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Ottawa Senators Recall Nikolas Matinpalo, Place Three On IR

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The Ottawa Senators announced they’ve recalled depth defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. The roster move marks the second time in three weeks that Matinpalo has been recalled to serve as the team’s seventh defenseman.

Ottawa had to make additional roster moves given that Matinpalo is the fifth player recalled by the organization in the last 24 hours. TSN’s Steve Lloyd reported that the Senators have retroactively placed David Perron, Anton Forsberg, and Artem Zub on the team’s injured reserve opening up the necessary roster spots. Perron and Zub reportedly returned to practice yesterday meaning Matinpalo’s time on the active roster should be short-lived.

Matinpalo is in his second year with the Senators organization signing back-to-back one-year contracts out of the Finnish Liiga. He was a quality two-way defenseman for the AHL Senators last year scoring four goals and 14 points in 67 games with a +15 rating. He went scoreless through his first seven AHL postseason contests but still finished with a positive +1 rating.

The Espoo, Finland also debuted in the NHL last year skating in four games for Ottawa from late October through early November. He was rarely used during those contests shouldering seven minutes of ice time a night on average but still found the time to deliver four hits.

He’s had a small uptick in scoring this year in the AHL with two goals and seven points in 23 games but isn’t expected to greatly extrapolate on last season’s totals. He’ll continue to serve as Ottawa’s seventh defenseman for the time being with the team four games through a nine-game road trip.

Matthew Schaefer Likely Out Two to Three Months With Broken Collarbone

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Last night’s World Junior matchup between Team Canada and Team Latvia had severe implications beyond a round-robin matchup. Hockey Canada announced top defenseman and prospect for the 2025 NHL Draft, Matthew Schaefer will miss the remainder of the World Junior Championships due to an injury suffered yesterday evening.

TSN draft analyst, Bob McKenzie added more context to the injury this morning sharing that Schaefer suffered a broken collarbone and will likely miss the next two to three months of action. Hockey Canada has replaced Shaefer with Vancouver Canucks’ prospect Sawyer Mynio and could still add Seattle Kraken prospect Carson Rehkopf to secure a full 25-man roster.

Schaefer was already a top-five prospect for the 2025 NHL Draft heading into the season but his play to start the year had some mock drafts moving him up to the first overall selection. He’s scored five goals and 22 points in 17 games for the OHL’s Erie Otters while managing a +21 rating. He’s a solid skating defenseman with size and has displayed an exceptional hockey IQ this season in Erie.

Given his maturity and responsibility on both sides of the puck, there’s no question why Schaefer was considered a top prospect for the upcoming draft. Unfortunately, given that he’ll miss time on the world stage with Team Canada and a few months in the OHL, this injury likely nixes any chance for Schaefer to be selected with the first overall pick.

The injury shouldn’t move him too far down the draft board as there’s recent precedent for teams selecting players after injury-riddled draft years. The St. Louis Blues selected defenseman Adam Jiříček with the 16th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft after missing most of the season due to a knee injury. Given that Schaefer has a much higher ceiling than Jiříček it’s safe to say he’ll still be a top-five selection.

Dallas Stars Recall Justin Hryckowian; Mason Marchment Likely Out

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According to a team announcement, the Dallas Stars have recalled Justin Hryckowian for the third time this month. Hryckowian hasn’t debuted in the NHL over the first two recalls but there’s reason to believe he’ll do that tomorrow against the Chicago Blackhawks.

There’s growing concern the Stars will be without Mason Marchment tomorrow, leading to the idea that Hryckowian will be called upon to make his debut. Last night, Marchment took a puck to the face in a scary scene and was helped off the ice by the team. He was immediately taken to the hospital and head Peter DeBoer shared (X Link) that Marchment is ’okay in a broader sense’ but is unsure how long he’ll be sidelined.

If Marchment isn’t available Dallas will be limited to 12 healthy forwards. Hryckowian will likely slot on the team’s fourth line next to Oskar Back and Sam Steel with Logan Stankoven moving back to the team’s second line.

The Stars may even replace Marchment with Hryckowian on the team’s second line considering the strength of Dallas’ opponent tomorrow night. The former captain of Northeastern University has exceeded expectations in his first full AHL season scoring 12 goals and 26 points through his first 27 games. He may not be a longer-term player for the Stars yet but he’s certainly growing his prospect pedigree in the organization.

Joey Daccord Not Travelling With Kraken, Burakovsky Day-To-Day

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Kate Shefte of the Seattle Times Sports is reporting that goaltender Joey Daccord isn’t travelling with the Seattle Kraken meaning that Philipp Grubauer will start in net tonight in Vancouver. Daccord reportedly suffered an undisclosed injury during last Sunday’s game against Colorado but managed to finish out the game.

