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Anaheim Ducks Sign Olle Eriksson Ek To Entry-Level Deal

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The Anaheim Ducks have added to their goaltending depth today when they signed Olle Eriksson Ek to a three-year entry-level deal, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Eriksson Ek is the younger brother of Minnesota Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek.

The 18-year-old left-handed goaltending prospect was Anaheim’s fifth-round pick in the 2017 draft. He played 11 games for BIK Karlskoga in the Allsvenskan League, Sweden’s second-best league, putting up a 2.33 GAA and a .907 save percentage. He has since been promoted to Farjastad of the Swedish Hockey League, the top league in Sweden.

At 6-foot-3, Eriksson Ek has the size that most NHL teams are looking for in a goaltender and was listed as a prospect to watch by Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News in January.

 

 

Snapshots: Eaves, Francouz, Kravtsov

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According to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register, the Anaheim Ducks confirmed today that Patrick Eaves would not return at any point this season or playoffs. Any potential return for Eaves would be at training camp for next season, but even that seems up in the air at this point.

Back in October, after playing just two games on his new three-year contract, Eaves was taken to hospital and diagnosed with Guillan-Barre Syndrome. A disorder that affects the nervous system and can cause paralysis if left unchecked, was caught early enough that Eaves was stabilized quickly. There hasn’t been many updates along the way, and now we’ll have to wait to see if he’ll return to the team next season.

  • Another name we might see in the NHL next season is Pavel Francouz, a 27-year old goaltender who has put together quite the year. Though his KHL team was just eliminated from the Gagarin Cup playoffs, Francouz posted a .949 save percentage in 12 games along the way. Add that to his .946 in the regular season and an impressive showing for the Czech Republic at the Olympics, and Francouz is more than just on the radar of NHL teams. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports that he will indeed look for an NHL contract this summer, after his current deal in the KHL expires at the end of this month.
  • Vitaly Kravtsov, who also plays for Traktor in the KHL, was asked about his future after they were eliminated. In a report from RIA Novosti (a Russian news agency), Kravtsov said he had no plans on coming to North America and would play in the KHL again next season. The 18-year old is eligible for the upcoming NHL Draft, and is ranked 10th among all European skaters. Like other Russian stars, his draft position will be wholly decided by whether teams believe he will ever come over, though spending one more season in the KHL isn’t usually a problem. Kravtsov is currently under contract until April 2019.

Cam Fowler, Carl Gunnarsson Face Late-Season Injuries

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The Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues are still battling for the last few wild card spots in the Western Conference, and today both announced injuries to defensemen. The Blues announced that Carl Gunnarsson will be out at least six months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL, while the Ducks will be without Cam Fowler for two to six weeks after suffering a shoulder injury. John Gibson also suffered an injury for the Ducks, but is considered day-to-day.

Fowler is obviously the bigger loss, as the Ducks rely on him for almost 25 minutes a night including time on both the powerplay and penalty kill. Though they have other strong defensemen, this means they’ll have to rely more on players like Francois Beauchemin or Marcus Pettersson, neither of which have shown the ability to contribute like Fowler this season. With Kevin Bieksa still out (and ineffective at times even when healthy) it’s unclear how the Ducks’ defense will shake out as they head towards the postseason. After losing players like Shea Theodore and Sami Vatanen over the last year, their depth isn’t as strong as it once was.

Gunarsson on the other hand doesn’t play nearly as much for the Blues, who have limited him to just over 16 minutes a night this season. Still, losing a player with his experience only thins out the depth of the team as they approach the postseason and makes them even more vulnerable to injuries in their top-4. The Blues though have to worry about the last few games of the season, as they sit a point back of Colorado for the final spot. Though they have a game in hand on the Avalanche, they’ll have to battle to scratch their way into the first round.

Troy Terry Signs Entry-Level Deal With Anaheim Ducks

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6:50pm: The Ducks have made it official, signing Terry to a three-year entry-level contract. He’ll join the Ducks this season, and could play for them in the playoffs.

2:21pm: The run on top NCAA producers is on after the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, and the Anaheim Ducks aren’t ones to be left behind. Darren Dreger or TSN reports that the Ducks are expected to sign University of Denver standout Troy Terry either today or tomorrow. Denver was eliminated by Ohio State yesterday, but it wasn’t certain that Terry would forego his senior season to turn pro. That decision has apparently been made, meaning the Ducks will be able to add the talented forward without worrying about him possibly testing free agency next summer.

