Jackson Smith Commits To Penn State University
One of the projected top 10 selections for the 2025 NHL Draft has found a new home in the NCAA’s Big Ten Conference. According to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, defenseman Jackson Smith has committed to Penn State University for the 2025-26 NCAA season.
Smith isn’t a consensus top 10 prospect in the upcoming draft, as he’s ranked as high as sixth by Elite Prospects, and as low as 13th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. Still, he’s widely recognized as the third or second-best North American defenseman behind Matthew Schaefer and likely behind Radim Mrtka, who’s coming from Czechia, but plays in the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Like Mrtka, Smith is coming from the WHL; however, he played with the Tri-City Americans instead of the Seattle Thunderbirds. Smith recently completed his sophomore campaign with the Americans, scoring 11 goals and 54 points in 68 games with a +2 rating.
Smith projects as an offensive-oriented defenseman at the NHL level. He has demonstrated strong skating and stick-handling skills from the point, but he needs to mature in the defensive zone. The NCAA, and the Big Ten Conference specifically, should help tremendously with the latter.
Although the Nittany Lions finished fifth in the Big Ten Conference, and 13th in the entire NCAA during the 2024-25 season, they made some noise in the National Tournament. After knocking out the University of Maine, and stunning the University of Connecticut in overtime, Penn State reached the Frozen Four for the first time in program history.
Smith will have plenty of expectations and competition on a highly competitive Nittany Lions’ roster. Playing in a top-ranked conference should help grow his offensive and defensive talents.
Kraken Linked To Aaron Schneekloth For Assistant Coach Vacancy
The Kraken are aiming to hire AHL Colorado head coach Aaron Schneekloth to fill one of their assistant coach vacancies, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Sunday’s 32 Thoughts podcast.
Schneekloth, 46, has a 12-year coaching career spent exclusively with the Colorado Eagles club, dating back to their days as the ECHL affiliate of the Jets and Flames from 2013-14 to 2015-16. He started as an assistant coach but was promoted to head coach when the Eagles affiliated with the Avs beginning in 2016-17. He stayed on staff when the Eagles were promoted from the ECHL to the AHL for the 2018-19 season to accommodate the NHL’s expansion to Vegas, but was demoted back to an assistant role under Greg Cronin, whom the Avs hired that offseason to serve as their new minor-league bench boss.
When Cronin left Colorado in the 2023 offseason to accept the Ducks’ head coaching position, the Avs offered the internal promotion to Schneekloth. The Eagles have remained one of the AHL’s premier clubs under his watch, posting an 83-46-15 record over the last two seasons. They won the Pacific Division regular-season title for the first time since their promotion from the ECHL. However, they were eliminated in the Calder Cup Playoffs by the Abbotsford Canucks in the Division Final.
Under Schneekloth, the Eagles also won back-to-back Kelly Cups during his two seasons at the helm in the ECHL. The Calgary native has been with the organization since his playing days as a defenseman, first joining them in 2006 when they played in the now-defunct Central Hockey League. He never reached the NHL level and only got a cup of coffee in the AHL early in his career but was an elite offensive presence in the lower-level minors, including two seasons over a point per game for the Eagles and a 20-goal, 62-point campaign in 72 games in their first season in the ECHL en route to being named the league’s Defenseman of the Year. He also won a Central Hockey League championship with the Eagles in 2007 and an NCAA national title with North Dakota in 2000.
Seattle has two assistant coach vacancies they’re looking to fill. After installing Lane Lambert as their new head coach, they announced Dave Lowry and, later, Bob Woods, would not be returning to Lambert’s staff. Goalie coach Steve Briere was fired alongside Lowry as well, so only assistant coach Jessica Campbell is returning from last year’s coaching group.
