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Team USA Announces 2025 World Championship Roster

April 24, 2025 at 4:53 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 6 Comments

Team USA has announced the first 18 players on their World Championship roster. The lineup contains all three goaltenders, six of seven defensemen, and nine of 13 forwards. The roster is led by American stars like Clayton Keller, Tage Thompson, and Brady Skjei. That trio will look to take a mixed group of experience to Team USA’s first gold medal appearance since 1960.

The American roster notably features top young players like Frank Nazar, Mason Lohrei, Cutter Gauthier, Logan Cooley, Jackson LaCombe, and Matty Beniers. Beniers offers the most experience on the Men’s Team, having joined USA at the 2021 World Championship and 2022 Winter Olympics. He scored two points in each tournament. Team USA will also continue their trend of bringing collegiate goaltending by adding Los Angeles Kings prospect Hampton Slukynsky to the roster. Slukynsky led the Fargo Force to a USHL championship last season, then won Western Michigan’s starting role and carried the school to their first NCAA National Championship as a freshman this season.

Team USA will still need to add four forwards and one defenseman. The World Championship will run from May 9th to May 25th in Herning, Denmark – giving the Americans a chance to add some more firepower after playoff exits. Jeff Kealty is serving as USA’s general manager, while San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky heads a coaching staff that also features Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Mike Vellucci, Chciago Blackhawks assistant Kevin Dean, and Michigan State University head coach Adam Nightingale.

The current roster is as follows:

F Tage Thompson (Sabres)
F Drew O’Connor (Canucks)
F Frank Nazar (Blackhawks)
F Michael McCarron (Predators)
F Clayton Keller (Hockey Club)
F Cutter Gauther (Ducks)
F Conor Garland (Canucks)
F Logan Cooley (Hockey Club)
F Matty Beniers (Kraken)

D Alex Vlasic (Blackhawks)
D Brady Skjei (Predators)
D Andrew Peeke (Bruins)
D Mason Lohrei (Bruins)
D Jackson LaCombe (Ducks)
D Michael Kesselring (Hockey Club)

G Joey Daccord (Kraken)
G Jeremy Swayman (Bruins)
G Hampton Slukynsky (Kings)

Newsstand| Players| Team USA Alex Vlasic| Andrew Peeke| Brady Skjei| Clayton Keller| Conor Garland| Cutter Gauthier| Drew O'Connor| Frank Nazar| Jackson LaCombe| Jeremy Swayman| Joey Daccord| Logan Cooley| Mason Lohrei| Matthew Beniers| Michael Kesselring| Michael McCarron| Mike Vellucci| Ryan Warsofsky| Tage Thompson| Team USA

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Utah Signs Michal Kunc to One-Year Contract

April 24, 2025 at 4:05 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment

The Utah Hockey Club has signed Czech forward Michal Kunc to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2025-26 season. The move will send Kunc to North America after six seasons in the Czech Extraliga. Kunc’s Olomouc just survived relegation with a 4-0 sweep of Jihlava.

The 24-year-old Kunc was the top forward for Olomouc this season. He tied for second on the team with 13 goals, and led the team outright with 35 points, scored in 49 games. The marks were both career-highs for Kunc, lapping the 11 goals and 23 points he posted in 48 games last season.

Kunc made his pro debut with Brno Kometa in the 2019-20 season. He spent 25 games and scored two points with the club before a mid-season move to Olomouc in 2020-21. Kunc quickly found a scoring groove with the move – netting seven points in his first 17 games in the new setting – but he wasn’t able to keep it up through the next two seasons. That’s what has helped his performances since 2023 stand out so proudly – as the young, bottom-of-the-lineup finds his pro footing.

Kunc is a sturdy forward who plays responsibly in all three zones. He brought a physical presence to play along the boards, and a hard-working motor to drives into the low-slot. Those attributes – and his ability to fill the pest role – should help Kunc earn a strong role in a Utah organization that’s already found ways to utilize bump-and-grind forwards out of Czechia.

Czech Extraliga| Utah Mammoth Michal Kunc

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Capitals’ Martin Fehérváry Out For Season After Knee Surgery

April 22, 2025 at 9:57 am CDT | by Gabriel Foley 2 Comments

The Washington Capitals have announced that defenseman Martin Fehérváry will miss the entirety of the postseason after undergoing surgery to address a meniscus injury in his right knee. Fehérváry sustained the injury in the final game of Washington’s regular season. The injury held him out of Washington’s playoff opener on Monday. In his place, the Capitals utilized depth defenseman Alexander Alexeyev – who only appeared in eight regular season games this season.

