The New Jersey Devils reassigned forwards Lenni Hameenaho and Shane Lachance to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets today. The move corresponded with the team’s signing of veteran Luke Glendening earlier today. Both Hameenaho and Lachance are young forwards who appear relatively close to being NHL-ready, if they have not reached that status already. Lachance in particular had a strong preseason, but it would be surprising if both do not see NHL time at some point this season.
Lachance, 22, was traded to the Devils in March as part of the larger Trent Frederic trade, and signed with the team shortly after at the conclusion of his NCAA career with Boston University. The 22-year-old is a 6’4 winger who scored 30 points in his final 40 games in college and had two points in a two-game cameo late last season with the Comets. Lachance is the son of Scott Lachance, who has been a member of the Devils’ hockey operations department since his retirement as a player (2007-08) and currently serves as the team’s director of amateur scouting. Hameenaho, 20, was the Devils’ top pick at the 2023 draft and had 51 points in 58 games for Liiga’s Assat Pori last season.
Some more notes from around the league:
- A slate of injury updates was reported in San Jose today, with San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng reporting that two veteran defenders, Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg, are dealing with upper-body injuries. Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka also reported that forward Egor Afanasyev and defenseman Jack Thompson are dealing with lower-body injuries and are both day-to-day. Peng added that both Orlov and Klingberg are expected to be ready to play in the team’s season-opening game on Thursday, but the same cannot be said about Afaneseyev and Thompson, as their availability for Thursday is unclear.
- St. Louis Blues PTO signing Milan Lucic is currently dealing with a lower-body injury, and remains with the team as he works through his recovery, reports NHL.com’s Lou Korac. According to Korac, the Blues will extend Lucic’s PTO in 10-day increments as he works his way back into full health. While Lucic could still be a candidate to earn a full-time contract with the Blues, it is important to note that the 37-year-old winger has not only missed almost two full seasons of hockey, but also was not a particularly effective player even when he last played, nor did he have a notably strong preseason.
Milan Lucic is a low rent BUM!
He skates like a yugo