What Your Team Is Thankful For: Carolina Hurricanes
As Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Carolina Hurricanes
Who are the Hurricanes Thankful For?
Of all the Hurricanes players, so far this season Jarvis has been the most impressive and taken the biggest step forward. 2018 third-overall pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi was a contender for this title until the calendar flipped to November and his hot start faded quickly.
While Kotkaniemi still appears on track to have the best season of his NHL career, it’s Jarvis who has stood out the most.
At the moment, Jarvis is only behind franchise pivot Sebastian Aho on the team’s scoring leaderboard and is on pace to register 35 goals and 65 points by the end of the season. But based on how he has been performing, there is a distinct possibility that Jarvis’ pace even increases over the course of the season.
A player who is defined by his aggressive and fearless approach to creating offense, Jarvis stands just five-foot-ten and yet is an extremely difficult player to win battles against.
The Athletic’s Cory Lavalette reported that Jarvis added eight pounds of muscle this offseason, and his diligent preparation for 2023-24 stands in contrast to how he began last season. Hurricanes head strength and conditioning coach Bill Burniston told Lavalette that last season, Jarvis “really wasn’t where we thought he should be or could be” in terms of his preparedness to handle the rigors of the NHL season. (subscription link)
That’s changed in 2023-24, and the Hurricanes are reaping the benefits on an almost nightly basis.
What are the Hurricanes Thankful For?
The struggles of several of their Metropolitan Division rivals.
Entering the season, most neutral observers viewed the Metropolitan Division as easily the NHL’s most cutthroat collection of teams. The division boasted three clear-cut Stanley Cup contenders in Carolina, the New York Rangers, and the New Jersey Devils, while fans were also optimistic that both Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin would lead their teams to bounce-back campaigns.
In addition, aggressive offseason additions made by the Columbus Blue Jackets, the returns of Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson to the Philadelphia Flyers, and the presence of elite netminder Ilya Sorokin between the pipes for the Islanders meant that the entire Metropolitan division could conceivably have entered the season with legitimate hopes of making the postseason.
So far, things haven’t shaken out quite as expected in the Metro. The Rangers have clearly separated themselves and the Washington Capitals are close to doing the same after a slow start, but otherwise, each team in the division has had its fair share of struggles.
So while the Hurricanes have had a less-than-ideal start to their season, they still find themselves firmly in the mix for a playoff spot due to similarly uneven starts from expected contenders.
The Devils, for example, are currently second-to-last in the division. The Penguins are at the moment sitting on a flat .500 record with 10 wins and 10 losses, while the Islanders have not been able to carve out any sort of consistency under head coach Lane Lambert, whose seat may be starting to warm.
In prior seasons, the Hurricanes’ slow start could very well have doomed them in such a competitive division. This year, the Hurricanes remain firmly in the playoff picture thanks to many division rivals also struggling. That’s definitely something for the franchise to be thankful for in a Stanley Cup-or-bust season.
What Would the Hurricanes be Even More Thankful For?
An improved penalty kill.
When looking for explanations as to why the Hurricanes are currently 11-8-0 and a point behind the still-rebuilding Philadelphia Flyers, the penalty kill might be one of the most obvious choices. Under head coach Rod Brind’Amour, Hurricanes fans have grown accustomed to having among the best short-handed units in the entire NHL.
From 2018-19, Brind’Amour’s first season as the bench boss in Carolina, through 2022-23, the Hurricanes rank a clear first place in the NHL in penalty kill percentage. Their 84.7% kill rate stands a full percentage point above the next-best team, and has been a clear driver of team success throughout the club’s entire Brind’Amour era.
That longstanding track record of success short-handed makes this season’s immense struggles all the more confusing. The team currently ranks eighth-worst in the NHL in penalty killing with a 74.6% kill rate, a far lower number than any years prior. There do not appear to be major structural differences driving this decline, as NHL Edge indicates that the Hurricanes are actually spending even less time in their defensive zone while short-handed than they did last year.
