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Russia Finalizes World Junior Roster

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Next up, Russia has submitted a final roster for the upcoming World Junior Tournament in Edmonton later this month. As usual for Russia, the roster contains a number of prospect names familiar to NHL fans, but also has a few players who have made their name in their native country but have not been drafted into the NHL. Below is the 2020 Russian entry:

F Mikhail Abramov (TOR)
F Yegor Afanasyev (NSH)
F Rodion Amirov (TOR)
F Zakhar Bardakov (undrafted)
F Daniil Bashkirov (undrafted)
F Yegor Chinakhov (CLB)
F Vladislav Firstov (MIN)
F Arseniy Gritsyuk (NJD)
F Maxim Groshev (TBL)
F Marat Khusnutdinov (MIN)
F Vasili Podkolzin (VAN)
F Vasili Ponomaryov (CAR)
F Ilya Safonov (undrafted)
F Yegor Spirodonov (SJS)

D Roman Bychkov (BOS)
D Daniil Chayka (2021)
D Semyon Chistyakov (NSH)
D Kirill Kirsanov (2021)
D Artemi Knyazev (SJS)
D Yan Kuznetsov (CGY)
D Shakir Mukhamadullin (NJD)
D Yegor Shekhovstov (undrafted)

G Artur Akhtyamov (TOR)
G Yaroslav Askarov (NSH)
G Vsevolod Skotnikov (undrafted)

This is a deeper Russian roster compared to some more recent entries, especially on defense – often a weak area – where arguably every player will be an NHL draft pick by this time next year. The team contains 18 existing NHL selections from 11 different clubs. The Nashville Predators and Toronto Maple Leafs lead the way with three prospects apiece, including several of the team’s best players. The Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, and San Jose Sharks each have two different members of the squad.

Unsurprisingly, all but four of Russia’s selections are currently playing in the country, participating at various levels including the KHL, VHL, and MHL. Abramov and Ponomaryov are currently playing in the QMJHL. Interestingly, the University of Connecticut notes that teammates Firstov and Kuznetsov are the first ever NCAA selections to Russia’s WJC roster.

Nashville Predators Loan Seven To ECHL

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December 10: The Predators have decided to send another prospect to the ECHL, this time loaning Tommy Novak to the Everblades until the start of training camp. Novak, a third-round pick in 2015, scored 42 points with the Admirals in his first professional season after coming out of the University of Minnesota. He will likely be a dominant presence in the low minors, though he isn’t expected to be there for long.

December 7: With the ECHL season about to get underway, the Nashville Predators have sent six players to the Florida Everblades. Lukas Craggs, Patrick Harper, Tanner Jeannot, Cole Smith, Josh Wilkins, and Devin Cooley will all report to Florida until the start of training camp for Nashville or the Milwaukee Admirals. These six players are all on two-way NHL contracts, giving Florida quite the influx of talent to start the year.

Cooley, the only goaltender of the bunch, was signed by the Predators in September to a two-year entry-level contract after spending the last three seasons at the University of Denver. The 23-year-old goaltender was never drafted but managed to land a deal even without playing very much at DU. He appeared in just 32 games over the three seasons, and though he played very well, his potential at the next level is still something of a mystery.

Harper meanwhile is coming to pro hockey after four years at Boston University and two appearances at the World Juniors. The 22-year-old forward scored 37 points in 32 games last season and should likely be promoted to the AHL whenever Milwaukee starts their year. Still, he’ll be able to get his feet wet in the low minors first, not a bad way to start your professional career.

Of the others, none of them were actually drafted by the Predators (or anyone else) but have still done enough to deserve entry-level deals. Getting them on the ice and competing in games is important, though how many they’ll actually suit up for is unclear.

Luke Prokop Signs With Nashville Predators

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The Nashville Predators have signed one of their 2020 draft picks, inking Luke Prokop to a three-year entry-level contract. Prokop was selected 73rd overall earlier this fall and is expected to return to the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL should they have a season.

It’ll always be mentioned first when discussing Prokop, but there’s just no way around noticing his size before anything else. The 6’4″ forward looks even taller thanks to his long limbs that provide a huge wingspan to disrupt rushes and get his stick in passing lanes. Often defenseman his size struggle with mobility, but Prokop actually can skate quite well and transitions nicely on a turnover.

Unfortunately, there’s not a ton of offensive upside to his game, meaning if he makes the NHL it will either be because of a huge development step or as a responsible, penalty-killing option. He scored just four goals and 23 points last season for the Hitmen, but that mix of size, skating ability, and defensive awareness still make him an attractive prospect.

The Predators obviously believe in him, signing him quickly to an entry-level deal. The next step for Prokop isn’t clear as the WHL hasn’t started yet, but perhaps Nashville will bring him to training camp just to get him on the ice and comfortable with the organization.

