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Afternoon Notes: Bischel, Marner, Lyubushkin, Regenda

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The Boston Bruins have returned to the well in South Bend, signing the University of Notre Dame’s Ryan Bischel to a one-year, minor-league contract that begins next season. Bischel joins the Providence Bruins just one week after Notre Dame teammate Drew Bavaro signed a deal with the team. Bavaro – who signed an amateur try-out for the rest of this season, in addition to a one-year deal next season – has since played in the first two AHL games of his career, recording one penalty and two shots. Boston also acquired former Notre Dame captain Andrew Peeke at the Trade Deadline, sending Jakub Zboril and a 2027 third-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Bruins are landing one of the top NCAA free agents in Bischel, who is a finalist for Big Ten Goaltender of the Year this season after winning the award last year. The 24-year-old netminder has served as Notre Dame’s full-time starter over the last two seasons, recording a combined 31 wins and .928 save percentage. He’s been dazzling for the Fighting Irish, earning the eighth-most wins and seventh-best save percentage in program history over his five years in Indiana.

Bischel now joins a Bruins goalie room filled with great talent, including reigning Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark, William M. Jennings Trophy batterymate Jeremy Swayman, and 2023 AHL All-Star Brandon Bussi. The Bruins reportedly tried to move Ullmark at the Deadline, though the esteemed netminder invoked his no-trade clause to block the deal. Boston could be poised to revisit those trade talks this summer, after bolstering their depth charts with this move.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin is doubtful for the team’s Tuesday game against Philadelphia, per head coach Sheldon Keefe (Twitter Link), who shares that Lyubushkin is battling illness. Keefe also shared that star forward Mitch Marner continues to carry a day-to-day designation and won’t join the team on their upcoming two-game road trip. Marner has missed Toronto’s last three games with a high ankle sprain, while Lyubushkin may exit the lineup after battling through an undisclosed injury, and questionable designation, for the team’s Saturday game.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have sent Pavol Regenda back to the AHL after recalling him on an emergency loan on March 12th. Regenda played in four NHL games on the recall, recording no points, two penalty minutes, and a -1. He also managed four blocks, six shots on net, and 10 hits. The matchups bring Regenda to 19 career NHL games, though the one goal and three points he managed in 14 games last season stand as his only scoring. The 24-year-old winger also has 16 goals and 29 points in 39 AHL games this season.

2024 AHL Trade Deadline Roundup

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The AHL trade deadline was today, one week after the NHL’s trade deadline.  We saw the Senators swing a pair of trades today for the NHL rights to players who were then assigned to their affiliate while a handful of other moves were made.  Here’s a rundown of those per the AHL’s transactions log.

  • The Red Wings recalled defenseman Jared McIsaac from his loan in Switzerland and moved him to Boston’s farm team in exchange for center Curtis Hall. McIsaac had four points in 15 games for Grand Rapids and suited up just three times with Ambri-Piotta.  Hall, meanwhile, has been fairly productive in limited action with the Bruins’ affiliate, notching six points in a dozen appearances.  Both players are restricted free agents with arbitration rights this summer and if the swap works well, the two teams could execute it at the NHL level in the summer.
  • The Sharks have found a new place to play for winger Ozzy Wiesblatt, loaning him to Milwaukee. The 22-year-old was a first-round pick by San Jose back in 2020 (31st overall) but has struggled this season, notching just three goals and eight assists in 34 games.  Wiesblatt is signed through next season and his AHL rights will revert to the Barracuda for 2024-25.
  • Tampa Bay’s affiliate picked up defenseman Quinn Schmiemann from Abbotsford. It’s a return of sorts for the 22-year-old who was drafted by the Lightning back in 2019 but didn’t sign with them.  Schmiemann played in 25 games this season with the Canucks’ affiliate, picking up a goal and five assists.
  • New Jersey’s affiliate picked up blueliner Austin Osmanski from St. Louis’ farm team. The 25-year-old has seen AHL action in the past three seasons but has been limited to just ten contests so far where he has an assist and 20 penalty minutes.

Philadelphia Flyers Send Down Adam Ginning

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Earlier this morning, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that the organization had sent down defenseman Adam Ginning to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Ginning was originally brought up to the Flyers by way of an emergency loan on March 11th.

Unfortunately, Ginning wasn’t able to suit up in a game during this current stretch in Philadelphia but did make his 2023-24 season debut only a week ago. Playing against the Florida Panthers on March 7th, Ginning played just over 18 minutes over 23 shifts, securing five hits and one blocked shot.

With Erik Johnson and Marc Staal set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, Ginning should be able to compete for a full-time roster spot as soon as next training camp. The former second-round pick of the Flyers has primarily played for the Phantoms during his tenure with the organization. In 121 games over the last two seasons at the AHL level, Ginning hasn’t been able to produce much offense, scoring only five goals and 32 points overall.

