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Snapshots: Vilardi, Quinnipiac, Colgate

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The Los Angeles Kings are getting a quality player back into their lineup as they look to take a commanding two-to-nothing series lead over the Edmonton Oilers. As relayed by TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, Kings forward Gabriel Vilardi says he’s back from his injury and ready to re-enter the team’s lineup.

Vilardi, 23, last played in a March 26th game against the St. Louis Blues. The upper-body injury that sidelined him ended what was a breakout regular season, a year where he scored 23 goals and 41 points in 63 games. Vilardi gives the already-deep Kings another quality offensive piece to work with, and his return makes the task in front of Mattias Ekholm, Darnell Nurse, and the entire Oilers defense all that steeper.

Some other notes from across the hockey world:

  • Defending NCAA Men’s Hockey National Champions Quinnipiac University will retain two key players for their title defense campaign next year. The program announced that 21-year-old Jacob Quillian would be returning for his junior season, while New England Hockey Journal’s Mark Divver reported that star scorer Collin Graf would be returning for his junior year as well. Both undrafted players, Quillian scored 19 goals and 38 points this past season while Graf, 20, ranked third in the nation in scoring with 21 goals and 59 points in 41 games.
  • Colgate University’s men’s hockey program announced today that longtime head coach Don Vaughan is retiring. Vaughan is the third-longest serving college hockey head coach and has led the Raiders to four NCAA tournaments since being hired in 1992. He has won two ECAC Coach of the Year awards, helping players such as Andy McDonald and Bruce Gardiner reach the NHL. He leaves Colgate this season after guiding the program to an ECAC Championship victory over Harvard, the school’s first ECAC title since 1990.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Yaniv Perets

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The Carolina Hurricanes have added some goaltending depth, announcing that they have signed goaltender Yaniv Perets to a two-year, entry-level contract.  The deal, which begins next season, carries a base salary of $775K along with a signing bonus of $60K per year.  GM Don Waddell released the following statement about his newest prospect:

Yaniv was a crucial part of Quinnipiac’s run to the national championship this season, and he has been an elite goaltender for his entire collegiate career. He is a proven winner, and we look forward to seeing him develop in the crease.

Perets, 23, led the Quinnipiac University Bobcats to their first NCAA men’s ice hockey championship last weekend. He was named to the NCAA East Second All-American Team and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award the past two seasons.

Born in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Québec, Perets posted a .931 save percentage and 1.49 goals-against average in a career-high 41 games with the Bobcats this season, including a .948 save percentage in the four tournament games, only allowing five goals.

The Hurricanes’ interest in Perets should have come as no surprise, given the connection between the netminder and the Brind’Amour family. For three seasons at Quinnipiac, Perets was teammates with Skyler Brind’Amour, a soon-to-be free agent and the son of Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour.

Given Perets’ strong performance the past two seasons as the Bobcats’ starter, he undoubtedly received multiple offers. He gives the organization a second legitimate goalie prospect behind the 23-year-old Pyotr Kochetkov.

While an intriguing prospect, Perets’ ceiling is disputable, given his age and development path. His development path before NCAA play mirrors Buffalo Sabres star prospect Devon Levi, but Perets is over a year older and played behind a better defensive unit in Quinnipiac. Regardless, it’s a no-risk acquisition for the Hurricanes if they can make it work.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported that the Hurricanes were the frontrunners to sign Perets.

Skyler Brind’Amour Not Expected To Sign With Oilers

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In August, many NCAA players will see their exclusive draft rights expire, allowing them unrestricted free agents to sign with any organization. The decision has already been made for one of those players, Skyler Brind’Amour.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that Brind’Amour, fresh off a national championship with Quinnipiac, will not sign with the Edmonton Oilers. Jason Gregor of TSN adds that Brind’Amour informed the Oilers that there would be a better opportunity elsewhere as he tries to transition to professional hockey.

If he doesn’t change his mind and is still unsigned through August 15, Brind’Amour—son of Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour—will be an unrestricted free agent. As a sixth-round pick in 2017, the Oilers will not receive draft compensation.

They could, however, work out a trade with his preferred destination, though that club could simply wait until August if they have confidence in him signing at that point. The 23-year-old forward was a key part of the Bobcats’ first-ever NCAA title, and scored 32 points in 41 games this season.

A workhorse that seems to always be attacking the puck carrier, Brind’Amour’s potential at the NHL level likely tops out as a bottom-six energy player. Even that projection will be tested next year as he transitions, starting his professional career at the age of 24.

