Ian Mitchell Activated, Loaned To AHL
For the first time this season, Ian Mitchell appears ready to compete. The young defenseman has been activated by the Chicago Blackhawks and loaned to the Rockford IceHogs, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.
Mitchell suffered a wrist injury that stole his entire training camp, meaning he’ll need some minor league action before the Blackhawks consider moving him into the NHL lineup. The 23-year-old is still waiver-exempt, meaning he can be moved up and down without issue.
After recording 35 points in 57 games with Rockford last season, and getting into eight games with Chicago, Mitchell was expected to challenge for a full-time role with the Blackhawks. While that was delayed, he could quickly earn a call-up if he shakes off the rust quickly and shows he’s back to last year’s level.
It’s an important year for Mitchell to carve out his place in the organization, given he’ll be a restricted free agent next summer. After signing out of the University of Denver in 2020, he has eight points in 47 career NHL games.
Carolina Hurricanes Emergency Recall Pyotr Kochetkov
Nov 11: Andersen has now been moved to injured reserve, retroactive to November 6. Kochetkov will remain with the team for the time being after his strong performance last night.
Nov 8: The Carolina Hurricanes have recalled goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves on an emergency basis, according to the team Tuesday evening. The team also placed forward Ondrej Kase on injured reserve.
Kochetkov’s call-up comes after starting goalie Frederik Andersen left the team’s practice earlier today. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour noted to reporters this morning that he “didn’t know what happened there, [but] he did something.”
The team’s top goaltending prospect, Kochetkov is off to a 2-2-1 start in the AHL with a 3.00 goals-against average and .911 save percentage. He appeared in three regular-season games and four playoff games last season for Carolina when injuries struck both Andersen and backup Antti Raanta.
Kochetkov will likely back up Raanta tomorrow when the Hurricanes take on the Florida Panthers. Despite a hurricane warning issued for the area surrounding FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, the Hurricanes team charter left Raleigh tonight in anticipation of the game still occurring tomorrow.
Unfortunately, Kase lands on injured reserve with the sixth reported concussion of his NHL career. The 27-year-old Czech forward logged 11:02 in the team’s season opener against Columbus and has not played since.
Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Mark Friedman
After dealing with some defensive injuries earlier this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Mark Friedman from the AHL for tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. To make room, they’ve sent Samuel Poulin back to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
It’s good timing for Friedman, who will likely be playing in front of some friends and family should he enter the lineup tonight. The Toronto native suited up 26 times for the Penguins last season but has been limited to AHL action so far this year. In ten games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he has two points.
The fact that it is Friedman coming up and not Ty Smith is interesting, especially given how well John Marino is playing with the New Jersey Devils. The Penguins traded Marino for Smith and a third-round pick this offseason as they worked to revamp their defense, a move that certainly seems like a mistake in hindsight. Marino is playing nearly 22 minutes a night on one of the hottest teams in the league while Smith is getting passed over for call-ups in the minor leagues.
The trade is certainly more complicated than that, as there are salaries and other considerations involved, but given the Penguins’ current place in the standings – seventh in the Metropolitan, 10 points behind the Devils – there will be some pretty frustrated fans if things don’t turn around soon.
Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Jan Rutta both left Wednesday’s game but were present at today’s morning skate in Toronto. Friedman’s recall suggests that at least one won’t be able to play tonight, though that has not been confirmed.
Florida Panthers Send Three Players To AHL
As they prepare their cap for the impending return of Aaron Ekblad, the Florida Panthers have sent three players to the minor leagues. Lucas Carlsson, Aleksi Heponiemi, and Matt Kiersted have all been sent to the Charlotte Checkers.
Ekblad was injured in the middle of October and has played just three games this season. He is eligible to return on Saturday after missing the requisite LTIR time, and head coach Paul Maurice is expecting him in the lineup.
Patric Hornqvist is also expected back in the coming days, though he was never placed on injured reserve in the first place. To make room for Ekblad, the team still needs to clear a bit more salary, likely meaning someone else will be going down when he’s activated. For now, the team has to keep at least 20 players on the roster.
