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Bill Hay Passes Away At Age 88

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Former Chicago Black Hawks player Bill ’Red’ Hay has passed away at the age of 88. Hay played through eight seasons in the NHL before pursuing a career as the Calgary Flames’ chief executive officer, then Hockey Canada’s President and chief operating officer. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2015 and honored in the ’Order of Hockey in Canada’ in 2021. He was born into a rich hockey family – the son of Charles Hay, who also served as Hockey Canada’s president at one point. Hay’s uncle Earl Miller was also a prolific hockey pro, playing six seasons in the IHL and five seasons in the NHL, including a tenure with the Black Hawks 20 years before his nephew would join the team.

Red Hay jumped into hockey prominence well ahead of his pro career. He played junior hockey with the Regina Pats in 1952 and 1954 – interrupted by a brief five games at the University of Saskatchewan. He recorded 78 points in 62 WJHL games with Regina and supported the team to a runner-up finish for the 1955 Memorial Cup, where his tournament-leading 23 points in 15 games weren’t enough to top a Toronto Marlboros roster led by Mike Nykoluk. With a hardy juniors career out of the way, Hay moved to Colorado College in 1955 and joined their hockey team in 1956. He’d proceed to have two legendary seasons with the Tigers program, totaling 153 points in 69 games with the school and leading them to an NCAA Tournament Championship in 1957. That stands as the most recent championship in Colorado College’s men’s hockey history, though the team continues to play at a top level today.

Hay would move to the senior WHL for a year with the Calgary Stampeders in 1958, then kick off a career with the NHL’s Black Hawks in 1959. He was an immediate sensation, recording 55 points in 70 games as a rookie – enough to beat out Murray Oliver, Ken Schinkel, and 19-year-old Stan Mikita for the 1960 Calder Trophy. Hay’s production grew through the next two seasons, even supporting Chicago to a Stanley Cup win in 1961. That season motivated Hay to a career-year in 1961-62 – when he tallied 63 points in 60 games – though he’d ultimately lose out in a return to the Cup Finals, getting trumped by a Maple Leafs program spearheaded by Frank Mahovlich and Dave Keon. Hay’s success continued beyond the disappointing end, and he’d ultimately total 386 points in 506 games, and eight seasons, with Chicago. His playing career came to a close in 1967, when a 31-year-old Hay was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the 1967 Expansion Draft – and opted to pursue a managerial career rather than play for his franchise’s new rival. He was named Calgary’s CEO and Hockey Canada’s president in the early-1990s, serving as an instrumental piece of the merge between Hockey Canada and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association years later.

Hay was born into a successful hockey family and properly carried the torch through over 40 years in high-end roles. His influence carries on through the success of Colorado College, the Calgary Flames, and Hockey Canada as a whole. Pro Hockey Rumors sends our condolences to his friends, families, and all those impacted by his half-century career influencing top hockey.

NCAA Preparing Vote To Expand Eligibility To CHL

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The NCAA is prepared to vote on a proposal that could expand eligibility to CHL players, per NHL player agent Allan Walsh and Jim Connelly of USCHO.com. Connelly adds that the vote will implement emergency legislation, if passed, and could occur during one of the board’s routine Tuesday and Wednesday meetings. This decision follows pressure from an antitrust lawsuit filed in August, that claimed the NCAA’s exclusion of CHL athletes is unlawful. The NCAA organized a committee to review the league’s eligibility in response to the lawsuit and received an official recommendation to expand eligibility.

While this vote formalizes the news, the topic of allowing CHL players into the NCAA has rapidly gained popularity over recent months. That hype peaked when Regina Pats forward Braxton Whitehead announced a commitment to Arizona State University. Current rules list Whitehead as ineligible to join ASU, as he’s already played five seasons and 199 games in the WHL – suggesting that a change is imminent. Whitehead scored 96 points in those outings, slowly climbing his way up Regina’s roster and finding his footing as a responsible, middle-six winger.

It’s presently unclear how this vote would impact the NCAA, or when fans may be able to expect the new recruiting pool to open up. The standard CHL player contract already covers costs of post-secondary schooling – though that’s typically led players to Canadian universities. CHL contracts also hold players through the age of 20 – or four CHL seasons – a rule that would seem sensible to translate into a partnership with the NCAA.

Whitehead’s verbal commitment currently has him joining the Sun Devils for the 2025-26 season. He may not be the only Canadian juniors player to make that jump, should the looming vote go through.

