Morning Notes: USA Hockey, Milano, Lomberg
USA Hockey has rounded out its coaching staff for the upcoming IIHF World Championship, announcing four assistant coaches to serve behind head coach John Hynes. The new additions include Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde, Ottawa Senators associate coach Jack Capuano, Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Ty Hennes, and U17 NTDP head coach Greg Moore.
This is, most notably, a big step in Lalonde’s ever-growing involvement with USA Hockey. He made his World Championship debut as an assistant coach for last year’s squad, serving as a part of Team USA’s fourth-place finish behind leading scorer Rocco Grimaldi. Lalonde’s only international appearances before that tournament were at the World Junior-A Challenge in 2013 and 2014, first serving as an assistant and then taking on the head coaching role. USA took home Gold in both of those tournaments, on the back of strong performances from Vinnie Hinostroza and Nick Schmaltz. Lalonde will look to rekindle that success as he heads to the main stage for the second year in a row, regrouping with his Detroit starter Alex Lyon on the Team USA lineup.
This news also marks the first time that Hennes and Moore have coached for the Men’s National Team. Both are young coaches who have climbed the ranks of the coaching circuit over the last few years. Success at the World Championship would only provide more wind behind their sails.
Other notes from around the league:
- Winger Sonny Milano shared that he’s good to go for Game Three, after missing Thursday’s practice with an undisclosed injury, shares NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). Gulitti also shared that Capitals rookie Ivan Miroshnichenko is expected to make his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut on Friday. Miroshnichenko played in the first 21 NHL games of his career this season, recording two goals, six points, six penalty minutes, and a -4. He also recorded 25 points in 47 AHL games. He’ll step in for Nicolas Aube-Kubel, who hasn’t scored through Washington’s first two playoff games. The Capitals trail the New York Rangers 2-0 in the Round One series.
- Florida Panthers bruiser Ryan Lomberg is still feeling under the weather after missing the team’s last two games to illness. He is expected to remain out of the lineup in Game Four, with Kyle Okposo remaining on the fourth-line in his place, head coach Paul Maurice shared with Colby Guy of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link). Okposo played in his first playoff game since 2016 on Thursday, recording one assist in a game where the fourth line stood out. It was the first point of Okposo’s seven-game career with the Panthers. He now gets a chance to continue making an impact, and might even solidify his spot in the lineup with another strong performance.
Avalanche Recall Arvid Holm
The Colorado Avalanche have brought goaltender Arvid Holm back to the NHL lineup after sending him down on Monday (Twitter link). Holm served as the backup to Ivan Prosvetov in the Colorado Eagles first game of the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs – a 4-2 loss against the Abbotsford Canucks. This loss puts the Eagles on the brink of elimination, which could be why the Avalanche are recalling the AHL backup for added depth ahead of their own Game Three.
Prosvetov and Holm are two of the six goaltenders who have played games with the Eagles this season. Prosvetov has managed a solid 11 wins, .921 save percentage, and 2.33 goals-against-average in 21 AHL appearances, while Holm is the only routine starter with a sub-.900 save percentage, posting an .887 and six wins in 12 games. Holm has also spent time in the ECHL this season, recording two wins and a .907 in four appearances.
Holm has yet to receive his NHL debut, despite now six call-ups to the NHL in the last two years. All but two of those came before this season when Holm was a member of the Winnipeg Jets. Winnipeg drafted the Swedish netminder in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft but chose not to extend him a qualifying offer last summer. That left him open to sign a one-year, two-way, $775K contract with the Avalanche. He joined a crowded goalie room and has since been competing with Prosvetov, Justus Annunen, and Trent Miner for NHL opportunity behind starter Alexandar Georgiev. Holm seems to be closer to the bottom of the depth chart, though he’s set to once again serve as the Avalanche’s emergency third-string goalie this postseason.
East Notes: Senators, Lomberg, Capitals
The Ottawa Senators have hit a snag in their pursuit of moving to the LeBreton Flats, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. The Senators have been working with the National Capital Commission to facilitate the move for the last two years, establishing a memorandum of understanding with the NCC that dedicated a parcel of land for a new arena. But the parcel is just seven acres, compared to the Senators’ current 75-acre plot, leading the team to worry they may not have room for public parking.