So why has their penalty kill been so uncharacteristically bad? The answer could lie in goaltending. Last year, according to MoneyPuck, Carolina saved 88.24% of its shots on goal while on a four-on-five penalty kill. This season, that number has crashed all the way to 75%, which is by far the lowest mark in the NHL. To put it simply: Hurricanes goalies are not making the saves while short-handed that they once made.
The Hurricanes’ penalty kill, for the entirety of Brind’Amour’s tenure as coach, had served as the bedrock for the team’s exceptional team play. That team play, in turn, translated into success in the standings and multiple deep playoff runs. So far this season, that bedrock has eroded and the penalty kill has dropped to the league’s basement. So the number-one thing that the Hurricanes would be even more thankful for would likely be a return to form for its short-handed units.
What Should Be On the Hurricanes Holiday List?
Potential reinforcements in net.
Expected number-one netminder Frederik Andersen is out indefinitely with a blood-clotting issue. As a result, the Hurricanes have relied more heavily upon a tandem of Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov, and that tandem has appeared to be a major weakness so far this season.
According to MoneyPuck, Raanta currently ranks fourth-worst in the NHL in goals-saved-above-expected. Kochetkov, in just six games played, has also posted a below-expected mark.
Using more traditional numbers, both Raanta and Kochetkov have posted disastrous save percentages. Kochetkov has a grisly .874 mark, while Raanta’s .854 save percentage through ten games is a glaring issue.
Although the Hurricanes have found ways to win despite Raanta’s struggles (he has a 6-3-1 record) the veteran netminder will be 35 years old come the postseason and looks far worse than last season, when he posted a respectable .910 save percentage.
Moreover, Raanta’s tendency to run into injury trouble throughout his professional career raises questions as to whether the Hurricanes can rely on him to endure the rigors of being an NHL starting goalie. With each day that passes, it appears more and more necessary for Carolina to seek outside help between the pipes. They already did so in the form of signing veteran Jaroslav Halak to a PTO, but that tryout was relatively short-lived.
Moving into the Holiday season, the Hurricanes should be scouring the goalie market to find a netminder capable of leading them to a Stanley Cup championship. Should contract talks between 27-year-old Sam Montembeault and the Montreal Canadiens end without an extension in place, he could be the kind of goalie the Hurricanes target.
Montembeault ranked as one of the league’s better goalies by goals-saved-above-expected last season and has excelled for the Canadiens so far this season. It’s possible that in an environment where his club is likely entering almost every game with a talent advantage, Montembeault could post even greater numbers, just as he did for Canada at the recent IIHF Men’s World Championships. (6-1-0, 1.42 GAA .939 save percentage)
Regardless of if it’s Montembeault or someone else, the Hurricanes should be looking for external help between the pipes. Raanta has simply played too poorly and proven himself to be too injury-prone for the Hurricanes to count on him as their number-one goalie this season, a year where the team is looking to win the Stanley Cup. Entering the Holiday season, a talented goalie should be number one on the team’s wish list.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Ottawa Senators Reassign Roby Järventie, Mads Søgaard
In advance of tomorrow’s game against the Florida Panthers, the Ottawa Senators have reassigned netminder Mads Søgaard and forward Roby Järventie to their AHL affiliate, the Bellville Senators.
With Søgaard, this reassignment is likely an indication that starter Joonas Korpisalo is ready to at least dress as the backup goalie tomorrow against the Panthers. Korpisalo had been injured, prompting the Søgaard recall, but there was hope that he’d be ready for the Florida game tomorrow. With this reassignment, it now appears those hopes have become reality.
Søgaard, 22, did not see game action in his latest NHL stint with Ottawa. He has been strong in eight games as the starter for Belleville, posting a 4-3 record, 2.35 goals-against-average, and .923 save percentage.
As for Järventie, this reassignment is less based on roster juggling and likely more about performance. Given the first NHL opportunity of his career, Järventie didn’t receive many minutes and didn’t do very much with the ice time he did receive. Other than registering his first NHL point in a surprising victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on November eighth, Järventie didn’t make much of a mark.
