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Minor Goalie Notes: Portillo, Boyko, Chenard

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The Los Angeles Kings’ top minor league affiliate, the Ontario Reign, has announced the signing of Erik Portillo to an amateur tryout agreement. Portillo just finished his junior season at the University of Michigan, losing to the eventual champions, Quinnipiac University, in the Frozen Four Tournament.

Portillo was originally a draftee of the Buffalo Sabres, getting selected 67th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. Once it became clear that Portillo would not be signing a contract in Buffalo, the team traded his rights to the Kings this season for a third-round pick in 2023.

Being the primary starter in his last two seasons at Michigan, Portillo was exceptional between the pipes for the historical Big 10 organization. Last year, Portillo played in 42 contests, posting a record of 31-10-1, carrying a SV% of .926 and a GAA of 2.14. This season, posting slightly worse numbers, he had a record of 25-11-2, securing a SV% of .908 and a GAA of 3.00.

Now joining the Kings organization, Portillo has a legitimate shot at becoming a regular goaltender in Los Angeles. Trading away franchise-legend Jonathan Quick to the Columbus Blue Jackets this year (Quick was subsequently moved to the Vegas Golden Knights), the team is now carrying a tandem of Joonas Korpisalo and Pheonix Copley. The tandem has been good enough since the trade deadline to help the Kings secure a playoff spot, but Korpisalo is headed for unrestricted free agency this summer.

Other goalie notes:

  • Finishing off a five-season career in the WHL, goaltender Talyn Boyko has signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. Drafted 112th overall by the New York Rangers in the 2021 NHL Draft, Boyko, unfortunately, produced subpar numbers split between the Tri-City Americans and the Kelowna Rockets. Playing in 142 career games in major junior, he carried a record of 56-67-9, and a total SV% of .899. He did get some playoff starts as well, leading the Rockets to the WHL playoffs in 2022, losing 4-1 to the Seattle Thunderbirds in the opening round.
  • Fresh off the signing of Jett Alexander to an amateur tryout agreement, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Nick Chenard from the Owen Sound Attack to an amateur tryout agreement, and he will be a backup tonight for the Maple Leafs. This season, Chenard played in 35 games for the Attack, accruing a record of 14-16-2, carrying a GAA of 3.96 and a SV% of .873.

Minors Notes: Krebs, Maggio, Carroll, Biakabutuka

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The Washington Capitals AHL affiliate Hershey Bears poached the WHL today as they announced the signing of Dru Krebs from the Medicine Hat Tigers to an amateur tryout agreement. This will be the second time the young blue liner has signed an ATO with Hershey, signing in April of last year but never receiving any playing time.

Krebs has spent the last four seasons for the Tigers, getting drafted 176th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft by the Capitals after his first season in major junior. This season, by far his best, saw Krebs rack up 41 points, 33 of those assists, in a total of 67 games played. He helped the Tigers secure a playoff spot for the first time throughout his junior career, but they were quickly swept in the opening round by the Winnipeg ICE.

In total, Krebs accrued a total of 211 games played in the WHL, scoring 15 goals and 69 assists. Joining the Bears, he joins a team currently in first place in the AHL’s Atlantic Division, battling the Providence Bruins for the division title.

Other minor league notes:

  • Another signing from the CHL today, this time from the Ontario Hockey League, Matthew Maggio has signed an amateur tryout agreement with the New York Islander’s AHL affiliate Bridgeport Islanders. Originally drafted 142nd overall in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Islanders, Maggio has become one of the best young players in Ontario. In his draft year, Maggio scored 38 goals and 47 assists in 66 games, and followed that up this year with a 54-goal and 57-assist performance. He led the Windsor Spitfires to the OHL Finals last year, eventually losing to the Hamilton Bulldogs.
  •  The Henderson Silver Knights, an affiliate of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, announced the signing of defenseman Noah Carroll to a professional tryout agreement. Carroll spent five seasons with the University of New Brunswick of the USports League, winning championships in 2019 and 2023. Included in his resume is another five-year stretch in the OHL, playing for the Soo Greyhounds and the Guelph Storm from 2014-2018. In 88 games played for Canada’s top collegiate league, Carroll scored one goal and 17 assists.
  • The minor league affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, Grand Rapids Griffins, has also joined the fray of signing CHL products, announcing the signing of defenseman Jérémie Biakabutuka to an amateur tryout agreement. Biakabutuka has spent the last five seasons in the QMJHL, split between the Val-d’Or Foreurs, Rimouski Océanic, and the Charlottetown Islanders. In 266 career games in major junior, Biakabutuka scored a total of 40 goals and 78 assists.

