Chicago Blackhawks Recall Buddy Robinson, Mike Hardman
The Chicago Blackhawks announced they have called up a pair of forwards on an emergency basis. Mike Hardman and Buddy Robinson were both recalled by the team this morning. The Blackhawks were busy ahead of the trade deadline, moving out a handful of veterans and have been relying on depth players from the minors to fill the gap ever since.
Hardman is a 23-year-old forward who signed with the Blackhawks in 2021 following two seasons at Boston College. He has scored four goals and 16 points in 49 AHL games for the Rockford Ice Hogs this season but is yet to play an NHL in 2022-23. He has suited up for 29 career games with the Blackhawks over the previous two seasons, scoring one goal and five points.
Robinson is a 31-year-old winger who has been up and down between the NHL and AHL for the past decade. At 6-foot-6 and 232 pounds he bring a physical presence to the lineup and has shown a bit of a scoring touch at the AHL level over the years. This season he has nine goals and 19 points in 45 games for the Ice Hogs. He suited up for one game with the Blackhawks in October, skating for just over 11 minutes against the Colorado Avalanche.
The Blackhawks are off today before hosting the league-leading Boston Bruins tomorrow night.
Florida Panthers Sign Marek Alscher
5:03 p.m.: Alscher’s contract carries a cap hit of $897K, per CapFriendly. The breakdown of his contract is as follows:
2023-24: $775K salary, $95K signing bonus
2024-25: $775K salary, $95K signing bonus
2025-26: $855K salary, $95K signing bonus
In the minors each season, Alscher will receive a salary of $82.5K. Given Alscher is yet to turn 19, his contract is eligible to slide to 2024-25 if he’s returned to the Winterhawks next year. He’ll be due a qualifying offer of $897,750 upon hitting restricted free agency.
9:19 a.m.: The Florida Panthers have signed Marek Alscher, according to a team release. The entry-level contract is a three-year agreement that will begin next season, keeping the prospect in the Panthers organization through the 2025-26 season.
Alscher was a third-round pick of the Panthers in the 2022 NHL Draft and is playing in the WHL for the Portland Winterhawks. The 18-year-old has scored seven goals and 21 points in 54 games this season, his second in Portland. Last season, Alscher scored seven goals and 16 points in 61 games. The Winterhawks have been a strong team each season, and Alscher has carved out a big role for them.
The 6-foot-3 and 196-pound left-shooting defenseman has put up decent production for his age and position, but he is known more for his defensive game. He is a big, strong defender that is counted on to shut down the opposition and clear out the front of the net, making life easier for his goaltenders.
Alscher suited up for Czechia at the 2022 Ivan Hlinka tournament, scoring one point in four games.
The Panthers are a team that has no problem scoring goals but could use some help on the blue line. Alscher will need some time to refine his all-around game, but after trading away many draft picks in recent years, Alscher was their first selection in last year’s draft. They will be counting on him to continue his development with the Winterhawks this season, and possibly next as a 19-year-old, before turning pro in 2024-25.
Five Key Stories: 3/6/23 – 3/12/23
The stretch run is upon us as many teams continue to battle for a playoff position. However, some notable injuries will make that task a little tougher with those absences being among the key stories of the week.
Kaprizov Out For A While: Minnesota is in a close battle with Dallas for the top spot in the Central Division with Colorado being in striking distance as well. However, it will be considerably tougher for them to lock down first place now as star winger Kirill Kaprizov will miss the next three to four weeks with a lower-body injury. No playoff team has fewer goals scored than the Wild and not having their leading scorer in Kaprizov certainly won’t help things. The 25-year-old has 39 goals and 35 assists so far this season, meaning he has collected a point on nearly 40% of Minnesota’s tallies.
Fletcher Fired: The Flyers have shaken up their front office, dismissing GM Chuck Fletcher after a little more than four years at the helm. Fletcher tried several times to add quality veterans to Philadelphia’s lineup but the results were mixed. Kevin Hayes has been a nice contributor although he’s on an above-market contract while the additions of Ryan Ellis and Rasmus Ristolainen haven’t gone as planned while Cam Atkinson, another veteran, has missed all of this season due to injury like Ellis. The end result is that the Flyers have continued to spin their wheels as they only made the playoffs once in Fletcher’s tenure. Daniel Briere has taken over as interim GM while the team will now split Fletcher’s old role into two, a GM and a president.
