Devils Recall Nico Daws, Topias Vilen
April 15: With the season now over, the team announced that they’ve sent Daws, Vilen, and center Marc McLaughlin back to Utica.
April 10: The Devils recalled goaltender Nico Daws and defenseman Topias Vilen from AHL Utica on Friday, per a team announcement. They’ll be on hand for tomorrow’s game against the Red Wings.
With New Jersey not headed to the playoffs, they’re likely taking an opportunity to get some younger faces into the lineup over their final few games. There’s more of a direct need for Vilen’s services. The 23-year-old lefty could make his NHL debut tomorrow in place of Luke Hughes, who opted for an early end to his season to undergo a much-needed shoulder surgery.
Hughes was shut down before last night’s game against the Penguins, meaning Dennis Cholowski, the team’s only healthy extra on the blue line, dressed in his stead. It was the 28-year-old’s first appearance since being recalled in early March and his first NHL game since Dec. 14. After he posted a -2 rating in 17:40 of ice time, it’s no surprise to see New Jersey want to get a younger, higher-upside face in the lineup for their last three games.
Vilen is now in his third season stateside. A fifth-round pick by the Devils back in 2021, the 6’1″ lefty has been a consistent two-way piece in Utica with a career 7-70–77 scoring line in 171 AHL games with a +5 rating. That includes a career-high four goals and 20 assists for 24 points in 59 appearances this season.
Selected from Pelicans in Finland’s Liiga, he checks in as the #11 prospect in New Jersey’s pool and #3 among left-handed defenders behind 2024 10th overall pick Anton Silayev (#2) and 2022 fourth-rounder Daniil Orlov (#6), per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. He’s shown enough in his toolkit at the AHL level that he could end up being a bottom-pairing, penalty-killing staple for the Devils in the next couple of years. His entry-level contract is wrapping up this summer, but given his consistency in minor league play, he’s a strong candidate to receive a qualifying offer.
The 25-year-old Daws already has 48 career starts and 53 appearances to his name, but just one of them has come this season. The Devils’ third-stringer got a lone early-season tryout against the Wild back on Oct. 22 while Jacob Markström was dealing with a lower-body injury, allowing just one goal on 31 shots for a shimmering .968 SV% in a 4-1 win.
Daws is an interesting study. The 2020 third-rounder is certainly too old now to be considered a true prospect, and his AHL track record isn’t great. He has an .891 SV% and 2.84 GAA in 42 showings for Utica this season, which will be his third straight finishing below a .900 SV% in the minors.
His recent NHL samples, however, have been excellent. On top of his great start back in October, he had a similarly strong .939 SV%, 1.60 GAA, and 3-1-0 record in six showings in #3 duties last year. That’s good for 7.0 goals saved above expected in his last seven NHL appearances, per MoneyPuck.
Markström is signed through 2027-28, and veteran backup Jake Allen is under contract through 2029-30, so there’s no clear pathway yet for Daws to see more NHL ice next season. He’s in the last year of his contract but is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, so the Devils can easily retain him if they choose, knowing he might not clear waivers in the fall.
Hurricanes Assign Six To AHL
Wednesday: With their regular season now over, the Hurricanes announced that they’ve returned several players to the minors. Nystrom and Seeley, along with defenseman Charles-Alexis Legault and forwards Skyler Brind’Amour, Bradly Nadeau, and Felix Unger Sorum, have all been sent back to the Wolves.
Tuesday: The Hurricanes announced a pair of roster moves this morning. Defensemen Joel Nystrom and Ronan Seeley have been summoned from AHL Chicago, likely to permit the Canes to rest some more blue-liners for tonight’s regular-season finale against the Islanders. Carolina has made a common practice of resting regulars after locking up the Metropolitan Division and then Eastern Conference regular-season title, sitting a group that included Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Jaccob Slavin last night.
Nystrom, 23, has been quite the quick riser after Carolina selected him with the sixth-last pick of the 2021 draft. The 5’11” righty did get his entry-level contract in 2024 on the heels of a breakout year for Färjestad BK in Sweden but was loaned back to them for 2024-25, not making his AHL debut until late last year. But when injuries decimated Carolina’s blue line to begin the season, Nystrom was one of the first names up. He ended up skating in 37 games for the Canes, logging a goal and eight assists with a +5 rating, while averaging 15:10 per night.
His smooth offensive game fit in well with Carolina’s possession-heavy system. Despite the limited role and minimal North American track record, the Canes saw enough to ink him to a four-year extension in December that pays him $1.225MM per season. It’s clear they expect him to hang around as a #7/8 option next year. His waiver-exempt status meant he got demoted back to Chicago once Carolina got healthy in late January, but he’ll get a spot-duty bump now to get one more game in for the year, barring any playoff action.
The Canes would have preferred a bit more offensive output from Nystrom after returning to the minors. He stands with an identical 1-8–9 scoring line to his NHL stats, but in two fewer games. He does have four points in his last 10 outings for Chicago, though, so he’s on the right track.
As for Seeley, he would be in line for his NHL debut. The 23-year-old lefty was also a seventh-rounder, just a year before Nystrom. Now in his fourth professional season, all in the Canes’ system with either Chicago or ECHL Norfolk, he’s put up a career-best 10 goals in 67 games while adding 12 assists for 22 points. His physical game hasn’t really translated to positive defensive results in the AHL – he’s a career -62 player in 264 games – but he’ll get rewarded here for being an available fixture on the farm since making his pro debut back in 2022.
Wild Recall Ben Jones, Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Wednesday: Jones and Aube-Kubel's stints were short-lived, as expected. The team announced that those two, along with center Hunter Haight, were all sent back to Iowa. All three players picked up a point on Tuesday against Anaheim.
Monday: After recalling a pair of depth players yesterday, the Minnesota Wild are again adding more reinforcements for their final two games of the regular season. The Wild
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