College Signing Notes: Farinacci, Lipkin, Johnson

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Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports Arizona Coyotes draft pick John Farinacci is unlikely to sign with the team that drafted him. Farinacci is a 22-year-old forward who just finished his senior season with Harvard, scoring five goals and 20 points in 19 games. The Coyotes selected the 6-foot and 185 pound center in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He has since played three seasons at Harvard, with one year being wiped out due to Covid restrictions, and he scored 61 points in 79 career college games. With his NCAA career over, Farinacci is eligible to become an NHL free agent on August 15 if he is not signed by the Coyotes and it sounds like he will choose that route.

  • On the other hand, Morgan also reports that the Coyotes are interested in getting a deal done with Sam Lipkin. Lipkin was a seventh-round draft pick of the Coyotes in the 2021 NHL Draft. The 20-year-old forward just finished his first college season, helping Quinnipiac win a national championship by scoring 14 goals and 43 points in 39 games. Lipkin, a skilled 6-foot-3 and 192 pound center has proven to be worthy of more than a seventh-round pick and would be a big addition to the Coyotes prospect pool if they can get a deal done.
  • Another possible college signing to keep an eye on is Ryan Johnson. Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports that the Buffalo Sabres and Johnson had a zoom meeting and though things went well during the meeting, nothing official was put in place. Johnson has been a great two-way defender for Minnesota for the past four seasons, putting up four goals and 18 points in 40 games this season while playing a shutdown style and penalty killing role for a defensively sound squad. Johnson was the Sabres first-round pick in 2019 and would be another terrific young player on the Sabres squad if they are able to get a deal done. If not, Johnson has the option to become a free agent in August.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Jackson LaCombe

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Another Minnesota Golden Gopher is turning pro after a crushing loss in the NCAA Championship. Jackson LaCombe has signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks, ending any speculation that he could test free agency later this summer.

The contract will begin immediately, meaning LaCombe is eligible to play in the Ducks’ final two games and will burn the first year of the deal in 2022-23.

LaCombe, 22, was a second-round pick in 2019 and developed into the most consistent two-way defensemen in the country, racking up points and playing big minutes for the University of Minnesota.

In four years at the NCAA level, he registered 99 points, including a 35-point senior campaign. Had he decided to wait, he could have become an unrestricted free agent in August, allowed to sign with any team in the league.

Few organizations can give more opportunity to young defensemen though, as Anaheim goes through a complete rebuild. Kevin Shattenkirk, Nathan Beaulieu, Michael Del Zotto, Andrej Sustr, and Scott Harrington are all pending unrestricted free agents, leaving plenty of spots to fill with players like LaCombe.

He’ll also be reunited with some familiar faces from the US junior program. In 2021, LaCombe was part of the team that took home gold at the World Juniors, a group led by Trevor Zegras, who had 18 points in seven games, and included recent Ducks call-up Drew Helleson.

Minnesota Wild Sign Brock Faber

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The Minnesota Wild have put pen to paper with one of their top defensive prospects, inking Brock Faber to a three-year entry-level deal.

According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, Faber will travel with the Wild for their road game against the Chicago Blackhawks and “burn” a year of his entry-level contract. He signs this deal after concluding his accomplished three-year collegiate career at the University of Minnesota.

At Minnesota, Faber scored 53 points in 97 total games and captained his team to the NCAA’s National Championship game, which happened last night. While the Gophers lost in dramatic and heartbreaking fashion just seconds into overtime against Quinnipiac University, Faber remains a decorated college player. He is a two-time conference Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 10 and won the conference title as a freshman.

Even before this season, Faber cemented himself as a top prospect with a brilliant 2021-22 campaign that saw him earn a spot on the United States’ team for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. He also played on Team USA for two World Junior Championships.

Faber is half of the Wild’s compensation package that they received from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for star forward Kevin Fiala, alongside the 2022 first-round pick that became Djurgarden forward Liam Ohgren.

While he might not reach the heights Fiala has as an NHLer, Faber has done everything necessary to give fans confidence that he will become a difference-making blueliner at the NHL level, and perhaps with this entry-level deal in hand, Faber can do that sooner rather than later.

College Hockey Notes: All-American Teams, Devon Levi, Rutger McGroarty

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College hockey’s final weekend of the season is underway with Minnesota and Quinnipiac winning semi-final games yesterday and now both teams will meet tomorrow in the national title game. Between those nights of on-ice action is the off-ice awards ceremony and part of that was the NCAA announcing its First All-American Teams. College hockey splits the country in two halves and names a First All-American Team East team and a First All-American West team.