He’s been significantly better at the AHL level, though, and has scored 33 points in his last 46 games there. Now headed back to Belleville, the 21-year-old 2020 33rd overall pick will look to have a productive stretch and potentially earn another shot at the NHL level.
Vegas Golden Knights Recall Kaedan Korczak
The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled defenseman Kaedan Korczak from their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. The move appears to be motivated by the fact that Vegas is currently missing two defensemen due to injury.
Alec Martinez is currently out day-to-day with an upper-body injury, while Shea Theodore is out with his own upper-body injury on an unclear timeline. The Golden Knights already roster eight defensemen, meaning they can still have a full unit of six blueliners with these two injuries.
But as Vegas begins a three-game road trip that will take them through Western Canada, it appears the team has decided it needs to carry a fully healthy seventh defenseman, which in this case would be Korczak.
Should Korczak get into the Golden Knights’ lineup during their road trip, he would be playing in relatively familiar surroundings. Korczak, a Saskatchewan native, played the entirety of his junior career with the Kelowna Rockets. As a result, he frequently played road games in all three of Edmonton, Vancouver, and Calgary.
A 22-year-old right-shot defenseman, the Golden Knights drafted Korczak 41st overall at the 2019 draft. He’s developed nicely for them, currently serving as a depth blueliner who plays heavy minutes at the AHL level and a more sheltered role when called upon by the big club. This season, he’s already played in seven games for the Golden Knights and tallied four points. He last played for Vegas in a November 5th loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
Dmitri Voronkov Considering Return To Russia
Columbus Blue Jackets rookie forward Dmitri Voronkov has been one of the team’s better stories so far this season, as the 23-year-old has jumped out to a strong start to his North American pro career. According to the Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, his time with Columbus, at least for this season, could be coming to an end. (subscription link)
Portzline wrote today that Russian media outlets have reported that “Voronkov is homesick and has considered returning to Russia,” adding that Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen has confirmed those reports.
Kekäläinen told Portzline that the Blue Jackets are “dealing with it internally,” adding “It’s normal for a young player to feel homesick at times. And so we’re dealing with it.”
If Voronkov does indeed decide he wants to return to Russia, his current contract status dictates that the Blue Jackets would have to send him there via a loan to his KHL team, Ak Bars Kazan.
According to Portzline, “the biggest hurdle” for Voronkov and his adjustment to life in North America has been that the forward “speaks almost no English.”The hope was that the presence of a few other Russians on the Blue Jackets’ roster, namely Ivan Provorov, Kirill Marchenko, and Yegor Chinakhov, would smooth out his adjustment. Portzline added, “The Blue Jackets took steps to help Voronkov acclimate when he first arrived, but those efforts will be redoubled in the coming days.” Former Blue Jacket Fedor Tyutin, who helped Marchenko acclimate to life in Columbus, could be enlisted to help.
In terms of how the loss of Voronkov would impact the Blue Jackets on the ice, it would be a significant blow. Voronkov is currently playing on the team’s second line next to two of the franchise’s most important players: Patrik Laine and Adam Fantilli.
A big power forward with a goal-scoring touch, Voronkov’s solid KHL numbers have translated to the NHL thus far. He’s currently scoring at a 16-goal, 49-point 82-game pace, and his physicality is well-appreciated as well.
With Columbus desperate to revive their playoff hopes early in this 2023-24 campaign, the status of Voronkov and his potential return to Russia will be a key storyline to monitor for Blue Jackets fans.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: Korchinski, Lehkonen, Texier
Chicago Blackhawks rookie Kevin Korchinski won an IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal for Canada last season, but is unlikely to get another chance at glory at this year’s edition of the tournament. As relayed by NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis, Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson says his “inclination would be for [Korchinski] to stay” in Chicago, rather than go to the tournament which begins in exactly one month and is set to take place in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Korchinski has, according to Davidson, “been playing really well,” making his fair share of mistakes as well as excellent plays. The former WHL star is currently scoring at a nine-goal, 27-point 82-game pace, although there is hope that those numbers will see an uptick as Korchinski gets more game experience under his belt in the world’s top league. Currently averaging 19:32 time on ice per game, which ranks third on the entire Blackhawks team, Korchinski is believed by many to be a potential top-pairing defenseman for a future contender in Chicago.
