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Ty Dellandrea Loaned To JYP

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Talk about culture shock. Ty Dellandrea has been loaned to JYP Jyväskylä of Finland’s top league until further notice, with the young forward expected to return to Dallas Stars training camp when it gets underway. Dellandrea, 20, has spent the last four seasons playing for the Flint Firebirds of the OHL, serving as captain since 2018.

The 13th overall pick in 2018, there’s a lot to like about the game Dellandrea brings to the ice. Not only is he talented enough to score in bunches, but his character, leadership, and work ethic are all exceptional. While those things can be said about many players and it’s hard to quantify exactly what they mean on the ice, Dellandrea has continually seen his stock rise directly because of the impact he makes off the ice as well.

At last year’s World Junior tournament he was named an alternate captain for Team Canada and held his own offensively, scoring three goals and five points in seven games. He also managed to get into 11 AHL games at the end of the 2018-19 season, where he scored his first few professional points.

Now old enough to head to the AHL full-time, Dellandrea will first get a taste of international hockey in Finland. At this point, success won’t be a surprise for the young forward, but development is still the goal.

Nashville Predators Sign Luke Evangelista

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The Nashville Predators have inked one of their new prospects, signing 2020 draft pick Luke Evangelista to a three-year, entry-level contract. The young forward played last season for the London Knights of the OHL and was selected 42nd overall last month.

A pure playmaker, Evangelista climbed up draft boards after exploding from two points in his first year of junior to 61 last season for the Knights, even if he was still considerably behind the team’s other young stars. He finished with a ranking of 39th among North American skaters from NHL Central Scouting but ended up going to the Predators early on in the second round after the team had snatched up top goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov in the first. Evangelista gives the Predators program another top-end forward prospect to build around as they continue their chase for more offense.

Of course, as with any prospect from the OHL, it’s unclear when Evangelista will get back on the ice. The league is targeting a February start but is still debating the idea of playing without body checking, leading some to believe that their prospects would be better off developing overseas. Now that he’s signed, the Predators could potentially send Evangelista to Europe on a loan, but it would seem extremely difficult for a player of his stature and experience to jump into a professional league right now.

Prospect Notes: Wiesblatt, Neighbours, Groshev, Stillman

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The St. Louis Blues’ and San Jose Sharks’ recent first round picks are on the move, at least for the time being. Jake Neighbours and Ozzy Wiesblatt have been loaned by their WHL teams, Edmonton and Prince Albert respectively, to the AJHL’s Brooks Bandits, the team announced. The loans carry a pre-determined end date of December 20, allowing Neighbours and Wiesblatt to get a head start on the coming season. The WHL announced in October that they had postponed the start of the 2020-21 season to January 8, while the AJHL is set to kick off their season on November 13. Neighbours and Wiesblatt will have more than a month of game action with the Bandits before heading to training camp with the Oil Kings and Raiders. The top prospects, who have both already signed their entry-level contracts, have landed in one of the best possible spots when it comes to being loaned to an inferior league. Brooks is a powerhouse program, whose current roster includes a 2021 first round hopeful in Corson Ceulemans and a number of NCAA commitments. The team just got much more dangerous with the addition of these two elite young forwards, at least for the next month.

  • Another recent draft selection has also been moved, but in a more permanent fashion. Tampa Bay Lightning third-rounder Maxim Groshev has been traded in the KHL, though “sold” is the more accurate verb. Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk has dealt their homegrown product to SKA St. Petersburg, per a team release. The return is merely “monetary compensation” but it is believed the young forward cost 40 million rubles. A big winger who was deemed ready for KHL last season at 17, Groshev recorded seven points in 36 games last year and has two points in 17 games thus far in 2020-21. SKA is an elite KHL team and not exactly known to spend time developing young players when they can attract prime talent, so the team must see considerable potential in Groshev as well as feel he has several years left in the KHL before taking his talents to North America.
  • The OHL’s postponement of their 2020-21 start to February, as well as questions about the quality of the competition once play resumes, is going to result in considerable player movement, which has already begun. In the latest notable move, potential 2021 first-round pick Chase Stillman has been loaned to Demark by his club, the Sudbury Wolves, until the OHL season begins. The Sudbury Star’s Ben Leeson reports that Stillman has already departed, and is set to join the Esbjerg Engery. Stillman, the son of former NHLer Cory Stillman, should find Denmark to be an interesting developmental adventure; it is his first pro experience but also not considered a top tier pro league by any means. If Stillman dominates in Denmark, he may have to make a difficult decision about returning for a shortened OHL season that may not include checking versus seeing his pro season through. For a highly regarded draft-eligible prospect, it’s a call that could impact his draft stock.

