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Vegas Golden Knights At The World Juniors

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Even though the Vegas Golden Knights don’t start playing until 2017-18, doesn’t mean they haven’t already started to scout the young talent throughout the game. With the World Junior Championships underway in Toronto, the team has sent several scouts to the tournament to watch the collection of under-20 talent. While some are still draft-eligible, and some are under contract with teams around the league, it’s a wonderful opportunity to scout the best of the best all at once.  Dan Marrazza of NHL.com caught up with the Golden Knights’ Assistant Director of Player Personnel Bob Lowes to get his take on the tournament.

It isn’t just the draft eligible players. It’s other team’s drafts, guys that are already picked. I think it’s a really good tournament for our staff to see both of those groups of players, and to get a good handle on it going forward for our organization.

While the team will have a chance in the draft lottery this summer (equal to that of the third worst team in the league), something that is often ofterlooked is that they’ll also have the third pick in each subsequent round regardless of where they fall in the lottery. That gives them some strong picks even as the rounds go later, when the lesser-known teams at the tournament will have talent available. On Denmark, who has shocked the world by defeating both the Czech Republic and last year’s winner Finland:

Obviously, they’re having some success, so it makes you take notice a little bit more. It makes you look at a guy that’s maybe slipped through the draft, if he’s draft eligible, and saying: ’this kid’s doing it on the world stage against some of the best competition in the world.’

Lowes points out that there have been breakout stars at the tournament before, referencing Nino Niederreiter of Switzerland and Oliver Bjorkstrand of Denmark as players who greatly improved their draft stock at the tournament. While obviously the top names of the tournament are often well scouted prior, or even already drafted, it’s a big deal to see under-the-radar guys on this big of a stage. As Lowes puts it:

Performance here goes into a player’s overall profile. You wouldn’t just base it on this tournament, but it is an important part of the development of a player. It’s just a really good snapshot of the possible potential of that player.

The preliminary round ends today with the quarter-finals starting on Monday. Before they do though, Finland will need to fight for it’s tournament life in the relegation round on Monday morning against Latvia.

Western Notes: Jost, Dano, Coyotes

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When the Colorado Avalanche picked Tyson Jost 10th overall this year out of Penticton, they knew he was headed to the NCAA. After all, Jost played in the BCHL, an NCAA breeding ground because they retain eligibility unlike the CHL. But now it sounds like it will be one-and-done for Jost at the University of North Dakota.

Mike Chambers of the Denver Post writes in his latest column that Jost will sign after his freshman season concludes and may even make his NHL debut this season. The 18-year old center has 18 points in 17 games for the Fighting Hawks, and is starring for Canada at the World Juniors. For a team that is starved for something positive this year, the development of Jost is something to look forward to. He will likely slot in full time next season with the club, especially if one of their other young forwards is moved out between now and then.

  • After head coach Paul Maurice told us yesterday that Marko Dano would be out at least a few weeks, he clarified the diagnoses today. Dano will miss eight weeks with his lower-body injury, keeping him out until just before the trade deadline. The former first-round pick (by Columbus in 2013) has 10 points in 28 games this year, a solid pace for the 22-year old. He’ll have another setback now though as he misses more time. Jets fans will have to wait jut a little bit longer to see his potential come to fruition.
  • The Arizona Coyotes will watch two of their prized prospects battle it out today in the Canada-USA World Junior game. Clayton Keller and Dylan Strome each lead their respective teams in scoring at the tournament, and will be big parts of the Coyotes in the future. While Strome got a taste of the NHL this season before heading back to Erie in the OHL, Keller has been starring as a freshman at Boston University all year. 15 points in his first 10 games in the NCAA it won’t be long until he jumps to the AHL. Both top-10 picks, the Coyotes have a bright future in this tournament.

Snapshots: Pronger, Liljegren, Leafs Alumni

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The St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks will play in the Winter Classic this Monday, meaning the weekend is designed around events like the Alumni game. With so many greats (including Wayne Gretzky and Martin Brodeur) suiting up for the Blues, former captain Chris Pronger took over their Twitter page to answer some fan questions.

On best and worst players to play against:

Worst player to play against was always the short ones. Favorite was Keith Tkachuk – I always owned him.

Who had the hardest check in the league:

Pound-for-pound, Dallas Drake probably hit the hardest. Scott Stevens in open ice. Rob Blake with his butt checks.