Still, Senators’ CEO Tobi Nussbaum shared with Garrioch that the NCC has room for flexibility, and that the team remains confident that LeBreton is the right spot for them. The two sides will face a soft-deadline of September to decide if they are going to move forward with the LeBreton arena, though Nussbaum added, “Should (the rink) not happen, there is a Plan B for those parcels within LeBreton Flats. If the two sides aren’t able to come to an agreement or the Senators make a decision that they’re not going to build there, then we’ll move to our second option”
Other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- Forward Ryan Lomberg will remain out of the Florida Panthers lineup in Game Three due to illness, head coach Paul Maurice told Florida Hockey Now’s Colby Guy (Twitter link). Guy added that Lomberg traveled with the team, but needs another day of feeling good before returning to their facilities. Kyle Okposo will step into the lineup in his place, set to play in his first postseason game since 2016, when he scored eight points in 11 games with the New York Islanders. Okposo has yet to record his first point as a Panther, despite appearing in six games. Pending a big Game Three performance, he’ll likely step back out of the lineup when Lomberg is back to full health.
- The Washington Capitals could be without forward Sonny Milano in Game Three due to an upper-body injury, shares Sammi Silber of The Hockey News (Twitter link). Milano appeared in both of Washington’s postseason games so far, recording no scoring and a -2. Silber also shared that defenders Rasmus Sandin and Nick Jensen are each continuing to progress from the injuries that’s so far held them out of the postseason lineup. That means Alexander Alexeyev and Dylan McIlrath will remain in the lineup, after rookie Vincent Iorio was also sidelined with injury.
Metropolitan Notes: Chytil, Fast, Martin, Seeley
The New York Rangers will be joined by centerman Filip Chytil when they travel to Washington D.C. for Games Three and Four, per Mollie Walker of the New York Post (Twitter link). It’s another substantial step in Chytil’s storied return from a November 2nd concussion. The 24-year-old hasn’t played a game since and took time away from the team around the holidays to recover in his native Czechia. He returned to New York in late January and received clearance to return to practice just two games before the end of the regular season.
Chytil has since worked his way out of a no-contact jersey, and back to full conditioning, even serving in Alexander Wennberg‘s slot as the fourth-line center during the team’s Thursday morning practice while Wennberg took a maintenance day. There has been no indication of Chytil’s game availability, but his traveling is certainly an encouraging step. He’s been out of the lineup for six months and 74 games, ending his season with six assists in 10 games.
Other notes from the Metro Division:
- Forward Jesper Fast will remain out of the Carolina Hurricanes lineup in Game Three, shares team reporter Walt Ruff (Twitter link). Fast hasn’t skated since exiting the team’s season-finale with an upper-body injury, missing the last two games. He was a steadfast piece of Carolina’s fourth line this season, recording 19 points in 73 games while averaging roughly 12-and-a-half minutes of ice time. His absence has made way for Jack Drury to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, after playing in 13 games in last year’s postseason. Drury has recorded two assists in two games but is still searching for the first postseason goal of his career.
- New York Islanders veteran Matt Martin sustained an undisclosed injury and will be a game-time decision for Game Three, head coach Patrick Roy shared with The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (Twitter link). Martin has averaged just north of 10 minutes of ice time through the first two games of the series, recording 16 penalty minutes, five hits, and two blocked shots. Forwards Ruslan Iskhakov and Oliver Wahlstrom will likely contend for the open spot should Martin sit. Iskhakov was impressive when he received his NHL debut in the team’s season finale, recording an assist and seeming well-adjusted. He’d be an interesting change-of-pace option if the Islanders are looking for a spark, though Wahlstrom’s 32 NHL games this season could earn him the edge. The Islanders are currently down 2-0 in their First Round matchup with the Hurricanes.
- Carolina has recalled defenseman Ronan Seeley as a black ace, shares Walt Ruff (Twitter link). Seeley has yet to make his NHL debut, though he did record 14 points in 58 AHL games this season. He’s in his second pro season, after being drafted in the seventh-round of the 2020 NHL Draft. Seeley is one of four extra defenders on Carolina’s roster, alongside Scott Morrow, Dylan Coghlan, and the injured Brett Pesce.
