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Adam Boqvist

Draft Notes: Blackhawks, Avalanche, Golden Knights

May 18, 2019 at 6:00 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 3 Comments

While the first two picks of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft are considered simple enough for the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers who have to claim the top two players in the draft in Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko, the real draft gets started at No. 3 where the Chicago Blackhawks must wade through a bevy of prospects and decide who is the best of the rest.

Many scouts have suggested the next obvious player to be taken could be defenseman Bowen Byram, who Chicago head scout Mark Kelley compared to Paul Coffey. However, would the Blackhawks take a defenseman in the first round after selecting Adam Boqvist and Nicolas Beaudin in the first round last year and Henri Jokiharju in the first round in 2017 (plus taking Ian Mitchell in the second round that year as well).

Even if Chicago is willing to take the plunge to draft another defenseman in the first round, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus (subscription required) writes that the team is banking on success as quickly as possible while Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are on top of their game, leaving little time to sit around and develop their first-rounders. Lazerus writes that the team needs the most NHL-ready player to take over and defenseman rarely fit that bill as forwards develop much quicker and produce more quickly than defensemen.

  • Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Colorado Avalanche will find themselves watching what the Blackhawks will do at the draft. The Avalanche, who own the No. 4 pick in the draft, also would be interested in drafting Byram, but could have more pressing needs as well. The team has a number of top defensemen in Tyson Barrie, Cale Makar, Samuel Girard and Connor Timmins, which would make Byram a luxury, especially considering they could have a bigger need on offense. While the team has a number of young NHL players in Tyson Jost, J.T. Compher and Alexander Kerfoot that could fill the team’s second line, none of them have taken that next step in their development. All have done well, but none look like top-six players yet. That could still happen, but the team also has interest in Alex Turcotte, who could help the team out quickly as well.
  • With a need to bring in a future franchise goaltender and the top goaltending prospect, Spencer Knight, likely to be available when the Vegas Golden Knights pick at No. 17, it would look to be a great fit. Even his last name fits perfectly in Vegas. However, Sinbin.vegas’ Ken Boehlke writes that while Marc-Andre Fleury was a major success when he was drafted in the first round back in 2003, there have been 18 goaltenders selected in the first round and few of those have been successful as only five of them have made more than 10 starts in the NHL with only two of them having become franchise goalies for the teams that drafted them in Carey Price and Andrei Vasilevskiy, suggesting the team would be better off going after a skater than taking a major risk with their first-round pick.

Chicago Blackhawks| Colorado Avalanche| Prospects| Vegas Golden Knights Adam Boqvist| Alexander Kerfoot| Andrei Vasilevskiy| Bowen Byram| Cale Makar| Carey Price| Henri Jokiharju| Ian Mitchell| J.T. Compher| Jack Hughes| Jonathan Toews| Kaapo Kakko| Marc-Andre Fleury| NHL Entry Draft| Patrick Kane

3 comments

Snapshots: Oilers, Boqvist, Radulov

March 5, 2019 at 4:31 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 5 Comments

The Edmonton Oilers want to start GM interviews in the next two weeks according to CEO Bob Nicholson, who spoke to reporters at the front office meetings in Florida today. Nicholson admitted that he hasn’t yet asked for permission to speak with any currently employed executives, but will be looking into that in the near future after he has all the information. Vegas assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon, who was noted as a top candidate for both the Oilers and Seattle expansion job, will not be allowed to speak with other teams until after the season according to several reports including the latest Insider Trading panel.

On that panel insider Darren Dreger noted that the Oilers have narrowed their short list to somewhere around ten names, a group including McCrimmon, interim GM Keith Gretzky, Dave Nonis, Sean Burke, Mike Futa and Mark Hunter among others. The Oilers simply must get this hire right as they try to turn things around and take advantage of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s prime.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks knew they were getting an incredible offensive talent in Adam Boqvist when they selected him eighth overall last June, but Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) believes the young defenseman may benefit from another year in junior hockey in 2019-20. That belief is supported by a source who tells Powers that the Blackhawks are discussing keeping Boqvist in the OHL instead of moving him to the AHL next season. The 19-year old has 56 points in 50 games for the London Knights this year and is second among OHL defensemen in goals with 19. London is well known as an NHL development machine, and could very well give Boqvist some Memorial Cup experience this season.
  • The Dallas Stars won’t have one of their top offensive weapons in the lineup tonight as the team will take Alexander Radulov out despite him being healthy enough to play. Radulov was late to practice this morning and will be punished by missing a game, a pretty meaningful development for a team trying to hold on to a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Radulov has 51 points in 54 games this season but will have to hope his teammates can take down the New York Rangers without him.

