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Anaheim Ducks Sign Josh Lopina

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After his University of Massachusetts was eliminated from the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament on Friday, 2021 draft pick Josh Lopina signed his entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks today, per the team. Lopina will sign an amateur try-out contract (ATO) with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls for the remainder of the season, getting a sneak peek of hockey life within the Ducks organization. The terms of his NHL deal are not yet available.

Lopina was a bit of a surprise pick last year in the fourth round, but the double-overager came into the draft with a strong freshman season at UMass under his belt (23 points in 29 games) and an NCAA championship. He’s improved on those numbers this season, scoring 12 goals and 27 points in 27 games, the first time at any recorded level that Lopina has had a point-per-game season.

Undoubtedly a late bloomer, Lopina will get a chance to continue his upward rise in the Ducks organization. Likely destined for a full-time AHL role next season, he’ll get a chance to grow there alongside other Ducks youngsters like Jacob Perreault and the newly-acquired Drew Helleson.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Noah Cates

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The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward prospect Noah Cates to his entry-level contract, per the team. It’s a two-year contract that begins this season and will take him through to the summer of 2023.

Noah is the younger brother of Jackson Cates, also in the Philadelphia system, playing mostly with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season. Both brothers attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth. They were eliminated from the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament yesterday, paving the way for the younger Cates to join the Flyers.

Drafted 137th overall in 2017, the 23-year-old native of Stillwater, Minnesota joins Philadelphia after serving as Duluth’s captain for back-to-back seasons and scoring a goal in four games for the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics. In his final season at Duluth, Cates tallied 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 37 games, nine points short of his career-high (33) that he set in 2019-20.

Cates can join the Flyers immediately, and could potentially play his first NHL game as soon as Tuesday, which is ironically in Minnesota against the Wild.

Morning Notes: Scotiabank Arena, Sanderson, Malkin

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It was a concerning scene last night, as a speaker near the ceiling of Scotiabank Arena caught fire, forcing the evacuation of the arena and the suspension of the Toronto Raptors vs. Indiana Pacers NBA game. Although the fire appeared small and contained, there were fears that the speaker could fall to the seats below and firefighters needed room to work. After the situation was under control, players and staff were permitted to return to the court and the game resumed without any fans in the arena.

An added concern now are continued events at Scotiabank Arena, including tonight’s Toronto Maple Leafs game against the Florida Panthers. However, as the Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby Tweets, all necessary repairs to the arena are expected to be made in time for tonight’s game. It’s not immediately clear what, if any, effect this will have on the game or fans ability to attend, however it’s a positive sign for a team that has already had to reschedule many of its games this season.

  • After his NCAA season came to an end, University of North Dakota defenseman and Ottawa Senators prospect Jake Sanderson is expected to sign his first professional contract, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Garrioch adds that despite potentially burning a year of his entry-level contract, the Senators still prefer to bring the defenseman in now. It’s also worth noting that Sanderson had hand surgery after a March 5th injury, but Ottawa is confident he will be able to debut before their last game on April 29th. Even still, Garrioch adds, the team wants to have Sanderson around to get accustomed to the team and NHL life, and to work with the team’s medical and training staff. The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Sanderson put up 10 goals and 31 assists in 45 games on UND’s blueline.
  • According to Pittsburgh Penguins’ Head Coach Mike Sullivan, Penguins’ forward Evgeni Malkin is expected to be a game-time decision for tonight’s game against the Detroit Red Wings (link). Malkin missed Friday night’s game against the New York Rangers, a 5-1 loss for Pittsburgh, with a non-COVID illness and has been away from the team since. The star forward has played a key role for the Penguins this season after missing the first three months with an injury, recording 28 points in 29 games since returning.

Canada Notes: World Juniors, Coronato, Knies, Senators

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After the 2022 Men’s U20 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship (WJC) was cancelled amid an outbreak of COVID-19 in late December, the IIHF announced that it would hold the tournament in August, 2022 in Alberta, Canada. While this was certainly great news for Hockey Canada and the country itself, Hockey Canada may stay busy. In the wake of the IIHF pulling the 2023 WJC out of Russia, the organization has asked Hockey Canada if it would be able to host the 2023 tournament, reports Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek on Saturday night’s Hockey Night in Canada.

Currently, the IIHF is awaiting a response from Hockey Canada, but Marek adds that the belief is the tournament could be hosted in Ontario or to the east, perhaps somewhere in the Maritimes. Ontario has seen a World Juniors as recently as 2017, when the tournament was split between Toronto and Montreal (and consequently, Ontario and Quebec), but the tournament has not been held to the east since 2003, when it was held in Nova Scotia, split between Halifax and Sydney.