 

OHL Will Not Allow Body Checking In 2020-21

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Oct 31: Ontario’s Premier, Doug Ford, tweeted this evening that the provincial government is “engaging” with the OHL to create a safe return to play plan, and specifically notes that he would like to see the league return with body checking. “To date no decisions have been made,” says the Premier.

Oct 30: The Ontario Hockey League had already made a major change to their season in response to the continued spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, delaying the start of the 2020-21 campaign until February and announcing a shortened 40-game schedule. Yet, due to another decision influenced by COVID-19, the league will look very different when it does return in a few months. Sportsnet reports that Ontario’s minister of sport, Lisa MacLeod, has announced that body checking will not be permitted in OHL games this season.

Of course, this is not as straightforward as it may seem. While MacLeod stated that she arrived at this decision based on the spread of COVID-19 in the QMJHL and that she felt “removing purposeful physical contact from the game was a necessary step to preventing the spread.” However, many in the media have already asked if this opinion was really backed up by any evidence or the opinion of any experts in the field. The use of the word “purposeful” also suggests that incidental contact will still be allowed. Or will it? Where will the league draw the line and what will the punishment be? There’s also the major issue of jurisdiction in this case. The OHL includes three American teams – two in Michigan and one in Pennsylvania – who do not have to abide by the health ordinances of Ontario. There is still a question as to whether the border will be open at that time to accommodate those clubs, but if they do participate this year, will body checking be allowed in their home games?

With so many questions still to be answered, it is no surprise that TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the decision is not quite official with so many factor still needing to be discussed. Similarly, the OHL’s stance right now is more or less “no comment”, stating “Until such time as we arrive at an agreed upon Return to Play protocol with the Government of Ontario, the League will have no further comment on the matter of body contact.”

If body checking is completely removed from OHL competition this year, it will make the jobs of NHL Draft hopefuls and NHL scouts even more difficult. Without a 2020 postseason and given the shortened 2020-21 regular season, players will have less opportunity to display their talents for scouts ahead of the 2021 Draft. Now, the Ontario government is asking those players to play a completely different style of hockey in what will already be a small sample size. Without intentional contact, it will be immensely difficult to not only evaluate defensive ability, but also to get a frame of reference for offensive ability. Play will be much faster and much more offensive than normal, with defenseman and forecheckers limited in their ability, goalies exposed by a much more open game, and scoring forwards unable to show that they can produce even with opposing contact. The players hurt the most will be those who haven’t already been identified as elite, surefire first-rounders in next year’s draft. Those lucky few have already been seen by scouts, but the dozens of other OHLers who needed the season to prove they have NHL potential have just had their season length slashed and now their game fundamentally changed.

Negotiation Notes: Ekman-Larsson, Bertuzzi, Gushchin

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While the Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade rumors dominated the pre-free agency headlines, the Arizona Coyotes’ star defenseman ultimately stayed put. Now, the ’Yotes captain tells AZ Central’s Jose Romero that this was the result that he had hoped for:

I have a clause in my contract, a no-trade, no-move clause. At the same time, I did not want to stand in the way if the organization felt otherwise. That’s how I am as a person. It was more that if they wanted to remove me, I set up the two clubs as an alternative, but, as I said, I wanted nothing better than to continue in Arizona so it feels good that it turned out the way it did.

Ekman-Larsson didn’t stand in the Coyotes’ way of making a trade per say, but the longest-tenured Coyote provided as little flexibility as he could while seeming open to a deal. Ekman-Larsson provided Arizona with just two teams he would accept a trade to, the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks, and also set a deadline of October 9 for a deal to be completed. While the team reportedly had talks with both Boston and Vancouver, no deal could be reached in time and Ekman-Larsson stayed put. While he admits that even being available on his own terms was uncomfortable, Ekman-Larsson feels happy to still be a Coyote and has moved past the whole situation. Arizona meanwhile will have to find another way to solve their current salary cap crisis.

