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Snapshots: Bouchard, Raanta, Schmidt

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The London Knights have announced their new leadership group for the 2018-19 season now that several key players have returned, and Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard has been given the captaincy once again. Bouchard played seven games for the Oilers before being sent back to junior for the rest of the year, and should immediately step into his role playing nearly 30 minutes a night for London. One of the most effective players in the OHL, Bouchard will also likely be a key member of the Canadian World Junior squad in the coming months.

Joining him with letters for the Knights are several other well known prospects, including Alex Formenton of the Ottawa Senators and Liam Foudy of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Formenton played nine games for the Senators this season and scored his first NHL goal, while Foudy was the 18th-overall pick in June after dominating the NHL Draft Combine. William Lochead and Cole Tymkin, both undrafted, will round out the group of alternates for the Knights this season.

  • Antti Raanta will be out at least a few days with a lower-body injury for the Arizona Coyotes, meaning they were forced to recall Hunter Miska under emergency conditions. Craig Morgan of The Athletic adds that Raanta has subsequently been placed on IR and will be out until November 13th at the earliest.  Miska will serve as the backup to Darcy Kuemper for tomorrow’s game in Philadelphia, but perhaps he will be forced into action before too long given the team has a back-to-back against Pittsburgh and Washington that are scheduled fewer than 24 hours apart.
  • Though the Vegas Golden Knights will be without Erik Haula for at least a few games—and perhaps many more given the optics of last night’s injury—they welcomed back another familiar face to practice today. Nate Schmidt was back on the ice with the team, and can now take full part of practice as he waits out the last ten days of his PED suspension. November 18th is the first game action Schmidt is eligible for, when the Golden Knights head to Edmonton to take on Connor McDavid and the Oilers.

Evan Bouchard, Alex Formenton Heading Back To Junior

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The Edmonton Oilers have decided that if Evan Bouchard isn’t going to play every night in the NHL, he might as well continue his development back in junior. The team, according to Mark Spector of Sportsnet, has returned Bouchard to the OHL’s London Knights for the remainder of the season. Bouchard played just seven games in the NHL this year, meaning he will not burn the first year of his entry-level contract. He will however instantly become a favorite to lead Team Canada at the World Junior Championship, and will help elevate London to a Memorial Cup contender once again. The team has recalled Kevin Gravel from the minor leagues to take Bouchard’s roster spot.

Similarly, the Ottawa Senators decided last night that Alex Formenton would be better served playing this season in junior as well. Amazingly he’s also returning to London in the OHL for the rest of the year, and should immediately become a dangerous offensive weapon for the team. Formenton played nine games with the Senators, meaning he too will not burn the first year of his entry-level contract.

While both Edmonton and Ottawa will lose some of their young depth, this is huge news for the Knights and Team Canada. Formenton was already a dominant presence at the World Junior tournament a year ago given his outstanding speed and surprising grit, and could potentially lead the team in scoring if given the chance. Bouchard meanwhile already showed that he can be the most dominant defenseman in the OHL, and now returns to a team that already has fellow high draft pick Adam Boqvist competing at a high level. Though NHL action is certainly in the future for both players, they’ll have to settle for winning at the junior and international levels for now.

Oilers’ Zack Kassian Granted Permission To Seek Trade

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The Edmonton Oilers are off to a better start this season, out to a 5-3-1 record in the first month of the season. There has been far less controversy surrounding the team so far, as they look to get back to the playoffs following a very disappointing 2017-18 campaign. However, not everyone is feeling the positive effects of the new year. Forward Zack Kassian has been underutilized and unproductive early this season, a continuing trend from last season, and his frustration has boiled over. According to Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman, Kassian requested and has been granted permission to seek a trade to another team. His time in Edmonton could soon be over.

Kassian, 27, is a big, power forward right winger and was once a top NHL prospect. Selected 13th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2009, Kassian was valued not only for his size and physicality, but also his offensive upside after solid production in the OHL. That scoring ability never quite developed and Kassian has made a living in the league – with Buffalo, the Vancouver Canucks, and now Edmonton – as a part-time player used to inject grit and energy into the lineup. That is until 2016-17, when Kassian earned a full-time role with the Oilers, playing in a career-high 79 games, finishing among the top forwards in hits, and contributing 24 points as well.