Fehérváry was getting run as a top-pair defenseman in Washington’s final few games. He averaged just under 20 minutes of ice time through his final 10 games of the season, bringing his season long average up to an even 19 minutes per game. Fehérváry showed well in his middling role in the lineup, with 25 points and a plus-18 in 81 games – all career-highs. He’s proven to be an effective defender on his own side of the blue line, with a long reach and strong physical play that made him the set-back match for aggressive partners like Matt Roy and John Carlson. Fehérváry was set to be leaned on heavily through the postseason, on a left-hand side that would have made the Capitals absolutely formidable – behind Jakob Chychrun and Rasmus Sandin.

Instead, the Capitals will have to turn towards the untested Alexeyev in their must-win matchups. Unforutnately, even that plan may be knocked awry after Alexeyev lost some teeth in the third period of Game 1. He was hit in the mouth by the skate of Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans and had to leave the game, only to return during the overtime period. Head coach Spencer Carbery shared postgame that Alexeyev would need some “significant dental work” after the incident, per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.

It’s unclear if Alexeyev will need to sit out of Game 2. If he does, the absence will be another pile on the string of injuries and absences that held Alexeyev to just 11 games combined between the NHL and AHL this season. He underwent shoulder surgery at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, with a rehab that dragged into the summer. Alexeyev went on to miss time due to personal reasons and routine healthy scratches throughout this season. He managed no scoring in eight NHL games, but did have two assists in three AHL games – production that Washington will need to tap into this Spring. If Alexeyev is forced to miss time, the Capitals will have to turn towards extra defenseman Ethan Bear. Bear was the star of the AHL’s Hershey Bears this season, with a team-leading 46 points in 62 games. He is the only extra defenseman on Washington’s roster, though they could also recall Vincent Iorio or Brad Hunt from the minor leagues.

AHL| Injury| NHL| Washington Capitals Alexander Alexeyev| Martin Fehervary

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Oilers To Activate John Klingberg, Evander Kane And Trent Frederic Close

April 20, 2025 at 11:13 am CDT | by Gabriel Foley 1 Comment

The Edmonton Oilers are expected to activate defenseman John Klingberg off of long-term injured reserve before Monday shares Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic. Klingberg will be a Game 1 option for the Oilers as they prepare for a first round series against the Los Angeles Kings, after missing 20 of Edmonton’s last 21 games with a lower-body injury. Nugent-Bowman added that Evander Kane and Trent Frederic will also be close to full health in time for Game 1, though neither forward has been confirmed just yet.

Klingberg signed with the Oilers in late January. He took some time to get up to speed, but worked his way into the daily lineup through much of February. Head coach Kris Knoblauch rotated Klingberg through reps on all three defensive pairings. The 11-year-veteran averaged just over 17 minutes of ice time each game and found his way to four points, 13 blocked shots, and five hits. But Klingberg’s run at the Oilers’ lineup was short-lived, and he fell to injury after just 10 games. His departure came just ahead of the Trade Deadline, and could have been part of why Edmonton paid the lofty price of Carl Berglund and a first-round draft pick to acquire Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks. That’s proved the expert’s bet as the season’s second-half wrapped up, with Walman netting eight points in 15 games before the end of Edmonton’s season.

Klingberg attempted to return from his injury on March 27th – two weeks after he left the lineup. But he needed a longer recovery window, keeping the Oilers back from rostering a much-needed right-shot defenseman. Edmonton will get that benefit back just in time now – and at a perfect time too. The Oilers have already ruled out top-four defenseman Mattias Ekholm for the entire first round. Walman was also questionable for the start of the first round, though the defender told media on Friday that he feels ready to go. Walman will instantly assume a top-four role on Edmonton’s left-side, while the club decides between icing Klingberg – or one of Brett Kulak or Ty Emberson on their off-hand – to round out their right-side.

The Oilers could get more good news out of Frederic or Kane soon. The former was another Trade Deadline pickup, but has only managed one appearance with the Oilers since March. Frederic has been coping with an ankle injury, but made his return to full practice in the skates leading up to the first round. If he is indeed headed back to the lineup, he’ll bring a mix of shooting luck and heavy-frame physicality needed to back up Edmonton’s superstars. Kane could bring the same mix, though he missed the entirety of the regular season with a mix of injuries and surgeries. Frederic recorded eight goals and 15 points in 57 games with the Boston Bruins prior to his trade to Edmonton; while Kane scored 24 goals and 44 points in 77 games last season. It seems Frederic will be the healthier of the two, though both could factor into Edmonton’s bottom-six over the course of round one.

