German Rubtsov Signs In KHL
2016 Philadelphia Flyers first-round pick German Rubtsov has signed a one-year contract with Spartak Moskva in the KHL, per the team.
Rubtsov, a 24-year-old center, was taken 22nd overall in 2016 with the upside of being a high-end, two-way middle-six center. Things have never quite panned out for him at the professional level, though, as his AHL production had steadily decreased over the past few seasons. The Flyers dealt Rubtsov to the Florida Panthers as part of the Claude Giroux trade last season.
Down the stretch, Rubtsov had just one goal in six regular-season and playoff games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. It wasn’t enough to convince the Panthers to issue him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent this summer.
At 24, Rubtsov is nearly in his prime already. Although it is just a one-year deal, it’s extremely likely that Rubtsov’s chance at an NHL career, or even a career in North America, is completely gone. There’s always the chance that a move back home and a different system is able to help Rubtsov rediscover his game, but it would have to be a magnificent step forward for an NHL team to come calling for him next offseason.
Next season in Moscow, Rubtsov will join a Spartak team that’s made the playoffs for the past five seasons.
NHL, NHLPA Expect World Cup Of Hockey Return In 2024
Speaking Wednesday during the NHL’s European Player Media Tour, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the NHL, NHLPA, and IIHF are “moving full steam ahead” and “continuing to have regular meetings” regarding the return of the World Cup of Hockey tournament in February of 2024.
And, as reported earlier this year, more concrete details about the tournament are beginning to emerge from Daly and the aforementioned planning sessions. According to Daly, the NHL and NHLPA are in the process of narrowing down host cities for the tournament, including select European cities for preliminary and qualification games.
We still want to play one pool in Europe, a preliminary round pool in Europe and a preliminary round pool in North America and move the semifinals and the final to a different city in North America likely. I think that short list would universally encompass more traditional hockey markets.
The tournament is expected to take place over a 17-day period in February, including a day on the front and back end of gameplay for travel purposes. Considering the in-season nature of the tournament, there will be little in terms of practice time for the assembled national teams.
Daly also revealed that there are ongoing discussions about expanding the tournament field from eight teams to 10, although any qualification stage to narrow down the field back to eight would take place during the tournament given the compressed schedule.
Of obvious note is the potential participation of Russia in this tournament, which Daly said today is still uncertain.
This would be the first best-on-best hockey tournament of its kind since the last time the World Cup was held in 2016. The last Winter Olympics to feature NHL talent was the 2014 edition in Sochi, Russia. All in all, it would be the fourth edition of the World Cup, as it was previously held in 1996 and 2004.
Ottawa Senators Reach Affiliation Agreement With Allen Americans
The Ottawa Senators have found an ECHL affiliate, reaching an affiliation agreement with the Allen Americans for an initial duration of one season. The Senators announced the news this morning jointly with their AHL affiliate in Belleville.
2022-23 will mark the first season that the Senators have had an ECHL affiliate since 2019-20, and only the second season out of the last six. Ottawa’s one-year partnership with the Brampton Beast in 2019-20 was beneficial, as the Beast provided a solid bit of development for goalie prospect Joey Daccord, now with the Seattle Kraken. The emergence of COVID-19 at the end of the season, however, forced the Beast franchise to cease operations.
Speaking of the Kraken, the Americans were the new NHL team’s first-ever ECHL affiliate last season. Earlier in the offseason, though, the Kraken opted to not re-sign their agreement with Allen and sign on with the Kansas City Mavericks instead. Allen brings a long history of success to the Senators organization; the franchise has only missed the CHL (Central, not Canadian Hockey League) or ECHL playoffs once since their inception in 2009-10. They were the winners of four straight CHL/ECHL championships from 2013 to 2016.
Senators general manager Pierre Dorion gave the following statement on today’s announcement:
The Americans’ franchise carries a rich tradition of success. We’re looking forward to contributing to it in a positive manner when we begin placing prospects in Allen in 2022-23.
From Senators assistant general manager Ryan Bowness:
Chad Costello and his staff’s tutelage will help our prospects prepare for the next level. Player development is one of our most important priorities. We’re confident that placing prospects in Allen will be an asset to progression.
The Americans could have at least one NHL-contracted player returning from last season: goaltender Antoine Bibeau. The veteran minor-leaguer will be battling for the AHL backup spot behind Mads Sogaard in Belleville, and if he loses out, he could be sent back to Allen where he played 14 games last season.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Paul Stastny
8:17 pm: According to PuckPedia, Stastny’s contract carries a no-trade clause, as well as a $500K performance bonus for winning the Stanley Cup, per CapFriendly.
11:18 am: The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Paul Stastny to a one-year, $1.5MM contract, taking one of the best free agent centers remaining off the market.
Team president and general manager Don Waddell spoke on the deal:
Paul is an extremely reliable veteran who has been effective at both ends of the ice for his entire career. He adds even more experience and leadership to our forward group, and we are excited to have him in Carolina.
