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Poll: Who Will Be The NHL’s Next Captain?

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August is finally here, marking the time of year when teams reconvene at their home rink and begin hardy planning for the upcoming season. That step will come with extra work for the six teams around the league who don’t currently have a captain.

Many of these teams, including Seattle, Anaheim, and Utah, have gone years without a captain – instead opting to disseminate responsibilities among multiple assistant captains. All three teams are amidst staunch rebuilds – with Utah even mapping out relocation – and are likely waiting for their top prospects to take a few more steps before earning the role. The trio of Matthew Beniers, Leo Carlsson, and Logan Cooley seem prime for that ascension with their respective teams, though they each have multiple challengers lining up behind them. The Buffalo Sabres are in a similar grouping, as they transition from a veteran-laden lineup to one of the league’s youngest rosters.

The Chicago Blackhawks also fall into the aforementioned discussion – not carrying a captain since legendary centerman Jonathan Toews ended his career in 2022. Toews leaves massive shoes as Chicago’s leader, after co-heading three Stanley Cup wins alongside winger Patrick Kane. Naming a successor will formally carry Chicago into a new era – one without many of the faces that came to define Chicago hockey in the 2010s. Teenage phenom Connor Bedard seems like a great option to lead that transition, after netting 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games last season – the most of any rookie Blackhawk since Artemi Panarin in 2016, and Kane before him. But Bedard is still young and was limited to a partial season last year by a jaw injury. Those factors could hold him back from Chicago’s prestigious ’C’. If that is the case, it doesn’t seem any of the team’s veteran leaders, including Nick Foligno and Seth Jones, would inspire Chicago to name a captain too early.

And while Chicago’s next captain will lead the team through new scenery, it’s the Tampa Bay vacancy that headlines the off-season. The Lightning now sit without a captain for the first time since 2002, after franchise icon Steven Stamkos chose to sign with the Nashville Predators in his first trip to unrestricted free agency. Stamkos wore the ’C’ for the last 10 years and established himself as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer in that span, leading Tampa Bay to two Stanley Cups and setting the franchise’s all-time records in both goals and points scored. Like in Chicago, the Lightning will be entering a new era with their next captain – though they’re much more prepared for the vacancy than their counterparts. While forwards Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point could both serve as strong replacements, it’s defenseman Victor Hedman that offers the same rugged veteran leadership brought by Stamkos. Hedman recently signed a four-year extension in Tampa, taking him through his age-37 season and, potentially, the end of his career. He’s already appeared in 1,052 games with Tampa Bay – the most of any Lightning other than Stamkos – and holds the franchise records in all three scoring stats, among defenders. Transitioning from Stamkos to Hedman should prove more of a light handoff than a total change in power, which could be enough to sway a Lightning franchise that hasn’t gone longer than one year without a captain since naming Paul Ysebaert as their inaugural ’C’.

Mapping out when captain announcements will come is often a fool’s bet, but the candidates to earn the NHL’s next ’C’ seem to be becoming clearer. Who will it be? Will Tampa jump to another veteran, will Chicago move into their next step, or will an oft-captain-less team commit to their young guard? Let us know by voting in the poll below and discussing in the comments.

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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.

Five Key Stories: 7/29/24 – 8/4/24

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With the final arbitration hearings approaching early in the week, we saw a couple of important settlements while a pair of key blueliners inked long-term contract extensions.  Those are among the headlines in our key stories.

Second Bridge For Necas: Unable to find a suitable trade (or at least a team he was willing to sign long-term with), Martin Necas and the Hurricanes ultimately settled on a two-year, $13MM contract to avoid salary arbitration.  The deal does not contain any trade protection (he’s too young to be eligible) and walks him right to UFA eligibility in 2026.  The 25-year-old wasn’t quite able to match his 2022-23 output when he had a career-best 71 points but he still turned in a solid showing last season with 24 goals and 29 assists in 77 games.  It’s believed that Necas is looking to play a more prominent role, we’ll find out next season if Carolina is willing to play him higher up the lineup or if he’ll remain a fixture on the second line.

Lindgren Avoids Arbitration: Rather than get to a hearing, the Rangers and defenseman Ryan Lindgren agreed on a one-year, $4.5MM contract.  The deal represents a fair-sized raise on his previous $3MM AAV and $3.6MM qualifying offer.  Lindgren played in 76 games last season, picking up three goals and 14 assists while surpassing 100 blocks and hits in 19:21 per night.  He will still have one year of arbitration eligibility remaining next summer but this time, he’ll be owed a $4.5MM qualifying offer.