Edmonton Oilers| Injury Evander Kane| John Klingberg| Trent Frederic

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Adam Boqvist, Kyle Palmieri Nearing Extension With Islanders

April 20, 2025 at 9:55 am CDT | by Gabriel Foley 7 Comments

The New York Islanders are looking to stay busy as their season comes to an end. The team is closing in on extensions for winger Kyle Palmieri and defenseman Adam Boqvist, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. The pair of moves would go a long way towards solidifying New York’s early look for next season, by holding onto longtime lineup pillars and bringing back new additions.

Boqvist and Palmieri are two of 12 pending free agents on the Islanders’ roster. Palmieri joins the camp of five unrestricted free-agents, while Boqvist is one of seven restricted-free agents with arbitration eligibility. That standing will likely earn the former a hardier payday.

Palmieri is coming off of a four-year, $20MM contract signed ahead of the 2021-22 campaign. That deal guaranteed his long-standing with the Islanders organization, after he joined the team via a mid-season trade from the New Jersey Devils in the shortened 2020-21 season. Palmieri was a routine 25-goal, 50-point scorer in the Devils lineup, but struggled to carry that momentum over to the Islanders. He scored 33 points in each of his first two seasons on the Island, through 69 and 55 games respectively. But New York was soon rewarded for hanging onto the aging winger, as Palmieri sprung back to form with 30 goals and 54 points last season. He kept it up with 24 goals and 48 points this season – made better by the fact that Palmieri hasn’t missed a game since January of 2023.

Palmieri has performed well enough to maintain a high price tag on his next deal, but he’s not likely to get much of a raise. At 33 years old, any multi-year extension will very likely carry Palmieri into retirement. Even better, Palmieri is only 100 games off of his 1,000th appearance in the NHL. The right term could make sure he enters both of those gates as a member of the Islanders, though New York will hope he doesn’t face the same scoring slump he went through after signing his last contract.

News of Boqvist’s extension is a bit more encouraging. The 24-year-old defenseman landed with the Islanders via waivers from the Florida Panthers in January of this season. He had previously signed a one-year, one-way, league-minimum contract with Florida this summer, and scored six points in 18 games with the club. Boqvist boosted those numbers to eight points in 17 games in a second-half run with the Islanders. He found strong footing on New York’s bottom pairing and became the choice pick over fellow new addition Scott Perunovich.

A new contract will be a bode of confidence in the young Boqvist. He was a top-10 selection in the 2018 NHL Draft, but has since played for four different clubs. Boqvist has only ever signed one extension with a club – in 2022, when he inked a three-year re-up with the Columbus Blue Jackets before being bought out two years later. A new deal with the Islanders will be a rare chance for the young defender to find his footing in an everyday lineup role behind the heavy-hitters of New York’s top-four.

NHL| New York Islanders Adam Boqvist| Kyle Palmieri

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Canucks’ Filip Chytil Healthy Entering The Offseason

April 20, 2025 at 8:37 am CDT | by Gabriel Foley 2 Comments

Vancouver Canucks centerman Filip Chytil missed the last 16 games of the season after sustaining a concussion in the team’s March 15th win over the Chicago Blackhawks. It was yet another concussion for the 25-year-old, after brain injuries limited his 2023-24 season to 10 games and forced a brief return to his native Czechia. But good news has finally crested, with Chytil sharing that he’s feeling back to 100 percent and even skated at Canucks practice last week, per Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor.

Were the Canucks able to make up the six-point difference between their final result and a playoff entry, they could have been entertaining the thought of working Chytil back into the lineup soon. Even then, his return to full health is encouraging. Chytil’s career has been marred by persistent injuries – including no fewer than three suspected long-term concussions. He has never played in more than 75 games in a single season – with that mark set in his rookie season, which was ended early by a suspected concussion. Upper-body injuries forced Chytil out of long stretches through each of the next three seasons, before he returned to mostly-good health in 2022-23. That was a breakout season for Chytil, marked by a career-high 22 goals and 45 points. But he couldn’t hold his footing through either of the last two seasons.

The constant injuries are made extra frustrating by just how bourgeoning Chytil’s game seems. He seems to be emerging as a proud second-line center capable of reaching 20 goals and 50 points. Even through injury this season, Chytil totaled 13 goals and 26 points in 56 games this season – an 82-game pace of 19 goals and 38 points. The performance was evidence of a stride forward in his offensive output, after he scored 22 or 23 points in every season between 2018 and 2022 regardless of how many games he played.

