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Jordan Kyrou Wins OHL Most Outstanding Player

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The St. Louis Blues may have missed the playoffs this season, but they received some good news today when Jordan Kyrou was named the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player and awarded the Red Tilson Trophy. Kyrou, a Blues second-round pick from 2016, registered 109 points in just 56 games this season while also winning a gold medal at the World Junior Championship.

Kyrou is an outstanding skater who dominated the OHL this season, finishing just six points behind Aaron Luchuk for the scoring title despite playing in 12 fewer games. His 70 assists were tied with Morgan Frost for the league lead, helping him become the first Sarnia Sting player to ever win the Red Tilson. The trophy is a prestegious honor, with plenty of past recipients going on to long prosperous NHL careers. Alex DeBrincat, Mitch Marner, Connor McDavid, Connor Brown and Vincent Trocheck are the past five winners, with other names like John Tavares, Eric Lindros and Doug Gilmour all having taken a turn.

While it may be unlikely for Kyrou to duplicate some of those careers, many believe he’s poised to become a difference-maker at the next level. The Blues have several top end prospects ready to break onto the professional scene, with Kyrou leading the charge next season. Whether he begins the year at the AHL level or cracks the Blues out of training camp is still to be seen, but there is little doubt that the spotlight will follow him next season.

Amazingly, it’s not just Kyrou’s offense that is remarked on when scouts take in one of his games. Relentlessly effective in his own zone, he’ll be challenged at the next level to keep up his excellent defensive work ethic and become the two-way player many believe he can be. Junior hockey can sometimes fail to expose weaknesses in players who have a standout ability as Kyrou does in his skating, only to be revealed in the professional ranks against similarly skilled players.

Regardless, the Blues will be happy that Kyrou took the necessary steps forward this season to win the award. Many believed from the start of the year that he would challenge for the scoring title, and had he not spent time away with the Canadian national junior team, he likely would have. Though the Sting were eliminated in the second round of the OHL playoffs, Kyrou will have plenty of other chances in what is expected to be a long career.

Logan Stanley Joins Manitoba Moose For AHL Playoffs

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As if the Winnipeg Jets didn’t have enough talent in the system, Logan Stanley has been reassigned to the Manitoba Moose a week after his Kitchener Rangers were eliminated from the OHL playoffs. Stanley will join the Moose during their Calder Cup run, which has hit a snag against the Rockford IceHogs in the second round. Manitoba is down 0-2 in the series, which continues Wednesday evening.

Manitoba already has Sami Niku, the 21-year old seventh-round pick fresh off being named the AHL Defenseman of the Year, but will add another immensely talented blueliner for their playoff run. The 19-year old Stanley is a bit different than many of his contemporaries, standing 6’7″ 231-lbs and armed with a bomb of a shot. The monstrous defender put up 42 points in 61 games this season for the Rangers, adding another 16 in 19 playoff contests.

Stanley isn’t just big, he’s talented with the puck on his stick and can move it quickly to forwards up the ice. Selected in the first-round of the 2016 draft, he dealt with plenty of injuries last season but seemed to take a big step forward this year. Though he likely won’t be manning the Winnipeg blue line any time soon, there is obvious NHL upside in his play and even his floor should be good enough to be an asset on the penalty kill. We’ll see if he gets into any AHL games for the Moose as they basically are in do-or-die situations for the rest of the series.

Mark Hunter Making GM Choice Difficult For Maple Leafs

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With most people under the belief that with former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello out of the picture now, the Maple Leafs are likely to go with their long-time plan of naming GM-in-waiting Kyle Dubas as their next general manager.

However, Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet suggests that may not be the case. During a segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Kypreos says that many executives around the league believe that assistant general manager Mark Hunter may be the better choice. Elliotte Friedman reported on the same broadcast that team president Brendan Shanahan and Hunter met Friday to discuss the opening.

