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Markus Granlund, Lukas Wallmark Linked To ZSC Lions

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After terminating his contract in the KHL because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lucas Wallmark appears to be headed to Switzerland. Reports have surfaced that both Wallmark and Markus Granlund will sign with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss NL, after spending this season in the KHL.

Wallmark, 26, once recorded ten goals and 28 points in a season for the Carolina Hurricanes and appeared to be on his way to relevance in the NHL. That quickly dissipated though, and after several trades (he was sent to the Florida Panthers two years in a row), he took his talents to CSKA Moscow where he had 19 points in 31 games. This season also included a stint with the Swedish Olympic squad, where Wallmark actually scored five goals in an impressive six-game performance, earning a place on the tournament All-Star team.

Given his relative youth, a contract in Switzerland doesn’t necessarily end any chance of Wallmark returning to North America at some point, but it certainly will delay it. Zurich is one of the most well-run organizations in all of Europe and routinely grabs top imports from around the globe. Despite not finding much success in his last few NHL stops, Wallmark should have no problem in the NL.

Granlund meanwhile is another year removed from the NHL, last playing for the Edmonton Oilers in the 2019-20 season. He’s spent the last two seasons in the KHL with Salavat Yulaev Ufa, where he has been one of the league’s most consistent offensive players. In 91 KHL regular season games over two seasons, Granlund scored 31 goals and 91 points, numbers that should follow him to Switzerland if he does in fact sign. Another participant in the Olympics, he managed to record just one point in the tournament, but still take home a gold medal with the Finns.

Now 29, a return to North America is still possible down the road, and Granlund did score 19 goals for the Vancouver Canucks in 2016-17. That kind of scoring touch has been inconsistent for him at the NHL level though, meaning he might be another European star that prefers to stay overseas than risk demotion to the AHL by coming to this side of the pond.

San Jose Sharks Sign Strauss Mann

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The San Jose Sharks have landed a very interesting goaltender, inking Strauss Mann to a one-year contract. Mann recently became an unrestricted free agent when he left Skelleftea AIK of the SHL. No details on the contract were released. Shin Larsson, Sharks’ supervisor of European scouting, released a statement on his newest find:

Strauss is a quick athletic goalie with history of leadership and success exemplified by being named the first goalie Captain at University of Michigan in 78 years. He followed his successful collegiate career with a strong season for Skelleftea in the SHL and represented Team USA at the most recent Olympics. We look forward to adding a quality goaltender and person to our organization.

Mann, 23, posted a .914 save percentage in the SHL this season, appearing in 22 games for Skelleftea after leaving Michigan. He also managed to suit up for the U.S. at the Olympics, and now enters the North American professional ranks as a legitimate NHL prospect. Undrafted out of the USHL, Mann developed into a dominating presence for the Wolverines, posting a .926 save percentage over 77 starts and earning the captain’s “C” in his junior year.

While he doesn’t fit the prototypical NHL goaltending frame, standing just 6’0″, Mann’s excellent quickness and ability to read the play have resulted in strong results everywhere he has been so far. In fact, before signing in the SHL, he was ranked third by Corey Pronman of The Athletic among undrafted free agent players from college and Europe, with the scribe noting he projects as a No. 2 or 3 option for an NHL club. If that’s what the Sharks have landed with nothing more than an entry-level contract, it will be a big win for the organization.

Of course, in San Jose there is certainly no shortage of NHL options for next season. James Reimer and Adin Hill are both under contract through 2021-22 at more than $2.1MM each, and Kaapo Kahkonen was acquired at the trade deadline as a potential future starter. The hope, it seems, is that Mann will be able to fill one of those higher roles when Reimer and Hill both become unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2023–when the former will be 35 years old.

Strauss Mann Leaving Skelleftea, Becomes Free Agent

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When the U.S. Olympic hockey roster was revealed, a few eyebrows were raised at the goaltending position. Drew Commesso, a top prospect for the Chicago Blackhawks and recent starter at the World Juniors was included, alongside veteran minor leaguer Pat Nagle. The prospective Olympic starter, though, was Strauss Mann, a name that wasn’t so familiar to NHL or even AHL fans.