It’s huge news for the Panthers, especially given how strong Ekblad was last season. The veteran defenseman set a new career high with 57 points in 61 games and finished sixth in Norris Trophy voting. Florida has been okay without him but still sit at 8-5-1 on the year, not exactly the start they wanted after winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2021-22.
Ekblad’s return will go a long way to getting them back to being an elite team in the league, even if it does cost them some NHL depth to fit his salary in.
Los Angeles Kings Activate Alex Turcotte; Assign To AHL
While so many of the other top-ten picks from 2019 have started to pay huge dividends for their teams, one name remains completely scoreless in the NHL. Alex Turcotte, selected fifth overall by the Los Angeles Kings, has had his career limited by concussions so far and has suited up just eight times at the highest level.
Today, there was some good news. Turcotte has been activated from injured reserve and loaned to the Ontario Reign of the AHL. Jared Shafran, Reign communications manager, tweeted out an encouraging quote from the young forward:
It’s been a pretty tough year with the uncertainty of not knowing when I was going to play again or feel normal again. but now I feel the best I’ve probably ever felt. I’m 100%.
A dominant center with the USNTDP and then for one year at Wisconsin, Turcotte started out his AHL career with 21 points in 32 games during the 2020-21 season. He made his NHL debut last year and suited up eight times, but failed to register a single point. Now 21, he’ll try to get his career back on track and fill some of the promise that made him such a high draft pick.
The Kings will likely take his development slow, but hopefully, his concussion issues are behind him and Turcotte can become an impact player for the team down the road. He is still signed through 2023-24 on his entry-level deal and can move up and down between the AHL and NHL without requiring waivers.
Alex Galchenyuk Signs AHL Contract
Now that he has been cleared from injury, Alex Galchenyuk has signed an AHL contract with the Colorado Eagles, according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets. The veteran forward was in Colorado Avalanche camp on a professional tryout when he suffered the injury, and head coach Jared Bednar had told reporters at the time that he expected him back with the organization at some point.
An AHL deal will allow the 28-year-old to get back up to speed in the minor leagues and try to prove he deserves another NHL deal, a path he has taken before. In 2021, after clearing waivers with the Carolina Hurricanes, Galchenyuk was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who stuck him in the minor leagues to “rebuild” his game. After six excellent appearances with the Toronto Marlies – the only AHL games of his career – Galchenyuk was back up and a regular in the Toronto lineup.
Last season, he scored 21 points in 60 games with the Arizona Coyotes, and headed into the offseason looking for a new opportunity. It seemed like Colorado could be the perfect place, given how much depth they lost at the forward position, but an injury robbed him of the chance. Now, with the Avalanche dealing with injuries upfront, perhaps there will be a new opening for him to reclaim his place as an NHLer.
It is unlikely that Galchenyuk ever returns to the 30-goal scorer he was as a young player in Montreal but perhaps he can carve out a new role as a reliable secondary scoring option deeper in the lineup. He’ll have to prove it for the Eagles first.
Detroit Red Wings Recall Berggren, Smith
The Detroit Red Wings have added two forwards to the roster, recalling Jonatan Berggren and Givani Smith ahead of their game tonight. The moves follow Matt Luff‘s injury and come before a four-game road trip that includes three California games starting this weekend.
Smith, 24, played 46 games last season for the Red Wings and has already suited up twice this year, adding his patented brand of physical hockey to the bottom six. The young forward racked up 108 penalty minutes last year, to go along with four goals and seven points – all career highs. He projects as a fourth liner or extra forward at this point, bouncing up and down whenever needed.
It’s Berggren that will draw much of the attention, given the unknown upside that he brings. The 22-year-old Swede was selected 33rd overall in 2018 and developed into a star in Europe before coming to North America last season. In 70 games for Grand Rapids, he scored 21 goals and 64 points, impressive totals for a player experiencing the exhausting AHL schedule for the first time. This year, he’s back with seven points in seven games for the Griffins and will now presumably get his first crack in the NHL.