Free Agent Focus: Philadelphia Flyers
Free agency is now under a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Flyers.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Cameron York – Outside of Travis Sanheim and 2023 first-round pick Oliver Bonk, there’s a dearth of high-end defensemen in the Flyers’ system. The 24-year-old York, while flawed, plays a vital role in helping Philly out of the doldrums. The 2019 first-rounder is coming off a two-year, $3.2MM bridge deal and doesn’t have an intriguing platform year to hang his hat on in negotiations. He posted 17 points in 66 appearances after notching a career-high 30 in all 82 games last year. He also saw his average time on ice drop from 22:37 to 20:47. His possession impacts waned as well, but that’s to be expected when his offensive zone start percentage at even strength went from 53.0% in 2023-24 to just 44.5% in 2024-25. A reported verbal spat with head coach John Tortorella near the end of the season also played a role in the latter’s firing, and the former was benched for an entire game despite being dressed as a result. There’s still a long-term belief in York’s ceiling from the organization’s viewpoint, though, and they’ve examined a long-term deal in talks over the past few weeks. An established second-pairing puck mover at his worst will likely take well north of $5MM per season to accept a lengthier commitment.
F Jakob Pelletier – Philadelphia acquired Pelletier, a 2019 first-rounder alongside York, from the Flames in the deal that sent Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost to Calgary. While he’s been an exceptional minor-league producer since turning pro four years ago, he’s yet to sniff an offensive breakthrough in the NHL. That didn’t change after the trade. Pelletier, who had been on his best NHL scoring pace so far with 11 points in 24 games with Calgary at the time of the move, only logged a 3-5–8 scoring line in 25 games with the Flyers down the stretch in fourth-line minutes. Two of his three goals came in the season’s final five games. He’ll likely get the first crack at a top-nine spot if the Flyers don’t land an external free agent for that role, but it still looks like an uphill battle to earn effective NHL minutes for the 5’9″ winger with defensive acumen. While he’ll likely spurn his qualifying offer in hopes of a one-way deal, his cap hit on a one or two-year prove-it deal shouldn’t cost much more than the $840K NHL salary he’d receive on his QO.
Other RFAs: F Elliot Desnoyers, F Zayde Wisdom
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Olle Lycksell – The Flyers don’t have any expected NHL contributors set to hit the open market this summer. Lycksell would have the best chance of the bunch if he opts to continue pursuing playing time in North America, but the 25-year-old is a pending Group VI unrestricted free agent. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him return to his native Sweden or elsewhere in Europe after never landing extended NHL minutes in his three years stateside with the Flyers. A 2017 sixth-round pick, Lycksell has been an exceptional producer with AHL Lehigh Valley during that time, but has just one goal and 10 assists in 45 career NHL appearances, including a career-high 19 this past season. He’s cleared waivers multiple times but could still garner NHL offers on the back of consecutive AHL campaigns over a point per game.
G Calvin Petersen – Petersen was a cap-dump pickup by the Flyers in the three-team trade with the Blue Jackets and Kings that sent defenseman Ivan Provorov to Columbus in 2023. Once posited as a potential goalie of the future in Los Angeles, he’s made just 15 NHL appearances with a garish .866 SV%, 3.80 GAA, and -14.6 GSAA since his three-year, $15MM extension went into effect in the 2022-23 season. He only made five NHL appearances for Philly, all in 2023-24. The 30-year-old hasn’t been impressive in minor-league action, either, particularly this past season. He made 31 appearances for Lehigh Valley and logged a 3.14 GAA, .885 SV%, and a 13-15-3 record. Not only is a return to the Flyers overwhelmingly unlikely, it doesn’t look like he’ll be getting an NHL contract anywhere this summer. The most notable aspect of his pending free agency is the $3.85MM cap hit Petersen carried while buried in the minors coming off the Flyers’ books.
F Givani Smith – While the 27-year-old enforcer has 168 games of NHL experience, none of them have been in a Flyers uniform. He was acquired in a deadline swap with the Avalanche for defenseman Erik Johnson. He was on an AHL assignment at the time and remained there for the rest of 2024-25 after the trade, scoring two points with nine penalty minutes in 10 games for Lehigh Valley. The Flyers were the fifth team to have Smith under contract over the last three seasons, joining the Red Wings, Panthers, Sharks, and Avs. He’s never logged more than seven points or 46 games in an NHL season, and he’s unlikely to eclipse those numbers again. He could be back with Philly on a two-way deal to serve as a veteran presence for the AHL squad but likely won’t get more of a role than that elsewhere.
