Mikko Lehtonen Terminates KHL Loan
Next stop, Toronto. Mikko Lehtonen has terminated his contract with Jokerit of the KHL and will be heading to North America soon to join the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Lehtonen, 26, signed a one-year contract with the Maple Leafs in May that will represent his first opportunity in the NHL. The smooth-skating Finn was undrafted but continued to develop overseas, winning the KHL Defenseman of the Year award last season. He scored 49 points in 60 games to earn that honor, a pace that he was blowing out of the water this year as he scored at a point-per-game rate.
Unfortunately, Lehtonen was limited to just 17 games with Jokerit this year because of COVID-19. The defenseman contracted the disease in October and had to wait out a quarantine with the rest of his teammates, though he only experienced mild symptoms.
Still, his performance should have fans in Toronto excited about his potential as a top-four option in the NHL. Lehtonen’s not a flashy player but racks up points with quick breakout passes and a heavy dose of shots in the offensive zone. His ability to score from the point could make him a candidate to run one of Toronto’s powerplay units, taking over the role from the departed Tyson Barrie.
Like all the other players under contract, Lehtonen will have to wait on the league’s final decision for when training camp officially starts. But with no loan agreement holding him back, he can head to Toronto to start his quarantine and begin to prepare for his first chance in the NHL.
Quinton Byfield Will Not Leave WJC For NHL
Part of the deal when the Chicago Blackhawks loaned Kirby Dach to Canada’s World Junior selection camp was that if the NHL got up and running before the tournament started, he could potentially be called away from the team and back to his pro organization. The same can’t be said about Los Angeles Kings prospect Quinton Byfield, who told reporters today including Scott Wheeler of The Athletic that he will be playing in the junior tournament regardless of when NHL camps open, returning to the Kings afterward.
Byfield looked somewhat overmatched at the tournament last year when he made the club as a 17-year-old but is expected to play a huge role for Canada at this year’s event. The second-overall pick is coming off an incredible season with the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL in which he scored 32 goals and 82 points in 45 games. He still received a gold medal as part of Team Canada but recorded just a single assist and no goals in his seven-game tournament.
This year he’ll be back for another medal and it’ll be his play that could determine Canada’s fate. Byfield was on the first line today between Samuel Poulin and Peyton Krebs for camp Team Red, though that doesn’t mean much this early on.
It is interesting to see the different approaches from teams around the league. Alexis Lafreniere for instance, who is still eligible for the event, is not at the selection camp, instead focusing on the start of his NHL career with the New York Rangers. Detroit Red Wings prospect Moritz Seider, who captained the German squad a year ago, was also not released for the tournament. Byfield is expected to push for an NHL spot immediately, but the Kings obviously believe this event is beneficial to his long-term development.
Nashville Predators Loan Frederic Allard To Villacher SV
The Nashville Predators have found some playing time for one of their prospects, loaning Frederic Allard to Villacher SV of the ICEHL, Austria’s professional league. Allard will remain overseas only until the start of Nashville’s training camp.
Selected 78th overall in 2016, Allard has found and filled a key role with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL the last three seasons, racking up 74 points in 181 games. The 22-year-old still has NHL upside, but for years it has been difficult for prospects to crack through in Nashville. The team already has Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm taking up the majority of playing time and this offseason brought in Mark Borowiecki and Matt Benning to round out the depth chart.
For Allard, getting on the ice and into competitive games is the only way he’s going to keep his development path pointed in the right direction. This is the final year of his entry-level contract, meaning he’ll be a restricted free agent next summer looking for either a new deal with the Predators or a fresh start somewhere else. This minor league season is important, and getting an early start overseas should only help him when things begin back home.
Minor Transactions: 11/17/20
It’s the dog days of…November? The NHL offseason is moving like molasses these days, with no one-way UFA contracts handed out for the last two weeks. While things may be ramping up again at the end of the month, minor leagues and those in Europe have still continued to finesse their rosters recently. We’ll keep track of the notable moves right here:
- Brandon DeFazio, who played two games for the Vancouver Canucks in 2014-15 and was a standout at the AHL level, has signed with HC Kometa Brno of the Czech professional league. DeFazio has been travelling the world playing hockey in recent years, suiting up in the KHL and Liiga. His numbers dropped off a cliff with Kunlun Red Star last season, but he’ll try his luck again overseas in a new league.
- Cameron Hebig, who was not extended a qualifying offer by the Edmonton Oilers and became an unrestricted free agent, has signed an ECHL contract with the Florida Everblades for 2020-21. Hebig, 23, scored 29 points in his rookie season in the AHL a few years ago but ended up spending half of 2019-20 in the ECHL anyway. The undrafted forward will have to take a big developmental step if he has any hope of making an NHL roster.