Some other notes from across the NHL:
- Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar issued an update on the status of injured forward Artturi Lehkonen, according to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. Bednar said that the Avalanche are lucky that Lehkonen’s injury didn’t end up worse, and added that the player is now out of his neck brace and making progress toward a return. No timeline on Lehkonen’s return was provided, though.
- Columbus Blue Jackets forward Alexandre Texier, who missed the team’s last two games due to an illness, will return to the lineup for tonight’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes according to team reporter Jeff Svoboda. The 24-year-old has been solid for the Blue Jackets so far this season after a year spent in the Swiss National League, as he has four goals and seven points in 19 games.
New York Islanders Acquire Tyce Thompson
The New York Islanders have acquired forward Tyce Thompson from the New Jersey Devils. In exchange, the Islanders have sent forward Arnaud Durandeau to New Jersey.
The deal is a swap of 24-year-old wingers with minimal NHL experience who are each playing for their team’s AHL affiliates this season.
Thompson is the younger brother of Buffalo Sabres superstar Tage Thompson. Formerly an NCAA hockey star as the captain of Providence College, Thompson has struggled to translate the success of his collegiate career to the professional level.
After his final game for Providence, the Devils gave Thompson his first taste of professional hockey near the end of 2020-21, and even had him play in seven contests at the NHL level.
Seven NHL games made it clear that Thompson would need some development at the AHL level before he’d truly be NHL-ready. So the Devils had him spend most of his injury-shortened 2021-22 campaign with their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. Thompson scored 15 points in 16 games and at times for Utica looked like the dominant player he was at Providence, but the injury he suffered meant that he couldn’t display that form over the course of an entire AHL season.
Last year, Thompson struggled to have the same kind of impact he had the year prior. In a year where he would have ideally made a strong push toward becoming a true NHLer, Thompson only managed 26 points in 56 games in the AHL. He only received two NHL games as a result, and lost ground on the Devils’ depth chart to more prolific AHL scorers such as Graeme Clarke.
With this trade, Thompson receives a change of scenery. It’s something that appeared necessary for his chances of becoming an NHLer, due to the fact that he so far has only scored five points in 15 games for Utica. A pending restricted free agent, this season is a crucial one for Thompson’s development.
This trade allows Thompson to develop in a new AHL environment, and it also lands him in an organization his family has some deep ties to. Thompson’s father, Brent, served as the Islanders’ AHL head coach from 2014-15 through 2022-23. Thompson’s assistant for two years, Rick Kowalsky, is now Bridgeport’s head coach. Beyond just the family connection, Kowalsky also has experience with Tyce Thompson, as he served as a coach in the Devils organization when Thompson originally signed with the club out of Providence.
As for the Devils’ side of this trade, the deal first and foremost is a nice service to Thompson, who looked less and less likely to be part of the club’s future plans. By sending him to an organization he already has some ties with, some may believe that they’re sending him to the place where he stands the best possible chance of developing into an NHL player.
Beyond just doing a favor to Thompson, they’re also receiving a quality player in return. Durandeau has been a nice developmental success story for the Islanders, as he’s already become a better player than most organizations would typically expect sixth-rounders to become.
A former teammate of Timo Meier and Nico Hischier with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, Durandeau worked his way up from the ECHL to become a solid top-six forward for the Bridgeport Islanders. In 2021-22, Durandeau cemented himself as a quality AHLer by scoring 15 goals and 37 points in 64 games. Then last season Durandeau had a real breakout campaign, putting together 24 goals and 55 points in 68 games. That performance ranked Durandeau third in team scoring and even earned him his first-ever NHL call-up.