Outdoor Games Being Discussed By Several NHL Teams

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It’s about that time in an NHL/NHLPA negotiation (or, not negotiation) where things start to get weird. With the league still trying to figure out a way through the upcoming season, with the financial climate so dire for many teams and with players refusing to budge on the agreement they made a few months ago, all kinds of revenue streams are being discussed.

One of those, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, is the possibility of holding games outdoors where fans could potentially attend. Friedman writes today that at least four teams are “investigating the possibility” of outdoor games, listing the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Kings were apparently the first to consider the idea, though it’s important to note that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told James Mirtle of The Athletic last month that holding more outdoor games was unlikely.

Still, following Friedman’s report came one from Pierre LeBrun, who writes that it’s not just those four teams considering the idea of holding multiple outdoor events. The Penguins, Bruins, and Kings are on his list of teams that would be open to hosting or taking part in outdoor games, but so too are the Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, and Nashville Predators.

It’s important to remember that even if the NHL caves and doesn’t amend the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed a few months ago, the players still would have to eventually pay back any salary that brings them over 50% of the hockey-related revenue. With no fans and very little revenue to be made, it seems likely that both sides would be open to out-of-the-box ideas like outdoor contests if it brought in ticket sales.

Still, those outdoor games also have a substantially increased cost, which is what Daly pointed out to Mirtle last month. As LeBrun writes, commissioner Gary Bettman is also worried that holding so many outdoor games could hurt the Winter Classic brand, which has been a success for the league in previous years. Those negatives may eventually win out in the end, but there is nothing stopping teams from exploring the option at this point.

Mikael Granlund Drawing Interest From Several NHL Clubs

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Mikael Granlund is one of the most high-profile free agents still unsigned and his continued availability remains a major surprise. However, while he may not have a deal done, there continues to be interest from around the league. Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland writes that the Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes are among the teams that remain interested in employing Granlund for next season.

In PHR’s Free Agent Profile of Granlund, we noted that the Blue Jackets made sense as a landing spot. In fact, they seemed like the best potential fit for the talented forward. Columbus had hoped to add multiple game-changing forwards this off-season and cleared the cap space to do so. Yet, thus far they have only added one impact forward in Max Domi and it cost them Josh Anderson. The Blue Jackets still have more than $9MM in cap space to spend this off-season. Re-signing RFA Pierre-Luc Dubois could eat up a considerable amount of that depending on the term that the two sides settle on, but Columbus could still find some flexibility to bring in Granlund as their second major addition up front.

Granlund would be a good fit in Carolina as well, but the calculus is far more difficult. The Hurricanes have under $1MM in cap space and that is only  considering the salary committed to 22 players as it is. Without any LTIR candidates or obvious options to bury in the AHL, the Hurricanes would likely need to make a trade to offload some salary if they want to bring in Granlund. The team may be hesitant to make such a move seeing as their forward corps is already in pretty good shape heading into next season.

Strickland also mentions that the Nashville Predators are keeping tabs on Granlund, but cautions that a return to the team may not be the priority for the Preds as it likely wouldn’t be for Granlund either. Nashville has considerable cap space and the need at forward, but Granlund did not play very well with the club after coming over from the Minnesota Wild in 2018-19. This likely factors in to Strickland’s belief that the Predators are also interested in top remaining UFA Mike Hoffman and are more likely to sign him than Granlund. Granlund also seems more likely to opt for a fresh start outside of Nashville.

One team believed to be a good fit for Granlund but not specifically mentioned by Strickland are the Boston Bruins. Given their existing need for secondary scoring, the injury questions surrounding David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, and some familiarity for Granlund in ex-teamates Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith, the Bruins seem like a strong fit. However, they don’t appear to be at the top of Granlund’s list of suitors right now. Among the “other teams” that Strickland mentions but does not name could include the Florida Panthers and San Jose Sharks and cap-comfortable rebuilding teams like the New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, and Chicago Blackhawks. At this point, any team who lands Granlund has a good chance of landing an elite player at a bargain rate.

Nashville Predators Loan Frederic Allard To Villacher SV

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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.

Philip Tomasino Loaned To Team Canada

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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.

Snapshots: Reverse Retro, Holtby, Tomasino

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The NHL may have lost a lot of revenue when they were forced to hold the playoffs in empty buildings, but they’re about to make a heck of a lot in merchandise sales. The league and Adidas revealed their designs for the Reverse Retro jerseys today to plenty of excitement (and disgust) from fans all over the world. Early favorites online seem to be the Colorado Avalanche’s Nordiques-based throwback, a return to green for the New Jersey Devils, and an homage to the North Stars by the Minnesota Wild.

Feelings seem a bit more mixed on the return of Wildwing for the Anaheim Ducks and for many of the other throwback uniforms. A healthy debate is surely what the league was hoping for with the new threads as they try to recoup some financial losses.