- Mads Sogaard, the 37th overall pick in the 2019 draft, has been loaned to Esbjerg Energy in Denmark for the upcoming season. The 19-year-old goaltender had played the last two seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL. Joining him is defenseman Mathew Hill of the OHL’s Barrie Colts, a sixth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2019.
- Former Dallas Stars prospect Cole Ully has signed a one-year deal with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, the team announced. Ully returns to the Charleston-based club after playing the whole season with the Stingrays this past year while on an AHL contract with the Hershey Bears. Ully previously played parts of four seasons in the minors for the Stars after being selected in the fifth round in 2013.
- The rumors have been confirmed and top 2021 NHL Draft prospect Brandt Clarke is officially headed to Sweden. Vasby IK of the Allsvenskan announced that Clarke has joined the team, though they do not state definitively whether it is on a loan basis from the OHL’s Barrie Colts or if he has signed on for the full season. Either way, the club did not pull any punches in describing their excitement for Clarke’s arrival (translated):
Sometimes it is easy to use superlatives when describing new acquisitions. But this time, the title super talent is simply the only correct description one can make of the Canadian acquisition… Clarke will probably be the greatest talent in the entire history of Väsby Hockey.
Philip Tomasino Loaned To Team Canada
Philip Tomasino feels he is ready to play in the NHL. But for now, he’ll be suiting up against 46 other top prospects at the Team Canada World Junior Championship selection camp. Tomasino has been loaned to Team Canada today, a move that will happen for many more prospects over the coming hours and days as the young players get ready for a month-long camp that will determine the tournament roster.
Tomasino, 19, was the 24th overall pick in 2019 and is coming off an incredible 100-point season in the OHL. Earlier this summer and before the 2020 draft, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked Tomasino as the 20th-best drafted prospect in the entire league. Wheeler explained that the “result is likely a top of the lineup player and dynamic powerplay option who is equal parts scorer and playmaker.” Not bad for a late-first, but exactly what the Predators need as they look to find a real star to build their forward group around.
That said, even with his excellent season and strong development, Tomasino is not a lock to make the Canadian roster. The forward group that has been invited to camp is incredible, with names like Kirby Dach, Dylan Cozens, Quinton Byfield, and Connor McMichael all expected to take huge roles on the team. This will be Tomasino’s final chance to make the team and a great place for him to show he’s ready for the next step, but he’ll have to battle with some very talented prospects for the limited available spots.
Eetu Tuulola Loaned To Vasterviks IK
November 16: After playing in 11 games with Vasterviks, the player Tuulola had replaced returned from injury, pushing him off the roster. The Flames have found him a new team, loaning the young forward to SaiPa in Finland’s top league until training camps begin in North America. Tuulola had four points in 11 games during his time in Sweden and will try to keep that production going with his new club.
September 22: The Calgary Flames have loaned another prospect overseas, this time sending Eetu Tuulola to Vasterviks IK in the Swedish second league. Tuulola just finished his first season in North American pro hockey, scoring 23 points in 50 games for the Stockton Heat. He’ll be eligible to return to the Flames when NHL training camp opens.
Tuulola, 22, is an interesting prospect after rising from a sixth-round draft selection in 2016. His offensive game has drastically improved since then while maintaining the same work ethic and drive that put him on Calgary’s radar in the first place. Interestingly he already has plenty of experience playing at a high level in Europe, though he won’t be returning to Finland’s Liiga where he spent parts of three seasons before coming to the Heat. Instead he’s headed to the Swedish Allsvenskan where he will try to continue to hone those offensive instincts and polish his overall game.
His older brother, Joni Tuulola a Chicago Blackhawks draft pick, also returned to Europe earlier this month when he signed a new deal in Finland. Luckily for the Flames, their Tuulola has two years remaining on his entry-level deal and will have to come back if they want him to compete for an NHL spot.
Jakub Skarek Loaned To Peliitat
The New York Islanders have sent another prospect overseas, this time loaning Jakub Skarek to Peliitat in the Finnish second league. Skarek should be back in time for NHL training camp, if only because the Islanders don’t have any other goaltenders signed.
The 21-year-old join Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin as the only three under NHL deals in the Islanders organization, meaning he would be the default third-string option should anything happen to one of the roster goalies. That’s a lot to ask of a player that has only one professional season under his belt in North America and split time between the AHL and ECHL.
Of course, the Islanders are still expected to sign Cory Schneider at some point, though it is curious why the deal hasn’t happened yet. If they do, Skarek could go back to being a developmental project for the team this season. For now, he’ll get his legs under him back in Finland for the same team he played for in 2018-19. The Czech-born goaltender has a long way to go if he wants to push for an NHL spot, meaning every minute of game action is important.