  • With Harvard University’s season coming to an end after a 4-3 loss to Minnesota State on Thursday, attention turned to Harvard forward and Calgary Flames prospect Matthew Coronato, to see if he may turn professional and sign with Calgary. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Flames are going to talk to the forward, but the belief is that he will ultimately return to Harvard for another season. Friedman mentions the concern Flames fans may have with talented Harvard prospects after their experience with Adam Fox, but cautions that Coronato shouldn’t be an issue for Calgary. Coronato, the 13th overall selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, had 18 goals and 18 assists in 34 games this season for Harvard.
  • Friedman also touched on another big-time NCAA prospect while speaking on Hockey Night in Canada: Matthew Knies. Knies has been the focus of recent discussion after being named in alleged trade discussions between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Blackhawks. When asked about Knies, Friedman made it abundantly clear that there was an important distinction in these discussions, which is that Toronto was not shopping Knies, but instead that he was simply a demand of the Blackhawks in those discussions. After the discussions involving Knies and then-Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury were made public, attention was brought on the top prospect, drawing the ire of Toronto GM Kyle Dubas.
  • The Ottawa Senators will not face any subsequent fines or discipline for any role they may have played with the issues surrounding Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade clause, reports Friedman, appearing to finally close the book on the non-trade. There had been speculation that the Ottawa Senators could be fined for the role they played in the matter, dating back to their trade of Dadonov to Vegas this offseason.

Snapshots: Oshie, Richardson, University of Denver

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Washington Capitals’ forward T.J. Oshie will return to the lineup tonight after missing the previous four games due to injury. Oshie’s return is a welcomed sight for the Capitals, who sit comfortably in the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 82 points, 14 ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, but are fighting for every inch of playoff seeding in the East.

Oshie has struggled with injuries, playing in just 28 of the Capitals’ 66 games this season. Still, the 35-year-old is a vital piece of Washington’s core as a key contributor with 20 points in those 28 games, including three goals and four assists on the Capitals’ powerplay.

  • The Montreal Canadiens announced that Assistant Coach Luke Richardson was placed in COVID protocol and will miss tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Richardson, who turned 53 today, is in his fourth season behind the bench for Montreal, but is likely to miss at least a few games as he is in protocol.
  • Earlier today, University of Denver’s men’s hockey team secured their spot in the NCAA’s Frozen Four with a 2-1 win over Minnesota-Duluth. The game-winning goal for Denver was scored by 2020 Edmonton Oilers’ fourth-round pick Carter Savoie, who has 44 points in 37 games this season for Denver. Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect Bobby Brink, who has also starred for Denver, has been speculated to join the Flyers after his NCAA season ended, but will have to wait a little longer on his NHL debut.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Jordan Harris

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The Montreal Canadiens announced that they have signed defenseman Jordan Harris to a two-year, entry-level contract that will begin this season. Harris, 21, was the Canadiens’ third-round pick in 2018, 71st overall, and had spent the last four years in the NCAA at Northeastern University.

Harris’ contract is for two seasons, including this one. The deal will pay Harris $750,000 per season at the NHL level, includes numerous bonuses along the way, and carries an $842.5K cap hit (link). The young defenseman had been rumored to make the jump to the NHL after he finished his fourth NCAA season recently. With Montreal”s struggles this season, and their trades of Ben Chiarot and Brett Kulak, the team has room to get a real look at Harris down the stretch. Harris is considered to be a good puck-mover, a proficient skater who can excel on both sides of the puck, and will have the ability to exceed at the NHL level.

Although Harris’ NCAA numbers don’t necessarily jump off the page, he did help lead the team to strong performances all four years, and Captained this year’s Huskies to a spot in this season’s NCAA men’s hockey playoff. Over four years, Harris tallied 73 points in 129 games for Northeastern, including five goals and 15 assists in 39 games this season. It’s unclear when Harris will debut for Montreal, however he figures to join the team in the coming days.

West Notes: Getzlaf, Dubois, Coronato, Wild

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Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf plans to discuss his future with the team soon, notes Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register.  At this point, no decision has been made as to whether or not the 36-year-old intends to return for an 18th NHL season with GM Pat Verbeek recently indicating that Getzlaf will “remain a Duck for whenever he decides not to play anymore”.  After scoring just five goals last season, Getzlaf only has three this year but he sits second to only Trevor Zegras on the team in assists.  He has a base salary of $3MM this season with another $1.5MM in incentives and his next contract – should he choose to sign one – should check in a bit lower in terms of total cost.