  • While there is a negative correlation between reaching a salary arbitration hearing and the number of seasons that player spends with his team after the fact, Tyler Bertuzzi remains on good terms with the Detroit Red Wings, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Bertuzzi tells James that all is well, even after the player was critically examined by his own team in front of an arbitrator, who seemingly agreed with an award closer to where the Red Wings filed. Bertuzzi went so far as to say the process “went smoothly” and stated that it was “nothing personal at all.” Congratulations are due to Detroit and GM Steve Yzerman on not only winning the arbitration battle, but maintaining such good terms with the subject. Bertuzzi’s experience with an arbitration hearing is far from the norm.
  • Daniil Gushchin, selected in the third round by the San Jose Sharks earlier this month, had previously signed with the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs this summer after the team picked him fourth overall in the 2020 CHL Import Draft. This seemingly marked the end of his consideration of going the collegiate route as well as his time in the USHL. Yet, with the OHL season delayed, Gushchin’s USHL club, the Muskegon Lumberjacks, have revealed that their star forward is still very much in the mix for the 2020-21. It is possible that the Ice Dogs have negotiated a loan of Gushchin to the Lumberjacks until OHL training camps open, but it also may be that the skilled forward has simply found himself a place to play. So long as Gushchin stays in the USHL this season and does not suit up in the OHL, he would maintain his NCAA eligibility and could still wind up joining a college program, many of whom had interest before he committed to Niagara.

Jan Jenik Loaned To Kettera

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After loaning Ilya Lyubushkin back to the KHL, the Arizona Coyotes have sent another player abroad today. This time it’s Jan Jenik who has been loaned to Kettera of the Finnish second league.

Jenik, 20, was actually injured at the World Juniors this season and ended up playing in just 27 games for the Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL. A third-round pick (65th overall) in 2018, he was one of the most dynamic players in the whole league during that short period, racking up 22 goals and 56 points.

That performance certainly has a lot of excitement surrounding the Czech-born forward, who was actually ranked 98th in Corey Pronman’s recent list of the top players under 23 for The Athletic. Getting him back on the ice is a huge deal for his development, even if it does come in an uncertain time for professional hockey players.

Because of his age, Jenik’s entry-level contract is not actually eligible to slide forward another season, meaning the Coyotes will burn the first year no matter where he plays. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if he gets a chance in training camp to potentially push for a spot in the NHL right away, or ends up in the AHL, which recently announced they are targeting a February start date.

AHL, OHL Targeting February Start Dates

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The NHL said as recently as last week that they are still targeting a January start for the 2020-21 season, but other leagues may not be so optimistic. Jeff Marek of Sportsnet reports that at the OHL GM meeting today, a plan was presented that would have their regular season start on February 4. Training camp for the junior league would start on January 23, with a 40-game schedule expected. The AHL meanwhile had their own meeting, this time with the league’s board of governors, which included a new target start date of February 5.

While the idea of hockey returning in February is exciting, it also means nearly a year between meaningful games for many prospects. Leagues shut down in early March this year, and though some teams have found landing spots for their players overseas, many have been limited to training in small groups or individually.

The AHL had originally given a target date of December 4, but “due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis” that has been moved back two full months. The minor league is much more reliant on ticket sales than the NHL is, while also not being quite as well set up for regional bubbles. With so much uncertainty over the public health situation, individual state, provincial and federal guidelines, and an NHL season that isn’t set in stone yet, even this AHL target is completely temporary. It can—and very well might—be changed again down the line.

For now though, the leagues will hope to get things started in just over three months’ time.

Minnesota Wild Sign Marco Rossi To Entry-Level Contract

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October 28: Now that Rossi has been signed, a loan to the ZSC Lions can become official. Rossi actually doesn’t count against the import player limit for Zurich thanks to holding a Swiss player license from his years in the development system. He will return to North America in time for NHL training camp.

October 23: The Minnesota Wild have signed top draft choice Marco Rossi to a three-year, entry-level contract. Rossi has spent the last two seasons with the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL before going ninth overall in this month’s draft.

