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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.

Morning Notes: Devils, Acciari, Sanderson

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The New Jersey Devils sure don’t sound like they’re looking for draft picks anymore. General manager Tom Fitzgerald spoke with Mike Morreale of NHL.com and mentioned the term “hockey trade” more than once, while admitting that they still haven’t made a decision on how the deadline will play out for their pending unrestricted free agents.

Is there a hockey trade you could make to not only help your team immediately, but the future? Somebody in the age demographic of where we’re at with the core of our team. Is there a hockey trade that makes sense for us more long term, but can help jumpstart us now?

The Devils already have several high-end young players on the roster, so it makes sense that they would want to add to that group instead of looking a few years down the road with any additional draft picks. When Jack Hughes’ huge extension kicks in next season the pressure will be on to start competing for a playoff spot, especially after handing out a $63MM contract to Dougie Hamilton last summer. P.K. Subban and Jimmy Vesey are the team’s two more notable players on expiring deals, though neither one would be expected to bring back a very valuable asset.

  • After just two games with the Charlotte Checkers, Noel Acciari has been recalled from his AHL conditioning loan. Of note, since he’s on long-term injured reserve he does not need to be activated yet, and Acciari is still listed on IR. The Florida Panthers do actually have an extra roster spot open at the moment, though that had been used by Matt Kiersted and Spencer Knight at various points, both of who are currently assigned to the minor leagues.
  • It’s still a waiting game for Team USA defenseman Jake Sanderson, who missed photo day last night at the Olympics as he remains in Los Angeles following a positive COVID test. Steven Kampfer and Andy Miele, who were also stuck in isolation for a short period of time, have rejoined the group according to Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff, but it’s still not clear if Sanderson will be able to join the team by Thursday’s opener.

Jake Sanderson In COVID Protocol Ahead Of Olympics

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The Olympics men’s hockey tournament is set to start next week and the U.S. squad is hoping that a talented young defender will be able to join them for the first game. Jake Sanderson is in COVID protocol according to Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald and has not yet traveled to Beijing to join the rest of the group. Sanderson remains in Los Angeles, where the team hopes he will provide negative tests to be cleared to travel.

Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff adds that Steven Kampfer and Andy Miele are also in the protocol, though they are already in Beijing and isolating there. Losing both Sanderson and Kampfer would certainly be a big blow to the U.S. squad, as they were expected to carry significant responsibility on the back end.

The fifth-overall pick in 2020, Sanderson is a star for the University of North Dakota and will likely soon be patrolling the blue line of the Ottawa Senators. Still just 19, he missed a chance to secure his second World Junior gold medal when the tournament was canceled earlier this year. He’ll hopefully be going for Olympic gold instead, though his status is still very unclear with just a few days before the event is set to begin.

Canada meanwhile has canceled practice for a second consecutive day according to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, though no explanation was given at this point.

College Hockey Round-Up: 02/03/22

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The NCAA has now been back in full swing for a few weeks following the holiday break and the action is ramping up as teams jockey for position in their respective conferences and the national rankings with conference tournaments taking place and the NCAA Tournament opening next month. Yet, there has actually been little movement amongst the top teams in the rankings in recent weeks. This past week actually saw no team shift more than three spots in the top 20, with No. 9 Ohio State and No. 15 Michigan Tech moving up and No. 11 Cornell moving back. Will it take a wild winning streak or a mighty fall to shake up the current makeup of the tournament field?

Recent Results

All hail, No. 1 Minnesota State. The Mavericks continue to excel from the top spot in the nation, winning consistently and brushing off skeptics with a superior strength of schedule this year. Minnesota State did lose to Northern Michigan earlier this month, their first loss since November 26, but have now won three straight since to bring their reason record to 25-5-0. The CCHA still presents a lighter schedule and Mankato’s six remaining games all look winnable. Barring a collapse in the conference tournament, it is hard to see the team losing their top spot.

No. 2 Quinnipiac seems to be in a more delicate position, yet continue to hold on to their ranking. The Bobcats are having an all-time season, there is no question. They are 21-2-3 and lost their first game since mid-October earlier this month to No. 11 Cornell. Of course, that brings up the fine print on Quinnipiac’s current record. Though a stunning mark overall, the Bobcats are just 2-2-1 against teams currently ranked and play only ECAC competition the rest of the way. Could the selection committee dock them for a weak strength of schedule? Would a regular season win and tournament championship over inconsistent Cornell really make much of a statement?

