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Poll: Who Is The Early Favorite For The 2025 Calder Trophy?

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The hockey world is in for a treat with the 2024-25 rookie class. A long list of top prospects seem destined for NHL roles, including former high-end draft picks and controversial prospects. Their pursuit of meaningful NHL ice time will be undercut by what’s sure to be an exciting race for the 2025 Calder Trophy. The NHL’s ’Rookie of the Year’ award stands as perhaps the most coveted and exclusive award in the league, having previously gone to franchise-defining talents like Connor Bedard this year, Kirill Kaprizov in 2021, and Cale Makar in 2020. With such a star-studded cast of contenders this year, the winner may have to reach the heights of that trio to win over voters.

That could prove an easy feat for the pair of Macklin Celebrini and Matvei Michkov – likely the leading favorites as things currently stand. Celebrini was the first overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft and is coming off a dazzling junior hockey career. After winning both the USHL’s ’Rookie of the Year’ and ’Most Valuable Player’ awards as a 16-year-old in 2022-23, Celebrini became the youngest player to ever win the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player this season. His prowess is undeniable. He’s a defiantly special playmaker, with all of the tools needed to match top speeds. Celebrini is set for a top-line role with the San Jose Sharks, while Michkov will fight for the same recognition from the Philadelphia Flyers.

Michkov is making the jump to the NHL a year earlier than expected, after being released from his contract with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg this summer. He makes the move to North America after proudly leading HK Sochi. Despite playing on a farm club to SKA, Michkov has still managed 61 points in 77 KHL games over the last two seasons. His 41 points in 47 games this year marked the most of any U20 KHL skater since Kaprizov, the record holder, potted 42 points in 49 games in 2017. Where Celebrini is a quick-thinking and quicker-moving playmaker, Michkov is an all-skill scorer, capable of using a mix of incredibly agile skating, great stickhandling, and a knockout shot to embarrass opponents in the offensive end. The sky is the limit for the Russian phenom, who should finally receive proper support after spending the last two seasons on muddling rosters.

Celebrini and Michkov will be challenged for their spot by a long list of high-end forwards, including Will Smith – who could find himself playing second-fiddle to Celebrini in San Jose. Anaheim Ducks center Cutter Gauthier could also break into the conversation – undermining yet another boost to the Flyers’ prospect pool. But of the many contenders, it’s the dynamic duo of Logan Stankoven and Mavrik Bourque who seem most overlooked in early Calder talks.

Stankoven was a lightning bolt in his first taste of the NHL. The first-year pro fought his way to an NHL call-up with a then-league-leading 57 points in his first 47 AHL games. The scoring didn’t stop in Dallas, as Stankoven proceeded to score 14 points in 24 games – the highest scoring pace (0.58) of any first-year Star since Jason Robertson in 2021 (0.88) and John Klingberg in 2015 (0.58). Stankoven was just one game shy of losing rookie eligibility when Dallas’ season ended, though he was quickly slotted back into the lineup during the playoffs – which don’t count against Calder Trophy eligibility. He continued to hone his game in the race for the Stanley Cup, netting eight points in 19 games and earning a routine role in Dallas’ middle-six.

If not Stankoven, then it’ll be his electric centerman Bourque who wins the title for Dallas. The two forwards were unstoppable with the AHL’s Texas Stars last season, playing with a pace and chemistry that opponents simply couldn’t keep up with. Bourque stayed red-hot even after Stankoven’s call-up, ultimately leading the AHL in scoring with 77 points in 71 games and earning the Les Cunningham Award as the league’s MVP. That was despite last season being just the second pro year of Bourque’s career. He was impressive, and found a way to score consistently despite his oft-criticized frame.

Even with all of the acclaim of the aforementioned forwards, the award could still find its way to other hands. Shakir Mukhamadullin in San Jose, Lane Hutson in Montreal, and Olen Zellweger in Anaheim are all prime candidates from the blue-line, while Dustin Wolf in Calgary and Yaroslav Askarov in Nashville stand as favorites in net – though the latter will have to fight his way above Juuse Saros. It seems the Calder Trophy debate could go in one of countless directions when the first puck is finally dropped – but who do you think will win out? Will it be dazzling star prospects Celebrini or Michkov? Will defensive supports overtake the top scorers? Or will a player like Brad Lambert subvert everyone’s expectations? Let us know by voting in the poll below and discussing in the comments!