Maple Leafs Sign Jett Alexander

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With regular goaltender Matt Murray out of their game tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed goaltender Jett Alexander to an amateur tryout contract. With this contract in place, Alexander will be the backup to regular starting goaltender Ilya Samsonov tonight.

Alexander has spent the last three seasons playing for the University of Toronto in the USports, making the playoffs twice, but ultimately failing to win the David Johnston University Cup. Interestingly enough, due to an injury to then starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper last season, the Colorado Avalanche brought in Alexander to be an emergency backup goaltender for one game.

This season, Alexander received the most playing time he’s been given throughout his career at Toronto, playing in a total of 22 games. In those starts, the goaltender has managed a record of 12-7-2, with a SV% of .927 and a GAA of 2.21.

In a salary cap crunch leading up to the playoffs, the Maple Leafs have executed an interesting move to keep themselves under salary cap compliance. Usually, with Murray out, the Maple Leafs would have called up goalie Joseph Woll, but with only $28K in cap space available, the team needed to make room to eventually sign University of Minnesota forward Matthew Knies once his season is finished.

Injury Notes: Sharks, Raddysh, Jeannot, Noesen

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Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relayed several updates from the head coach of the San Jose Sharks, David Quinn, on Saturday morning. Most notable of the updates, forwards Alexander Barabanov and Andreas Johnsson are likely out for the rest of the regular season. At the same time, Oskar Lindblom might be able to return before the year is out.

Johnsson, who was acquired from the New Jersey Devils as a part of the deal for Timo Meier, has played sparingly in San Jose, only managing to play in 11 games so far. In that handful of games, he has accrued three assists and has averaged over 15 minutes a night for the Sharks. At the end of this season, Johnsson will be a restricted free agent, finishing up a 4-year, $13.6MM deal he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2019.

In stark contrast, Barabanov has been exceptional for the Sharks since coming over from the Maple Leafs in a 2021 trade. Unfortunately for him, he did not receive much playing time from Toronto when he first broke into the league, however; since joining San Jose, Barabanov has been a formidable top-six candidate for the Sharks. Improving each season, he will finish this year with 15 goals and 32 assists in 68 games played.

Other injury notes:

  • Since the separate trades that sent forward Patrick Kane to the New York Rangers, and Max Domi to the Dallas Stars, the Chicago Blackhawks have a new leading point-scorer in Taylor Raddysh. Having an above-average season since his trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning last year, the forward has 20 goals and 17 assists in 78 games for the Blackhawks. Unfortunately, that will be his final point total, as Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Raddysh has a groin injury that will keep him out of Chicago’s remaining regular season games.
  • Trade deadline acquisition Tanner Jeannot will not be in the Lightning’s lineup tonight as they take on the Ottawa Senators. The team announces that the forward will instead fly back to Tampa Bay to see a doctor after injuring himself against the New York Islanders. Since coming to the Lightning, the forward has played in 20 games, only managing to score four points, but also tallying 77 hits in the process. Last season, Jeannot had much better point totals, scoring 41 points in 81 games for the Predators, throwing a total of 318 hits.
  • As the Carolina Hurricanes look to capture the Metropolitan Division title in the coming days, they will be missing a valuable depth forward tonight in Stefan Noesen. The team reports that the forward will be out with a lower-body injury. Playing in his ninth season of the NHL already, the forward has eclipsed his previous points record, scoring 35 points in 75 games for the Hurricanes so far.

Ducks Recall Olle Eriksson Ek

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Apr. 7: Another day, another Eriksson Ek transaction.  This time, he’s back on his way to Anaheim with the team announcing that he has been recalled once more from San Diego.