Per Chris Peters of Flo Hockey, those teams were:

First Team All American East:

Goaltender: Devon Levi, Northeastern (Buffalo Sabres)

Defenseman: Lane Hutson, Boston University (Montreal Canadiens)

Defenseman: Henry Thrun, Harvard (San Jose Sharks)

Forward: Sean Farrell, Harvard (Montreal Canadiens)

Forward: Collin Graf, Quinnipiac (UFA)

Forward: Aidan McDonough, Northeastern (Vancouver Canucks)

First Team All American West

Goaltender: Blake Pietila, Michigan Tech (UFA)

Defenseman: Luke Hughes, Michigan (New Jersey Devils)

Defenseman: Brock Faber, Minnesota (Minnesota Wild)

Forward: Logan Cooley, Minnesota (Arizona Coyotes)

Forward: Matthew Knies, Minnesota (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Forward: Adam Fantilli, Michigan (NHL Draft 2023)

  • Another award handed out was for college hockey’s top goaltender. Per a team release, the Mike Richter Award went to standout goaltender Devon Levi of Northeastern. Levi, in his second season of NCAA action, posted a 2.24 GAA and a .933 SV% in 34 games, six of which were shutouts for the star goaltender. Levi was a seventh-round draft pick of the Florida Panthers in 2020 but has since been traded to the Buffalo Sabres in a deal that brought Sam Reinhart to Florida. Levi has already signed an entry-level contract, bringing a close to a fantastic college career where he put up a 1.90 GAA and a .940 SV% in two seasons.
  • In other college news, it sounds like Michigan will get one of its star players back for a second season after losing many top players following a strong freshman season in recent years. According to Murat Ates of The Athletic, Rutger McGroarty will return to Michigan for his sophomore season. The Winnipeg Jets selected McGroarty with the 14th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft scored 18 goals and 39 points in 39 games for Michigan this season, but has decided not to rush to the pro level and should be a key player on the Wolverines team next season.

Adam Fantilli Wins 2023 Hobey Baker Award

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It was a banner year for Wolverines center Adam Fantilli and he was rewarded for his efforts on Friday by winning the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top player in the NCAA.  He beat out Golden Gophers forwards Logan Cooley and Matthew Knies.

Fantilli’s freshman year was nothing short of dominant with Michigan.  The 18-year-old leads the NCAA in scoring this season with 30 goals and 35 assists in 36 games; he collected at least a point in all but three of his appearances.  That also helped him take home National Rookie of the Year honors earlier today.  Fantilli also suited up at the World Juniors for Canada where he picked up five points in seven contests.  His performance this season has him as the consensus second-overall selection in the upcoming draft in June.

Cooley was the third-overall pick by the Coyotes last summer and had a dominant freshman year, notching 22 goals and 38 assists in just 38 games for the University of Minnesota with one more contest to come tomorrow in the championship game.  That puts him second in college scoring this season behind only Fantilli.  Cooley also dominated at the World Juniors with seven goals and seven assists in just seven games and while that had no bearing on the voting for this award, the Coyotes have to be thrilled with the progression of their top prospect.  It’s possible that he’s a one-and-done player with a decision on that front to come likely early next week.

Knies, a second-round pick of the Maple Leafs back in 2021, has been one of the more prominent power forwards at the NCAA level while often playing alongside Cooley on the Golden Gophers.  The 20-year-old has 21 goals and 21 assists in 39 games this season, good for a tie for 15th in NCAA scoring, and can add to those totals tomorrow against Quinnipiac.  It’s widely expected that he will turn pro after Saturday’s championship game with his entry-level deal likely to begin immediately, giving Toronto a bit of extra depth heading into the first round against Tampa Bay later this month.

Fantilli becomes the third Wolverine to win the award since it was first handed out in 1981, joining former NHL players Brendan Morrison (1997) and Kevin Porter (2008).

Last year’s winner of the award was goaltender Dryden McKay.  An undrafted free agent, McKay eventually signed a two-year AHL deal with Toronto.  A full history of Hobey Baker Award winners can be found here.

Minor Transactions: 03/31/23

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It’s been a busy day across the hockey world, despite just four NHL games on the schedule. Today’s news cycle featured major headlines such as a season-ending surgery for William Eklund and the announcement of Jonathan Toews’ return to the Chicago Blackhawks lineup. Over in Europe, some big games have been played, including two contests in the DEL Semifinals in Germany, and the first game of the SHL semifinals: a 6-2 win for Vaxjo over Frolunda. Two thrilling overtime contests were completed in Finland’s Liiga semifinals, including a double-overtime victory by Champions Hockey League winners Tappara Tampere.