Mann, 23, had been a star at the University of Michigan previously, even captaining the squad in the shortened 2020-21 season. But he was undrafted and had left North America to play in Sweden, where he was part of Skelleftea AIK. The young netminder ended up splitting time at the Olympics with Commesso, putting up a .945 save percentage in his Team USA debut, and finished the year in the SHL with a .914 save percentage in 22 appearances.

Eliminated from the playoffs rather quickly, Skelleftea has now announced that Mann–along with several others, including the recently-signed Adam Wilsby and former NHL forward Jayce Hawryluk–will not be returning for 2022-23, making him an unrestricted free agent once again. Mann can now sign an entry-level contract with an NHL team, should there be interest in his services, or try his hand at the minor league level.

If he does end up landing an NHL contract for 2022-23, it would be a one-year deal, as Mann will turn 24 in August. While he doesn’t have the prototypical NHL frame, standing just 6’0″, there has been a shift toward accepting undersized (or at least non-gigantic) goaltenders of late. Mann’s success overseas and at the Olympics certainly has put him on the radar of some professional organizations in North America, so it will be interesting to see where he lands next.

Brock Faber Returning For Junior Season

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There is some unfinished business for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, who were ousted from the Frozen Four by the Minnesota State Mavericks, missing a chance at a National Championship game. While freshman Matthew Knies is meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs this week to discuss his future (and according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, leaning toward a return), Brock Faber has already made his decision. The Los Angeles Kings prospect will return for his junior season, the team confirmed today.

Faber, 19, was the 45th overall pick in 2020 and just finished a season that saw him wear an “A” as alternate captain of Team USA at the eventually-canceled World Juniors, suit up for the U.S. at the Olympics, and win the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award, while also being named to the conference First All-Star Team. You could call it a pretty successful sophomore year.

The Kings actually traded up to land Faber in 2020, sending picks 51 and 97 to the Detroit Red Wings in order to draft the USNTDP standout. The right-shot defenseman has always had an innate ability to close gaps on the rush and break cycles in his own end, and is still developing an improving offensive game to go with it. If you trace that draft pick back even further, it actually originally belonged to the Edmonton Oilers, and was one of the two second-round selections sent to Detroit at the 2020 deadline for Andreas Athanasiou.

Now it’s the Kings’ bounty, though they’ll still need to sign Faber at some point in the future. His draft rights belong to them through August of 2024, meaning next spring there will likely be another push to get him under contract.

Still, there’s good reason to believe that another year of college will actually help his development, especially if some of the other talented defensemen on Minnesota decide to turn pro. If Faber is given more offensive responsibility, there’s even a chance he could be ready to step directly into the NHL in an impact role following his junior season.

Anton Lander Signs In SHL

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It’s finally time for Anton Lander to go home. The Swedish Olympic captain has signed a three-year contract with Timra IK of the SHL, one that likely ends any chance of him returning to the NHL given his age.

Lander, 30, has had an incredibly varied and interesting career in professional hockey, debuting as a teenager in 2007-08 with Timra. Selected 40th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2009, he came to the NHL in 2011 and almost immediately stepped into a regular role. Over parts of six seasons, he would play 215 games with the Oilers, setting a career-high of 20 points in just 38 games during the 2014-15 campaign.

His contributions to that organization were felt mostly at the AHL level though, where he wore the “C” for two seasons with the Oklahoma City Barons and an “A” in his final year with the Bakersfield Condors. Scoring at nearly a point-per-game pace in the AHL, it was easy to expect success once he decided to go overseas in 2017. In his first season in the KHL he won the Gagarin Cup with Ak Bars Kazan, and represented Sweden at the 2018 Olympics. Three more successful years in Russia followed, before Lander joined EV Zug in Switzerland for the 2021-22 campaign.