O’Reilly To LTIR: Ryan O’Reilly was off to a good start with the Maple Leafs but after sustaining a broken finger, that strong debut is now on hold. The 32-year-old had five points in eight games with his new team while winning over 67% of his faceoffs, fitting in nicely on their second line. Toronto has placed him on LTIR, giving them the cap flexibility to bring up a couple of forwards for the time being. The good news for the Maple Leafs is that he’s expected to be out for four weeks (just past the minimum threshold for LTIR) which suggests he’ll be able to return to the lineup with a few games left in the regular season, allowing him to work off any rust before the playoffs get underway next month.
Three More Years: Trevor van Riemsdyk has gone from being a depth defender at the beginning of his tenure with Washington to an every-game reliable veteran. After the team elected not to move him at the trade deadline, they worked out a three-year, $9MM contract extension that will keep him with the Capitals through the 2025-26 campaign. The 31-year-old has played in all 67 games this season, recording a career-high in points with 21 while logging over 19 minutes a night. It will be quite the raise for van Riemsdyk as the $3MM AAV of this new contract is richer than what he has made over his last three seasons with the Caps combined.
More Injuries: Ottawa’s push for the playoffs just got considerably more difficult as goaltender Cam Talbot will miss three weeks with an oblique strain. The veteran has a .905 SV% in 32 games in his first season with the Senators and was going to be counted on heavily down the stretch with Anton Forsberg out for the season. Instead, rookies Mads Sogaard and Kevin Mandolese will try to keep the Sens in the race. Meanwhile, one of Pittsburgh’s trade deadline additions will be out for a while as Nick Bonino suffered a lacerated kidney earlier in the week but fortunately has been released from the hospital. The center came over in a three-way trade to shore up their depth down the middle but was injured in his third game since the swap.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Juulsen, Svechnikov, Kolesar, Boudon
The Canucks have started extension discussions with defenseman Noah Juulsen, report Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal in a column for The Athletic (subscription link). The 25-year-old has played in eight games with Vancouver so far this season with five of those coming this month as he plays his way into a regular role. Juulsen, a 2015 first-round pick by Montreal, also has 20 points in 49 games with AHL Abbotsford this season. He’s on a two-way contract worth $750K in the NHL and $250K in the minors and has a chance of remaining a restricted free agent if he plays in 16 of their final 17 games this season. An early extension for Juulsen would obviously take that particular consideration off the table.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Hurricanes were without winger Andrei Svechnikov due to what the team listed as (Twitter link) a lower-body injury. The 22-year-old came into tonight’s action tied for second on Carolina in scoring with 23 goals and 32 assists in 63 games while he also leads the team in hits with 140. There’s no word on how long Svechnikov will be out of the lineup but if it’s an extended absence, that could be a tough blow to a team that’s in a tight battle for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division.
- The Golden Knights announced (Twitter link) that winger Keegan Kolesar is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The 25-year-old is fifth in the NHL in hits this season with 240 while chipping in with 16 points in 64 games. Pavel Dorofeyev suited up in Kolesar’s absence against St. Louis after being recalled yesterday and picked up his first career point.
- The Canadiens’ AHL affiliate announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed college free agent Louis Boudon to a tryout agreement. The 24-year-old wrapped up his college career at Lake Superior State this season, notching 24 points in 36 games. Over his four seasons with the Lakers, Boudon had 39 goals and 75 assists in 139 contests.
Previewing The 2023 College Free Agent Market: Forwards
With the NCAA playoffs in full force and the Frozen Four coming soon, there should be some activity on the college free agent front in the coming weeks. At this time of year, college free agents are rarely coming in as impact prospects with high NHL ceilings (and this year is no exception) but it’s an opportunity for teams to add some depth pieces that are further along in their development compared to players coming out of major junior.
