Urho Vaakanainen, Cooper Zech Loaned Overseas
Two young Boston Bruins defensemen have been loaned overseas this morning, with Urho Vaakanainen heading to SaiPa in Finland’s top league and Cooper Zech heading to HK Nitra in Slovakia. Both players are expected back in North America when NHL training camps open.
Vaakanainen will grab the headlines here, especially after his name was included in trade speculation recently. The 21-year-old defenseman was a first-round pick in 2017 but has played just seven NHL games to this point. That doesn’t mean his potential has diminished, but the clock is ticking on his opportunity to show he can be a legitimate top-four option for the Bruins.
For now, Vaakanainen will return to the club he played for during the 2017-18 season, the last before he came to North America. The 6’1″ defenseman scored 11 points in 43 games as a teenager for SaiPa that year, while also suiting up for the Finns at the World Juniors. The shine that surrounded his prospect status then has dulled a bit in the meantime, so this is a great opportunity to get back on the ice and prove his development has not stalled.
For Zech, simply getting into some more games is the most important part of his loan. The 21-year-old signed a two-year with the Providence Bruins of the AHL in the spring of 2019, leaving Ferris State after just one season of college hockey. He scored 14 points in 45 games for Providence this season but needs to produce at an even higher rate if he is to ever be considered for an NHL spot.
Florida Panthers Announce ECHL Affiliation
The Florida Panthers have not only adopted the Charlotte Checkers as their new AHL affiliate but will be bringing along the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL as well. Greenville had previously been affiliated with the Carolina Hurricanes but will stay joined with the Checkers as they move to a new NHL partnership. Swamp Rabbits head coach and director of hockey operations Andrew Lord released a statement on the new affiliation:
In a season already filled with change and transition, we are proud to establish an affiliation with the Florida Panthers. Having Charlotte close by as our AHL affiliate makes perfect sense geographically, it is one of the closest AHL/ECHL affiliation distance wise in the leagues. Geordie Kinnear is a great coach and Charlotte as an organization won the Calder Cup in 2019, so there are a ton of positives to this affiliation. We are keen to be a great partner and are determined to develop players to the AHL and ultimately onto the NHL.
As Lord makes clear, the connection to the Checkers is the important part here for Greenville, which is just down the road from Charlotte. The two organizations can use the short distance to their benefit with player transactions, something that may be even more important in a year like this one.
Greenville is one of 13 ECHL teams still scheduled to open their season in mid-December, with a game against the South Carolina Stingrays kicking things off on December 11. The league recently lost an entire division of teams that opted to suspend operations due to COVID-19 situations but are trying to push on with a reduced schedule.
Alex Lintuniemi Terminates Liiga Contract
The contract of defenseman Alex Lintuniemi with JYP in Finland has been mutually terminated, making the 25-year-old a free agent once again. The deal was supposed to keep him with the club through the 2021-22 season, meaning this could be because Lintuniemi has interest elsewhere.
Terminating a contract isn’t a new thing for the young defenseman, as he went through a similar process last season with the Carolina Hurricanes. After playing just four games with the Charlotte Checkers to begin the 2019-20 season, he was placed on unconditional waivers and terminated his one-year, two-way deal with the Hurricanes. That move was followed by a return to Finland where he played for Lahti and JYP, scoring 6 points in 33 games.
Originally a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings, Lintuniemi never did make an appearance at the NHL level. Instead, he played several seasons in the minor leagues, mostly with the Ontario Reign of the AHL, before failing to receive a qualifying offer from the organization in 2019.
It’s hard to know what the future holds for Lintuniemi, but his name is still one to watch for North American organizations looking for depth on the blue line. Though he likely won’t ever make an impact at the NHL level, he did have some success for Ontario, recording 49 points in 131 games across the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. A return to the AHL could potentially be in order, should he decide to return to this side of the world.
Nashville Predators Loan Frederic Allard To Villacher SV
The Nashville Predators have found some playing time for one of their prospects, loaning Frederic Allard to Villacher SV of the ICEHL, Austria’s professional league. Allard will remain overseas only until the start of Nashville’s training camp.
