Five Key Stories: 10/16/23 – 10/22/23
The beginning of the NHL season was full of big signings. This past week didn’t have any of that as instead, it was headlined by plenty of injuries.
Out For The Year: After having a breakout season that was still limited by injuries, hopes were high for Canadiens center Kirby Dach this year. However, his campaign came to an early end as he suffered a season-ending torn ACL and MCL last weekend against Chicago. He will undergo surgery once the swelling subsides. The 22-year-old had a career-best 38 points last season despite only playing in 58 games, a decent first impression after being acquired from the Blackhawks at the draft. He’ll have to wait a while to make his second impression now.
Extension Progress: Noah Hanifin’s willingness to sign an extension in Calgary (or perceived lack thereof) has been a key discussion point for several months now. At one point, it looked like he wasn’t interested, then he was, then he wasn’t again. Now, a report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggests that Hanifin is indeed willing to work on a new deal and that some progress has been made on that front. The 26-year-old has been a reliable part of the back end for the Flames for the past five seasons (plus the first couple of weeks of this year) and is set to earn a considerable raise on his current $4.95MM AAV.
Four For Andersson: Still with Calgary, the first notable suspension of the 2023-24 campaign is in the books as Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson received a four-game ban for his elbow on Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine. The hit occurred in the dying seconds of Friday’s game while Laine is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Andersson and the NHLPA have decided to appeal the ruling. Unlike in some other leagues, players can’t play while they’re appealing so Andersson sat out the first game on Sunday against Detroit. The appeal will be heard by Commissioner Gary Bettman and given how long it typically takes for a hearing with him, it’s possible the appeal might wind up primarily being to try to mitigate some of the forfeited salary of nearly $95K. If the suspension stands, the last game he’ll have to sit out is the Heritage Classic (an outdoor game against Edmonton) next weekend.
More Injuries: Another player who will likely miss the Heritage Classic is Oilers center Connor McDavid. He left Saturday’s game against Winnipeg late in the third period with an upper-body injury. The good news for Edmonton is that he won’t be out for long (just one to two weeks) but with the Oilers struggling out of the gate this season with just a single win in their first five games, McDavid’s absence won’t help matters. Meanwhile, Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi will miss the next four to six weeks with a sprained MCL. The 24-year-old was a key part of the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade this summer but was injured in just his third game of the season.
Seattle Injuries: It has been a tough start to the season for the Kraken as they have just one win in their first six games. Things are going to get harder for them with a pair of longer-term injuries on the wings. First, Brandon Tanev will miss four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. The 31-year-old was coming off a career year with 35 points while chipping in with 190 hits and will be missed on their third line. Meanwhile, Andre Burakovsky will miss six to eight weeks with an upper-body injury. The 28-year-old was productive in limited action last season with 39 points in 49 games and was being counted on to be a big part of Seattle’s attack this year. Those plans will be on hold for now. Tanev has been placed on IR while Burakovsky will be heading there soon enough as well.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Andre Burakovsky To Miss Six To Eight Weeks
It has been a rough start to Seattle’s season offensively as the Kraken have just 11 goals in six games. Things are about to get even tougher on that front as Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times reports that winger Andre Burakovsky will miss the next six to eight weeks with an upper-body injury.
The injury occurred in last night’s loss to the Rangers as he exited after a hit from Jacob Trouba, playing just 6:05. The 28-year-old had 39 points in 49 games last season, finishing second on the Kraken in points per game behind only Jared McCann but was unable to suit up in the playoffs due to the torn groin that kept him out for the stretch run.
Like many Seattle players, Burakovsky had gotten off to a slow start this year with just two helpers in his first six contests. Nevertheless, losing a top-six forward is never ideal for a team, especially one that has struggled so much out of the gate from a production standpoint.
GM Ron Francis indicated that a recall is likely to come at some point to take Burakovsky’s spot on the roster but not necessarily right away. For now, at least, Devin Shore should come into the lineup. Seattle is about to begin a four-game road trip on Tuesday and since they have 19 healthy skaters for now (with one extra defenseman), a call-up from AHL Coachella Valley isn’t necessarily needed right away. Francis acknowledged they might take a wait-and-see approach on that front to see when a replacement for Burakovsky on the roster will be needed.
