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College Notes: Croteau, Doyle, Copponi, All-American Teams

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Canadiens prospect Emmett Croteau has entered the transfer portal, relays Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald.  The 20-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Montreal in 2022, going 162nd overall.  Croteau recently finished his freshman year at Clarkson but only suited up six times and struggled, posting a save percentage of just .835.  With Clarkson adding Ethan Langenegger – a fifth-year transfer – via the portal, playing time for Croteau wasn’t going to be coming next season so he’ll try his luck at landing a better opportunity elsewhere.

Other news from the college ranks:

  • Kings prospect Braden Doyle has entered the transfer portal, relays Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald. It’s the second time he’ll be on the move as he went from Boston University to Northeastern in 2022.  The 22-year-old blueliner was a sixth-round pick back in 2019 (157th overall) but was limited to just 13 games this season where he had just one goal.
  • Oilers prospect Matt Copponi is transferring to Boston University, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 20-year-old middleman had a strong showing this season at Merrimack, picking up 32 points in 30 games.  Edmonton drafted Copponi last summer, selecting him 216th overall after Copponi’s sophomore campaign and now he’ll have a chance to play at one of the more prominent college hockey programs next season.
  • On Friday, the American Hockey Coaches Association announced the All-American First and Second Teams, featuring 25 players in total (the Second Team East had six skaters and a goalie). Montreal’s Lane Hutson was the only player to land on a First Team for the second straight year while San Jose’s Collin Graf and Philadelphia’s Massimo Rizzo, who made Second Teams, landed on one of the teams for the second straight year.

Maple Leafs Assign Matt Murray To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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For the last several weeks, Maple Leafs goaltender Matt Murray has been skating with the team as he works his way back from bilateral hip surgery performed back in October.  He’s now taking the next step in the rehab process as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve assigned Murray to AHL Toronto on an LTI Conditioning Loan.

At the time Murray had the surgery, the expected recovery timeline was six to eight months and it appears the 29-year-old will be on the shorter end of that.  Last season, Murray was limited to just 26 games where he posted a 3.01 GAA and a .903 SV% and didn’t play at all in the playoffs after suffering a late-season concussion; he was relegated to third-string status upon his return.

That had the veteran as a speculative buyout candidate but the hip injury would have taken that option off the table had the team tried to pursue it.  Instead, they elected to do with surgery, delaying that procedure until the start of the season which helped the Maple Leafs from a salary cap perspective as they were able to spend his $4.6875MM AAV in full on replacement players rather than having to keep it available for a midseason return.

With this being an LTI loan, there are some more stringent rules than a typical conditioning assignment.  Murray can be with the Marlies for up to three games and six days and if he needs more time, the team can request a one-time two-game extension.  That should be ample time to assess if Murray has indeed fully recovered and the original allotment is enough to get through the end of the regular season with him still on LTIR, removing any salary cap concerns.

Even if Murray does well in that stint, it would be surprising to see him see any action with the Maple Leafs in the postseason who are set with Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll as their tandem with veteran Martin Jones waiting in the wings as well.  But a decent showing there could certainly help his cause as he’ll test unrestricted free agency for the first time this summer.

Blues Sign Dylan Peterson

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With Boston University being eliminated from the Frozen Four on Thursday, some of their players are electing to turn pro.  The latest of these is Dylan Peterson as the Blues announced late Friday that they’ve signed the center to a two-year, entry-level deal.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 22-year-old was a third-round pick by St. Louis back in 2020, going 86th overall after spending the previous season with the U.S. National Team Development Program.  He had a very limited role in his first two years with the Terriers, collecting just 22 points in 45 games and then followed that up with 18 in 39 appearances in his junior year.  At that point, it wasn’t a certainty that the Blues would be looking to sign Peterson.

However, he saved his best performance for last as Peterson upped his output to 20 points in 35 contests this season which certainly helped his case for getting a contract.  A 6’4 middleman, Peterson will begin his professional career next season, likely starting with AHL Springfield, and will look to work his way up the depth chart from there.

Central Notes: Rantanen, Wood, Krug, Niederreiter, Levis

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It appears as if the Avalanche will get their top winger back in the lineup for a key divisional matchup on Saturday against Winnipeg.  NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding relays (Twitter link) that Mikko Rantanen is listed as probable for that contest after missing the last week while being in concussion protocol.  The 27-year-old is within striking distance of setting a new career-high in points as he has 102 through 77 games so far; he had 105 in 2022-23.

Meanwhile, Boulding added that winger Miles Wood is listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s contest.  The 28-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury that has kept him out for the last week.  In his first season with Colorado after inking a six-year, $15MM contract in free agency, Wood has nine goals and 15 assists in 72 games while averaging a little under 14 minutes a night.

