Prospect Notes: Hallander, Fiddler, Ivankovic
Pittsburgh Penguins winger Filip Hallander has returned to his home country of Sweden for training after recovering from a blood clot per Seth Rorabaugh of Trib Live. Hallander only played in 16 games this season – 13 in the NHL and three in the AHL – due to the blood clot.
Bad health kept Hallander from playing through his NHL rookie season – his next step after posting 89 points in 102 games through two seasons in Sweden’s SHL. Hallander found his confidence in Sweden and looked to return a much more capable play-driver, after getting his first taste of the AHL between 2021 and 2023.
Hallander began the season with Pittsburgh and scored four points, before a three-game scoring lull earned him a bump to the minors. He added one more point with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before being removed from the lineup.
Hallander is a confident puck-mover who uses his skill to beat defenders and rack up points. He has yet to prove that talent at the top flight, though he does have 62 points in 107 career AHL games. He will be evaluated by the Penguins for availability at 2026-27 training camp upon returning from Sweden. If he is cleared by doctors, next season could be Hallander’s first chance to dig his feet into an NHL role.
Other notes out of the prospect world:
- Seattle Kraken prospect Blake Fiddler has announced his commitment to the University of Denver. He will join a strong cohort of young defensemen headed to the National Championship winners, alongside top 2026 draft prospect Ben MacBeath and Ryan Lin. Fiddler offers a confident bit of puck-movement and physicality, blending well with Lin’s dynamo offense and MacBeath’s strong defensive presence. Their additions will give Denver more than enough to make up for the loss of Hobey Baker Award finalist and San Jose Sharks prospect Eric Pohlkamp. Fiddler, a Texas native, racked up 11 goals and 36 points in 63 games with the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings this season. He carved out a second-pair role and posted a career-high plus-23.
- Sticking with college hockey, Nashville Predators prospect and University of Michigan starter Jack Ivankovic will join Team Canada at the World Championship per Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek. This will be a golden chance for Ivankovic to prove his iron man abilities after missing a chunk of the season due to a lower-body injury. Ivankovic returned well ahead of schedule from that injury and led Michigan to a Frozen Four semi-final loss against the eventual championship-winning Denver Pioneers. The second-round draft pick set 25 wins and a .921 save percentage in 35 games with Michigan this season. His performance marked the most wins from a goaltender under the age of 19 since Tyler Wall posted 26 wins with UMass-Lowell in 2017 and Billy Sauer posted 25 wins with Michigan in 2007.
Rangers Promote Tanner Glass To Director Of Player Development
The New York Rangers have made their first change of the summer. The club has released Jed Ortmeyer from his role as Director Of Player Development and promoted Tanner Glass in his spot per Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic. Glass has served as the Assistant Director since 2020. This decision is part of a complete assessment of New York’s departments, general manager Chris Drury told Mercogliano.
New York has now missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2018 and 2019. Their roster has failed to pull into a better form since those prior struggles, with Mika Zibanejad still leading the ship, now alongside Alexis Lafreniere and J.T. Miller rather than Mats Zuccarello and Pavel Buchnevich. The Rangers made the bold decision to trade star scorer Artemi Panarin partway through their losing season in an attempt to fortify their future assets, at the least.
Now the team will take another step to ensure they get more out of their draft capital. Glass played three seasons with the Rangers from 2014 to 2017, as part of an 11-year career in the NHL. He was a depth forward in every stop he made but found a way to stick in the lineup thanks to gritty and high-energy play away from the puck. Glass retired in 2018 and joined the Rangers as a development coach one year later. His presence has played a small role in the success of New York’s burgeoning youngsters, like Noah Laba and Gabriel Perreault, though Drury made sure to also praise Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley for deciding to pick both players.
New York has value in the pipeline. They received high-scoring, OHL center Liam Greentree as part of a return for Panarin and recently watched 2025 second-round pick Malcolm Spence run to the Frozen Four semi-finals with the University of Michigan. Both players could one day secure roles in the lineup, as could shutdown defensemen E.J. Emery and Sean Barnhill or utility forwards Adam Sykora and Brody Lamb. Honing their development, as well as the development of future draft picks, will now be Glass’ top priority. New York has two first-round picks, one second-round pick, and four third-round picks as part of 11 total selections in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Evening Notes: Hronek, Tippett, Manson, Kiviranta
Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek was injured in pre-tournament action with Team Czechia’s World Championship roster per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News. Dhaliwal adds that Hronek “should be okay soon”, likely a sign that the top Czech defender won’t miss tournament action.
