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Pavel Mintyukov Sent To OHL

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There won’t be a surprise NHL appearance by the tenth overall pick this year, as the Anaheim Ducks have sent Pavel Mintyukov back to the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL. His entry-level contract will slide forward, meaning he is now signed through 2025-26 at a minimum.

Mintyukov, 18, actually should be entering his third season with the Spirit, after agreeing to come to North America in 2020. Unfortunately, the year that would have been his rookie season in the OHL was canceled, due to the league’s COVID restrictions. That lost development certainly didn’t slow the Russian defenseman down. Mintykov exploded onto the junior scene with 17 goals and 62 points in 67 games, flying up draft boards and finding himself creeping into the top ten.

While there has been concern about selecting Russian players because of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, Mintyukov has shown a clear desire to play in North America. Not only had he come over to play in the OHL but he signed his entry-level contract with the Ducks just a few days after being selected. Returning to the Spirit for another season should allow the team to have at least a bit of oversight on his development, even though they won’t be directly coaching him.

With how well he did last season, there is a good chance that Mintyukov dominates the league this year and sets himself up to compete for a spot with the Ducks a year from now. At that point, he also may be eligible for AHL action, depending on how his OHL status was determined. As an import player, if the NHL lists him as “on loan” to the CHL during his draft year, he will qualify for the AHL even before the age of 20, as others such as Filip Zadina and Rasmus Sandin have in the past. One factor likely not in his favor is that he did not play professional games before joining the Spirit, only suiting up in the Russian MHL (junior equivalent).

Training Camp Cuts: 09/24/22

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As the preseason begins today, some teams are beginning to immediately trim their rosters as we inch closer to the start of the regular season next month. At this point in time, most cuts will be teams returning players to their junior or European teams as those leagues get their seasons underway. While some players’ training camp stays may just be a day or two, it’s still an invaluable experience for both the player and team to be active in their development.

Calgary Flames (via team release)

F Jack Beck (to Ottawa, OHL)
F Cole Huckins (to Sherbrooke, QMJHL)
D Cole Jordan (to Moose Jaw, WHL)
D Cameron Whynot (to Halifax, QMJHL)
F Evan Boucher (released from ATO, to Halifax, QMJHL)
D Jake Lee (released from ATO, free agent)
D Christoffer Sedoff (released from ATO, to Red Deer, WHL)
F Cooper Walker (released from ATO, to Guelph, OHL)

New York Rangers (via team Tweet)

F Sam Alfano (to Erie, OHL)
F Maxim Barbashev (to Moncton, QMJHL)
F Jayden Grubbe (to Red Deer, QHL)
F Bryce McConnell-Barker (to Soo, OHL)

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Minor Transactions: 09/23/22

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We’re just one day away from the official start of the NHL’s preseason calendar, with a unique slate of games scheduled for tomorrow. In addition to the Boston Bruins paying a visit to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Arizona Coyotes and St. Louis Blues will face-off against one another from Wichita, Kansas in a neutral-site contest. Perhaps most interesting are the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators, who seem to have pulled a page right out of the baseball playbook with the team’s playing a split-squad, day-night doubleheader including a 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm puck drop in Toronto. With all that action, there are several notes from around the league worth mentioning, primarily related to the opening of camp and the beginning of games, which we will keep track of here:

  • It appears the Arizona Coyotes have sent 2022 first-round pick Maveric Lamoureux back to juniors ahead of training camp (link). Given the defenseman’s age and raw skillset, as well as Arizona’s position in their rebuild, it wasn’t likely Lamoureux was going to make a major impact in camp and the team likely felt he was best served by heading back to the Drummondville Voltigeurs now rather than later.
  • Also sent back to juniors was Boston Bruins prospect Brett Harrison (link). A third-round pick in 2021, Harrison may have had the opportunity to raise eyes in training camp with Boston, however the forward projects to be a standout with the Oshawa Generals this season after tallying 61 points in 65 games last season. Oshawa kicks off its 2022-23 regular season in Barrie this Thursday.
  • A number of players have been officially activated off of injured-reserve today. Though many of these are not a surprise, some did come with question marks and in the wake of the recent injury updates around the league, particularly Sean Couturier of the Flyers, not everything can always be taken as a given. The Pittsburgh Penguins activated recently-signed forward Drake Caggiula (link). Moving out west, the Vancouver Canucks have activated forward Nils Hoglander and defenseman Tucker Poolman off of IR (link). In the desert, the Vegas Golden Knights activated forwards Brett Howden and Reilly Smith (link).