Who Will Win The 2025 Calder Trophy?
Matvei Michkov, Philadelphia 45.36% (450 votes)
Macklin Celebrini, San Jose 28.43% (282 votes)
Lane Hutson, Montreal 8.47% (84 votes)
Cutter Gauthier, Anaheim 7.76% (77 votes)
Will Smith, San Jose 6.05% (60 votes)
Olen Zellweger, Anaheim 2.02% (20 votes)
Shakir Mukhamadullin, San Jose 1.92% (19 votes)
Total Votes: 992

If the poll isn’t appearing, click here!

Metropolitan Notes: Kolosov, Kakko, Boll

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While a report last weekend indicated that Flyers goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov told the team he wouldn’t report to AHL Lehigh Valley in the fall, general manager Daniel Brière says the team doesn’t “have any confirmation that he’s not coming back” and expects him to be their third-string netminder this season, he told Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now.

Kolosov, 22, signed his entry-level contract last summer but was returned on loan to Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. Only after Dinamo’s season ended was Kolosov brought over to North America, where he finished the season with an .885 SV% in only two games for Lehigh Valley.

Last weekend, sources told Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey that Kolosov felt isolated after arriving in North America, a notion Brière refuted in his interview with Carchidi. “As we know, he’s coming back for camp in September,” the GM said. “He was not left by himself, and we thought everything was going good. If he wants to play hockey, he has to come back over. He’s under contract with us, so that’s why I don’t understand all the fuss. I guess a Russian team could say they’re not going to honor the contract. But he’s under contract with the Flyers and that’s where he’s going to have to play if he wants to play hockey.”

Kolosov, a third-round pick of Philadelphia in 2021, posted a .907 SV%, 2.39 GAA and 22-21-3 record with four shutouts in 47 games for Minsk last season.

Here’s more from the Metropolitan:

  • In a mailbag for The Athletic, Arthur Staple opines that Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko is stuck as a “buy-low” trade candidate after signing a one-year, $2.4MM deal for this season back in June. While Staple says there’s been some amount of documented interest in the 2019 second-overall pick on the trade market, he’s “not a player other teams are coveting.” The Finn averaged a career-low 13:17 per game under head coach Peter Laviolette last year amid the worst offensive showing of his five-year NHL resume, limited to 19 points (13 goals, six assists) in 61 games.
  • While the Blue Jackets settled on their next head coach with the hiring of Dean Evason last month, it didn’t mean the rest of the coaching staff was set in stone. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reported a couple of weeks ago that the futures of all three of their assistants, Jared Boll, Steve McCarthy and Mark Recchi, were up in the air pending meetings with Evason. Today, Portzline confirmed that Boll’s job is safe for next season, while McCarthy’s and Recchi’s futures haven’t been decided on. The Blue Jackets were already down an assistant after opting not to renew the contract of Josef Boumedienne.

Flyers Notes: Kolosov, Petruzzelli, Gahagen

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Flyers goaltender prospect Alexei Kolosov has shown some upside since being selected in the third round back in 2021.  He spent most of last season on loan to Dinamo Minsk of the KHL but made his North American debut late in the year, seemingly paving the way for him to play full-time in the AHL for 2024-25.

However, it appears that this might not be the case.  Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey reports (Twitter link) that the netminder has informed the team that he will not return to the Phantoms next season.

Kolosov played in 47 KHL games last season, posting a 2.39 GAA along with a .907 SV%.  He then suited up in six playoff contests where he fared a little better with his numbers checking in at 2.21 and .925 respectively although it still resulted in a quick playoff exit, one that allowed him to come to Lehigh Valley.  The 22-year-old got into two games with them, putting up a 3.03 GAA and a .885 SV%.

It’s worth noting that Kolosov has two years left on his entry-level contract which will count against Philadelphia’s contract limit regardless of where he plays.  With Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov set to be the NHL tandem and Kolosov’s reported unwillingness to play in Lehigh Valley, it creates some uncertainty as to where he’ll suit up next season.

If his preference is to return home, the Flyers could loan him back to the KHL but their preference at that point might be a contract termination unless they want to hold his RFA rights after his deal expires in 2026.  Alternatively, if he’s open to remaining in North America with another organization, a trade could be a possibility.

With Kolosov seemingly not being in the picture for the Phantoms for next season, they’ve turned their focus to adding some depth behind veteran Cal Petersen who is set to be the starter as things stand, assuming he clears waivers once again.