As fans across the hockey world enjoy all the action on offer this Friday, teams in both minor leagues and foreign leagues are completing transactions and either making changes for this season or preparing for 2023-24. We’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • Earlier this month, we covered reports that former NHL defenseman Juuso Riikola would be headed to Switzerland for next season. Today, those reports were made official as Swiss club SCL Tigers have announced that they have signed Riikola to a one-year contract for 2023-24. Riikola, 29, has 80 career NHL games on his resume and last played in North America last season, when he scored 35 points in 53 games for the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. This season Riikola scored 19 points in 42 games as an alternate captain for the SHL’s IK Oskarshamn, helping them reach the first round of the SHL’s playoffs. Now, he’ll continue his pro career with the Tigers, hoping to keep them in Switzerland’s top league after the team just barely avoided relegation this season.
  • The Coachella Valley Firebirds, the AHL affiliate of the Seattle Kraken, have signed NCAA free agent Max Andreev to an ATO agreement, one that will become a standard AHL player contract next season. The Cornell University product, 23, has scored 65 points in 77 games over the last three seasons he’s played. He made the ECAC’s Third All-Star team last season and served as an alternate captain this season, helping lead Cornell to an upset victory over the defending national champions the University of Denver. He’ll now join one of the AHL’s top teams with the hope of fashioning a professional career for himself and potentially even earning an NHL contract down the line.
  • The AHL’s Iowa Wild have signed CHL free agent defenseman Landon Kosior to an ATO agreement for the rest of this season. Kosior, 20, is an undrafted blueliner who spent his major junior career with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders. Kosior served as an alternate captain for the team this season and scored 63 points in 60 games, his first WHL campaign above the point-per-game threshold. As is generally expected for junior players who gain more experience, Kosior’s numbers took major jumps as he got older, and he went from 23 points in his first season with Prince Albert to the aforementioned 63 this season. With this ATO, Kosior will get his first taste of pro hockey with Iowa, and will likely get to follow along as the team prepares for the Calder Cup playoffs.
  • 2022 Anaheim Ducks fifth-round pick Connor Hvidston has been signed to an ATO agreement by the Ducks’ AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. The deal allows Hvidston to dip his toes into the waters of professional hockey now that his WHL season with the Swift Current Broncos is over. Hvidston was one of the youngest prospects available at the 2022 draft, just days from being in the 2023 class. He’s scored 21 goals and 65 points in 59 games this season, which ranks him third in team scoring. Seeing as he’ll have to wait until next September to turn 19, he’s still a ways away from turning pro full-time, but with this ATO agreement, he’ll at least get a firsthand look at what it takes to play professional hockey in the Ducks organization.
  • Another Cornell University player has signed his first pro contract: defenseman Sebastien Dirven. The 24-year-old teammate of Andreev signed with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers after playing three seasons with the Big Red. The big six-foot-three, 200-pound blueliner doesn’t have much of an offensive game (just 15 points in 93 career NCAA games) but will add some size and snarl to the Nailers’ blueline as they conclude what has been a difficult 2022-23 season.
  • 2016 Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Noah Carroll has signed his first professional contract, landing with the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates. Carroll has spent the last four years with the University of New Brunswick on the Canadian university circuit, playing 59 games there. Before that point, the six-foot-one defenseman played for the Soo Greyhounds and Guelph Storm in the OHL, a major junior career highlighted by a 37-point final season during which he was an alternate captain.
  • Cade Borchardt, the captain of one of college hockey’s better programs at Minnesota State, has signed with the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks. The 24-year-old’s production took a hit this season, going from 41 points to 20. But despite that decline in numbers, Borchardt earned the honor of captaining his team and finishes his collegiate career with a respectable 85 points in 121 games. In signing Borchardt, the Mavericks, who currently rank second in the ECHL’s Mountain Division, infuse some energetic young talent to their roster as they continue to grapple for playoff position.
  • The ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings have signed two players out of St. Cloud State University: Aidan Spellacy and Brendan Bushy. Spellacy, 24, is a forward who scored 12 points in 35 games this season. He’s served as an alternate captain for St. Cloud State and Robert Morris University, and he also captained his high school team, meaning he could bring some off-ice value to the Wings beyond his on-ice utility. Bushy, 24, is a six-foot-two blueliner who scored 11 points in 41 games this season playing in a top-four role.
  • Former Owen Sound Attack star and OHL Champion Cameron Brace is transferring to Germany, per an announcement from his new team, the DEL’s Frankfurt Lions. The 29-year-old has spent the last two seasons in the SHL with IK Oskarshamn, scoring 52 points in 99 games there. Brace earned his shot at the SHL level after a proving himself as a professional in Denmark’s top league, where he scored 110 points in 78 games for Herning Blue Fox. Brace has fashioned himself a solid overseas professional career in the last few years, and now that career will continue in Germany.
  • Longtime DEL veteran Max Renner has signed a contract for next season with the Augsburg Panthers. The 31-year-old has nearly 300 DEL games on his resume with most coming with the Straubing Tigers, save for the last two seasons spent with the Bietigheim Steelers. Renner scored nine points in 56 games last season and brings an established veteran presence to the Panthers’ defense corps.
  • The ICEHL’s Black Wings Linz have signed forward Nico Feldner to a two-year contract, per a team announcement. Feldner has played the past two seasons entirely with HC Innsbruck, save for a six-game stretch with the EIHL’s Sheffield Steelers in England. Feldner scored 17 points in 43 games for Innsbruck this season and should be counted on to bolster Linz’s forward corps for the next two years as they look to return to the ICEHL’s playoffs next season.
  • Matus Spodniak, a top scorer at the NCAA Division-III level with Adrian College, has signed an amateur tryout agreement with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel. The 25-year-old native of Kosice, Slovakia scored 94 points in 60 games across two seasons with Adrian College, and now the Fuel are looking to roll the dice on him to see if he can translate his game to professional hockey. This tryout will represent a significant jump in competition level for Spodniak, and he’ll have a relatively short period of time to make an impression with one of the East Coast league’s top teams.
  • Spodniak’s teammate, Ty Enns, also signed an amateur tryout agreement with an ECHL club: the Toledo Walleye. Enns, 24, scored 50 points in 31 games this season and scored a total of 140 points in 106 games at the Division-III level. As mentioned with Spodniak, this jump to the ECHL will be a significant increase in difficulty for Enns, but at the very least it should be encouraging that the ECHL’s third-best team is willing to give him a tryout opportunity.
  • The ECHL’s Maine Mariners are another club to dip into the pool of college free agents, signing University of Windsor forward Sean Olson. The 24-year-old scored 40 points in his 54-game career for Windsor, and standing six-foot-three 203 pounds as some size down the middle to the Mariners’ group of pivots.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Jakub Dobes