Over the summer, Bridgeport lost two of its top scorers in Chris Terry and Andy Andreoff. The Islanders have struggled mightily to score goals as a result, and Durandeau’s production has declined sharply. At the time of writing, he has just four points in 12 AHL games, which is far below what Bridgeport’s fans have come to expect of him. Perhaps playing in a new environment in Utica will help Durandeau return to his production levels from the past two years.
He’s not heading to an extremely favorable environment, though, as although he’s leaving the AHL’s second-lowest scoring club, he’s only upgrading to a team that ranks 23rd in the AHL in goals scored.
It’s possible the plan for Durandeau in Utica is to pair him with fellow former QMJHL star and Montreal native Xavier Parent. Parent, who earned his way to Utica via a spectacular rookie professional campaign in the ECHL last season, would give Durandeau a caliber of linemate similar to what he grew accustomed to playing with Terry and Andreoff last year.
The bottom line for these deals is relatively simple: both players are in need of changes of scenery and both AHL squads need an offensive spark. The Islanders receive a former NCAA star who current and former members of their organization are likely highly familiar with, while the Devils receive a former QMJHL star who could potentially have chemistry with key AHLers in Utica.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Pittsburgh Penguins Recall Jansen Harkins
11/25: Harkins is back up with the big club as the team announced that he has once again been recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
11/24: Shortly after the start of their game against the Sabres, the Penguins announced they had reassigned Harkins to the AHL.
11/23: The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled forward Jansen Harkins from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Harkins has shuttled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh quite a bit over the last week. It started November 18th, when Harkins was recalled from the AHL Penguins and then sent back down in a span of just two hours.
Then, in transactions also involving forward Alex Nylander, Harkins was recalled from the AHL on November 21st, and then sent back down yesterday. Today, Harkins returns to the Penguins’ roster.
This doesn’t appear to be the sort of cap maneuvering many teams do in order to bank cap space over the course of the season, as he has actually spent most of the season playing in the AHL. In other words, Harkins isn’t an NHL player that the Penguins repeatedly send to the AHL in order to bank cap space.
Instead, it appears Harkins, who last played in the NHL on October 18th, is continually being recalled and then reassigned from the NHL roster for two potential reasons.
Firstly, the club could be recalling him due to the genuine potential of Harkins dressing for an NHL game. The 26-year-old has already played in four games this season for the Penguins and is a well-liked, versatile bottom-six forward.
Another reason, and one that appears to potentially be the more likely explanation, could be to maintain the Penguins’ flexibility as to where Harkins can be assigned within their organization.
Although the Penguins have played Harkins in 11 AHL games this season compared to just four in the NHL, they undoubtedly have an interest in keeping Harkins as a call-up option in case injuries strike their NHL roster.
Although Harkins cleared waivers for the Penguins in October, that does not give the club an unlimited right for the rest of the season to shuttle Harkins between teams at will. Harkins only remains exempt from waivers so long as he does not remain on the NHL roster for more than 30 cumulative days since he last cleared waivers, or plays in 10 or more NHL games since that point.
So, it is in the Penguins’ best interest to keep Harkins on their NHL roster on a relatively strict basis, only holding him with the main squad when absolutely necessary in order to minimize the days that count against the 30-day total.
Of course, it is true that Harkins has already cleared waivers and therefore could very well clear once more should he need to be waived again this season. But as we get deeper into the regular season and attrition caused by injuries truly sets in for many teams, a versatile bottom-six forward like Harkins becomes a more attractive player to claim on waivers.
The more players teams across the NHL lose to injury, the less likely it becomes that Harkins is able to pass through waivers. So in order to maximize how long Harkins remains waiver-exempt, the Penguins will be recalling and reassigning Harkins with more frequency than they would most other players.
From Harkins’ perspective, while it can’t be fun to be reassigned to the AHL just two hours after a recall, he does happen to be playing on a one-way contract. As a result, he makes $875k regardless of whether he’s on the AHL or NHL roster, so these moves have little consequence for his bottom line.
