Western Prospect Notes: Lagesson, Roslovic, Phillips
The Edmonton Oilers have signed their fourth-round pick from the 2014 draft, inking William Lagesson to a three-year, entry-level deal. After two seasons at the University of Massechusetts-Amherst, the Swedish defenseman has decided to turn pro. While he’s never been much of an offensive contributor, he was a key part of a blueline and logged tough minutes in the defensive end.
Lagesson was actually the second selection of the draft for the Oilers that year, as they didn’t have their second or third round picks. The first selection? None other than Leon Draisaitl who has already made a big impact in the NHL. While Lagesson will never quite reach those heights, the Oilers are hoping a second member from their 2014 group can reach the NHL level.
- Jack Roslovic and Eric Comrie are both headed back down to the Manitoba Moose after their NHL debuts on Thursday night. Comrie stopped 34 of 38 shots for his first NHL win, while Roslovic played just over eight minutes and was held scoreless. While the pair will focus on their game at the AHL level for the time being, don’t underestimate the impact they’ll have at the NHL level sooner than later. Both players represent solid prospects in a system full of them, and should be knocking on the door as soon as next season.
- The Moose have also signed Michael Spacek to an amateur tryout for the remainder of the season after his huge breakout in the WHL. Spacek exploded for 85 points in 59 games and scored another 12 in the Red Deer Rebels’ hard fought series loss at the hands of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He also impressed for the Czech Republic at the World Juniors, his third such tournament for his home country. Spacek is a very interesting prospect for the Jets going into next year, as he’ll turn just 20 years old on Sunday. His offensive game has no ceiling, and he could easily turn into a legitimate scoring threat in the AHL as a rookie next year.
- The Calgary Flames won’t be left behind, as they’ve also signed an interesting name to an amateur deal. Matthew Phillips—he of the 50 goal season—has signed an ATO with the Stockton Heat and will spend a little time with them before heading back to junior next year. Despite turning 19 yesterday, Phillips still only weighs in at a paltry 151 lbs. It will be extremely difficult for him to succeed at the professional level with his 5’7″ frame, but if anyone can do it perhaps he can. Phillips has scored at every level so far, including a 40 goal campaign in bantam hockey when he was 14—while playing only 33 games.
ESPN Finds Winnipeg Least Attractive NHL Player Destination
ESPN conducted its annual poll (insider link) of which NHL cities are the most unpopular among NHL players. This year the Winnipeg Jets took the top slot, with the Edmonton Oilers placing second and the New York Islanders finishing third.
ESPNs’s methodology is simple and admittedly flawed, but it’s one of the only glimpses into how NHL players feel about particular destinations. ESPN asks nine player agents to list the top-three teams most often listed on no-trade clauses. It then awards each top team three points, second team two points, and third team one point.
According to ESPN, Winnipeg was the top team on six of the nine answers. A cold destination coupled with limited success explains its unpopularity. Edmonton places second on ESPN’s list, but its success this season may remove the team from future lists. Before this season Edmonton mired in the NHL basement despite having numerous first overall draft picks. Rounding out the top three, the Islanders may make this list based on its lack of success, uncertain ownership issues, and unpopular arena location.
Residence and fans of the above cities shouldn’t fret. It’s no coincidence that this list omits successful teams. Players seem to want to go to winners regardless of locale. A couple of playoff performances should change players’ views very quickly.
Evening Transactions: Milano, Conacher, Paigin
The Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Sonny Milano back to the Cleveland Monsters after just one game. The top prospect was held scoreless again, and is still looking for his first NHL goal. Scoring 43 points in 59 games in the AHL, Milano has been a huge part of keeping them playoff relevant. After winning the Calder Cup last year, Cleveland is in danger of missing the playoffs completely should they not finish their strong in their last five games. Milano will likely be in the lineup tomorrow against the Milwaukee Admirals.
Here are some more moves around the NHL this evening:
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have called up Cory Conacher and Michael Bournival ahead of their important matchup against the Maple Leafs tomorrow. Both players have spent time in the NHL this season and will be used as insurance should Tyler Johnson or any other Lightning can’t go. As Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reports, there were several players who wouldn’t have played last night under normal circumstances. That 4-0 loss at the hands of the Boston Bruins means that Tampa Bay must beat the Maple Leafs in regulation to have any real chance at making the playoffs.