There was no turning back after that, as Kassian was convinced he had proven himself to be an NHL starter. Rumors of his dissatisfaction began last season, when Kassian saw his ice time slip, unsurprisingly along with his performance. However, the situation has come to a head this year, as Kassian has been a healthy scratch for a third of the Oilers’ games, has skated under ten minutes per night on average, and has been held scoreless to boot. This may simply be the new reality for Kassian, who is better suited as a match-up player to be used when toughness is needed or he’s showing flashes of offense, but it will likely take a change of scenery for him to realize that. With plenty of players who could fill a role on the fourth line, Edmonton has little reason not to take what they can for Kassian and rid themselves of two more years of his nearly $2MM cap hit. With mutual interest in a separation, this seems like a situation that will be resolved via trade in short order, although don’t expect much of a return for the Oilers or a breakout for Kassian with his new team.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Matej Pekar To Entry-Level Contract

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The Buffalo Sabres already got their way when convincing 2018 draft pick Matej Pekar to play in the OHL this season, and now the two sides have agreed again on a step in his hockey career. Pekar has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Sabres.

Selected in the fourth round in June, Pekar was expected to stay in the USHL for one season before heading to the college ranks. All that went out the window when the Sabres convinced him to play with the Barrie Colts this season, ending his NCAA eligibility and setting him up for a quicker path to professional hockey. The talented Czech-born forward has made an impact right away scoring 11 points in his first 10 OHL games, and looks like a steal for the Sabres at this point—early as it may be.

It’s obviously difficult to judge a draft just a few months after it happens, but the Sabres look like they have quite a few gems from the last two years. While Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dahlin are easy choices, others like Pekar, Mattias Samuelsson and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen could make it an excellent group. That’s exactly what the Sabres need as they try to climb out of the bottom of the league, and getting these players under contract is just another step along the way.

Arizona Coyotes Assign Barrett Hayton To OHL

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The Arizona Coyotes have decided that Barrett Hayton isn’t ready for the NHL after all. The team has assigned the top prospect back to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL, where he will continue his development as one of the most dynamic two-way centers in junior hockey.

Hayton was kept around a little longer than the preseason in order to give him a taste of NHL life, though he never actually entered a game for the Coyotes. The fifth-overall pick from June was something of a surprise selection, but the Coyotes and GM John Chayka have sung his praises since then. Underutilized last season in Sault Ste. Marie, Hayton should take on an even bigger role and show off why Arizona picked him so high. Even at just 18-years old he could join the Canadian World Junior team, especially if the management believes it would be their only chance at him before he heads to the NHL.

An excellent defensive center, Hayton has big offensive upside as well and should only add to the depth the Coyotes are trying to build down the middle. Though there is still some debate over whether Alex Galchenyuk can play the position full time, or whether Clayton Keller would be capable of a switch, the team already has several NHL-caliber options to grow the team around. Hayton should challenge that group next season, though there is no guarantee he even makes the club in 2019-20. If he doesn’t, the Greyhounds could be one of the best teams in the OHL for several years, and potentially compete for the Memorial Cup.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Lundestrom, Luukkonen

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The NHL has handed out the Three Stars of the Week for the first time this season, naming Auston Matthews as the top performer through the first few games. Matthews leads the NHL with eight points through three games including five goals, and has been a huge part of the Toronto Maple Leafs getting off to a 2-1 start. The Maple Leafs have looked shaky in their own end to start the year, but with the firepower that Matthews and John Tavares can provide up front it might not matter on most nights.

Jonathan Toews and Ben Bishop were named to the other two spots, noting a bounce back for both players this season. Toews especially had a down year as the Chicago Blackhawks disappointed in 2017-18, but is off to a blistering start with five goals in his first seven periods and six points total through three games. If the Blackhawks are to return to relevancy this year, they’ll need their captain to be among the best players in the league once again.

