Another outstanding set of season openers last night brought some incredible saves and exciting performances. Now as teams get ready for the weekend, we’ll be watching all the minor moves around the league.
- The St. Louis Blues have called up Chris Thorburn after clearing waivers just a few days ago, and decided to send Niko Mikkola down to the AHL. Mikkola didn’t play in the Blues opener, in which they were defeated 5-1 by the Winnipeg Jets. Thorburn, a veteran forward with 800 games under his belt, may be inserted to give the team a little more experience in their next matchup. The Blues have also shuffled their goaltending assignments. Their AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, announced that Evan Fitzpatrick has been reassigned to the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers. With Jordan Binnington and Ville Husso manning the net in San Antonio, the first-year pro Fitzpatrick will see far more play time with Tulsa.
- Rasmus Andersson will get his chance at the NHL a little sooner than expected this season, as he’s been recalled by the Calgary Flames after just one game. Travis Hamonic suffered a facial fracture in the season opener for Calgary when he was fighting Erik Gudbranson and will be out for at least a week. The 21-year old Andersson played 10 games for the Flames last season, and performed quite well in the preseason.
- The Boston Bruins have sent Urho Vaakanainen back to Providence to play for their AHL team, delaying his NHL debut a little longer. Vaakanainen, the Bruins first-round pick from 2017, will start his North American career in the minor leagues and try to make an impact right away. The smooth skating defenseman is fairly polished in his own end already, and should be able to provide a boost to the Providence blue line this season.
- Collin Delia didn’t even get time to unpack his bags for the Chicago Blackhawks, as the team has sent the young goaltender back to the minor leagues. Delia came up to fill in for an injured Anton Forsberg, who took a puck up high in practice, but will return to his place with the Rockford IceHogs this season.
- Former Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Philip Samuelsson has signed with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the team announced. Samuelsson, 27, was a second-round pick of the Pens back in 2009 but has never been able to live up to that billing. He has bounced between the Arizona Coyotes’ and Carolina Hurricanes’ organizations over the past few years, but still has just 13 NHL games to his credit. Unable to find a new NHL opportunity this off-season, Ulf Samuelsson’s son will try to repair his image with a strong minor league campaign this year in hopes of one day returning to the NHL.
- The Arizona Coyotes have sent forward Laurent Dauphin to the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners on a conditioning stint. Dauphin, 23, missed the final 15 game of the regular season last year with a lower-body injury and rehabbed this summer, but remained limited during the preseason. To get him back to full strength, the ’Yotes will give Dauphin some time to get his legs going in the minors. There won’t be a corresponding call up to Arizona, as players reassigned for conditioning purposes continue to count against the NHL roster.