Whenever he does make it into the lineup, Berggren will be making his NHL debut. It’s not clear when that will be, however, as just yesterday head coach Derek Lalonde told reporters including Ansar Khan of MLive that David Perron and Oskar Sundqvist would be healthy enough to go tonight.
St. Louis Blues Make Several Roster Moves
The St. Louis Blues are one of the worst teams in the NHL right now, losers of eight straight and sitting with just six points on the year. As they prepare for tomorrow’s game against the San Jose Sharks, they’ve made several roster changes.
Logan Brown has been moved to injured reserve with an upper-body injury after taking a big hit and leaving last night’s game. There is no timeline yet to suggest how long he will be out but an IR placement means at least seven days. Jake Neighbours is also off the roster, this time assigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL.
Neighbours, 20, played a season-low 8:28 last night and once again failed to even record a shot on goal. The young forward has just one point on the season through 11 games, and seems to need some time in the minor leagues to get his offensive performance on the rails again.
In their places, the Blues have recalled Nikita Alexandrov and Josh Leivo from Springfield. The moves will give them a bit of a different look, though it’s unclear where exactly they will fit into the lineup.
Leivo, 29, has already played three games for the Blues this season, failing to record a point in limited ice time. The veteran forward has 217 NHL games under his belt and set a career-high with 14 goals and 24 points in 2018-19.
Alexandrov, on the other hand, would be making his NHL debut if he gets into the St. Louis lineup. The 22-year-old forward was a second-round pick in 2019 and had 30 points in 67 games for Springfield last season. This year he’s been a force, with eight in nine, and looks ready to be tested at the higher level.
Philadelphia Flyers Re-Assign Samuel Ersson
Nov 9: Ersson has been returned to the AHL, with Zamua recalled once again.
Nov 8: Philadelphia Flyers starting netminder Carter Hart will miss tonight’s game against the St. Louis Blues with an illness, reports The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. Backup Felix Sandstrom will get the start, with Samuel Ersson recalled from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms to be the backup.
In order to make room on the roster, the Flyers assigned defenseman Yegor Zamula to the Phantoms, but The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Olivia Reiner notes it’s a temporary stay. Head coach John Tortorella likes what he’s seen from Zamula so far, and he’ll be up on the active roster as soon as they have the space.
For the Flyers, it’s an immeasurable loss to their lineup, even if it’s just for a game. Hart has arguably been the league’s best goaltender to start the year, putting up All-Star numbers behind a Flyers team that’s in the bottom sect of the league analytically. He boasts a 6-0-2 record, a .946 save percentage, and a 1.97 goals-against average through eight starts.
Ersson impressed in training camp for Philadelphia, and he’s tracking a .908 save percentage through six games in Lehigh Valley. He remains the team’s third option in net ahead of veteran Troy Grosenick, who’s off to a rough start in the minors despite a longstanding track record of AHL success.
Three Columbus Blue Jackets Injured, Brendan Gaunce Recalled
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced a flurry of injury updates today, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. Forward Jakub Voracek is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, Sean Kuraly is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and Patrik Laine is day-to-day with an illness. Forward Brendan Gaunce was also recalled from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, per a team release.
Voracek missed the second game of Columbus’ Global Series matchups in Finland last week with the injury. It’s a huge blow to their depth scoring if he’s out long-term, as he was tied for second in scoring on the team with six points in 11 games.
Kuraly sustained his upper-body injury in the second Global Series game, leaving in the second period after playing 8:09. He had two goals and two assists through 12 games and was tied for the worst +/- rating on the team (-8).
Laine’s illness is hopefully short-term, as he’s only been present for half of the Blue Jackets’ season thus far with an elbow injury. The Finnish winger has scored twice and is averaging nearly 20 minutes a game.
Gaunce ends up on the active roster as the only healthy extra. The AHL veteran was off to a hot start in Cleveland, registering 11 points through 10 games.