Selected 78th overall in 2016, Allard has found and filled a key role with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL the last three seasons, racking up 74 points in 181 games. The 22-year-old still has NHL upside, but for years it has been difficult for prospects to crack through in Nashville. The team already has Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm taking up the majority of playing time and this offseason brought in Mark Borowiecki and Matt Benning to round out the depth chart.
For Allard, getting on the ice and into competitive games is the only way he’s going to keep his development path pointed in the right direction. This is the final year of his entry-level contract, meaning he’ll be a restricted free agent next summer looking for either a new deal with the Predators or a fresh start somewhere else. This minor league season is important, and getting an early start overseas should only help him when things begin back home.
Moritz Seider Not Released For WJC
The German roster for the upcoming World Junior Championship has been announced, and it includes top prospect Tim Stuetzle. The Ottawa Senators pick is still recovering from hand surgery but is hopeful to recover in time to take part in the tournament. Notably, however, Stuetzle won’t be joined by countryman and Detroit Red Wings prospect Moritz Seider. Selected sixth overall in 2019, Seider would have arguably been the team’s most important player after captaining the German squad a year ago. The Red Wings have decided to not release him to the German team, however, instead keeping him in Sweden playing for Rogle and available to return to Detroit for NHL training camp.
Seider, 19, is one of the top defense prospects in the entire world. Even at the age of 18, he found success in the AHL, scoring 22 points in 49 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins. He now has seven points in eight games in the SHL and could potentially make the Red Wings roster as soon as this season. The 6’4″ right-handed shot defenseman can do a little bit of everything and is one of several high-end prospects that will be arriving to help Detroit in the next few years.
Without him, it will certainly be difficult for the Germans. The team does however still have Stuetzle, Lukas Reichel, and John Peterka, all high picks in this year’s draft, meaning they’ll at least have some interesting offensive firepower to watch. One player who will likely benefit from the absence of Seider is Luca Munzenberger, the 17-year-old defenseman that was named to the squad. Munzenberger doesn’t turn 18 until later this month and is eligible for selection in the 2021 draft.
Goalie Notes: Delia, Warm, Smith
There are still plenty of free agent option available, but to this point the Chicago Blackhawks seem content to enter next season with their current stable of untested goaltenders, truly committing to their rebuild by going with youth over experience in net. Who will emerge from the group of Malcolm Subban, Collin Delia, Kevin Lankinen, and Matt Tomkins? Given his relative experience, draft pedigree, and recent success at winning the backup job for the Blackhawks’ postseason run, most have their money on Subban. However, don’t underestimate Delia. In a profile by the Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope, Delia states that he is confident in his ability to win the job:
I’d be remiss if I said I wasn’t frothing at the mouth. It’s an opportunity not many people get, and I don’t want to let that pass me by… When (Chicago) signed Robin [Lehner], I was kind of cutting my teeth because I thought I earned the position, but then, coming full circle, I was like, ‘You can’t try to earn a position as a backup goalie. You try to earn the starting position’… Without a doubt, I think I can earn that job. There’s no complacency when it comes to training camp. Every single day you step on the ice, you’re proving how much better you are than the other two guys. We all have to have that mindset.
Delia may have the stats on his side, too. While Subban has 48 more NHL appearances than Delia, in his extended experience he has failed to show that he can be a reliable option. Subban has an .899 save percentage and 2.97 GAA and has struggled the most as a starter, with just 23 quality starts out of 60. Granted, Delia has also struggled in the NHL with a 3.65 GAA, but a) in a much smaller sample size and b) with a a superior .906 save percentage and .438 quality start percentage. Delia also has the advantage of being used to a starter’s schedule; Subban has never made more than 36 appearances in a pro season and no more than 22 in each of the past three years, while Delia has made 32 appearances in back-to-back seasons and played in 40 games in 2017-18 as a first-year pro. With Delia, Subban, and Lankinen all having comparable AHL numbers in varying levels of experience, it could come down to NHL success and more natural fit as a No. 1 to determine the winner of the starter’s job and on both counts Delia appears to have the edge.