Apr 6: Eriksson Ek has been returned to the AHL today. The Ducks don’t play again until Saturday, after losing to Edmonton last night.

Apr 5: In case of a potential injury to starting goaltender John Gibson, Derek Lee of the Sporting Tribune reports that the Anaheim Ducks have recalled Olle Eriksson Ek from their AHL affiliate San Diego Gulls. This will mark Eriksson Ek’s third call-up to the professional club so far this season.

After being drafted 153rd overall in the 2017 NHL draft, Eriksson Ek has had a difficult time moving up in the Ducks’ organization. He has spent the last four seasons in North America, splitting time between the AHL and the ECHL. Understandably, he has produced much better numbers playing with the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers.

Unfortunately for the Ducks, Eriksson Ek has produced increasingly depressed numbers each season he has been within the organization. In his rookie season in the AHL, he played in 15 games, going 8-6-1, carrying a .901 SV% and a 3.14 GAA.

Last year, Eriksson Ek followed his rookie campaign up with a 7-15-3 record in 26 games, posting a .880 SV% and a 3.44 GAA. This year hasn’t been any better, going 2-14-0, with a .852 SV% and a 4.81 GAA in 20 games. If Gibson is injured for tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, and Eriksson Ek does play, it will be his first-ever start in the NHL.

Alexander Romanov Listed As Day-To-Day

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New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov, who did not play in the team’s last game against the Carolina Hurricanes, is officially listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. There is no timeline on his return, but Islanders’ head coach Lane Lambert confirmed he will not be in tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 2018, Romanov became one of the better young defensemen on the Canadiens’ blue line. During his rookie season in 2020-21, Romanov played in 54 games for Montreal, primarily as a depth defenseman, and even registered four games on the Canadiens’ path to the Stanley Cup Final.

Last season, Montreal took a dive back to the basement of the NHL, and with Romanov becoming a restricted free agent, he was made available to other teams via trade during the 2022 NHL Draft. In the first round, Romanov was subsequently traded to the Islanders for the 13th overall pick (which was later traded to the Chicago Blackhawks) and then would go on to sign a 3-year, $7.5MM in New York.

This season, Romanov has progressed with the Islanders, scoring 22 points in 76 games, all while carrying a solid +13 +/-. Unfortunately for New York, Romanov is a key defenseman to be missing as the team looks to find its way back to the playoffs. As things currently sit, the Islanders hold the last wild card position in the Eastern Conference and hold a one-point lead on the Pittsburgh Penguins with the same amount of games played.

Cale Makar, Darren Helm Out Indefinitely

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Kyle Fredrickson of the Denver Gazette reports that defenseman Cale Makar and forward Darren Helm will be out indefinitely with lower-body injuries. Both players have dealt with injuries and missed consecutive games multiple times this season.

Although clinching a playoff spot in Tuesday night’s win against the San Jose Sharks, it has not been an easy path back to the playoffs for the Avalanche this season. So far this year, at least 38 different skaters have played at least one game in Colorado, and they have gone through a mixture of five total netminders. In this case, as the team has now clinched and is waiting for the playoffs to begin, it is unknown whether either player will be available for game one, as head coach Jared Bednar would not give a timeline for their return.

For Helm in particular, this will be the third time that he has missed multiple games with injury. He has spent the majority of this season on the injured reserve, only managing to suit up for 11 games, unable to find himself on the scoreboard.

Most importantly for the Avalanche, as well as their playoff aspirations, Makar being out indefinitely is a massive blow. After winning the Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy last season, he has followed that up with another tremendous campaign, scoring 66 points in 60 games for Colorado. Makar has already missed 16 games this year for the Avalanche, adding to the injury woes that have seemed to plague the team all season.

With six games remaining this season, it is unclear who the Avalanche will be playing in the first round of the playoffs. Given the current standings leading into gameplay tonight, Colorado is most likely to face the Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, or Seattle Kraken in the beginning round. They are currently in first place in the NHL’s Central Division with one game in hand on both the Wild and Stars.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Joel Blomqvist

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Although brought back to the organization very recently after signing an amateur tryout agreement with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the Pittsburgh Penguins have officially signed top-prospect Joel Blomqvist to a three-year entry-level contract. The contract will begin next year, and it will run until the 2025-26 season.

