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Snapshots: Tortorella, Moore, Capitals

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The Philadelphia Flyers have a long offseason ahead of them, figuring out what to do in the front office after firing Chuck Fletcher a few days ago. One of the people that figures to be there—regardless of how the titles shake out—is Daniel Briere, who took over as interim general manager in Fletcher’s absence.

In that case, you can also keep John Tortorella’s name jotted down in pen for next year. Briere spoke with Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports today, and explained that Tortorella was his first choice to coach the Flyers last year and is “the man for the job” still. The veteran coach signed a four-year deal worth $16MM last June.

  • There’s an interesting name among those invited to the 2023 National Team Development Program evaluation camp later this month: William Moore. The Toronto native holds dual citizenship and is nearing a crossroads in his hockey career. He is a potential first-overall selection in the OHL draft if he indicates that is the path he’ll follow. He could also join the NTDP or USHL to maintain his college eligibility. Just 15, he isn’t eligible for the NHL Draft until 2025.
  • With how well Rasmus Sandin has played in the early going for the Washington Capitals, the team may have found an inexpensive option for big minutes on the blueline next year. As Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic writes, that would open up money for the team’s biggest offseason target, a top-six forward (or two). The group currently has Craig Smith, Conor Sheary, Connor Brown, and Carl Hagelin all scheduled for unrestricted free agency this summer, opening up plenty of room for a significant addition.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Kirill Kudryavtsev

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev to a three-year entry-level contract, per a team release.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin issued the following statement regarding the signing:

Kirill has had a good season so far and our development team has been happy with his progress in the OHL. Our group looks forward to the opportunity to continue to work with him and get him ready for a pro career.

Allvin is entirely correct to say that Kudryavtsev has had a good season. The 2022 seventh-round pick has scored 45 points in 60 games for the Soo Greyhounds, a healthy increase from the 39 points in 68 games he scored in his rookie OHL season.

The Yaroslavl, Russia native doesn’t offer premier size standing at five-foot-eleven but he’s got a capable two-way game that should more easily translate to the professional game than some of the more high-octane styles of his peers in junior hockey.

Kudryavtsev has an entry-level deal in hand now, one that begins next season and pays him a league-minimum $775k base salary in the NHL, $80k in the minors (where he will likely spend time developing his game before he’s an NHL possibility) and a 75k signing bonus, according to CapFriendly.

With it, he’ll be able to enter Vancouver’s farm system and look to make a name for himself in what is a relatively thin Canucks defensive prospect pool.

Dallas Stars Sign Kyle McDonald

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The Dallas Stars have signed prospect forward Kyle McDonald to a three-year entry-level contract, according to a team announcement. McDonald is an undrafted 21-year-old forward who last season served as an alternate captain for the OHL’s North Bay Battalion.

McDonald spent the preseason in rookie camp and training camp with his hometown Ottawa Senators, although they ultimately were not the ones to sign him to an entry-level deal. Instead, he signs with the Stars, who in turn add a big winger with some intriguing physical tools.

The 21-year-old scored 28 goals and 45 points in 38 games for the Battalion this season, and also scored above a point-per-game rate the year before. Standing six-foot-four, 217 pounds McDonald offers the size and strength at the winger position that many teams covet. He’s also a former teammate of Stars rookie Wyatt Johnston, meaning that connection may have informed the Stars’ willingness to complete this deal.

Now aged-out of junior hockey, he’ll begin his pro career next season and in all likelihood spent time with their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, attempting to develop his game.

He’s missed quite a bit of time due to a combination of injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out an entire OHL season, but now with his entry-level deal in hand he’ll be afforded a solid runway to grow his skills and attempt to develop into a quality pro player.

Dallas Stars Sign Christian Kyrou

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The Dallas Stars have announced that they have signed prospect defenseman Christian Kyrou to a three-year entry-level contract. Per the team announcement, the contract will begin next season.

Kyrou, the brother of St. Louis Blues star Jordan Kyrou, currently plays in the OHL for the Sarnia Sting, having been traded there earlier this year from the Erie Otters. Kyrou was the 50th overall pick in last year’s draft after a draft season where he scored 60 points in 68 games.