Terry, 20, was a fifth-round pick of the Ducks back in 2015 but has developed into an NHL-ready forward over the past few seasons. After scoring the gold medal-winning goal in the World Juniors, recording 45 points for Denver and taking home the National Championship, Terry returned to DU for his junior year and was selected to the 2018 US Olympic squad as one of their few college-aged players. Though Team USA didn’t bring home a medal, Terry recorded five points and looked like one of the more dangerous players in the tournament.

The Ducks have a few high-end forward prospects, but lucking out on one like Terry in the fifth round gives their system a huge boost. The young center might still have some work to do to become an impact player in the NHL, but the fact that he could potentially skip the AHL entirely and be a full-time player on their squad in 2018-19 is an impressive feat. If he does sign today and join the club, look for him to get into some action down the stretch and even give them an extra boost for the playoffs.

Western Notes: Oilers’ Offseason, Kane, Denver Players, Sikura

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The Edmonton Oilers are not heading to the playoffs and are currently looking at all their in-house options before the season ends. Then the team will embark on the next bunch of steps to fix the team that one year ago was the talk of the league. The Athletic’s Jonathan Willis (subscription required) comes up with an eight-point plan on how to fix the team this offseason, primary of which is to watch its spending, both on free agents as well as the possibility to send off some of their own contracts as well.

One of the first suggestions is that Edmonton should not overreact when it comes to some of their underperforming players. While several of their defensemen had tough seasons this year including Oscar Klefbom, Andrej Sekera and Adam Larsson, Willis believes that it’s unlikely that they will struggle again and the team must preach patience. However, the team needs to unload expensive contracts of bottom-tier players, suggesting the team might want to see if they can trade off defenseman Kris Russell and forward Zach Kassian to free up some of their money.

As for free agency, the team should avoid big-name free agents and look to sign some of the more modestly-priced players that will be on the market even suggesting that they could consider bringing back Patrick Maroon if he will agree on a short-term deal.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks great Patrick Kane said he hasn’t decided yet whether he will play at the World Championships in Copenhagen in May, according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. He said he’ll consider it after his season ends, but it’s “definitely an option. After I didn’t go last year, I was thinking that maybe I should have went.”
  • Although this note is about a Western collegiate team, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman (subscription required) had an interesting nugget in his prospect mailbag. Pronman was asked of the potential signings of the University of Denver’s three forward prospects in Henrik Borgstrom, Troy Terry and Dylan Gambrell, three of the team’s top players. Pronman’s response is that he believes all three will be signing with their respective teams the moment their college season is over. Denver is currently playing in the NCAA tournament. Borgstrom, the Florida Panthers’ 2016 first-rounder scored 22 goals in his sophomore season. Terry, the Anaheim Ducks’ 2015 fifth-rounder picked up 13 goals and 44 points in his junior campaign, while Gambrell, San Jose Sharks’ second-round pick in 2015, finished his junior year with 13 goals and 42 points. All three could be major contributors to their teams as soon as next season.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks also could benefit greatly soon as well as Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that if Northeastern University loses today or Sunday, expect prospect Dylan Sikura to be signed and in the Blackhawks lineup by Thursday. The Northeastern senior, who was the sixth-round pick in 2014, has had dominant season the past two years, combining for 42 goals and 110 points in two seasons. Northeastern is playing Michigan today.

Anaheim Ducks Announce Signing Of Kiefer Sherwood

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6:52 PM: The Ducks have officially announced the signing of Sherwood to a two-year, entry-level deal.

3:03 PM: Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required) and Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register are both reporting that Kiefer Sherwood of Miami University (Ohio) has signed with the Anaheim Ducks, and that the contract will be officially announced later today. Portzline writes that Sherwood will be assigned and could make his debut for the San Diego Gulls as early as this weekend, suggesting that the two-year entry-level contract will kick in for this season.

Though Portzline writes that the contract is a three-year deal, the 22-year old Sherwood can only sign a two-year entry-level contract because of age restrictions. If it does in fact start in 2017-18, that means he would become a restricted free agent after next season. The playmaking forward could strengthen the Ducks’ prospect group even further, which already should get a big boost the next few seasons with Sam Steel, Max Jones and others graduating from junior hockey.

Sherwood is the older brother of Kole Sherwood, who signed his entry-level deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets way back in 2015 after going undrafted. He’s playing for the Kitchener Rangers this season, but will likely jump into the professional ranks not long after his brother.

Avalanche Activate Erik Johnson From IR

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The Colorado Avalanche have points in nine of their last ten games and have climbed back into playoff position. Now, they’ll get even stronger as they bring back one of their top defenseman. NHL.com’s Callie Parmele writes that Erik Johnson has been activated from the injured reserve and is set to return to the lineup today against the Detroit Red Wings.

