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Avalanche Recall John Ludvig From Conditioning Loan

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After two weeks spent in the American Hockey League with the Colorado Eagles, defenseman John Ludvig will return to the NHL. The Colorado Avalanche announced they’ve recalled Ludvig from his conditioning loan to the NHL roster.

According to the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the rules stipulate that a team can send a player down via a standard conditioning loan for 14 consecutive days, meaning the Avalanche kept Ludvig in the AHL for the maximum allotted time. Furthermore, during his entire stint with the AHL Eagles, Ludvig counted against the 23-man roster for the Avalanche and was paid his full NHL salary for the duration of the loan.

During his 14-day span in Loveland, CO, Ludvig tallied one assist in five games for the Eagles with a -3 rating. It’s not dissimilar from his production in the NHL this year with the Avalanche as he’s tallied two assists in eight games with a -4 rating.

Although Colorado has struggled with injuries this season, they have operated quite well in Ludvig’s absence. Should the organization want to continue with only seven available defensemen on the active roster, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ludvig end up on waivers within the next week.

He could get some consideration from the team’s wanting another minimum-salary defenseman on the NHL roster but he’ll likely clear given his production over the last two years. This would ultimately prove a benefit to Ludvig as the Avalanche may be more comfortable taxiing him from the AHL should he be exempt from waivers for a few weeks.

Canucks Assign Filip Hronek To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The Vancouver Canucks announced they’ve loaned defenseman Filip Hronek to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, on a conditioning loan. Should he suit up in Abbotsford’s next contest on January 10th, it’ll be Hronek’s first game since suffering a lower-body injury on November 27th.

Since Hronek has been on the long-term injured reserve the transaction won’t have the same requirements as the standard 14-day conditioning loan. Hronek’s loan will last for six days or three games, with an opportunity to extend the loan for another two games. His contract remains on LTIR until he’s activated and placed on the NHL roster.

Given that AHL Abbotsford has three games, with the final coming on January 14th, Hronek will trigger the eligibility requirements on the same day. Vancouver has the option of activating Hronek at any point during the conditioning loan meaning he could feature at any point during the Canucks’ upcoming road trip.

Ultimately, he’ll likely return to game action on January 16th against the Los Angeles Kings should he not suffer any setbacks during the loan. His return to the lineup will help alleviate many of Vancouver’s defensive woes over the last few weeks.

Although the Canucks have the luxury of deploying Quinn Hughes on most nights the team has looked completely different during Hronek’s absence. Vancouver has managed an 11-7-3 record with Hronek in the lineup this year but has struggled through a 7-5-6 run after he suffered the injury.

Hronek should reprise his role on the team’s top-pairing next to Hughes and look to build upon his one goal and nine points already scored this season. He’s coming off a career-year last season in which he scored five goals and 48 points in 81 games and will look to near that 0.60 point-per-game average upon his return.

Utah Loans Connor Ingram To AHL, Places Robert Bortuzzo On IR

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The Utah Hockey Club have assigned goaltender Connor Ingram to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners on a conditioning loan. Ingram has missed Utah’s last 18 games with an upper-body injury. He was placed on injured reserve on November 20th and returned to skating on December 14th. He’ll now head to the AHL to take the next steps in his recovery.

In a corresponding move, Utah has also placed defenseman Robert Bortuzzo on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. The move is retroactive to the date of Bortuzzo’s last game on December 10th. He left that match halfway through the second period after being spilled into the boards by Minnesota Wild forward Devin Shore. Bortuzzo is out indefinitely, though his move to IR clears the roster space to activate Ingram after his conditioning stint.