Eight For Faber: Following a stellar rookie year, the Wild wasted little time locking up defenseman Brock Faber, signing him to an eight-year, $68MM contract extension that will run through the 2032-33 season.  The 21-year-old joined Minnesota for a handful of games in 2023 but last season was his first full professional campaign.  Faber quickly became their top blueliner, putting up 47 points while playing in all 82 games, averaging nearly 25 minutes a night in the process which helped earn him a spot on the All-Rookie team and a second-place finish in Calder Trophy voting.  While there is some risk in signing a player with less than 100 games of NHL experience (including playoffs) to that type of contract, Faber’s cost could have gone even higher next summer if he had a similar showing in 2024-25.

Calling It A Career: Veteran forward Eric Staal has decided to retire, signing a one-day contract with the Hurricanes before officially calling it a career.  The 39-year-old last played in the 2022-23 campaign as a regular fourth line center with Florida, capping an impressive 18-year career.  All told, Staal picked up 455 goals and 608 assists in 1,365 games with six different organizations with a dozen of those coming with Carolina where he holds the bulk of the team’s records post-relocation from Hartford.  The Hurricanes will retire Staal’s #12 at some point this coming season.

Canadiens Sign Three Blueliners: The Canadiens were busy dealing with several of their young rearguards.  First, they re-signed their two remaining restricted free agents to bridge contracts.  Arber Xhekaj received a two-year, $2.6MM deal while Justin Barron re-upped for two years and $2.3MM in total.  Both players will be restricted free agents again in 2026, this time with arbitration eligibility.  Then, Montreal inked Kaiden Guhle to a six-year, $33.3MM extension that begins in 2025-26.  The 22-year-old has logged big minutes in his first two seasons, establishing himself as a long-term piece of their blueline puzzle as they look to try to emerge from their rebuild in the coming seasons.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Profile: Kevin Shattenkirk

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The NHL is dab in the middle of the dog days of summer. Free agency has ground to a halt as many names around the NHL get in brief vacations or an early jump on their training. But the open market still offers a long list of long-time NHL veterans, still capable of filling depth roles. The most valuable among them might be right-shot defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, following a stout performance on the Boston Bruins’ third pairing, and second power-play unit, last season.

Shattenkirk, 35, has made no indication that he’s considering retirement – recently training alongside Trevor Zegras and Matt Rempe in preparation for the 2024 Shoulder Check Charity game. There’s no reason for Shattenkirk to slow down either, after seamlessly transitioning from being one of the Anaheim Ducks’ top defenders to a role on Boston’s fringe. He lost nearly four minutes of average ice time in the move, appearing in just 15:47 through 61 games in Boston this year. But his production held strong, with Shattenkirk managing six goals and 24 points, just three shy of his 2022-23 totals. 11 of those points came on Boston’s power-play, where Shattenkirk served as the blue-line’s second-string option behind Charlie McAvoy.

The year in Boston showed that Shattenkirk still has plenty to give, even if his age defaults him to a depth role. But he’s capable of much more, playing upwards of 20 minutes a night as recently as two seasons ago in Anaheim. The 2021 and 2022 Ducks defenses didn’t do much to illicit praise – with the latter lineup setting an NHL record for most shots against per game. But Shattenkirk stood as the rare positive, ranking second on Anaheim’s defense in scoring in all three seasons with the team – and even posting the third-best xGA/60 (expected goals-against per-60) of any Ducks defenders to play a full season, behind Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson, per Evolving-Hockey. His relative prowess earned Shattenkirk plenty of ice time when the Ducks were in need, and he’d ultimately total 77 points in 212 games while averaging 20:37 in ice time.

Shattenkirk continues to shine as an adaptable, jack-of-all-trades defenseman – attributes built up over his impressive 14-year career in the NHL. He was drafted 14th overall in 2007, getting selected out of the U.S. NTDP by the Colorado Avalanche. He’d turn pro after three years at Boston University, making his NHL debut in 2010 and proceeding to post an impressive 26 points in his first 46 games. But Colorado couldn’t decline a chance to acquire 2006 first-overall selection Erik Johnson as that year’s trade deadline neared, ultimately sending Shattenkirk, Chris Stewart, and a second-round pick for Johnson, Jay McClement, and a first-round pick.

