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Calgary Flames Recall Zayne Parekh

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One of the game’s top defensive prospects will debut tomorrow night against the Anaheim Ducks. The Calgary Flames announced they’ve recalled defenseman Zayne Parekh from the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, and he’ll join the club immediately.

The Flames selected Parekh with the ninth overall selection of the 2024 NHL Draft, and there’s reason to believe he should have been selected higher. In his draft season, Parekh scored 33 goals and 96 points in 66 games with a +39 rating, easily winning the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL’s best defenseman and being named the CHL Defenseman of the Year.

He followed that performance up with an even better year. Parekh scored 33 goals and 107 points in 61 games for the Spirit this season with a +42 rating, finishing fifth in the league in scoring. Not only did Parekh lead all OHL defensemen in scoring, but there was a 16-point gap between him and Sam Dickinson, who finished in second. Furthermore, the only other defenseman in OHL history to record back-to-back 30-goal campaigns came in the 1965-66 season, when an 18-year-old Bobby Orr tallied 38 goals for the Oshawa Generals.

Despite seeing his postseason end at the hands of the Erie Otters, Parekh still has a chance to play meaningful hockey down the stretch with Calgary. The Flames are four points behind the Minnesota Wild for the final wild-card position in the Western Conference with five games remaining and a game in hand.

Calgary ranks 21st in the league with 129 points contributed by defensemen. That number should improve marginally over the five remaining regular season contests if Parekh contributes even fractionally to his performance in the OHL.

Still, his position in the lineup could be up in the air. The Flames already have two top-four right-handed defensemen in MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson, with the former having played on the left side several times. Calgary can allow Parekh a quality opportunity over the next two weeks alongside Weegar or a more defensive-minded option like Kevin Bahl or Joel Hanley. Should Parekh play as advertised, the Flames may enter the off-season one blueliner away from having an elite defensive unit.

Seattle Kraken Recall Victor Ostman, Ryan Winterton

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The Seattle Kraken will have a few additional players on their bench for their matchup against the Utah Hockey Club tonight. Seattle announced they’ve recalled goaltender Victor Ostman from their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, on an emergency basis. A few moments later, the Kraken also shared they’ve recalled Ryan Winterton on a standard recall.

Ostman’s recall suggests that either Joey Daccord or Philipp Grubauer won’t be available for Seattle tonight, but there haven’t been any updates regarding their availability. The Swedish netminder is likely considered the Kraken’s fourth-string goaltender and has yet to debut in the NHL.

Still, the 2024-25 campaign is his first playing in the professional ranks. He signed with Seattle as a collegiate free agent out of the University of Maine after managing a 35-38-7 record in 86 NCAA contests with a .905 SV% and 2.82 GAA. This season, he’s primarily played for the Kraken’s ECHL affiliate, the Kansas City Mavericks, posting a 21-7-4 record with a .903 SV%, 2.52 GAA, and two shutouts in 32 contests.

Meanwhile, Winterton earns his fifth call-up of the season with this transaction. Seattle selected Winterton with the 67th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft, and he debuted with the club last year. This season, the Markham, Ontario native has scored 18 goals and 37 points in 55 games for AHL Coachella Valley with a +11 rating. Unfortunately, it hasn’t gone great in the NHL with Seattle, as he’s only mustered one assist while carrying a -7 rating in nine contests.

Edmonton Oilers Recall Noah Philp On Emergency Basis

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Following yesterday’s announcement about Trent Frederic’s aggravation of his ankle injury, the Edmonton Oilers made an emergency recall as soon as permitted. According to a team announcement, the Oilers have recalled Noah Philp from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.

It’s not the first time Philp has been recalled this season for similar reasons. Despite spending most of the year with AHL Bakersfield, Philp has suited up in 12 games with Edmonton this season, with his last NHL contest coming in early February.

He wasn’t heavily utilized in those appearances. Philp has tallied two assists while averaging 8:40 of ice time for the Oilers, maintaining a +1 rating while playing on the fourth line. He displayed quality possession and defensive metrics, but Philp wouldn’t have been an improvement on their other options when healthy.