Other UFAs: F Rhett Gardner, D Louis Belpedio, D Ben Gleason, G Eetu Mäkiniemi
Projected Cap Space
As evidenced by the lack of truly notable names in this article, the Flyers got most of their offseason business out of the way early with extensions for pending RFAs Noah Cates and Tyson Foerster. As a result, they have plenty of spending flexibility this summer with $18.99MM in cap space and only four roster spots to fill. A long-term extension for York still leaves them with around $13MM to spend on three players in an absolute worst-case scenario. They’ll be able to retain who they please while pursuing another impact defenseman, some forward depth, and even a goaltending upgrade if they can swing one without having to worry about financial constraints too much.
Images courtesy of Eric Hartline-Imagn Images (York) and Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images (Lycksell). Contract info courtesy of PuckPedia.
Devils Sign Juho Lammikko
The Devils signed center Juho Lammikko to a one-way deal worth $800K, PuckPedia reports. He’ll look to win out a roster spot in training camp and avoid waivers and a subsequent assignment to AHL Utica, although the one-way deal stipulates that it won’t affect him financially if it happens.
Lammikko, 29, has three years and 159 games of NHL experience. The left-shot pivot was a third-round pick of the Panthers back in 2014 and made his NHL debut four years later. He made 40 appearances for the Cats in the 2018-19 season, registering six assists and a minus-seven rating, before returning to Europe when his entry-level contract expired. However, Florida retained his signing rights with a qualifying offer, so when he decided he was ready to return stateside after a year and a half abroad in Finland and Russia, he returned to the Panthers for the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.
While Lammikko managed a full-time roster spot, something he never held during his first stint in the Panthers organization, his production and role were identical to his rookie campaign. He scored his first four NHL goals but added only one assist for five points in 44 games, posting a minus-eight rating and averaging 10:50 per game. While he didn’t generate any meaningful offense in Florida, he did have some solid possession impacts at even strength, considering he was deployed as a defensive specialist.
After Lammikko re-signed with Florida on a league-minimum, one-way contract for the 2021-22 season, he failed to win a regular spot in the lineup in training camp. As a result, was traded to the Canucks along with Noah Juulsen in exchange for former top defense prospect Olli Juolevi at the beginning of the regular season. It was in British Columbia that Lammikko showed more legitimate upside as a bottom-six checking center. He upped his offensive production with a 7-8–15 scoring line in 75 games, a slight per-game increase even with the increased workload, and saw his ice time jump to the 12-minute range per game. The Finnish pivot also won 51.0% of his faceoffs after finishing at 42.8% and 44.9% in his two prior seasons with Florida. He also finished fourth among Vancouver forwards with 93 hits.
Nonetheless, that wasn’t enough for the Canucks to issue Lammikko a qualifying offer following his career-best campaign. After not pursuing or receiving NHL offers, Lammikko returned to Europe with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League. He’s been with ZSC ever since, bringing him some much-desired stability and allowing him to re-emerge as an offensive threat. He potted a 48-64–112 scoring line and a +60 rating in 144 games across the last three years, yielding back-to-back NL championships – he even scored the title-clinching goal in ZSC’s 2024 win. Lammikko is also 11th in NL scoring over the last three seasons.
He’ll now head to Jersey in an attempt to win out a bottom-six spot next year. It’s exceedingly rare for a player to make a jump to the NHL after his first two stints didn’t pan out, but he’s nonetheless hoping the third time is the charm. Bottom-six depth was an easily identifiable area of need for the Devils entering the summer, who have more than a few pending unrestricted free agents at the position and need insurance options in case candidates for internal promotion like Nolan Foote and Nathan Legare don’t work out.
Red Wings Goalie Prospect Rudy Guimond Decommits From Yale
Detroit Red Wings 2023 sixth-round selection goalie Rudy Guimond is no longer committed to Yale University, per Mark Divver of NHL.com.
