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New Jersey Devils To Hire Mark Dennehy As AHL Head Coach

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The New Jersey Devils have snatched a coach from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, agreeing to terms with Mark Dennehy as head coach of their AHL affiliate. Dennehy had been hired earlier this offseason to lead the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL, but was given permission to interview for the advanced position in the AHL. New Jersey AGM Tom Fitzgerald released a statement thanking the Penguins:

I want to thank Jim Rutherford, Bill Guerin, the Penguins’ organization and the Wheeling Nailers ownership group for the opportunity to speak with Mark on this position. Mark has spent considerable time building, coaching and recruiting in one of college hockey’s most competitive conferences. His experience will help him connect with players coming from the collegiate and junior hockey levels. Mark is extremely excited for a new challenge and to take the next step in his coaching career.

Dennehy has spent the last 13 years coaching Merrimack College, where he was tasked with developing young players and getting them ready for their transition into the professional ranks. He’ll be given a similar role with the Binghamton Devils, where the job is to get picks and prospects ready for their NHL futures while still maintaining a culture of winning.

Arizona Coyotes Hire Lindsay Hofford As Assistant General Manager

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The Arizona Coyotes have hired Lindsay Hofford as their new Assistant General Manager and Director of Scouting, ending his tenure as an amateur scout with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hofford has been a well-known name in the CHL for many years in various roles, developing waves of talent that have gone on to the professional ranks. Coyotes GM John Chayka released a statement following the hiring:

I believe the most important part of my role is to recruit talented people. Lindsay is a best in class talent evaluator that will be an asset to our entire organization and complement the existing infrastructure we have in place.

As the press release explains, a huge number of NHL players have worked with Hofford in the past during his time with the London Knights and Lethbridge Hurricanes, and he should have a huge impact on the Coyotes development system going forward. The team already had a positive tilt towards OHL players in the draft, most recently exemplified by their selection of Barrett Hayton with the 2018 fifth-overall pick, and will now gain even more insight into the league.

It’s obvious that Chayka is willing to look outside the normal group of NHL front office executives for his team, and it seems necessary when building a team without the resources that some of his competitors wave about. The Coyotes have slowly built a solid prospect core that should be maturing in the next few seasons, and could be a wildcard for the playoffs as soon as this season. Hofford will be tasked with continuing to build that pipeline and supply Arizona with talented young players who they can take advantage of in the NHL before they become too expensive.

Matvei Guskov Signs With London Knights

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It’s never too early to start keeping tabs on the top prospects for the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, and now teams around the league will be able to get a much closer look at one of the very best. Matvei Guskov, who could potentially go in the first handful of selections next June, has signed with the London Knights of the OHL for the 2018-19 season, according to agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey. Guskov fell to 42nd in the recent CHL import draft because of doubts he would come to North American this season, but is an incredibly skilled center prospect that should find success quickly in the junior ranks.

This comes after the Knights also convinced Chicago Blackhawks top prospect Adam Boqvist to sign for this season, giving them another elite weapon on the blue line. Evan Bouchard, the team’s captain will also be back after being selected 10th overall by the Edmonton Oilers, unless his training camp is good enough to earn him a spot in the NHL right away. The Knights are notorious for getting players to sign with them unexpectedly, and have developed countless NHL players throughout the years.

Snapshots: Jagr, Snowden, Golden Knights, Canada

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Jaromir Jagr was on the ice today in the Czech Republic, practicing for the first time this year with Kladno, the team he owns in his home country. That doesn’t mean the 46-year old has any intention on an NHL comeback though according to NHL.com correspondent Michael Langr, who caught up with the legendary forward. Jagr simply wants to get healthy after a knee injury has kept him from the ice for the last six months. Finally, the youthful Jagr is admitting that his body can’t keep up the way it used to.

My biggest limit is age. There are things I would like to handle but I can’t do it anymore. At my age these limitations come more and more often. But I believe that when my leg and the entire body gets stronger, it will all get better and better.