Chicago Blackhawks| Dallas Stars| Edmonton Oilers| London Knights| Mark Hunter| Snapshots Adam Boqvist| Alexander Radulov

5 comments

Central Notes: Jokiharju, Johnson, Timmins, Laine

January 20, 2019 at 4:30 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

As the Blackhawks pass through another disappointing season, the team must continue to focus on development. The team has a nice group of prospects coming up the pipeline, but there are many that are starting to worry about whether the Blackhawks are doing the right thing with defenseman Henri Jokiharju, their 2017 first-rounder.

The Blackhawks, not known for developing defensemen recently, loaned Jokiharju out to Finland for the World Junior Championships, against the youngster’s wishes even though they eventually won the gold medal. Since his return, the team has changed course in his development, moving him over to the left side, his off-side which will help make room next season for right-hand shot Adam Boqvist, and has had his ice-time cut, according to The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required). He even was a healthy scratch recently.

Head coach Jeremy Colliton said the changes are being made to make sure the youngster won’t burn out like many rookies do during their first season.

“I think he doesn’t need to play every game just like other guys don’t need to play every game,” Colliton said. “Kind of touched on it yesterday, we got some young players, 82-game season, it’s hard to keep that level night in and night out, so we may end up with a rotation. It’s not necessarily performance specifically why they’re coming out, but we can get them extra off-ice training or video or maybe a little more practice work so we continue to develop them.”

  • The Colorado Avalanche suffered a key loss Saturday as the team will be without defenseman Erik Johnson, who suffered a concussion during their game against Los Angeles. The veteran defenseman is expected to be out for the next two games and head coach Jared Bednar hopes he’ll be back after the All-Star break, according to The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark. The defensive-minded blueliner averages 21:42 of ATOI and is a key figure on the team’s defense.
  • The Avalanche also had good news in practice as defensive prospect Conor Timmins, who has missed all of the 2018-19 season so far with a concussion, practiced today with the team even if it was in a non-contact jersey, according to BSN’s AJ Haefele. Bednar said after the practice that Timmins will begin ramping up activities over the next couple of weeks and they will see if he’s ready to go when the team returns after the All-Star break. Timmins, the team’s second-round pick in 2017, could help the team down the stretch if he’s deemed ready.
  • Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun looks back at the first half of the season now that the team hits their bye and All-Star week, suggesting that while many things have gone right for the Jets, perhaps the most disappointing part of the season has been the play of star forward Patrik Laine. The scribe writes that the third-year winger is having a miserable season despite having 25 goals at this point. Despite an 18-goal November, Laine has tallied just seven goals combined in the other three months and often looks like a rookie on the ice. Of course, he’s only 20 years old still, so patience is needed.

Chicago Blackhawks| Colorado Avalanche| Jared Bednar| Winnipeg Jets Adam Boqvist| Conor Timmins| Erik Johnson| Henri Jokiharju| Patrik Laine

1 comment

Central Notes: Montgomery, Jokiharju, Myers, Staal

January 13, 2019 at 4:30 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

Dallas Stars head coach Jim Montgomery was hoping for a more impressive performance Saturday against the St. Louis Blues. He spoke to the players about the importance of coming out strong against St. Louis in the second game with them in five games. Instead, the team didn’t come out at all and suffered a disappointing 3-1 loss, frustrating the head coach to no end as the team, according to NHL.com’s Mike Heika.

“It’s frustrating,” Montgomery said. “I’m very frustrated that I haven’t been able to gain consistency in our performance and I haven’t been able to change the culture of mediocrity.”

The team was already coming off a disappointing loss to the struggling Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday as the team looked uninterested throughout much of the game. The team hired Montgomery to turn the franchise around and develop a talented team into a constant playoff threat, but the team has been quite inconsistent despite being third in the Central Division with a 23-19-4 record for 50 points. Unfortunately, six teams are within five points of them in the Western Conference, so there is no guarantee that Dallas will even make the playoffs.