The Moncton Wildcats, Guimond’s QMJHL team, also announced his return. Moncton won the Q’s championship this season and will now have their star goalie back in the fold. The 20-year-old Guimond started last season in the USHL with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, but struggled mightily, going 1-5 with an .887 save percentage. He then joined the Moncton Wildcats, where he turned the tide entirely, finishing the regular season with a perfect 16-0 record and a .940 save percentage. Carrying that momentum into the playoffs, he posted an 8-1 record, leading the team to their third championship.
Moncton’s general manager and director of hockey operations Taylor MacDougall said, “We are thrilled Rudy has chosen to return to Moncton. He was an integral part of our group’s success last season and now he has the opportunity to establish himself as one of the most impactful goaltenders in the CHL. Rudy has showcased elite composure and consistency. His decision to return to Moncton speaks to his trust in the process and desire to continue to improve under our goaltending coach, Antoine Samuel.”
Guimond’s tenure with the Wildcats wasn’t merely impressive—it was historic. He secured victories in his first 24 starts, setting a new league record, before experiencing his first defeat in Game 4 of the QMJHL Final against Rimouski. The 20-year-old is listed at 6’3, the type of size coveted by NHL teams. He sits as one of the Red Wings’ top goaltending prospects, joining the likes of Sebastian Cossa, Michigan State University’s Trey Augustine, and Michal Postava, who recently signed a two-year, entry-level contract after playing for HC Kometa Brno of Czechia’s highest league.
Free Agent Focus: Ottawa Senators
Free agency is now under a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Senators.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Fabian Zetterlund – The 25-year-old Swedish winger is coming off his second consecutive season with over 40 points, but managed just five points in 20 games with the Senators after being acquired from the Sharks. He added zero points in the team’s first-round matchup against the Maple Leafs. Zetterlund, however, does provide more than just an offensive element, and established career highs in hits (154) and blocked shots (81) during the 2024-25 season. Originally a third-round pick by the New Jersey Devils in the 2017 draft, Zetterlund has 20-goal potential that could draw interest from other teams. That, coupled with his offensive struggles with the Senators, might push him down Ottawa’s list of priorities this offseason.
D Donovan Sebrango – Sebrango made his NHL debut last season but appeared in just two games. The 23-year-old, who was selected in the third round (63rd overall) by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2020 NHL draft, has shown flashes of offensive upside at the AHL level, recording 20 points in 50 games last season with the Belleville Senators. At 6’2, 220, he also possesses the physical traits that can make him a solid two-way player. Although the Senators have seven defensemen under contract for next season, bringing Sebrango back to provide organizational depth could be a sensible move.
G Leevi Merilainen – At just 22 years old, Merilainen may have done enough last season to earn a shot at the team’s backup role. While Linus Ullmark has a firm hold on the starting job for the foreseeable future, Merilainen made a strong impression during his first taste of NHL action, signaling a potential breakthrough. The team’s third-round selection in 2020, Merilainen posted an 8-3-1 record for the Senators this past season, with a .925 save percentage and 1.99 GAA. He added three shutouts, meaning he stopped every shot he faced in 25 percent of his starts. With Anton Forsberg set to hit free agency, the door is open for a Merilainen-Ullmark tandem in goal. The question now is what kind of raise Merilainen will command on his next deal.
Other RFAs: F Vitaly Abramov, F Alex Formenton, F Jan Jenik, F Jamieson Rees, F Tristen Robins, F Philippe Daoust, F Xavier Bourgault, D Lassi Thomson, D Maxence Guenette
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Claude Giroux – At 37 years old, Giroux is still getting it done. While his production has dipped over the last few seasons, Giroux still put up 50 points in 2024-25 and added five points in six playoff contests. His veteran experience and steady production are clearly valued by the Senators, as the two sides have reportedly been in contract negotiations for several weeks. Giroux recently completed a three-year, $19.5MM contract he signed with the Senators in which he has scored 71 goals and 193 points in 245 games. After spending 15 years with the Flyers, Giroux has found a new home in Ottawa, and it appears that partnership is poised to continue. The remaining questions are how long the new deal will be and what the annual cap hit will look like.