Rossi, who turned 19 a month ago, is considered one of the few players selected this year that could be able to step directly into an NHL lineup next season. The Austrian-born center was a sensational talent for Ottawa, scoring 120 points in just 56 games this season. That point total led all CHL skaters and he was named the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player.

Good at both ends of the rink, the biggest knock on Rossi is his size. Standing just 5’9″ he is by no means the prototypical big-bodied center, but he makes up for it with skill, skating ability and tremendous awareness.

The OHL was shooting for a December start date in the past, but is now much more likely to push the start of their season even further. If that’s the case, Rossi could very well end up in NHL training camp with the Wild as the next stop in his hockey career.

Snapshots: Draft Rankings, Tallon, OHL, Crotty

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While scouting opportunities have been rather limited so far, preparations for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft must go on.  Accordingly, the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau released its Players to Watch list with 341 prospects listed in total.  A total of 31 players were ranked as ‘A’ (first round) grades with the rest checking in at ‘B’ (second or third round) or ‘C’ (fourth round and beyond).

While Alexis Lafreniere was the widely-anticipated top pick heading into last season, there isn’t a consensus number one choice just yet.  Defensemen Owen Power (Michigan, NCAA), Luke Hughes (US NDTP), and Brandt Clarke (Barrie, OHL) along with centers Aatu Raty (Karpat, SM-liiga) and Kent Johnson (Michigan, NCAA) plus winger Dylan Guenther (Edmonton, WHL) are all among those who figure to be within the top-10 with some contending for the top spot.

More from around the hockey world:

  • It appears that former Florida GM Dale Tallon may not be out of a job for long. Rob Rossi of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the 70-year-old has emerged as a candidate to join the front office in Pittsburgh.  The Penguins made a move yesterday with the firing of Jason Karmanos and it’s possible that they could turn to Tallon to take his place, albeit likely in a role other than assistant GM.
  • The OHL is expected to announce their revised plans to start the 2020-21 season on Wednesday. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the league is now targeting a February 4th start date with training camps beginning on January 25th.  With the regular season needing to be extended well past its usual March finish date, Dreger also notes that a reduced playoff field of eight teams is expected to be announced as well.  This is a significant difference compared to the other major junior leagues as the QMJHL has already started their season (though most divisions have been shut down temporarily) and the WHL is targeting January 8th to get things underway.
  • Cameron Crotty’s professional career was supposed to begin in Arizona’s system but he’ll have a detour in Norway first instead. Sparta Sarpsborg of the Eliteserien announced that they’ve added the defenseman on a loan agreement although he has yet to make it over there so it will be a little while before he debuts.  The 21-year-old opted to turn pro with the Coyotes after spending three years at Boston University where Crotty had 10 goals and 17 over that span.

Flyers Sign Zayde Wisdom To Entry-Level Contract

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The Philadelphia Flyers have worked quickly to sign a recent draft selection. The team has announced that 2020 fourth-round pick Zayde Wisdom has signed his entry-level contract. It is a three year deal with an $826K cap hit and the following salary breakdown, according to CapFriendly:

2020-21: $700K base salary and $92.5K signing bonus ($70K minors)
2021-22: $750K base salary and $92.5K signing bonus ($70K minors)
2022-23: $750K base salary and $92.5K signing bonus ($70K minors)

Wisdom, 18, is likely to return to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs, in which case his ELC could slide. Playing another year or two in junior doesn’t mean that the Flyers don’t see the skilled forward as a promising prospect though – in fact, quite the opposite. Philadelphia traded up to the top of the fourth round to select Widsom, who finished second in goals and points for the Frontenacs last season, improving greatly on his previous season’s totals.

In the Flyer’s press release, GM Chuck Fletcher again reiterated the team’s excitement to have Wisdom. “Somewhat surprising to us, Wisdom was still available in the late third and we scrambled to try to pick up an extra pick there to select him,” said Fletcher. “I think he’s got an understated skill level. His hands are pretty good. He has a good shot. He has good instincts. He goes to the right places on the ice. When you combine that with his relentless pursuit of pucks, his ability to forecheck and finish checks, it’s a pretty attractive package.”

 

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