Morning Notes: Waddell, Bloom, Lundqvist

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According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, it appears the Carolina Hurricanes and GM Don Waddell have re-upped on a new contract, though the specifics are not certain. Waddell’s previous contract had been set to expire on June 30th, and with that date coming and going and the Hurricanes busy offseason proceeding, it would seem clear that some sort of agreement had been reached. That train of thought appears confirmed now via LeBrun, who says the deal went without a team announcement. While the Boston Bruins announced their extension with GM Don Sweeney, who also had his last contract expire on June 30th, this quiet approach is not out of the ordinary and is part of a new trend, LeBrun says.

An extension with Waddell isn’t a surprise to most, given his strong relationship with the organization and of course the team’s recent success. Since being named the full-time GM in 2018, Waddell has overseen four consecutive trips to the playoffs in Carolina, as well as significant transactions like the hiring of Rod Brind’Amour as Head Coach, drafting the likes of Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis, acquiring and the subsequent recovery from losing Dougie Hamilton, and most recently the blockbuster acquisitions of Max Pacioretty and Brent Burns.

  • An injury update on Sabres forward prospect Josh Bloom, who was hurt in Thursday night’s prospect showcase game against the Montreal Canadiens. According to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, Bloom did not practice on Friday and his status for tonight’s contest with the New Jersey Devils is uncertain. While Bloom being sidelined for at least a day of practice and a showcase game is a clear negative, the possibility that he could be available and that his absence is being spoken about in the short-term is a positive, given how the injury played out on Thursday. Bloom had left the game after being hit along the boards, failing to return, now listed with a lower-body injury. The winger broke out for  the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit in 2021-22, contributing 61 points in 67 games.
  • The Athletic’s Arthur Staple had a chance to sit down with former New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist as he reflected on his transition from Hall of Fame goaltender to his new role away from the rink. Now, Lundqvist will serve in a forward-facing role, representing the Rangers in the community. Notably, Staple inquired about his transition from playing, which happened rather suddenly when a medical condition was revealed that would force the superstar into retirement. Lundqvist mentioned that the transition was a bit different for him because of the health condition, but it gave him plenty of time to reflect and leave him “in a good place mentally.” He added that leaving his playing days behind creates a hole that needed to be replaced, “[b]ut I also understand I’m not going to be able to feel the way I felt around the games, just my goal is to find new interests.”

Snapshots: Martin, SHL, Foley

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Former St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers, and Montreal Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin might be just outside of the top-20 winningest coaches in NHL history, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be resuming his head coaching career anytime soon. Instead, the longtime coach has decided to take his career in hockey in a new direction. Per a team announcement, the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL have hired Martin as a senior advisor in their hockey operations department.

In adding Martin, the Frontenacs have added not only a big name to their management team but also someone with a wealth of NHL experience and some valuable OHL experience. Martin won the Memorial Cup in his only season as an OHL head coach, and his tenure was so successful that he was immediately tapped by the Blues to be their head coach for the 1986-87 season.  The Frontenacs lost in the second round of the OHL playoffs last season and will hope that the addition of Martin can help offset the potential loss of top prospect Shane Wright, who could very well play this season as a member of the Seattle Kraken.

Now, for some other notes from across the hockey world:

  • The Swedish Hockey League and ESPN announced today that they’d entered into a partnership with the goal of “reaching  and expanding the global audience of the SHL.” While no specific details were offered in the announcement, it seems likely that ESPN’s streaming service, ESPN+, will be the landing spot of some (or all) SHL games for American audiences this season. ESPN+ is already home to a significant chunk of the NHL schedule and based on the comments given in the press release it looks like the plan is to bring the SHL to the service as well.
  • Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley has seen his franchise enjoy a run of success that is unprecedented for any expansion team in North American professional sports. With the Golden Knights an established quality NHL team, it seems that Foley is looking to add to his sports ownership portfolio. Per Mark McAdam of Sky Sports News, Foley is in “advanced talks” to buy AFC Bournemouth, a soccer club in the Premier League, the top division of English soccer. If Foley does make this acquisition, he would become the fourth NHL owner to also hold a significant ownership stake in a Premier League side, joining Fenway Sports Group (Pittsburgh Penguins, Liverpool), Josh Harris and David Blitzer (New Jersey Devils, Crystal Palace), and Stan Kroenke (Colorado Avalanche, Arsenal).