Blomqvist spent the majority of this season with Karpat of the Finnish Liiga, going 6-5-8 in 21 games, carrying a .907 SV% and a 2.29 GAA. Blomqvist was unable to play the full season due to concussion issues he experienced throughout the year.

The young goaltender was originally drafted 52nd overall by the Penguins in the 2020 NHL Draft. In his draft year, he played for Karpat’s U20 team, playing in 34 games, posting a 26-6-0 record and a .931 SV% with a 1.66 GAA.

In the international scene for Finland, Blomqvist participated in the 2021 World Junior Championship, playing on a Finland team that took home the bronze medal after beating the Russian Federation.

This season, the baby Penguins will not make the playoffs in the AHL, but Blomqvist will likely get some more starts as their season wraps up. If Blomqvist continues his progression, it would be safe to assume that he will join the team in Pittsburgh within the next three seasons under this contract.

 

Sharks Reassign Daniil Gushchin

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The San Jose Sharks have announced that they have sent forward Daniil Gushchin down to their AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda. This will be Gushchin’s second demotion to the minors in the month of April.

Drafted 76th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Gushchin did not make the jump to North America until the 2020-21 season, suiting up for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL. In 46 games for the Lumberjacks, Guschin put up 32 goals and 32 assists, finishing fifth in all USHL scoring. Last season, he made the jump to the OHL, joining the Niagara IceDogs.

In 51 games for Niagara, he continued his torrid pace in North America, scoring 41 goals and 30 assists, good for 29th in league scoring. At the end of last season, Gushchin finally got his call-up to the Sharks organization, playing three games for the Barracuda.

This year, he has spent the majority of his season in the AHL, playing in 61 games for the Barracuda and putting up 17 goals and 20 assists. In his two separate call-ups, he has played in two games for the Sharks, scoring two points, one of which was his first goal in his first game against the Arizona Coyotes. Unfortunately, both the Sharks and the Barracuda are well outside playoff contention, meaning Gushchin will have to wait at least another season to play important games in late April.

Injury Notes: Kane, Harpur, Buchnevich

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Before their game, tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Andrew Crane of the New York Post reports that trade deadline acquisition Patrick Kane will be a “game-time” decision. On Tuesday, Kane took a maintenance day but participated in an individual practice this morning.

At the beginning of this season, it was clear that Kane was not playing at the same speed as in previous seasons. There were many pundits noting an apparent hip injury, but Kane was simply not living up to expectations even on a last-place Chicago Blackhawks team. But on an expiring contract, and his team in the basement, Kane was set to be one of the most sought-after deadline acquisitions.

He made his interest in the Rangers known, but after their acquisition of Vladimir Tarasenko from the St.Louis Blues, Kane being traded at all was now in question. The veteran phenom re-sparked the Rangers’ interest, scoring three goals and seven assists in his last four games in Chicago.

Although he got off to a slow start in New York, he has refound his form primarily playing on the second line, scoring ten points in 16 games. If he is still dealing with a nagging hip, it will be vital for the Rangers to give him the rests he needs, as Kane has been an incredible playoff performer in the past.

Other injury notes:

  • In the same report, Crane also mentions that the only other player on the ice with Kane at practice was defenseman Ben Harpur. Shortly after the season began, the Rangers signed Harpur to a 1-year, $750K contract. Primarily playing as a depth defenseman, Harpur has skated in 40 games for the Rangers this year, posting six points and a 0 +/-. Almost three months to the date that he signed this year’s contract with New York, the team signed him to a 2-year, $1.575MM extension.
  • Although this is a season to forget for the organization, Lou Korac of NHL.com announces that Pavel Buchnevich will return to the Blues tomorrow night when they take on the Rangers. Buchnevich has been a bright spot on a struggling St.Louis team this year, scoring 25 goals and 41 assists, good for second on the team in scoring. Buchnevich has found himself on the injured reserve a handful of times this year, missing a total of 19 games so far for the Blues.

 

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