Still, he’s had a quality season with the Condors, scoring 15 goals and 30 points in 52 contests. That offensive output places him seventh on the team in scoring, and he remains one of the best defensive-minded forwards on the roster.

The season is even more impressive considering Philp’s 2023-24 campaign, or lack thereof. Just over two years ago, Philp retired from professional hockey, citing personal reasons. After spending a year away from the game, the Oilers quickly signed Philp to a one-year, $775K contract on the opening day of free agency.

Florida Panthers Injury Updates

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It’s challenging to think of a team that has dealt with more injuries over the last few weeks than the Florida Panthers. Two weeks ago, the Panthers were the top team in the Atlantic Division. Unfortunately, injuries have limited Florida to a 1-4-1 record in their last six games, watching the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning pass them in the standings.

However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Speaking to reporters this morning, head coach Paul Maurice commented on the status of nearly every injured member of the typical roster. First, Colby Guy of The Palm Beach Post reports that captain Aleksander Barkov will return to the lineup for Florida’s important matchup against Toronto tomorrow night. He had missed the Panthers’ past three contests with an upper-body injury.

Barkov’s importance in Florida’s lineup can’t be understated. As one of the premier two-way forwards of this era, Barkov helps the Panthers keep the puck out of their net just as much as he helps them put pucks in their opponent’s net. Since beginning his career during the 2013-14 season, Florida has a 60-63-16 record during the regular season when Barkov isn’t in the lineup.

Guy later reported that trade deadline acquisition Nico Sturm should also return on Wednesday, with defenseman Dmitry Kulikov expected back toward the end of the week. Shortly thereafter, TSN’s Mark Masters shared that Sam Reinhart and Gustav Forsling are also expected back in the lineup on Wednesday.

By the end of the week, Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk, and Aaron Ekblad will be the only regular players who haven’t returned to the lineup. It appears that Bennett will not play in another regular season game for the Panthers.

Senior digital content manager for the team Jameson Olive shared that Bennett’s next game for Florida will be Game One of their Round One matchup, primarily for precautionary reasons. The physical middleman is dealing with an upper-body injury, and the Panthers want him to be as close to 100% as possible for what is bound to be a hotly contested opening round of the playoffs.

Florida has five games left in their regular season schedule, and it will be a challenge to overcome the difficulties they have faced in recent weeks. Currently, they are four points behind the Lightning and six points behind the Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division. They risk losing home-ice advantage for their Stanley Cup defense. Still, with one game against Toronto and one game against Tampa Bay sandwiched between relatively easier matchups against the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres, the Panthers could control their destiny for their opening-round matchup.

Rangers’ Drew Fortescue Remaining With Boston College For 2025-26

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According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, the New York Rangers must wait another year for one of their top defensive prospects to play games for the organization. Despite encouraging him to turn pro over the past few weeks, Drew Fortescue will return to Boston College for a junior season. 

The Rangers selected Fortescue with the 90th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. He had just completed a season with the U.S. National U18 Team, scoring one goal and 26 points in 62 games, and had already committed to the Eagles’ program before the draft.

Fortescue wasn’t much of a point producer in his first year with Boston College, recording only four goals and eight points in 40 games. However, his defensive awareness was impressive, and he emerged as the most efficient breakout passer on the team. He played a crucial role in the Eagles’ victory at the Hockey East tournament at the end of the season, also helping lead the team to the National Championship game against the University of Denver Pioneers.

He improved nearly every metric of his game in 2024-25 and finished with 11 assists in 36 games with a +28 rating. Still, despite finishing with the best record in the Hockey East Conference, the program itself took a step back from his freshman campaign. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East Conference tournament to Northeastern University and were ousted by the Pioneers again in the National Tournament, also in the quarterfinals.