Ingram served as Utah’s starter prior to his injury, but performed uncharacteristically poorly – recording a .871 save percentage and 3.61 goals-against-average in 13 games, both career-lows. He stood much taller in Utah’s starting net last season, recording a .907 Sv%, a 2.91 GAA, and six shutouts across 50 games in what was Ingram’s first season as a full-time NHL starter. He could now lose the job just one year later, with Utah’s backup Karel Vejmelka posting an impressive .917 Sv%, 2.33 GAA, and 7-6-2 record in 15 games since Ingram’s injury. Vejmelka should hang onto his starting role even as Ingram returns, though Utah could get the perk of riding the hot hand if Ingram is able to bounce back to form.

Blue Jackets Activate, Assign Jordan Dumais

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated top prospect Jordan Dumais off of season-opening injured reserve and loaned him to the AHL. Dumais missed the majority of Columbus’ training and development camps this summer, and earned an IR placement on October 7th, due to a nagging lower-abdominal injury connected to a fractured hip suffered in January. He underwent surgery in late-January but couldn’t return to full health in time for the end of the 2023-24 season. The Cleveland Monsters have three games remaining in 2024, giving Dumais a slim window to play in any regular season games this year. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic adds that Dumais was headed for another surgery this summer, before hitting a positive swing in his training.

Dumais’ hip and abdominal injury put a sore end to a truly fantastic juniors career. He scored at unprecedented rates in four years with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads, headlined by 109 points in his draft year and 140 points the year after. The latter season broke Halifax’s single-season scoring record, while the former ranks fifth. He was headed for more records at the start of last season, scoring 47 points in 21 games prior to injury –  a full-season pace of 143 points in 64 games. And while he wasn’t able to reach those heights, his 119 goals and 325 points in 193 career games with the Mooseheads still both rank as franchise-records.

Despite the incredible scoring, many aren’t convinced about how Dumais will translate to the pro flight. He’s earned his points through quick dekes and smooth skating, giving him a unique ability to sneak around opponents with the puck on his stick. But he only stands at five-foot-nine and 175-pounds – a frame that assuredly doesn’t lend itself to slick deking against NHL hitters. Fears over his size and projectability landed Dumais in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft, going 96th-overall to Columbus. He vindicated their faith quickly at the juniors level, but has been delayed in doing the same in the pros. This roster move should be the first step towards discovering where Dumais’ true upside lies, so long as he continues to trend towards full health.

Utah Loans Patrik Koch, Milos Kelemen To Czech Extraliga

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The Utah Hockey Club is sending a couple of AHL players to the Czech Extraliga. The organization has loaned defenseman Patrik Koch to HC Oceláři Třinec and forward Milos Kelemen to HC Dynamo Pardubice. Both players had already registered double-digit games with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners this season.

It will be Koch’s second go around in the Extraliga. He played three years for the HC Vítkovice from 2020 to 2023 collecting six goals and 23 points in 156 contests. He’s in his second year with Utah (including one year with the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes organization) after signing a one-year, $775K agreement on June 20th.

He’s been a solid presence for the Roadrunners over the last two years scoring one goal and 17 points in 73 AHL contests. There was some early indication that he might crack Utah’s opening night roster as a depth defenseman after a strong showing in the IIHF World Championships and the NHL preseason. He scored one goal and four points in eight tournament games for Team Slovakia and helped them earn a birth into the knockout round.

He’ll now be taking his talents back to Czechia with Kelemen. The latter was signed out of the Extraliga in 2022 after scoring five goals and 18 points in 44 games for BK Mladá Boleslav in 2021-22. He’s been a consistent middle-six scorer for the Roadrunners over the past three years scoring 31 goals and 68 points in 124 games. He’s the only one of the pair that has already made his NHL debut scoring one goal and two points in 24 games for the Coyotes from 2022 to 2024.

Without a real pathway to playing time in the NHL, the Utah Hockey Club is returning the two Slovakians to a more comfortable lifestyle. They are both playing on expiring contracts this year and may continue the rest of their professional careers overseas.