F Adam Gaudette – In his second stint with Ottawa, Gaudette enjoyed a breakout campaign, posting a career-high 19 goals over 81 games. Despite averaging just 10:25 of ice time per night, he came close to hitting the 20-goal mark and chipped in with a goal and two assists during the playoffs. While his career-best season will undoubtedly earn him a raise on the open market — even if it was boosted by an unsustainably high 21 percent shooting percentage — Gaudette may prefer to remain in Ottawa, where head coach Travis Green’s system clearly suits his style of play.
D Travis Hamonic – A veteran of 900 NHL games, Hamonic is coming off of a disappointing season where he posted just seven points and a minus-16 rating in 59 games. Hamonic battled a lower-body injury that kept him out of the lineup for multiple weeks, and he also struggled in the playoffs, recording zero points and a minus-4 rating in five games. In his prime, Hamonic routinely skated 20-plus minutes a night and provided stout two-way play. Now, he’s coming off two injury-shortened seasons and has struggled to make an impact when in the lineup, posting a minus-26 rating over that span. A change of scenery will probably serve both parties well.
G Anton Forsberg – In his fifth season with Ottawa, Forsberg posted solid numbers and reestablished himself as a reliable backup after a disappointing 2023-24 campaign. In 30 appearances on the year, Forsberg posted a 11-12-3 record to go along with a .901 save percentage and 2.72 GAA. His production was in line with his career averages, and his three shutouts marked a new personal best. However, the organization may have to put Forsberg’s potential return to Ottawa in question, as Merilainen’s youth and upside will likely take precedence. If Forsberg hits the open market, he’ll likely have no trouble finding a new home, as many teams would welcome a reliable veteran presence between the pipes.
Other UFAs: F Nick Cousins, F Matthew Highmore, F Hayden Hodgson, D Dennis Gilbert, F Angus Crookshank (Group6), F Cole Reinhardt (Group6), F Wyatt Bongiovanni (Group6), D Jeremy Davies, D Filip Roos (Group6)
Projected Cap Space
The Senators will enter free agency with just north of $15MM with a projected cap space, per PuckPedia. It’s a solid amount to work with on the surface, but if deals with Giroux and the team’s restricted free agents come together, they will take up a significant portion of that cap space, which could limit Ottawa’s ability to pursue some of the bigger names on the open market.
Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Jean-Gabriel Pageau
With a center trade market that might not be as busy as initially anticipated and one top option (Brock Nelson) off the UFA list already, teams will be starting to take a look at other options to try to upgrade down the middle. It appears one of the players is receiving some attention now as Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News relays (Twitter links) that at least three teams have called to inquire about Islanders middleman Jean-Gabriel Pageau over the last week. One of those teams is believed to be the Bruins.
The 32-year-old will be entering the final year of his contract next season on a deal that carries a $5MM cap charge but only a $3.5MM salary. Pageau will have some say in the matter as well as he has a 16-team no-trade clause.
Pageau has been a speculative trade candidate for a couple of years now with the Islanders often running close to having salary cap issues. At the time, the thought was that New York might have to incentivize a team to take on Pageau’s contract or potentially pay it down in order to get a positive-value return.
That shouldn’t be the case now, however. With an expiring contract and a thinning-out market, new GM Mathieu Darche should be in a good spot to elicit a good return for Pageau’s services.
It also certainly helps that Pageau is coming off one of his best offensive years. This season, he had 14 goals and 28 assists in 79 games. His assist total was a career-high while his point total came in one shy of his personal best set back in 2015-16 with Ottawa. Over his past four seasons, he has notched at least 33 points and has scored double-digit goals in 10 of the last 11 years.
Pageau has also long been an above-average player at the faceoff dot and took that to another level in 2024-25, winning a career-best 59.6% of his draws while leading all Islander forwards in shorthanded ice time. Basically, he continues to be a middle-six option as he has been for the last several seasons.
The Islanders have nearly $21MM in projected cap space this summer, per PuckPedia. However, with a long list of restricted free agents to contend with, that money is going to get spent up in a hurry and New York will be right back up against the cap ceiling. That makes Pageau a logical candidate to try to move over the coming weeks and it appears New York will have multiple suitors for his services if they go that route.
