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Aatu Raty

Vancouver Canucks Reassign Aatu Raty

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After acquiring him yesterday, the Vancouver Canucks have officially loaned Aatu Raty to the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL, where he’ll acclimate himself to the organization.

Raty, 20, is one of only 12 players from the 2021 draft class to have played in the NHL, suiting up 12 times for the Islanders this season. Those games actually mean the first year of his entry-level contract will be burned even if the Canucks keep him in the minor leagues the rest of the season, and have him on schedule to reach restricted free agency in the summer of 2025.

With the addition of Anthony Beauvillier, to essentially fill Bo Horvat’s roster spot, Vancouver doesn’t need Raty in the NHL just yet. But should they make any more subtractions over the next few weeks, he could potentially get some time in down the stretch. The second-round pick had 15 points in 27 games with the Bridgeport Islanders and two goals during his time with New York, but has shown flashes of even more offensive upside in an excellent post-draft career so far.

Harman Dayal of The Athletic wrote today about Raty’s journey from top prospect to a falling draft asset but noted that he’s now viewed by scouts across the league as a “near-lock” to play on an NHL third line, with a ceiling even higher than that. While some expect him to play more wing at the next level, Vancouver is still hoping to keep him in the middle for now.

Vancouver is off until February 6, but Abbotsford has three games before then. Given the NHL squad is carrying just 20 players as they head into the break, there could even be a recall even sooner than expected.

New York Islanders Acquire Bo Horvat

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The New York Islanders have acquired center Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forwards Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty, and a lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick. The trade was announced officially by both teams Monday afternoon.  Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press notes that Vancouver is retaining 25% of Horvat’s $5.5MM AAV as part of the deal.

New York will retain their 2023 first-round pick if it’s among the top 12 selections, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Assumedly, if the pick does land in the top 12, the Islanders would send Vancouver their 2024 first-round selection.

The trade call ends months of speculation about a Horvat trade, which really began as soon as the Canucks fell flat out of the gate to start the season. With the team’s poor defense and goaltending rendering them entirely out of the playoff picture, Horvat’s status as a pending unrestricted free agent made him a spectacular trade candidate.

Vancouver’s now-former captain had always been perceived as a strong top-six center with good two-way skills and was especially appreciated for his strong marks in the faceoff circle (56.6% over the past two seasons). Horvat’s goal-scoring exploded this season, though, and his 31 goals rank eighth in the NHL.

Those 31 goals and Horvat’s 54 points instantly make him the Islanders’ leader in both categories this season. If utilized on a line with Mathew Barzal, whose main weakness is faceoffs (just 35.9% this season), the Islanders suddenly have one of the most potent playmaking/scoring duos in the league now.

Some may argue, and they’d be valid to do so, that the value in this trade swings the way of the Islanders and general manager Lou Lamoriello. At first glance, the price doesn’t seem quite as astronomically high as previously rumored.

Yet there’s no report of an extension for Horvat, and with Lamoriello’s low success rate of signing unrestricted free agents, there’s no guarantee Horvat is more than a rental. The team’s roster isn’t terribly well set up with Horvat, either. There’s certainly a scenario 18 months from now where the Islanders end up with no Horvat, no top prospect in Raty, and without a high-end pick in the 2024 draft.

With the Islanders still out of a playoff spot and a month before the Trade Deadline, Horvat may not even finish the season on Long Island. If the team fails to gain much ground in the playoff race or in extension talks with Horvat, he could be flipped to a contending team at the deadline if the Islanders can garner a similar (or better) return on the trade market.

While Vancouver won’t be adding to their Connor Bedard odds as the pick is top-12 protected, they still get a second dip from a 2023 first round stocked with talented prospects. Add in Raty, who’s looking much more like the first-round talent he was expected to be after falling to 52nd overall in the 2021 draft, and Vancouver’s future outlook suddenly looks much brighter.