This season, Kyrou has scored 67 points in 56 games across both teams. He’s the fifth-ranked prospect in the Stars’ system according to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, (subscription link) and has drawn praise for his high skill level and offensive ability.

Kyrou was born September 15th 2003, meaning he missed the cutoff for eligibility for the 2021 draft by just a day. That may have worked quite a bit in his favor, though, as he missed the entire 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which wiped out the OHL’s season. Additionally, the NHL-CHL transfer agreement stipulates that CHL prospects aged 20 or older by December 31st are eligible for assignment to the American Hockey League that season.

Since Kyrou will turn 20 in the middle of September next season, the Stars could have the option to send him to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, rather than have him play another season in the OHL.

He could also, of course, make the Stars out of training camp, but that seems relatively unlikely seeing as the Stars already have 2019 first-round pick Thomas Harley eager to claim a spot on the left side of their defense, as well as Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, and Ryan Suter already on the roster as established left-shot options.

The Stars had a two-year window to sign Kyrou to an entry-level deal before he would be eligible to re-enter the draft,  but such a possibility was quickly taken out of the picture by Kyrou’s stellar performance in the OHL. He’s a promising young defenseman and his official entry into the Stars organization should be cause for excitement among Dallas fans.

OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs Announce Temporary Relocation To Brantford

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The defending OHL champions will be on the move next season. The Hamilton Bulldogs announced plans for a temporary relocation to Brantford, Ontario, today, with their home arena in Hamilton set to go through a long-term closure and renovation.

While the relocation to Brantford is technically temporary, the team fully embraces the geographical shift. For the time being, the franchise will change its name and branding to the Brantford Bulldogs.

Team owner Michael Andlauer, who has previously been linked in discussions to purchase the Ottawa Senators, gave the following statement:

We are so thankful for the enthusiastic and immediate response from Mayor Davis, Brantford Council and city staff. Together, we have been able to make a home for the Bulldogs in a short and unexpected period of time.

Hamilton’s home arena, the FirstOntario Centre, is set to close for 20 months starting in late summer. Based on the timeline, the door is open for the Bulldogs to return to Hamilton for the 2025-26 season.

Unfortunately for Hamilton, most of the core which won the 2022 OHL championship has moved on — such is the turn of the tide in junior hockey. With top prospects such as Mason Mctavish, Arber Xhekaj, and Jan Mysak turning pro, the team is floating around the .500 mark in 2022-23 and sold at the league’s trade deadline last month.

While the Bulldogs are struggling this season, they still boast a pair of NHL-affiliated prospects in Jorian Donovan (OTT) and Artem Grushnikov (DAL). Both players could return when the franchise opens up in Brantford next year.

Montreal Canadiens Recall Owen Beck On Emergency Basis

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The Montreal Canadiens have made a bit of a surprise move, recalling prospect forward Owen Beck from the OHL’s Peterborough Petes on an emergency basis. Per the team’s announcement, Beck will join the Canadiens in Ottawa, where he will possibly make his NHL debut.

Beck, who will turn 19 years old in a week, is one of the Canadiens’ more highly-regarded prospects. Beck was the first pick on day two of the 2022 NHL draft, 33rd overall, and was ranked in the first-round mix by multiple publications.

Scouts raved about Beck’s responsible two-way game, mature character, faceoff acumen, and possible offensive upside. While Beck has had a slow start in Peterborough after a blockbuster mid-season trade, he scored 41 points in 30 games this year for the Mississauga Steelheads.

Beck had an impressive training camp and preseason in the fall and later earned his way onto Canada’s Gold Medal-winning World Junior Championship team, after being initially excluded from their main lineup. While this recall is hardly great news for the Petes, who paid multiple players and draft picks to acquire Beck, it does speak to the high opinion the Canadiens organization seems to hold of their recent second-round pick.

The Canadiens have suffered significant injuries to their forward corps, and this recall comes after earlier today when the Canadiens’ three established centers, Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, and Christian Dvorak, each missed practice for treatments. If one of those three centers is unable to play for the Canadiens in their next game, Beck could see time down the middle.

Otherwise, he could shift to the wing and give the Canadiens the opportunity to play with six defensemen. The team had been operating with seven blueliners for many recent games, but with Joel Edmundson possibly injured as well, the addition of Beck gives coach Martin St. Louis new options with how to structure his gameday lineup.

