NCAA Notes: Duszak, Hirose, Teves, Snively
As college seasons came to an end in recent days, interest in undrafted free agents has increased. Here’s the latest on several of the top names:
- Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs have shown interest in right-handed defenseman Joseph Duszak from Mercyhurst University. Duszak fits in perfectly with the kind of selections GM Kyle Dubas has made over the last few years, and plays with an incredible amount of puck skill. Duszak led his team with 47 points in 37 games this season and is still just 21 years old.
- Bob McKenzie of TSN already reported this morning that Max Veronneau was being pursued by nearly the entire league, but also notes that Ryan Kuffner from Princeton and Taro Hirose from Michigan State could make their decisions today or tomorrow. Hirose, a Calgary native, led the entire NCAA with 50 points this season and is sure to draw interest from all around the league.
- Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet reports that the Vancouver Canucks have shown interested in Josh Teves from Princeton, another right-handed defenseman that experienced a lot of success at the collegiate level. Teves has recorded 78 points across his final three years at Princeton, but is already 24 and would be signing a one-year entry-level deal with whoever he chooses.
- Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that even though Yale is still in the ECAC playoffs, Joe Snively has received interest from at least 20 NHL teams. Snively has long been an excellent offensive producer at the NCAA level, recording at least 28 points in each of his four years at Yale.
Senators, Oilers Making “Major Push” To Sign Max Veronneau
It’s college free agent season and one of the top names available is Princeton’s Max Veronneau. The 23-year old forward recorded 37 points in 31 games this year and has apparently attracted teams from all around the NHL. Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that at least 25 teams had expressed interest in Veronneau, who is an unrestricted free agent and can sign anywhere he wants.
According to McKenzie, both the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers are teams making a “major push” to sign Veronneau, who enters the market as one of the most dynamic free agents available. The Ottawa native recorded 144 points in 130 games during his Princeton career, including a whopping 55 last season to trail only Adam Gaudette for the leading scorer in the nation. Adding that kind of offensive presence for nothing more than a contract slot is exactly what teams like the Senators and Oilers have to do in order to fill their ranks and build a successful program.
Veronneau has previously spent time with the Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings in various development camps, but it is not clear if those teams have made an effort to sign him.
Because Veronneau is already 23, the maximum contract he can sign is a two-year entry-level deal. Teams could potentially offer up the chance to burn the first year of that deal by signing it for this season, a negotiating tactic top college players often take. That would mean Veronneau would become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2020, though we’ll have to wait and see what he secures in the coming days.
Minor Transactions: 03/12/19
It’s another important night in the NHL playoff race, as teams like the Columbus Blue Jackets and Arizona Coyotes get a chance to make up some ground. They’ll take on the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues respectively in two of the eight match-ups scheduled for this evening. As teams prepare for the action, we’ll be here keeping track of all the minor moves.
- The Bruins have recalled Trent Frederic under emergency conditions in time for their game against the Blue Jackets tonight. Frederic, 21, has zero points in his 11-game NHL career so far but will try to change that when he gets back into the lineup tonight. The 2016 first-round pick has 20 points in 45 games with AHL Providence this year.
- Haydn Fleury has earned another call-up from the Carolina Hurricanes, marking his eighth promotion of the year. Buried in the organization’s loaded blue line depth, Fleury has skated in just 14 games with the ‘Canes this season after playing in 67 last year. The 2014 No. 7 overall pick will take any chance he can get to get back into the Carolina lineup.
Montreal Canadiens Recall Charlie Lindgren
The Montreal Canadiens haven’t had a backup goaltender they can rely on lately, as Antti Niemi has struggled mightily in his last few appearances. While Carey Price will obviously carry the load down the stretch, the team today made a move to give them another option in net. Charlie Lindgren was recalled from the AHL’s Laval Rocket, giving the team three goaltenders for the time being.