He had the honor of wearing that captain’s “C” again at this year’s Games, though Sweden was unable to medal once again. Now, more than a decade after he left, he returns to the Swedish club that developed him. By the end of a three-year deal, Lander will be 33 and eight seasons removed from hockey in North America.

Anton Slepyshev Re-Signs In KHL

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If you wondered whether Anton Slepyshev would attempt an NHL comeback after his strong performance in the KHL and at the Olympics this year, think again. The 27-year-old forward has signed a new contract with CSKA Moscow that will keep him in Russia through the 2024-25 season.

Slepyshev was originally selected 88th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2013, and eventually made it over to North America for the 2015-16 season. After making his NHL debut that season, he was a regular in the Oilers lineup for the next two years, including during the team’s 2017 playoff run, the last time they have made it out of the first round.

After the 2017-18 season and his entry-level contract came to an end, though, he ended up returning to Russia to join the powerhouse CSKA program, and has not returned. His NHL rights, which were temporarily held by the Oilers, expired last year and he could have returned to sign with any North American organization had he wanted to. Instead, his prime years will all be spent in Russia, suggesting that his NHL career could come to an end with just over 100 games played. This season for CSKA, he registered ten goals and 25 points in 35 games, and helped his country take home the silver medal at the Olympics with a strong performance.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Juraj Slafkovsky Wins Olympic MVP

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When the NHL doesn’t participate in the Olympics, new stories can be written. One of this year’s best was Slovakia, which won its first Olympic hockey medal by defeating Sweden in the bronze medal game. A huge reason why the Slovaks won was young Juraj Slafkovsky, a draft-eligible forward that scored seven goals in seven matches. Slafkovsky was named tournament MVP by the IIHF.

In this tournament, most nations decided to take a more veteran group, but the 17-year-old Slafkovsky is the one who stood out the most. A brilliant mix of size and skill, the 6’4″ forward continues to climb up draft boards and make his case to be picked among the first few selections later this year. Amazingly, that seven-goal performance came after several other goalless appearances at the international level. In last year’s World Juniors, last year’s World Championship, last year’s Olympic qualifying, and this year’s shortened World Juniors–16 games in all–Slafkovsky had no goals and just a single assist.

If this is his coming-out party, it couldn’t have come at a better time. With limited action with TPS in Liiga this season, some teams may have not been extremely familiar with the young forward even if their European scouts were. They certainly will be now, only helping his stock rise as the year continues.

The rest of the tournament All-Star team has some familiar faces as well. It was as follows:

G Patrik Rybar (Slovakia)
D Mikko Lehtonen (Finland)
D Egor Yakovlev (ROC)
F Juraj Slafkovsky (Slovakia)
F Sakari Manninen (Finland)
F Lucas Wallmark (Sweden)

IIHF President Luc Tardif Promises NHL In 2026 Olympics, 2022 WJC Make-Up

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: there is optimism that the NHL will participate in the next Winter Olympic Games. Despite participation being agreed to in the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement, the NHL pulled out of the current Beijing games late, citing Coronavirus as the main concern though many existed. After two consecutive Winter Olympics without NHL participation, it is hard to guarantee anything but IIHF President Luc Tardif is ready to do just that.

In a report by Stephen Whyno for the Associated Press, Tardif states that he is confident that NHLers will return to the Olympic Games in 2026 when the event takes place in Milan and Cortina, Italy. Tardif does not expect there to be any mitigating factors in 2026 as there were this year and that the league will honor the agreement with the NHLPA, IIHF, and IOC to allow their stars to represent their countries on the largest international stage. Tardif briefly mentioned that while he sees plenty of merit in moving the hockey tournament to the Summer Games, he does not see that happening and believes the NHL can make it work in-season. He hopes that an agreement on the terms of participation can be agreed to well ahead of time, at least a year before the tournament starts.