Reaching full health at the cusp of the offseason could be perfectly timed for Chytil. He’s signed to the Canucks roster through the end of the 2026-27 season, and should have a clear path to a top-six center role pending any summer additions. That stability and projection will let Chytil focus solely on training and nursing his persistent injuries. With a summer of dedicated effort, next season will hopefully be the year that Chytil can embrace a year of good health.

Injury| Vancouver Canucks Filip Chytil

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Dryden Hunt Clears Waivers

April 19, 2025 at 1:01 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment

Saturday: The Flames announced that Hunt has been assigned to AHL Calgary, meaning that he was not claimed off waivers.

Friday: With their 2024-25 campaign concluded, the Calgary Flames are making the moves needed to bolster their AHL ranks per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. That includes placing forward Dryden Hunt on waivers for the purposes of reassignment. Hunt played in the final four games of Calgary’s season and recorded three assists. It was his only scoring of the NHL season, after he also played in a scoreless game in early February.

This move should return Hunt to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, where he’s stood as one of the most impactful players on the roster. Hunt ranks third on the Wranglers in scoring with 48 points in as many games. He is one of just 15 players to appear in more than 25 AHL games and maintain a point-per-game scoring pace this season. That scoring is largely thanks to just how red-hot the Wranglers offense has stayed all season. The Wranglers supported five different forwards to 40-point campaigns, including Rory Kerins (60 points), Martin Frk (58), William Stromgren (48), and Sam Morton (45). Defenseman Jeremie Poirier came one point shy of reaching the 40-point mark as well.

But Hunt’s recent seasons have been building towards a strong showing. He scored 22 points in 23 AHL games last season, and totaled 29 points in 32 games split between the Toronto Marlies and Wranglers during the 2022-23 season. The 29-year-old Cranbrook native has had a journeyman career across the professional leagues, and spent NHL time with each of the Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, and Colorado Avalanche – in addition to Canadian stints in Toronto and Calgary.

In total, Hunt has recorded 54 points and 121 penalty minutes across 235 games in the NHL. Roster rules would require he be assigned to the minor leagues even if another team were to claim him – and doing so might not be a bad bet after a year of consistently strong play in an electric Wranglers top-six. But it seems likely that he’ll instead stay in Calgary, and look to support the Wranglers to a long playoff run.

AHL| Calgary Flames| Transactions| Waivers Dryden Hunt

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Ian Mitchell Clears Waivers, Bruins Reassign Six To AHL

April 17, 2025 at 6:00 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley 1 Comment

Thursday: Mitchell has cleared waivers, relays Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal.  He has been returned to Providence as well.

Wednesday: The Boston Bruins have made a wave of roster moves after playing their final game of the season on Tuesday. Most notably, defenseman Ian Mitchell has been placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to the minor leagues. If he clears, he’ll join five other Bruins headed to Providence: forwards Fabian Lysell, Fraser Minten, John Farinacci, and Vinni Lettieri; and defenseman Frederic Brunet. All six players have spent time in the minor leagues this season.

Mitchell will be available to all teams in the league, though post-Trade Deadline roster rules would require a claiming team to assign him to their own AHL squad. In returning to the minors, Mitchell will return to the productive 27 points he scored in 46 games with Providence earlier this season. That mark led all Providence defensemen in scoring this season, even despite the rest of the blue-line playing upwards of 20 more games. Mitchell’s two-way impact and stout scoring earned him the role of extra defenseman after Boston traded top-four defender Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the deadline.

Mitchell stepped into 15 games with the Bruins this season but only managed one point, two penalty minutes, and a minus-two. His appearances were quiet once again, lining up with the two points and 10 PIMs he recorded in 13 games with Boston last season – though he did manage a stronger plus-six that year. Mitchell has rotated between major and minor rosters for the last five NHL seasons. He has six points in nine career Calder Cup Playoff games, and would be an impactful addition to either Providence’s – or another squad’s – postseason run.

This wave of roster moves also features Boston’s top two prospects in Minten and Lysell. Both forwards rotated into the NHL lineup through the latter half of this season, but struggled to find much scoring. Minten scored just one goal in six appearances with the Bruins. Lysell recorded three points in 12 games, though they were all scored within his last four appearances. Both rookies seemed to become more-and-more comfortable in the NHL lineup as the season went on. Lysell ended the season on an impressive hot-streak that saw him actively seeking out the puck and making long-stretches of plays. Minten seemed to adjust well to a move to Boston, after being acquired in the aforementioned Carlo trade.