The Rangers arguably have a solid case for Fortescue turning pro, but he wouldn’t have had access to meaningful hockey upon signing. Despite qualifying for the Calder Cup playoffs the past two seasons, the Hartford Wolf Pack don’t appear poised to return this year. New York theoretically could have had Forescue join the NHL squad for the rest of the regular season, but he doesn’t offer an upgrade to any of their other options at the time.

Boston Bruins Recall Fraser Minten, Reassign Jeffrey Viel

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The Boston Bruins will likely see the organizational debut of one of the prospects they acquired from their trade deadline firesale. Boston announced they’ve recalled forward Fraser Minten from their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, and have reassigned forward Jeffrey Viel in a corresponding roster move.

Minten, drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the 38th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft, was the principal player acquired by the Bruins in the Brandon Carlo trade. He’s suited up for the AHL Bruins since, scoring three goals and seven points in 10 games.

There’s been a slight uptick in scoring for Minten, who had only recorded six goals and 13 points in 26 games earlier this season with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. Still, that may partly be based on his stay with the Maple Leafs earlier in the 2024-25 calendar, when he scored two goals and four points in 15 games, averaging 12:14 of ice time per game.

Given their plummet in the standings since the trade deadline, the Bruins are positioned to give nearly every prospect a look on the NHL roster for their remaining games. Minten had shown the ability to play up and down the forward core during his stay with Toronto, and Boston will look to see if he’ll offer them the same.

Meanwhile, Viel suited up in his fifth game of the year a few days ago. The seven-year veteran is primarily known for fisticuffs rather than his talent with the puck, but he has registered 12 goals and 34 points in 62 games for the AHL Bruins this season.

International Notes: Larionov, Hållander, Söderström

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The KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod will seek a new head coach for the 2025-26 season. Earlier this morning, the organization announced they had mutually terminated their agreement with NHL Hall of Famer Igor Larionov as the team’s head coach.

Larionov had a positive run in his first role as a head coach in the KHL. Hired before the 2022-23 season, he’ll end his tenure behind the bench with a 107-75-22 record in 204 contests, making it as far as the Western Conference semifinals in his first year at the helm.

His exploits in the NHL are well-known. Larionov and former teammate, Viacheslav Fetisov, were outspoken critics of the Soviet Union’s policies regarding the defection of athletes in the 1980s, and wouldn’t be allowed to play in the NHL until the 1989-90 season despite being drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1985 NHL Draft.

After 921 games and 644 points, “the Professor” finished his NHL career at 43 years old after the 2003-04 season. He was an integral part of the famous “Russian Five” line deployed by the Detroit Red Wings and helped Detroit win three Stanley Cups in 1997, 1998, and 2002.

Other international notes:

  • Former second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Filip Hållander, could return to the team for the 2025-26 season. After an impressive season with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2022-23, Hållander returned to his native Sweden to join the SHL’s Timrå IK. The organization recently announced that Hållander has departed the team after scoring 26 goals and 53 points in 51 contests, finishing second in the league in scoring.
  • In an unconfirmed report from Jennifer Engstrom of Expressen, there is a growing belief that defenseman Victor Söderström will join the Chicago Blackhawks next year. Söderström has reportedly been in dialogue with the Blackhawks since the SHL playoffs started, having been acquired from the Utah Hockey Club in a salary dump trade involving Shea Weber’s contract at the recent trade deadline. Söderström would be a massive addition to Chicago’s blue line, as he recently won the Salming Trophy as the SHL’s top defenseman, scoring nine goals and 37 points in 49 games for Brynäs IF.

Pacific Notes: Draisaitl, Frederic, Gudas, Mølgaard

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The Edmonton Oilers will again be without star forward Leon Draisaitl in their lineup. According to team TV host Tony Brar, Draisaitl has sustained a minor lower-body injury, although it’s unrelated to his previous ailment.

Draisaitl had recently missed four consecutive games for Edmonton with an undisclosed injury. Upon his return on April 1st, the 11-year veteran tallied one goal and one assist against the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks. Thankfully for the Oilers, there’s no concern that Draisaitl’s recent string of injuries will impact his availability for the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.

