- The New Jersey Devils sent defenseman Seamus Casey to AHL Utica this morning in exchange for Daniil Misyul despite the former scoring three goals and four points in his first eight NHL contests. Team reporter Amanda Stein revealed additional content for the move mentioning that although defensemen Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce won’t suit up tomorrow night, their return “is imminent”. The two undoubtedly will improve New Jersey’s chances of returning to the NHL playoffs next spring as they currently sit ninth in the NHL in points percentage through eight games.
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Devils Rumors
Devils Reassign Seamus Casey, Recall Daniil Misyul
Devils rookie defenseman Seamus Casey will get some reps in the minors after being sent down to AHL Utica, per a team announcement. 24-year-old Daniil Misyul was recalled in a corresponding transaction and will likely make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Lightning.
Casey, 20, managed to crack New Jersey’s opening night roster on his first try, undoubtedly aided by injuries to Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce. But the 2022 second-round pick took the opportunity and ran with it, posting three goals and an assist with a +2 rating through his first eight contests. He’s been highly sheltered by head coach Sheldon Keefe, averaging under 12 minutes per game. That’s related to some shoddy possession metrics, especially considering his frequent offensive-zone deployment. He’s controlled just 40.4% of shot attempts, far below the team average, with his rating boosted by a sky-high 97.8 oiSV%.
The former Michigan standout is also one of four right-shot defensemen on the Devils roster, and he’s been the one tabbed to play on his off side with Hughes out. That likely offers some explanation for his poor defensive showing thus far, but regardless, some extended time in Utica logging top-four minutes on his natural right side should do wonders for his development in his first professional season. It’s also why they’ve recalled a left-shot defender in Misyul.
Casey, who checks in at 5’10” and 181 lbs, had 15 goals and 59 assists for 74 points in 77 games in NCAA play for the Wolverines over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. His offensive dominance helped guide Michigan to the Big 10 championship in 2023 and earned him a spot on the NCAA’s West Region First All-American Team last year.
Misyul has been in New Jersey’s system much longer than Casey, going 70th overall in the 2019 draft. The Belarusian defender came over to North America just last season and is in the final year of his entry-level contract. A physical, stay-at-home talent, Misyul has no points and a -2 rating with 8 PIMs in three games for Utica so far this season. He had 14 points and a +1 rating in 44 appearances for the Comets last year.
Devils Place Adam Beckman On Waivers
The New Jersey Devils have placed forward Adam Beckman on waivers. Beckman recently returned from starting the year on the injured non-roster list, taking part in a handful of Devils practices before this waivers designation. New Jersey acquired the 23-year-old winger in a June trade with the Minnesota Wild that sent Graeme Clarke the other way.
Beckman has struggled ot find his footing at a pro level since making his AHL debut with the Iowa Wild in 2020. He recorded 39 points across his first 77 AHL games, split between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons – just enough to earn the first three NHL games of his career. But Beckman only managed one assist in those outings and would continue the cycle of promising production in the minors followed by lackluster production in the NHL through last season. Beckman has totaled 108 points across five years and 181 games in the minors, but only three points – all assists – in 23 NHL games.
It’s been a far fall for Beckman, originally the 75th-overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft after a strong year with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. He followed the draft with a dazzling 107 points in 63 WHL games in the 2019-20 season. That hot scoring continued through 27 games of the next season, propelling his juniors scoring to 196 points in 153 games. He was scouted as a swift playmaker with strong shooting and passing – capable of exploding through the neutral zone and quickly finding teammates. But his explosivity hasn’t carried over to the pro flight, and he hasn’t yet found a way to lean into the physical upside of his six-foot-two, 185-pound frame. Beckman will need to first clear waivers, but seems set to return to productivity with the Utica Comets – and hopefully bring the strong production up to the top flight when he’s called up next.
Luke Hughes, Brett Pesce Resume Skating
- The New Jersey Devils are eagerly awaiting the return of defensemen Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce to their active roster. Team reporter Amanda Stein shared that both defensemen skated with the team this morning but aren’t expected back sooner than anticipated. It’s a positive step in the right direction for both players but don’t tell New Jersey they’re supposed to be missing them. The team currently leads the Eastern Conference in points with 10 after a 5-2-0 start through their first seven games.
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Santeri Hatakka Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Out Indefinitely
The New Jersey Devils will be without one of their depth defensemen for the foreseeable future. The organization announced Santeri Hatakka underwent shoulder surgery related to an injury suffered in their September 24th preseason matchup against the Montreal Canadiens without providing a timeline for his return.