“There have been some times, after a horrible period, where it’s their room,” Montgomery said of finding ways to motivate the team. “’You guys need to bring it forth.’ Unfortunately, there have been too many times where we have to think about how to motivate these guys. That’s a problem in and of itself that we have had to do that so many times this year already.”

  • The Chicago Blackhawks, who continually are making adjustments on their defense, made a minor tweak to their defense Saturday night when the team moved right-handed defenseman Henri Jokiharju to the left side of the blueline, according to Jimmy Greenfield of the Chicago Tribune. The team hopes Jokiharju will make the conversion now because 2018 first-rounder Adam Boqvist is also a right-shot defenseman and would likely be more comfortable on the right. “I think he was pretty good (on the left),” head coach Jeremy Colliton said. “He looked comfortable to me, made some plays, defended pretty well. So that’s a positive.”
  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports that Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice said that if defenseman Tyler Myers continues his progress, the veteran defenseman could be an option to return to the lineup Tuesday against Vegas. Myers missed Friday’s game against Detroit with a lower-body injury and is not expected to play tonight against Anaheim. The 6-foot-6 Myers is an instrumental figure in the team’s defense, especially while the team is without Dustin Byfuglien.
  • Mike Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that if anyone is going to need a break when the all-star game hits, it will be the Minnesota Wild’s Eric Staal, who has really looked slow lately and is in one giant rut. The 34-year-old forward, who could end up being a potential trade candidate as the trade deadline nears, struggled throughout the game Saturday against Detroit and continues to commit multiple turnovers. He has just one goal in his past 13 games and has just 13 goals at the midway point in the season.

Chicago Blackhawks| Dallas Stars| Injury| Jim Montgomery| Minnesota Wild| Paul Maurice| St. Louis Blues| Winnipeg Jets Adam Boqvist| Dustin Byfuglien| Eric Staal| Henri Jokiharju

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Blackhawks Continue Making Roster Room On Defense

January 13, 2019 at 1:31 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

With seven healthy defenseman finally on their roster, the Chicago Blackhawks announced that they have assigned defenseman Brandon Davidson to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL, freeing up a roster spot for Gustav Forsling, who has been on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

The 27-year-old Davidson has had trouble finding a full-time role with any team as he is already on his fourth organization in his fifth season in the league. Due to injuries and multiple healthy scratches, Davidson has appeared in just 10 games for Chicago this year. He has been traded twice, claimed on waivers once and this year opted to sign a one-year deal with a Chicago in the offseason worth $650K. He hasn’t played a game in the AHL since the 2014-15 season when he played for the Oklahoma City Barons, no longer an affiliate with the AHL.

For the Blackhawks, it’s just another move to rebuild their blueline that has gotten younger throughout the season, starting with Henri Jokiharju making the team out of camp, to the promotion of Carl Dahlstrom on Dec. 12, to the recent acquisition of Slater Koekkoek from Tampa Bay. The team has also moved out some veterans, including dealing Brandon Manning and his two-year deal to Edmonton in exchange for winger Drake Caggiula and veteran defenseman Jason Garrison, who the team immediately placed on unconditional waivers and released. The team then moved Jan Rutta to the Lightning to acquire Koekkoek.

These moves should only continue into next season as well as the Blackhawks have a number of young blueliners who could be ready for Chicago next year, including 2018 first-round picks Adam Boqvist and Nicolas Beaudin, as well as University of Denver standout Ian Mitchell (although the team would still have to sign him).

 

AHL| Chicago Blackhawks| Tampa Bay Lightning Adam Boqvist| Brandon Davidson| Brandon Manning| Drake Caggiula| Gustav Forsling| Henri Jokiharju| Jan Rutta| Jason Garrison| Slater Koekkoek

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Poll: Who Will Win The 2019 World Junior Championship?