- The Bakersfield Condors have signed Ziyat Paigin to an amateur tryout. The seventh-round pick of the Oilers played his third season in the KHL this season and has made his way over to the North American system. While he doesn’t have an entry-level contract just yet with Edmonton, this is a strong sign that he wants to transition away from the Russian league. Paigin broke out last year with 27 points in 33 games after being loaned to Sochi, but has had another underwhelming campaign with Ak Bars this year. A huge defenseman who is already 22-years old, Paigin is a very interesting prospect for Oilers fans to keep an eye on.
Minor Moves: Ingram, Backman, Khaira
When the Kamloops Blazers were eliminated from the WHL playoffs by the Kelowna Rockets on Sunday, Connor Ingram became a goalie without a net. That limbo won’t last long, as Bob McKenzie reports that Ingram has signed an amateur tryout contract with the Syracuse Crunch—Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate—for the rest of this season, and an entry-level deal with the Lightning starting next season.
Ingram played exceptionally well this season, posting a .922 save percentage in the regular season before increasing that number to .946 for their short playoff run. While he didn’t have the best tournament at the World Juniors, his inclusion on a team that has a long history of elite goaltending goes to show how highly regarded he is in the CHL. Ingram was selected in the third round by Tampa Bay last summer, and has all the makings of an NHL starter one day.
- Sean Shapiro of NHL.com tells us that the Dallas Stars organization expects Mattias Backman to return to Sweden next season. At the AHL trade deadline, the Stars loaned Backman to Hershey for their playoff run but he has only played a handful of games since then. The former fifth-round pick never did make it to the NHL, and will now return home to compete in the SHL next season.
- The Edmonton Oilers have sent Jujhar Khaira back to the AHL, ending what has been a long stretch of NHL time without much NHL action. Playing in just 10 games this season, the young Khaira has registered just a single goal. With Bakersfield in a battle for the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division, Khaira will provide some depth up the middle. The 22-year old was drafted in the third round in 2012, and has struggled to make an impact at the NHL level.
PHR Originals: 3/27/17 – 4/1/17
Pro Hockey Rumors had a number of original articles this week as the regular season winds down and the playoffs beckon. Here are a few from the past week:
- Brett analyzed the Edmonton Oilers’ first line dominance and how it has played a tremendous role in the success of the team this season. While the Oilers’ renaissance certainly got its jumpstart from Connor McDavid, it’s the play of others who have certainly helped the team reach the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.
- Meanwhile, I took a closer look at the rebuild situation that the Red Wings are facing and some concerning elements that have arisen over the past few years that GM Ken Holland will have to navigate.
- Gavin highlighted the surprising yet impressive performance by Patrick Eaves, who has notched 29 goals this season between the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks. He also notes that no one in the hockey world–including your humble writers here at PHR–saw this performance coming. In addition to Eaves, Gavin wrote about Toby Enstrom and how after going through a season ending knee surgery, it may be in the Jets best interest to find a way to have him waive his no movement clause.
- Finally, Gavin also answered many of your questions during a live chat. In addition to providing sound hockey analysis, he’s also open to fantasy baseball advice for replacing Jeurys Familia.
Edmonton’s First Line Dominance
With a win this evening, the Edmonton Oilers could move into first place in the Pacific Division. Hands up if you saw this coming back in October.
The Oilers haven’t really had trouble scoring goals over the past few years, but with players like Nikita Nikitin and Andrew Ference playing top-four minutes, and Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth in the crease, the team didn’t have a chance at a winning record. With the additions of Adam Larsson, Andrej Sekera, and Kris Russell and the emergence of Oscar Klefbom and Cam Talbot, the Oilers finally have a solid back end. While Larsson cost them one of the best left wingers in the NHL in Taylor Hall, the Oilers offence isn’t hurting.
Connor McDavid, Patrick Maroon, and Leon Draisaitl have formed one of the most dangerous lines in hockey. McDavid is leading the NHL in scoring with 91 points in 77 games, Draisaitl is currently tenth with 72 in 77, and Maroon has more than double his previous career-high with 27 goals and 41 points.
While McDavid and Draisaitl’s dominance isn’t altogether unexpected, Maroon’s career-year is. The 20-year-old McDavid is the arguably the best player in the NHL and Draisaitl was the third-overall pick in 2014. But Maroon is a bit of a different case; he was a sixth-round pick back in 2007.