New Jersey has again been dealing with injuries on the blue line. Luke Hughes is out with a shoulder injury, and free-agent pickup Brett Pesce is out with a leg injury. Hatakka would have been the next defenseman in line to fill in, but the strong play of youngster Seamus Casey to start the year has softened the blow.
The Riihimäki, Finland native was drafted 184th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2019 NHL Draft and found his way to the East Coast in the 2023 Timo Meier trade. He’s primarily played with the Devils’ AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, but has managed 12 regular season contests with New Jersey up to this point.
The Devils organization should offer a recovery timeline for Hatakka in the coming days. This is the first major injury of his career at the professional so it will be interesting to see how he responds to a prolonged absence. He will likely start the season in Utica when fully healthy and look to expand upon his five goals and 20 points in 48 AHL games from a year ago.
Evening Notes: Bennett, Lemieux, Filmon
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period wonders if the Florida Panthers will turn their attention to signing center Sam Bennett after they locked up Carter Verhaeghe last night. Bennett is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent next July as he plays out the final year of his four-year $17.7MM contract. The 28-year-old had two goals in the Panthers season opener and is coming off three consecutive 40-plus-point seasons.
Last year, the Holland Landing, Ontario native registered 20 goals and 21 assists in 69 regular season games and was fantastic in the Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final, posting seven goals and seven assists in 19 games. Pagnotta believes that a new long-term deal for Bennett could cost Florida between $6MM and $7MM annually.
In other evening notes:
- Carolina Hurricanes forward Brendan Lemieux suffered an injury in the team’s last preseason game and will miss some time (as per Chip Alexander of Raleigh News & Observer). The 28-year-old played quite a bit in the preseason and looked like a candidate to get more playing time this season after dressing in just 32 games last year as the Hurricanes 13th forward. Now, the undisclosed injury will force him to delay the start of his season.
- The New Jersey Devils have activated forward Josh Filmon off Injured, Non-Roster and assigned him to the Utica Comets of the AHL. The 20-year-old was dealing with an upper-body injury all through training camp and appears back to health and ready to start his season. Filmon was a 2022 sixth-round pick and spent all of last season in the Western Hockey League with the Swift Current Broncos where he posted 27 goals and 40 assists in 64 games. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native will be playing his first full season of professional hockey this year but does have four games of AHL experience from 2022-23 when he registered a single goal with Utica.
Devils Brett Pesce Skates With Team, Unlikely To Play Thursday
New York Islanders forward Pierre Engvall will be reporting to the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL after he went through waivers unclaimed (as per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News). The news is hardly surprising given that failure to report could lead to contract termination and Engvall has six years and $18MM remaining on his contract.
Although he will make his full $3MM salary in the AHL, Engvall will count just $1.85MM against the Islanders salary cap while in the AHL. The 28-year-old’s play fell off a bit last season but wasn’t far off from his production in the two seasons prior. He posted 10 goals and 18 assists in 74 games last season, which was the first year of the seven-year deal he signed with the Islanders in July 2023.
In other Metropolitan Division notes:
- The Philadelphia Flyers are taking defenseman Nick Seeler’s injury day by day as the ailment is taking longer to heal than the team originally expected (as per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philly). Seeler could miss the Flyers season opener on Friday against the Canucks as he deals with numbness in his leg. The 31-year-old took a shot to the knee last Wednesday in a preseason game against the Bruins and he still doesn’t have the feeling back a week later. If Seeler is unable to play on Friday it seems likely that veteran Erik Johnson will take his place in the lineup.
- New Jersey Devils defenseman Brett Pesce skated today with the team in a regular jersey but remains unlikely to play on Thursday night (as per Devils reporter Gabriel Trevino). The 28-year-old missed the Devils first two games of the season in Prague but the team had hoped he’d be ready for October 10th. However, given the words of head coach Sheldon Keefe, it does seem like Pesce won’t be available. Keefe told the media that neither player is ready to play at this point, leaving New Jersey without one of their big summer additions for a third straight game.
Waiver Wire: 10/6/24
Today is the major day for the waiver wire as most teams in the NHL are preparing the 23-man rosters for the 2024-25 NHL season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that all players on waivers from yesterday have cleared. The following list is each player placed on waivers this afternoon as reported by PuckPedia.