However, Ginning has shown stretches of being a quality shutdown defenseman, using his frame to play physically and separate his opponent from the puck. If he can improve his skating abilities over the next few years, Ginning could become a prized defenseman in the Flyers organization.

Ultimately, Ginning will join a Lehigh Valley team in a competitive race for playoff positioning in the AHL’s Atlantic Division. Afters suffering a first-round exit at the hands of the Charlotte Checkers last year, the Phantoms are currently tied with the Springfield Thunderbirds for the final playoff spot in their division.

Blue Jackets Recall Brendan Gaunce On Emergency Loan

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11:00 AM: Kirill Marchenko is under the weather, and may not be ready for the team’s Tuesday matchup against the Montreal Canadiens, per Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispact (Twitter Link). Gaunce will fill-in for Marchenko if he can’t go, while Meyer fills in for Danforth.

10:00 AM: The Columbus Blue Jackets have recalled forward Brendan Gaunce from the AHL under emergency conditions. This move comes after Columbus played without Justin Danforth on Saturday, losing the forward to what was initially believed to be an illness but has now been revealed as a concussion.

Gaunce will provide additional depth to a Blue Jackets club marred by injuries, with promising youngsters Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson both missing extended time, while top winger Patrik Laine is away from the team for personal reasons. Gaunce is in his third season with the Columbus organization and has already appeared in eight NHL games this season, recording one goal and three points. Much of his remaining year has come with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, where he ranks second in scoring with 19 goals and 39 points in 46 games. Gaunce is once again serving as a routine injury fill-in – sticking to the role he carved out early in his career. The former first-round pick has totaled just 161 NHL games since making his debut in the 2015-16 season, scoring 27 points. He’s also managed 343 career AHL games, netting 233 points.

Gaunce will join Carson Meyer in the Blue Jackets’ extras room. Meyer was recalled on Sunday and is expected to fill in for Danforth on Tuesday. He has served in a largely similar role to Gaunce, serving as a de facto call-up for Columbus over the last three seasons – although Meyer has yet to play in the NHL this year, instead totaling 22 goals and 37 points in 55 AHL games. He appeared in 14 NHL games last year, netting just one assist and bringing his career totals up to 27 NHL games and four points. The 26-year-old made his debut with the Cleveland Monsters in 2020-21, after four seasons in the NCAA. He and Gaunce will likely rotate in with each other, as Columbus looks to address their long list of missing forwards.

Red Wings Loan Jared McIsaac To NL’s HC Ambrì-Piotta

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The Red Wings have loaned defense prospect Jared McIsaac to HC Ambrì-Piotta of the Swiss National League, a release from their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, reads. McIsaac, 23, was a second-round pick of Detroit in 2018 and is a pending RFA with arbitration rights.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, McIsaac was one of Detroit’s most highly-touted prospects. The 6-foot-1 left-shot defenseman put up over a point-per-game with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads in 2018-19 and won a gold medal with Canada at the 2020 World Juniors, notching a goal and three assists in seven games.

With the NHL and AHL on pause at the beginning of the 2020-21 season, the Red Wings loaned McIsaac out to HPK in the Finnish Liiga for his first taste of pro hockey in the fall of 2020. He sustained a shoulder injury on his first shift overseas, however, costing him over six months of development time.

That injury put a significant dent in his development, as the high-end transition threat in junior hockey has failed to translate his game to the pros in Grand Rapids. His games played total has steadily decreased from his career-high 70 appearances in 2021-22, and he has been a frequent healthy scratch for the Griffins this season, only playing in 15 games and just two since Christmas.

After nine goals, 52 points, and a -29 rating in 156 outings with Grand Rapids, the Red Wings are giving him a shot at some more minutes overseas down the stretch to see if he can thrive in a professional environment. McIsaac signed a one-year, two-way deal worth $787.5K in the NHL and $70K in the minors last July, although if he doesn’t make an impact during his time in Switzerland, it’s unlikely he’ll receive a qualifying offer.

Ambrì-Piotta hasn’t advanced past the National League playoff qualifiers in five years and looks primed to miss the postseason again, as they currently occupy the second qualifier role as the 10th seed in the league with a 15-19-7-3 record. McIsaac is the only NHL-affiliated player on their active roster, although longtime Coyotes depth forward Laurent Dauphin is among their leading scorers with 28 points in 36 games.

Pacific Notes: Hill, Ferraro, Bjorkstrand, Kemp

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As alluded to this morning in the team’s reassignment of goaltender Jiri Patera to their AHL affiliate, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun reports that the Vegas Golden Knights have removed Adin Hill from the injured reserve, and he is on track to dress in the team’s game tonight against the New York Islanders. Even though he will be back in the lineup, it is unclear if Hill will start in tonight’s contest, or if the Golden Knights will continue to utilize Logan Thompson.