Logan Stankoven Wins AHL Rookie Of The Year
Dallas Stars winger Logan Stankoven has won the 2024 Red Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s Rookie of the Year (Twitter link). This comes after Stankoven posted 24 goals and 57 points in his first 47 minor-league games. His 1.21 points-per-game is the highest scoring pace from an AHL rookie since Jack Quinn posted 61 points in 45 games in the 2021-22 season. Quinn also won the league’s Rookie of the Year award that year. The last AHL rookie to come close to Quinn and Stankoven’s scoring pace was Jake Guentzel all the way back in the 2016-17 season.
While it’s usually hard to find a correlation between most awards and NHL success, the AHL Rookie of the Year typically manages a fine NHL career – something made evident by past winners Quinn, Joshua Norris, and the 2015 tie between Mikko Rantanen and Frank Vatrano. Stankoven seems on a fast track to join his peers, gaining a consistent role in Dallas’ top-six just a few games into his NHL career. He finished the regular season with 14 points in 24 NHL games. He’s also recorded one point in his first two Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, looking plenty adjusted to the fast pace of the NHL postseason.
Dallas is undoubtedly giddy over just how well Stankoven’s first professional season has gone. The former Kamloops Blazers captain was very highly acclaimed during his four-year WHL career, posting 260 points in 179 games and becoming the highest-scoring Blazer since 2013. But played-out concerns about his 5’8″ frame and ability to engage physically dropped Stankoven to the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, where Dallas quickly took advantage of the rest of the league’s oversight. Two years later, he’s now being awarded for a dazzling start to his pro career and playing meaningful minutes in the postseason. Stankoven was Dallas’ second pick of the 2021 Draft, follwoing the team’s selection of Wyatt Johnston at 23rd-overall.
Stankoven was one regular-season game shy of solidifying this year as his NHL rookie season. That means he’ll remain eligible for the Calder Trophy next season, when he’s sure to have a much more clear-cut role in Dallas’ electric offense. He could also be more formally regrouped with center prospect Mavrik Borque, who led the AHL in scoring this season and formed a dynamic duo with Stankoven earlier in the year.
Maple Leafs Notes: Nylander, McMann, Grebyonkin
The reason for William Nylander‘s playoff absences has been revealed, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman sharing that the star winger has been facing severe migraines. Friedman adds that the exact reason for the migraines hasn’t been narrowed down, explaining why the club has stayed quiet about Nylander’s absences. Migraines have been an issue throughout his career, with Nylander even swapping to a tinted visor at the start of the 2022-23 season to try and remedy the issues.
Nylander’s last appearance was in the club’s regular-season finale – a 4-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s so far missed all three games of Round One, though Friedman shares that there’s hope he could be ready for Game Four. The Maple Leafs will certainly hope that’s the case, as Nylander represents one of their most dangerous postseason assets. He has 17 goals and 40 points across 50 career playoff appearances, and most recently posted 10 points in 11 games in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
And there’s reason to think Nylander could enter these playoffs with even more bite. The 27-year-old scored a career-high 98 points in 82 games this season while chasing his second-consecutive 40-goal season. He showed just how flexible he could be, too, stepping into a variety of roles and lines. The Maple Leafs are averaging just 2.0 goals per game in Round One, after posting a 3.70 average through the regular season.
Other notes out of Toronto:
- Winger Bobby McMann is expected to miss the upcoming Game Four, though he hasn’t been ruled out for the series, per TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link). McMann missed Toronto’s has missed the team’s last five games, going back to their second-to-last regular season game, with a lower-body injury. He’ll offer valuable depth whenever he’s able to rejoin the lineup, though he’ll need to get over a scoring drought – having posted just one point in his last eight appearances. McMann, who posted 15 goals and 24 points this season, has yet to play in the first Stanley Cup Playoff game of his career.