Though it likely won’t be in the NHL, we might see Jagr in game action again this season. One of the all-time greats in the game of hockey, any chance to have him continue his career at this point is a welcome bonus. It would be interesting to see if Jagr is interested in suiting up for the Czech Republic next spring at the World Championships, if he is healthy enough to contribute. The tournament will be held in Slovakia next year.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired John Snowden as an assistant coach for their newly crowned ECHL team the Newfoundland Growlers. Snowden had worked as an associate coach with the previous affiliate Orlando Solar Bears the last three seasons, but will now be under Ryan Clowe on the Canadian east coast. The 36-year old had a long minor league playing career that included stops in the AHL and ECHL, but never did make it all the way up to the AHL.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have come to a trademark agreement with the U.S. Army and will be allowed to continue using the “Golden Knights” name for the on-ice product and merchandise. The Golden Knights name has long been used by an army parachute team and will continue to going forward.
  • Liam Foudy, Markus Phillips and Akil Thomas have all been added to Hockey Canada’s World Junior Summer Showcase roster, replacing Jordy Bellerive, Robert Thomas and Josh Brook. The latter three will be unable to take part in the camp due to injury, but are not necessarily out of the running for the roster that will head to the tournament in late December.

Josh Currie Signs With Edmonton Oilers

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If you’ve been a fan of the Bakersfield Condors for the last few seasons, today is the day you’ve expected for a while. Josh Currie, who was playing for the Condors on an AHL contract, has signed his first NHL contract with the Edmonton Oilers. Because Currie is already 25 he was not held to the entry-level system, and has instead signed a two-year deal with the team.

Undrafted, Currie is an incredible example of the ECHL development system as he worked his way up through the lower minor leagues. The former QMJHL star scored 104 points in his final year of junior but had to wait five more years to get an NHL deal. He’ll almost assuredly play in the minors this season, but has now created the possibility of an NHL call-up should the Oilers experience injury trouble.

The two-year deal will take him to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2020, but should give him quite the raise on his previous minor league deals.

Snapshots: KHL, Steelheads, Buchberger

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According to Igor Eronko of Sport-Express, Philip Holm has signed with the Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo of the KHL, ending his North American career before it ever really took off. After signing last summer with the Vancouver Canucks, Holm played in one NHL game and was eventually traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Brendan Leipsic. Given no NHL playing time in Vegas, he’s decided to go to the KHL where he should receive plenty of minutes and be able to show off his offensive upside. Holm was given a qualifying offer meaning the Golden Knights will retain his rights.

Former Canucks top prospect Nicklas Jensen will also be remaining in the KHL next year, after agreed to use his one-year option with Jokerit. Jensen scored 37 points to lead Jokerit last season, after failing to carve out a role with the New York Rangers in 2016-17. A talented offensive forward who has dominated the AHL at times, Jensen is now 25 and may not get another chance at the NHL level in his career.

  • The Dallas Stars have reached a two-year agreement with the Idaho Steelheads to continue their minor league partnership, extending a long affiliation with the ECHL club. The Steelheads have won two Kelly Cups during their partnership with the Stars, and will be looking for another one in 2018-19 after going 44-20-8 last season. One of the most successful ECHL teams (and before that WCHL teams) in history, Dallas will continue to supply them with talented players for at least the next two seasons.
  • Kelly Buchberger is the latest New York Islanders assistant coach to find work elsewhere, hired as head coach of the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. When Barry Trotz was brought in as the new head coach of the Islanders it was expected he would bring an entire new staff, and Buchberger has found a nice landing spot as the bench boss of the Americans. Tri-City has been to the WHL playoffs in 14 of the last 15 seasons, though they are still looking for a championship; Buchberger will be asked to take them there.

San Jose Signs Undrafted Forward Vladislav Kotkov

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The San Jose Sharks have employed the window to sign undrafted first-year draft eligible players by inking a promising forward prospect. The team announced this evening that they signed Vladislav Kotkov to an entry-level contract. Kotkov has been attending development camp with the Sharks this past week and did enough to earn a deal.

Kotkov, 18, was ranked 81st among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting heading into the 2018 NHL Draft and was one of the biggest surprises among undrafted players. Kotkov was a first-round pick in the CHL Import Draft last year and enjoyed success in his first season playing major junior, posting 49 points in 61 games for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the QMJHL.

The hulking winger stands 6’4″, 205 lbs. and plays a heavy power forward game that matches his frame. Kotkov also developed a surprising finesse game given his stature while developing in his native Russia. Kotkov’s skating concerns likely drove down his draft stock this year, but he was clearly a priority undrafted free agent for the Sharks and can now return to Chicoutimi for another year or two now with some additional guidance from his NHL squad. Kotkov is out to prove to the rest of the league that he was worthy of a draft pick. That chip on his shoulder and size that you can’t teach could mean that Kotkov could one day see NHL action.