To that end, Androckitis reports (Twitter link) that Lehigh Valley is set to sign Keith Petruzzelli to an AHL contract.  The 25-year-old was a third-round pick by Detroit but didn’t sign with them although he eventually landed up with an NHL deal from Toronto.  Petruzzelli spent last season with AHL Toronto, putting up a 3.55 GAA with a .867 SV% in 17 games.

Earlier this month, Androckitis reported (Twitter link) that Lehigh Valley was also set to re-sign Parker Gahagen.  The 31-year-old split last season between the Phantoms and ECHL Reading, posting a 2.59 GAA and a .914 SV% in 18 games with the former and a 2.28 GAA with a .936 SV% in 14 games with the latter.  That deal still hasn’t been finalized but Androckitis noted that the deal is still supposed to be done.

Those moves will shore up Lehigh Valley’s goalie depth heading into training camp but now, the questions about Kolosov’s future with the Flyers will start to pick up.

Breakdown Of Konecny's Contract

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Earlier this week, one of the more prominent potential 2025 unrestricted free agents came off the market when the Flyers inked winger Travis Konecny to an eight-year, $70MM contract extension.  The breakdown of the deal wasn’t announced at the time of the signing but PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that it’s as follows:

NHL Teams Facing Fall Cap Crunches

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There’s still plenty of time for NHL teams to sort out their active rosters and salary cap pictures this summer. After all, teams can exceed the $88MM upper limit by up to 10% during the offseason, and training camps are still nearly two months away.

Still, this year’s early July rush means that all the notable contracts for this season, at least in terms of salary cap impact, have likely already been handed out. It’s left a handful of teams with projected rosters that sit over the cap or, in one very peculiar case, right at it.

These teams must use a mix of long-term injured reserve placements, trades, and waivers to become cap-compliant before opening night. Per PuckPedia, here are the teams currently pacing to boast a projected cap hit above $88MM.

Washington Capitals

($98.27MM projected cap hit, $10.27MM above upper limit)

The Capitals have been one of the league’s most active teams this summer, making a pair of impact additions up front with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Andrew Mangiapane. They also reshaped their blue line, shipping out serviceable veteran Nick Jensen as part of a package to the Senators to pick up the younger, higher-upside Jakob Chychrun while also replacing Jensen’s shutdown role in free agency with the signing of Matt Roy.

They also went for cost-effectiveness with their goaltending duo, shipping out Darcy Kuemper and his $5.25MM cap hit to the Kings in the Dubois trade before acquiring serviceable tandem netminder Logan Thompson from the Golden Knights, who carries a cap hit of just $767K.

These moves have still left them with a handful of bloated deals for their veterans. But the biggest one of them all won’t be an issue. 36-year-old Nicklas Bäckström is entering the final season of his five-year, $46MM deal with a $9.2MM cap hit, but he’s not expected to play again due to lingering hip issues.

While many teams will look to avoid using LTIR to be cap-compliant to start the season, the Caps won’t be one of them. Bäckström will remain there as he did last season, but placing him on LTIR won’t be enough on its own to bring Washington’s total projected cap hit back under $88MM.

They’d still need to clear a little over $1MM in space, which begs the question of T.J. Oshie’s health. The 37-year-old winger is also entering the final season of his contract at a $5.75MM cap hit, and a wide variety of injuries limited him to 52 games last season. As of earlier this month, Oshie said he hasn’t found a long-term solution to his recurring back issues that would allow him to comfortably play in 2024-25.

If nothing changes between now and September, Oshie could also land on LTIR, making them cap-compliant for opening night. But Washington would need to be reasonably confident that he’ll miss the entire campaign to avoid making any other cap-shedding moves, as they’d need to have space to activate him off LTIR if he becomes healthy enough to return to play.

Vegas Golden Knights

($91.64MM projected cap hit, $3.64MM above upper limit)

Unlike the Capitals, the Golden Knights were conservative in their offseason moves. Their cap crunch forced them to walk away from key offensive contributors Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson, among others, and their UFA pickups were limited to reclamation project-type pickups such as Victor Olofsson and Ilya Samsonov.

But like Washington, LTIR is Vegas’ only clear path to cap compliance in September. The status of 33-year-old netminder Robin Lehner remains a relative mystery as he enters the final season of his contract with a $5MM cap hit. He hasn’t played the last two seasons after undergoing hip surgery and hasn’t been seen with the team during that time.