  • Speaking of captains not living up to expectations, the Anaheim Ducks were without Ryan Getzlaf today at practice while he deals with a lower-body injury. That meant first-round pick Isac Lundestrom was skating between Andrew Cogliano and Kiefer Sherwood according to Eric Stephens of The Athletic, giving the young forward a chance to make his NHL debut later tonight. Lundestrom has been surprisingly polished through training camp, and even at the age of 18 looks like a possible contributor for the Ducks this season. The 23rd-overall pick scored 15 points in 42 games in the Swedish Hockey League last season, and will try to make an even bigger impact in the NHL.
  • The Ducks aren’t the only one with an impressive young prospect though, as Buffalo Sabres draft pick Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has won the OHL Player of the Week award. Luukkonen is playing for the Sudbury Wolves this season as he prepares for life as a professional in North America, and is already 5-0 with a .944 save percentage. Selected 54th overall in 2017, Luukkonen signed his entry-level contract this offseason and is quickly becoming one of the top goaltending prospects in the league. He’ll likely start out next season in the AHL, but the Sabres are hoping for big things from him down the line.

Snapshots: Nylander, Senators, Memorial Cup

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Despite the Toronto Maple Leafs first win of the season last night, the team is still embroiled in a contract negotiation with star forward William Nylander that hangs over the club and draws daily questions from the media. For his part, Nylander hadn’t said much other than the fact that he wanted to be in Toronto for a long time and was letting his agent deal with the negotiations. That was before the season started though, so when he was quoted today by Swedish news outlet Aftobladet it drew quite a lot of attention.

Nylander is training in Sweden and told the reporters that he has still let his agent do all the talking between his side and the Maple Leafs, admitting that he hadn’t spoken to Toronto personally at all. Though Nylander isn’t receiving money that he could be earning had he signed before the season started, he explained that he has to worry about his long-term future in the league and not just what is going on right now. That comes just after team President Brendan Shanahan spoke to the media in Toronto and explained that the team expects their young players to want to win more than make the most money possible, and that leaving some on the table was basically a requirement to keep everyone together. Nylander, as a restricted free agent, has to sign a contract by December 1st or be declared ineligible to play in the NHL this season.

  • The Ottawa Senators are getting ready to open their season tonight, and have added to their scouting staff for the upcoming season. The team announced the hiring of Rob Murphy to the pro scouting group, who brings a wealth of experience along with him. Murphy was most recently the director of scouting for the Buffalo Sabres, and had previously worked with the Senators and Arizona Coyotes. GM Pierre Dorion released an enthusiastic statement on the hiring, explaining that Murphy is “another important step” in the team’s rebuild.
  • While this year’s Memorial Cup will be held in Halifax, the CHL announced that the Kelowna Rockets will host the 2020 tournament that pits the best of the best in Canadian junior hockey against each other. Kelowna will get an automatic entry into the tournament as the host city, and will face off against the WHL, OHL and QMJHL champions for the prestigious trophy.

Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou Make St. Louis Opening Night Roster

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The St. Louis Blues have been one of the most interesting teams to follow this offseason, given the huge overhaul they performed on their forward group. Out are names like Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka and Tage Thompson, while the team has brought in veteran names like Tyler Bozak, David Perron and Ryan O’Reilly. Outside of those veteran additions though, fans were watching closely the development of several young players and hoping they’d get a chance to play in the NHL this season. Thanks to some injuries to start the year—including ones to Oskar Sundqvist, Robby Fabbri and Nikita Soshnikov, who will all start the season on injured reserve of one form or another—Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Samuel Blais and Ivan Barbashev have all earned spots on the opening night roster.

The early performance of each of these young forwards was enough to make the Blues place Dmitrij Jaskin on waivers, risking and eventually losing him to a claim by the Washington Capitals. While losing Jaskin for nothing isn’t an optimal scenario, opening up opportunities for talented youngsters is an important step towards contending for the Stanley Cup, something the Blues truly believe they can do in the near future.