That trade sparked Shattenkirk’s illustrious career in St. Louis, where he played second fiddle to eventual team captain Alex Pietrangelo for seven years. It wasn’t an easy role to settle into, even despite Shattenkirk’s hot start in the NHL, as opponents quickly learn to shut down his flashy puck skills. Rather than trying to will his way to another skill level, Shattenkirk opted to build up his game off the puck, adding considerable size, grit, and defensive zone impact under the guidance of long-time Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock.

It’s those gritty intangibles that are now keeping Shattenkirk relevant, giving him the ability to play both sides of the red lines diligently while the quick-thinking offense that earned him draft acclaim keeps him on the power-play. His cap hit has matched his dwindling scoring, with Shattenkirk’s deal in Boston totaling just $1MM. That will likely hold him to a sub-$1MM price tag on his next deal, though that could prove lucrative value for any team needing to round out their defense corps. Even at 35, Shattenkirk is still bringing diligent two-way play, special teams upside, and predictable scoring – all certainly worth buying for cheap on the open market. If NHL teams agree, Shattenkirk will enter the 2024-25 season chasing career milestones – currently sat 16 points away from 500 and 48 games away from 1,000.

Kings’ Defensive Success Sits With High-Scoring Prospects

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The Los Angeles Kings will be entering the 2024-25 season with a glaring absence on defense after Matt Roy opted to sign with the Washington Capitals. Roy was a pillar of the Kings’ lineup, averaging 20 minutes a night over the last three seasons and serving as the consistent, well-rounded impact that allowed riskier players like Drew Doughty to thrive. But despite losing a paramount right-handed defender, Los Angeles has yet to make any notable blue-line additions – save for a surprisingly expensive, four-year deal for left-shot Joel Edmundson.  They’re now left with just $1.4MM in remaining cap space, leaving the job of filling Roy’s role up to top young Kings Jordan Spence and Brandt Clarke.

Spence is the more seasoned of the two, having appeared in 101 NHL games over the last three seasons. He broke out in a major way during his first professional season in 2021-22, earning an NHL call-up after posting 42 points through his first 46 AHL games. The scoring translated to the top level, with Spence posting eight points through his first 24 NHL games – the fifth-highest point-per-game scoring of any Kings defender that season. He settled in for a full AHL season in the following year, playing in six NHL games and scoring just one point, though Spence did post an impressive 45 points in 56 AHL games. That production was, again, enough to earn him a consistent NHL role this season – something he managed to good effect, netting 24 points in 71 games despite averaging just 14:26 in ice time.

Meanwhile, Clarke stands as Los Angeles’ unrivaled top prospect and looked stellar in his first professional season this year. He fought for the scoring lead on the AHL’s Ontario Reign for much of the year, ultimately recording 46 points in 50 games – the highest scoring rate of an AHL rookie defender since Jack Rathbone in 2020-21, and Justin Schultz in 2012-13 before him. While Rathbone and Schultz have each seen their scoring stall at the NHL level, Clarke seems to be poised to buck the trend after netting six points in his first 16 games with the Kings. Even more exciting – Clarke stood up to a variety of roles in his first NHL stint, playing as little as seven minutes, or as much as 18 minutes, on any given night.

Both Spence and Clarke have fought their way towards more-and-more opportunity in the Kings organization on the back of strong offense, but also carry reasons to hesitate before they’re thrust into the spotlight. Spence has looked admittedly lanky and easy to knock around at times, shying him away from driving too deep into either zone. Clarke shares that hesitancy, as someone still finding his pro footing, and has also yet to show the breakaway speed of a top NHL offensive-defenseman. But the pair still offers tantalizing scoring upside for a Kings defense that’s only supported one 50-point defender since 2000 – Doughty, who’s achieved the feat five times.

Roy was never much of a scorer, even in top minutes, with a career-high of just 26 points. His departure, juxtaposed by the scoring upside of former top-10 pick Clarke, and point-per-game minor leaguer Spence, matched with the defensive safety net of Gavrikov, could be enough to finally give the Kings another high-scoring defender. But one of the two top young defenders will need to take a major step forward if they want to embrace the lofty, top-four vacancy in the L.A. lineup.