The Canucks also gain a solid top-nine winger in Beauvillier, although his $4.15MM cap hit through 2024 is a tad steep. He’s still a solid bet to net between 30 and 40 points per season and could be solid trade bait for the Canucks at next year’s trade deadline as well. The 25-year-old has nine goals and 20 points in 49 games this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

New York Islanders Assign Aatu Raty, Others To AHL

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Expect a lot of teams to send their fringe roster players down to the minors today, with most having wrapped up their schedules before the All-Star break this weekend. The New York Islanders continue that trend, as the team announced Sunday they’ve loaned forwards Aatu Raty, Simon Holmstrom, and defenseman Samuel Bolduc to the Bridgeport Islanders.

The move is especially necessary for Bolduc, who is slated to participate in the AHL All-Star Classic, as Newsday’s Andrew Gross notes. After a rough 2021-22 season, the 2019 second-round pick has rebounded nicely with 26 points in 40 AHL games this year.

Called up last weekend as Noah Dobson went down with a lower-body injury, Bolduc played four consecutive games, his first in the NHL. He didn’t look entirely out of place, recording a +2 rating, four shots on goal, and an average ice time of 14:32 per night. If Dobson is ready to go by the time the break ends, though, expect Bolduc, who is waivers exempt, to stay in the minors.

Holmstrom and Raty, both just 21 and 20, respectively, haven’t produced much in their NHL stints this season, but that’s to be expected given their limited opportunities in the Islanders lineup.

The 20-year-old Raty fell to 52nd overall in the 2021 NHL Draft after once being viewed as a potential first-overall contender. Still, he’s done well in his first professional season in North America. He’s scored twice in 12 appearances with the Isles and has 15 points in 27 games down in Bridgeport.

Holmstrom also made his NHL debut this season, and he’s played 24 games in New York compared to just 15 in Bridgeport. The team’s 2019 first-round pick has three points (two of them goals) in those NHL appearances but has played less than 12 minutes a night in limited offensive roles.

Holmstrom and Raty could be recalled back to New York after the break concludes if injuries to Hudson Fasching, Cal Clutterbuck, and Oliver Wahlstrom persist.

Snapshots: Tanev, Jarry, Raty

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The Calgary Flames won’t have Chris Tanev back before the All-Star break, as head coach Darryl Sutter told reporters including Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet that the veteran defenseman will miss at least the next two games. Tanev left Monday’s game with an upper-body injury.

Now 33, Tanev has eight points in 40 games this season while playing his usual shutdown role for the Flames. With him out early against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nikita Zadorov ended up playing nearly 27 minutes, his second-highest total of the season.

  • Tristan Jarry will also be out through the break, after being a late scratch for the Pittsburgh Penguins last night. The netminder had only just recently returned from an injury suffered in the Winter Classic, and will miss at least the next two games. Pittsburgh recalled Dustin Tokarski but in the meantime, Casey DeSmith will have to carry the load.
  • Should Aatu Raty play another game for the New York Islanders, his contract will no longer be eligible to slide. The 20-year-old forward played his ninth game of the season on Monday, registering two hits and a shot in under ten minutes of action. Burning the first year of an entry-level deal isn’t the end of the world, and actually may end up giving the Islanders some extra leverage in contract talks down the road by limiting his offensive stats as a rookie. Raty would hit RFA status in 2025 if he play another NHL game this season.

Islanders Recall Aatu Raty, Cal Clutterbuck Out Indefinitely

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Islanders winger Cal Clutterbuck suffered an upper-body injury on Thursday against Buffalo that will keep him out indefinitely.  The team has decided who will take his place on the roster, announcing (Twitter link) that center Aatu Raty has been recalled from AHL Bridgeport.

Raty is in his first full season in North America and has spent the bulk of the year so far in the minors, notching seven goals and eight assists in 27 games.  The 20-year-old has gotten into seven games with New York as well, collecting a pair of goals while averaging 8:25 per game.

Notably, Raty was still 19 as of September 15th which means the nine-game threshold for junior-aged players still applies.  Once he plays in his tenth NHL game this season, he will officially burn the first year of his entry-level contract.  If he plays in fewer than that, he’ll still have three years left on his contract after this season.  That’s something the team will certainly be keeping in mind with this move.

If Raty sticks around for a while on this recall and pushes past that threshold, the next one for them to consider would be 40 games on the active roster which would accrue him a season of eligibility for unrestricted free agency.  However, they’re a long way from that point at the moment.