Both prospects have been productive in the minors. Lysell has 34 points in 51 AHL games this season – a mark he outscored with 50 points in 56 games last season. Minten has scored 30 points in 36 combined AHL games this season, including seven points in 10 games with Providence. The duo will look to carve out top roles and meaningful impacts as Providence enters the postseason.

They’ll be backed by a wave of veteran depth in Farinacci, Lettieri, and Brunet. All three have found top-end roles in Providence, led by Lettieri, whose 48 points in 46 games this season leads the AHL Bruins in point-per-game scoring. Farinacci is scoring at a career-high pace from behind Lettieri in the lineup, netting 37 points in 57 AHL games – just shy of his 38 points in 71 games last season. Even Brunet has found production from the blue-line, with 24 points in 68 games the second-best on the Providence defense behind Mitchell. All three players carved out their roles in Providence early in the season and will reassume them with this move – Lettieri and Farinacci headed back to the top-six on offense, and Brunet headed for a clear top-four role on the defense.

AHL| Boston Bruins| Transactions| Waivers Fabian Lysell| Fraser Minten| Frederic Brunet| Ian Mitchell| John Farinacci| Vinni Lettieri

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Snapshots: Merzlikins, Nurse, Atkinson, Puljujarvi

April 16, 2025 at 7:34 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment

The Columbus Blue Jackets will have to stick with alternative options in net as starter Elvis Merzlikins is not expected to be healthy for the team’s season finale on Thursday per NHL.com’s Jeff Svoboda. Merzlikins has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury. He’s not far off from a return and has already returned to practice, should Columbus find a way to extend their season. To make the playoffs, the Blue Jackets will need to win their final game, and hope the Montreal Canadiens lose their finale against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Columbus has utilized red-hot goaltender Jet Greaves in the wake of Merzlikins’ injury. The 24-year-old fill-in has been stellar over his recent stretch, winning each of his last four games and recording two shutouts. In total, Greaves has posted a .975 save percentage over his last stretch. The performance has been a continuation of Greaves’ dominant season in the minor leagues, where he’s recorded a .920 save percentage in 40 appearances – sixth-highest in the NHL.

The Blue Jackets will face a tough decision should they break into the postseason. Merzlikins has a quaint .892 save percentage and 26-21-5 record on the season. That’s been enough to perform above backup Daniil Tarasov’s .881 save percentage, but it’s hardly been enough to boost the squad’s playoff odds. With Greaves having one of the hottest gloves in the hockey world over his last four games, Columbus could opt for the youngster as they pursue their first playoff bid since 2020.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse has been suspended for one game for cross-checking Los Angeles Kings forward Quinton Byfield, per an announcement from the Department of Player Safety. No details on if Byfield is injured have been released, though he was a scratch in Los Angeles’ final game of the season. Nurse will miss Edmonton’s season finale – an ultimately inconsequential game with the squad already locked into a First Round matchup with the Kings. As things stand, both Nurse and Byfield are expected to return for Game 1 of the postseason. Nurse will look to find a spark after netting 33 points in 76 games this season, while Byfield will continue his lead of the Kings’ lineup, after scoring 23 goals and 54 points in 80 games. Byfield ranks fourth on the Kings in scoring.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled veteran depth forward Cam Atkinson. The move comes after fourth-line forward Mitchell Chaffee was banged up in the team’s Tuesday win over the Florida Panthers. Atkinson has been assigned to the minors on multiple occasions but hasn’t played in any AHL contests. His only hockey this season has come from 38 games in the Tampa Bay lineup, where he’s recorded nine points, eleven penalty minutes, and a minus-four. Atkinson may need to fill Chaffee’s depth role in Tampa Bay’s Thursday finale against the New York Rangers. Chaffee has 12 goals and 18 points in 66 games this season.
  • Speaking of Chaffee, Florida Panthers winger Jesse Puljujarvi is set to have a DoPS hearing for an illegal check to the Lightning forward’s head on Tuesday. Puljujarvi hasn’t yet received any discipline from DoPS in his eight-year NHL career. He’s playing with his fourth NHL club in the last three years in Florida, and has one goal and 15 penalty minutes in five games. Puljujarvi earned his call-up to the Panthers lineup after recording 12 points in 20 games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. He’ll be one of many options the team has as they enter the postseason, though any lineup role would be minimal.