Being one of the better success stories of last season, there were high expectations for Hill coming off an impressive run to the Stanley Cup last year. When he has been healthy, Hill has once again been one of the better netminders in the league, producing a 10-2-2 record in 15 games with a league-leading .933 SV% and 1.99 GAA to boot.

However, for the fourth time in his career and already the second time this season, Hill has missed a significant amount of time with injury, being one of the main drivers of Vegas’ fall in the standings. Since recovering from his current injury suffered on December 17th, the Golden Knights have only managed a 6-8-1 record, falling to eighth in the league standings.

Other Pacific notes:

  • After suffering an undisclosed injury in the team’s most recent game, Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group reports that San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro will not play tonight. Fortunately, subsequent reporting indicated that the injury to Ferraro was not as bad as expected, but the Sharks will likely be keeping him out through the All-Star break to fully recover.
  • Kate Shefte of Seattle Times Sports reported that Seattle Kraken forward Oliver Bjorkstrand had missed the team’s practice today due to personal reasons. With a game tomorrow night against the Chicago Blackhawks, it is unclear if Bjorkstrand will be in the lineup or not. As the Kraken’s lone All-Star representative, Bjorkstrand is putting together quite the season, scoring 12 goals and 36 points in all 46 games for the team.
  • Having spent two weeks with the team since being recalled on January 9th, the Edmonton Oilers announced they have loaned defenseman Philip Kemp to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Making his NHL debut on January 13th, Kemp was unable to score his first NHL point after only managing two minutes of ice time. With Kemp now back in Bakersfield, the Oilers were able to comfortably place the new contract of Corey Perry onto their active roster.

Vegas Golden Knights Reassign Daniil Miromanov, Jiri Patera

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Before the team’s game tonight against the New York Islanders, the Vegas Golden Knights have loaned defenseman Daniil Miromanov to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights on a long-term injury conditioning loan, as well as reassigned goaltender Jiri Patera to the Silver Knights as well.

As an undrafted free agent, Miromanov came to the Vegas organization in 2022, signing away from HC Sochi of the Kontinental Hockey League. With plenty of high-profile injuries to their typical active roster, Miromanov is not necessarily a game-changing reinforcement to inject back into the lineup. Still, it will provide sufficient depth to the Golden Knights’ defensive core once he can fully return. Over both the 2021-22 and 2022-23 NHL seasons, Miromanov has played in a total of 25 games for Vegas, scoring two goals and seven points while averaging a little under 14 minutes of ice time per game.

The much more significant news in this team announcement is the reassignment of Patera, which likely spells the return of Adin Hill between the pipes. Largely serving in a backup role since Hill went down with injury once again in mid-December, Patera has been serviceable, producing a 1-3-0 record in five games played, carrying a .901 SV% and a 3.75 GAA. After having been out for over a month, it may take Hill a short while to get reacquainted with gameplay, but it will at the very least serve as a well-earned break to goaltender Logan Thompson, who has started in the majority of games in Hill’s absence.

In the first 10 games after Hill went down with an injury, the Golden Knights posted a disappointing 3-7-0 record, creating a sizeable gap between them and the first-place Vancouver Canucks in the Pacific Division. However, over the last five games, the team has begun to pick things up a tad, securing a 3-1-1 record, and outscoring their opponents by a margin of five over that stretch.

Canucks Recall Mark Friedman, Linus Karlsson

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Jan. 22: GM Patrik Allvin announced the team has reversed this transaction today, recalling Friedman from his conditioning loan and Karlsson from his regular loan. Karlsson has been papered up and down once already in the span of the last week, coming up to serve as a healthy scratch for Saturday’s win over the Maple Leafs. He’s been a frequent scratch for the Canucks this month but was returned to Abbotsford yesterday so he could play in their game against San Diego. Friedman was spectacular in his minor-league stint, posting four points and a +5 rating in four games with the Baby Canucks.

Jan. 16: The Vancouver Canucks have assigned defenseman Mark Friedman and Linus Karlsson to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, with Friedman’s demotion coming by way of a conditioning loan. Without a corresponding roster move, the Canucks will now be down to 12 forwards and seven defensemen on the team’s active roster.

Friedman was originally brought over to Vancouver by way of a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 17th to serve as extra depth for the team’s defensive core. Now, he will spend a max of 14 days in the AHL, unless the team desires to bring him up earlier.

In his 18-game stint with the Canucks, Friedman had very little usage rages, scoring one assist while averaging just under 12 and a half minutes of ice time per night. Since November 30th, although he has been on the active roster, Friedman has served as a healthy scratch as Vancouver’s blue line has regained much of its health.