The NHL-CHL’s agreement for emergency recalls gives Beck a maximum of five games to play with the Canadiens. Since the team has two games and then a break, and since the agreement stipulates that he cannot miss more than one OHL game, it’s likely that Beck will be back in Peterborough in short order.

Snapshots: Tolvanen, Mintyukov, Matthews

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When the Nashville Predators put Eeli Tolvanen on waivers earlier this season, it surprised a lot of the hockey world. Sure, he hadn’t found a ton of success yet, but Tolvanen was just 23 and had a ton of obvious scoring talent. Since being claimed by the Seattle Kraken, the young forward has three goals and five points in five games, leading to some interesting comments from Predators general manager David Poile on Nashville radio this morning:

Did we give him enough opportunities? Should we have played him higher? Time will tell. Seattle plays differently than us – they rotate their four lines equally. Offensively they have put him in a higher position.

This could be a mistake on our part. That’s on me if he turns out to be really successful. But we thought we tried him on a lot of different areas, different places. We really hoped we could get him through on waivers so he could play in Milwaukee a bit. 

In Tolvanen’s 135 games with the Predators over parts of five seasons, he received 16 or more minutes of ice time just 19 times. While it’s gone well early for him in Seattle, it should be noted that they too are limiting his ice time – he’s averaging just 12:32 through five games, less than he received in Nashville.

  • The Ottawa 67’s have added another top talent, acquiring Anaheim Ducks’ prospect Pavel Mintyukov from the Saginaw Spirit. The 19-year-old defenseman was the 10th overall pick in last summer’s draft and scored 54 points in 37 games for Saginaw before the move. It’s a package of nine picks going the other way, including three second-rounders.
  • Auston Matthews was missing from Toronto Maple Leafs practice today, and while head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including David Alter of Sports Illustrated that it was a maintenance day, the star forward will be a game-time decision for tomorrow’s match against the Predators.

Windsor Spitfires Acquire Shane Wright

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As first reported by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler and affirmed by Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News, the Windsor Spitfires have acquired high-end Seattle Kraken prospect Shane Wright from the Kingston Frontenacs ahead of the OHL trade deadline.

Wright will be headed along with a conditional 14th-round pick in 2025, while Kingston will receive:

  • Ethan Miedema
  • Gavin McCarthy
  • 2nd round pick 2023 (OTT)
  • 3rd round pick 2023 (SOO)
  • 4th round pick 2024 (NIA)
  • 6th round pick 2024 (NIA)
  • 4th round pick 2025 (NIA)
  • Conditional 5th round pick 2024 (HAM)
  • Conditional 6th round pick 2025 (ER)

The move will allow Wright to compete for an OHL championship, something the Kraken obviously wanted as they delayed his return as long as possible. The 19-year-old center played eight games in the NHL, five in the AHL, and seven with Team Canada at the recent World Junior Championship before being sent back. He’ll now join a Windsor team that is on the heels of the London Knights for first place in the Western Conference and sits 23-9-4 on the year.

Selected fourth overall by Seattle last summer, Wright had 94 points in 63 games last season for the Frotenacs, after missing the entire 2020-21 season due to COVID restrictions. His contract with the Kraken will slide, meaning he will not become a restricted free agent until 2026 at the earliest. It could potentially even slide again, as he only turned 19 a few days ago. That means Wright still won’t be eligible to play in the AHL at the start of 2023-24, causing more headaches for the Kraken if they deem him not quite ready to compete at the NHL level.

Minor Transactions: 01/07/23

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We’re in the full swing of the NHL season, and today featured a busy slate of games. The New Jersey Devils secured a thrilling overtime victory over their arch-rivals, the New York Rangers, while the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout. There are seven additional games today for NHL fans to enjoy, and while hockey fans take in all the action, teams in foreign leagues, minor leagues, and junior leagues are making tweaks to their rosters. We’ll track those moves here.