December 18, 2018 at 4:43 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

Tonight in Kelowna, British Columbia, Russia and Sweden battle it out in the first pre-tournament game for the upcoming World Junior Championship. This tournament, made up of under-20 players from around the world, is one of the premiere international competitions in the world of hockey and brings with it plenty of intrigue. NHL fans in particular get a glimpse of the next wave of superstars, often before they’re even drafted. That’s no different this year, where the tournament will feature several exceptional talents scheduled to go in the 2019 or 2020 entry drafts.

Last year, Canada defeated Sweden in a memorable final game to secure the gold medal on Tyler Steenbergen’s first goal of the tournament. St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou led the Canadians in scoring with ten points in seven games, while Ottawa Senators prospect Drake Batherson scored a team-leading seven goals. Colorado Avalanche fans got a look at two of their own top prospects in Cale Makar and Conor Timmins, while newly minuted Philadelphia Flyers starting goaltender Carter Hart was the star in net. Amazingly, only a single player will return from that team for Canada in Max Comtois as most of the others have either aged out of the tournament, are dealing with injury or were withheld by their NHL teams.

Canada isn’t the only medal favorite though, as several other countries are bringing explosive lineups of their own. The discussion has to start with the United States, where Quinn and Jack Hughes are set to be the talk of the tournament. Quinn, the elder brother and a defenseman selected by the Vancouver Canucks seventh overall in June, is having an outstanding sophomore season at the University of Michigan and is expected to turn pro afterwards. Jack, the younger and a center, is expected to go first-overall in the 2019 draft to whoever wins the lottery.

Finland has the presumptive second-overall pick playing for their group in Kaapo Kakko, but also got some great news today when Henri Jokiharju was loaned from the Chicago Blackhawks. Jokiharju should be a difference maker for the Finnish team, who also should be strong in net with Buffalo Sabres prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Sweden doesn’t have the firepower up front of some previous years, but is an absolute powerhouse on defense even without the injured Timothy Liljegren. The five-man offensive units should be more than strong enough with the likes of Erik Brannstrom and Adam Boqvist jumping into the rush.

The Czech Republic got some great news when Filip Zadina was cleared of injury, and after getting some experience at the AHL level he should be even more dangerous this time around. Russia meanwhile will bring another strong mostly 19-year old group to Vancouver, and have some AHL experience of their own in Klim Kostin who was loaned by the St. Louis Blues.

In all, this should be another outstanding tournament filled with exceptional talents. Cast your vote below on who you think will win the whole thing, and then tune in on December 26th to see it all kick off.

[Mobile users click here to vote]

Prospects| Team Canada| Team Finland| Team Russia| Team Sweden| Team USA Adam Boqvist| Erik Brannstrom| Filip Zadina| Henri Jokiharju| Klim Kostin| World Juniors

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Russia, Sweden Latest To Release Preliminary World Junior Rosters

December 5, 2018 at 10:11 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

We’ve already seen several preliminary and selection camp rosters released for the upcoming World Junior Championship, and among them are some top eligible draft picks. Kaapo Kakko and Anttoni Honka are both among the Finnish group, while potential 2020 first-overall pick Alexis Lafreniere is expected to play a legitimate role on Canada’s squad despite being just 17.

Today, two more hockey powerhouses released their preliminary rosters. Sweden and Russia both have an impressive group dotted with top draft selections from all over the NHL, though as usual the latter leans toward 19-year old players:

Sweden:

F Jacob Olofsson (MTL)
F Lucas Elvenes (VGK)
F Pontus Holmberg (TOR)
F Rickard Hugg (undrafted)
F Filip Hallander (PIT)
F Samuel Fagemo (2019 eligible)
F Johan Sodergran (LAK)
F Oskar Back (DAL)
F Nils Hoglander (2019 eligible)
F Filip Sveningsson (CGY)
F David Gustafsson (WPG)
F Emil Bemstrom (CBJ)
F Fabian Zetterlund (NJD)
F Hugo Leufvenius (undrafted)

D Erik Brannstrom (VGK)
D Timothy Liljegren (TOR)
D Rasmus Sandin (TOR)
D Adam Ginning (PHI)
D Adam Boqvist (CHI)
D Nils Lundkvist (NYR)
D Filip Westerlund (ARI)
D Jacob Ragnarsson (NYR)

G Samuel Ersson (PHI)
G Adam Ahman (undrafted)
G Olle Eriksson Ek (ANA)