General manager Kelly McCrimmon said in May that it’s likely Lehner will return to LTIR this fall. This would give the Knights about $1.36MM in space in an LTIR pool with a full 23-man roster, as projected by PuckPedia.

Philadelphia Flyers

($88.83MM projected cap hit, $830K above upper limit)

LTIR is a good safeguard for teams who need it to be cap-compliant, but it’s not ideal. Teams who utilize it don’t accrue cap space throughout the season, significantly limiting their flexibility come deadline day.

The Flyers have one LTIR-eligible contract in defenseman Ryan Ellis ($6.25MM cap hit through 2027). They also have Ryan Johansen signed at a $4MM cap hit next season, and his playing status is in doubt due to a hip injury that surfaced after they acquired him from the Avalanche at last year’s deadline. Unfortunately for them, if Johansen remains injured, they also can’t send him to the minors to knock $1.15MM off his cap hit. They attempted to do so last year, but it was reversed by the league after his injury came to light.

But notably, they don’t have any league-minimum contracts projected on their active roster to start the campaign, per PuckPedia. Their cheapest one is Tyson Foerster’s entry-level contract, which boasts a cap hit of $863K. Thus, just one AHL assignment would be enough to make them cap-compliant without placing either Ellis or Johansen on LTIR. There aren’t any obvious candidates, though, as Foerster is coming off a 20-goal campaign and was one of their top two-way forwards last season.

The trade of a depth forward, such as 25-year-old pivot Ryan Poehling ($1.9MM cap hit through 2026), could be something to watch for if general manager Daniel Brière decides he wants to stay out of LTIR.

Edmonton Oilers

($88.35MM projected cap hit, $354K above upper limit)

Unlike the other teams on this list, the Oilers still have some offseason business to handle. RFAs Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway need new deals, meaning this projected cap hit is artificially low.

Also unlike the others, Edmonton doesn’t have an LTIR-bound contract next season. Considering PuckPedia’s projection above uses a roster size of 21, warranting them only one extra skater, a cap-clearing trade is coming for Edmonton sometime before the puck drops in October.

The most obvious candidate to move is defenseman Cody Ceci, who’s on an expiring contract with a $3.25MM cap hit. It would cost fewer assets to ship out than oft-injured winger Evander Kane, who’s locked in at a $5.125MM price tag for two more years. And with Ceci averaging north of 20 minutes per game for the last three seasons in Edmonton, they might be able to dump him for future considerations without attaching a draft pick to get out of his deal.

Others to watch

  • The Islanders are currently at the $88MM upper limit after settling on a one-year, $1MM contract with Oliver Wahlstrom yesterday, PuckPedia projects. That figure comes using a roster size of 22, forcing international free agent signing Maxim Tsyplakov and his $950K cap hit on an entry-level deal to the minors.
  • The Canucks are within just $16K of the cap after signing Daniel Sprong to a one-year, $975K contract last weekend. But that figure comes with a full 23-player roster projection, giving them a decent amount of flexibility in the case of short-term injuries. They can also place the final season of defenseman Tucker Poolman’s $2.5MM cap hit contract on LTIR if necessary.
  • The Predators are within $600K of the cap with a bare minimum 20-player roster and still have RFAs Juuso Pärssinen and Philip Tomasino to sign. After their big UFA spending spree, they’ll likely move out one of their depth defenders to open up space for an expanded roster, potentially 26-year-old Dante Fabbro (signed at $2.5MM through this season).
  • The Lightning have $730K in projected cap space with one open roster spot. That’s tight, but with room for two healthy extras, they’ll probably start the season with no changes to their projected roster.
  • The same can be said about the defending champion Panthers, who have $767K in space with a roster size of 22.

Flyers Sign Travis Konecny To Eight-Year Extension

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1:19 p.m.: Konecny’s contract has a full no-move clause through 2030-31, reports The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz. His move protection drops to a modified no-trade clause in the final two years of the deal.

12:00 p.m.: The Flyers have signed top-line winger Travis Konecny to an eight-year, $70MM contract extension, the team announced. Teammate Travis Sanheim hinted at the news a few minutes before the announcement (X link).

The deal, which carries a cap hit of $8.75MM, will begin in the 2025-26 season and keep him under contract in Philly through 2032-33. It’s a significant raise from his previous $5.5MM cap hit.