That being said, that’s not to say these moves aren’t of great consequence for some players. As with any roster moves in a three-tiered organization, these recalls and reassignments have a ripple effect on other players. Harkins’ recall yesterday meant he could not play in the AHL Penguins’ contest against the Hershey Bears.
As a result, the Penguins called up 23-year-old undrafted forward Cédric Desruisseaux from their ECHL affiliate, the Wheeling Nailers. A former QMJHL MVP, Desruisseaux has spent most of his young career in the rough-and-tumble ECHL, putting in work each game just to earn a shot at the AHL level.
He got two AHL games in 2021-22, but did not play in the AHL for the entirety of 2022-23 despite scoring 30 goals and 59 points for the Nailers.
The recall of Harkins paved the way for Desruisseaux to play his first AHL game as a member of the larger Penguins’ organization. So yes, this constant roster shuffling is certainly not something Harkins is likely to enjoy. But one player higher on the hockey food chain’s less-than-ideal circumstance can lead to another player’s potentially career-altering chance to prove himself in a higher league.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Taylor Hall Out For The Season Due To Knee Surgery
The Chicago Blackhawks have announced that forward Taylor Hall will miss the rest of the season, as he will undergo surgery on his right knee. The Blackhawks have also announced that forward Andreas Athanasiou has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 9th. In a corresponding move, the team recalled forwards Cole Guttman and Joey Anderson from their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.
Hall, who is under contract for another season at a $6MM cap hit, has not played since the team’s November 19th loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Hall’s knee injury likely comes from an ugly collision on the boards that he had with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mikey Eyssimont. He left the ice immediately after favoring one leg, and although there is no official confirmation it appears that the collision and the injury it caused is what has ended Hall’s season.
Although it is certain now that Hall will not return to the ice for Chicago this season, his absence is far from assured for next season.
With another year left on his contract, Hall still has a future with the Blackhawks and could very well return to game action with the team next season.
But even though Chicago does not figure to be a playoff contender this season, this loss is still a major one for the Blackhawks and a significant setback for Hall.
From Hall’s perspective, this injury costs him a year he would have likely spent as one of his team’s most heavily used forwards. After a few years spent playing a more secondary role on the Boston Bruins, Hall was poised to be a true offensive centerpiece of this Blackhawks team next to rookie sensation Connor Bedard.
Hall is now quite a bit removed from his Hart Trophy-winning 93-point campaign, so this year represented what may have been his best chance since he was on the Devils at posting high point totals.
He hadn’t posted elite numbers so far in his short time with Chicago, scoring four points in 10 games, but there was hope that with injury issues behind him and some more time to build chemistry with players such as Bedard, the points would follow.
Now, Hall won’t get that chance for the rest of the season, and it’s fair to question how ready he’ll be to hit the ground running whenever he’s fully healed due to the fact that he’ll have gone quite a few months without playing.
In addition to being a major setback for Hall, this injury is unfortunate news for the Blackhawks as well. The team acquired Hall with the hopes that he’d serve as a key asset to Bedard, the kind of veteran player who was once a highly-touted top prospect and could help guide Bedard as the 2023 top pick navigates the trials and tribulations of his rookie year.
While Hall will still be able to be around the team off the ice, the on-ice component of the Bedard-Hall connection has now been at least temporarily severed.
Although Guttman and Anderson would undoubtedly prefer to be recalled under different circumstances, the injuries that hit Athanasiou and Hall provide them with a valuable opportunity at the NHL level.
Guttman, 24, began the season with the Blackhawks but was quickly sent down after consecutive losses. He’s since scored nine points in 12 AHL games, and this recall will give him another chance to translate his impressive NCAA and AHL scoring numbers to the NHL.
Anderson, 25, has not had the chance to play in the NHL this season. The former University of Minnesota-Duluth forward got into 24 NHL games last season but only managed six points. He’s been the IceHogs’ top scorer so far this year with 16 points in 14 games, and now this recall will give him the chance to take a meaningful step forward at the NHL level that he so far has been unable to do on a consistent basis.