Snapshots: League Revenue, Coyotes Arena, Mesar

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As many of the league’s bright young stars convened today at the Lifeguard Arena in Henderson, Nevada for the North American Player Media Tour, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly had a chance to meet with the media to discuss a wide range of topics relevant to the league. Daly touched on a recent wave of women being hired and promoted into upper-level management roles with NHL teams, the promising overall start to the Seattle Kraken franchise, the youth movement of NHL teams, the Arizona Coyotes arena situation, and the league’s revenue.

There’s been much speculation around the league’s revenue projections and what it could mean for a significant raise to the salary cap ceiling moving forward. Given the agreement between players and team owners to split revenue 50/50, revenue being naturally down due to the impact of COVID-19, and the players need to pay the difference back in escrow, the salary cap has had to remain relatively flat the past few seasons. The expectation has been that the cap will rise by $1MM next offseason before seeing a meaningful increase ahead of the 2024-25 season, with some speculation that it could happen even sooner. Much of that was confirmed by Daly, who reported a league-record in revenue for this past season, the first time its surpassed $5BN. With the unprecedented revenue last season, one which was still impacted by COVID-19, Daly said that if they see the same kind of excess revenue this season, the timeline for a significant cap increase could come sooner than expected. Ultimately, Daly still believes that based on their current projections for 2022-23, that increase may have to wait another year.

  • Also from Daly’s availability, the Deputy Commissioner was optimistic about the state of the Arizona Coyotes and their short and long-term arena plans. Daly cited the Tempe City Council’s approval of their proposed arena plan in the city, which does still need further approval, as a positive. He also referenced the positive impact playing in an arena of that size could have on the players, expecting it to be filled nightly, thus enhancing the atmosphere, as well as the relative success of this strategy with the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers and their brief stint in an MLS stadium while their current stadium was being built. Finally, when asked about the duration the team might have to spend playing at Arizona State University, Daly said the worst case scenario appears to be three years, while the best case would be two. No matter which way you frame it, this situation is surely difficult and awkward for the team and the league, however seeing the silver linings laid out does give the team some hope as it rebuilds not only on the ice, but off of it too. Final approval on a new arena plan and setting it into motion would be the best possible outcome for the organization, and when it happens, it could certainly have major, immediate impacts on the team and fanbase.
  • As prospect games got underway today, including one contest between the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens featuring prospect Filip Mesar, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu provided an update on Montreal’s plans for Mesar for the upcoming season. Basu reports the team isn’t sure if they would like Mesar to play with the Laval Rocket, their AHL affiliate, or with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, who hold Mesar’s rights. However, it appears clear Mesar will not be returning Europe for the upcoming season. The 26th overall selection from this year’s NHL draft, Mesar played the last two years for Poprad in his native Slovakia, recording 30 points in 73 games over the two campaigns. The decision not to keep Mesar in Europe makes sense, given the need to help him adjust to North American ice and its style of hockey. Deciding between the AHL and OHL could be tough, as the OHL won’t give Mesar opportunities to play against older and more experienced competition, but will give him experience as a top of the lineup player, like Montreal hopes he will be. The AHL will give Mesar a taste of what playing in the NHL will be like in some respects, but may be a bit too advanced for him to see the top of the lineup and thrive like he might in Kitchener.

London Knights Acquire Sam Dickinson

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After Sam Dickinson made it clear that he wouldn’t be showing up to training camp for the Niagara IceDogs, there seemed to be two paths in front of him. The Chicago Steel, who had picked him late in the USHL draft, or the London Knights, who were rumored to be close to acquiring his rights.

It appears as though the latter is the path that Dickinson will choose, as the Knights have sent Niagara a package of seven draft picks for the young defenseman, who was the fourth-overall selection in this year’s OHL draft.

The IceDogs will receive:

  • 2023 3rd (NBB)
  • 2023 5th
  • 2024 2nd
  • 2025 2nd
  • 2025 3rd
  • 2026 2nd
  • 2026 3rd

Mark Hunter, general manager of the Knights, released the following:

We are extremely excited to trade for player of Sam’s caliber. He has a complete 200-foot game and is a top end talent of size, skill, and grit. He’s the type of player you win with.