“A lot of executives I’ve spoken with believe that when it comes to the next general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it goes in the favour of Mark Hunter, for no other reason than his resume,” said Kypreos.

The 55-year-old Hunter has quite a different resume than the 32-year-old prodigy Dubas. The 12-year NHL veteran has been a successful coach, owned, and ran the OHL’s London Knights and has been an executive with the Maple Leafs since 2014. Dubas, who also joined the organization in 2014, was the general manager of the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

“A lot of executives still believe that Kyle Dubas pales in comparison to the years of experience and multiple Memorial Cups [of Hunter],” Kyreos said. “The issue for Brendan Shanahan going forward is that if he decides to go with Kyle Dubas, he runs the risk of losing Mark Hunter, who would have a tough time answering to Dubas.”

With two solid candidates for the highly-coveted position, however, it’s likely the team will lose one executive at some point if they don’t get the position.

Blackhawks Sign German Forward Dominik Kahun

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As expected for some time, Dominik Kahun has turned his success in his native Germany and at the 2018 Winter Olympics into his first NHL contract. The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that the Chicago Blackhawks have signed Kahun to an entry-level deal. Both Kahun and the Blackhawks have confirmed the contract and CapFriendly reports that it is a two-year deal worth the ELC-max $925 base salary, but nothing has been publicly announced. Chicago has long been considered the favorite to sign Kahun and could be willing to give the affordable talent an NHL look sooner rather than later.

The 22-year-old forward is coming off quite the season. His DEL team, EHC Munchen, were league champions, as Kahun finished third in scoring with 41 points in 42 games, and Team Germany made an unlikely run to a silver medal at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang behind Kahun’s five points in seven games. All around, this has been the best season of Kahun’s career and he has caught the eye of many around the hockey world.

Now, the next test will be to see if his talent translates to the NHL. This year’s NHL-less Olympics and certainly the DEL are not comparable to the best hockey league in the world. However, Kahun also had past success in the OHL and at the World Juniors, which are better predictors of NHL success. What Kahun lacks in exceptional size, speed, or strength, he makes up for with great vision and intelligence and next-level stick skills. If Kahun continues to work hard and strive for success, expect him to find immediate success in the AHL and perhaps in Chicago as well.

Los Angeles Kings Sign Matthew Villalta

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The Los Angeles Kings have added another interesting goaltending prospect to the organization, signing Matthew Villalta to a three-year entry-level contract. Villalta is currently playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL’s Western Conference Final.

Villalta, 18, was selected in the third round in last June’s draft and led the OHL in wins this season with 40. Though his other numbers took a slight step backwards, ending with a .908 save percentage and 2.58 GAA, he’s still expected to grow into a formidable goaltending prospect in the coming years. Originally listed at 165 lbs, the Kings now have Villalta all the way up to 181 in their press release and there could be even more size coming as the 6’2″ goaltender continues to mature physically.

The Kings have placed a huge emphasis on their goaltending pipeline in the recent years, acquiring Jack Campbell from the Dallas Stars organization, signing Cal Petersen after he failed to reach an agreement with the Buffalo Sabres, and inking Cole Kehler earlier this season out of the WHL. Though there is no doubt that Jonathan Quick is the starter for the foreseeable future, he’ll turn 33 next season and can’t be relied on forever.

Villalta will almost certainly return to the OHL next season where he and the Greyhounds should still be among the best teams in the league. If they aren’t able to secure a Memorial Cup berth this season, there’s no reason to believe they can’t next year.

Prospects In The OHL Playoffs: Vilardi, Pu, Brown

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The NHL playoffs aren’t the only teams vying for postseason supremacy. The OHL playoffs are finishing up the second round, with two teams close to moving on. Here’s a look at some of the prospects who may be on the NHL ice sooner rather than later. 