Read more

Russia (per Corey Pronman of The Athletic):

G Pyotr Kochetkov (undrafted)
G Amir Miftakhov (undrafted)
G Daniil Tarasov (CBJ)

D Daniil Valitov (undrafted)
D Artyom Volkov (undrafted)
D Danila Zhuravlyov (COL)
D Yevgeny Kalabushkin (undrafted)
D Anton Malyshev (undrafted)
D Ilya Morozov (undrafted)
D Saveli Olshansky (undrafted)
D Alexander Romanov (MTL)
D Mark Rubinchik (undrafted)
D Makar Khabarov (undrafted)

F Artyom Galimov (undrafted)
F Grigori Denisenko (FLA)
F Nikolai Kovalenko (COL)
F Kirill Slepets (undrafted)
F Yevgeny Kanitsky (undrafted)
F Vitali Kravtsov (NYR)
F Kirill Marchenko (CBJ)
F Ivan Morozov (VGK)
F Artyom Nikolayev (undrafted)
F Vladislav Tsitsyura (undrafted)
F Ivan Muranov (undrafted)
F Stepan Starkov (undrafted)
F Nikita Shashkov (undrafted)
F Pavel Shen (BOS)
F Alexander Yaremchuk (undrafted)

Expected to join roster at later date:

D Alexander Alexseyev (WSH)
D Dmitri Samorukov (EDM)
F Klim Kostin (STL)
F Alexander Khovanov (MIN)
F Ivan Chekovich (SJS)

Uncategorized Adam Boqvist| Dmitri Samorukov| Erik Brannstrom| Klim Kostin

3 comments

Central Notes: Fabbri, Crawford, Boqvist, Jokiharju, Wild

September 23, 2018 at 4:44 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

St. Louis Blues winger Robby Fabbri may have avoided a scare today when he went down in the first period of today’s preseason game in Columbus with what the team refers to as a lower-body injury. While there is no word on the severity of the injury, the St. Louis Blues tweeted that head coach Mike Yeo reported that the injury is not related to Fabbri’s knee. In fact, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann tweeted that he saw Fabbri walking around after the game as if nothing was wrong.

Optimism had started to grow in St. Louis considering how good Fabbri has looked in training camp and the way he performed in his first preseason game. The 22-year-old showed promise with an 18-goal rookie campaign and had 11 goals in his second season before going down with a knee injury that knocked him out for the rest of the 2016-17 season. He then re-injured the knee in training camp last year and missed the entire 2017-18 season. After a rigorous rehabilitation of his knee, the team can only hope the injury isn’t too serious.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks got good news as The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) reports that goaltender Corey Crawford may be close to the next step in his recovery from a concussion last season. The scribe writes that Crawford may be ready in the near future to practice with the team after a positive report from goaltending coach Jimmy Waite. “Moving, progressing well, he had a really good day again today, getting closer,” said head coach Joel Quenneville. “I think whether they ratcheted up a little bit more in the workload, but definitely in the right direction. Getting closer to hopefully in a practice.” Quenneville avoided questions on when that might happen, however.
  • In the same piece, Powers writes that both Adam Boqvist and Henry Jokiharju are both still in play to making the Blackhawks roster, although Jokiharju is a little ahead of the two. Quenneville said that Boqvist is expected to play in all of their three exhibition games this week to get a better look at them. While it’s possible the team could keep both players, it seems more likely the team will keep just one.
  • Dan Myers of NHL.com writes that the Minnesota Wild have been really impressed by the preseason line of Jordan Greenway, Charlie Coyle and Joel Eriksson Ek. That combination of players, who have center experience, have really found cohesion in training camp. The three are solid defensively, have offensive firepower and also give the team much needed size as Eriksson Ek is the smallest of the three at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. Greenway, the least experienced of the group at center, has taken that position over and has fared extremely well. “They just work so hard and they’re all very big and strong guys,” head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Once they get on you, they’re like a dog on a bone.”