AHL| Columbus Blue Jackets| Edmonton Oilers| Florida Panthers| Injury| NHL| Snapshots| Tampa Bay Lightning| Transactions Cam Atkinson| Darnell Nurse| Elvis Merzlikins| Jesse Puljujarvi| Mitchell Chaffee| Quinton Byfield

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Minor Transactions: 4/16/25

April 16, 2025 at 5:11 pm CDT | by Gabriel Foley Leave a Comment

The NHL season has come to an end, or soon will, for teams around the league that missed out on this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. That fact has driven many to begin the process of assigning their waiver-exempt players to more successful teams in the minor leagues. We’ll cover the bulk of those assignments here:

  • In a rare move with playoff implications, the St. Louis Blues have assigned top forward prospect Dalibor Dvorsky to the minor leagues. Dvorsky hasn’t played since April 9th, when he made his second career appearance in the NHL. He has no points and an average of nine minutes in ice time over his first two games. This move will return him to a star role in the minor leagues, where his 20 goals and 44 points in 59 games rank third and fourth on the Springfield Thunderbirds respectively. Springfield have squeaked into the Calder Cup playoffs with 74 points in 70 games this season. Dvorsky will be a major boost to their postseason roster, unless the Blues opt to include him in their inevitable wave of Black Ace recalls.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have assigned top defense prospects Kevin Korchinski and Artyom Levshunov to the AHL after the end of their season, per a release from the Rockford IceHogs. Both players have manned dominant roles in the IceHogs lineup this season – Korchinski looking to find his comfort after a hard NHL role last season, and Levshunov looking to vindicate his second-overall selection in last year’s draft. They lead the Rockford blue-line in scoring, with Korchinski netting 27 points in 54 games and Levshunov scoring 22 points in 50 games. Levshunov proved the more productive in all three zones at the NHL level. He recorded six assists, eight penalty minutes, and a minus-13 in his first 18 games in the NHL. Korchisnki only scored two points in 16 NHL games this season, though his minus-five was the fourth-best on the Chicago defense. The duo will offer a well-rounded impact to Rockford’s playoff push – Korchinski bringing strong offense and Levshunov showing strong two-way play.
  • The San Jose Sharks have assigned defenseman Luca Cagnoni back to the minor leagues after recalling him to play in their latest game, per Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group. Cagnoni recorded an assist and two penalties in roughly 18 minutes of Monday’s overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks. The score was his second assist in six NHL games this season, on top of eight penalty minutes and a minus-four. Cagnoni was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team on Wednesday – high praise after he led all rookie defensemen in scoring with 14 goals and 49 points in 62 games this season. Cagnoni had a breakout season in his first professional campaign, and already seems to be outperforming his fourth-round selection in the 2023 NHL Draft. He will look to keep a good year going as the San Jose Barracuda prepare for a playoff push.
  • Winger Kailer Yamamoto represents the first veteran on this list. He’s headed back to the Tucson Roadrunners alongside goaltender Matt Villalta, after the end of the Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural season, per Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. Yamamoto has been a force in the minor leagues. He leads Tucson in scoring this season with 53 points in 52 games. It’s been a valiant performance that earned the depth forward 12 appearances in the NHL. He scored three points in those games. Villalta has stood tall as Tucson’s starting goaltender as well, with a team-leading .906 save percentage in 41 games this season. He played in just the third NHL game of his career this season and recorded a win, with 28 saves on 31 shots. Yamamoto will return to Tucson’s top-line, while Villalta will likely return to the starter’s role ahead of Jaxson Stauber.
  • The Nashville Predators have assigned Ryan Ufko back to the minor leagues, per Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean. Ufko made his NHL debut on Monday. He didn’t manage any notable stat changes in 15:37 of ice time. Ufko has emerged as a top-four defender for the Milwaukee Admirals this season. His eight goals and 29 points in 71 games lead the Admirals blue-line in scoring. Ufko is still rounding out the physical and two-way aspects of his game, but his emergence as an AHL rookie has proven promising on a Preadtors team well capable of honing defenders into NHL talents.

AHL| Chicago Blackhawks| NHL| Nashville Predators| Players| Prospects| San Jose Sharks| St. Louis Blues| Transactions| Utah Mammoth Artyom Levshunov| Dalibor Dvorsky| Kailer Yamamoto| Kevin Korchinski| Luca Cagnoni| Matt Villalta| Ryan Ufko

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