- Toronto could be poised to sign forward prospect Nikita Grebyonkin to his entry-level deal – and may even slot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs – per Alexey Shevchenko of Russian media site Sport Express. Grebyonkin is coming off a Gagarin Cup win with the KHL’s Mettalurg Magnitogorsk. He served a pivotal role in the team’s championship run, ranking second on the team in regular-season scoring with 41 points in 67 games and adding six points in 23 playoff games. Icing Grebyonkin in the playoffs would burn the first year of his assumed three-year entry-level deal, though that may not be too costly for the 21-year-old winger. Toronto originally drafted Grebyonkin in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Bruins Recall Mason Lohrei With Andrew Peeke Out
The Boston Bruins have recalled rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei from the Providence Bruins (Twitter link). This move comes after head coach Jim Montgomery designated defender Andrew Peeke as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury suffered in Game Two, shares Joe Haggerty of the Boston Sports Journal (Twitter link). Peeke left Game Two with seven minutes left in the second period after blocking a Tyler Bertuzzi shot with his left hand. Peeke isn’t expected to travel with the team when they head to Toronto for Game Three and Four.
Despite Lohrei’s recall, it’s Parker Wotherspoon who is expected to gain a role in Peeke’s absence. Wotherspoon played in half of Boston’s games this season, recording eight assists and 31 points. The matches brought his career totals to nine assists in 53 career games, though the 26-year-old defender is still searching for his first goal. He’ll be stepping into his first career Stanley Cup Playoff game if he does fill in for Peeke.
Lohrei will instead provide exciting depth for Boston, having scored four goals and 13 points in the first 41 games of his NHL career this season. He added 16 points in 21 AHL games. The flashy 23-year-old is off to a hot start in his first full year of professional hockey and even got a glimpse of pro playoffs when he appeared in three Calder Cup Playoff games last season. He’ll join Wotherspoon and Derek Forbort as Boston’s extra defenders, with the latter being recalled from a conditioning stint yesterday. Forbort has the most experience of the trio, having played in 496 regular-season games and 32 playoff games across his nine-year NHL career.
The trio will compete for Peeke’s third-pair role on the blue line. The Trade Deadline acquisition played in 17 minutes of ice time in Game One but was limited to just 10 minutes in Game Two as a result of his injury. He’s playing in the first Stanley Cup Playoff games of his career as well, still searching for his first postseason point. Peeke had a strong stint in Boston’s last 15 games of the season, where he looked entirely the part of the stout defender Boston wanted at the Deadline. The Bruins will have a few options to replace him over the next two games, though making the wrong decision could prove costly against a daunting Maple Leafs offense.
Devils’ Timo Meier To Undergo Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery
The injury woes don’t end just because the season did, something New Jersey Devils winger Timo Meier has found out after opting to undergo an elective arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder. The procedure will take place today, performed by Dr. Jonathan L. Glashow and Dr. Guillem Gonzalez-Lomas, the Devils’ chief medical officer and team orthopedic surgeon. Meier is expected to make a full recovery before the team’s 2024 training camp. This procedure will hold Meier out of the World Championship, as confirmed by Switzerland’s national team (Twitter link).
Meier appeared in 69 games this season, missing time to double MCL injuries in November and an oblique injury in January. He didn’t miss a game after returning to the lineup on January 17th, working towards 28 goals and 52 points on the season. While admirable scoring, the year marked Meier’s lowest-scoring pace of the last three seasons. That could be a result of playing through a shoulder injury, though the extent of his injury hasn’t been confirmed.
Arthroscopic surgery has grown in practice over recent years, with Alex Killorn and Vladimir Tarasenko undergoing similar surgeries on their knees over the last five years. The last shoulder surgery of this kind came in 2019 when Erik Johnson went under the knife following Colorado’s exit in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Dany Heatley also underwent the surgery in 2013, holding him out of the end of the 2012-13 season. The procedure is meant to be preventative and minimally invasive, with the goal of identifying joint-related issues or small tears.
While he played in a majority of New Jersey’s games and put up impressive scoring, there’s no doubt that Meier will be happy to move on from an injury-plagued 2023-24 season. He’ll spend the summer fully focused on rehabbing his injuries, eyeing a productive return to a New Jersey offense that could be commanded by a new head coach – with interim Travis Green not yet awarded the full-time role.