Hall Of Fame Executive Murray Costello Passes Away

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Former Hockey Canada president Murray Costello has passed away at the age of 90. Costello was a pillar of Canadian hockey, with an executive career spanning over 50 years. Much of that was spent in decision-making roles with Hockey Canada and the IIHF, where Costello played a pivotal role in the growth of both junior and women’s hockey internationally. He earned induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005 – the only builder inducted in a year that also enshrined Cam Neely and Valeri Kharlamov.

Costello’s career began with the 1953-54 Chicago Blackhawks, who signed him from a St. Michael’s Major team that featured many future professionals, including long-time NHL goalie and coach Ed Chadwick. Costello scored five points in 40 games during his rookie season, pushing the Blackhawks to trade him to the Boston Bruins. But Costello couldn’t find his groove in New England either, leading to a trade to the Detroit Red Wings in 1956 and a move away from the NHL entirely in 1957. He concluded his career with 32 points and 54 penalty minutes in 162 games.

Costello would go on to support some minor professional teams and junior hockey programs in Seattle. But he’d ultimately work his way back to Canada, assuming the role of president of Hockey Canada in 1979. The role brought major oversight of Canada’s national programs, which allowed Costello to form Canada’s first national U21 team in 1982 and set up the first IIHF Women’s World Championship in 1990. He also championed the merger of CAHA and Hockey Canada in 1994, bringing together amateur and junior hockey across Canada. Costello moved to a council role with the IIHF in 1998, where he stayed until his retirement in 2012.

The strides of junior and women’s hockey in the years since sit largely on Costello’s innovations. Fellow Hall-of-Famer Angela James emphasized that point to the CBC’s Emma Weller, saying, “You don’t always see who the people are that are advocating for your sport, but I know that Murray Costello was one of them.” James added that Murray’s support of the 1990 Women’s Worlds – where she joined Team Canada in winning an inaugural gold medal – was ample show of that support.

Costello’s career is marked by countless accolades, including additions into the IIHF Hall of Fame, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, and ’Order of Hockey in Canada’. It stands as a true legacy, built on a passion for expanding opportunity to the game. PHR sends our condolences to Costello’s family and friends.

Five Key Stories: 7/22/24 – 7/28/24

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We’re now in the arbitration period which resulted in several players inking deals to avoid going to a hearing.  Those contracts are included in our key stories from the past seven days.

Five For Luukkonen: Of the players who reached a contract before their arbitration hearings, all took a short-term deal except for one, Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.  Following a career year, the 25-year-old agreed to a five-year, $23.75MM contract with Buffalo.  The deal gives Buffalo an additional three seasons of club control and also contains a five-team no-trade list in those final three years, the only ones he was eligible for trade protection.  Luukkonen posted a 2.57 GAA with a .910 SV% in a career-best 54 games last season, showing the potential of a full-fledged starter.  If he can play at that level for this contract, it should be a team-friendly deal while allowing the Sabres to be patient in bringing Devon Levi along.

More Arbitration Moves: Several other players avoided arbitration this week.  First, Buffalo signed newly acquired winger Beck Malenstyn to a two-year, $2.7MM agreement.  The 26-year-old played his first full NHL campaign last season, notching 21 points and 241 hits in 81 games with Washington.  Toronto then reached an agreement on a one-year, $1.18MM deal with center Connor Dewar.  The Maple Leafs acquired the 25-year-old at the trade deadline from Minnesota; Dewar had a career-best 11 goals and 19 points last season.  The other player to settle before a hearing was Islanders winger Oliver Wahlstrom, who worked out a one-year, $1MM agreement although his future in New York remains in question following a tough year that saw him record just two goals and four assists in 32 games.  Meanwhile, one case went to a hearing with Nashville blueliner Spencer Stastney receiving a two-year, $1.675MM award; the agreement is two-way next season before converting to a one-way deal for 2025.  Stastney had four points in 20 games with the Predators last season.

Konecny Extension: The Flyers will have their leading scorer for the long haul as they worked out an eight-year, $70MM extension with winger Travis Konecny.  The deal begins in the 2025-26 season and runs through the 2032-33 campaign.  The 27-year-old averaged just over a point per game in 60 appearances in 2022-23 and then followed that up with new career highs in goals (33) and points (68) in 76 games last season, giving him some leverage entering negotiations.  While Philadelphia is still navigating its way through a rebuild, GM Daniel Briere determined that he wanted some core veterans to help lead them through it and Konecny will do just that with this contract as he comes off the 2025 UFA list.