It will mark Friedman’s first time back in the AHL since his time with the Penguins earlier this season when he was able to suit up in two games for their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Throughout his career, Friedman is a veteran of 214 games in the AHL, scoring 11 goals and 67 points since his debut in the 2016-17 season.

For Karlsson, it will now mark his third reassignment to the AHL this year, suiting up for Vancouver in early January and early December, after making his NHL debut on November 16th. Only managed four games in total for the Canucks this season, Karlsson is still scoreless at the NHL level.

In contrast, Karlsson has been one of the best players in Abbotsford this season, scoring seven goals and 23 points in 25 games, sitting third on the team in scoring. Now, with both Friedman and Karlsson back in the AHL, they will help an Abbotsford team on the cusp of earning a playoff spot in the Pacific Division, as they hold a 19-11-2-1 record entering play tonight.

Pacific Notes: Eichel, Canucks, Kokko

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After placing forward Jack Eichel on injured reserve only two days ago, the thought was that the injury was not serious, and Eichel would only be missing a maximum of three games with the Vegas Golden Knights. However, the organization announced today that Eichel underwent successful lower-body surgery, and would be out on a week-to-week basis.

This injury news will certainly change the trajectory of the Golden Knights’ season for some time, as it would for any team operating without their top option at the center position. Moving forward, with Eichel for at least the next week or two, Vegas will continue to operate with Chandler Stephenson and Nicolas Roy centering the top two offensive lines.

Scoring at a point-per-game pace for the second straight year with the Golden Knights, Eichel joins a growing list of injured players in Vegas, a reality that has led to a rough patch in the season for the organization. As the injuries continue to pile up, after starting the year as the top team in the NHL, the Golden Knights are 6-9-0 in their last 15 games, being outscored by a margin of 11 goals over that stretch.

Other notes:

  • Having already been one of the most aggressive teams on the trade market this season, the Vancouver Canucks are still looking to add at this year’s trade deadline. In a quote reported by Iain MacIntyre of Sportsnet, the General Manager of the Canucks, Patrik Allvin, stated, “I think I owe it to the players. We know that they are capable of playing at this high level. And if they continue to do that, it’s on me to support them and give them opportunities to be successful”. Even though another trade could put Vancouver over the top in the Western Conference playoff race, Allvin will have to get creative in any move, as the team only has a projected $1.22MM available in deadline cap space.
  • In a confirmed transaction according to EliteProspects, the Seattle Kraken have loaned goaltender Niklas Kokko to the Lahti Pelicans of the Finnish Liiga. Kokko was originally a second-round selection of the Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft and suited up for Team Finland U20 in the 2023-24 World Junior Championships only a few weeks ago.

Oliver Kylington Loaned To AHL On Conditioning Basis

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01/10/24: The Flames have issued a positive update on Kylington’s progress. He’s “trending towards playing” in the Wranglers’ game tomorrow night against the Ontario Reign. Should he end up playing, it will be Kylington’s first game action since May 2022.

01/04/24: The Calgary Flames have announced that defenseman Oliver Kylington has been sent to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, for the purpose of a conditioning assignment.

Following that announcement, the Flames issued a statement from Kylington which reads as follows:

I feel I’m in a good place with my mental health and ready to take another step forward. Returning to Calgary has been the right decision. I’ve felt tremendous commitment from Flames ownership, management, and my teammates, and I am appreciative of the support and resources made available to me. I also thank my family, friends, and the fans for their encouragement. I’m looking forward to getting on the ice in a team environment and back to my everyday life. I have missed it very much.

Kylington has not played since 2021-22, as he missed all of last season and so far all of 2023-24 for personal reasons. In early December, Flames head coach Ryan Huska gave an update on Kylington’s status, communicating that the Swedish blueliner was still a long way away from returning.

Now, according to today’s announcement, it appears Kylington is now far closer to a return to the NHL than it seemed a little more than a month ago. Kylington’s conditioning stint can last up to six days, or three games, whichever period is longer, although the Flames can request an extension of two games if they decide that would be necessary for Kylington’s fitness to play in the NHL.

Kylington, a pending UFA, has a $2.5MM cap hit that is currently placed on LTIR. The Flames would need to activate him off of that last to get him back onto their roster, though that shouldn’t be a major issue as CapFriendly currently projects them to have more than enough cap space to do so. The team also currently has an open roster spot on its 23-man roster.

As for where Kylington could slot in once he returns to the Flames’ lineup, it’s not immediately clear whether he’d immediately return to playing alongside veteran Chris Tanev. Tanev is currently playing next to Noah Hanifin, so it could be that Kylington takes Jordan Oesterle’s spot alongside MacKenzie Weegar, or Dennis Gilbert’s spot next to Rasmus Andersson.

In any case, this development is an extremely positive one for the Flames. The left side of their defense is notably thinner than their ironclad right side, so adding a player who scored 31 points in 73 games during his last NHL season will certainly help matters there.

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