- Another goalie headed to Chicago, but not to the Blackhawks but rather the AHL Wolves, is former WHL standout Beck Warm. The Wolves have announced a one-year deal with the first-year pro and there’s reason to believe that the Carolina Hurricanes’ new affiliate could have a diamond in the rough on their hands in Warm. The 21-year-old had an impressive 2018-19 season with the Tri-City Americans, making 61 appearances to the tune of a .916 save percentage and 2.94 GAA. When those numbers slipped to begin the 2019-20 campaign, a trade to the Edmonton Oil Kings resulted in Warm winning 11 of 15 games with a .915 save percentage and 2.30 GAA. If he can replicate his best numbers from junior to the pro level, Warm could find great success. With Carolina employing five goalies for the coming season, Warm could spend much of the year in the ECHL. However, the Hurricanes have zero goalies under contract beyond 2020-21 and could look at Warm as an entry-level contract candidate as they reboot their goalie group next year.
- One veteran goalie not returning to North America is Jeremy Smith. The journeyman netminder, who made stops with the Predators, Blue Jackets, Bruins, Avalanche, Hurricanes, and Islanders, never had any problem finding a two-way contract. However, he finally moved on from the minors last year to take over the starting job for the Kunlun Red Star of the KHL. Although Smith ended up splitting time with Simon Hrubec, the tandem were among the most consistent in the league. The Red Star began their new season without Smith and the results have been disastrous; the team allowed well over three goals per game through their first 24 contests and the struggling Hrubec has been traded away. As a result, Kunlun has signed Smith to a one-year extension and they hope he can stabilize the net in his return.
Minor Transactions: 11/17/20
It’s the dog days of…November? The NHL offseason is moving like molasses these days, with no one-way UFA contracts handed out for the last two weeks. While things may be ramping up again at the end of the month, minor leagues and those in Europe have still continued to finesse their rosters recently. We’ll keep track of the notable moves right here:
- Brandon DeFazio, who played two games for the Vancouver Canucks in 2014-15 and was a standout at the AHL level, has signed with HC Kometa Brno of the Czech professional league. DeFazio has been travelling the world playing hockey in recent years, suiting up in the KHL and Liiga. His numbers dropped off a cliff with Kunlun Red Star last season, but he’ll try his luck again overseas in a new league.
- Cameron Hebig, who was not extended a qualifying offer by the Edmonton Oilers and became an unrestricted free agent, has signed an ECHL contract with the Florida Everblades for 2020-21. Hebig, 23, scored 29 points in his rookie season in the AHL a few years ago but ended up spending half of 2019-20 in the ECHL anyway. The undrafted forward will have to take a big developmental step if he has any hope of making an NHL roster.
- Mads Sogaard, the 37th overall pick in the 2019 draft, has been loaned to Esbjerg Energy in Denmark for the upcoming season. The 19-year-old goaltender had played the last two seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL. Joining him is defenseman Mathew Hill of the OHL’s Barrie Colts, a sixth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2019.
- Former Dallas Stars prospect Cole Ully has signed a one-year deal with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, the team announced. Ully returns to the Charleston-based club after playing the whole season with the Stingrays this past year while on an AHL contract with the Hershey Bears. Ully previously played parts of four seasons in the minors for the Stars after being selected in the fifth round in 2013.
- The rumors have been confirmed and top 2021 NHL Draft prospect Brandt Clarke is officially headed to Sweden. Vasby IK of the Allsvenskan announced that Clarke has joined the team, though they do not state definitively whether it is on a loan basis from the OHL’s Barrie Colts or if he has signed on for the full season. Either way, the club did not pull any punches in describing their excitement for Clarke’s arrival (translated):
Sometimes it is easy to use superlatives when describing new acquisitions. But this time, the title super talent is simply the only correct description one can make of the Canadian acquisition… Clarke will probably be the greatest talent in the entire history of Väsby Hockey.
Landon Ferraro Signs In Germany
The European adventure will continue for Landon Ferraro, who has signed a short-term deal with Frankfurt of the German second league. The contract only covers the next two months as the team deals with an injury to Stephen MacAuley, one of their most important offensive players. Ferraro spent last season in the DEL with Berlin as he tried to get his career back on track.