There are a dozen other amusing answers, as Pronger signed off each tweet with #loveforluca, a campaign that will donate $200 for every goal the Blues score towards a 7-year old’s battle with leukemia. It also has a GoFundMe page that is looking to raise $100,000 for the child’s medical expenses.

  • According to Swedish newspaper Kvallsposten, Timothy Liljegren, the expected #2 overall pick in this summer’s draft, may soon be on the move to a new team. After missing time with an illness recently, the paper reports that he didn’t play at all yesterday against Karlskrona. The rumored landing spot is Timra, a team in the lower level Allsvenskan. Basically, this would be like a youngster on a bad NHL team going to the AHL to try and win a Calder Cup. Liljegren would get more icetime and responsibility for Timra.
  • In Toronto, the Maple Leafs took to the ice to practice at BMO Field today in preparation for their Centennial Classic tomorrow against the Red Wings. When they got back into the dressing room, they were shocked to find out that they’d be sharing it with the alumni roster for today’s game. With Mitch Marner seated beside Doug Gilmour, Auston Matthews beside Wendel Clark and Morgan Rielly sidled up beside Borje Salming, it was a symbolic passing of the torch from the old legends to the new. Marner, a Toronto native, couldn’t contain his excitement, and took a stick around the room for an autograph session. The alumni game starts at 11am.

Snapshots: Bickell, Alumni, Finland

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Bryan Bickell opened up to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun Times and other reporters tonight for the first time since his announcement that he has multiple sclerosis, a disease that attacks the nervous system and can cause a wide array of debilitating symptoms. For anyone, the diagnosis would be life-shattering, but for Bickell it came at least as an explanation.

Before I was, like, frustrated in my game and things. But you’re relieved, knowing how I was feeling. Something wasn’t right. … The circumstances kind of suck, but to have it known — knowing you can move on is the biggest thing.

Bickell is determined to get back to the NHL, despite having to undergo intravenous drug treatments monthly. He’s obviously no where near returning, but is taking it one step at a time.

It’s going to take steps. It’s not a sprint, it’s going to be a marathon, and it’s going to take some time to get things right, ideally, to get me back on the ice. That’s what I’m hoping for. … It could be a month, it could be a couple months to get back on the ice.

We wish Bickell well on his recovery, and hope he makes it back to the NHL sooner than later. Here are some other notes from around the league:

  • Outdoor games are becoming something of a regularity in the hockey world, with the Maple Leafs and Red Wings set to square off this Sunday in Toronto, and the World Juniors announcing that Canada and the USA will play outside at next year’s tournament in Buffalo. The AHL is getting in on the action, as the Ontario Reign (the Kings’ affiliate) and the Bakersfield Condors (Oilers) will play an outdoor game on January 7th. The teams will have an alumni game the day before, featuring a long list of NHL greats. Wayne Gretzky, Kevin Lowe, Luc Robitaille, Rob Blake and even Bernie Nicholls will play in the event, making it one not to miss if you live in the San Joaquin Valley.
  • Amazingly, Team Finland will have to play in the relegation round at this year’s World Junior Championships, despite winning the tournament last year. It’s the first time in the history of the even that a defending champion will have to fight to stay in the event. With the Swiss team beating Denmark today in a shootout, Finland was guaranteed a last place finish in their group. In a surprising move, the team has fired head coach  Jukka Rautakorpi and his three assistants mid-tournament. Jussi Ahokas has taken over the coaching duties.

Garth Snow Explains Why Jaroslav Halak Was Waived

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Earlier today the New York Islanders finally did what many have expected for a few weeks now. The struggling Jaroslav Halak, who has been in a three-way goalie battle for more than a year, was placed on waivers and will likely be sent to the AHL.

General Manager Garth Snow explained why:

We want to give Thomas [Greiss] and JF [Berube] an opportunity to play, get ice time. Obviously get a chance to get some wins that we desperately need.

You’re looking for ways to help the team any way that you can, that may be to get a boost of confidence, build some momentum and ultimately win hockey games.

Halak, who is still only 31 years old, has played outstanding at times throughout his career. Getting Vezina trophy votes in two different seasons before coming to New York, the netminder set a franchise record with 38 wins in his first season with the team.

If Halak does clear and is sent to the minors, Snow expects big things:

Coming to the rink and being the hardest worker, having a great attitude, that’s something that doesn’t matter who you are and what position you play and what role you have in the organization, that’s what we expect out of everyone in this organization. We expect nothing less form Jaro in that regard.