Whyno adds that NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly appears to be on the same page. Daly has stated that the league does not foresee any issues with participation and expect an agreement “on a relatively expedited basis.”

As for other IIHF events impacted by COVID this year, Tardif added that he fully expects the 2022 U-20 World Junior Championship and Women’s U-18 Tournament to both take place this summer after being canceled in December. Tardif believes the Women’s Championship will take place in the U.S. in June, while the WJC returns to Canada in August. Notably, this would put the tournament after the NHL Draft, removing it as an option for any last-minute scouting, though still an invaluable tool for prospect evaluation.

Injury Updates: MacKinnon, Sanderson, Devils

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The Colorado Avalanche will have Nathan MacKinnon back in the lineup tomorrow when they take on the Dallas Stars, according to head coach Jared Bednar. The superstar center was back with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen at practice today after missing the last four with a facial fracture. The team went 3-1 during that stretch but there are few players in the league more valuable than MacKinnon, who is in the midst of another outstanding season.

Through 31 games, the 26-year-old has 43 points despite only scoring nine goals of his own. A 6.6% shooting percentage is the culprit for that low goal total as MacKinnon is still generating huge amounts of offense whenever he’s on the ice. The idea of a Colorado team getting even more dangerous if the puck starts finding the back of the net more often for their top player is a scary thought for the rest of the Central Division. With Nazem Kadri, Rantanen, Landeskog, MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews all scoring at a point-per-game rate (or better), the high-flying Avalanche will play a home-and-home against the Stars over their next two games.

  • Team USA secured an impressive victory over Canada last night at the Beijing Olympics but it came at a cost. Jake Sanderson, who had to deal with several delays before joining his teammates because of COVID restrictions, suffered an injury that puts the rest of his tournament in question, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The medical staff is still evaluating the young Ottawa Senators prospect. Sanderson, 19, is already probably the best defenseman on the U.S. squad despite his young age and lack of pro experience and would be a tough loss for the team if he is ruled out.
  • The New Jersey Devils will be without Jesper Bratt and Janne Kuokkanen when they play tomorrow afternoon, as both are out with injury. Bratt is dealing with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day, while Kuokkanen is still out with the wrist injury that has kept him from playing the last two. Jack Hughes, out of the COVID protocol, will be back in the lineup after his impressive All-Star performance.

Snapshots: Senators Injuries, Kastelic, Teravainen, Kuzmenko

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The Senators will get some help on the injury front for their game against New Jersey on Monday as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports (Twitter link) that defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, winger Connor Brown, and center Dylan Gambrell will all return to the lineup.  Zaitsev has been out for nearly two months due to a heel injury, Brown has missed just under a month with a broken jaw, and Gambrell has been out for a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury.  Gambrell and Zaitsev will need to be activated off injured reserve but the Sens carried a minimum-sized roster through the All-Star break so no corresponding moves will need to be made.

More from around the hockey world:

  • Still with Ottawa, the Senators announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled center Mark Kastelic from Belleville of the AHL. The 22-year-old made his NHL debut late last month and has played in three games for Ottawa this season, averaging just under eight minutes a game while winning over 72% of his faceoffs.  Kastelic has a dozen points in 34 games at the AHL level.
  • While the Hurricanes were hoping that winger Teuvo Teravainen would be good to go following the All-Star break, it appears his lingering lower-body injury hasn’t healed as well as the team hoped. Instead, as Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer notes (Twitter link), Teravainen is listed as a game-time decision for their game against Toronto on Monday.  He has missed the last two games due to the injury.
  • Free agent winger Andrei Kuzmenko will miss the Olympics due to an unspecified injury, relays Steven Ellis of The Hockey News. The 25-year-old wrapped up the KHL season in second place in KHL scoring with 53 points in 45 games with SKA St. Petersburg and is expected to make the jump to North America next season and sign with an NHL team.  While the KHL called the rest of their regular season yesterday, their playoffs will get started after the Olympics so that announcement won’t affect when Kuzmenko will sign.
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