After two up-and-down years in Anaheim with 29 and 34 points and a good playoffs in 2015, Maroon fell to the Ducks’ fourth line. He was dealt to Edmonton at last year’s trade deadline for minor-league defenseman Martin Gernát and a fourth-round pick, with the Ducks retaining 25 per cent of Maroon’s $2MM salary. After just 13 points in 56 games with Anaheim, Maroon scored 14 points in 16 games with Edmonton. The big winger was challenged by the organization to get into better shape, with ice-time alongside McDavid used as a carrot. Maroon lost 25 pounds in the off-season, and quickly played his way onto McDavid’s wing. Even when he’s not scoring, he does other things to help. TSN’s Jamie McLennan pointed to Maroon’s nine fights and physical play, complimenting him for “bringing something else to the table.” He’s been a feel-good story and is the Oilers’ nominee for the Masterton Trophy for dedication to hockey.
McDavid and Draisaitl are both on nine-game point streaks, with 16 points apiece in those nine games. Add in Maroon’s nine points in those nine games and their top line has 41 points in the last nine games. The Oilers are 8-1-0 in those nine games, clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 2005-06 with their sights set on 100 points and the Pacific Division title.
College Notes: Jost, Foo, Vecchione
In the latest ’30 Thoughts’ column from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet there are several interesting tidbits about some college players that have been eliminated from the NCAA tournament in the past few days. One of the most notable is Tyson Jost, the Colorado Avalanche prospect and 10th-overall pick from last summer. Friedman says that it’s tough to read the situation on Jost after his freshman season at North Dakota, and mentions there is still the possibility of him returning for a second year.
Jost had an incredible year, scoring 38 points in 35 games for UND while also starring for Team Canada at the World Juniors. The former BCHL superstar turned 19 less than two weeks ago, and would benefit from another year in the NCAA and a run at the Hobey Baker trophy. There is no rush for Colorado, who won’t be competing next season but consider Jost one of their untouchables going forward.
- Friedman also touches on Mike Vecchione, the Union College star who is a free agent and can sign anywhere. Reports indicate that he’ll make a decision within the next 24 hours. On Monday it came out that Philadelphia was pushing hard for the 24-year old, though it’s not clear if they are still in the running today. The offensive dynamo tied for the leading point-scorer in the nation, and is a finalist for the Hobey Baker this season.
- Spencer Foo, a teammate of Vecchione at Union, has told teams he won’t play pro hockey this season. That doesn’t mean that he’s definitely going back to school though, and LA Kings Insider Dan Rosen has heard that basically the entire league is interested in him. As Rosen notes at the end of his piece, Foo was an Edmonton Oilers fan growing up and Friedman notes that there is a lot of interest from the Canadian NHL clubs. The winger scored 62 points in 38 games this season and is another Hobey Baker finalist.
- Rosen goes on to report that Steven Johnson, a Los Angeles Kings draft pick from 2014 will head back to school at the University of Minnesota for his senior year. The Kings will have just a few months to sign him after next season if they so choose, but he’ll have to take another step forward to earn an entry-level contract after graduation. Right now his entire game still needs polish and he’ll hopefully have the chance to step into a bigger role now that Jake Bischoff is off to the professional ranks.
Edmonton Oilers Sign Joseph Gambardella To Two-Year Contract
The Edmonton Oilers have jumped into the NCAA free agent waters, signing Joseph Gambardella to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal will start in 2017-18, a season in which Gambardella will turn 24. The undrafted forward has just finished his senior year at University of Massachusetts-Lowell and was a free agent.
While he was already 23 for much of the season, Gambardella really excelled in his final year, scoring 52 points in 41 games and led the River Hawks in scoring for the first time in his college career. The somewhat undersized forward has a relentless drive for the net and played most of the season alongside C.J. Smith, another undrafted scoring threat that might sign after next season. Gambardella is fearless in front of the net, battling for position against bigger players and often coming up with the puck.
Most of his scoring has come from within five feet of the net, winning rebounds and finding a way to bury the puck from incredibly difficult angles. Because he doesn’t have elite skill with the puck, he’ll need to continue to be that feisty net-front presence at the next level to find success. Because of that style, and his level of strength and balance, he could likely contribute to an NHL roster’s bottom-six within the next year. As long as he accepts a different role than the top scoring threat at even strength and on the powerplay, he could become a very productive professional.