The 28-year-old had a career year last season and is off to a great start this year as well, posting a 12-9-2 record with a .912 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average. On the surface, Daccord’s numbers look pretty pedestrian, however, his 9.2 goals saved above expected tells a more detailed story (as per Money Puck).

If Daccord is out for any length of time, Grubauer will likely see a lot more action. The former Stanley Cup Champion has struggled this season, posting a 3-10 record with an .877 save percentage and a 3.63 goals-against average.

Kate Shefte also reported that Kraken forward Andre Burakovsky is day-to-day with an illness. Like Daccord, Burakovsky also stayed back in Seattle and is not travelling with the team to Vancouver.

The 29-year-old Burakovsky has struggled to score this season, carrying over his lack of offensive production from last season. The Klagenfurt, Austria native is just three years removed from posting 61 points in 80 games with Colorado but has registered just 22 goals and 45 assists in 132 games since signing a massive five-year $27.5MM deal as a free agent in July 2022.

Kings Recall Andre Lee From AHL

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The Los Angeles Kings have recalled forward Andre Lee from the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League. Lee was sent to the AHL on December 24th, after making his first NHL appearance in December last Sunday. The 24-year-old Lee has spent the bulk of this season playing in the NHL for Los Angeles, dressing in 17 games and registering two points.

Before this year, Lee had spent his entire professional career in the AHL with the Reign. His AHL appearances have been limited this season, dressing in just four games and registering a goal and an assist. Over the course of his four-year AHL career, Lee has dressed in 109 games and tallied 15 goals and 11 assists.

The former seventh-round pick doesn’t provide much offense but is a good forechecker and can make space for his linemates. However, he isn’t overly physical given his 6’4” 205-pound frame and may need to find other ways to produce if he hopes to stick around in the NHL.

Lee spent the first month of the season in Los Angeles, but since then he has bounced back and forth between the NHL and AHL and will likely continue to do so for the remainder of this season unless he can start to produce a bit of offense in a bottom six role.

Avalanche Activate Josh Manson Off Injured Reserve

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The Colorado Avalanche activated defenseman Josh Manson off injured reserve yesterday before their 4-1 win over the Utah Hockey Club. Manson went on to dress last night, recording three shots on goal, two hits, a blocked shot and a +1. The 33-year-old hadn’t played in almost a month, missing 12 consecutive games due to an upper-body injury.

Manson skated alongside Samuel Girard last evening, the two are familiar with one another having formed a solid pairing when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022. During Manson’s absence, Girard played well as he was paired with Cale Makar and Sam Malinski. In nearly 250 minutes paired together Girard and Manson didn’t have much success, bleeding opportunities against before eventually getting separated before Manson’s injury. With Manson back in the fold, Colorado has some options on the back end. The pairing of Devon Toews and Makar is elite, but the Avalanche could always opt to break them up if Girard and Manson can’t find their game as a unit.

Manson won’t provide much offense, having notched just a goal and five assists in 25 games this season. However, he does take on tough assignments and unfavorable deployment, starting nearly 60% of his shifts in the defensive zone at even strength.

Manson was okay in his return to the ice yesterday, making some good plays, but also showing a bit of rust which is to be expected after missing nearly a month of action. He’ll have some time to get comfortable before the Avalanche play against as they are off until New Year’s Eve.

Kirill Kaprizov Out Day-To-Day

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Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov is missing tonight’s game against the Dallas Stars with a lower-body injury (Twitter link). Kaprizov didn’t travel with the Wild to Dallas and will miss just his second game of the second. The 27-year-old reportedly had some pain heading into the holiday break that is unrelated to the lower-body injury that kept him out of Minnesota’s game on November 23rd.

Kaprizov currently sits fourth in the NHL in points with 50 on the season, and second in goals with 23. His 56 goals in 2024 have him tied with Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart for the most this calendar year. Kaprizov has heated up recently, tallying points in 12 of his last 15 games, including five goals in his last six games.

Minnesota started the season red hot going 16-4-4 in October and November. However, since the calendar switched to December the Wild have cooled off with the season, going a pedestrian 6-6. Despite the December slump, Minnesota remains in second place in the Central Division, five points back of first-place Winnipeg.

The Wild return home Sunday to take on the Ottawa Senators and there is no word yet on whether Kaprizov will play. The 2020-21 Calder Trophy winner has yet to play a full season in the NHL, playing over 80 games just once, back in 2021-22.

Sharks Notes: Kostin, Vanecek, Eklund, Walman

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The San Jose Sharks have activated forward Klim Kostin from the injured reserve. Kostin has missed the Sharks past five games with an upper-body injury but isn’t likely to play tonight and will serve as a healthy scratch. Kostin has had several stretches this season where he has served as a healthy scratch due to poor play, including a stretch of three weeks in November. The former first-round pick was solid as a depth scoring option in Edmonton during the 2022-23 season but has just a goal and three assists in 20 games this year.