Hronek has carved out an important role on Czechia’s men’s national team. He scored five assists in five games at the 2026 Winter Olympics and six points in eight games at the 2025 World Championship. The latter tournament was Hronek’s first appearance on Czechia’s national roster since the 2022 World Championship, where he scored two points in 10 games. That quiet showing was outdone by his 15 points in 17 games between the 2019 and 2021 World Championships. More than his scoring, Hronek offers a physical, puck-moving presence that helps the Czech push their aggressive forecheck. He would leave an irreplaceable hole on the top-pair if he missed tournament games.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Philadelphia Flyers forward Owen Tippett has been announced as out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. He was doubtful to play in Game 1 of the second round after practice per NBCS’ Jordan Hall. A chance to rest could be timely for Tippett, who racked up two points in six games of the first round. It was a lackluster series for the scoring winger, after he tied his career-high with 23 goals and totaled 51 points in 81 games this season. He fills an important, shooter role in the Flyers offense and could leave a hole in the top-six. Tippett’s absence will secure rookie Alex Bump’s spot in the lineup. Bump scored nine points in the first 17 games of his NHL career this season. He also has one goal in two playoff appearances. He may be one of only a few black aces who could try to fill in for Tippett’s scoring impact.
- The Colorado Avalanche are also still nursing injuries. Defenseman Josh Manson and forward Joel Kiviranta are both still out day-to-day, head coach Jared Bednar told Bailey Curtis of DNVR Avalanche. Manson sat out of Game 4 against the Los Angeles Kings and hasn’t been able to heal up in six days since. He scored two points in the first three games of the series, continuing to fill an important, top-four role on Colorado’s defense. Kiviranta sat out of both Game 3 and 4, limiting him to no scoring and five hits in the first two games of the series. He totaled nine points in 51 games this season, rotaitng in-and-out of the team’s fourth line. Manson will immediately step back into the lineup when he’s back at full health, while Kiviranta will compete with Logan O’Connor and Parker Kelly for depth minutes.
Oilers Notes: McDavid, Dickinson, Draisaitl, Knoblauch
The Edmonton Oilers held their end-of-season interviews after failing to win one playoff round, on the heels of back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Finals. It was a day filled with difficult conversations and injury updates. Notably, both Connor McDavid and Jason Dickinson were revealed to be playing through foot fractures, head coach Kris Knoblauch told Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. Dickinson scored two goals in the opening game of the first round before missing the next two games with injury. He returned for the final three games of the series and added one assist.
McDavid played through all six postseason games but didn’t neccesarily appear like his usual self. He scored only one goal and six points. It was rare that he broke away with top-end speed or dominated offense – instead leaving those roles to Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, and Vasily Podkolzin who led the Oilers in playoff scoring. A fracture is reasonable explanation for those struggles and will now set both McDavid and Dickinson on the course of recovery for at least part of the summer. Knoblauch did not mention specifics for either player’s recovery.
Other notes out of Edmonton:
- Star winger Draisaitl was vocal about the team’s struggles, saying that he feels the organization took a step backwards per NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest. Their result at the end of the year made that backwards step evident enough – but McDavid echoed his teammate’s comments in his own interview. Draisaitl went on to speak to how big of a role Edmonton’s depth players filled on their run to the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals, even naming Ryan McLeod, Warren Foegele, Vincent Desharnais, and Cody Ceci. It seems the Oilers’ charge through the summer will be replicating that difference-making depth talent, if they want to appease their best players ahead of another playoff heave next season.
- No indication was made regarding Knoblauch’s future with in the Oilers head coach role through the team’s final interviews. General manager Stan Bowman said the organization will take their time to evaluate things before confirming if Knoblauch would be back per TSN’s Ryan Rishaug. Bowman went on to add that all aspects of the team will likely be evaluated, including his own role, after their disappointing end. Those decisions will give the Oilers a lot to consider in a small window before the NHL Draft in June and free agency in July.
Jets’ Nikita Chibrikov, Elias Salomonsson Undergo Surgery
The AHL’s Manitoba Moose will face big lineup impacts as they move on to the Calder Cup Playoffs’ second round. Top Winnipeg Jets prospects Nikita Chibrikov and Elias Salomonsson will both be out for the remaining playoffs after undergoing surgery. Chibrikov is out six-to-eight weeks after a core muscle surgery per Murat Ates of The Athletic. Salomonsson will be on the mend much longer, set to rehab for five-to-six months after shoulder surgery per Ates.