Preseason favorite No. 3 Michigan was 7-1-0 in January, including a sweep of the defending champions, No. 10 UMass. The star-studded squad will continue to be a top pick for the championship. However, Big Ten competition is closing in and proving more difficult than anticipated. The Wolverines’ one loss in the last month came to No. 8 Minnesota, while No. 9 Ohio State is flying up the rankings with a 10-1-2 record since knocking off Michigan themselves in December.

Hockey East seems to be trending in the opposite direction, as no team has been able to assert their dominance this season. The scattered results within conference play and some lacking non-conference results has left the historic New England group without many top contenders. UMass leads the pack in the national rankings, but they hold just a narrow lead in the conference standings over No. 14 UMass Lowell despite already beating them three times. Lowell has had no luck against their flagship rival, but did pick up a win against No. 16 Northeastern last weekend. The Huskies are now 1-4-0 in their last five games, including two losses against UMass, a disappointing loss versus Arizona State, and their one win coming against Vermont, the team with the lowest RPI in college hockey. Yet, Northeastern still sits above No. 17 Providence, who managed to beat UMass and take three of four points from Boston College in the last month, but also dropped two games to Merrimack and lost last weekend against No. 19 Boston University. There’s no clear contender in Hockey East this year and the conference may stunningly only end up with one or two tournament teams.

Still the strongest conference in NCAA Hockey, the NCHC is having another phenomenal year – even if it doesn’t always seem that way on paper. With teams ranked No. 4-No. 7 (a potential problem for national tournament design), No. 12 North Dakota, and perhaps even No. 18 Omaha, the NCHC looks primed to send the most teams to the big dance. No. 4 Denver has quietly taken over the top ranking and conference lead behind a 14-1-1 run, though only two of their past seven wins have come against ranked teams. The Pioneers face a make-or-break stretch run, with their next six games coming against the three teams directly behind them in the rankings. First up is No. 7 St. Cloud State, who has suffered from an infrequent schedule – eight games since December 1 – and tough luck against North Dakota of late, who took five of eight points in half of those games. Next is No. 5 Western Michigan, who slid a bit in the rankings this week following a split with No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth. As for the Bulldogs, Duluth has missed out on points they should have had in some of their recent match-ups and are only 4-7-1 in their last dozen games. While all of these teams seem to be cold, they are in fact suffering losses at the hands of one another, keeping them afloat in the national rankings.

Scholarships For All

Competitive balance at the Division I level of NCAA hockey received a major boost earlier this month when RIT and Union finally gained the ability to award athletic scholarships, ensuring that all hockey schools are on an even playing field in that regard. As Division III schools, RIT and Union previously had not been able to award scholarships, which is prohibited at that level, even though they sponsored hockey at a Division I level. The Division III membership voted last week to allow teams with Division I programs to abide by Division I rules for those teams, allowing RIT and Union to award athletic aid to its hockey athletes. While other Division I programs are also Division III overall – Clarkson, Colorado College, RPI, St. Lawrence – they had been grandfathered in. Union and RIT had been fighting for equal treatment for years, although both have not only survived, but thrived at times without scholarships. Union won the 2014 National Championship, following three consecutive ECAC titles, while RIT made the Frozen Four in 2010 and has three Atlantic titles. However, they will be even better equipped to compete with these changes. The timing is great for Union in particular, who will now have more of a draw as they seek to fill their head coach vacancy.

Student-Athletes At The Olympics

For the next few weeks, not every college team will be at full strength. 18 NCAA stars will be suiting up at the Olympics and all of them will play for one of the two North American powerhouses, Canada and the United States. In fact, the entire American squad is made up of college players, past and present. The NCAA teams hit the hardest will be Michigan, unsurprisingly, but also Minnesota and unranked Boston College.

Here is the list of college athletes to watch on the biggest international stage:

Canada:
G Devon Levi, Northeastern
F Jack McBain, Boston College
D Owen Power, Michigan

United States:
F Nick Abruzzese, Harvard
F Matthew Beniers, Michigan
F Brendan Brisson, Michigan
F Noah Cates, Minnesota-Duluth
G Drew Commesso, Boston Univ.
D Brock Faber, Minnesota
F Sean Farrell, Harvard
D Drew Helleson, Boston College
F Sam Hentges, St. Cloud State
F Matthew Knies, Minnesota
F Marc McLaughlin, Boston College
F Ben Meyers, Minnesota
D Nick Perbix, St. Cloud State
D Jake Sanderson, North Dakota
F Nathan Smith, Minnesota State

Brianna Decker Out For Rest Of Olympics

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The Olympic women’s ice hockey event kicked off last night, with Canada dominating Switzerland but potentially losing Melodie Daoust after she left the game early holding her shoulder. Team Canada hasn’t provided an update on the star forward, only that she continues to be assessed by the medical staff.