Boston Bruins
F Patrick Brown
G Brandon Bussi
G Jiri Patera
D Billy Sweezey
F Jeffrey Viel
Buffalo Sabres
D Kale Clague
G James Reimer
F Lukas Rousek
Calgary Flames
G Devin Cooley
F Jakob Pelletier
F Cole Schwindt
Carolina Hurricanes
F Josiah Slavin
D Ty Smith
F Ryan Suzuki
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
F Sheldon Dries
D Justin Holl
D William Lagesson
D Brogan Rafferty
F Joe Snively
Edmonton Oilers
D Josh Brown
F Drake Caggiula
F Raphael Lavoie
G Olivier Rodrigue
Los Angeles Kings
G Pheonix Copley
F Samuel Fagemo
F Jack Studnicka
Nashville Predators
New Jersey Devils
F Shane Bowers
D Nick DeSimone
F Nolan Foote
D Colton White
New York Islanders
D Samuel Bolduc
F Pierre Engvall
F Hudson Fasching
F Liam Foudy
G Marcus Hogberg
D Grant Hutton
F Fredrik Karlstrom
G Jakub Skarek
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Pittsburgh Penguins
D Sebastian Aho
F Bokondji Imama
St. Louis Blues
D Corey Schueneman
D Tyler Tucker
Tampa Bay Lightning
F Gage Goncalves
D Steven Santini
F Jesse Ylonen
Toronto Maple Leafs
G Matt Murray
D Marshall Rifai
Utah Hockey Club
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
F Zach Aston-Reese
F Tanner Laczynski
F Jonas Rondbjerg
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets
Training Camp Cuts: 10/6/24
The NHL pre-season has ended, sparking the frantic rush for final roster cuts across the league before the regular season begins. Final rosters are due by 5 P.M. on October 7th and, as always, we’ll follow the day’s cuts below.
Last updated: 4:53 p.m.
Boston Bruins (per team announcement)
G Ryan Bischel (to AHL Providence)
F Patrick Brown (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
G Brandon Bussi (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
D Michael Callahan (to AHL Providence)
F Riley Duran (to AHL Providence)
D Jackson Edward (to AHL Providence)
F Brett Harrison (to AHL Providence)
G Kasimir Kaskisuo (to AHL Providence)
F Fabian Lysell (to AHL Providence)
F Georgii Merkulov (to AHL Providence)
F Jaxon Nelson (to AHL Providence)
G Jiri Patera (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
D Billy Sweezey (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
F Jeffrey Viel (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team announcement)
F Skyler Brind’Amour (to AHL Chicago)
D Domenick Fensore (to AHL Chicago)
F Sam Gagner (released from PTO)
F Rocco Grimaldi (released from PTO)
F Noel Gunler (to AHL Chicago)
D Aleksi Heimosalmi (to AHL Chicago)
D Anttoni Honka (to NL HC Ajoie)
F Juha Jaaska (to AHL Chicago)
G Ruslan Khazheyev (to AHL Chicago)
D Charles-Alexis Legault (to AHL Chicago)
G Spencer Martin (to AHL Chicago)
D Scott Morrow (to AHL Chicago)
F Bradly Nadeau (to AHL Chicago)
G Yaniv Perets (to AHL Chicago)
F Justin Robidas (to AHL Chicago)
D Ronan Seeley (to AHL Chicago)
F Josiah Slavin (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
D Ty Smith (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Felix Unger Sorum (to AHL Chicago)
F Ryan Suzuki (to AHL Chicago, pending waivers)
F Gleb Trikozov (to AHL Chicago)
Chicago Blackhawks (per CHGO Blackhawks)
F Brandon Baddock (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
G Drew Commesso (to AHL Rockford)
D Louis Crevier (to AHL Rockford)
F Colton Dach (to AHL Rockford)
D Ethan Del Mastro (to AHL Rockford)
F Cole Guttman (to AHL Rockford)
D Kevin Korchinski (to AHL Rockford)
F Frank Nazar (to AHL Rockford)
F Zach Sanford (to AHL Rockford)
F Samuel Savoie (to AHL Rockford)
F Landon Slaggert (to AHL Rockford)
D Austin Strand (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team announcement)
D Denton Mateychuk (to AHL Cleveland)
Dallas Stars (per team announcement)
D Kyle Capobianco (to AHL Texas)
G Magnus Hellberg (to AHL Texas)
F Cameron Hughes (to AHL Texas)
F Kole Lind (to AHL Texas)
D Alexander Petrovic (to AHL Texas)
F Mathias Emilio Pettersen (to AHL Texas)
Detroit Red Wings (per team announcement)
F Michael Brandsegg-Nygård (to SHL Skellefteå AIK)
G Sebastian Cossa (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Nate Danielson (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Tory Dello (to AHL Grand Rapids)
G Carter Gylander (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Cross Hanas (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Marco Kasper (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Carter Mazur (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Elmer Söderblom (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Antti Tuomisto (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Eemil Viro (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D William Wallinder (to AHL Grand Rapids)
Edmonton Oilers (per team announcement)