Capitals Loan Leon Muggli To EV Zug

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The Capitals have officially loaned 2024 second-round pick Leon Muggli back to Switzerland’s EV Zug for 2024-25, the team announced today. The National League club said last month that they were in discussions to take the 18-year-old defenseman back on loan for this season after he signed his entry-level contract with Washington.

It will be Muggli’s second season with the big club after spending his entire development process in the Zug system, suiting up for their U-15, U-17 and U-20 teams since 2019. Last year, his first professional season, he became a depth fixture on the Zug blue line with 12 points (3 G, 9 A) and a +13 rating in 42 games.

The smooth-skating two-way defender was Washington’s third choice of the 2024 draft class, following winger Terik Parascak at No. 17 and diminutive defenseman Cole Hutson at No. 43. Muggli came off the board at No. 52, a pick the Caps acquired from the Golden Knights in last season’s Anthony Mantha trade.

With the loan, Muggli’s entry-level contract will slide to next season as expected since he won’t see any NHL action. If he plays fewer than 10 NHL games in 2025-26, the deal could slide again to the 2026-27 campaign, meaning he won’t be an RFA for the first time until 2028-29. That likely scenario will result in his cap hit reducing from its initial $940.8K to $875.8K due to signing bonuses being paid out in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 campaigns (contract details via PuckPedia).

Muggli returns to a Zug squad that won back-to-back NL titles in 2021 and 2022 but has been eliminated in the semifinals in two straight years. Their roster is dotted with a few former NHLers, including Gabriel Carlsson, Gregory Hofmann, and Fredrik Olofsson.

Central Notes: Hayton, Soderstrom, Kumpulainen, Stars

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After an aggressive start to the offseason the Utah Hockey Club still has some work to do regarding a pair of restricted free agents. Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports Utah is closing in on a deal with forward Barrett Hayton and there has been no progress towards a new contract for defenseman Victor Soderstrom.

Hayton looked to be moving into the second-line center position for the 2023-24 NHL season after posting strong numbers in 2022-23. The former fifth-overall pick scored 19 goals and 43 points for the now-defunct Arizona Coyotes in 82 games while achieving a 51.1% success rate in the faceoff dot. Unfortunately, the 2023-24 season was not as kind to Hayton as he wasn’t able to get much consistency while dealing with injuries. In a major step backward in his development, Hayton posted three goals and 10 points in 33 games even while starting his shifts in the offensive zone 56.6% of the time.

Soderstrom spent most of the year with the Coyotes’ AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. In 62 games at the AHL level, Soderstrom scored nine goals and 32 points which tied him in fourth on the team in scoring and first amongst defensemen. The former 11th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft may be serviceable as an extra defenseman on a revamped Utah blue line for the 2024-25 NHL season but could become a trade candidate towards the end of the offseason. Soderstrom has proven to be a quality offensive defenseman in the minor leagues and may be looking for a legitimate opportunity at the NHL level which has not come yet.

Other Central notes:

  • The Minnesota Wild have loaned prospect Rasmus Kumpulainen to the Lahden Pelicans of the Finnish Liiga where he is also signing a two-year contract according to the team. Minnesota drafted Kumpulainen with the 53rd overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft out of the Pelicans’ farm system where he had spent all of his professional career. The young Finnish prospect spent last year with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League where he scored 28 goals and 56 points in 58 games and will now return to his hometown team to continue his development.
  • In a ’first-of-its-kind’ move from the Dallas Stars organization; the team announced it had severed its ties with Diamond Sports Group for broadcasting the team’s games on television and will enter a seven-year agreement with A Parent Media Co. Inc. (APMC). In conjunction with the new broadcasting agreement, APMC and the Stars organization have set up a new streaming service named VICTORY+ which will allow in-market fans of the team to stream the games for free. In regards to the new methods of distributing game content, President of the Dallas Stars and CEO Brad Alberts said, “After years of researching the right solution and careful planning with our partners at APMC, we’re proud to announce this pioneering streaming platform that will literally change the game for sports distribution on VICTORY+“.