Now 29, the Detroit Red Wings second-round pick has had a long and winding professional career. He has played in 84 career NHL games, including two in the 2017-18 season for the Minnesota Wild. He was with Minnesota’s AHL affiliate in 2018 when he needed multiple surgeries and ended up playing just 12 games during the 2018-19 season. A professional tryout with the Vancouver Canucks didn’t result in a contract last year, meaning it was off to Europe for a new chapter.
Despite his NHL career not quite living up to expectations, there are few in the game who would speak an ill word about the forward. Ferraro was named the Iowa Wild’s Man of the Year for the 2018-19 season even despite his few games played and he ended up taking home the AHL’s Yanick Dupre Memorial Award that year for community involvement.
After scoring just 21 points in 40 games last season for Berlin, it seems unlikely that Ferraro will ever return as an impact player in the NHL. That doesn’t, however, mean you won’t see his name pop up at some point on an AHL roster. This two-month contract would leave him enough time to jump into AHL training camp if the league does move forward with their plans for a February start.
Jakub Skarek Loaned To Peliitat
The New York Islanders have sent another prospect overseas, this time loaning Jakub Skarek to Peliitat in the Finnish second league. Skarek should be back in time for NHL training camp, if only because the Islanders don’t have any other goaltenders signed.
The 21-year-old join Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin as the only three under NHL deals in the Islanders organization, meaning he would be the default third-string option should anything happen to one of the roster goalies. That’s a lot to ask of a player that has only one professional season under his belt in North America and split time between the AHL and ECHL.
Of course, the Islanders are still expected to sign Cory Schneider at some point, though it is curious why the deal hasn’t happened yet. If they do, Skarek could go back to being a developmental project for the team this season. For now, he’ll get his legs under him back in Finland for the same team he played for in 2018-19. The Czech-born goaltender has a long way to go if he wants to push for an NHL spot, meaning every minute of game action is important.
Snapshots: NHL & AHL Seasons, Germany, Newhook
After comments were made recently by NBC analyst Pierre McGuire that the NHL and AHL might have to settle for a 35-game season for the 2020-21 season with the pandemic running rampant recently in both the United States and Canada, AHL President and CEO Scott Howson stated that he agreed that both leagues should be grateful if they can even get in a 35-game schedule, according to BostonHockeyNow’s Jimmy Murphy.
“Well, I think a 35-game season is better than no season in any league,” Howson said. “So no I don’t think it’s too low. I think we’re in such a different time right now and whatever we do, whatever any league does, is not going to look good or look perfect. I think it’s going to be a challenge and we’re just gathering as much information as we can and we’re gonna make the best decision we can at the time.”
The AHL announced recently that they were shooting for return date of Feb. 5 with the hopes that the NHL might start shortly before that. However, with the increase in COVID-19 cases recently in both countries, there will be challenges for both leagues to put together a significant season.
“I’ve said this all along; we gotta be flexible, we gotta be nimble,” added Howson. “We don’t know what next week is going to look like, let alone February 5, and we’ll just try and plan as best we can and be ready to be flexible to change plans whenever we have to.”
- The Athletic’s Corey Pronman reports that the DEL in Germany, which is one of the few leagues that hasn’t started in Europe, is expected to announce their start date early next week, which should be in early December with no fans. That should benefit teams that sent players to Germany to play.
- The Denver Post’s Mike Chambers writes that the Colorado Avalanche could get a late season addition this upcoming season as top forward prospect Alex Newhook could join the team once his sophomore season at Boston College is completed. Newhook, the team’s first-round pick in 2019, was the NCAA Rookie of the Year after posting 19 goals and 42 points in 32 games. He is expected to leave his BC team shortly to join Team Canada for the World Juniors, a potential two-month experience if he makes the team, before returning to Boston College to finish their season. He is expected to take online classes while he’s in Red Deer, Alberta to remain eligible. However, he adds that he will then have to decide if he wants to join the Avalanche at that point. ” … at the end of the season (I’ll) reassess and see where we’re at in terms of what the NHL is doing, what the Avs think, and where I’m at development-wise as well,” said Newhook.