Snapshots: Denmark, Harris, Muzzin

Denmark is the latest participant to announce an Olympic roster for next month’s event, but their’s is a bit more historic. This will be the first time that Denmark has ever participated in hockey after failing to qualify year after year. Last August, Denmark beat Noway in a winner-goes-to-Beijing game that landed them a spot for the first time in history.

The roster includes some familiar names like Mikkel Boedker, Frans Nielsen, Patrick Russell, and Nicklas Jensen, but they will be in a tough group with the Russian Olympic Committee, Czechia, and Switzerland. The full roster can be found here.

• One of the most interesting things on Kent Hughes’ to-do list as he takes over as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens is trying to sign Jordan Harris, a top collegiate player, captain of Northeastern, and third-round pick that could become an unrestricted free agent later this year. As Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic points out though, Hughes seemingly has a few advantages–or at least some familiarity–in that negotiation. Hughes coached Harris for a time with the Boston Jr. Eagles several years ago, and two of the young defenseman’s college teammates at Northeastern happen to be related to the Montreal GM. Riley Hughes, a seventh-round pick of the New York Rangers (when they were run by Canadiens VP of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, no less) is an alternate captain at Northeastern, while Jack Hughes is a freshman with the potential to be a first-round pick this spring. With the Canadiens already tweeting out highlights of Harris, you can bet they’ll put on the full-court press to get him signed in the coming months.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs will travel to New York to take on the Rangers without Jake Muzzin, as the veteran defenseman suffered a concussion against the St. Louis Blues. Mark Masters of TSN reports that Rasmus Sandin will move up to the second pair in Muzzin’s absence, with Alex Biega re-entering the lineup. Since Justin Holl is still in the COVID protocol, the Maple Leafs will be relying heavily on Sandin and Timothy Liljegren, consecutive first-round picks that haven’t made a huge impact to this point.