Rangers Loan Kalle Vaisanen To Finnish League For 2024-25 Season

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Back in April, the Rangers signed winger Kalle Vaisanen to his entry-level deal and it looked like he’d be playing his first full season in North America in 2024-25.  However, that won’t be the case as Ilves in Finland’s Liiga announced that New York has agreed to loan Vaisanen to them for the upcoming year although he might participate in training camp with the Rangers in the fall before going over.

The 21-year-old was a fourth-round pick by New York back in 2021, going 106th overall after a strong showing offensively in Finland’s junior system.  Vaisanen has spent the last two full seasons at the top level but unfortunately for him, production has been rather difficult to come by.  He had five points in 47 games in 2022-23 and only boosted that output to nine goals and five helpers in 58 games with TPS last season but impressed enough to get his first contract and a late-season stint with AHL Hartford.

While it would have made sense for Vaisanen to get a full season in with the Wolf Pack, they’ve decided it’s better to let him get another year in back at home though he’ll now do so with a new team.  Once his campaign in Finland comes to an end, Vaisanen will likely return to North America and could very well get into a handful of games in Hartford as he did last season.

Washington Capitals Recall Dylan McIlrath

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After last night’s scary event involving defenseman Nick Jensen of the Washington Capitals, the team was put in a position to recall a defenseman to replace his spot in the active lineup. With this in mind, the team announced they have recalled defenseman Dylan McIlrath from their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, on an emergency loan.

There has still been no official update coming from the organization in regards to the health status of Jensen, who had to be stretchered off the ice after a violent collision with Michael Eyssimont of the Tampa Bay Lightning. With the Capitals only having two games remaining in the regular season, it is more than likely they will keep Jensen out for both of those matchups at the very least.

For McIlrath, the brutish defenseman is in his third season with the Capitals organization, primarily spending his time in the AHL. In 192 games with the Bears, McIlrath has scored seven goals and 32 points overall, while also playing 20 postseason games for the Bears last year, helping the organization secure their 12th Calder Cup Championship.

Since the end of the 2019-20 NHL season, McIlrath hasn’t had much opportunity at the NHL level, only managing three goals and six points over 73 career games. Once a top prospect for the New York Rangers organization after the team selected him with the 10th overall pick of the 2010 NHL Draft, McIlrath has been unable to replicate the defensive prowess that he showed with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL all those years ago.

Pacific Notes: Morin, Nesterenko, Turcotte

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With his 2023-24 season coming to an end with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL, the Calgary Flames announced that Etienne Morin has been reassigned to the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Having yet to sign his entry-level contract with the Flames organization, Morin will play with the Wranglers for the remainder of the season on an amateur tryout agreement.

Morin originally came to the Flames organization by way of the 48th overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. In his draft year, Morin was a very efficient defenseman for the Wildcats, scoring 21 goals and 72 points in 67 games while also achieving a +/- rating of 29.

While his year-on-year offensive production certainly took a dip in the 2023-24 season, Morin became even more effective as a physical player on the blue line. With the Wranglers having already clinched a playoff spot in the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs, Morin is set to receive valuable experience as the organization prepares for the postseason.

Other Pacific notes:

  • After having spent five days with the Anaheim Ducks, Nikita Nesterenko is headed back down to the AHL as the organization announced they have reassigned back to their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. Nesterenko was able to make his season debut with the Ducks over this emergency recall, suiting up in three games while scoring one goal. Now returning to San Diego, the former sixth-round pick will look to build upon his 15-goal, 33-point campaign in the last few contests.
  • Out of the lineup for the Los Angeles Kings for nearly a month, it appears that forward Alex Turcotte is close to returning for the club. In an update today, the Kings organization announced that Turcotte has been assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, on a conditioning loan. Before going down with an undisclosed injury in March, Turcotte was not a heavily utilized player by Los Angeles, scoring one goal and four points in 20 games while only averaging 9:17 of ice time per night.

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