D Josh Brown (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F Drake Caggiula (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F Raphael Lavoie (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F Noah Philp (to AHL Bakersfield)
G Olivier Rodrigue (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
Florida Panthers (per team announcement)
D Matt Kiersted (to AHL Charlotte)
F William Lockwood (to AHL Charlotte)
Los Angeles Kings (per team announcement)
G Pheonix Copley (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Samuel Fagemo (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Andre Lee (to AHL Ontario)
F Jack Studnicka (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
New Jersey Devils (per team announcement)
F Shane Bowers (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
G Nico Daws (to AHL Utica)
D Nick DeSimone (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
F Nolan Foote (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
D Colton White (to AHL Utica, pending waivers)
New York Rangers (per team announcement)
D Connor Mackey (to AHL Hartford)
San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)
D Jérémie Bucheler (to AHL San Jose)
F Nolan Burke (to AHL San Jose)
F Colin White (to AHL San Jose)
D Jimmy Schuldt (to AHL San Jose)
Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)
F John Hayden (to AHL Coachella Valley)
D Josh Mahura (to AHL Coachella Valley)
St. Louis Blues (per team announcement)
F Zach Dean (to AHL Springfield)
F Dalibor Dvorsky (to AHL Springfield)
F Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (to AHL Springfield)
F Mathias Laferriere (to AHL Springfield)
F Hugh McGing (to AHL Springfield)
F Dylan Peterson (to AHL Springfield)
D Samuel Johannesson (to AHL Springfield)
D Hunter Skinner (to AHL Springfield)
G Vadim Zherenko (to AHL Springfield)
Tampa Bay Lightning (per Eduardo A. Encica of the Tampa Bay Times)
F Dylan Duke (to AHL Syracuse)
F Gage Goncalves (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
F Maxim Groshev (to AHL Syracuse)
F Jesse Ylonen (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
F Gabriel Szturc (to AHL Syracuse)
D Steven Santini (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
D Matt Tomkins (to AHL Syracuse)
D Declan Carlile (to AHL Syracuse)
F Ethan Gauthier (to QMJHL Drummondville)
East Notes: Mateychuk, Labanc, Meneghin
In their lone roster cut of the morning, the Columbus Blue Jackets have loaned top prospect Denton Mateychuk to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Their camp roster now sits at 28 players. Mateychuk has been a standout of Columbus’ training camp, standing as the final defenseman on the roster with no NHL experience until this cut. He led the Moose Jaw Warriors to a WHL Championship last year, totaling 105 points across just 72 games. Eight defenders remain on Columbus’ roster, including top youngster David Jiricek and recent trade acquisition Jordan Harris.
Mateychuk has been a top prospect since he was young, making the jump to juniors at just 16. He earned a full-time WHL role in 2021-22 and scored 64 points in 65 games as a rookie. That point-per-game scoring carried through, ultimately earning Mateychuk 215 points in 203 career games in Moose Jaw. He showed prowess in all three zones, even serving as the team’s captain in his final two years. While his professional career will start in the minors, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Mateychuk receive an NHL look soon.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets recently signed preseason-star Kevin Labanc off of his professional try-out with the New Jersey Devils, though that wasn’t because of any lack of effort on New Jersey’s part. The Devils reportedly offered Labanc the same contract he signed in Columbus, but would have needed to assign him to the AHL before guaranteeing him an everyday role, shares James Nichols of NJ Hockey Now. Labanc opted for the open role in Columbus, and will now join one of the league’s youngest rosters. He scored a six goals and seven points in four preseason games, leading the league in the former stat.
- Tampa Bay Lightning goalie prospect Harrison Meneghin has been traded in the WHL, moving from the Lethbridge Hurricanes to the Medicine Hat Tigers. Medicine Hat has been searching for a starting goaltender since the start of the season, and now settle on Meneghin, who managed a .919 save percentage in 53 games with Lethbridge last season. That was enough to earn a seventh-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft. Meneghin will now look to continue his strong play into a new setting, now backing up top prospects like Gavin McKenna, Cayden Lindstrom, Andrew Basha, and Veeti Vaisanen.