Samuel Morin Out For Season With Torn ACL
The bad news just continues for Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Samuel Morin. The team announced tonight that Morin has suffered a torn ACL and will be out for the remainder of the season. Morin has played just 31 professional games since the start of the 2017-18 season. This is the second time he has torn the ACL in his right knee.
Morin, 24, was the 11th overall pick in 2013 and brought basically everything you would ever want in a defenseman. A huge 6’6″ frame that could skate, move the puck and compete physically, Morin won a gold medal with Team Canada at the World Juniors and was a huge part of the Rimouski Oceanic’s QMJHL championship.
When he hit professional hockey, things still went quite well. Through two years in the minor leagues he became a horse for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and looked like he would be a key contributor to the Flyers in the future. Unfortunately, things have completely derailed to the point where it’s now unclear if he’ll ever be healthy enough to play at the highest level.
KHL Stars Generating NHL Interest
Teams around the NHL are always looking for an opportunity to add talent through means other than the draft, especially those that consistently pick in the back half of the round. In that way the KHL has always been a mysterious proving ground, where some players that find great success then can’t translate it to North America.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been very active in Russia over the last few years, with Ilya Mikheyev being their latest find. The 25-year old rookie has 11 points through his first 16 games and looks like he could have a long career in the NHL. Getting an asset like Mikheyev that costs nothing but time and money is obviously a strategy for success and more teams are following suit by scouting the KHL. It was recently reported that the Ottawa Senators now have a presence there, and today Darren Dreger of TSN spoke about the top names drawing interest overseas:
There are five guys that seem to be drawing attention. Nikita Nesterov, the captain of CSKA Moscow is among them, Alexander Barabanov is another one. Konstantin Okulov of Moscow, Alexey Marchenko and most will remember this name, Mikhail Grigorenko formerly of the Buffalo Sabres, again high on the radar.
Three of those names—Nesterov, Marchenko and Grigorenko—will be very familiar to NHL fans, and not necessarily in a good way. All three failed to really have a huge impact when they were playing in North America, though Grigorenko did have two decent seasons with the Colorado Avalanche. He has been a force since returning to the KHL however and is still just 25, making the former Sabres prospect an interesting name to keep an eye on.
Barabanov and Okulov have also been mentioned previously, with the former linked to the Arizona Coyotes and the latter to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. Both are undrafted forwards that have found plenty of success in the KHL.
It’s unlikely that any of these players will sign before the end of the KHL season, and not a guarantee that any of them will even decide to come to North America at all.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 11/07/19
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
Alex Steen Out Four Weeks With High-Ankle Sprain
The St. Louis Blues will be without another veteran forward for the next month, announcing that Alex Steen is out for at least four weeks with a high-ankle sprain. He has been moved to injured reserve.
While losing Steen for a month is obviously not ideal, the injury looked like it might be much worse when his leg got twisted underneath Edmonton Oilers forward Alex Chiasson. Hopefully he will be able to get back on the ice before the end of the year.
For the Blues, this is the second alternate captain to go down to serious injury in just a few weeks. Vladimir Tarasenko is already out for several months with a knee injury, meaning the team will need to rely on a different group of forwards this season. Robby Fabbri was also traded last night, meaning there will be plenty of opportunity in the top-nine of the Blues.
Injury Notes: Bourque, Little, Grubauer, Ladd
The Winnipeg Jets will not only be without Bryan Little for the next while, but the team announced today that Gabriel Bourque will be out for at least four weeks with a lower-body injury. Bourque had found a home at the bottom of the Winnipeg lineup, and even recorded a point in three consecutive games.
Little meanwhile suffered a perforated ear drum when he took the shot to the head earlier this week, and though he is expected to make a full recovery is dealing with vertigo at the moment. It is not clear when he will be ready to resume hockey activities.
More injury updates from around the league:
- Philipp Grubauer will miss at least the next few games according to Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar, who told reporters that the goaltender tweaked a nagging injury. Pavel Francouz will get the net for the time being, though Grubauer is expected to travel with the team when they head to Canada next week.
- Andrew Ladd‘s conditioning stint with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers will be extended for another two games as he continues to recover from a knee injury. The veteran forward played just 26 games last season for the New York Islanders, but is under contract through the 2022-23 season.
Bryan Little Placed On Injured Reserve
After being taken to hospital and getting 25-30 stitches following his injury earlier this week, Bryan Little has been placed on injured reserve. The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Joona Luoto in his place. Little was struck in the head by a puck on Tuesday night and removed from the game, though the team announced he was “alert at all times” during his hospital stay.
Little was just starting to find his legs again after an earlier stint on injured reserve kept him out for almost two weeks, but will now have to deal with another recovery period before he can help the Jets this season. The 31-year old has been a consistent offensive presence for more than a decade, scoring at least 41 points in all but one of his full seasons in the NHL.
Luoto meanwhile is just starting to make an impact on the organization after signing a three-year entry-level contract in June. Undrafted, the 22-year old forward has three points in his first nine games with the Manitoba Moose and is another huge body the team can put in the lineup.