  • Who will be in net for the Vancouver Canucks when they first slip on their new alternate jersey? Speculation on who will be Vancouver’s starter this season continues after the team signed Braden Holtby in the offseason. Satiar Shah of Sportsnet believes that it will be Holtby over Thatcher Demko to start the year at least, given the team invested $8.6MM over two seasons in the veteran netminder. It is important to remember though that the Canucks back-loaded Holtby’s contract heavily, meaning he’ll make only $2.9MM in 2020-21. With the Seattle Kraken looming and their expansion draft scheduled for next summer, Holtby could end up only playing a single year in Vancouver. Whether he’s the starter on opening day remains to be seen, but Demko will certainly be battling for the spot after posting an .985 save percentage in four playoff appearances.
  • Philip Tomasino doesn’t want to just play for Team Canada at the upcoming World Juniors and then return to junior, he wants to play for the Nashville Predators this season. The 19-year-old forward spoke with Adam Vingan of The Athletic recently and stated quite clearly that he feels he is ready to take that next step to play professionally at the highest level. Tomasino, the 24th-overall pick in 2019, scored 100 points in just 62 games this season in the OHL and is off to the WJC selection camp for the next month where he’ll battle a loaded forward group for a final roster spot.

Free Agent Profile: Anthony Duclair

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It’s hard to believe that a player who was named to the all-star game just last year would still be sitting on the free-agent market at this point in the offseason, however, Anthony Duclair remains one of the top names in free agency who hasn’t found himself a home one month into it.

On the surface a 25-year-old all-star unrestricted free agent is a rarity as most big-named free agents are older when they hit UFA status the first time. Of course, much of that is due to the fact that the Senators did not qualify him, leaving him a free agent. Regardless, Duclair is coming off a great season in which he tallied 23 goals and 40 points in his first full season in Ottawa and looked prime to sign a long-term deal with the Senators this offseason. On top of that, he is also a fast skater, placing sixth in the fastest skater contest at the all-star game last year. However, Duclair struggles significantly in one area that could be keeping him from being signed — his defense. He is a goal scorer first, and there is a significant step back on his defensive efforts, one that former Columbus Blue Jackets’ coach John Tortorella mentioned before the team traded him to Ottawa back at the trade deadline in 2019.

Strangely enough, however, despite the belief that Duclair would dominate on the power play and not even play on the penalty kill, it’s the exact opposite. Duclair struggled on the man advantage at times during the season, while actually providing solid play on the Senators’ penalty kill, which makes things even more confusing.

However, another fact that stands out is that Duclair dominated the first half of the NHL season, scoring 21 goals and 33 points in 47 games. While the second half of the season was suspended, he only tallied two goals in 19 games following the all-star game, a significant drop off, making him one of the more unique players with little consistency.

Potential Suitors

While many people figured that Duclair had a good chance to sign a long-term deal with Ottawa this offseason, that never materialized. Duclair fired his agent and opted to represent himself. He was supposedly offered a two-year deal at $3MM AAV and turned that deal down, believing he could get more on the open market. However, no deal has materialized in this depressed market and now with Ottawa having brought in Evgenii Dadonov and Alex Galchenyuk, it’s extremely unlikely that the Senators will bring back Duclair even if he accepts a lesser contract.

Other teams still may be interested, although a deal is likely to come closer to when training camps begin. There are a number of playoff teams that might be interested in bringing in the 25-year-old as a second or third-line option on a short-term deal, but Duclair might have to accept less from those teams than the deal that Ottawa offered in the first place.

The Nashville Predators, who are looking for more firepower for their team, have been mentioned as one team that is looking at both Mike Hoffman and Duclair as options, although Hoffman could be the team’s first choice. However, Duclair might be a good fit, who could battle for a spot on the team’s second line there.

Other playoff teams like the Boston Bruins, the Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche as options, but many of these teams might be more likely to look and see what they have in training camp before bringing in Duclair.

Projected Contract

Representing himself may have been a mistake as the forward now may be forced to accept less than the two years at $3MM AAV that he reportedly declined earlier in the offseason. He will almost assuredly will have to accept a deal with little term, either a one or two-year deal, but may have to take something significantly less than what he rejected in the first place.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nashville Predators Sign Luke Evangelista

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The Nashville Predators have inked one of their new prospects, signing 2020 draft pick Luke Evangelista to a three-year, entry-level contract. The young forward played last season for the London Knights of the OHL and was selected 42nd overall last month.

A pure playmaker, Evangelista climbed up draft boards after exploding from two points in his first year of junior to 61 last season for the Knights, even if he was still considerably behind the team’s other young stars. He finished with a ranking of 39th among North American skaters from NHL Central Scouting but ended up going to the Predators early on in the second round after the team had snatched up top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov in the first. Evangelista gives the Predators program another top-end forward prospect to build around as they continue their chase for more offense.

Of course, as with any prospect from the OHL, it’s unclear when Evangelista will get back on the ice. The league is targeting a February start but is still debating the idea of playing without body checking, leading some to believe that their prospects would be better off developing overseas. Now that he’s signed, the Predators could potentially send Evangelista to Europe on a loan, but it would seem extremely difficult for a player of his stature and experience to jump into a professional league right now.

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