More from the Central:

  • Blues defenseman Torey Krug left Wednesday’s game versus Chicago with an undisclosed injury and it caused him to miss tonight’s game against Carolina at a minimum.  Per NHL.com’s Lou Korac (Twitter link), he’s listed as out day-to-day and the team will assess on Saturday if he’ll be available to suit up on Sunday.  The 33-year-old has put up 39 points through 77 games and with St. Louis still battling for the final playoff spot, they’d certainly like to have the veteran back as soon as possible.
  • Jets winger Nino Niederreiter will miss his fifth straight game on Saturday as he works his way back from a cut, notes team reporter Mitchell Clinton. The 31-year-old has been a capable secondary scorer in his first full season with Winnipeg, collecting 18 goals and 15 assists through 75 games.  Head coach Rick Bowness indicated that they’re just being cautious with Niederreiter and that they’re planning on him suiting up on Tuesday.
  • Still with the Jets, their AHL affiliate announced that they’ve signed Connor Levis to an ATO deal. The 19-year-old center was a seventh-round pick last year (210th overall).  Levis split this season between WHL Kamloops and Vancouver, tallying 21 goals and 34 assists in 55 games while adding three assists in five playoff contests.  With the Giants now eliminated, Levis is now free to finish the season in the minors.

Maple Leafs To Sign Cade Webber

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Cade Webber’s college season came to an end on Thursday when Boston University was eliminated by Denver in the Frozen Four semi-finals.  However, his 2023-24 campaign hasn’t come to an end just yet as Joe Smith of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the blueliner will be signing an entry-level deal with Toronto and joining the team for its upcoming road trip.

The 23-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Carolina back in 2019, going 99th overall.  However, he informed the team earlier in the season that he was leaning toward not signing with them and would test free agency in mid-August.  That resulted in them flipping him to the Maple Leafs back in March in exchange for a 2026 sixth-round pick.

Webber is a throwback defensive defenseman; he scored just once in his four-year collegiate career and had just six assists this season.  He led the NCAA in blocks with 137 this year, 35 ahead of second place and at 6’6, has the size and reach to be disruptive and effective in the defensive zone.

Since Webber was on Toronto’s reserve list at the trade deadline, he is eligible to play for them in the playoffs.  However, with their defensive depth, it seems rather unlikely that he would.  Instead, he’ll likely serve as a Black Ace and burn the first of what will be a two-year, entry-level deal in the process.

At the moment, Toronto has just $547K in cap space, per CapFriendly.  While the terms of Webber’s deal aren’t known yet, it can’t be lower than $775K so they’ll have to make a roster move to free up the cap room to add him.  The easiest path to do that would be to paper winger Nicholas Robertson back to AHL Toronto for the final few days of the regular season, then recall him for the postseason.

Macklin Celebrini Wins Hobey Baker Award

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While Thursday night was a disappointing one for Macklin Celebrini as his Boston University team was eliminated in the Frozen Four semi-finals, Friday was a better one for the 17-year-old.  After being named the NCAA’s top rookie earlier in the day, it was also announced (Twitter link) that he won the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in college hockey.

Celebrini is considered the consensus number one selection for the upcoming draft in June and is coming off a dominant freshman campaign with the Terriers.  He played in 38 games this season, recording 32 goals and 32 assists, good for third in NCAA scoring.  Those numbers are impressive for anyone let alone a player who was the youngest in Division I as Celebrini was.

An all-around offensive threat, Celebrini was a franchise center for Boston University this season and profiles as one in the NHL.  While he told Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription link) that he’s not against coming back for a sophomore year, that would certainly be a surprising outcome.  Instead, it’s expected that he’ll be suiting up for whoever selects him with the top pick two and a half months from now.

Celebrini beat out two other forwards who were finalists for the award, Boston College’s Cutter Gauthier, who Anaheim acquired in a midseason swap, and the University of North Dakota’s Jackson Blake, who signed his entry-level deal with Carolina earlier this week.

Celebrini is the fourth player from Boston University to win this award, joining Jack Eichel (2015), Matt Gilroy (2009) and Chris Drury (1998).

Blue Jackets Place Carson Meyer On Waivers

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April 7: Meyer has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minors at will, per CapFriendly.

April 6: It’s not very often that we see waiver activity in April but there was a placement on the wire today.  CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the Blue Jackets have placed winger Carson Meyer on waivers.

It’s the second time on waivers for the 26-year-old who also cleared at the beginning of the season.  At that time, Meyer was assigned to AHL Cleveland where he was relatively productive, notching 22 goals and 15 assists in 55 games, setting new career-highs in goals and points.

That helped earn Meyer a recall on an emergency basis back on March 11th.  He had been a regular most nights in the lineup since then as he got into a dozen games with the Blue Jackets, picking up a goal along with 33 hits while averaging a little under ten minutes a night.  Because Meyer played in more than ten games on this recall, he has to clear waivers to return to the Monsters.  Since the recall came after the trade deadline, he retained his AHL eligibility for the stretch run.

It’s quite likely that Meyer will once again clear on Sunday.  If a team were to claim him, he’d be ineligible to play for the remainder of the season at both the NHL and AHL levels.  Meyer will be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency in July, his first opportunity to hit the open market.

College Transfer Updates: Pohlkamp, Benoit, Makar, Kukkonen

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As college seasons have largely wound up aside from the four teams participating in the Frozen Four next week, activity in the transfer portal has picked up.  Here’s a rundown of the recent transfer news involving NHL prospects, via Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald.