Here is an overview of some of the forwards that should be drawing NHL interest in the near future. Note that not all of these players will sign entry-level contracts as some will ultimately elect to return to college for another season while quite a few others not on this list will sign NHL or AHL deals in the coming weeks.
C Parker Ford, Providence
An undersized middleman at 5’9, Ford nevertheless plays with an edge and can play in all situations. Offensively, his numbers have been pretty steady throughout his four-year college career, ranging from 19 to 27 points. Ford is presently the leading scorer on a Friars team that has nine NHL draft picks on it as well. The 22-year-old might not be in high demand because of his size but he’s still a good bet to land an entry-level deal.
RW Riese Gaber, North Dakota
It’s believed that Gaber had some NHL interest last year but opted to return to the Fighting Hawks for his junior campaign. A small but speedy winger, the 23-year-old has hovered around the point-per-game mark for the last two seasons and had a pair of years of at least 50 points at the USHL level as well. With Gaber’s production not really improving too much this year, there would be a bit more risk of him potentially plateauing if he opted to forego signing an NHL deal this time around.
RW Collin Graf, Quinnipiac
It was a bit of a surprise when Graf entered the transfer portal following what was a solid freshman campaign with Union College but it’s safe to say the decision worked out. The 20-year-old saw his numbers improve across the board to the tune of 19 goals and 33 assists in 35 games, good for first on the Bobcats and second in the NCAA overall beyond only Adam Fantilli. On the one hand, a year like this is an ideal platform to try to land an NHL contract but he could be better served going back for one more year to fill out and work on his skating a bit more.
C T.J. Hughes, Michigan
Hughes is the Wolverines’ second-line pivot behind Fantilli and is having a nice freshman year, hovering around the point-per-game mark. In 2021-22, the 21-year-old averaged more than a goal and an assist per game with Brooks of the AJHL. There’s a strong case to be made for him to stay at Michigan next season where he’ll likely move onto the top line assuming Fantilli turns pro but if he wants to start his pro career now, there should be strong interest.
LW Ryan McAllister, Western Michigan
McAllister burst onto the scene after lighting it up early and often this season, battling Fantilli for the NCAA scoring lead for a good chunk of the year. While his output has tapered off a bit, he’s still in the top ten in points, quite a freshman campaign on the heels of a 139-point AJHL season in 2021-22. At 21, he still has a long college career ahead of him if he wants it but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him capitalize on what’s sure to be good interest in the coming weeks and turn pro now. He attended Toronto’s development camp last summer.
C Hunter McKown, Colorado College
At 20, McKown is one of the youngest players eligible for college free agency but a 20-goal campaign with the Tigers should have him on the NHL radar. Teams also would have gotten a good look at McKown in last summer’s World Juniors when he saw time on Team USA’s power play in the event; more than half of his goals this year have come on the man advantage. Already in his junior year, it’s possible that McKown could stick around for one more year and then turn pro when he’d only be eligible for a two-year entry-level deal compared to a three-year agreement if he signed now.
C Jaxon Nelson, Minnesota
Teams are always looking for size down the middle and at 6’4, Nelson checks that box. The 22-year-old hasn’t been the most prolific of scorers throughout his four-year college career (his seven tallies this season are a career-high) but he has a strong defensive pedigree that gives him a possible fourth-line profile in the pros. The raw upside isn’t as high as others on this list but Nelson is pretty much a lock to land a contract somewhere.
RW Jason Polin, Western Michigan
The 23-year-old has been part of arguably the most dominant line in college hockey this season and the end result is Polin leading the NCAA with 29 goals. For context, his previous high in points was 26. While there will be some question marks as to whether his output was linemate-driven or if it was a legitimate improvement that can carry over to the pros, he’ll be an intriguing free agent addition with a bit of upside once his senior year comes to an end.
C Max Sasson, Western Michigan
Another part of that dominant top line for the Broncos as he’s averaging over a point per game, Sasson’s skating is a strong element that helps him stand out among this group of players. The 21-year-old sophomore is an all-situations player which gives him a chance to carve out a lower role in the lineup which is where he likely profiles in the pros. Sasson is young enough that it makes some sense for him to stay in college for another year but if his linemates turn pro, he might decide to follow suit.