The fit in Boston would be intriguing. The Bruins already have Elias Lindholm, Casey Mittelstadt, and Pavel Zacha under contract while youngsters Fraser Minten and Matthew Poitras are waiting in the wings. While Boston could use a center upgrade toward the top of their lineup, Pageau would fit more in the middle of their forward group where their depth already lies. That said, one of the veterans could be moved to the wing if need be or moved elsewhere if GM Don Sweeney wants to further shake up his group. In the meantime, we’ll see in the coming weeks if any other suitors emerge for Pageau’s services.
Hurricanes Expected To Sign Stanislav Yarovoi
The Hurricanes appear to be closing in on a contract with one of their 2023 draft picks. Championat’s Anton Nekrasov reports that Carolina is close to signing winger Stanislav Yarovoi to an entry-level deal.
The 21-year-old was a late fourth-round selection, going 126th overall. However, he’ll turn 22 before September 15th meaning that his contract should be a two-year agreement if and when he signs.
Yarovoi’s offensive numbers don’t exactly jump off the charts. In his draft year, he had nine goals and seven assists with Vityaz Moscow of the KHL and he hasn’t reached that plateau since then at the top level in Russia. He also had a dozen points in five junior-level games that year.
This season, he played in 49 games with Vityaz, tallying nine goals along with just three helpers. His playing time was down a bit from 2023-24 as he logged 13:16 per night of playing time.
Heading into the 2023 draft, Yarovoi was noted for bringing some above-average defensive elements to his game, traits that should endear him to Carolina’s coaches as the checking gets a little tighter in North America. Assuming a contract gets done, Yarovoi seems unlikely to crack the roster of the Hurricanes right away which would make him a candidate to start with AHL Chicago. However, we often see Russian prospects get European Assignment Clauses to allow them to play at home a little longer so that could potentially be on the table as well.
Jets Sign Alfons Freij
The Jets have signed one of their draft picks from last year, announcing that they’ve inked defenseman Alfons Freij to a three-year, entry-level deal. The agreement will carry an AAV of $975K at the NHL level.
The 19-year-old was the fifth selection in the second round last June, going 37th overall following a strong season in Sweden’s junior system. Freij predominantly played at the Under-20 level with Vaxjo and fared well offensively, notching 14 goals and 19 assists in 40 games. He also played in five playoff games with Vaxjo’s Under-20 and Under-18 levels.
This season, Freij moved up a level, going to Sweden’s second-tier professional league, the Allsvenskan, where he played with IF Bjorkloven. In 29 games with them, he had two goals and six assists while adding five points in five games with Bjorkloven’s Under-20 team as well.
Back in April, Freij signed a two-year deal with SHL Timra, positioning himself to be tested at a higher level once again next season. This contract shouldn’t change that, as it’s quite likely that he will be loaned back overseas for 2025-26. Assuming that happens, Freij’s contract is eligible to slide and, in that case, he’d still have three years left on his deal at this time next year.
Canadiens Sign Vinzenz Rohrer
The Canadiens have signed one of their prospects, announcing today that they’ve inked forward Vinzenz Rohrer to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 20-year-old was a third-round pick by Montreal back in 2022, going 75th overall. He remained with OHL Ottawa the following season, posting 19 goals and 30 assists in 54 games before deciding to change things up. Instead of staying for what likely would have been his final year of major junior, Rohrer instead decided to turn pro, inking a two-year deal with Zurich in Switzerland.
Rohrer put up 19 points in 49 games in 2023-24, decent numbers for a teenager playing in the pros. That was enough to earn a one-year extension with Zurich, putting him under contract through 2025-26. He followed that up with 15 goals and 10 assists in 52 games this season before adding seven points in 16 playoff contests. Instead of joining Montreal’s farm team in Laval after that for their playoff run, Rohrer went to the World Championship with Austria and fared well with them, collecting four goals and two assists in eight games as they made it to the quarterfinals.
In a release from Zurich (Twitter link), the Lions noted that while Rohrer will attend training camp with the Canadiens this fall, he will report back to Zurich if the team sends him down to the minors. This means that the contract has a European Assignment Clause for the upcoming season; if Rohrer ultimately is sent back, he will still count against Montreal’s contract limit of 50 while he’s too old to have the contract slide.