More from out West:

  • Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois will wait until the offseason to begin negotiations on his next contract, notes NHL.com’s Tim Campbell. The 23-year-old has had a nice bounce-back year in his first full season in Winnipeg, notching 50 points in 65 games, giving him a shot at surpassing his career high of 61 set in his sophomore year.  Dubois is owed a $6MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights and is two years away from UFA eligibility which makes it likely that Winnipeg will seek a long-term deal this summer.
  • Although Flames prospect Matthew Coronato had a strong freshman year with Harvard, Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson mentions that the 19-year-old is expected to return for his sophomore campaign. The winger is eligible to play in the AHL if Calgary wanted while he would also still have eligibility for major junior but after leading the Crimson in scoring this season with 36 points in 34 games, staying at the college level certainly isn’t a bad idea for the 13th pick in 2021.
  • Wild prospect center Nikita Nesterenko and defenseman Marshall Warren are likely to remain in college next season, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Nesterenko had 24 points in 37 games in his sophomore year at Boston College while Warren had 21 points in 37 contests in his junior year with the Eagles.  Meanwhile, Russo adds that Minnesota will likely try to sign forward Sam Hentges to an entry-level deal beginning next season and an ATO pact for this year for him to play with AHL Iowa.  Hentges had 22 points in 20 games in his final season at St. Cloud State while scoring once in two games at the Olympics last month.

NCAA Notes: Sanderson, Kleven, Gabriele, Tsekos, UFAs

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Though a recent hand injury was an unexpected variable in the situation, there was very little doubt that Ottawa Senators top prospect Jake Sanderson would sign with the team at the conclusion of his season. After North Dakota was bounced from the NCAA Tournament by Notre Dame on Thursday – due in no small part to Sanderson’s injury absence – his signing now seems imminent. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the 2020 No. 5 overall pick is expected to sign his entry-level contract in the coming days. Sanderson may only be 19, but he has little left to gain from the college level. With 26 points in 23 games, Sanderson was not only one of the top scorers for the Fighting Hawks but one of the NCAA’s most productive defensemen. That doesn’t even speak to his top-notch defense either, which may be an even stronger part of his game than his offense. The only question facing Sanderson now is whether he will see NHL action this season, a decision that will be made by the Senators’ medical staff once his contract is signed.

Sanderson’s pair mate at North Dakota and fellow Senators prospect Tyler Kleven is reportedly facing a more difficult decision. Garrioch reports that Senators GM Pierre Dorion suggested to both Sanderson and Kleven that they turn pro after the collegiate season, but Kleven is less convinced. While the two have nearly identical resumes – two years with the USNTDP, two World Junior selections, two years at North Dakota – Kleven is a less developed prospect than Sanderson at this point. While the 6’4″ defenseman may always rely on a heavy, defense-first game, there is a case to be made for finally getting out from under Sanderson’s shadow and trying to develop more of a two-way game at North Dakota next season rather than following him to Belleville and staying in his same role. With that being said, Kleven excels at what he does well and has the size and hockey sense to jump to the pro level already.

  • Another top prospect defenseman considering signing his entry-level contract but taking a late-season injury into account is the Boston Bruins’ Mason Lohrei. The USHL’s reigning Defenseman of the Year continued his meteoric rise from being a surprise second-round pick in 2020 to starring for Ohio State this season. Lohrei was second on the Buckeyes in scoring with 29 points in 31 games, demonstrating high-level puck-moving ability, and at 6’4″ and 200 pounds already has pro size. An older freshman at 21, it would not be a shock to see Lohrei turn pro but given that he still has room to grow and would likely be slated for the AHL next season, he could also easily return to Ohio State, especially after the team so narrowly missed an NCAA Tournament berth this year. The Bruins are doing their part to help convince Lohrei to make the transition to the pros now though, adding a familiar face to their AHL lineup. The Providence Bruins have announced that fellow Ohio State defenseman and frequent pair mate of Lohrei’s, Grant Gabriele, has signed an amateur tryout and a contract for the 2022-23 season. The Bruins saw plenty of Gabriele while watching Lohrei and noticed that the senior defender had pro ambitions of his own, recording 20 points in 37 games while playing a solid two-way game. Even Lohrei returns to Ohio State next season, Providence will benefit from at least one Buckeye blue liner.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have dipped into the college free agent pool as well with an AHL contract for Zach Tsekos. The Colorado Eagles announced that they were adding the skilled center on an ATO for the remainder of the year and then a contract for 2022-23. Less a prospect and more an immediate minor league depth option, the 25-year-old Tsekos just completed a whopping six-year college career, spending two seasons with Sacred Heart and three seasons with Clarkson. Productive each and every year, Tsekos still saved his best for last with 31 points in 35 games. Tsekos has been nothing if not consistent in his NCAA career and if that translates to the pro level then he could become an NHL option down the road for Colorado.
  • The first round of NCAA Tournament games are now complete and a pair of prime undrafted free agents have already seen their seasons come to an end and are now on contract watch. UMass’ Bobby Trivigno and Michigan Tech’s Brian Halonen, both Hobey Baker Award finalists and quite possibly the two best individual efforts in college hockey this season, have both seen their teams eliminated. The senior forwards are likely already fielding contract offers and it should only be a matter of time before their first pro steps are revealed. Meanwhile, other top free agents like Minnesota’s Ben Meyers and Western Michigan’s Ethen Frank are still alive in the tournament – at least until Sunday when one will be eliminated as the two teams square off.