Minor Transactions: 11/07/19
The NHL schedule is packed with action tonight as 22 of the league’s teams take the ice. Among them are the Colorado Avalanche who will try to right the ship against a division rival, and the New York Islanders who will go for an 11th-straight win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. As teams prepare for the action, we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.
- The Boston Bruins have recalled Zachary Senyshyn and Peter Cehlarik from the minor leagues before their game tomorrow night. Senyshyn had two assists in his first game of the season on Tuesday despite playing just under 11 minutes. The 22-year old forward is finally getting a chance to show what he can do at the NHL level.
- As expected, the Vegas Golden Knights have recalled both Nicolas Roy and Nicolas Hague from the minor leagues. The team had sent them down to save some cap space while they were between games.
- The same was true with the Islanders, who today recalled Seth Helgeson and Otto Koivula once again. Koivula is still waiting to make his NHL debut, but is at least making an NHL salary whenever he spends a day with the big club.
- Brandon Davidson is back in the NHL, this time with the Calgary Flames. The 28-year old defenseman has been recalled by the team to replace Oliver Kylington, who has been sent back to continue his development. Davidson has 162 NHL games under his belt, but hasn’t been a regular for several years.
- Adam Werner has been recalled by the Colorado Avalanche as an extra goalie while Philipp Grubauer was missing from practice today. The team has yet to give an explanation, but Pavel Francouz appears to be the starter for the time being.
Ottawa Senators Recall Jonathan Davidsson
The Ottawa Senators are giving another young player his first NHL opportunity, this time recalling Jonathan Davidsson from the minor leagues to play tonight. In other moves, Colin White has been assigned to the Belleville Senators on a conditioning assignment as he continues to recover and is expected to play Friday for the AHL squad. Rudolfs Balcers is also back on the ice, though still wearing a non-contact sweater.
Davidsson, 21, was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets last season as part of the Matt Duchene trade and though he doesn’t have the same hype as some of the other prospects they’ve received recently, he also shouldn’t be overlooked.
A sixth-round pick out of Sweden in 2017, Davidsson exploded in the season after his draft, recording 31 points in 52 games as a full-time player in the SHL. He followed that up with 21 points in 37 games last season for Djurgardens, and is now in his first year of professional hockey in North America.
Despite playing in Sweden last year, Davidsson actually signed his entry-level contract with Columbus in 2018—when he appeared to have a chance of making the NHL with the Blue Jackets—meaning he will be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2021 regardless of how much he plays with the Senators. An excellent skater with some sneaky puck skills, he’s another part of the wave of talent Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion is so excited about.
Detroit Red Wings Acquire Robby Fabbri
The Detroit Red Wings have acquired Robby Fabbri from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Jacob de La Rose a swap of disappointing high draft picks from a few years ago.
Fabbri, 23, comes with much more fanfare because of his past, but it is hard to know exactly what the Red Wings are getting. Selected 21st overall in 2014, the speedy Guelph Storm winger looked like a lock to become a middle-six scoring forward that could help on the powerplay. Fabbri did exactly that in his first season in the NHL, scoring 18 goals and 37 points as a rookie in 2015-16.
Unfortunately, his career would be completely derailed by major knee injuries thereafter. Fabbri would miss the entire 2017-18 season and has played just 164 total games in his NHL career. He had just six points in 32 contests in 2018-19 and has been ineffective during limited opportunity this year. In Detroit he’ll be given a bigger chance, but it is a disappointing return for the Blues after they invested so much in the young forward.
The 24-year old de La Rose never did grow into the two-way power forward center that the Montreal Canadiens were hoping for when they picked him 34th overall in 2013. Instead, he found himself bouncing up and down from the minor leagues for short stints, never finding much consistency in his game or his opportunity. Eventually, the Canadiens decided that they could no longer justify his roster spot and put him on waivers where the Red Wings snatched him up, though the results wouldn’t really change.
In 60 games last season de La Rose scored just nine points, and though he’s off to a better pace this time around—four in 16—it appears he’ll never be much of an offensive threat in the NHL.
Amazingly, the two carry the same $900K cap hit and will both become restricted free agents at the end of the season.
Carolina Hurricanes Recall Eetu Luostarinen
The Carolina Hurricanes are going to give another young forward a look, recalling Eetu Luostarinen from the minor leagues. Luostarinen is expected to make his NHL debut on Thursday night against the New York Rangers.
The 21-year old was originally selected 42nd overall in 2017, but is only in his first year of North American hockey after coming over from Finland. He signed a three-year entry-level contract in May, and has been on an early tear for the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL, scoring five goals and seven points in his first ten games.
For Carolina, who are still looking for an improvement to their forward group, checking out what they have in Luostarinen could be an important first step. Perhaps he could fill that role without them having to give anything up. The Hurricanes are far from out of the race, but have lost their last two games against fellow Metropolitan Division opponents.