It’s the most lucrative deal in Flyers franchise history, beating out the 12-year, $69MM pact they gave Mike Richards in 2008. The commitment demonstrated here to the 27-year-old, who’s coming off a strong season in 2023-24, is massive.

Konecny scored a career-high 68 points in 76 games, fueled by 33 goals and 35 assists, while averaging 19:50 per game. Per usual, he was an even-strength monster, posting 52 of those 68 points at 5-on-5, 4-on-4 or 3-on-3. His six shorthanded goals last season also led the league, and the 5’10”, 192-lb winger ranked eighth on the team with 90 hits.

It wasn’t technically his best season offensively, though. That came the year before when Konecny notched 31 goals and 61 points despite injuries limiting him to 60 games. That worked out to 1.02 points per game compared to last season’s 0.89.

Konecny was entering a contract year in 2024-25, and there was a wide belief the pending UFA may end up as trade bait with the Flyers still in the throes of a rebuild. But last season quelled most fears about his year-to-year offensive consistency while also reiterating he can be an effective penalty-killer, a role he only took on when John Tortorella took over behind the bench in 2022. He’s had strong relative possession impacts on the PK, too, painting a picture of a better all-around player than most would consider him to be.

Back in May, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz expected Timo Meier’s eight-year, $70.4MM extension with the Devils to serve as a solid comparable in negotiations. Evolving-Hockey also projected a max-term extension for Konecny to carry a cap hit in the $8.8MM neighborhood. While there may be some early sticker shock on this rich of a deal, this shouldn’t be viewed as an overpay on his market value.

Beginning next season, Konecny will carry the highest cap hit on the Flyers’ roster. That honor currently belongs to captain Sean Couturier, who costs $7.75MM against the cap through 2030.

Konecny will make $7MM in actual cash in 2024-25 before his extension kicks in as part of his existing contract, which awards him a $4MM base salary and $3MM signing bonus in its final year. This is the second significant long-term deal for Konecny, who inked a six-year, $33MM pact in 2019.

It’s the fourth max-term extension handed out since the league calendar flipped to 2024-25, joining Predators goalie Juuse Saros, Canadiens rising star Juraj Slafkovsky and Hurricanes stalwart defender Jaccob Slavin. Konecny’s is the richest of them all, beating out Saros’ $61.92MM total value.

Accordingly, it’s the most consequential move of the Flyers’ offseason, although getting 2023 seventh-overall pick Matvei Michkov inked to his entry-level contract and brought over to North America sooner than expected is a close second. Michkov will likely slot in behind Konecny on the Flyers’ right-wing depth chart come opening night.

With the extension, the Flyers have already racked up a projected cap hit of $73.55MM for 2025-26 with a roster size of 18, per PuckPedia. The salary cap is projected to jump to around $92MM after increasing to $88MM this season, which would still leave them with around $18.5MM in space. That’ll be important with young building blocks Noah Cates, Tyson Foerster, Morgan Frost and Cameron York all due for new deals.

Since being drafted 24th overall by Philadelphia in 2015, Konecny has racked up 174 goals, 226 assists and 400 points in 564 career games with a -26 rating.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Matvei Michkov Officially In Philadelphia

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  • Philadelphia Flyers top prospect Matvei Michkov has officially landed with the team after a 22-hour flight to the United States (team tweet). The 2023 seventh overall pick was greeted at the airport by Flyers general manager Danny Briere and president of hockey operations Keith Jones and wanted to get on the ice immediately but wasn’t able to. The 19-year-old forward signed his ELC three weeks ago and his arrival to Philadelphia comes much earlier than had been anticipated. Many believed it would be another two years before Michkov would play in North America, but with his release from SKA St. Petersburg a month ago, it cleared the way for him to make the move to the NHL.

Flyers’ Yegor Zavragin Loaned To HK Sochi

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Philadelphia Flyers goaltending prospect Yegor Zavragin has been loaned from the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg to HK Sochi for the 2024-25 season. Sochi is a feeder club for top KHL club SKA, who recently acquired Zavragin’s rights from the Yugra Khant-Mansiysk of the VHL, Russia’s second-tier league, where Zavragin played 17 games last season. He dazzled in the opportunity, posting 13 wins, just one loss, and a league-high .943 save percentage.