Chicago Blackhawks| Injury| Minnesota Wild| St. Louis Blues Adam Boqvist| Charlie Coyle| Corey Crawford| Joel Eriksson Ek| Jordan Greenway

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Central Notes: MacKinnon, Jokiharju, Boqvist, Honka

September 22, 2018 at 2:49 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

The Colorado Avalanche had a phenomenal turnaround season last year after many years where the team was considered among the bottom-fodder of the league. Yet in one year, the team now looks like an ever-improving playoff team that is definitely heading in the right direction. The team also has one more thing going for them — that’s Nathan MacKinnon, who in one year also has established himself into one of the top players in the league after posting 39 goals and 97 points last season. The 23-year-old is also, fortunately for the team, locked up for five more years at a very reasonable $6.3MM AAV.

In fact, the young superstar told Mike Chambers of the Denver Post that the money isn’t an issue for him even though he could make a salary much closer to that of Edmonton Oilers’ center Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM contract if he was a free agent right now.

“If I was up, I would ask for more than what I’m getting now,” MacKinnon told The Denver Post. “I think you want to get paid what you’re worth. And at the time, I thought I was paid what I was worth. But I’m trying to get better every day and money is the last thing on my mind. It really is. I just want the respect of my teammates, respect from my peers and to reach my own expectations.”

Regardless of MacKinnon’s lack of worry about being paid as a top player, he can’t negotiate a new contract until July 1, 2022, when he’ll be 28 years, so he could be even better then.

  • The Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield feels that Chicago Blackhawks prospect Henry Jokiharju has already made the team and feels it isn’t too early to declare that fact. The 19-year-old first-rounder in 2017 has impressed in camp and has been among the top seven defenseman in camp. On top of that with injuries to Connor Murphy and Gustav Forsling, who are both expected to be out until at least November, Jokiharju has found that opening that should slot him in with Erik Gustafsson as a third-pairing defenseman to start the season. The hope would be that he would earn the right to stay in the first month of the season and force Chicago to make a tough decision when Murphy and Gustafsson return.
  • Speaking of Blackhawks’ defensive prospects, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Madeline Kenney suggests that 2018 first-round pick Adam Boqvist has re-established himself as a candidate for a roster spot on the Blackhawks after an impressive performance Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings. Many people felt he would be re-assigned after the game, but head coach John Quenneville stated that Boqvist would be staying with the team – for now.
  • Matthew DeFranks of SportsDay writes that only two players will have played in all three of their recent preseason games, including Tuesday’s game against St. Louis, Thursday’s game against Minnesota and tonight’s game against Florida in defensemen Julius Honka and Gavin Bayreuther. While Honka is a lock to make the roster, head coach Jim Montgomery wants him to play as much as possible to increase his confidence. However, the team also wants to see as much as it can of Bayreuther, who will likely end up with the AHL Texas Stars, but could be the top defenseman to be called up, if Montgomery likes what he sees.

 

AHL| Chicago Blackhawks| Colorado Avalanche| Dallas Stars| Detroit Red Wings| Jim Montgomery Adam Boqvist| Connor McDavid| Connor Murphy| Gustav Forsling| John Quenneville| Julius Honka| Nathan MacKinnon

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Projected Status Of First-Round Picks

September 3, 2018 at 2:19 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 5 Comments

In the NHL, first-round draft picks hold especially high expectations. Selections made in rounds two through seven hold reasonably similar career expectations, meaning that teams are just hoping to find a few hidden gems on the second day of the draft. Those taken in the top 31 though bring real excitement and scrutiny, even just a few months after they join the organization.

Many players will not make the NHL the year following their draft. Some won’t even sign contracts right away, instead taking their talents to the collegiate ranks where they must maintain their amateur status. The NCAA has become more and more competitive through the decades, and is now considered a top development league for some of the most talented players in the world. Delaying your first contract to play in college is almost never a real detriment to a career, and often results in a more well-rounded game when joining the professional ranks.

Some too will return to junior or their respective international league to continue their development. These decisions can come with or without a corresponding professional contract, and can even be made well into the NHL season. Some organizations believe in giving their top prospects a taste of NHL life before sending them back to dominate the junior ranks, allowing them to build up the desire to return to the best league in the world as soon as possible.