He’s right about Stastny being effective at both ends of the ice. The veteran of over 1000 games is solid defensively in his own right but also excels in the faceoff circle. Turning 37 in December, Stastny still managed over 20 goals and 45 points in 71 games for the Winnipeg Jets last season.
Where Stastny actually fits into the Carolina lineup remains to be seen. Stastny still consistently plays top-six minutes and holds his own doing so, but no one can be sure when age will finally catch up to him in that regard. There’s a big question mark at the second-line center spot for Carolina, and it’ll likely be an open-season competition between Stastny, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Martin Necas to see who fits that role best.
For Stastny, joining the Hurricanes provides him with a pretty solid opportunity to hoist a Stanley Cup over his head for the first time in his 16-season career. They’re still extremely scary on paper now, and they’ll be getting an in-house trade deadline acquisition as Max Pacioretty returns to health after the All-Star break. A revamped defense including Brent Burns, Dylan Coghlan, and a healthy Jake Gardiner should be fun to watch, and with the continued development of players like Kotkaniemi, Necas, and Seth Jarvis, the Hurricanes again seem like a strong threat to come out of the East.
Carolina Hurricanes Name Brock Sheahan AHL Head Coach
Per a team release, the Carolina Hurricanes have named Brock Sheahan the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.
Sheahan, 38, becomes a professional hockey coach for the first time. He got his coaching start with Notre Dame in 2013-14 as an assistant coach, serving just one season. For four seasons from 2014 to 2018, he spent time as an assistant and associate coach for the College of the Holy Cross before getting a job with the USHL’s Chicago Steel for 2018-19.
The Steel promoted him to their head coaching role during the 2019-20 season and he never looked back. Sheahan guided the 2020-21 Chicago Steel to a Clark Cup championship, working with current NHL prospects such as Sean Farrell, Matt Coronato, Mackie Samoskevich, and Josh Doan.
The Wolves themselves are coming off a Calder Cup-winning season, spearheaded by high-end veteran firepower and elite goaltending. It was enough to get their previous head coach, Ryan Warsofsky, an assistant job with the San Jose Sharks. Sheahan will need to keep the team’s structure intact after an offseason that’s seen a lot of turnover at all spots in the Hurricanes organization.
Prospect Notes: Clang, Feuk, Veinbergs
John Gibson‘s name is beginning to come up in trade rumors more and more, and, while it seems like the Anaheim Ducks might be in a lot of goaltending trouble without him, that’s not entirely true. Behind Gibson, the team has one of the best one-two goalie prospect punches in the league, quietly adding to their prospect pool this season via trade.
That trade was the Rickard Rakell deal, where the Ducks acquired goalie prospect Calle Clang from the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the return. Today, they’ve officially loaned Clang to Rögle BK of the SHL for the 2022-23 season, per a team tweet. Clang was the backup for Team Sweden at the 2022 World Juniors, only so due to the brilliance of Jesper Wallstedt. In two games, Clang had a .944 save percentage, complementing what was a strong rookie season for him in the SHL (2.28 GAA, .915 SV%, 10-5-0 record). While he’ll be staying there for another season, it’s probably the best for his development — the team has another high-end goalie prospect in Lukas Dostal who will receive the lion’s share of the starts for the San Diego Gulls in the AHL.
- Calgary Flames prospect Lucas Feuk is heading to North America on an AHL contract with the Calgary Wranglers, according to his former league in Sweden, HockeyEttan. A 2019 fourth-round pick, the Flames have Feuk’s exclusive signing rights until June of next year. The 21-year-old had 27 points in 32 HockeyEttan games last year split between Väsby IK and Nybro Vikings IF. HockeyEttan is Sweden’s third-tier professional league, sitting behind the SHL and Allsvenskan.
- Another prospect is heading to North America, according to his former team — Tampa Bay Lightning 2022 draft pick Klavs Veinbergs will suit up for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars in 2022-23. Veinbergs, 19, was drafted from Zemgale in the Latvian league and represented his country at the 2022 World Juniors. He’ll head to the USHL to continue his development, which is becoming a popular destination among Latvian players.
Los Angeles Kings Announce ECHL Affiliation
The Los Angeles Kings have announced a two-year affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits, giving them a full-time affiliate at the ECHL level for the first time since 2019.
Kings director of player development Glen Murray spoke on the agreement:
On behalf of the entire LA Kings organization, we are excited to announce our new affiliation with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL. We are very happy to have this development route for our future Kings under the leadership of Spire Sports + Entertainment and direction of Head Coach & General Manager Andrew Lord. We know that our prospects will have a first-class experience in Greenville while developing as players and people.
Greenville and Los Angeles already had a bit of a working relationship over the past few years, as without a specified affiliate, Los Angeles and AHL Ontario would consistently loan most ECHL assignments to Greenville regardless. Goalie Jacob Ingham has played there for the past couple of seasons, and as one of six Kings goalies under NHL contract, he’ll likely head there again next season.