Obviously Halak isn’t done at his relatively young age, and should make his way back to the NHL at some point – perhaps even this year. He’s also an intriguing candidate for some teams around the league who lack stability in net. Calgary, Los Angeles and Dallas among others have uncertainty in goal, and though Halak wouldn’t be a clear upgrade on paper the way he’s played this season, perhaps just a change of scenery would be enough to spark him.

The problem, is that Halak carries a $4.5MM cap hit this year and next, while being owed even more actual salary due to the back-loaded nature of his deal. Even though the Islanders are clearly willing to move on, they’d likely have to eat some of that money or kick in a prospect. Not an easy pill to swallow for a team looking to work it’s way back into playoff picture next year, if not sooner.

For Berube in particular, the move to waive Halak means more time in net. After playing just four games so far this season, Snow made it clear he’ll play more.

[After the break] it becomes a condensed schedule again and you need more than one goalie to carry the mail. It’s not the NHL of old when a goalie could play 70, 75 games, there are just too many games in a short span of time.

Edmonton Oilers Recall Jordan Oesterle, Assign Mark Fayne To AHL

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After the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 last night to improve their record to 4-1 in their last five games, the team has recalled Jordan Oesterle from the AHL Bakersfield Condors. In addition, the team has activated Mark Fayne from injured reserve and assigned him to the minor league team.

According to Mark Spector of Sportsnet, the team is claiming that Andrej Sekera is sick and may not be available for Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. Sekera took a shot off his foot in his final shift on December 23rd and apparently hasn’t been seen around the team since – including missing the Kings game last night.

If Sekera is out for any length of time the Oilers defense will take a big hit, as the veteran blueliner has been logging close to 22 minutes a night for the club. He was also anointed as the team’s No. 1 defender just a few days ago by head coach Todd McLellan.

Oesterle hasn’t played with the NHL club this year but has gotten into 23 games over the past two years. An undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan University, the 24-year old has turned into an excellent puck moving defenseman in the minors. With eight points in fourteen games this season, he’s continued his strong play and deserves another chance in the NHL.

Fayne on the other hand has fought injury all season, playing in just four games thus far. Gone are the days of him logging big minutes for this team now that they’ve improved the right side immensely. He’ll head down to Bakersfield to try to get back into game shape and be ready for the next injury. A veteran of almost 400 career games and owner of a $3.625MM cap hit this season (and next), it’s surely not the last we’ve seen of him in the NHL.

Extension Candidates: 2017 Restricted Free Agents

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After Artemi Panarin signed a two-year extension earlier today that will pay him $6MM per season and take him right up to unrestricted free agency, the RFA pool for this summer got a little bit smaller. Other extensions that have already been signed include Aaron Ekblad (Eight years, $60MM), Jake Allen (Four years, $17.4MM) and Victor Hedman (Eight years, $63MM).

Even though these big names are already locked up long-term, there are a ton of other restricted free agents that will be negotiating extensions between now and July 1st. Here are a few big names who become RFAs this summer.

Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton: The former third-overall pick who once scored 192 points in 29 German junior-league games, has broken out this season with 31 points in 36 games. Already coming off a 50 point season, this 70 point pace puts him in elite territory up front.  Only 21 years old, the Oilers will be looking to lock him up long-term to ride shotgun with Connor McDavid well into their peak years.

Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal: Another third-overall pick who put up a 50+ point season a year ago, Galchenyuk was off to a brilliant start before going down with injury early this month. Because he’ll be out for another month at least, Galchenyuk won’t rush into a contract that may not be representative of his development. This one might head into the summer, but if he comes back strong perhaps the two sides can come together before what looks like a long playoff run.

David Pastrnak, Boston: Not quite the same situation faces Pastrnak, who before this year showed promise but hadn’t played a full season in the NHL. With 26 points already he’s about to set his career-high and has a chance at a 40-goal season.  Boston has a lot of money already tied up long-term in their forward group, with David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, David Backes and Brad Marchand all under contract through at least 2020-21. They may not be able to afford buying out UFA years this summer, meaning a one or two year pact is more likely.

New Jersey Devils Place Vernon Fiddler On IR

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After suffering a lower-body injury on Tuesday night against Pittsburgh, the New Jersey Devils have placed Vernon Fiddler on injured reserve. The team has recalled Luke Gazdic from Albany to replace him on the roster.