Golden Knights Loan Ryan Murphy To KHL
It turns out that Ryan Murphy’s time in the KHL hasn’t come to an end after all as Dynamo Minsk announced that they’ve added the defenseman on loan from the Henderson Silver Knights, AHL affiliate of Vegas. The deal is for the duration of the KHL season but Vegas reserves the right to recall him to their farm team at any point before then as well.
The 27-year-old spent last year with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk in the KHL after spending most of the 2018-19 season in the minors. Murphy fared relatively well in his first international stint, picking up eight goals and 15 assists in 56 regular season games which was enough to get him another opportunity in North America as he inked a minor league pact with Vegas back in August.
While he’s on an AHL-only deal for the time being, a good showing overseas could help Murphy’s chances of getting converted to an NHL two-way pact. Cap space is going to be an issue for the Golden Knights all season so as long he’s willing to sign for the minimum, it’s possible that he could suit up for them at some point next season and give them an experienced option (he has 175 games of NHL experienced) at a low price.
Snapshots: Next Season, Overseas Prospects, Hajek
Yesterday’s call with the NHL board of governors didn’t result in any sweeping announcements about next season, but insiders around the game have gleaned a bit of information about what was discussed and what is still on the table. Frank Seravalli puts many of those information nuggets into his latest piece for TSN, including the fact that preference now seems to be moving away from hybrid bubbles or “hubs” as commissioner Gary Bettman recently called them, and towards teams playing in their home arenas. Seravalli suggests that regional realignment would be required, but that teams would play a baseball-like series of two or three games to reduce travel.
He also reports that there is “no concept on the table that includes a full-length regular season.” That seemed clear when Bettman publicly spoke about a reduced schedule, something the league was obviously hoping to avoid but is now inevitable. There are no formal proposals on the table yet, but with the January 1 target date getting closer every day, there will need to be a decision at some point in the near future—even if it is just another delay.
- With the hockey offseason moving at a snail’s pace in November, fans have started to scour overseas boxscores to see how their favorite prospects are doing. Mike Shulman of Sportsnet published a piece today going over many of the most interesting names, including several 2021 draft prospects that are still trying to raise their stock. Among the group of already drafted players is Yaroslav Askarov once again, who continues to turn heads every time he hits the ice. Even Shulman sold him a bit short, without updated statistics from the KHL. Askarov returned to the SKA St. Petersburg crease yesterday after dominating at the Kajala Cup and put on another show, stopping 24 of 25 shots in a huge victory over HC Vityaz. Askarov is now toting a .960 save percentage in five KHL games, allowing only five goals on 125 shots.
- Speaking of overseas prospects, the New York Rangers will have another one to keep an eye on as Libor Hajek joins HC Kometa Brno on loan for the time being. Hajek was loaned to Brno originally, then switched to Olomouc, but is now apparently heading back to where he started. The 22-year-old has struggled during his time in the NHL over the last two seasons and will need to take another step in his development before the Rangers can really rely on him as a full-time option.
Snapshots: Ryan, McConnell, O’Connor
In a candid interview with Craig Custance of The Athletic, new Detroit Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan spoke about the buyout that ended his time in Ottawa and the free agent process this fall. In one particularly revealing moment, Ryan explains that there was a genuine interest in signing him from around the league, including from some Canadian teams, but that he and his wife decided that because he is getting closer to retirement they wanted to stay south of the border and start setting up their long-term family situation.
Ryan still believes that he has some high-level hockey left to play and told Custance that the opportunity in Detroit was what interested him so much. The Red Wings have plenty of openings in the top-six as they continue their rebuild, giving Ryan a chance to play the scoring role he has always held. The 33-year-old forward has scored 254 goals in his 833-game career, including cracking the 30-goal threshold in four consecutive seasons early in his career.
- The Arizona Coyotes have named Devan McConnell as the team’s high performance director, hiring him to “maximize performance, minimize injury risk, optimize fitness and nutrition levels and execute comprehensive training regiments for all Coyotes and Roadrunners players and club prospects.” McConnell served in a similar role with the New Jersey Devils for part of last season and spent several years with UMass-Lowell.
- Drew O’Connor, who signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins back in March after his college season ended, was actually loaned to Manglerud in Norway on October 26. He has yet to play, serving out a quarantine first, and will be returned to North America for NHL training camp later this winter. O’Connor will be joined by Blake Christensen, who signed an AHL deal with the Bakersfield Condors for 2020-21 but has also been loaned overseas for now.