On a more positive injury note for Edmonton, Brar also reported there is a “slight” chance that Trent Frederic could debut with the team tomorrow against the Los Angeles Kings. Frederic is still recovering from a lower-body injury suffered in February when he was rostered with the Boston Bruins.

Other notes from the Pacfic Division:

  • Contrary to a report from yesterday evening, Anaheim Ducks’ captain, Radko Gudas, isn’t headed for the operating room this off-season (Tweet Link). The initial was generated to contextualize Gudas’s “struggles” this season, but it doesn’t appear to be based on much accuracy. Gudas has essentially only struggled with his possession quality this year, as his physicality and defensive metrics (both of which he’s excelled at his entire career) have improved.
  • Moving to a prospect note, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, announced that prospect Oscar Fisker Mølgaard is joining the team for the remainder of the season. Mølgaard, the 52nd overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, recently finished a strong campaign with the SHL’s HV71, scoring five goals and 19 points in 38 contests.

Armstrong: Simashev, But Could Debut For Utah Next Season

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The Utah Hockey Club could only be a summer away from seeing their top two prospects debut. In a report from Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune, team General Manager Bill Armstrong believes there’s a good chance defenseman Dmitri Simashev and forward Daniil But will join the roster next season.

Both players are rostered on the KHL’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, helping sweep their opening round matchup against the Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in this year’s Gagarin Cup playoffs. Unfortunately, the former isn’t coming off a promising season and could benefit from another developmental year overseas.

Simashev was considered a lengthy reach at the time of his selection. He was ranked as the 19th best European skater by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau before the draft. However, the Arizona Coyotes selected Simashev with the sixth overall pick. He’s been rostered with Lokomotiv since, scoring five goals and 16 points in 119 regular season contests.

It’ll be interesting to see how Utah utilizes him if he were to make the jump to North America. The team already has six defenseman signed to NHL contracts for the 2025-26 season, and it doesn’t make sense to bring him over just to practice with the NHL squad.

Meanwhile, But has shown more promise between the two. Selected 12th overall in the same draft, But is coming off a season where he scored nine goals and 28 points in 56 games, which is good for seventh on the team in scoring.

Luckily, no matter how well their game translates to the NHL level in the immediate future, both have professional size and are willing to play physically. Still, Utah may have to thin out the roster this summer to create space for the pair.

Boston Bruins Sign Dalton Bancroft To Entry-Level Contract

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The Boston Bruins have tapped into the collegiate free-agent market. Boston announced they’ve signed forward Dalton Bancroft to a one-year entry-level contract starting in the 2025-26 NHL season and that he’ll finish the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign on an ATO with their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.

Bancroft recently finished his junior campaign with the Cornell University Big Red hockey program. The 6’3″, 207 lbs winger finished his collegiate career with 36 goals and 79 points in 103 games, helping Cornell to its most successful three-year run in program history.

Cornell won back-to-back ECAC Hockey Conference championships, first beating St. Lawrence University in 2023-24 and then defeating Clarkson University in 2024-25. In the national tournament, Bancroft helped Cornell reach the Regional Final in three consecutive campaigns, this year usurping the heavily favored Michigan State University in their first game of the tournament.

Fortunately, Bancroft will have more meaningful hockey to play. The AHL’s Providence Bruins have already qualified for a spot in the 2025 Calder Cup playoffs, and Bancfort will be allowed the opportunity to test his NHL readiness down the stretch.

He likely couldn’t have found a better situation for his playstyle, either. It’s difficult to place Bancroft into an archetype as a two-way forward, power forward, etc, because he excels in a unique aspect. He can play physically, move the puck well, play soundly defensively, and chip in for goals when needed. The best way to articulate Bancroft’s value is calling him a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

Still, he should fit in nicely for AHL Providence down the stretch. The team has one of the best goal differentials in the AHL due to their intelligent playstyle, and Bancroft should benefit from this down the stretch in his first taste of professional hockey.

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