Filip Lindberg Could Test Free Agency
UMass goaltender Filip Lindberg has been unable to reach a contract with the Minnesota Wild according to Michael Russo of The Athletic and could become an unrestricted free agent later this summer. Despite being drafted in 2019 and playing only three seasons of college hockey, the 22-year-old Lindberg’s exclusive draft rights will expire after his agent submitted a letter informing Minnesota of his intention to forego his senior season, leave the NCAA and turn pro. As Russo states, the goaltender will be eligible to sign with any team when free agency opens on July 28.
Lindberg was a seventh-round pick in 2019 as a 20-year-old, a lottery ticket based on only 17 (albeit excellent) games of college hockey. The .934 he posted as a freshman was proven to be no fluke, however, as he returned with two more outstanding seasons for the Minutemen, including a national championship this year. In 50 total games for UMass, Lindberg posted a 29-10-6 record, a .937 save percentage, and a 1.58 goals-against average. Sure, those numbers are boosted by a strong team in front of him, but he has turned from a seventh-round lottery ticket into a legitimate NHL prospect in short order.
When he does sign, Lindberg will be limited to inking a two-year, entry-level contract. In Minnesota, he could potentially see his path to the NHL blocked by fellow top prospect Kaapo Kahkonen, given veteran Cam Talbot‘s remaining two years under contract. It’s unclear at this point which team would be the frontrunner to sign him, but make no mistake there will be interest in the college star if he hits the open market.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Minor Transactions: 05/27/21
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are front and center right now, especially with Round Two now on the schedule, but there still continue to be some meaningful moves made elsewhere around the hockey world. Here are some of those recent notable minor transactions:
- After a mutual termination of his contract was completed earlier this month, former Boston Bruins prospect Pavel Shen has found his new team; well, a new, old team. After playing with the KHL’s HK Sochi on loan to begin the 2020-21 season, Shen has opted to return to the club on a more permanent basis. Sochi has signed Shen to a one-year deal for next season. Where his career takes him after that remains unknown. Shen flashed good two-way ability in his pair of seasons with AHL Providence and seemed like he was on his way to becoming a solid depth option – a good value for a 2018 seventh-round pick. However, if Boston felt he had long-term NHL upside they would not have terminated his contract so easily. Shen seems destined to spend his career at home in Russia, but continued development could put him back on NHL radars.
- After a 15-year pro career, including eight seasons in the NHL with six different teams, Andrew Ebbett has decided to hang up his skates. However, he won’t be leaving the game behind just yet. Swiss club SC Bern, where Ebbett spent five seasons following his NHL career, has announced that they have hired the veteran as their “sports director” i.e. general manager. Ebbett brings plenty of experience, including a number of years in the NLA, to the position. He also expanded his knowledge of the European game while playing his final season this year with EHC Munich of the German DEL. A versatile, two-way player and locker room presence throughout his career, Ebbett is well suited to lead the club.
- In an uncommon move for today’s day and age, U.S. National Team Development Program forward Liam Gilmartin has decided to switch development paths and join the OHL’s London Knights next season. Gilmartin, a 2021 NHL Draft product, was expected to follow the collegiate path like nearly all USNTDP products, having committed to Providence College. Instead, he will forego his NCAA eligibility and join the major junior ranks. A big winger with high-end stick skills, Gilmartin is expected to be drafted as early as the late second round in July after finishing among the top-six scoring forwards for the U-18 team this year. How this development decision impacts his draft stock remains to be seen.
- The USHL held their Phase I Draft for all 2005 players on Wednesday and the more intriguing Phase II Draft for all other uncommitted prospects on Thursday. While there were many players selected in both drafts with familiar names to past NHL players and executives alike, some of the most interesting picks were those that seem hardly likely to pan out. Presumptive 2022 and 2023 NHL Draft first overall picks, Shane Wright and Connor Bedard respectively, were each selected in the later rounds of the Phase II draft. While neither seems like to abandon their current teams – Wright with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs and Bedard with the WHL’s Regina Pats – this year saw a number of Canadian major junior players jump to the USHL with their own leagues on hold. The Chicago Steel (Wright) and Dubuque Fighting Saints (Bedard) would certainly be excited if their late-round waivers panned out somehow. For a full list of USHL Draft selections, follow this link.
Robert Morris University Terminates Hockey Programs
It is a terrible day for NCAA hockey, as Robert Morris University has announced that it will no longer field a Division I men’s or women’s hockey team. The university explains that the decision is part of a “series of strategic initiatives intended to position the university to amongst the most agile and professional focused schools in the nation.”