Johnson, who has struggled with injuries throughout his career, was most recently sidelined with an undisclosed upper-body injury. He was placed on IR back on February 19th and has missed Colorado’s past 13 games. Fortunately, the Avs went 7-2-4 in that span and now Johnson’s return could vault them into a playoff spot.

As it stands, Colorado holds the first wild card berth in the Western Conference with 84 points in 71 games. The Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks also have 84 points, but the Avalanche have a game in-hand on both. With Johnson back in the lineup, potentially resuming his play on the top pair with Nikita Zadorov or, as Parmele suggests, possibly taking on a new role, maybe with Patrik Nemeth, the Avs will solidify their back end and could hold off those seeking to take away their postseason chances. Colorado faces the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, and the Vegas Golden Knights twice in their next six games so Johnson’s impact, and the Avs’ ability to fight for their playoff lives, will be on display.

Kevin Bieksa To Undergo Hand Surgery, Out 2-5 Weeks

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When the Anaheim Ducks recalled Korbinian Holzer this morning, something didn’t add up. They’ve explained the move now by announcing that Kevin Bieksa will undergo surgery to remove scar tissue from his left hand, and will be out two to five weeks. Though that leaves a little bit of room for him to return during the regular season, it likely means he won’t be available until the playoffs.

For a team that could claim the deepest defense corps in the league just a year ago, the Ducks now have razor thin margins on the blue line. After trading away Shea Theodore and Sami Vatanen, they’ve needed to rely on veterans like Bieksa and Francois Beauchemin more than expected. While their top-four remains as strong as any in the NHL, a single injury could bring trouble. Last year, Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm both played through shoulder injuries in the playoffs and required surgery as soon as the team was eliminated.

Bieksa isn’t the player he once was, but is still relied upon for valuable minutes and has a ton of playoff experience. Though this isn’t a crushing blow, it certainly weakens the team depth even further and puts them at risk for the first round of the playoffs.

Ducks Hoping To Convince Troy Terry To Forego Senior Year

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  • The Ducks are likely to aggressively try to convince prospect Troy Terry to sign following his college season and forego his senior year, notes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. Neither the team nor Terry’s advisor Kurt Overhardt would comment on the status of any potential negotiations.  A fifth-round pick of Anaheim in 2015, the 20-year-old center is in his third year at the University of Denver and has put up 37 points in 32 games this season.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Maxime Comtois To Entry-Level Deal

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The Anaheim Ducks knew they had a steal in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft when they selected Maxime Comtois. Now they’re preparing to show the rest of the league exactly what they passed up on. Ducks beat writer Eric Stephens reports this evening that Anaheim has inked Comtois to a three-year entry-level contract.

If Comtois challenged for and won an NHL job next season, it would come as no surprise. When scouts originally started breaking down the 2017 draft class, the earliest projections all had Comtois as a surefire first-round pick. A big, physical forward and powerful skater who plays a complete 200-foot game, the Quebec native looked to be a bona fide future NHLer. In his first junior season in the QMJHL in 2015-16, Comtois was nearly a point-per-game player as a 16-year-old for the Victoriaville Tigres. Scouting reports raved about his quickness, especially at 6’2″, 200+ lbs., passing, poise, and natural instincts. However, some of that excitement wore off in 2016-17, his draft year, as his production dropped off from 60 points in 62 games the season prior to 51 points in 64 games and questions were raised about the ceiling of his offensive game. Yet, the the Ducks needed a high-upside pick at #50 after trading away their first-rounder for Patrick Eaves at the deadline. Despite some doubts over Comtois’ future ability at the top level, Anaheim made their selection and, in 2017-18, Comtois has proven them right. The left wing power forward has looked more like he did two years ago, having already racked up 73 points in 49 games and showing a previously unseen goal-scoring touch with 39 tallies. Perhaps most impressively, Comtois has continued his solid two-way game as well and sports a whopping +35 rating on the year.

Alongside U.S. Olympian Troy Terry of the NCAA, 2016 first-rounders Sam Steel of the WHL and Max Jones of the OHL, and his good friend and fellow 2017 second-rounder Antoine Morand, also in the QMJHL, Comtois is part of a deep, talented, and eclectic group of promising forward prospects in Anaheim. While not all are expected to push for a big league job next season, Comtois surely won’t be alone in fighting for one of the few open spots on the roster. Luckily for the Ducks, too many strong prospects at the same position is a problem any team would like to have.

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