  • Quinton Howden, a 2010 first-round pick and former NHLer, has found a new club to play for. The 30-year-old forward, who is the brother of Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden, has signed with Grenoble, the reigning French champions. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster year for Howden, who began the year on a tryout with Jukkurit in Liiga. He then joined Orebro for the Spengler Cup tournament, and now lands in France.
  • Former OHL Playoff MVP Logan Morrison has been traded to the Ottawa 67’s. His former team, the Hamilton Bulldogs, will receive a package of six draft picks in return, bolstering their ability to add talent via the OHL Priority Selection. Morrison, 20, is an elite scorer at the junior level, scoring 100 points in 60 games last season. He has 55 points in 34 games so far this year.
  • High-scoring QMJHL defenseman Kale McCallum has left his current team, the Val d’Or Foreurs. Reporting from Pierre-Olivier Poulin of Le Citoyen indicates that McCallum’s departure is due to the fact that the Foreurs did not trade him to a team with legitimate playoff hopes. He has scored 34 points in 36 games this year, and 69 points in 68 games last season. Per Poulin, McCallum will look to continue his career on the Canadian University circuit.
  • Veteran netminder Brad Barone, a well-traveled minor league veteran, has signed with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL. The Nailers will be the ninth club Barone has suited up for in the East Coast league, having made his debut there in the 2014-15 playoffs. Barone signed an extension to continue his career with the Orlando Solar Bears in August and ended up playing 19 games for the club this season. He was released from that contract after the Solar Bears acquired 24-year-old Joe Murdaca, though, paving the way for today’s move. Barone has a .910 save percentage through 19 games this season and had an impressive .919 mark in 48 games in 2021-22.
  • The ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets acquired defenseman Max Balinson from the Reading Royals in exchange for cash considerations. Balinson, 26, is a former college hockey defender for both Arizona State University and Long Island University. The Komets will be his third career ECHL club, and he has four points in 15 games this season.
  • Former top WHL draft pick Rhett Rhinehart was released from his standard player contract today, per the AHL’s official transactions page. Rhinehart, 21, was the 13th overall pick by the Prince Albert Raiders at the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft and played parts of six seasons in the WHL. Rhinehart earned a one-year AHL deal from the Calgary Wranglers in August after attending Calgary Flames development camp. He made his professional debut at the ECHL level, and played in seven games for the Rapid City Rush.
  • Martin Gran, a top scorer in lower-level European leagues, has signed with Kristianstads IK of HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of Swedish Hockey. Gran, 26, comes from Lillehammer, a team in the top division of Norwegian professional hockey, where he has scored 28 points in 27 games.

Snapshots: Penguins Injury Updates, Trade Deadline, Del Bel Belluz, Del Mastro

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Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan issued several injury updates earlier today. Firstly, Penguins forward Ryan Poehling did not practice due to injury, and his status is considered out day-to-day. Accordingly, Sullivan stated that Poehling is unlikely to play in the Penguins’ game tomorrow against the Arizona Coyotes. Next, Sullivan revealed that injured defenseman Jeff Petry skated after the official portion of practice. Petry has been out since December 10th and is on long-term injured reserve.

Sullivan also updated the media on the status of Tristan Jarry and Josh Archibald, stating that both are away from the team rehabbing in Pittsburgh, their statuses unchanged from the last update he issued. Finally, Sullivan noted that top defenseman Kris Letang remains away from the team with his family. Letang originally took a step back from the team for personal reasons on January 2nd.

For some other notes from across the NHL:

  • The NHL trade deadline is still a ways away, but it isn’t too early to start taking a look at what deadline season might look like. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli did just that, taking a look at the market for third-party “cap brokers” who could use the retained salary function to help facilitate trades, in exchange for some compensation. (typically in the form of draft picks) Seravalli reports that the teams most interested in serving as a “cap broker” are the Coyotes, the Chicago Blackhawks, and Anaheim Ducks. He also listed the Columbus Blue Jackets, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and Florida Panthers as teams to potentially look out for in this space.
  • Both Blue Jackets prospect Luca Del Bel Belluz and Blackhawks prospect Ethan Del Mastro were part of a major trade in the OHL today. Del Bel Belluz, a 2022 second-round pick, and Del Mastro, a 2021 fourth-rounder, were sent to the Sarnia Sting in exchange for a package of forwards and draft picks. Both players are expected to play major roles for the Sting going forward, with Del Bel Belluz having scored 41 points in 34 OHL games so far this season, while Del Mastro played a role in Team Canada winning gold at the World Junior Championships.

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