Zavragin, 18, will now move on to Sochi,m arking a step up in his professional career, though it will come with a club that allowed 254 goals against last season – 30 more than any other club in the KHL. Sochi went through those woes while riding former Winnipeg Jets prospect Mikhail Berdin as their starter. He managed a promising year despite the team’s pitfalls, setting a .911 save percentage across 50 games, despite facing a bombarding 35.5 shots per game on average.

Berdin has since moved to Avangard Omsk, leaving a major hole in Sochi’s lineup. Zavragin should be a great fit for the bulk of that role, though SKA has also loaned Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Sergei Ivanov to Sochi. The 20-year-old Ivanov played in 36 KHL games between SKA and Admiral Vladivostok last season, managing a .930 save percentage that tied with Ilya Nabokov – who played in seven more games – for the lead among U23 goalies with 15 or more games.

Ivanov put together one of the few performances capable of topping Zavragin’s fantastic 2023-24 campaign, leaving Sochi with a difficult, but exciting, decision in net. Zavragin carries the size advantage, standing at three inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than Ivanov, and plays with sharp and controlled movements that seem like they’ll adapt well to the KHL. But Ivanov’s athleticism is hard to ignore, and he more than proved his worth at the top flight last season. The duo stand as two of the top goaltending prospects in Russia, and will now compete for a daunting role in Sochi next year.

Snapshots: Johnson, Clowe, Jiricek, Karpovich

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Veteran NHL defenseman Erik Johnson is gearing up for his 18th season in the NHL, continuing his streak of playing in every season since his first-overall selection in 2007. And despite a career accoladed by a Stanley Cup win and medals at both the Olympic Games and World Championship, the 36-year-old Johnson told Jonathan Bailey of Philly Hockey Now that he hasn’t considered retirement. Johnson emphasized that he’s ready to fill any role that’d benefit the Philadelphia Flyers, even if it means limited appearances in the lineup. He said, “I’m here to help these guys on and off the ice, whether it’s 20, 30, 40, 50 games, or whatever it is. My days of 25, 26 minutes a night are behind me, and I know that, and I’m comfortable with it.”

Johnson will continue on with the Flyers, after joining the team at the 2023 Trade Deadline and re-signing to a one-year, $1MM contract this summer. He managed three points in 16 appearances with Philadelphia after the move, bringing his season totals to six points in 67 games. Those measly totals might have pushed Johnson out of a routine lineup spot, but his veteran leadership is keeping him around the league. He’ll enter next season competing with fellow vets Nick Seeler and Rasmus Ristolainen for ice time, and mentoring top young defenders Jamie Drysdale and Cameron York.

Other quick notes from around the hockey world:

  • Former NHL forward Ryane Clowe made a big step in his managerial career this summer, stepping into the San Jose Sharks’ assistant general manager role and moving up from a special advisory role with the New York Rangers. Clowe detailed the move to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, sharing that he wasn’t eager to leave New York but was allured by the daily role San Jose promised. Clowe will now return to the club he spent eight years of his decade-long playing career with – serving as the gritty, high-event punch behind legendary Sharks like Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton – who now both support San Jose’s front office as advisors.
  • Top St. Louis Blues prospect Adam Jiricek is expected to move to the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs next season, per Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest. It will be a make-or-break year for Jiricek, who missed the majority of the 2023-24 season with a lower-body injury suffered in December. He was among the most acclaimed defenders in the 2024 class during his age-17 season – a value vindicated by his 17th-overall selection in this year’s draft. His long-term outlook should become clearer as he looks to adjust to both a return from injury and North American hockey next season.
  • New Jersey Devils defense prospect Daniil Karpovich has signed a one-year contract with Avtomobilist of the KHL, shares James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. Nichols adds that Karpovich will report to the VHL, Russia’s second-tier league. This news returns Karpovich to Russia, after spending last season in his home country of Belarus. Karpovich spent one year of juniors hockey in Russia, recording 35 points in 47 MHL games with Avto during the 2022-23 season. That scoring dipped to just 11 points in 49 games in Belarus’ top league last season – a trend he’ll look to buck with a return east.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms To Re-Sign Cooper Marody

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Cates joined the IceHogs last year on a professional tryout agreement after the Philadelphia Flyers decided not to tender him a contract for the 2023-24 NHL season. The young forward came to the Flyers organization after a strong showing with the University of Minnesota-Duluth as an undrafted free agent. In three years split between Philadelphia and AHL Lehigh Valley, Cates tallied two assists in 20 NHL games while scoring 33 points in 102 AHL games.

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