Snapshots: Krebs, Karlsson, Pitlick

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Sabres center Peyton Krebs was one of several players earlier this week who signed contracts before training camp got underway.  The 23-year-old told reporters including Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that he had been following his agent’s advice throughout the process but eventually relented, telling his agent to get a deal done while prioritizing getting a two-year agreement.  He was able to do just that, landing a two-year, $2.9MM pact.  Buffalo was busy over the summer reshaping their bottom six with the additions of Ryan McLeod, Beck Malenstyn, Sam Lafferty, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel so Krebs will have his work cut out for him to hold onto a regular spot in the lineup after getting into 80 games last season.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson skated on his own today before practice, relays Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). The veteran has yet to take part in any team activities during training camp due to an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.  Karlsson’s offensive numbers took a big dip last season after putting up 101 points in his final year with San Jose but he still managed 11 goals and 45 assists, good for a tie for third in team scoring.
  • Former Montreal prospect Rhett Pitlick has found a new place to play as Minnesota State University announced that the forward has enrolled with them for his senior season. The 23-year-old spent the last three years at the University of Minnesota, putting up 36 points in 39 games last season.  However, he deregistered earlier in the offseason, allowing him to become a free agent in the process.  Clearly, there wasn’t an offer to his liking so he’ll now play out his NCAA eligibility and will look to secure an NHL deal after that.

Morning Notes: Raymond, Whitehead, Walsh

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Elliotte Friedman spoke on the 32 Thoughts podcast about the Detroit Red Wings negotiations with forward Lucas Raymond. Friedman had used recently signed Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis as a comparable contract for Raymond stating that his $7.42MM cap hit was likely what Raymond’s camp was using in negotiations. However, Friedman informed his audience that a player agent told him that Raymond’s agent is more than likely using a higher comparable and mentioned Senators forward Tim Stützle and his eight-year $66.8MM contract.

Friedman added that there is little chance that Yzerman would accept that comparison and Stützle’s $8.35MM AAV. Stützle signed that contract extension after posting 58 points in 79 games, which was a good season, but not worth that number. At that time the Ottawa Senators were desperate to show their market that they were ready to contend and gave Stützle an above-market deal that now looks like a bargain. Friedman thinks that the Jarvis comparable is probably too low at this stage, which likely means that a Raymond extension will fall between the cap hits of Jarvis and Stützle.

In other morning notes:

  • Greg Wyshynski of ESPN is reporting that Braxton Whitehead of the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats has received a verbal commitment from Arizona State University that would open the door for him to play in the NCAA in the 2025-26 season. Whitehead is the first Canadian Hockey League player to receive a commitment from the NCAA since a class action lawsuit was proposed against the NCAA and 10 universities last month that claimed the eligibility rules around the league violated antitrust laws.  The class action suit is looking to allow players to play hockey in college as well as major junior, something that would be a massive change from the current paradigm.
  • NHL player agent Allen Walsh also tweeted in regard to Whitehead’s news saying that he’s heard from several NCAA head coaches who expected that there will be former CHL players dressing in the NCAA as early as next season. The current NCAA eligibility rules don’t allow any player who has played a major junior hockey game to play college hockey in the United States, however, the aforementioned class action lawsuit could turn that rule on its head depending on how it plays out.

Atlantic Notes: Peterka, Kostadinski, McCue

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The NHL has ramped up its visits overseas coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, they often make an effort to reunite foreign-born NHLers with their home countries and, even in some cases, their former teams.

That’ll be the case for emerging Sabres winger John-Jason Peterka, who spoke to NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika about getting the chance to suit up in his native Germany and play a preseason game against EHC Munich of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, where he played in 2019-20 and 2020-21.

“I was always there with my parents cheering for the team,” Peterka told Cotsonika. “We were in the stands all the time. It was so special for me to play for Munich because I’m from there [and grew] up there. Yeah, having the chance now to go back there, play against them, play in front of all the fans again, yeah, it’s going to be really special.”

After their exhibition game in Munich, the Sabres will open the regular season with a back-to-back against the Devils in Prague, Czechia. It’s the start of a crucial campaign for Peterka, who’s entering the final season of his entry-level contract after scoring a career-high 28 goals and 50 points last season.