C Austen Swankler, Bowling Green
It’s very rare that a player who played a full OHL season is able to play in college but it happened with Swankler. The 21-year-old sophomore has been in the top ten in NCAA scoring for most of the season and made considerable strides compared to his freshman year, becoming a strong all-around offensive player. Skating is an element that still needs to improve and will go a long way toward determining what type of success he has in the pros. He has two years of eligibility remaining but some NHL teams would likely prefer to get him into their system now.
Others To Watch For
LW Matt Brown, Providence
C Justin Hryckowian, Northeastern
C Ondrej Pavel, Minnesota State
C Nick Poisson, Providence
LW Ondrej Psenicka, Cornell
Jets Injury Notes: Morrissey, Dubois, Lowry
The Winnipeg Jets will have some notable absences from the lineup when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight. The most notable of them is breakout star Josh Morrissey, who head coach Rick Bowness says is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Morrissey, 27, left yesterday’s game against the Florida Panthers with a non-contact injury, appearing to favor his hip. It won’t be a long-term absence, though, as Morrissey hopes to play Tuesday when the Jets wrap up their Southeastern road trip. The 13th overall pick in 2013 has trampled over his previous career-high in points, recording 67 in 66 games this year. Any extended absence is a tough blow for Winnipeg, who’s sliding fast as the playoffs approach.
Some other injury notes from Winnipeg:
- The news isn’t so positive for Pierre-Luc Dubois, who Bowness doesn’t expect to see return for another two games at least. Dubois has missed five of the last six games with two different injuries and is now listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old is on pace for career-highs in goals and points, recording 24 goals and 55 points in 61 games.
- Adam Lowry is “feeling better” after leaving last night’s game late in the third period with an undisclosed injury and is a game-time decision against Tampa, per Bowness. Bowness told reporters last night that both Morrissey and Lowry were “very doubtful” for today’s game, so it’s certainly a positive development for Lowry’s status. With 27 points in 66 games, Lowry is Winnipeg’s highest-scoring bottom-six forward and a crucial piece in the lineup at the third-line center position.
Canucks Sign Phillip Di Giuseppe To Two-Year Extension
The Vancouver Canucks have announced via a press release that the team has signed forward Phillip Di Giuseppe to a two-year, two-way contract extension. Di Giuseppe will make $775K in the NHL and $500K at the AHL level. General Manager Patrik Allvin was very happy to report the signing as he described Di Giuseppe by saying, “He has been a reliable forward when called upon in Vancouver this year and has been an impactful player and leader with Abbotsford each of the past two seasons.”
In his second season within the Canucks organization, Di Giuseppe has only received playing time in Vancouver this season. In 13 games this year, he has registered two goals and two assists. In his limited time in Vancouver, Di Giuseppe has also spent time on the penalty kill as well. With a league-worst 68.75% penalty kill percentage, the Canucks have used a rotating door when establishing who will be on the ice when they are a man down this year.
In the minor leagues, Di Giuseppe has been far more productive. Combined over the last two years, Di Giuseppe has played 69 games for the Abbotsford Canucks, registering a total of 25 goals and 43 assists. As Vancouver begins to establish more prospect depth in the minor leagues, and Abbotsford competes for a playoff position, Di Giuseppe will be a valuable part of the Canucks organization for the next two seasons.
Blackhawks Recall Anton Khudobin And Luke Philp
12:30 PM, Sunday, March 12: After the callup and subsequent game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Charlie Roumeliotis for NBC Sports Chicago announces that both Khudobin and Philp have been sent down to Chicago’s AHL affiliate Rockford IceHogs. Philp received approximately 14 minutes of ice time, scoring no points and registering a single hit. Although Khudobin did dress yesterday, the Blackhawks chose to start Petr Mrazek instead. Also included in the movement today is defenseman Filip Roos also returning to Rockford. After his emergency recall on March 9th, Roos played in two games for the Blackhawks, registering zero points, with two shots on goal.