Seattle has just one victory so far this season and now, the task of getting back on track just got a little harder now that they’ll be without one of their better wingers in Burakovsky until some point in December.
Carolina Hurricanes Assign Pyotr Kochetkov To AHL
Sunday: With Andersen nearing a return, the Hurricanes have returned Kochetkov to Syracuse, CapFriendly reports.
Wednesday: The Carolina Hurricanes announced that the team has recalled Pyotr Kochetkov from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. Without a direct affiliate this season, the Hurricanes have most of their minor league depth players sporadically placed throughout the AHL.
Although no distinction was made through the team announcement, this is likely tied to the removal of Frederik Andersen during last night’s game against the San Jose Sharks. After just a few minutes into the game, Andersen would take a shot off the mask, leaving the rest of the game to goaltender Antti Raanta. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the team reporter for the Hurricanes, Walt Ruff, said that Andersen was back practicing with the team today.
With two quality goaltending options already on the roster, it was still a bit of a surprise to see Kochetkov not make the team out of camp, primarily because of the solid season he put together last year. In 23 starts last season, Kochetkov managed a 12-7-5 record, posting a .909SV% and a 2.44 GAA, albeit behind a very solid Carolina defense.
Most teams could do worse than Kochetkov in the case of a third-string goaltender, and the franchise rewarded him with a four-year, $8MM contract extension in the fall of last season. Coming up, the Hurricanes have two tough road games this week against the Seattle Kraken and Colorado Avalanche, respectively, both of which Kochetkov could see some minutes in between the pipes.
Avalanche Recall Corey Schueneman
The Avalanche have decided to bring up some defensive depth as they announced (Twitter link) the recall of blueliner Corey Schueneman from AHL Colorado.
The 27-year-old is in his first season with the Avs after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them in free agency back in July. He has played in two games so far in the minors with the Eagles and has yet to hit the scoresheet. Prior to that, he had an assist in two preseason contests.
Schueneman has seen NHL action in each of the last two seasons, both with Montreal. Between those years, he has suited up 31 times, picking up two goals and five assists while logging a little over 16 minutes per night. He spent the bulk of his time those years in the minors with AHL Laval, notching 34 points in 94 contests.
With the Avalanche viewing Kurtis MacDermid (who can play the back end and on the wing) as a forward, they’ve basically been carrying the minimum of six defensemen so it’s not surprising that they’ve opted to bring up some insurance now as they embark on a three-game road trip. Colorado had two open roster spots so no corresponding move needed to be made to add Schueneman to their roster while they will be dipping into their LTIR pool using Pavel Francouz‘s money to afford him under the salary cap.
Connor McDavid Out With Upper-Body Injury
After last night’s loss to the Winnipeg Jets in overtime, the Edmonton Oilers have even more bad news coming down the pipeline. In an update this afternoon, the team has announced that the captain of the team, Connor McDavid, will miss the next one to two weeks with an upper-body injury.
As one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season, the Oilers have been one of the most disappointing teams to start the 2023-24 NHL season. In five games played, including the loss to Winnipeg last night, the Oilers are the owners of a 1-3-1 record, good for 29th in the league standings as things currently stand.
Nevertheless, the team still has 77 games to correct the dismal start, but the loss of McDavid is about as substantial as possible. Even after only recording one win in the first five games, it is in spite of McDavid getting off to another solid start. In the first handful of games to start the season, McDavid has averaged just over 20 minutes of ice time per night, scoring two goals and six assists, which is good for 12th in the league in scoring to start the year. 
Thankfully for the Oilers, seeing McDavid on the injured reserve has not been a common occurrence during his career in the NHL, he has seemingly only missed time due to injury during his rookie season in 2015-16, as well as towards the end of the 2019-20 season.
In the meantime, even without the injury to McDavid, the Oilers need a wake-up call to most of their team in the early part of the season. Aside from the usual suspects of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, and Zach Hyman, the depth in Edmonton has failed to make a positive on the club so far this season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Minnesota Wild Recall Vinni Lettieri
After assigning recent callup, Samuel Walker, back to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, earlier today, the Minnesota Wild have called up a different forward to take his place in the lineup. The team announced that they have recalled Vinni Lettieri, a recent signee of the organization after spending the last two years in Anaheim and Boston, respectively.