Other items of note from around the Atlantic:

  • Bruins defense prospect Kristian Kostadinski has committed to Boston College, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal and NHL.com. Boston drafted the 6’6″, 220-lb stay-at-home defender in the seventh round of the 2023 draft. The Gothenburg, Sweden native spent last season at home with Frölunda HC’s U20 club and will touch down in the North American juniors circuit this season with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. The 19-year-old will head to BC for his freshman campaign in 2025-26.
  • Maple Leafs seventh-rounder Sam McCue has a real chance to outperform his draft slot, opines Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff for The Leafs Nation. McCue, 19 next month, was taken 216th overall a few months ago after posting 37 points in 68 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s Peterborough Petes and Owen Sound Attack last year. But despite those conservative point totals, Ellis believes McCue has NHL upside in his game as a “high-motor winger.”

Metropolitan Notes: Kolosov, Bergeron, Vaisanen

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Flyers goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov’s status for next season remains in the air. Reports over the last month indicated that Kolosov had informed the team that he wouldn’t report to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, if assigned there in the fall. Those were later refuted by general manager Daniel Brière, who said the team had no confirmation about Kolosov’s desires for the 2024-25 campaign.

Early this morning, Daria Tuboltseva of Responsible Gambling reported that Kolosov had switched his representation, now being represented by Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein. He was previously represented by CAA Sports’ J.P. Barry, who also represents Philly netminder Ivan Fedotov and likely Calder Trophy contender Matvei Michkov.

That was quickly followed up by a report from The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz that Kolosov’s new camp, led by Milstein, is expected to meet with the Flyers later this week. A source tells Kurz that Kolosov does indeed wish to return to his native Belarus on loan this season to play for Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, where he’s played since 2020. The Flyers, who signed Kolosov to his entry-level contract in 2023, loaned Kolosov to Minsk last season, expecting him to play the final two years of his rookie deal in North America, either with the Phantoms or the Flyers.

Kurz says the plan hasn’t changed, and the Flyers aren’t interested in loaning Kolosov back to Minsk or terminating his contract. Philadelphia, whose NHL tandem is expected to consist of Fedotov and Samuel Ersson out of camp, could suspend Kolosov without pay if he refuses to report to Lehigh Valley upon assignment in the fall. Since the KHL now exists independently from the IIHF and the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, there would be no sanctions against them if Kolosov signed a contract with Minsk in violation of his deal with the Flyers.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • The Blue Jackets have hired Chris Bergeron as an associate coach for the Cleveland Monsters, their AHL affiliate, the team announced today. He’s the replacement for Mike Haviland, who was promoted to the NHL bench earlier this month as an assistant under new head coach Dean Evason. An Ontario native, Bergeron sticks in the only state he’s ever known as a coach. The 53-year-old boasts a collegiate career spanning 24 years as an assistant with Miami University, a head coach with Bowling Green State University, and a second stint with Miami as head coach.
  • Penguins defense prospect Joona Väisänen has committed to Western Michigan University, the school announced. Pittsburgh selected Väisänen, 20, as an overage pick in the seventh round of this year’s draft. The puck-moving Finn is coming off his first season in North America, posting 40 points and a team-leading +31 rating in 53 games with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. The right-shot blue-liner will suit up for WMU as a freshman this fall.

Snapshots: CHL/NCAA, Hovorka, Tiefensee

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The NCAA is facing major pressure to lift one of its biggest barriers to entry for men’s ice hockey after a class-action lawsuit was levied against them on Monday, alleging the association is “violating antitrust laws by preventing hockey players who appeared in Canadian Hockey League games from competing for NCAA teams.”

Today, Sean Gentille of The Athletic broke down the potential implications of the suit. The elimination of the rule preventing CHL players from making the jump to Division I hockey has been in discussion for a while, at the very least dating back to a report from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet in March.

However, if CHL players were allowed to move to NCAA play at any given time, it would likely necessitate a revision of the NHL’s transfer agreements with both organizations. Players drafted out of the three CHL sub-leagues have a two-year exclusive signing window after being drafted by an NHL club. In contrast, players on the college track have their signing rights stay with their NHL team until Aug. 15, following the year they’ve graduated from their program.

The suit’s basis alleges that the NCAA’s rule barring CHL players from entrance isn’t to protect amateurism. It’s to “harm the CHL — the NCAA’s primary competition for elite young players — and that, in practice, it constitutes a ’group boycott’ that violates U.S. antitrust law. It’s also a ’carve-out’ of sorts that exists in men’s hockey and skiing, but no other sport,” Gentille writes.