They are real opportunities too, as the Blues will open the season with just 12 forwards on the roster meaning all the kids will be in the lineup Thursday night (provided nothing else happens over the next couple of days). Thomas and Kyrou especially will be under the microscope as they make their NHL debuts, both star prospects that could make an impact right away.

Thomas, an impressive two-way center that showed last season with the London Knights and Hamilton Bulldogs that he could play nearly any role needed (including defense during penalty kills on occasion), is a prized prospect for the Blues whose development could make or break the team’s fortunes over the next few seasons. Though he may not be able to step into an top offensive role immediately, the fact that St. Louis believes he’s ready to contribute should excite fans to no end.

Kyrou, the dynamic forward who put up 109 points in 56 games for the Sarnia Sting last season, can disrupt games using his incredible skating ability and nose for the net. There’s little reason to doubt that he can put up points at the NHL level too, but there is still work to be done with his physicality and overall game. Blais and Barbashev shouldn’t be overlooked, given their contributions to the club last season and strong preseasons to date.

There’s obviously changes to be made when the team starts to get healthier, but the Blues will have an intriguing forward group all season as they try to bounce back and make the playoffs in 2018-19. Though the goaltending situation with Jake Allen and Chad Johnson may be the biggest factor, all the pieces are there for contention this season in St. Louis.

Kings Loan Jacob Moverare To SHL’s Frolunda HC

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Los Angeles Kings defensive prospect Jacob Moverare is on the move. After being cut from Kings camp and assigned to Ontario of the AHL on Saturday, the Swedish Hockey League’s Frolunda HC announced today that the 20-year-old blue liner will join their team for the remainder of the season. Moverare has played the past two seasons in North America with the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads, but will now return to his native Sweden for the foreseeable future.

While it is not out of the ordinary to see a loan of this kind for a young foreign player, the circumstances are somewhat unique. Moverare is not a stranger to the SHL, skating in four games at the top level as a teenager in 2015-16; however, he was brought up in the developmental system of HV71. By now joining Frolunda, it seems likely that Moverare and his agent were given permission to negotiate a new contract in SHL, rather than simply re-joining his old squad. In Frolunda’s press release, Moverare acknowledges that he worked out with the team this summer and felt comfortable skating with the squad this year.

Moverare’s loan should not be considered any indication that he won’t be back in North America in the future. The 2016 fourth-round pick has shown considerable ability and is simply a victim of the numbers game for L.A. Moverare, a right-shot, puck-moving defenseman, plays a strong, competitive game and is known for his vision and positioning on the ice. In Mississauga, Moverare was a productive player who often paired with Vegas Golden Knights prospect Nic Hague to form a formidable duo. However, after missing time last season due to injury, the Kings made the decision that the best thing for his development this year would be guaranteed ice time, which may have been hard to come by with Ontario. Los Angeles has 16 other defensemen under contract, and even with seven or eight slated for L.A., it would have left at least nine in Ontario prior to Moverare’s loan. Rather than compete for ice time with NHL-ready prospects like Daniel Brickley, Kale Clague, and Alex Lintuniemi or veterans such as Kurtis MacDermid and Paul LaDue, it makes more sense for Moverare to spend the season with Frolunda, where he will likely have a regular top-six role.

Minor Transactions: 09/20/18

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Even while NHL clubs trim the fat off their training camp rosters, minor league teams are adding talent for the upcoming season. We’ll keep track of the minor moves right here.

  • The San Jose Barracuda have signed Keaton Middleton to an AHL contract, meaning he’ll join his brother Jake Middleton in the organization. The younger of the two Middleton boys, Keaton was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round of the 2016 draft but failed to sign a professional contract with them and became an unrestricted free agent this summer. The towering defenseman has served as the captain for the Saginaw Spirit for the past two seasons and can be an absolute physical force on the ice when on his game.
  • The Binghamton Devils have also added an interesting player on an AHL contract, inking Brian Ward to a one-year deal. Ward was a dominant offensive player for the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL the past two seasons, and could make the jump to the AHL this year if given a chance. A former standout at St. Lawrence University, he’s still quite a distance from ever challenging for an NHL job but should give the Devils some added depth in the minor leagues.

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