London Knights Sign Adam Boqvist For 2018-19 Season

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It shouldn’t be a surprise at this point to anyone that follows the Ontario Hockey League, but the London Knights have once again signed an incredible talent that seemed unlikely to ever play in the CHL. Adam Boqvist, selected 109th in the 2017 import draft, has decided to leave Sweden and play for the Knights in 2018-19. This comes after Boqvist was selected eighth-overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL Entry Draft, and quickly signed his entry-level contract.

Boqvist, 17, is an outstanding talent who possesses some of the best goal scoring ability of any defenseman in the most recent draft. His 2017-18 season was split between the junior league in Sweden and the SHL, almost entirely skipping the Allsvenskan where many young players develop. The undersized Boqvist loves to carry the puck and will join Evan Bouchard in London as one of the best 1-2 punches in the entire CHL. Both young defense prospects are right handed and may not play together, but will likely help the Knights push back near the top of the OHL once again.

For the Blackhawks, this allows them to keep a closer eye on Boqvist as he develops this season. Though the SHL would have certainly provided a good opportunity, London is arguably the best organization in the CHL for developing NHL talent, and have seen plenty of players take huge leaps while hitting the ice for them. Should he experience an OHL playoff run and perhaps even a Memorial Cup berth, Boqvist will get to play against many faces who he’ll be up against at the next level in a few years.

2018 CHL Import Draft Results

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The CHL held its annual import draft today, where teams from across the Canadian junior leagues get to select the rights of players around the world. Often these are recently drafted prospects, or those seen to have good chances at next year’s draft. Being selected has no guarantee that the player will actually ever suit up for the team, as Filip Chytil proved last season. Chytil was selected seventh-overall by the North Bay Battalion, but ended up spending the year with the New York Rangers and Hartford Wolf Pack after impressing in his first training camp.

There are clear benefits from picking at the top of the draft though, as the Barrie Colts found out last season. Andrei Svechnikov was the first-overall selection, and ended up scoring 40 goals in 44 games before being the second-overall pick in the NHL draft last week. This year saw Slovakian-born Maxim Cajkovic go first to the Saint John Sea Dogs after tearing up the Swedish junior leagues last season. Cajkovic is eligible for the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Teams are only allowed a certain number of import players, which leads to some passing on their selections even in the early part of the draft. Check out last year’s draft to see some familiar names.

The full results are below:

Round 1

1. Saint John – Maxim Cajkovic (RW, Slovakia)

2. Edmonton – Vladimir Alistrov (LW, Belarus)

3. Sudbury – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (G, Finland/Buffalo Sabres)

4. Shawinigan – Valentin Nussbaumer (C, Switzerland)

5. Prince George – Matej Toman (LW, Czech Republic)

Read more

Bode Wilde Will Not Attend Michigan In 2018-19

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A top prospect expected to go in the first round of the NHL draft has decided to change his plans for the future, as Bode Wilde will no longer attend the University of Michigan in the fall. That’s according to Bob McKenzie of TSN, who reports that Wilde will instead decide where to play after he finds out who drafts him on Friday. Wilde’s rights are owned in the CHL by the Saginaw Spirit, who just last week convinced Cole Perfetti to give up his commitment to Michigan and sign in the OHL.

Wilde, 18, had previously been linked to Harvard as well, and played this season with the US Development Program. The smooth skating defenseman has everything you’d want from a prospect except perhaps an elite playmaking ability. His biggest strength is skating the puck out of trouble, and he has the size and frame to grow into a physical presence on the back end. Interestingly he was recently kept off the roster for Team USA at the upcoming World Junior Summer Showcase, which could hurt his draft stock on Friday night. This decision to avoid the NCAA could improve it again, though teams rarely avoid taking college players that high due to any risk involved with them staying all four years. The prospect of a first-round pick waiting four years to become an unrestricted free agent is possible, but very unlikely given the expectation of playing time.

If Wilde does join the OHL, he’ll be a huge addition to a Saginaw team that looks ready to really turn things around. The team finished with a 29-30-9 record last season, but should expect a sizable step in production from Blade Jenkins and a potential return by overage Keaton Middleton, who failed to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wilde would give them another elite defenseman that can change a game by himself, something that an NHL team will snap up somewhere in the middle of round one in just a few days.

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