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The Montreal Canadiens have announced the signing of NCAA netminder Jakub Dobes to a two-year, $925k AAV entry-level deal, set to begin next season. Dobes has also signed an AHL contract allowing him to be with the AHL’s Laval Rocket for the rest of this season.

By signing with Montreal, the 21-year-old Dobes leaves Ohio State University after just two years there. The 2020 fifth-round pick has seen his stock rise rapidly since being drafted, going from a .908 save percentage in his final season in the USHL to a .934 save percentage in his first season as a Buckeye.

In total, Dobes’ 35-game freshman season was a resounding success. He took home a multitude of conference honors, including winning Big 10 Goalie of the Year, All-Rookie Team, and First All-Star team honors.

His 21-12-2 record, .934 save percentage, and 2.26 goals-against-average were each major improvements from his numbers in the USHL, and provided hope for Canadiens fans that they might have something in Dobes to lead a relatively thin set of goalies in their prospect pool.

This past season, Dobes’ numbers took a step back, but remained strong overall. He posted a 21-16-3 record, a .918 save percentage, and a 2.31 goals-against-average. While it wasn’t quite as good as the elite performance he posted as a freshman, Dobes’ sophomore season reinforced his status as a legitimate NHL prospect.

With the backing of those solid numbers the kind of six-foot-five, 200-pound frame NHL teams covet in their netminders, Dobes earns his entry-level deal and a chance to play professional hockey.

With Jake Allen and Samuel Montembeault entrenched in the Canadiens’ crease in the NHL and Cayden Primeau holding down the fort as Laval’s starting goalie, Dobes will likely either see time with the Canadiens’ ECHL affiliate next season or split time in the AHL in a tandem with Primeau.

After seeing his save percentage decline from .920 last season to .888 this season, veteran minor league netminder Kevin Poulin’s spot behind Primeau is likely there for Dobes to seize, and this entry-level deal puts him in a prime position to do so.

And while Primeau is penciled in as Laval’s number-one for next season, his uneven performances this year (3.13 goals-against-average, .906 save percentage) leave the door open for Dobes to grab a greater role than expected if he can hit the ground running as a professional just like he did to start his collegiate career.

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