Yet removing the rule would severely handicap other high-level junior leagues in North America, such as the USHL and other Canadian junior leagues, who routinely have their players go on to have successful Division I careers. They’d be at greater risk of losing their primary talent to the three CHL leagues. “Avoiding that, along with more generally making changes during what has been a profitable and positive run for college hockey, would seem to be the reason the rule is still on the books in 2024,” Gentille says.

Elsewhere from around the sport:

  • The Panthers are looking for undrafted free-agent signing Mikulas Hovorka to take major strides in his development in his first season in North America, AHL head coach Geordie Kinnear told George Richards for NHL.com. “His size is obvious, but his passion to practice and to play is infectious,” Kinnear said. “The coaches just gravitated to him due to his willingness to be coached. He may have been going against teammates and peers, but you could see his physicality, which is how we want him to play. We think he will take a big step, but we also know it is a process.” Hovorka, 23, is a right-shot defenseman who checks in at 6’6″ and nearly 230 lbs. He spent last season in his native Czechia, recording 16 points and a +14 rating in 51 games with Extraliga club Motor Ceske Budejovice.
  • Early into his post-playing career, Stars player development coordinator Ben Bishop is already making an impact. The two-time All-Star netminder has been working closely with Dallas 2023 fifth-rounder Arno Tiefensee, he tells NHL.com’s Taylor Baird, traveling to the player’s native Germany to work with him throughout last season. It’s panned out so far, as the 22-year-old took over as the starter for the DEL’s Adler Mannheim last year with a .907 SV% and 2.43 GAA in 32 games. Tiefensee must put pen to paper on an entry-level contract before June 1 of next year before the Stars lose his signing rights.

Snapshots: NCAA Recruitment, Colorado, Lekkerimäki

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The NCAA commitment window opened to the 2008 birth year on August 1st, bringing another wave of top young players to the collegiate level. International recruits have so far headlined this year’s class, with five Europeans and 13 Canadians already announcing their commitments. Among the notable international commits is hefty centerman Caleb Malhotra, who went eighth overall to Kingston in this year’s OHL Draft, but solidified his plans to play outside of the OHL with a commitment to Boston University. Malhotra is emerging as a top Canadian in the 2008 birth year – even despite battles with injury this season. He played in just 48 games, though he still did enough to score at a point-per-game pace and earn a five-star rating from PuckPreps, who praised his mobility and puck skills.

Malhotra – the son of longtime Vancouver Canucks center Manny Malhotra – is a cerebral playmaker, who knows how to use his frame and stickhandling to create space. With a college commitment out of the way, he’s now set for the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL. Malhotra is undeniably one of the BCHL’s top recruits and will now look to vindicate the expectations around him, and quickly bounce back from injury, by finding scoring quickly at the juniors level. If all goes well, he’ll enter BU with the same lofty expectations.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The AHL’s Colorado Eagles have announced they’ve hired Kim Weiss as a video coach and Matt Zaba as a goalie coach. Weiss moves to the pro level after becoming the first female coach in D-III history this season, serving behind the bench of her alma mater Trinity College. Trinity won their conference championship under Weiss’ guard – earning her a ring after losing in the NAHL’s 2023 Robertson Cup semifinals with the Maryland Black Bears. Zaba is also moving from American juniors, having spent the last seven seasons as the goalie coach for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. He’s built up multiple NHL prospects over that span, including Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Filip Larson, Calgary Flames prospect Arseni Sergeyev, and Vegas Golden Knights prospect Isaiah Saville. He’ll now join that trio at the AHL level – coaching in familiar territory after starting his career at Colorado College. Zaba is also an alum of one NHL game, 66 AHL games, and 31 ECHL games – though much of his personal playing career was spent in Austria and Italy.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are facing a list of lineup questions as training camp approaches, shares Thomas Drance of The Athletic, who highlighted the right-wing role next to Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson as the team’s most glaring hole. Drance mentioned Nils Hoglander as an early favorite for the role, though he’ll face pressure from new signee Daniel Sprong. However, Drance also noted that star prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki could be a dark horse to round out what should be Vancouver’s scoring line. Lekkerimäki won the SHL’s ’Rookie of the Year’ award last season, after posting 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games with Örebro HK. He signed his entry-level contract and moved to the AHL after Örebro’s early playoff exit – adding two points in six more games with the Abbotsford Canucks. Lekkerimäki is an effective scorer, with an eye for the offensive zone and hard snapshot – though his size has some worried about how he’ll adjust to the next step. It seems he’ll have a chance to answer that bell at training camp, as he fights for a significant role out of the gates.