Rehabbing through the summer could cut down Salomonsson’s chances at breaking camp with the Jets next summer. The 21 year old had an encouraging start to his NHL career in the second-half of this season. He scored five points and a minus-six in the first 32 games of his NHL career, to go with nine points in 29 AHL games. He was a wall on the blue-lines for much of the year, bringing confident defense into his first year of pro hockey in North America. With little depth on the Jets blue-line after the trade of Logan Stanley, Salomonsson seemed to have a chance at securing a third-pair role early into the 2026-27 season. Now, those chances could hinge on how he recovers from shoulder surgery.
Chibrikov’s summer training shouldn’t be knocked too far off course by his surgery. The 23 year old filled a third-line role with the Moose for much of the season. He finished the year with 16 points and a minus-19 in 53 AHL games and no scoring in 11 NHL games. Chibrikov has just four points in 16 career NHL games, a quiet mark for the former 50th-overall draft pick. Chibrikov had a strong rookie season in the AHL, netting 47 points in 70 games – a mark he hasn’t been able to match in 83 games over the last two seasons combined. The 2026-27 season will be focused on getting back to that first-year performance. If he can, Chibrikov could earn another chance to prove his productivity at the top flight.
Manitoba will look to find a spark from late-season addition Alfons Freij on defense, and Brayden Yager or Colby Barlow on offense, to help supplant their pair of missing prospects. The Moose will kick off a series against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday.
Wild’s Jonas Brodin Out Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury
The Minnesota Wild will be forced to make a change on defense ahead of a potentially-decisive Game 6. Top-four defender Jonas Brodin will be forced to miss the outing due to a day-to-day, lower-body injury sustained in Game 5 per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. The injury occurred when Brodin blocked a shot from Stars winger Mikko Rantanen. He left the game with two minutes left in the second period and did not return.
Brodin has averaged 19:41 in ice time through five games this series. He has had a quiet postseason, with just one assist, four penalty minutes, and 14 shot blocks in five games. Brodin has still shined as a defensive impact, on the ice for four goals-for and two goals-against at even-strength.
His role has quelled significantly after averaging nearly 23 minutes of ice time through the 2024-25 season. That step down the depth chart is largely thanks to Minnesota’s newly-christened top pair of Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber, who are two of only four players averaging more than 30 minutes of ice time in the postseason. Both defenders have five points in as many games in these playoffs. Their presence, alongside Wild captain Jared Spurgeon, should help the Wild mitigate Brodin’s hole at even-strength and on the penalty-kill.
Jacob Middleton will move up to a second-pair role next to Spurgeon. Middleton recorded 16 points and a plus-two in 75 regular season games and has since notched one point and a plus-three in the postseason. He led all Wild defensemen with 87 hits through the regular season, underlining the physical and defense-first presence Middleton brings to the lineup.
Jeff Petry will come down from the press box in Brodin’s absence, playing in his first postseason game since 2021. Petry joined the Wild just ahead of the Trade Deadline and has scored one assist and a minus-five in nine games since. He has lost some spark in the sunset years of his career but has a career-long stat line of 13 points and a minus-two in 48 postseason games. He should offer a puck-moving boost to the third-pair.
Even with replacements at the ready, Minnesota will still need Hughes, Faber, and Spurgeon to step up if they want to seal the first round on Thursday. If they do, they could buy enough time for Brodin to recover from his injury before the start of the second round.
Kraken’s Jessica Campbell To Explore Options This Summer
The Seattle Kraken could have a bench spot to fill this summer. Assistant coach Jessica Campbell is set to be a free agent for the first time since being promoted to the NHL in 2024. She is expected to take the chance to explore other options around the league, per a press release from Kraken general manager Jason Botterill. Botterill said:
Jessica has been an important member of our coaching staff for the past four years, demonstrating deep knowledge and a unique ability to connect with, and develop, players.
While this could likely result in Campbell moving on from the Pacific Northwest, it doesn’t appear Seattle has closed the door to bringing Campbell back next season, per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. Kaplan adds that Campbell has generated interest from across the NHL.
Campbell became the first woman to fill a full-time, assistant coach role in the NHL. She accomplished the same feat in the AHL when she joined Dan Bylsma‘s staff on the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 2022. Campbell already had an extensive hockey resume at the time, with one World Championship silver medal, three NCAA conference championships, and one season as an assistant coach for the DEL’s Nurnberg Ice Tigers, part of Germany’s top pro league, under her belt. Coachella Valley raced to the Calder Cup Finals in both seasons under Bylsma and Campbell’s reign, though they lost to the Hershey Bears both times.