An undrafted college free agent coming out of the University of Minnesota after the 2016-17 season, Lettieri would originally sign on with the New York Rangers under a two-year contract. Primarily playing with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL during his three-year run in the Rangers organization, Lettieri would impress at the league’s highest minor league level. However, although garnering solid production at the AHL level, Lettieri would fail to score more than 10 points over 46 games as a Ranger.
Before starting the 2020-21 season, Lettieri would sign a back-to-back one-year contracts with the Anaheim Ducks organization, once again spending much of his time in the AHL. Given the team’s competitiveness at the time, Lettieri was able to play in 31 games for the Ducks during the 2021-22 season, scoring five goals and five assists, the best statistical output he’s had to this day.
After his time in the Ducks organization ended, Lettieri found his most recent landing spot in the Boston Bruins organization on a one-year contract. In 48 games played for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, Lettieri scored 23 goals and 26 points, which was good for second on the team in scoring even after missing a month of action with a lower-body injury.
Already off to a hot start in Iowa to start this season, Lettieri will once again get the opportunity to prove his worth at the NHL level. However, with Minnesota starting off the season tied for 28th in goals against, Lettieri may have to focus primarily on keeping the puck out of his own net.
Adam Clendening Signs In Finland
According to a team announcement, longtime AHL defenseman Adam Clendening has signed a one-year contract with Ilves Tampere of the Finnish Liiga.
Clendening has yet to make his debut in European professional hockey. He’s spent the past four seasons exclusively in the AHL, including a strong 2021-22 campaign where he scored 42 points in 74 games. Clendening split last season between the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs and Hartford Wolf Pack, before joining the New York Rangers’ training camp on a PTO.
He did not earn a full-time deal with the Rangers, whose minor-league defensive depth chart is crowded with six players on NHL contracts. Rather than potentially return to the AHL, where Clendening has over 500 career games and is a two-time All-Star, he has opted to try his luck in one of Europe’s top professional leagues.
Clendening joins an Ilves team with the opportunity to make an impact on both ends of the ice. The team hasn’t received a ton of offense from blueliners so far this year (their leading scorer from the back end has just six points in 14 games) and despite sitting third in Liiga standings, has surrendered the sixth-most goals in league play.
With Ilves targeting long playoff runs in both the Champions Hockey League and Liiga, getting an experienced defensive reinforcement like Clendening is a major addition. For Clendening, he’ll have the chance to, at 30, begin his overseas career playing in a state-of-the-art arena while competing for some of the continent’s top trophies.
Big Hype Prospects: Roy, Brzustewicz, Stankoven, Lindbom, Iginla
Welcome to PHR’s Big Hype Prospects series. Like the MLB Trade Rumors series of the same name, we’re taking a look at the performances of top prospects from across the hockey world. We’ll look at drafted prospects who are rising, others who are struggling, and prospects for the upcoming draft who are notable.
Five Big Hype Prospects
Joshua Roy, RW, Montreal Canadiens (Laval Rocket, AHL)
5GP 5G 6A 11pts
Perhaps the biggest test NHL prospects face, other than the jump to the NHL itself, is the jump from playing exclusively against one’s peers to playing against men.
The players who oftentimes have years of experience playing professional hockey under their belt present a steep challenge for those prospects who might have been accustomed to using purely physical, skating, or skill-based advantages to success without layering those skills together into a more comprehensive package.
Oftentimes, successful players at the major junior level, for example, will find the tactics that worked for them against their peers to be wholly ineffective against pros. They’ll find their habits need changing, their strategies in need of a tweak, and perhaps their entire identities as players need to be re-examined.
That doesn’t seem to be something Roy, a Canadiens prospect, will have to consider. The 150th overall pick at the 2021 draft, Roy has always been a player of tremendous upside. He was the first overall pick at the 2019 QMJHL Entry Draft, but the struggles of his first two seasons in the QMJHL dramatically decreased his NHL draft stock.
After his fifth-round selection, Roy exploded to score 51 goals and 119 points the very next season. In his final season in the QMJHL, Roy’s production dipped slightly as the player focused his efforts on developing not only the defensive side of his game but also more pro-ready offensive habits.
Those efforts have paid off massively to start the 2023-24 season. As a rookie pro player, Roy currently leads the entire AHL in scoring with five goals and 11 points in just five games. He’s become the genuine offensive centerpiece of the Laval Rocket, and has begun to build chemistry with another top Canadiens forward prospect: Sean Farrell.