Snapshots: Red Wings, Krejci, Marleau, Couture
Detroit’s 25 year streak of reaching the playoffs is all but set to come to an end this season as the team sits dead last in the Eastern Conference. While GM Ken Holland isn’t surprised that it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Red Wings this season, he told Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News that he wasn’t expecting the team to struggle as much as they have:
“I expected more, I expected we’d be in the thick of things. I didn’t know if we’d be in the playoffs or not. When you look at the standings in our division and in the Eastern Conference, there a lot of teams, some of them are going to miss the playoffs by a point or two and some of them are going to get in by a point or two.”
Kulfan notes that free agency isn’t an avenue that Holland and the Wings are likely to pursue this summer. Part of the problem is the weaker than usual free agent class while the team is also handcuffed by some above-market value contracts that the GM has handed out in recent years to players like Darren Helm, Danny DeKeyser, and several others. As a result, they’ll have to hope to free up some cap room either via the trade or market or perhaps in expansion if the Golden Knights opt to take a pricey player off their hands.
Other notes from around the league:
- Bruins center David Krejci left practice early on Monday and interim head coach Bruce Cassidy told CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty that he is dealing with an upper body injury. However, it’s not expected to keep him out of Boston’s lineup when they take on the Predators on Tuesday night. If it turns out he’s unavailable, it’s expected that Ryan Spooner would jump in to fill his spot on the second line.
- With Logan Couture out of the lineup, the Sharks will shift Patrick Marleau back to center for the time being, notes CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz. Marleau is a natural center but has only played there four times this year as San Jose has opted to play him on the wing instead. In a separate column, Kurz provided an update on Couture. Head coach Peter DeBoer was pleased by how much the swelling went down today and while he will miss some time, it doesn’t appear that it will be a long-term injury. There’s no timetable for a potential return date yet although the team is expected to further update his situation in the near future.
Snapshots: Crosby, World Championships, Oilers
It was a controversial week for Sidney Crosby.
He appeared to slash Sabres forward Ryan O’Reilly in a sensitive area, then broke Senators defenseman Marc Methot‘s finger in half with another whack. The latter incident resulted in a pretty ugly injury (NSFW) and some angry comments from Senators owner Eugene Melnyk.
Melnyk told TSN 1200 that the league needs to “hammer these [players who slash]… you say you know what? You are done for 10 games. We all know who [Crosby] is. The guy is a whiner beyond belief. You do this kind of stuff—I don’t care who you are in the league, I don’t care if you’re the number one player in the league—you should sit out a long time for this kind of crap.”
The comments were criticized by fans and media; Mike Johnson called the comments “off base” and tweeted a video of Senators players slashing opponents. Senators captain Erik Karlsson defended Crosby by saying plays like that “happen all the time.”
Ahead of Sunday’s game versus Philadelphia, Crosby responded to Melnyk’s comments. After declining to comment, Crosby said “he likes to hear himself talk, so let’s leave it.”
Superstars like Crosby are often the target of those little “whacks”; small slashes that go uncalled. Earlier this season, Johnny Gaudreau missed 10 games after being whacked at least 20 times by different Wild players in the same game.
“I’d love to see them crack down on it,” said Crosby. “It’s something that happens a lot… Obviously [Methot is] an example where if you get it in the wrong spot, it can hurt. Hopefully he’s back out there soon.”
- The USA Women’s National Team is boycotting the upcoming Women’s World Championships over a dispute with USA Hockey. The players are currently paid just $6K for the six months leading up to the Olympics, and nothing else. The players want fair wages and for USA Hockey to put more money into the program to grow the women’s game. USA Hockey has been asking (and being declined by) high school players to play in their stead. Now the Men’s Program may be getting involved. Player Agent Allan Walsh reported that American NHL players may refuse to play in this spring’s World Championships in solidarity; the NHLPA has already come out in support of the women. Last year, the American side finished fourth in the tournament, the rosters for which are populated by NHLers who are no longer in Cup contention and the occasional draft-eligible player.
- After Leon Draisaitl cracked the 70-point barrier on Saturday night, the Edmonton Oilers will have two 70-point scorers (the other being Connor McDavid with 88 points) for the first time in 11 years. The last time they did, it was Ales Hemsky and Shawn Horcoff with 77 and 73 points respectively in 2005-06. Incidentally, that’s the last time they made the playoffs. The Oilers have also surpassed 90 points for the first time since 05-06, and if they manage to finish first in their division (currently tied with San Jose and Anaheim for first), then it will mark the first division win since 1986-87.