9:30 AM, Saturday, March 11: The Blackhawks acquired goaltender Anton Khudobin at the trade deadline as a salary offset to the Max Domi trade. However, they opted to keep him in the minors at the time. However, with Alex Stalock’s illness that kept him from suiting up last night, the team announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled him from AHL Rockford along with winger Luke Philp.
Khudobin hasn’t seen any NHL action this season but did get into 24 games with AHL Texas prior to the swap. However, his numbers at the minor league level weren’t the strongest as he has a 2.89 GAA with a .899 SV%, numbers that place him outside the top 30 in both categories among qualifying netminders. The 36-year-old has played in 259 contests over parts of 13 NHL campaigns, posting a 2.50 GAA along with a .916 SV%.
He’s in the final year of a three-year, $10MM contract that hasn’t aged particularly well with the bulk of that time being at the AHL level once Jake Oettinger took over as the starter in Dallas. A strong showing in the minors this season could have gotten him back in the mix for a possible NHL backup position (at a much lower price tag, of course) but that is less likely now.
As for Philp, the 27-year-old made his NHL debut back in January when he got into a pair of games and picked up his first point, an assist. He has spent the bulk of the year with Rockford where he has been quite productive, tallying 18 goals and 20 helpers in 46 contests which helped earn him a one-year extension on Thursday. Anders Bjork left last night’s game against Florida with an undisclosed injury so Philp will take his place on the roster.
East Notes: Tavares, Lindholm, Flyers
During a hard-fought battle in front of the net of last night’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, John Tavares slashed the hand of Oilers’ defenseman Vincent Desharnais, sending him to the ice immediately. The NHL Department of Player Safety has announced that the Toronto Maple Leafs’ captain will be fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. This will be the second time in his career that Tavares has been fined for slashing, the first time being in a similar incident with then Devils’ forward Zach Parise back in 2011.
Aside from the incident with Tavares, the Maple Leafs managed to secure another big win leading into the playoffs. The group has now managed to go 7-3-0 in their last ten games, gathering steam at just the right time.
Other notes:
- In a quick meeting with the press, Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery stated that defenseman Hampus Lindholm will be held out of today’s game with the Detroit Red Wings. After blocking a shot in yesterday’s matchup between the two teams, Lindholm’s foot has apparently become very swollen, and he will return to the lineup against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Replacing him in the lineup is defenseman Derek Forbort, who has seen his playing time cut since the Bruins deadline moves. With 42 points already this season, and an incredible 40 +/-, Lindholm’s absence shouldn’t have too big of an impact on the Bruins. Having one of the most dominant seasons of any team in NHL history, the Bruins have put themselves in a position to absorb the loss of Lindholm for one game.
- Flyers beat reporter Giana Han announces that the Philadelphia Flyers have sent down forwards Elliot Desnoyers and Tyson Foerster to their AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms, becoming the first-ever transaction made by General Manager Daniel Briere. As the Flyers’ season has been lost, it will be important for the two forwards to continue their growth in the playoffs this year for the Phantoms.
Mattias Samuelsson Listed As Week-To-Week
The Buffalo Sabres reported on Sunday morning that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson will be listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury after the team’s overtime loss to the New York Rangers last night. Already without top defenseman Rasmus Dahlin in the lineup, the Sabres will once again be looking for different players to step up on their back end in the team’s pursuit of a playoff spot.
Unlike Dahlin, Samuelsson is not known for his offensive prowess coming from the blue line. Drafted 32nd overall by the Sabres in the 2018 NHL draft, Samuelsson has become a very serviceable defenseman for Buffalo. With only eight points so far this season, before the injury, Samuelsson was well on his way to recording over 100 blocks and 100 hits this season. Becoming one of the more physical players on the Sabres’ back end, the team rewarded his work ethic with a 7-year, $30MM contract extension which will kick in next year.
Thankfully for Sabres fans, Scott Harrington of TBN Sports reports that head coach Don Granato clarified it is not a season-ending injury for Samuelsson. As the Sabres continue their hunt towards making the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-11 season, they will be without one of their most physical players for the foreseeable future.