Montreal Canadiens Expected To Sign Jordan Harris

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After a hard-fought but ultimately unsuccessful game against Western Michigan today, Jordan Harris and the rest of Northeastern’s season is over. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Harris is now expected to sign with the Montreal Canadiens, a two-year entry-level contract that will start this season, allowing him to enter the lineup down the stretch.

Harris, 21, was picked by the Canadiens in 2018, 71st overall, and could potentially become an unrestricted free agent should he fail to sign with them by August 15. That seemed unlikely even before Kent Hughes became general manager, but especially now given his long history with the young defenseman. Riley Hughes, Kent’s son, has played with Harris for many years, including for the last three at Northeastern, where they were also joined this season by his other son Jack Hughes, a top prospect for the 2022 draft.

There was actually a lot of chatter about Harris last year, but he eventually decided to return for his senior season, where he was once again outstanding. The slightly undersized defenseman had five goals and 20 points in 38 games and served as captain of the Huskies. He was named Hockey East’s Best Defensive Defenseman and to the conference First All-Star Team. A Hobey Baker nominee once again, he should step almost directly into the Montreal lineup, if even for a handful of games after the contract is over.

He’s not the only top prospect on Northeastern who could sign soon. Devon Levi also put the finishing touches on one of the greatest goaltending seasons in NCAA history, and will now have to choose whether or not to turn pro and join the Buffalo Sabres organization. Levi, 20, had a .952 save percentage in 31 appearances, tying Connor Hellebuyck for the second-best number since 2000 at the college level (Jimmy Howard’s .956 for the University of Maine is first).

Others, like Vancouver Canucks prospect Aidan Mcdonough and Anaheim Ducks prospect Sam Colangelo will also have to make a decision on whether or not to turn pro.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Jaxson Stauber

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The Chicago Blackhawks have landed a coveted NCAA free agent. Providence College’s Jaxson Stauber, an undrafted goaltender, has signed with the team, inking a two-year entry-level contract carrying an $883K cap hit. The signing comes off the heels of the team’s trade of starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to the Minnesota Wild. While it is unlikely that the trade of Fleury had any direct impact on this signing, in a statement Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson emphasized the importance of “making sure there is no drop-off in our goaltender development” for his rebuilding club. As it stands the Blackhawks’ two goalies on their NHL roster combine for under 100 games of NHL experience, so Davidson’s statement indicates that repairing the team’s organizational situation between the pipes will be a priority.

While Stauber was passed over in every NHL draft he was eligible for, that hasn’t stopped him from developing into a viable goaltending prospect in his own right. Stauber is a Hobey Baker nominee this season and his play through two seasons at Providence College has been stellar. In 37 games this season Stauber registered a .921 save percentage, and in 2020-2021 he posted a .916 in 23 games. Stauber also stands six-foot-three, meaning he isn’t tagged with the “undersized” label that has plagued many goaltending prospects across hockey. Should he be able to continue the success he found at Providence College with the Blackhawks organization, it would greatly help a club with far more questions than answers regarding its goaltending situation.

For the Blackhawks, signing Stauber helps add talent to a team in need of some goaltending reinforcements. As previously mentioned, after the trade of Fleury the crease in Chicago is relatively wide open. The current tandem of Delia and Lankinen is unproven and without much recent success. Delia has a .750 save percentage in his 28 minutes of action at the NHL level this season, and Lankinen has a .889 mark through 17 games so far in this campaign. Arvid Soderblom, with a .920 save percentage this season in 23 games for the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs has promise, but otherwise, this is potentially one of the best opportunities for quick advancement should Stauber want to reach the NHL as fast as possible. Should he exceed expectations, he could find himself quickly rising through the organizational ranks in net. He could get the chance sooner rather than later, too, as Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago reports that although Stauber’s contract “kicks in next season,” if he chooses to start in Rockford he could be able to under an amateur tryout agreement.

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