As for Clutterbuck, it has been a tough season for the 35-year-old who has battled an upper-body injury a couple of times already.  He has suited up in 34 games for the Isles, picking up four goals and four assists while chipping in with 130 hits.

Aatu Raty, Robin Salo Returned To AHL

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With his ten-game threshold approaching quickly, the New York Islanders have sent Aatu Raty back to the minor leagues. Despite being 20, Raty’s contract can still technically slide forward if he plays fewer than ten games in the NHL this season. Robin Salo has also been sent back, as Adam Pelech continues to skate and approach a return.

Raty has played seven so far, scoring his first two NHL goals in the process. He has averaged just over eight minutes, but certainly did not look out of place even in his limited opportunity. The move will open a roster spot for the eventual return of Kyle Palmieri, though today, head coach Lane Lambert told Andrew Gross of Newsday that there is still no timetable, despite his recent participation in practice.

It of course could also have nothing to do with the ten-game threshold, with the Islanders instead just wanting Raty to get more consistent ice time in offensive situations. Many teams are now putting more importance on the 40-game mark that deems it a season toward unrestricted free agency. In fact, sometimes crossing the lower threshold with limited ice time can be beneficial to a team in the long-run. Contract negotiations coming out of entry-level deals have become much more complicated, with top players asking for long-term, big-money deals, and even players with a lesser impact demanding raises on bridge deals.

Limiting the production of a player like Raty in the first year of his ELC, could give the team a bit more leverage down the line. Counting stats are considered in both arbitration cases and RFA negotiations.

Either way, if the Islanders believe Raty is one of the 12 best forward options they have, there should be no hesitation to put him in the lineup. The team is still within striking distance of the playoffs, and could even challenge for the division with an extended hot streak. To do either, they’ll need to turn around the three-game losing streak they are currently on.

AHL Shuffle: 12/27/22

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With the NHL’s roster freeze coming to an end today, a number of teams made immediate call-ups after sending a number of players, even some of their regulars, down to the AHL for salary cap purposes before the break. While most of those recalls were formally announced by their teams today, a few players appear to have been recalled, absent an announcement. According to the AHL’s Transactions page, the following players have been recalled from the AHL by their NHL squads.

Of note, both Raty and Fasching are playing in tonight’s game, and though Drury is not playing tonight, he is listed on the Hurricanes’ roster. Vegas faces off against the Los Angeles Kings later tonight at 7:30 pm PT/10:30 pm ET, so more may be known on their players at that time.

Carolina Hurricanes:

F Jack Drury

New York Islanders:

F Hudson Fasching

F Aatu Raty

Vegas Golden Knights:

F Pavel Dorofeyev

D Brayden Pachal

F Jonas Rondbjerg

New York Islanders Recall Aatu Raty

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The New York Islanders have been busy ahead of their game against the Florida Panthers tonight, making four different transactions. Kyle Palmieri and Semyon Varlamov have been moved to injured reserve, while Aatu Raty and Parker Wotherspoon will come up from the AHL to take their roster spots.

Raty, 20, will certainly draw most of the attention, as he comes up for the first time this season and potentially makes his NHL debut. The young forward was once considered a potential top-five pick in the 2021 draft but ended up falling all the way to the middle of the second round after some disappointing performances in Finnish professional hockey. Since being selected 52nd, though, he has turned things around and is now one of the Islanders’ top prospects.

His first post-draft season was outstanding, as Raty was moved from Karpat (where he had struggled) to Jukurit and instantly started to find success. With 40 points in 41 games, spectators finally saw what had made him such an interesting prospect growing up. At the end of the yer, he joined the Bridgeport Islanders and fit right in, recording four points in six AHL playoff games.

This year, after an excellent training camp that nearly landed him an NHL spot right away, things have been a little slower for the young Finn. He has 12 points in 23 games for Bridgeport but hasn’t quite been the dominant presence that some hoped for. Still, he has earned a call-up as the team deals with several injuries upfront.

Unfortunately, he’s coming into a tough situation. The Islanders have lost seven of their last ten and now sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division. A win over the Florida Panthers today would be a huge boost before breaking for a few days, and perhaps Raty can give them some energy should he debut this evening.