In other Sharks notes:

  • The Sharks have placed goaltender Vitek Vanecek on the injured reserve. The 28-year-old hasn’t played in almost two weeks and can be activated whenever he is healthy enough to play again. It’s been a struggle this season for Vanecek as he’s posted a 3-8-1 record with a .885 save percentage and a 3.84 goals-against average. Vanecek was acquired from the New Jersey Devils back in March and is in the final season of a three-year $10.2MM contract.
  • Sharks forward William Eklund is day-to-day with an upper-body injury (as per Max Miller of The Hockey News). The 22-year-old took a nasty hit from Tyler Myers in the first period of Monday night’s game against Vancouver and missed the second and third periods. The Sharks don’t appear overly concerned at the moment and are monitoring Eklund’s recovery. The former seventh overall pick in 2021 has been sloppy with the puck at times this season, but his play-driving abilities and offensive instincts have been on full display. In 36 games this season Eklund has posted seven goals and 20 assists.
  • Finally, Sharks defenseman Jake Walman is also out day-to-day with a lower-body injury (as per Max Miller of The Hockey News). Walman suffered an apparent injury at some point in Saturday’s game against Edmonton and will miss his second consecutive game this evening. The 28-year-old has already set a career-high in points this season with 25 (five goals and 20 assists) in just 31 games.

Canucks Recall Three, Hughes And Pettersson Doubtful For Saturday

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The Vancouver Canucks made three recalls today, bringing forwards Phil Di Giuseppe and Max Sasson up to the big club from Abbotsford as well as defenseman Guillaume Brisebois. The moves were likely made as a precaution since it appears that forward Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes won’t be able to play tomorrow night (as per Jeff Paterson of Canucks Army).

The 31-year-old Di Giuseppe is a veteran of 285 NHL games and has dressed in three NHL games this season for Vancouver, posting two assists. The nine-year veteran was in the AHL for just a handful of days and didn’t play during that time, earning his AHL salary of $500K rather than the $775K he earns at the NHL level. He played three times for Vancouver last week, including this past Monday night against San Jose.

Sasson has provided solid depth scoring this season, both in the NHL and AHL. With Vancouver this season, the 24-year-old has a goal and four helpers in 12 games, while in the AHL his offensive numbers are a shade better, posting four goals and five assists in 16 games. The Birmingham, Michigan native was undrafted out of the USHL and has carved out a solid but brief professional career thus far, reaching the NHL in his second full season of pro hockey.

Brisebois returns to Vancouver after having spent the entire season with Abbotsford. The 27-year-old dressed in 17 NHL games two seasons ago but has not seen NHL action since. It’s unlikely he will dress tomorrow night as the Canucks have seven healthy defensemen right now, and Brisebois will most likely serve as the seventh defender. Brisebois has just a single goal in 23 AHL games this season.

As far as the injuries to Pettersson and Hughes go, both players were being re-evaluated today by Canucks medical staff before the team makes a final judgement on their availability tomorrow.

Golden Knights Make Three Roster Moves

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The Golden Knights have made a trio of roster moves heading into tonight’s game against San Jose.  SinBin.Vegas relays (Twitter link) that center Nicolas Roy has been placed on injured reserve, opening a roster spot for defenseman Ben Hutton to be activated off LTIR.  Meanwhile, forward Tanner Laczynski has been recalled once more after being papered down over the holiday break.

Roy last played on December 15th where he suffered an upper-body injury.  The 27-year-old got off to a hot start to his season with a dozen points in his first 17 games but has been quiet since then, being limited to just one point – a goal – since then, spanning 14 games.  Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun adds (Twitter link) that Roy’s IR placement is retroactive to December 16th, meaning he has already served the required seven days so he’ll be able to be activated as soon as he’s cleared to return.

As for Hutton, he has been limited to just five games this season and has missed more than a month with an upper-body issue of his own which landed him on LTIR when Vegas needed to open up a bit of short-term cap flexibility.  The 31-year-old has been held off the scoresheet in his five outings while averaging just over 11 minutes a night.  With now eight healthy blueliners on the roster, Hutton may be waiting a little while before seeing game action.

Laczynski, meanwhile, was briefly up with Vegas before the break, getting into three games.  He was held without a point in those in just under nine minutes a night of playing time.  However, the 27-year-old has been productive with the Silver Knights, tallying six goals and 13 assists in 17 AHL games.  He’s in the first season of a two-year, one-way deal after spending the previous four seasons with Philadelphia.

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