A pair of appearances in the championship series was still enough to earn Bylsma and Campbell a promotion to the NHL. It was a reunion for Bylsma, who spent seven seasons as an NHL head coach between 2009 and 2017. Unfortunately, that reunion quickly turned sour, with Bylsma being dismissed after leading Seattle to a 35-41-6 record and bottom-12 finish in both goals-scored and goals-against in the 2024-25 season. The Kraken opted to retain Campbell despite firing their top coach, a bode of confidence in the former professional skills coach.
Now one season later, the Kraken are continuing to speak praise towards Campbell’s ability to lead at the top level. She could be an intriguing candidate for teams looking to bring a bit more finesse to their lineup. The Columbus Blue Jackets recently fired two assistant coaches, opening the door for the NHL’s oldest head coach, Rick Bowness, to hire his own bench staff. The New York Islanders also recently parted with head coach Patrick Roy, in favor of free agent Peter DeBoer. Both clubs could use a jolt of offense after impressive seasons that still fell short of the postseason. Campbell, once a dynamic and intelligent playmaker at Cornell University and for Sweden’s SDHL Malmo Redhawks, could bring that jolt with an extra focus on developing some of the club’s burgeoning stars.
Stars Expected To Scratch Tyler Myers In Game 6
With their first-round matchup against the Minnesota wild on the line, the Dallas Stars appear set to scratch defenseman Tyler Myers for Game 6 per Lia Assimakopoulos of Dallas News. Dallas acquired Myers ahead of the Trade Deadline in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2029 fourth-round pick. The deal moved Myers to his hometown Stars after seven seasons with the Vancouver Canucks.
Myers has been a quiet addition to the Stars lineup. His results were nearly even through 16 regular season games. Myers was on the ice for six goals for and six goals against, as well as 5.07 expected-goals for and 5.01 expected-goals against. He also racked up three assists. It seemed he had a firm grip on a third-pair role headed into the postseason but Myers’ performance has quickly run cold. He has no points and a minus-five in five games this series. His biggest impact to the lineup has been in the physical game – he leads all Stars defensemen with 11 hits this postseason – but even that boost came to a screeching halt when Myers went without any hits in Game 5.
Without a physical boost or much play-driving, Myers filled a quiet 14 minutes of ice time on Tuesday – just one game after playing 27:25 in the Stars’ overtime loss to Minnesota on Sunday. Now, he’ll fall out of the lineup entirely, with Alexander Petrovic set to take his place. Petrovic ranked second on the Stars blue-line with 88 hits in 54 games. He also recorded 10 points, 47 penalty minutes, and 77 shot blocks.
Dallas is in need of another physical force to try and stop Minnesota’s high-tempo stars. They will hope Petrovic can meet that need more directly, after Myers missed the mark in their last outing. How Petrovic performs could shape Dallas’ lineup through the rest of the postseason but likely won’t have an effect beyond the summer, with Myers signed to a reasonable $1.5MM cap hit through the 2026-27 season.
Cole Caufield, Anže Kopitar, Jake Sanderson Named Lady Byng Finalists
The NHL has announced the finalists for the 2026 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. The trophy is presented annually to the player who exhibits a high standard of sportsmanship, gentlemanly conduct, and playing ability. This year’s finalists are Montreal Canadiens winger Cole Caufield, Los Angeles Kings centerman Anže Kopitar, and Ottawa Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson.
Kopitar has won the Lady Byng three times, including in 2023 and 2025. He has exemplified sportsmanship and leadership through 10 seasons as the Kings’ captain. That run came to a peak this season as the 38-year-old Kopitar went on his final tour around the league. In what was the planned finale to his career, he scored 12 goals and 38 points in 67 games and helped Los Angeles push into their fifth consecutive playoff berth. After a first-round exit at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, Kopitar officially announced his retirement after 20 seasons in the league. He was a perennial 60-point scorer who reached as high as 92 points at his peak.
While Lady Byng voting will be based on this season, it will be hard not to consider Kopitar’s legacy in Los Angeles. One more Lady Byng win would tie him with Pavel Datsyuk for the most since 2000. Red Kelly also won four times between 1951 and 1961. Wayne Gretzky won the Lady Byng five times between 1980 and 1999. The all-time record holder is Frank Boucher, who won the trophy seven times in eight years between 1928 and 1935. Boucher’s run of wins let him take home the original Lady Byng Trophy and prompted the creation of the Memorial Trophy.