It’s much worse for Team USA, who have confirmed to reporters including Erica L. Ayala of the PHF that Brianna Decker will miss the rest of the tournament. Decker was shown on crutches with a cast on her ankle and foot, after being stretchered off earlier in the game against Finland. The U.S. forward got tangled with a Finnish player behind the net partway through the first period and obviously did not return.

While the U.S. still took down Finland–the third-best team in the world–losing Decker is a huge blow in their quest to take home gold. The 30-year-old is an incredibly decorated member of the national program, with six World Championship and one Olympic gold medal. A Patty Kazmaier winner as the best player in college hockey, a CWHL Rookie of the Year and champion with multiple NWHL MVPs, and in her third Olympics, there are few players in the world that can bring Decker’s resume to international competition.

Hockey Canada Updates Olympic Coaching Staff

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Jan 30: Colliton will be taking over as head coach of the Canadian team, as Julien is not able to travel with the team due to an injury. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff tweets that Julien fell during a team-building activity during their training camp in Switzerland and suffered fractured ribs.

Jan 14: When the NHL pulled out of the Olympics, so too did the management and coaching staffs that were set to lead Team Canada. Doug Armstrong had been brought in to serve as general manager, while Jon Cooper was supposed to serve as head coach. Since they’ll be busy with NHL duties, Hockey Canada has picked a new pair of familiar faces to lead the program.

Shane Doan will serve as Team Canada GM for the upcoming Olympics, joined by assistant general manager Scott Salmond, a member of Hockey Canada’s executive staff. The coaching staff will officially be led by Claude Julien, along with assistants Jeremy Colliton, Nolan Baumgartner, and Tyler Dietrich. Tom Renney, Hockey Canada’s CEO, released this statement:

We are excited to announce our experienced management group and coaching staff that will lead Canada’s Men’s Olympic Team at the 2022 Olympics. With less than a month until the men’s tournament gets underway at the Olympics, we are excited to continue working with the entire staff as it prepares to represent Canada and build a roster that Canadians can support as it looks to bring home an Olympic gold medal.

Doan and Julien were easy choices after leading the Canadian contingent at the recent Channel One Cup, an event that was basically a backup plan for Olympic preparation should the NHL decide to pull out. Doan also has plenty of international experience and even participated in the 2006 Olympics with Canada. Julien was an assistant on the 2014 squad and has also been part of several other Canadian coaching staffs over the years.

In the release, Salmond says that he looks forward to “unveiling the roster in the coming weeks” but does not give a firm date for the announcement. The tournament starts for Canada on February 10, when they’re set to take on Germany.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: China, Malkin, Letang, Viveiros

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China has revealed the roster that will take part in the upcoming Olympics, a group that includes 12 players born in North America. Some of those have NHL experience in the past, including Spencer Foo, Ryan Sproul, and starting goaltender Jeremy Smith. These players are allowed to participate even without Chinese heritage given how long they have been playing for Kunlun Red Star in the KHL, which served as a proxy for the national team, according to the Associated Press.

Brandon Yip, a 36-year-old forward that played nearly 200 games in the NHL, will serve as captain of the club, which gained entry to the tournament as host nation. Yip scored 32 goals and 62 points in his 190-game NHL career, which ended after the 2013-14 season. After a stint in the AHL and another in Germany, he joined Kunlun in 2017. China will be in tough at the event, as they find themselves in a group with the U.S., Canada, and Germany. They open the tournament on February 10.

  • When Jeff Carter’s two-year extension was announced yesterday, some immediately wondered what it meant for Evgeni Malkin’s future with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes that representatives for the star forward and Penguins GM Ron Hextall have discussed a new contract, and Malkin is “eager” to remain in Pittsburgh. For teammate Kris Letang things aren’t so rosy, as the defenseman believes he will get a raise on the current $7.25MM cap hit he currently carries, according to Yohe.
  • Henderson Silver Knights coach Manny Viveiros has been medically cleared to return to his duties, effective immediately. Viveiros was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year and has been away from the team for much of the season. In a statement, the veteran coach notes that his “prognosis is very good” and thanks his family, coaches, players, medical team, and Golden Knights organization for all the support he received over the past few months.

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