Lindgren, 25, has struggled for the Rocket this season to the tune of an .884 save percentage but also has a history of success in the NHL. Through 17 appearances with the Canadiens over the years the undrafted goaltender has recorded a .914 save percentage and two shutouts, though his overall record still sits at 7-8-2. While that may not strike you as a huge upgrade over Niemi, the team needs to find some sort of reliability behind Price should he suffer an injury. In fact, Eric Engels of Sportsnet notes that Price did take a painful shot at practice today. While he didn’t suffer any real injury it highlighted the need for depth at the position, something that Lindgren will try to provide.
The Canadiens are currently sitting outside the playoff bubble after losing their last two, and actually have played one more game than both the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets who occupy the wild card spots. With just a single back-to-back situation remaining on the schedule the team can probably get away with Price playing 12 out of the 13 games, putting him at 64 starts on the year. That’s a big number, but with the uncertainty behind him it might just be what the team requires to secure a spot in the postseason.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Rasanen, Free Agents
The NHL has released their three stars for last week and a few new faces have finally received some recognition. Jonathan Huberdeau is the league’s top performer after putting up nine points in just four games. Though it may not be enough to push the Florida Panthers to the postseason this year, Huberdeau is having an outstanding season and has already recorded a career high 74 points in 69 games. That’s the kind of performance the Panthers were hoping for when they selected him third overall in 2011.
Second place last week went to Ben Bishop, who didn’t allow a single goal in his two appearances. Bishop has had an outstanding season and is actually carrying the best save percentage of his career at .930. The big goaltender also leads the league in goals against average, and has helped push the Dallas Stars into a playoff position. While Bishop has had plenty of recognition over his career, the third place spot went to a fresh face in Troy Terry. The young Anaheim Ducks forward put up seven points in four games and now has ten in 23 games on the season. Terry, 21, will be a huge part of any rebuild in Anaheim.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs were already expected to soon sign forward Yegor Korshkov to an entry-level contract, and now may be bringing another prospect over from the KHL. A report out of Finland notes that Eemeli Rasanen has terminated the remainder of his contract with Jokerit—which only ran until the end of April—in order to sign an entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs. Rasanen was a second-round pick two years ago but returned to the OHL in 2017-18 before jumping to the KHL this season.
- Speaking of unsigned prospects, Corey Pronman of The Athletic (subscription required) ranked the top free agents from various leagues around the world including those undrafted young players from the CHL and college ranks. Nico Sturm from Clarkson University comes in as the top unsigned option after putting up 41 points in 34 games this season. Sturm, a 6’3″ center, likely has a bottom-six ceiling in the NHL but is considered relatively pro ready.
Jake Lucchini Signs With Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have dipped into the undrafted college free agent market once again, this time signing Jake Lucchini out of Michigan Tech University to a one-year entry-level contract. The deal will not kick in until 2019-20, but Lucchini will join the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on an amateur tryout for the remainder of this season.
Lucchini, 23, is a Hobey Baker nominee this season and has put up 26 points in 38 games as captain of Michigan Tech. He also previously captained the legendary Trail Smoke Eaters of the BCHL, where he recorded 83 points in 58 games during his final season. Lucchini took part in the Penguins development camp last summer, and will now join the organization as another no-risk lottery ticket.
Given the team’s success over the last several years and lack of high-end draft picks, the Penguins have continually added to their organization through college free agency. Conor Sheary, Zach Aston-Reese, Casey DeSmith, Chad Ruhwedel and Carter Rowney all come to mind as assets that the team acquired for nothing but a contract, and have played big parts on the team over the last few years. There’s no guarantee that Lucchini can make that kind of impact, but they’ll take a chance on him like they have so many others.
Minnesota Wild Activate Victor Rask From Injured Reserve
The Minnesota Wild gave up a lot to acquire Victor Rask earlier this season, but have only received ten games out of the 26-year old center after he suffered an injury and was forced out of the lineup. That’s about to change, as Rask has been activated from injured reserve today and is expected to make his return to the lineup tonight.
Rask was supposed to come into Minnesota and help them strengthen the middle of the ice, but had just two points through those ten games before going on injured reserve. In fact, he’d been demoted to the fourth line and played just over seven minutes in each of the games before his injury, a stark difference to the impact that Nino Niederreiter has made for the Carolina Hurricanes. Niederreiter, who was traded straight up for Rask, has 21 points in 22 games with the Hurricanes including 11 goals.