The school will honor the scholarships for student-athletes affected by the decision, or assist those players in transferring to a school with a hockey program. Normally players would need to sit out a year after transferring, but as the release explains, that is not necessary if they are coming from a school that has discontinued their program. Approximately 55 athletes and seven staffers will be affected by the decision.
Though RMU isn’t one of the programs that regularly churn out NHL players, it was an important fixture in the hockey community around Pittsburgh. Just this year the NCAA held the Frozen Four in the area, due in part to the success and stability of the Colonials.
In the release, the university directly answered the question of how it determined hockey would be cut:
The decision to discontinue the men’s and women’s ice hockey programs was made based on an analysis which included scholarships and operating costs, and the necessary investments to maintain and improve the current facility. The university also wanted to align our athletic offerings more closely with other similar nationally-ranked universities of our size.
The school has no plans to discontinue any of the other 15 Division I sports programs.
Snapshots: Kane, Morrow, Tangradi
Evander Kane has had a tremendous season for the San Jose Sharks, recording a team-best 45 points in 52 games. The achievement is all the more impressive given the safe assumption that Kane’s focus has not solely been on hockey this year. The star forward has been mired in Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding all season, filing in January and then in March motioning for an extension on the decision until June on the grounds that his contract with the Sharks could be terminated following the end of the season. While it remains to be seen whether this in fact occurs or not, the latest development in the case has the bankruptcy court deciding that Kane’s case will remain in Chapter 7 as opposed to Chapter 11. A lender had filed a motion for Kane to be treated as a business under Chapter 11 due to his debt mostly coming from gambling losses. Such a decision would have opened up Kane’s future income to his lenders in the bankruptcy decision, but such an outcome was avoided.
At least one lender has decided that if they can’t get to Kane’s future earnings via bankruptcy decision, they’ll go after a greater return on their defaulted loan another way. Per The Athletic’s Daniel Kaplan, Professional Bank has sued Kane for $15MM, alleging fraud on the basis of misrepresenting the Sharks’ role in his repayment plans. This amounts to ten times their initial loan due, justified as “punitive damages.” This is highly irregular in a case such as this, as punitive damages are not substantiated by a claim but rather are meant as punishment. Punitive damages to this massive extent are very unlikely to be awarded, especially with Kane’s bankruptcy proceeding still ongoing, but Professional Bank will try their best.
- Winning a national championships comes with some added perks, the least of which is increased recruiting power. Defending champs UMass flexed their newfound market power today, convincing potential 2021 first-round pick Scott Morrow to flip on his commitment to North Dakota and got to Amherst. Multiple sources have confirmed the move, with the talented right-handed defenseman moving from one powerhouse to another. Morrow was expected to join a deep group of NHL-caliber defensemen at UND this year, but will have more of an opportunity to shine as a top blue line option at UMass. It has worked out nicely for Cale Makar, Mario Ferraro, Zac Jones, and several other NHL prospects over just the last few years.
- Eric Tangradi, Real Estate Agent? In a unique twist, former NHL winger Tangradi announced his retirement by transitioning it into the reveal of his new career. A big, powerful winger who appeared to have NHL chops early in his career, Tangradi never could quite translate his AHL production to the next level. He still managed to play in 150 NHL games with the Penguins, Jets, Canadiens, Devils, and Red Wings, but recorded just 16 career points. Tangradi will likely be remembered more for his many years of dominance in the minors, recording over 350 points in 488 career NHL games.
Alabama-Huntsville Suspends Hockey Operations For 2021-22
Continuity has not come easily to the University of Alabama-Huntsville hockey program in recent years. UAH had announced prior to the 2020-21 season that they were cutting hockey, but the program was saved by a group of donors led by NHL alumnus Cam Talbot. The drive raised enough money to continue operations for another season, but the school later voiced its support for continuing the program for years to come. Yet, just a year later the same news has come back around. The university has announced that they are suspending operations, effective immediately.
This time, Alabama-Huntsville is citing their lack of a conference as the reason behind discontinuing hockey. The 2020-21 season marked the end of the WCHA, with the seven of the geographically-linked programs breaking off to form the the new CCHA, leaving UAH, Alaska-Anchorage, and Alaska-Fairbanks as currently unassociated with any conference. Alabama-Huntsville formally applied to join the CCHA, but were denied membership. The school has also applied to join Atlantic Hockey, but is still awaiting a response. Until they are accepted into a new conference though, the team will keep all hockey operations suspended.
