now is on track to be ready for the start of the season just four months and nine days after the operation. Steen himself was even pushing hard in his rehab to try and make it to the World Cup in September, though it is not going to happen; Steen was replaced by Rickard Rakell last week.
- After announcing Alex Pietrangelo as their newest captain yesterday, owner Tom Stillman heaped praise onto his young defenseman: “Alex is one of the elite players in the game, and he’s a model citizen. He takes responsibility, he leads by example, he’s not afraid to speak up, he’s just an exemplary person.” The captaincy was vacant after the Blues saw David Backes hit free agency and sign with Boston this summer.
- In the long and winding saga of Vladimir Sobotka, nothing seems to have changed from either side, though they are at odds on what will happen after the World Cup. Doug Armstrong reiterates that he’s been told Sobotka will stay in North America following the tournament, while Victor Shalaev, general manger of Omsk Avangard told a Russian news outlet “Sobotka will join us as soon as he’s healthy. Forget about St. Louises and other nonsense.” Armstrong says that he is healthy, and that he’ll be ready to join Blues camp as soon as the World Cup is completed.
- T.J. Galiardi and Mike Weber have already received PTOs from the Blues this year, and Armstrong thinks they may give at least one more out now that Jay Bouwmeester is heading to the World Cup. He’s leaving that in the hands of three of his lieutenants though; Martin Brodeur, Kevin McDonald and Rob DiMaio are in charge of contacting players for try-outs, and since two players earned contracts from them last year, Armstrong thinks they are an attractive spot.