The recall of Joel Armia in the place of the injured Kirby Dach indicates that the Canadiens would prefer to keep Roy in the AHL and hopefully have him continue playing like a dominant offensive force.
But if he can keep up his scoring at this kind of level, one has to imagine that an NHL call-up isn’t too far off for the 20-year-old fifth-rounder.
Hunter Brzustewicz, RHD, Vancouver Canucks (Kitchener Rangers, OHL)
10GP 5G 15A 20pts
Looking to revamp their prospect pool at a position of need, the Canucks spent their top two draft choices, including the 11th overall selection, on right-shot defensemen last season. So far, while Tom Willander is certainly performing up to expectations at Boston University, it’s Brzustewicz who has impressed the most to start the season.
The 75th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Brzustewicz has become the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers’ true number-one defenseman. He’s responded to that important role with stellar production, and he currently leads the entire OHL in scoring with 20 points in 10 games.
Brzustewicz has helped the Rangers look like a true offensive powerhouse early this season, with the team currently averaging a whopping 5.1 goals per game.
Although Brzustewicz still has some work to do on the defensive side of things to truly place himself in consideration for an NHL job down the line, his early form this season makes clear that his offensive talent is undeniable.
Logan Stankoven, C/RW, Dallas Stars (Texas Stars, AHL)
4GP 4G 3A 7pts
Although there is always worry that high-scoring junior players will struggle to translate their scoring to the professional level, those worries are typically amplified when a player stands just five feet, eight inches tall.
One of the CHL’s most dynamic scorers over the past two years, Stankoven has long been tagged with concerns from some scouts that the things that made him so prolific for the Kamloops Blazers simply won’t be accessible in a professional environment.
So far, Stankoven has shown that he can, in fact, remain a dynamic offensive scorer in the challenging environment of the AHL.
Stankoven currently leads AHL Texas in scoring through four games, with four goals and seven points in that span.
The truly special aspects of Stankoven’s game seem to have traveled with him to Texas, and the progress he made in his final WHL season in terms of making his offensive approach more pro-ready has shown itself so far this year.
Stankoven has thus far thrived despite the immense physicality of the AHL, and so far his size has not limited his effectiveness in the areas he’s counted on most.
The Stars have a lot of offensive talent at the NHL level, so there may not be room for Stankoven to get an NHL shot this season without injuries.
But regardless of which level he plays in this season, these first few games have shown that Stankoven should be a force to be reckoned with, even at the pro level.
Carl Lindbom, G, Vegas Golden Knights (Färjestad BK, SHL)
7GP 5-2 0.99 GAA .950 sv% 1 shutout
When an NHL team spends a seventh-round pick on a goaltender, the selection is typically motivated more by a desire to retain the exclusive rights to sign that player as he develops rather than any realistic expectation that the goalie will become a big part of his NHL team’s future.
While first-rounders are almost always assured entry-level contracts due to their draft position, no such assurances exist for seventh-rounders. A seventh-round selection allows a team to keep tabs on a player, letting the player’s development guide whether he ultimately receives an NHL contract offer.
This past summer, Lindbom’s stellar development earned him an entry-level deal from the Golden Knights.
In the 2019 and 2020 drafts, the seventh round yielded some elite netminder prospects, namely Devon Levi of the Buffalo Sabres and Dustin Wolf of the Calgary Flames. From the 2021 class, Lindbom appears to have the best chance of continuing that streak.
Picked with the third-to-last selection in the class, Lindbom, 20, is a goalie who relies more on his athleticism and speed than his size. Last season was his first as a regular member of a tandem at the professional level, and he was exceptional. He posted a .930 save percentage and 1.86 goals-against-average in 36 games for Djurgårdens IF in the HockeyAllsvenskan.
This season, Lindbom has moved from Sweden’s second tier to its first-tier (SHL) and has excelled despite the increase in talent level and challenge.
Currently playing in tandem with former Golden Knight Maxime Legace, Lindbom has put up video game numbers. He’s 5-2 through seven games with a 0.99 goals-against-average and a .950 save percentage. His club, Färjestad BK, has given up just 20 goals through 12 games this season, which ranks third-best in the entire SHL.