Jakub Voráček Announces Retirement From Playing Career
Long-time Philadelphia Flyers winger Jakub Voráček has announced his retirement from playing in an exclusive March interview with Martina Jandová of Czechia’s Showtime Program. The 1,000-game veteran cited 12 concussions as the reason he can no longer play, describing four of the injuries as, “heavy”. This announcement brings an official end to Voracek’s career, something many speculated would happen after he accepted a job supporting Jaromir Jagr‘s Kladno at the start of the season. Voráček said, “I started helping with the A team. [Jagr] called me in September to ask if I could help. So I decided to try it part-time. I enjoy it a lot. We’ll see what happens in the future, but I can’t go on the ice anymore.”
Voráček will retire as a member of the Arizona Coyotes despite never suiting up with the team. His rights were traded away from the Columbus Blue Jackets at last year’s Trade Deadline, with Columbus receiving Jon Gillies in return for the cap dump. Columbus drafted Voráček with the seventh-overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, taking him in a top 10 that also featured Patrick Kane, James van Riemsdyk, and Logan Couture. Voráček played one more season in the QMJHL – the league he was drafted out of – before debuting with the Blue Jackets in the 2008-09 season. His rookie year brought just nine goals, but still a solid 38 points, in 80 games.
Voráček was the focal piece of the 2011 blockbuster trade that sent a then 27-year-old Jeff Carter to Columbus for a 21-year-old Voráček and the draft picks used to select Sean Couturier and Nick Cousins. It was in Philadelphia that Voráček built his legacy, recording six separate 20-goal seasons and consistently rivaling 50 or 60 points. His career-year came in 2017-18, when he managed 20 goals and 85 points in just 82 games.
Columbus would re-acquire Voráček in 2021, sending Cam Atkinson to Philadelphia. Voráček would play in 90 more games with the Blue Jackets, scoring 68 points, before his career came to a close midway through the 2022-23 season. Voráček totaled 1,058 games in the NHL, netting 223 goals and 806 points. He remains the third-highest scoring Czech player in NHL history, behind just Jagr and Patrik Elias.
Flyers Sign Ivan Fedotov To Two-Year Extension
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed goaltender Ivan Fedotov to a two-year, $6.5MM contract extension, per Anthony Di Marco of the Fourth Period (Twitter link) and confirmed by The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (Twitter link). Di Marco adds that the rough outline of this contract was agreed upon before Fedotov came to America, and that the player wanted more term but Philadelphia stood strong at two years. This extension comes three games into Fedotov’s NHL career.
Philadelphia drafted Fedotov in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Draft but didn’t try to bring him overseas until 2022. They signed him to a one-year contract, with the hopes of removing him from a country gearing up for conflict. But Fedotov was arrested before he could leave for the United States, and required to serve in the Russian military for one calendar year. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported that this service came on an aircraft carrier in the Murmansk region, far from the front lines. The military service kept Fedotov from playing any hockey during the 2022-23 season. He was, reportedly, pressured into a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow ahead of this past season – a deal that both the NHL and IIHF deemed invalid. Fedotov served one year of the contract before it was terminated by CSKA, opening the door for him to finally move to America.
In landing Fedotov, the Flyers were landing one of Russia’s top goaltenders. He did not record a single season of a save percentage below .910, across six seasons and 133 games in the league. His official career stats are 61 wins and a .921 save percentage – adding 18 wins and a .930 in 31 playoff games. Those are incredibly impressive numbers, though Fedotov didn’t translate them to the NHL as quickly as Philadelphia may have hoped. He saved just 43 of 53 shots through his first three NHL games, setting a .811 save percentage and still looking for his first win. Fedotov became the tallest active goalie in the NHL when he debuted, tying Mikko Koskinen and Ben Bishop as the tallest of all-time. That fact, and his history of success in Russia, were enough to earn Fedotov a confident extension from the Flyers. He now becomes the team’s second-highest-paid goalie, behind $5MM man Calvin Petersen, and will look to earn his first win and the starter’s net in his first full NHL season next year.