Oilers Hire Bowman: After it was revealed following the playoffs that Ken Holland would not return as GM in Edmonton, CEO Jeff Jackson took the team through free agency but made it clear that he didn’t want the full-time GM job.  After a long search, the Oilers found Holland’s replacement, naming Stan Bowman as their new GM.  Bowman served as the GM in Chicago for a little more than a decade with the Blackhawks winning three Stanley Cup titles in his tenure.  He resigned in 2021 following an independent report that concluded Bowman had an “inadequate response upon being informed in 2010 of allegations that Blackhawks’ Player, Kyle Beach, had been assaulted by the Club’s video coach”.  At that time, he was ruled ineligible to work in the NHL but that eligibility was reinstated last month.

Busy Blue Jackets: It was a busy week in Columbus.  First, they hired Dean Evason as their new head coach, replacing Pascal Vincent who was let go last month.  It’s the second NHL head coaching stint for the 59-year-old who spent parts of five years in Minnesota with his teams playing to a .639 points percentage.  Next, they learned that winger Patrik Laine has been cleared to exit the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.  Laine entered the program in February while recovering from clavicle/shoulder surgery back in December and has made it known that he’d like a change of scenery.  GM Don Waddell indicated that teams were interested in speaking with Laine but that couldn’t happen until he exited the program.  Now that he has, trade discussions surrounding the 26-year-old could soon pick up.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets were also busy on the contract front.  They re-signed Kent Johnson to a three-year, $5.4MM contract following a rough season that saw him limited to 16 points in 42 games while also spending time in the minors.  However, only one year removed from a 40-point campaign, this deal could become a team-friendly one fairly quickly.  One day later, they avoided arbitration with Kirill Marchenko, agreeing on a three-year, $11.85MM contract.  The 24-year-old has eclipsed the 20-goal mark in his first two NHL seasons, earning him a nice raise off his entry-level deal.  Both players will be restricted free agents with arbitration rights in 2027.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blues’ Dalibor Dvorsky Could Push For NHL Minutes Out Of Camp

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The St. Louis Blues 2023 first-round pick, Dalibor Dvorsky, is gearing up for his first NHL training camp, after only participating in St. Louis’ rookie development camp last season. He’s since made the jump to North America, joining the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, where he managed electrifying results – ranking fourth in the league with 45 goals in 52 games, rounded out by 88 total points. That performance has given Dvorsky plenty of momentum heading into the first test of his pro career, and both the player and general manager Doug Armstrong seem excited to see what comes next. Armstrong told Lou Korac of NHL.com that Dvorsky could earn a shot at the NHL lineup, sharing, “He’s looked good. He’s added some muscle. He’s another guy that’s really going to push for training camp.”

Dvorsky took Armstrong’s comments in stride, telling Korac that the chance at opportunity sounds great, but that it’s ultimately on him to earn his place. That earned more praise from Armstrong, who added, “I love reading what he said, ’This is on me.’ That’s what you want. He’s looking in the mirror now and saying, ’OK, we’ll see.’ The AHL, ’We’ll see.’ And he’s not cocky about it. He’s not demanding about it. He’s just saying, ’All right, we’ll see.'”

Dvorsky’s 2023-24 season was a dazzling show of strength. While his age technically rules him out of the OHL’s definition of a rookie, his goal-scoring pace stands as the most from a first-year OHL skater since 2018, when Andrei Svechnikov managed 40 goals in 44 games. Dvorsky outscored star OHL rookie seasons, like Shane Wright’s 39 goals as at 17-years-old, or the first of Cole Perfetti’s pair of 37-goal seasons.

Dvorsky managed the production thanks to a powerful drive that simply seemed cut from a different cloth, as he excelled at using his strength and size to drive transition and create space off of the boards. He made decisions quickly and confidently when opportunity opened up, putting him one step ahead of his OHL competition. That was certainly helped by starring linemates David Goyette and Quentin Musty, though Dvorsky still flexed the makings of a serious pro talent. St. Louis is ready to put that growth to the test this fall, placing him in competition with fellow top prospect Zachary Bolduc for NHL minutes.