Having only turned 16 in June, Dickinson already stands 6’2″ 194 lbs and was the first defenseman selected in the OHL draft this year. Joining London will likely help his stock rise even more, as the program is well-known for being an NHL training ground, because of its financial dominance in the CHL and first-class facilities.

Whether that turns into a pick near the top of the 2024 NHL draft remains to be seen but Dickinson appears to have made his way to the program he wanted.

Prospect Notes: Dickinson, Hamara, Lindgren

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The Niagara IceDogs have had a tumultuous 12 months, and things aren’t slowing down. The OHL team will not have top pick Sam Dickinson in camp according to Jeff Marek of Sportsnet, confirming earlier reporting from Matt Young of OHL Tonight.

Dickinson, the fourth-overall pick in this year’s OHL draft, was also picked late by the Chicago Steel of the USHL and could see his CHL rights traded to the London Knights according to Young. Both powerhouse organizations are known for being able to recruit talented youngsters, given their elite development programs.

  • The Kitchener Rangers, meanwhile, announced some good news today by signing Tomas Hamara to a standard contract. The Ottawa Senators third-round pick was the 26th selection in the CHL Import Draft and will come over from Finland, where he has played the last several years. The Czech-born defenseman signed his entry-level contract with Ottawa in July.
  • Speaking of 2022 draft picks, Buffalo Sabres prospect Mats Lindgren (son of former NHL forward Mats Lindgren), has been traded from the Kamloops Blazers to the Red Deer Rebels for the upcoming WHL season. Lingren was the 106th player selected last month, joining a Sabres prospect pool that is loaded with young talent.

Hamilton Bulldogs Hire Laura Fortino

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The first female assistant coach in OHL history will be Laura Fortino, who was officially given a full-time position with the Hamilton Bulldogs today. Fortino will not only serve as an assistant coach but also as the team’s director of player development.

Bulldogs general manager Steve Staios released the following:

We are incredibly excited to welcome Laura to our Hamilton Bulldogs family. Laura exudes the passion, character and leadership that we covet in Hamilton. We have witnessed firsthand through our training and development camps over the years, her ability to coach and mentor players. Laura’s playing experience and success speaks for itself, she has been an instrumental part on many Championship teams and undoubtably will carry on that success as a Coach.

Fortino, 31, is a decorated athlete, with Olympic and World Championship gold medals, a CWHL title, and two nominations for the Patty Kazmaier Award. The Hamilton native has been part of the PWHPA for the last several seasons, and had been helping with the Bulldogs’ camps in the past.

The Bulldogs, led by head coach Jay McKee, reached the Memorial Cup final this season, after winning the OHL Championship. The powerhouse club, which included Anaheim Ducks prospect Mason McTavish, went 51-12-5 during the regular season.

While that success may be difficult to replicate next season, the program has celebrated two championships in four years and has done a great job preparing young players for the professional level.

Minor Transactions: 08/19/22

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Now that Nazem Kadri has signed, some dominoes may fall over the next few weeks in terms of the remaining free agents. But even before that, there will be minor moves to continue fleshing out AHL rosters and the like. As always, we’ll keep track of those notable moves right here.

  • Koletrane Wilson is joining the Rockford IceHogs for the upcoming season, signing a one-year AHL contract. The Chicago Blackhawks continue to put an emphasis on the depth in the minor leagues, and Wilson was a big contributor for the Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL last season. The 22-year-old defenseman had 16 points in 57 games while racking up 73 penalty minutes.
  • Matt Cairns, a third-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers that never signed and thus became an unrestricted free agent, is back with the Cincinnati Cyclones for another year. The 24-year-old defenseman had 16 points in 65 games with the ECHL club last season, while also getting into two matches with the Rochester Americans.
  • Alessio Beglieri, a Swiss netminder that went undrafted this year, will have a chance to give NHL scouts a more up-close performance this time around. He’s agreed to come to play for the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL, after being selected 38th overall in the CHL Import Draft. He’ll be joined by Swiss forward Valdemar Hull, the team’s other import selection, who won’t be eligible for the draft until next year.
  • Per a team release, the Henderson Silver Knights have signed forward Alex Swetlikoff to a two-year AHL contract. Swetlikoff earned the contract in the Vegas Golden Knights organization after participating in their development camp in July. In his final WHL season with the Everett Silvertips last year, Swetlikoff posted 33 goals and 84 points in 68 games.

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