A return to form for Rask would be a huge addition for the Wild, who are currently in the midst of a last-second playoff race. The team has changed several of their key players this season but now sit in the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, just a point ahead of the hard charging Arizona Coyotes. If Rask could once again become the 48-point center he was in 2015-16 the Wild may have a good shot at doing some damage in the post season, but he’ll have to prove he’s healthy enough to contribute at all first.
Michael Stone Recalled From Conditioning Stint
The Calgary Flames are about to add some more depth to an already excellent defense corps, as Michael Stone has been recalled from his minor league conditioning stint. Stone spent three games with the Stockton Heat recording two points, and will now try to get his season back on track after a long absence.
With Stone back, the Flames now have nine defensemen with the NHL club that they can mix and match to give them the best lineup down the stretch. The 28-year old Stone played in all 82 games for the team last season, but has been limited to just 11 contests this year and has suited up for just one NHL game since October 25th. That kind of layoff won’t allow him to jump right back into a huge role, but his presence does give the team some additional options.
The Flames currently sit in first place in the Pacific Division, but are still battling with the San Jose Sharks who sit just a point behind (with a game in hand to boot). Securing that first spot is important if you want to avoid a first-round matchup with the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Flames will be well positioned to do so with the added depth on the back end. Calgary is back in action tomorrow night when they welcome the New Jersey Devils into town.
Matt Grzelcyk Sent Back To Boston For Further Testing
Last night the Boston Bruins issued an update explaining that the x-rays on Matt Grzelcyk‘s arm were negative, and that his status for Tuesday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets was still unclear. They’ve made their decision now, as the team announced that Grzelcyk is on his way back to Boston for further testing. He won’t play in tomorrow’s matchup. Grzelcyk was injured when his arm was pinned against the boards by Patric Hornqvist, immediately resulting in his exit from the game.
The Bruins finally had their 19-game point streak snapped by the Penguins last night, a run that saw them go 15-0-4 since the end of January. Amazingly the team had not made up much ground on the Tampa Bay Lightning during that time, and are still just four points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs despite having played one more game. Grzelcyk, though not the very most important player on the team, is still a key part of their defense and has stepped up when others faced injury earlier in the year.
While it is good news that the 25-year old didn’t suffer a fracture on the play, ligament damage could be just as frustrating for a team looking to make a splash in the playoffs. They’ll have to wait to see what the further testing reveals, and whether Grzelcyk will be out of the lineup for any length of time. In the meantime, Steven Kampfer is expected to be inserted back into the lineup in his place.
NHLPA Files Appeal On Behalf Of Jakub Voracek
Jakub Voracek was given a two-game suspension this weekend for interference, but won’t accept the penalty lying down. The NHLPA has filed an appeal on behalf of the Philadelphia Flyers forward, and according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet requested an expedited hearing. John Shannon of Sportsnet reports that it will be heard on Tuesday in New York. Currently, Voracek is suspended for games tonight and Thursday.
The incident that resulted in Voracek’s suspension is not one that the league deals with very often. As the puck was rimmed around the boards in the Philadelphia zone, Voracek launched himself back into Johnny Boychuk who was forechecking to try and keep it in the zone. These sort of back-checks happen frequently, but rarely result in such a clear head collision. In the original accompanying video, the Department of Player Safety explained why this one resulted in a suspension:
What causes this hit to rise to the level of supplementary discipline is the distance both players are from the puck, the substantial contact with Boychuk’s head, and the force of the hit. When Voracek initiates this hit, he and Boychuk are at the hash marks while the puck is at the goal line. There is no reason for any player in Boychuk’s position to anticipate contact of any kind, let alone a forceful hit to the head by an opponent’s back.
As is his right, Voracek will first have a hearing with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman who will issue a ruling. Unfortunately because of the short length of suspension, the second appeal with an independent arbitrator is not and option. With no history of suspension or fines on his record, it will be interesting to see if Bettman reduces it at all, and if his decision is made in time to get Voracek back in the Philadelphia line up in time for Thursday’s game.