Earlier today it was reported that Fiddler will miss 3-4 weeks.  That would keep him out of at least 11 games for the Devils, who at 13-15-7 are already in trouble this season. The team is already 11 points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the last wildcard spot, and find themselves last in the conference. For a team that traded for Taylor Hall and signed several free agents (including Fiddler) the season has been a massive disappointment.

The 36-year old Fiddler has been a solid contributor throughout his long career, scoring at least 20 points in eight of his ten full seasons. He’s taken a step back this year though, with only three points through 35 games. His presence is mostly felt on the penalty kill and in the faceoff dot, where he’s winning a career-high 55.3% of his draws.

Gazdic has played in four games for New Jersey this season and 140 in his NHL career. The hulking winger will add some toughness to the fourth line if he gets into the lineup. Since Hall will also miss Thursday’s game, he probably will.

Two Players Sent To AHL As Roster Freeze Ends

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With the NHL’s holiday roster freeze over, Washington and Toronto made a pair of minor transactions on Wednesday morning.

The Capitals sent rookie Zachary Sanford back to Hershey of the AHL, the Bears announced this morning. Sanford has played for both the Bears and Capitals this season, with one assist in 20 NHL games and four goals and seven points in just six AHL games. The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan isn’t surprised by the move, considering Sanford had been a healthy scratch for three of the past four games after being recalled on December 17.

Meanwhile the Toronto Maple Leafs’ goaltending carousel continues, as the team demoted backup goaltender Jhonas Enroth to the AHL. The move has not been announced by the team as of this being written, but the move is already up on the AHL’s official transaction page and Enroth is listed on the Marlies roster. This comes one day after the Leafs recalled a trio of players, including goaltender Antoine Bibeau. Enroth was expected to be a solid backup for new starter Frederik Andersen, but has struggled mightily with no victories in six appearances and a 0.872 SV%. Because he makes under $950K, ($750K), he will not count against the Maple Leafs’ salary cap.

Enroth joins Karri Ramo, Garret Sparks, and Jeff Glass as goaltenders on the Marlies’ roster. Enroth and Sparks are under contract with the NHL club, Ramo is with the team on a tryout basis, and Glass is on an AHL-only deal after spending the past seven years in the KHL.

Central Division Snapshots: Haula, Parise, Varlamov

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The Minnesota Wild have been on quite the run recently winning 10 in a row and earning points in all 11 games they’ve played in the month of December. They put that streak on the line tonight when the Wild travel to Nashville to play the Predators. But as Mike Russo of the Star Tribune reports, boosting Minnesota’s chances to extend their streak is the return of forwards Erik Haula, who missed three games with a hip injury, and Zach Parise, who was out for two games with strep throat.

Strep throat has become an all too common occurrence for Parise as he’s come down with the condition four times since the World Cup tournament. Parise considered having his tonsils removed to prevent an additional recurrence but was told by doctors that the surgery would “sideline him for a bit,” as Russo notes. The repeated illnesses have likely contributed to a lackluster start to the season as Parise has registered just five goals in 24 contests, though he seemed to be heating up with four points in the five games prior to coming out of the lineup.

Haula’s return is also a welcome one for the Wild. Minnesota bench boss Bruce Boudreau is glad to be able to slot the 25-year-old back into his usual third-line pivot role.

“Centers a very difficult position up front,” Boudreau said. “[Haula’s] probably going to be a little rusty. Grao played pretty good for us, and now he’s the fourth-line center, so it gives you more things to do if people aren’t going.”

Haula has contributed five goals and 10 points in 23 games while averaging 14:13 of ice time per game. He set career highs in goals and assists last season with 14 and 20 respectively while leading the club in plus-minus with a +21 rating.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  • Semyon Varlamov’s troublesome groin is once again keeping the Avalanche’s starting goalie sidelined, according to Terry Frei of The Denver Post. Frei notes that this will be the third stretch of games Varlamov has missed due to the groin and also a wrist ailment. Calvin Pickard, who earned the win in Colorado’s 2 – 1 victory over Chicago Friday night, will be between the pipes against Calgary tonight and Jeremy Smith was recalled from San Antonio to serve as the backup. Smith, 27, has never appeared in an NHL game but has spent eight seasons in the minors, primarily in the AHL, in the Nashville, Boston, Minnesota and now the Colorado organizations. Spencer Martin was up with the team last week but was left in the AHL in order to get some game action.

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