But while these injuries provide opportunities to players on the NHL-AHL bubble, all parties involved (including those players) would likely prefer if Hall and Athanasiou were healthy. That’s unfortunately not the case right now, and the Blackhawks will have to move forward with two key scoring options out of commission.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Minor Transactions: 11/23/23
As today is American Thanksgiving and 14 NHL games were played last night, the schedule for high-level hockey in North America is relatively light today.
Although it’s just OHL and QMJHL teams that will play today on this side of the Atlantic, over in Europe things are, as one would expect, quite a bit more active. The entirety of Sweden’s SHL will play today, as will eight teams in Finland’s Liiga and two apiece in the German DEL and Swiss NL. With an eye on today’s games, we’ll keep track of notable player movement throughout the hockey world here.
- The most active team in pro hockey yesterday may have been the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, who sit sixth in the ECHL’s Western Conference with a 7-5 record. On November 22nd, the club made two trades and two free agent additions. The first trade was technically made by AHL teams, with the Cyclones-affiliated Hartford Wolf Pack acquiring forward Tim Doherty from the Chicago Wolves, and then loaning Doherty to Cincinnati. Doherty is a 28-year-old scorer who played college hockey at the University of Maine and has broken out as a star ECHLer with the Maine Mariners. He scored 21 goals and 73 points in just 69 games last season, and has eight points through ten games this campaign. He’ll instantly be expected to be a difference-making offensive forward for the Cyclones.
- The Cyclones didn’t end their offensive additions with Doherty, though, as they also signed winger Lincoln Griffin to a contract. The versatile forward was claimed off of waivers by Cincinnati from the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in 2021, and that decision instantly paid dividends for the club. Griffin scored 21 goals and 46 points in his first 57 games with the club, and then scored 17 goals and 37 points in 2022-23, en route to the ECHL All-Star game. He signed with Slovakia’s HK Nitra for 2023-24, but with just two points in 12 games, Griffin has elected to forgo the rest of the season in Nitra to return to his old stomping grounds in the Queen City.
- To make room for these forward acquisitions, the Cyclones dealt forward Adam Berg in a trade with the Utah Grizzlies. Berg, 26, is in his second ECHL season after getting into 19 games near the end of 2022-23 with the Cyclones. Berg was signed to Cincinnati after a strong final season playing Canadian university hockey at Brock University, a year where he scored 15 goals and 29 points in 24 games. Berg has just two points in eight games so far this season for Cincinnati, so perhaps this change-of-scenery trade to Utah will help Berg better establish himself in the ECHL. Berg is the second forward the Grizzlies, who have the third-fewest goals scored in the ECHL, have added this week. They also signed former SPHL scorer Aaron Aragon as well.
- The final addition by the Cyclones from yesterday was on the defensive side of the equation. The team signed blueliner Josh Burnside, returning a fixture from the Cyclones’ 2022-23 squad back to Cincinnati. The left-shot defenseman skated in 61 games for Cincinnati last year, posting 13 points and 42 penalty minutes. The former Mississauga Steelheads top-four defenseman signed in England this past summer, with the EIHL’s Coventry Blaze. He went on to play four games for Coventry before he elected to leave the club and return to the ECHL.
- Defenseman Adam Holwell, a 2017-18 Memorial Cup and QMJHL champion with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, has transferred from the EIHL’s Fife Flyers to Erste Liga’s Corona Brașov, a club in Romania. The Canadian blueliner, who posted 141 points in 329 career QMJHL games, began his pro career last season with his hometown Newfoundland Growlers in the ECHL. Holwell wasn’t great there, though, scoring just three points in 18 combined regular season and playoff games. He didn’t return to the ECHL for his first full campaign as a professional, instead signing in Scotland with the EIHL’s Fife Flyers. Holwell only managed one point in eight games for Fife, and has not played since a November 5th loss at the Guildford Flames where he registered a -3 rating. With Fife winning three of four games since Holwell last dressed for the team, a mutual parting of ways appears to have been the best course of action for both player and club. Holwell will now head to Romania, where he’ll look to carve out a regular role for a team currently sitting in the middle of the standings of the Erste Liga, a league comprised of clubs from both Romania and Hungary.