New York Islanders Sign Four Players
As announced by the team this morning, the New York Islanders have signed defensemen Dennis Cholowski and Paul LaDue to two-year, two-way contracts, forward Arnaud Durandeau to a two-year, two-way contract, and forward Hudson Fasching to a one-year, two-way contract.
PuckPedia reports Cholowski’s contract carries a $762.5K cap hit, paying him $750K NHL / $200K AHL / $225K guaranteed in 2022-23 and $775K at all levels in 2023-24.
Cholowski, now 24, hasn’t been able to consistently stay in the NHL after the Detroit Red Wings drafted him 20th overall in 2016. He did show a fair amount of promise in his rookie season, 2018-19, when he scored seven goals, nine assists, and 16 points in 52 games while playing 18:15 per game. Those offensive and games played numbers still remain career-highs for Cholowski, though, who now joins his fourth NHL organization already after splitting the 2021-22 campaign between the Seattle Kraken and Washington Capitals. Cholowski does fill a desperate need for the Islanders, though — having more than seven NHL-capable defense options within the organization. Cholowski will fight for a roster spot along with Robin Salo and Sebastian Aho, with both Cholowski and Aho requiring waivers for assignment to the AHL. He had three assists in 11 NHL games last season.
LaDue will head back to the Bridgeport Islanders for a second consecutive season. While he was a regular NHL player with the Los Angeles Kings not too long ago, he’s played just three NHL games combined over the past three seasons and that figure likely won’t change much unless injuries strike New York’s defense again. The 29-year-old North Dakota product had 12 points in 60 games with Bridgeport last season.
Durandeau, 23, was a restricted free agent, leaving just Parker Wotherspoon on the Islanders’ list of unsigned RFAs heading into next season. The Montreal-born left wing is entering his fourth professional season. Durandeau enjoyed somewhat of a breakout year last season in Bridgeport, setting AHL career highs in games played (64), goals (15), assists (22), and points (37).
Fasching, like Cholowski, is brand-new to the Islanders organization. A 27-year-old minor-league veteran, Fasching is a reliable AHL middle-six presence with limited NHL experience. He did suit up for 11 games with the Arizona Coyotes in 2021-22, his most in a single NHL season, but failed to record a point. He’d spent the past four years in the Coyotes organization, mainly with the Tucson Roadrunners.
Adam Huska Signs In KHL
After making his NHL debut this season with the New York Rangers, Slovak netminder Adam Huska has signed a one-year contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the KHL for 2022-23, as announced by the KHL on Twitter today.
Huska, 25, was a seventh-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Rangers. After the draft, he immediately showed why it was a worthy pick. Huska won the USHL Goaltender of the Year Award and led the league in both goals-against average (1.82) and save percentage (.931) in 37 games with the Green Bay Gamblers.
Then, after a three-year collegiate career with the University of Connecticut, Huska turned pro, primarily spending each of the last three seasons with the Rangers AHL affiliate in Hartford. He had his best AHL season yet in 2021-22, posting a 10-13-6 record and a .902 save percentage in 29 games. He also represented Slovakia at the World Championship for the second straight season, this time as the bona fide starter.
The Rangers didn’t issue him a qualifying offer this offseason, however, making him an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. With a bit of a higher-upside prospect in Olof Lindbom likely heading to Hartford this season (and Team Canada World Junior goaltender Dylan Garand), there was an organizational crunch for goalie spots. Huska was the odd man out after not displaying great numbers in the AHL the past few seasons, despite the hot start to his development.
Snapshots: Greig, Weiss, Khudobin
One of the brightest stars in the Ottawa Senators’ deep prospect pool is left-wing Ridly Greig, who’s coming off a gold-medal-winning effort as a member of Team Canada at the 2022 World Juniors. 2021-22 was a banner year for him, notching 63 points in just 39 games as the captain of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings before joining Canada for the tournament. There, he registered six points in five games.
Unfortunately, his tournament was cut short by an injury and Greig missed the team’s semifinal game against Czechia and the gold medal game against Finland, and he played just 3:58 in the team’s quarterfinal round game against Switzerland. Now, TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reports he’s out three to four weeks with a separated shoulder and will likely miss Ottawa’s rookie tournament games. However, general manager Pierre Dorion did note that Greig will be healthy for the preseason, where he’s expected to get a long look in camp but is likely destined for a big role with the AHL’s Belleville Senators.
- Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports that Colorado Avalanche draft pick Tyler Weiss is likely moving on to a pro career after not registering for classes at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Weiss’ signing rights are still held by the Avalanche, so after scoring 33 points in 36 games last season in Omaha, Weiss will likely sign within the organization before the start of the season.
- Dallas Stars senior staff writer Mike Heika believes that a pre-season trade is the most likely outcome for the future of Stars netminder Anton Khudobin. Khudobin struggled through last season with injuries, playing in just nine games and posting a .879 save percentage. With Jake Oettinger expected to reprise his starting role and Scott Wedgewood signed on a cheap one-way deal as the backup, there’s simply no room left for Khudobin in the organization.