Ryan Leonard Hopes To Win Before Joining Washington

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One of the more interesting prospect developments of the summer is the desire from former-eighth overall pick, Ryan Leonard, to forego his entry-level deal with the Washington Capitals to return to Boston College for his sophomore season. Leonard had a fantastic season in 2022-23 with the U.S. National U18 Team leading to him being a top-10 selection in the 2023 NHL Draft.

As a freshman with the Eagles, Leonard proved to be one of the best prospects in the league by scoring 31 goals and 60 points in 41 games played. Flanked by Cutter Gauthier, Gabe Perreault, and Will Smith, the quartet occupied four of the top-six scoring leaders and represented one of the most dominant offenses in the NCAA.

Before it was time to make a run at the National Championship, Leonard joined the United States U20 Team for the 2023-24 IIHF World Junior Championships. Leonard scored three goals and six points in seven games throughout the tournament and helped the United States capture their first gold medal since 2021.

Boston College coasted to the National Championship behind a powerful offense with strong wins over Michigan Tech University, Quinnipiac University, and the University of Michigan. Unfortunately, the offense ran dry in the last game of the season as the University of Denver shut them out to take home the trophy.

In a write-up of day two of the World Junior Summer Showcase, Mike G. Morreale of the NHL writes that Leonard hopes to capture the only trophy that has eluded him up to this point before turning pro. Leonard said, “We have some unfinished business, honestly. Maybe if our game against Denver goes the other way, it could have been a little bit different and I could have played the end of the season with the Capitals. But Washington has been really supportive. They told me whenever I was ready, they’d be grateful and happy. Leaving my team after losing that last game against Denver was just something I couldn’t do”.

Whether or not Leonard can help the Eagles win their first National Championship since 2012, the additional year in the NCAA should be a huge benefit to his development regardless. Leonard was already one of the best players last year as a freshman and should be top-five in the scoring leader conversation once again at the season’s end.

The Capitals still have a Nicklas Backstrom-sized hole down the middle of their top six but will attempt to bridge the gap with a combination of Dylan Strome and Pierre-Luc Dubois next season. With a legitimate claim of being the team’s future top-line center, Leonard will give Washington one of the better looks down the middle of any team around the league. A combination of Strome, Dubois, Leonard, and Hendrix Lapierre down the middle of the ice will give opposing teams a lot of problems to match up against.

Snapshots: Merela, Sabres Staff, Krog

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Yesterday, Lightning restricted free agent forward Waltteri Merela signed a one-year deal with SC Bern of the Swiss National League. The Lightning reportedly wanted Merela to return to the organization (as per Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times) but couldn’t offer him the guaranteed money that he could get abroad because of their need to keep salary cap flexibility. The Lightning plan to make Merela a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights until he is 27.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Buffalo Sabres have hired Chris Bergeron as a scout, shares Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News. Bergeron has served as the head coach of Miami (Ohio) University’s men’s hockey team for the last five seasons, posting a cumulative – and dismal – 35-116-16 record with the club. Those results earn Bergeron the title of lowest win percentage in Miami’s history, narrowly beating out Bill Davidge’s 39-111-3 record across four seasons in the late 1980s. Bergeron still has a storied hockey career despite a slow go of things in Miami, Ohio – serving as the head coach of Bowling Green State University for nine seasons and accumulating 43 AHL games, 119 ECHL, and 111 IHL games across a seven-year professional career of his own. Bergeron is expected to, unsurprisingly, serve as Buffalo’s NCAA scout after Jerry Forton was promoted to ‘Director of Amateur Scouting’.
  • Buffalo has also shared that they will be maintaining AHL assistant coaches Vinny Prospal and Nathan Paetsch, shares Lysowski (Twitter link). The duo – both former NHL players – concluded the first year of their coaching careers last season, helping lead the Rochester Americans to a strong 39-23-7 record. With a year under their belts, the novice coaches will now lend their lessons learned to new head coach Mike Leone as he enters the first pro role of his own coaching career.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have hired former NHL center Jason Krog as a skills and development coach for the NHL and AHL rosters (Twitter link). Krog played in four games with Vancouver to end a 202-game career in the NHL that was largely spent with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Krog scored 22 goals and 59 games across his career, including a single-season high of 25 points in 2002-03. He flaunted fantastic agility and skill as an undersized pivot in a physical era of the NHL – and will now look to bring those lessons to a young Canucks organization.

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