Caufield receives his first finalist bid for the Lady Byng this season, after finishing 64th and 34th in voting in the last two seasons respectively. The Canadiens’ star winger is predominantly known for big smiles and great goal-scoring, two traits that ramped up as he achieved a breakout 51 goals and 88 points in 81 games this season. Caufield became the first Canadiens player to cross the 50-goal mark since Stephane Richer in 1990. He also led the league with 12 game-winning goals. That performance helped boost Canadiens center Nick Suzuki to his first 100-point campaign and brought Montreal into their second consecutive postseason. Caufield does not wear a letter for Montreal but the impact of his personality on and off of the ice is still top class. Even if he does not win the Lady Byng this season, a nomination at the age of 25 speaks to Caufield’s chances at one day cementing the trophy.
The same can be said for the 23-year-old Sanderson, who stepped into Ottawa’s top defense role with a breakout season. Sanderson finished the year with 14 goals and 54 points in 67 games. He averaged nearly 25 minutes of ice time a night, in part thanks to the string of injuries that plagued fellow top defenseman Thomas Chabot – who missed 25 games. Only seven players averaged more ice time than Sanderson at even-strength. He also ranked in the top-15 of penalty-killing time per game. His ability to step into a major role for Ottawa, intermixed with a Gold Medal win with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics, make Sanderson a great candidate for multiple nominations this award season.
Kings’ Brandt Clarke Hoping For Bigger Role
One of the top priorities for the Los Angeles Kings this summer will be re-signing top, young defenseman Brandt Clarke. The 23 year old racked up 81 points in 185 NHL games on his entry-level contract, including 40 points while playing in all 82 games of this season. He has already expressed his desire to stick in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future – but that desire may come with a catch. After a strong campaign, Clarke feels it’s time for more responsibility, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the April 27 episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast.
Clarke lined up as Los Angeles’ second-pair, right-defenseman this season. He operated behind Kings legend Drew Doughty and alongside veteran depth defenseman Joel Edmundson. Even with Edmundson’s knack for quiet results, the Kings’ second-pair still managed to outscore opponents 50-to-36, while racking up an expected-goal differential of 42.1-to-38.7 per Line Blender. Clarke’s game shined even brighter away from Edmundson. He outscored opponents 17-to-eight in roughly 350 minutes away from Edmundson, which amounted to only one-third of his total even-strength ice time this season.
Those are encouraging numbers for the Kings. On the heels of his first 40-point campaign, Clarke has proven an ability to step up and drive his line. He also proved to be a fantastic power-play quarterback, on the ice for 19 goals in 184 minutes of power-play ice time. But even when considering special teams, Los Angeles faces the same question. Can Clarke do enough to play above Doughty in the lineup?
Next season will be a contract year and almost certainly represent the beginning of sunset years for the 36-year-old Doughty. He fell to 23 points in 72 games this season after missing 52 games last year due to injury. It seems the days of Doughty’s 50-point seasons are well behind him. The two-time Stanley Cup champion added another feather to his cap this season with his third appearance at the Winter Olympics and now must face the challenge of turning over his role. It won’t be an easy transition. Even in a quiet year, Doughty led the Kings roster with 23 minutes of ice time on average, two more minutes than any other skater on the team. He continued to stand as a pillar of the lineup, while Los Angeles’ second and third defense pairs didn’t average more than 20 minutes each game.
On the first free agent contract of his career, Clarke will hope to flip those roles. Even ceding two minutes of ice time each night would bring the two defenders much more in-line. Los Angeles could also face a question of who to partner Clarke with as he climbs to star minutes. They will have roughly $18MM in cap space this summer, per PuckPedia, with Clarke and Andrei Kuzmenko as their biggest pending-free agents.
Any remaining salary cap could be dedicated to bringing in a difference-maker at left-defense – someone who could operate behind Michael Anderson while still offering more top-end upside than Edmundson. The market for left-defenders is slim this summer but a player like Mario Ferraro has experience standing up to 20 minutes a night for L.A.’s division rival, the San Jose Sharks. Ferraro is hoping for a deal with term this summer, which could go far in helping Los Angeles cement a top-four they can move into the future with – one that has Clarke at the helm.
This season, Clarke became the second Kings defenseman since 2000 to post a 40-point season before their 23rd birthday. The only other defender to achieve the feat in black-and-silver was Doughty. Now, the two will need to find a balance – with one in the midst of their big break and the other fading into retirement. Finding the right balance for their ice time could go far in cementing Los Angeles’ future, and helping the team break past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after five early exits in a row.