Prospect Notes: Hemming, Berggren, Willander, Dragicevic

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Dallas Stars 2024 first-round pick Emil Hemming has signed with the OHL’s Barrie Colts for the 2024-25 season. Hemming will forgo the final year of his three-year contract with Liiga’s TPS, where he’s played the past two seasons. Much of his 2022-23 campaign was spent on the TPS U20 roster – with Hemming potting 16 points in 22 games. He returned to the U20 lineup at the start of last season, though quickly earned a promotion to the Liiga after scoring 11 goals and 18 points in the first 13 games of the U20 season.

Hemming took the move to Finland’s top flight in stride, showing off just how physically mature his heavy, shoot-first style was. He only managed 11 points in 40 league games but showed plenty of growth as the year progressed, becoming much more confident in the defensive zone and more aggressive on offense. He curbed a meager two-point performance at the World Juniors with six points in five games at the World U18 Championships, continuing to show his strides as the season went along. All of that was enough to earn Hemming the 29th overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, coupling him with a Stars team that’s quickly become known for finding draft-day steals. Hemming has shown he’s sturdy enough to play at a pro level and will now join Utah prospect Cole Beaudoin and Edmonton prospect Beau Akey as some of the many heavy and physical options in Barrie.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Jonatan Berggren is a bit buried down the Detroit Red Wings depth charts, but Max Bultman of The Athletic says he isn’t expecting Berggren to be traded. Instead, Bultman posits the benefits of a role reminiscent of Daniel Sprong’s role: operating on the team’s third line but still managing consistent power-play minutes. Berggren led the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins in scoring last season, netting 24 goals and 56 points. He’s also scored a commendable 17 goals and 34 points in 79 NHL games over the last two years. He’ll now have a golden chance to secure a consistent NHL role, with Sprong headed to the Vancouver Canucks on a one-year contract.
  • Vancouver Canucks defense prospect Tom Willander has suffered a minor lower-body injury and won’t play at the World Junior Summer Showcase, shares Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK Sports. Willander was a surprising choice at 11th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, though he showed top-prospect upside during his freshman year at Boston University. Willander scored 25 points in 38 games, ranking second among Terrier defensemen. With injury now holding him out of Team Sweden’s summer games, Willander will shift his focus towards a breakout sophomore season at BU, where he’ll get a full run towards the top-defender role after Lane Hutson signed his entry-level contract.
  • Seattle Kraken defense prospect Lukas Dragicevic has seen his WHL rights traded from the Tri-City Americans to the Price Albert Raiders as part of a massive, seven-asset trade. Dragicevic signed his entry-level contract with Seattle in March after Tri-City missed out on the WHL playoffs. He finished the year with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, recording one assist through his first three AHL games. Prince Albert paid a hefty price for Dragicevic, suggesting that he could be set for a return to the CHL after getting a quick taste of the pros.  If that is the case, he’ll return looking to rediscover his strong scoring touch after recording 25 fewer points this season (50) than he did in 2022-23 (75).

Penguins Sign Brayden Yager To Entry-Level Contract

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed 2023 first-round pick Brayden Yager to his entry-level contract. Contract details have not yet been released. This move will likely turn Yager pro after a successful four-year career with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors. He was one of many offensive stars on the Warriors lineup, flanked by players like Jagger Firkus, Denton Mateychyuk, and, this season, Matthew Savoie. Moose Jaw vindicated such a talented lineup with a WHL championship this year, though they fell to third place in the 2024 Memorial Cup. Yager was a crucial piece all year long, tallying 35 goals and 95 points across 57 regular season games, and 27 points in 20 playoff games.

The season was a fantastic encore to Yager’s draft-year performance in 2022-23, when he managed 78 points in 67 games on a, relatively, weaker Moose Jaw lineup. He showed all of the makings of a top prospect, and even earned top-10 and top-five hype from some public sources. He earned the attention with some fantastic playmaking abilities, showing a special ability to orchestrate play even at top speeds. But a lanky six-foot, 170-pound frame had some teams apprehensive come draft day, ultimately pushing Yager to 14th overall.

Only four players selected above Yager have made their NHL debuts – Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli, and Zach Benson – and they’ve each quickly carved out lineup roles. Yager will have the chance to do the same in Pittsburgh’s training camp, and could even wind up an X-factor for an aging Penguins core. But he seems more likely set for a trip to the AHL first, where he could join Moose Jaw teammate Atley Calvert, as well as Tristan Broz and Owen Pickering, as a top prospect fighting for minutes.

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