The Kingston Frontenacs were busy at the OHL trade deadline and added fire power in the way of Gabe Vilardi (Los Angeles), and Cliff Pu (Buffalo), who certainly delivered as expected through two rounds of the playoffs. Not only has Kingston secured a spot in the next round after dispatching Barrie in six games, Vilardi and Pu are first and fourth in points respectively, with teammate Linus Nyman tied at 16 points. Pu was impressive with London, so much so that Kingston went out and snagged him to guarantee scoring depth and a chance at its first Robertson Cup. Back in January, the Global News’ Doug Jeffries wrote about how Pu brought experience from the Knights’ Memorial Cup win in 2016. It surely has paid off for both the Frontenacs and Pu, who was a third round pick for the Sabres and whose value continues to rise.

Vilardi nursed an injury for the first half of the OHL season, but the former Windsor Spitfire played as strong as expected when on the ice, notching 58 points (22-36) in 32 games.  Vilardi has been just as dominant in the playoffs, leading the league in points (20) and goals (11). After signing an entry level deal back in March, barring injury there might be a strong case to be made for Vilardi suiting up in Los Angeles next season. The 11th overall pick of the 2017 NHL draft also won a Memorial Cup that same year.

One non-Frontenac making some noise is Kitchener’s Logan Brown (Ottawa), who was the 11th overall pick for the Sens back in 2016. Like Vilardi, Brown was also traded by Windsor in January and picked up where he left off, averaging over a point-per-game with his new club. The playoffs have seen Brown notch 19 points in 11 games as the Rangers currently hold a 3-2 advantage in the second round. Though only two of those 19 points have been goals, the Senators have to be pleased that Brown continues to produce. The Sens skated him in four games this past fall before sending him back to the Spitfires. Add in an impressive performance during the the World Juniors as well, Brown may find himself with the big club for a longer stay, especially since the team will most likely be retooling with youth in the 2018-19 season.

Snapshots: Awards, Holland, Leiweke

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The NHL will hold their annual awards ceremony on June 20th, a few days before the 2018 Entry Draft. The event will be held in Las Vegas once again, an exciting proposition for the Golden Knights who could be coming off a historic Stanley Cup victory in their first season.

Finalists will start to be announced in just a few days on April 17th, with the Vezina Trophy kicking things off. This awards season has been even more debated than usual, with almost a dozen legitimate candidates for the Hart Trophy and no consensus on other top awards like the Norris or Selke.

  • Ken Holland is back in the Detroit Red Wings front office, but he is willing to bring in some more voices to help strengthen the club’s decision making. That’s what Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) examines in his latest piece, digging into who could be potential additions. An interesting name that comes up is Kyle Raftis, GM of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and successor to Toronto whiz-kid Kyle Dubas.
  • Tod Leiweke has officially been announced as CEO and President of the prospective Seattle expansion team, joining his brother Tim Leiweke who is already part of the Oak View Group that placed the bid and will be minority owner. The pair have tons of experience running professional sports teams, including Tod’s stint as CEO of the Seattle Seahawks in the past.

Minor Transactions: 4/5/18

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It’s been a slow day for player movement as the regular season winds down, but some intriguing late action serves as a reminder that teams are still tweaking their rosters even this late in the season. 13 teams have been eliminated from postseason contention, but seven out West and five in the East have clinched spots and the remaining six are still fighting. For those lucky enough to still have eyes on the playoffs, there are important transactions to be made:

  • As has been commonplace through this season – and will finally come to an end soon – the San Jose Sharks have reassigned defenseman Tim Heed to their in-house AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda themselves announced. Heed will suit up for the Barracuda tonight, just his sixth game in the minors this season. However, Heed has only skated in 29 games with the Sharks as well, as the 27-year-old rearguard has been passed back and forth continually but under-utilized overall.
  • The St. Louis Blues have recalled goalie Ville Husso, the recently-named AHL All-Rookie Team keeper, from the San Antonio Rampage. There has been no indication that this is an emergency call-up by the Blues, meaning Jake Allen and Carter Hutton are likely fine and the team will simply ride with three goalies to close out the season. St. Louis trails the Colorado Avalanche by one point with two games remaining, including a head-to-head match-up on Saturday.
  • The flood of young talent in Boston isn’t ending any time soon and fans can get another glimpse into the future by watching the remainder of the AHL’s Providence Bruins’ season. Boston assigned junior players Jack Studnicka and Kyle Keyser to their minor league affiliate, per The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont, and the pair of Oshawa General teammates reported to the team today. Studnicka, the Bruins’ second-round pick last season, led the Generals in scoring this season with 72 points and did so on a team that featured two potential first-round forwards this June in Serron Noel and Allan McShane. Like fellow Boston prospects Trent Frederic and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Studnicka is an intelligent, two-way center who the Bruins hope could grow into a Patrice Bergeron clone. Perhaps more impressive though has been the play of Keyser, an undrafted free agent signing, who has been one of the best goalies in the OHL this season and was recently named the General’s Most Valuable Player. Both Studnicka and Keyser had previosuly signed ELC’s, but will more than likely still return to junior to begin next season; for now they will get a taste of the pro game in anticipation of NHL futures on the way.

Early Notes: Marchand, Upshall, Formenton

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There will be no suspension for Brad Marchand in his latest on-ice incident, instead receiving a $5,000 fine from the Department of Player Safety. Marchand appeared to cross-check a prone Andrew MacDonald in the face during the Boston-Bruins-Philadelphia Flyers game this weekend, but he will escape without missing any time.

This is the third time this season that Marchand has been given some form of supplementary discipline, after receiving a five-game suspension for elbowing Marcus Johansson and a $2,000 fine for a pair of diving/embellishment instances. This is the fourth such season with multiple incidents for Marchand, who despite being one of the best offensive weapons in the league has built quite a reputation for himself as a over-the-line player.

  • Scottie Upshall will not return for the St. Louis Blues this season, after suffering a lacerated kidney against the Arizona Coyotes. The injury occurred on a relatively innocuous-looking hit from Luke Schenn, but could mean some missed playoff time for the energy forward. Officially listed as out indefinitely, Upshall won’t be able to help the Blues attempt to catch Colorado or Los Angeles for one of the last few playoff spots.
  • Alex Formenton has been assigned to the Belleville Senators, now that his London Knights have been eliminated from the OHL playoffs. The 18-year old Formenton played one game for the Ottawa Senators at the beginning of the year, but was sent back to junior where he could suit up for Team Canada and register 48 points in 49 games for the Knights. He’ll get a chance to show what he can do at the AHL level before battling for a spot with Ottawa in the fall. If he doesn’t make the NHL team, another trip back to junior is a possibility.

Ivan Lodnia Assigned To Iowa Wild

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The Minnesota Wild have had a knack for finding interesting prospects in the middle and late rounds lately, and Ivan Lodnia is no different. The 18-year old forward has been cleared to play after missing the end of the OHL season with an injury, and the Wild have given him an opportunity by assigning him to the AHL. Having Lodnia join the Iowa Wild even for a short stint at such a young age shows how highly the Minnesota front office thinks of the third-round pick, and could indicate that he’s closer to making an impact for them than one might have originally thought.

Lodnia scored 59 points for the Erie Otters this season, which while a slight improvement over last year isn’t an amount that screams future NHL scorer. Still, his offensive ability is perhaps secondary to the solid defensive game he has developed over the last few years as he was stuck behind other more senior players on the Erie depth chart. Lodnia is built in the same way that other successful two-way players have been on the Wild, and could follow them to the NHL to make an impact.

While it’s very likely he’ll return to the OHL for another season in 2018-19, Lodnia is one to keep an eye on in a Minnesota system that has several intriguing names. With other late round selections like Kirill Kaprizov, Dmitry Sokolov and Brandon Duhaime all finding success in one way or another, the Wild have found quite a bit of talent outside the first round.

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