- HockeyAllsvenskan’s Kalmar HC has signed veteran netminder Christian Engstrand to a one-year contract. The 35-year-old was playing on a short-term contract with the ICEHL’s EC-KAC, and had posted a 6-1-1 record, .939 save percentage, and 1.48 goals-against-average in eight games there. Kalmar is in need of some help in net, as while Jonathan Stålberg has been serviceable as the starter, 19-year-old backup Alexander Hellnemo has shown himself to not quite be ready for such a role. The 35-year-old Engstrand is a quality veteran goalie with some accomplishments on his resume. Most recently, Engstrand led the ICEHL in save percentage and goals-against-average for EC-KAC last season. Earlier in his career, Engstrand had achieved many feats in Swedish pro hockey, such as posting a .935 save percentage in 2012-13 for Linköping HC, posting a .950 save percentage in the Champions Hockey League in 2015-16, and leading Mora IK to promotion from HockeyAllsvenskan to the SHL in 2016-17. While he has not played in Sweden since 2020-21 with HC Vita Hästen, Engstrand is an experienced netminder capable of backstopping Kalmar for their push for SHL promotion.
- Eero Elo, once a quality goal scorer in the Finnish Liiga, KHL, and both Swiss leagues has signed with EHC Freiburg of the German second-tier DEL2. The 33-year-old former Minnesota Wild prospect spent last season playing second-division hockey in Switzerland for HC Thurgau, scoring 20 goals and 44 points in 53 combined regular season and playoff games. Once a player who scored 26 goals in Liiga, Eero has regressed since those days and has not played in a premier European league on a regular basis since his 2019-20 season split between Liiga’s Lukko Rauma and NL’s SCL Tigers. Freiburg are currently 10th in the DEL2 standings, though they rank second in the division in goals scored. Perhaps adding even more firepower through the addition of Elo is what the club needs to climb the DEL2 table.
This page may be updated throughout the day.
Injury Updates: Zary, Martinez, Avalanche
Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, according to a team announcement. He did not dress for the Flames’ loss to the Nashville Predators, though the day-to-day nature of the absence does leave a chance for him to return in time for the Flames’ contest tomorrow in Dallas.
The loss of Zary, 22, is a significant one for the Flames, as he’s quickly emerged as one of the team’s more gifted offensive players. In just nine games so far this season Zary has eight points, displaying a knack for finding his way onto the scoresheet. A 2020 first-round pick, Zary’s initial transition from WHL stardom to pro hockey was rocky, but after his 25-point AHL rookie season Zary scored 21 goals and 58 points there. He scored 10 points in just six AHL games so far this season, a performance that earned him his call-up to Calgary.
Some other injury updates from the Western Conference:
- Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez missed yesterday’s overtime victory over the Dallas Stars due to a lower-body injury. Martinez’ vacated spot in the lineup next to Alex Pietrangelo was filled by Nicolas Hague, while Ben Hutton re-entered the lineup to fill Hague’s old role on the team’s bottom pairing next to Zach Whitecloud. Martinez is among Vegas’ most important defensemen, averaging nearly 20 minutes per night and over two minutes per night on the penalty kill.
- Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told the media, including NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding, that forward Logan O’Connor has a lower-body injury and is out day-to-day. Additionally, forward Valeri Nichushkin left last night’s game to get stitches for his mouth but did end up returning to the contest. At the moment, O’Connor plays third-line minutes for the Avalanche on a line with Ross Colton and Miles Wood. Should he miss any time, physical spare forward Kurtis MacDermid could draw into the lineup, or they could place a player on injured reserve and recall a forward such as Ben Meyers. O’Connor, 27, has scored three goals and seven points in 17 games so far this season.