Evening Notes: Coyotes Goaltending, Angello, Bloom, Raty

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As this offseason was wrapping up with most team’s rosters relatively clear, the Arizona Coyotes and GM Bill Armstrong made it known that the team was still looking for goaltending with all options, internal and external, on the table. To that end, the team had signed journeyman Christopher Gibson to a PTO ahead of training camp, but released him a couple of days ago. A day later (yesterday), the team claimed another journeyman netminder in that of Jonas Johansson off waivers from the Colorado Avalanche. Should Johansson stick with the Coyotes, it would be his fourth team in three seasons.

Earlier today, Armstrong talked with PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan about Johansson and where the team’s goaltending situation stands. Armstrong said Johansson is expected to be on the ice at the team’s practice facility tomorrow and they will get as many looks as possible at the goaltender during their final three preseason games. The GM added that they will continue to monitor the goalie market and waiver wire going forward. Johansson could have a chance as the Coyotes’ primary backup to Karel Vejmelka, a role that seemed destined for either Ivan Prosvetov, who was assigned to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners earlier this evening, or the recently-signed Jon Gillies.

  • St. Louis Blues forward Anthony Angello left tonight’s game with an apparent injury and will not return to the game, the team announced. The injury is a tough break for Angello, 26, who is in camp with the Blues after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them earlier this summer. Angello spent his entire career to-date in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, spending time in both the NHL and AHL. It’s unclear how severe the injury is and no timetable has been announced yet, but any significant absence would be bad news for the former Cornell University standout who could have a chance to latch on with St. Louis as a quality depth option.
  • Buffalo Sabres prospect Josh Bloom took another intriguing step in his development, having been named Captain of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, the team announced. While the honor doesn’t necessarily develop any on-ice skills for the 19-year-old, his ability to be a leader on his team does seem to bode well for his off-ice development and his future in the NHL. The winger had 30 goals and 31 assists in 67 games last year for Saginaw. Mitchell Smith and Dean Loukus will serve as full-time Alternate Captains for the Spirit, while a third alternate will be split between T-Bone Codd and Brayden Hislop.
  • Earlier today when New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert met the media, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz asked the new bench boss about top prospect Aatu Raty, who has impressed so far in Islanders camp. Specifically, Kurz wondered if Raty, who is a natural center, could be a fit on the wing, to which Lambert replied that the 19-year-old is a center only. This would seem to indicate that despite his strong impression, Raty is unlikely to make the Islanders opening night roster, given the team’s strong depth down the middle with Brock Nelson, Mathew Barzal, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Casey Cizikas. Considering the prospect’s struggles in his first full season in the Finnish Liiga, which contributed to his draft stock slipping, it might make sense that Raty doesn’t spend his first full season in North America in the NHL. However, if he can produce similarly to how he did last season with Jukurit (40 points in 41 games), it is possible Raty could force his way into the NHL sooner rather than later.

Finland Announces Preliminary Rosters For 2022 WJC

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While the focus is on the Stanley Cup Final right now, fans will have some more hockey to watch later this summer, when the rescheduled World Junior Championship takes place in August. The event, which was postponed from its normal late-December timeslot because of a COVID-19 outbreak, will kick off on August 9 in Edmonton, Alberta.

All of the same players are eligible for the event, even if they have since turned 20, meaning there is a much bigger pool of talent to pick from this year. That’s led to Finland naming a preliminary roster and a challenger roster, which will battle at a camp this summer according to Lassi Alanen of Elite Prospects.

The main roster:

G Leevi Merilainen
G Rasmus Korhonen
G Juha Jatkola

D Matias Rajaniemi
D Ruben Rafkin
D Ville Ottavainen
D Joni Jurmo
D Eemil Viro
D Topi Niemela
D Kasper Puutio
D Petteri Nurmi
D Aleksi Heimosalmi
D Rami Maatta

F Samuel Helenius
F Roni Hirvonen
F Oliver Kapanen
F Ville Koivunen
F Juuso Maenpaa
F Aatu Raty
F Joakim Kemell
F Kalle Vaisanen
F Brad Lambert
F Kasper Simontaival
F Joel Maatta
F Roby Jarventie
F Elias Koponen
F Eetu Liukas
F Roni Karvinen

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