While it’s fair to question how much a favorable defensive environment in Färjestad has contributed to Lindbom’s early success this season (Legace has also put up strong numbers, after all) it’s clear that the jump from the Allsvenskan to the SHL likely won’t be the source of major issues for Lindbom.
If he can keep up his success from these first few games into the rest of the season, Lindbom could very well find himself playing for the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights next year, placing him within arm’s reach of the NHL.
Tij Iginla, C, 2024 Draft Prospect (Kelowna Rockets, WHL)
11GP 12G 7A 19pts
As the son of Jarome Iginla, an era-defining NHL superstar, Tij Iginla will always be a player with high expectations following him.
As a top-10 pick of the 2021 WHL Bantam Draft, Iginla was, before this season, viewed as a bit of a disappointment. He struggled to make a dent in an absolutely stacked Seattle Thunderbirds forward corps last season and was not widely considered a top prospect for the 2024 draft.
It’s early, but Iginla’s current form with the Kelowna Rockets is doing wonders to change that narrative. The 17-year-old forward is, despite an August birthday, currently in third place in the entire WHL in goal scoring. He’s tallied 12 goals in 12 games, and his 19 points rank second among the league’s under-18 forwards.
Iginla has already crossed his point total from last season despite playing in 37 fewer games and has formed a deadly partnership with Washington Capitals 2023 second-rounder Andrew Cristall.
While he’s not quite the prototypical power forward his father was, (he’s a little shorter, weighs quite a bit less, and is notably more disciplined) it’s not easy to avoid seeing at least some of Jarome whenever Tij snipes the puck straight past a WHL goalie.
There’s still a lot of the season left to be played, and the 2024 draft class is filled with talented players. But so far, Iginla has done more than most draft prospects in terms of raising his stock in the early part of the season.
Just how far he’s able to climb will be one of the more intriguing storylines in the WHL this season.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Hurricanes Reassign Callahan Burke To AHL
10/22/23: The Hurricanes have reassigned Burke back to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He made his Hurricanes debut last night in Denver for the team’s contest against the Colorado Avalanche, registering 7:06 time on ice.
10/21/23: Late last night, the Hurricanes made a roster move, announcing the recall of forward Callahan Burke from AHL Colorado on an emergency basis. It’s unclear at this time which Carolina player’s availability is in question for their game tonight against the Avalanche.
The Hurricanes acquired Burke from the Avs earlier this month in exchange for defenseman Caleb Jones. The swap amounted to a cost-cutting move for the Hurricanes as they moved Jones’ one-way deal for Burke’s two-way pact which only carries a guaranteed salary of $125K.
Burke had his best season at the AHL level in 2022-23, recording 16 goals and 23 assists in 70 games with the Eagles. That also earned the 26-year-old his first taste of NHL action as he got into a pair of games with the Avs. This season, he an assist in two games with the Eagles; Carolina opted to keep him with Colorado’s farm team since they don’t have an AHL affiliate of their own this season. Now, he might get a chance to play against his former team tonight.
Minnesota Wild Reassign Sammy Walker To AHL
The Minnesota Wild have reassigned forward Sammy Walker to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. The move lands Walker back in the AHL just four days after he was originally recalled.
Walker, 24, played in two games for Minnesota on this most recent call-up. Walker struggled in both contests and saw his ice time decline to just 7:26 last night, despite the game extending into overtime.
As the team has suffered back-to-back losses, it appears Minnesota will likely call up a different forward to fill Walker’s vacated spot on their roster with the hope that a fresh addition can help spark a return to winning ways.
This reassignment will also help out AHL Iowa, who have struggled to start the season. The team is currently 1-3 with a -10 goal differential despite playing just four games. Two of the team’s losses have been genuine blowouts and Iowa’s 11 goals scored rank 21st in the AHL.
Walker was a star rookie for Iowa last season, scoring 27 goals and 48 points in 56 games. The consistent offense he displayed as a Minnesota Golden Gopher seemed to translate to the AHL level, meaning his return to Iowa should give the team a better chance of winning games.
The priority for Minnesota, though, lies at the NHL level where the team is looking to keep pace in what will be a highly competitive Central Division.
In terms of candidates to fill Walker’s vacated role on a line with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson, 336-game NHL veteran Jujhar Khaira could get a shot if the team wants more of a defensive flavor in their call-up, while Nic Petan or prospect Adam Beckman would give more of an offensive touch.