  • Sharks prospect Eric Pohlkamp has transferred from Bemidji State to the University of Denver. The 20-year-old defenseman was a fifth-round pick last June, going 132nd overall after a strong season offensively with Cedar Rapids of the USHL.  Pohlkamp had a productive freshman year for a blueliner, notching 11 goals and 13 assists in 32 games for the Beavers and will now join Denver, a program that has three of the top 15 blueline scorers in Division I.  Two of those could be turning pro soon which would open up a spot for Pohlkamp to play a prominent role.
  • Wild blueliner Nate Benoit is looking for a new school as he has entered the transfer portal. Drafted in the sixth round in 2021 (182nd overall), Benoit only made his college debut this season with the University of North Dakota but was limited to just 19 games and just 8:31 per night.  The 21-year-old will undoubtedly be looking to find a program where he can play a more prominent role.
  • After three years at UMass, Avalanche forward Taylor Makar is off to the University of Maine. The 23-year-old, who is Cale’s brother, was Colorado’s seventh-round pick in 2021 (210th overall) but hasn’t had much success so far at the NCAA level and tallied just four goals and five assists in 36 games this season.
  • After Kyle Kukkonen’s sophomore year at Michigan State didn’t go anywhere near as well as his freshman campaign, he has transferred to Wisconsin. The Ducks drafted the 21-year-old in the sixth round in 2021 (162nd overall) and things were looking up last year when he had 18 goals and nine assists in 39 games.  However, the center was limited to just a goal and 11 helpers in 27 contests this season, leading to the change of scenery.

Mikulas Hovorka In Advanced Discussions To Sign With NHL Team

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While college free agency garners a good chunk of attention at this time of year, it’s not the only avenue that teams can take to add to their prospect pool during the spring.  Several international players are also going to be looking to make the jump to North America.  Among those is defenseman Mikulas Hovorka who, according to hokej.cz’s Marek Hedbavny, has generated interest from quite a few NHL teams this season.

The 22-year-old has been a regular in the Czech Extraliga the past two seasons with Ceske Budejovice and is coming off a decent showing this year which saw him record five goals and 11 assists in 51 games before suffering an ankle injury early in the playoffs, one that could take him out of consideration for the Worlds next month.  He’s under contract with them for two more years but since there is a transfer agreement in place between the Czech Ice Hockey Federation and the NHL, Hovorka is free to sign with an NHL team.

While Hovorka didn’t provide any specifics as to who he might be signing with, he did acknowledge in an article on his club team’s site that he’s in advanced discussions and that his preference is to sign with an Eastern team.  He also identified that there were 11 teams that he knew of that had been scouting him during the season.

Wherever he signs, Hovorka will be capped at signing a two-year, entry-level contract and there’s a good chance he’ll be starting off at the AHL level next season to adapt to the North American style of play.  But with his improvement this season and an intriguing 6’6 frame, he will be an interesting addition to the prospect pool for whichever team winds up signing him.

Canucks Notes: Joshua, Silovs, Garland, Gardner

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The Canucks have nine players eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer and they won’t be able to afford bringing them all back so they’ll have to prioritize who they want to try to keep around.  To that end, team president Jim Rutherford told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre that forward Dakota Joshua is one of their priorities to keep around.  The 27-year-old is in the midst of a breakout year that has seen him set new career highs offensively, notching 15 goals and 13 assists in 57 games along with 221 hits.  A late-bloomer who wasn’t even a full-time regular until last season, Joshua has been a nice bargain for Vancouver, playing on a deal with an AAV of just $825K.  It will likely take three times that amount or more to keep him around for 2024-25 and beyond.

More from Vancouver:

  • One way they could try to save money to keep their UFAs around would be to spend less on their backup goalie position. Thomas Drance of The Athletic outlines (subscription link) how Vancouver could deploy Arturs Silovs next season, either as the outright second-stringer to Thatcher Demko or by shuffling him back and forth between AHL Abbotsford to take advantage of his waiver exemption.  Silovs is a pending RFA whose next contract shouldn’t be much higher than the minimum salary while current backup Casey DeSmith is a pending UFA and is likely heading for a raise on his $1.8MM AAV.
  • Conor Garland is still a long way from retirement but the 28-year-old is already thinking ahead to his post-playing days. In an interview with Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma, Garland indicated that he wants to “coach more than anything” and has coached at some tournaments in past summers.  He has bounced back relatively well this season after being prominently featured in trade speculation, notching 16 goals and 24 assists through 76 games, numbers that are close to last year’s despite a dip in playing time to 14:19 per night.
  • Prospect Daimon Gardner has entered the NCAA transfer portal, reports Brad Elliott Schlossmann of the Grand Forks Herald (Twitter link). The 20-year-old center was a fourth-round pick by Vancouver back in 2022 (112th overall) after a dominant showing at the high school level.  He averaged over a point per game in 2022-23 in the USHL before making the jump to college this season.  However, his role was quite limited with Clarkson as he had just a goal and five assists in 29 appearances, resulting in him landing in the portal.

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