For this year’s crop, there are many who will be battling for a full-time role in a few week’s time. Rasmus Dahlin is all but guaranteed a role on the Buffalo Sabres blue line, but several others could make the jump right away and be impact players. Here are the projected landing spots so far for the 2018 first round picks:

  1. Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) – Signed ELC on July 9. Will play in NHL for 2018-19.
  2. Andrei Svechnikov (CAR) – Signed ELC on June 30. Will play in NHL for 2018-19.
  3. Jesperi Kotkaniemi (MTL) – Signed ELC on July 1. Will compete for NHL spot, expected to play in Finland for 2018-19.
  4. Brady Tkachuk (OTT) – Signed ELC on August 13. Will compete for NHL spot, could play in Belleville (AHL) or London (OHL) for 2018-19.
  5. Barrett Hayton (ARZ) – Signed ELC on July 6. Expected to play in Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) for 2018-19.
  6. Filip Zadina (DET) – Signed ELC on July 7. Will compete for NHL spot, expected to play in Grand Rapids (AHL) for 2018-19.
  7. Quinn Hughes (VAN) – Unsigned. Will play at University of Michigan (NCAA) for 2018-19.
  8. Adam Boqvist (CHI) – Signed ELC on July 1. Expected to play in London (OHL) for 2018-19.
  9. Vitali Kravtsov (NYR) – Unsigned. Will play in Chelyabinsk (KHL) for 2018-19.
  10. Evan Bouchard (EDM) – Signed ELC on July 17. Will compete for NHL spot, expected to play in London (OHL) for 2018-19.
  11. Oliver Wahlstrom (NYI) – Unsigned. Will play at Boston College (NCAA) for 2018-19.
  12. Noah Dobson (NYI) – Signed ELC on August 13. Will compete for NHL spot, expected to play in Acadie-Bathurst (QMJHL) for 2018-19.
  13. Ty Dellandrea (DAL) – Unsigned. Expected to play in Flint (OHL) for 2018-19.
  14. Joel Farabee (PHI) – Unsigned. Will play at Boston University (NCAA) for 2018-19.
  15. Grigori Denisenko (FLA) – Unsigned. Will play in Yaroslavl (KHL) for 2018-19.
  16. Martin Kaut (COL) – Signed ELC on July 5. Will compete for NHL spot, expected to play in Colorado (AHL) for 2018-19.
  17. Ty Smith (NJD) – Signed ELC on August 20. Will compete for NHL spot, expected to play in Spokane (WHL) for 2018-19.
  18. Liam Foudy (CBJ) – Signed ELC on July 30. Expected to play in London (OHL) for 2018-19.
  19. Jay O’Brien (PHI) – Unsigned. Will play at Providence College (NCAA) for 2018-19.
  20. Rasmus Kupari (LAK) – Signed ELC on July 13. Will play in Finland for 2018-19.
  21. Ryan Merkley (SJS) – Signed ELC on July 18. Expected to play in Guelph (OHL) for 2018-19.
  22. K’Andre Miller (NYR) – Unsigned. Will play at University of Wisconsin (NCAA) for 2018-19.
  23. Isac Lundestrom (ANA) – Signed ELC on August 7. Expected to play in Sweden for 2018-19.
  24. Filip Johansson (MIN) – Unsigned. Expected to play in Sweden for 2018-19.
  25. Dominik Bokk (STL) – Signed ELC on July 11. Expected to play in Sweden for 2018-19.
  26. Jacob Bernard-Docker (OTT) – Unsigned. Will play at University of North Dakota (NCAA) for 2018-19.
  27. Nicolas Beaudin (CHI) – Unsigned. Expected to play in Drummondville (QMJHL) for 2018-19.
  28. Nils Lundkvist (NYR) – Unsigned. Expected to play in Sweden for 2018-19.
  29. Rasmus Sandin (TOR) – Signed ELC on July 16. Expected to play in Toronto (AHL) or Sweden for 2018-19.
  30. Joe Veleno (DET) – Unsigned. Expected to play in Drummondville (QMJHL) for 2018-19.
  31. Alexander Alexeyev (WSH) – Unsigned. Expected to play in Red Deer (WHL) for 2018-19.

AHL| KHL| NCAA| OHL| Prospects| QMJHL| WHL Adam Boqvist| Andrei Svechnikov| Brady Tkachuk| Filip Zadina| Jesperi Kotkaniemi| Martin Kaut| Noah Dobson| Oliver Wahlstrom

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