There has to be more to this story than just conference membership, however. Alaska-Fairbanks seems content to move forward as an independent and Alaska-Anchorage is currently trying to raise funds in order to do the same. Arizona State obviously stands out as the top independent team in the country, a program that was formed without any expectation of conference membership but has already risen to national relevance. Long Island University followed that same path with their entry into Division I hockey last year and Lindenwood University will do the same in 2022-23. Independent hockey is sustainable in the NCAA, but Alabama-Huntsville has cited it as the sole reason for discontinuing their program.
The prevailing belief is that the Chargers will be back up and running as soon as they are accepted into a new conference, which could be sooner rather than later with their Atlantic application still pending. This would assume that the decision is entirely motivated by their hesitancy to operate as an independent, so only time will tell if this theory proves to be true. In the meantime, Alabama-Huntsville will endure a repeat of last off-season, when many of their players and recruits (as well as much of their coaching staff) departed when the university cut funding. While UAH may not have any NHL prospects right now, they still stand to lose their top players. Starting goaltender David Fesseden has already committed to transfer to New Hampshire and top scorers Tyrone Bronte and Bauer Neudecker could follow him out the door. Regardless of how this works out in the long-term, the immediate future is bleak for Alabama-Huntsville hockey and concerns over university support will be lasting for years to come.
Blackhawks Prospect Slava Demin Transfers To UMass
Another NHL prospect is changing colleges. After entering the transfer portal two weeks ago, Blackhawks prospect Slava Demin has found his new school as Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News reports (Twitter link) that he is off to UMass after spending his first three seasons at Denver.
The 21-year-old was a fourth-round pick (99th overall) of Vegas back in 2018 and was moved to Chicago as part of the deal that also saw them acquire Malcolm Subban and a second-rounder (Drew Commesso) in exchange for Robin Lehner.
Demin was more of an offensive defenseman in his BCHL days back with Wenatchee but that hasn’t translated to the college ranks with any consistency. His career high in points came in his freshman year when he had four goals and ten assists in 41 games although he put up a slightly better point per game rate in this pandemic-shortened season with three goals and five helpers in 21 contests.
UMass has lost a couple of blueliners to the pros recently in Zac Jones (Rangers) and Marc Del Gaizo (Predators) so it stands to reason that Demin should have an opportunity to step in and play a big role right away in the hopes of securing an entry-level deal with the Blackhawks.
Tennessee State Considering Adding Division I Hockey
As the growth of college hockey continues, you never know where the next Division I team may pop up. Just in the past few years, programs have sprouted at Arizona State University and Long Island University, with new additions coming soon at Minnesota’s University of St. Thomas and Missouri’s Lindenwood University and conversations being had the University of Illinois and the U.S. Naval Academy as well. However, the latest school to enter the scene is still quite a surprise.
According to a report from Michael Gallagher of the Nashville Post, Tennessee State University is “considering a feasibility study in bringing hockey to campus.” A historically black university, HBCU for short, located south of the Mason-Dixon line, at first it may not seem like Tennessee State would be a fit for NCAA hockey. However, Tennessee State is located within Nashville city limits and the home of the Predators has become quite the hockey city in recent years. With the game growing in geography and diversity in the United States, Tennessee State may actually be perfectly situated to take advantage of the avid hockey culture that has developed in Nashville in order to recruit some non-traditional, but talented prospects.
Similar logic led to Lindenwood’s move to Division I. The longtime ACHA powerhouse is located in St. Louis, which itself transformed into a major hockey city over the past few decades and began producing incredible homegrown talent, many of whom were the children of former St. Louis Blues. Tennessee State may see the grassroots hockey scene in Nashville booming and are looking to get into the mix sooner rather than later, possibly even forming a similar connection to the Predators. Lindenwood will also serve as a natural rival, both in geography and experience, while Alabama-Huntsville, the original southern hockey school, will be their closest competitor. Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News notes that Miami-Ohio will also be a similar distance to Tennessee State as Lindenwood.
While the Tigers are still a ways away from confirming the formation of a Division I hockey program – Illinois has proven how long these “studies” can take – the prospect of college hockey continue to expand into new corners of the U.S. and further spreading the reach of the game is exciting. As is the potential impact that it could have on the diversity of the game. There is plenty to like about the addition of Tennessee State to the NCAA hockey ranks down the road.
Coyotes Prospect Carson Bantle Transfers To Wisconsin
The NCAA transfer portal has been a busy one this year with the expectation of the implementation of allowing players to transfer once without having to sit out. Arizona prospect Carson Bantle entered the portal three weeks ago and has found his new school, announcing via Twitter that he is transferring to Wisconsin for the 2021-22 season.
The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Coyotes back in October (142nd overall) after a point per game season with Madison of the USHL. However, that production didn’t follow him to Michigan Tech as he had just two goals and an assist in 19 games with the Huskies this season while playing a limited role.
Obviously, Bantle is making the move with an eye on getting a bigger opportunity with the Badgers, one that should materialize. Wisconsin has already lost its top four scorers from this season (Cole Caufield, Linus Weissbach, Dylan Holloway, and Ty Pelton-Bice) to the professional ranks over the past month so there will definitely be a chance for more playing time there next year.
Jets Prospect Logan Neaton Transfers To Miami (Ohio)
There have been more players than usual transferring in college hockey in recent weeks and the Jets have seen a few prospects take that route. The latest is goaltender Logan Neaton who is heading from UMass-Lowell to Miami (Ohio), reports Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News (Twitter link).
The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick of Winnipeg back in 2019 (144th overall) but he has hardly played since then. After playing three games in his freshman year, he was limited to just three again this year as he served as their third-string option while posting a save percentage of just .855. Now halfway through his college eligibility, a chance to go elsewhere and get more playing time certainly makes sense.
Players that transfer typically have to sit out a season first (with some exceptions) but last week, the NCAA Division I Council passed legislation that, if ratified by the Board of Directors next week, would allow players to transfer once without having to miss a year. That certainly is playing a role in the increased number of players in the transfer portal.
Speaking of that, Neaton is the third Jets college prospect to transfer in recent weeks. Jared Moe, a 2018 sixth-rounder, moved from Minnesota to Wisconsin while Harrison Blaisdell, Winnipeg’s other 2019 fifth-round selection, is currently in the transfer portal after spending his first two years with North Dakota.
Prospect Notes: Wild, Popugaev, Thompson
Two of the Minnesota Wild’s top prospects have enjoyed stellar college careers, culminating in a meeting in the NCAA Championship Game last weekend. For many college prospects, just one strong season and an NCAA title (or even an appearance) is enough to push them to the pros. However, the Wild may have to wait for these two. The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that St. Cloud State forward Sam Hentges is expected to return to school for his senior season, while Massachusetts goaltender Filip Lindberg is still considering doing the same. Hentges, a 2018 seventh-round pick, has already played beyond his draft billing. The Huskies center has been a solid, two-way forward through each of his three college seasons, recording 61 points in 94 games along the way. However, he seemingly believes that he has more growing to do at St. Cloud. As for Lindberg, it is hard to imagine that there is any more left for him to prove at UMass. The title-winning goaltender was among the NCAA’s best this season, and last season, and the season before. He has a stunning .937 save percentage, 1.58 GAA, and 29 wins in 50 college appearances. If that wasn’t enough, Lindberg was also part of Finland’s 2019 World Junior gold medal-winning club, pitching a shutout in his lone appearance. Lindberg seems pro-ready, but perhaps the possibility of finally playing a workhorse role for the Minutemen could be enough to keep him around for his senior year. If not, the 2019 seventh-rounder would be the favorite to win the starting job for the AHL’s Iowa Wild next season anyway.
- The New Jersey Devils won’t be getting a second look at prospect forward Nikita Popugaev in North America any time soon. The big Russian forward has signed a one-year extension with the KHL’s Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, the team announced. The Devils hold indefinite possession of Popugaev’s NHL rights, but there are certainly concerns that he may never be an NHL option. The polarizing prospect was considered a first-round talent at one point in the 2017 NHL Draft cycle, especially after back-to-back seasons of top-notch production in the WHL. However, work ethic concerns caused him to slip to the fourth round. He then confirmed some other suspicions by leaving the WHL for Russia, back-tracking on his perceived commitment to the North American game. Popugaev did return late in the 2018-19 season and signed an AHL contract with the Devils, staying through the following year but playing almost exclusively in the ECHL. This caused him to return to Russia again this year and he finally found some success after a mid-season trade to Nizhnekamsk. With a new deal, he hopes to build on that success again next season. Yet, in the big picture Popugaev’s struggles at the pro level in North America and Russia combined with a seemingly mutual resistance between he and the Devils to sign an entry-level contract just yet provides ample doubt that he will ever play in the NHL.
- Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Jack Thompson, arguably the best defenseman in their pipeline, is getting his first pro experience. With the OHL out of commission, Thompson has played at the junior level in Sweden this year, scoring at a point-per-game pace. However, he has returned home with his Swedish season over, but the OHL still has not returned to action. As a result, the Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, have brought Thompson in on an amateur tryout basis. The 19-year-old defenseman, a 2020 third-round pick, will likely return to the OHL if the league re-starts, but in the meantime will get invaluable experience in the AHL.