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Alex Ciernik

Morning Notes: Blues, Fedorov, Ciernik

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Aside from 2023 10th overall pick Dalibor Dvorsky, forwards Aleksanteri Kaskimäki and Dylan Peterson have the best chance among the Blues’ young AHL-bound prospects of seeing NHL ice at some point this season, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic relays.

Both are coming off their first full minor-league season with Springfield, although Kaskimäki is the younger one. The 21-year-old Finnish pivot was a third-rounder in 2022 and adjusted well to North American ice in his first season stateside, tying for fifth on the team in scoring with an 11-23–34 line in 63 games.

Peterson, two years Kaskimäki’s senior as a 2020 third-rounder, was in his first pro season altogether after four years at Boston University. The 6’4″ center/winger is more of a checking piece than a scorer – evidenced by his 82 PIMs – but still managed 13 tallies in 52 appearances for the Thunderbirds.

Rutherford posits they’ll have the upper hand over some potentially higher-ceiling scoring options like 2023 No. 25 pick Otto Stenberg, who only arrived in Springfield midway through last season. The organization would like to give him some more runway in the minors before considering him for a call-up.

More from around the hockey world:

  • More than 20 years after his last game for the team, the Red Wings announced today they’ll be retiring Sergei Fedorov’s No. 91 before their game on Jan. 12 against the Hurricanes. Fedorov, perhaps the most high-profile member of Detroit’s ’Russian Five,’ sits fourth in franchise history in points per game (1.05), and his cumulative +276 rating is the best of any Red Wings forward. He was a defining member of Detroit’s 1997, 1998, and 2002 championship teams and also won a pair of Selke Trophies and a Hart, twice cracking the 100-point threshold in the process.
  • Flyers prospect Alex Čiernik is hoping to continue to re-energize his development after getting past some injury troubles, he told Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The 2023 fourth-rounder signed on with Pelicans in Finland’s Liiga for the upcoming season – his first in a top-flight European pro league – and will be coached by former Flyers forward and development coach Sami Kapanen. He scored 23 points in 46 games last season for Nybrö Vikings IF in Sweden’s second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan after missing most of his post-draft season due to multiple head injuries.

East Notes: Zadorov, Reaves, Ciernik

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The Bruins won’t have defenseman Nikita Zadorov available to them tonight as they continue their road trip in Anaheim.  Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald relays that the blueliner has returned home to tend to a family matter.  No timeline for a possible return was given as interim head coach Joe Sacco would only confirm that Zadorov would miss this game.  The 29-year-old is in his first season in Boston after signing a six-year, $30MM deal last summer, one that has had some ups and downs.  Zadorov has 17 points along with 183 hits and a league-leading 135 penalty minutes in 72 outings this season while logging a career-high 20:33 per game.  Zadorov joins Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm as out for this one, meaning Boston’s three highest-paid defenders won’t be in their lineup.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • After clearing waivers on trade deadline day nearly three weeks ago, Maple Leafs winger Ryan Reaves reported to the Marlies on Tuesday and skated with the team for the first time, notes Nick Barden of The Hockey News. The 38-year-old didn’t see much action with the big club this season, playing in just 35 games, logging less than eight minutes a night when he did suit up while only collecting two assists and 103 hits.  It’s unclear if Reaves will actually play with the Marlies or if he’s just going to practice with them.  Reaves last saw action in the AHL back in 2010-11 with Peoria, the affiliate of St. Louis at the time.
  • Lehigh Valley, the AHL affiliate of the Flyers, announced that they’ve signed winger Alex Ciernik to a tryout agreement. The 20-year-old was a third-round pick back in 2023, going 83rd overall.  Ciernik spent this season with Nybro in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan and had a decent showing, notching 11 goals and 12 assists, good for fifth on the team in scoring.  Ciernik doesn’t have a contract overseas next season nor has he signed an entry-level deal so he’ll be hoping that a good showing with the Phantoms could earn him a contract from Philadelphia in the weeks to come.

Metropolitan Notes: Capitals Defensemen, Martin, Ciernik

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The Capitals lost another defenseman yesterday when Trevor van Riemsdyk sustained an upper-body injury.  Head coach Spencer Carbery told reporters including Sammi Silber of The Hockey News that the veteran won’t be available for a must-win Game Four with Washington now on the brink of elimination.  While Vincent Iorio skated today, he was in a non-contact jersey and won’t be available tomorrow either.  However, Rasmus Sandin and Nick Jensen both took part in practice and haven’t been ruled out yet for Sunday’s contest.  If one of them can’t play, Hardy Haman Aktell will make his NHL playoff debut.  Carbery indicated that, for now, the team isn’t planning to recall Chase Priskie, the only defenseman left on an NHL contract, from AHL Hershey.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • The Islanders will be making a lineup change today up front as they look to stay alive versus Carolina. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Matt Martin is unavailable due to a lower-body injury so winger Ruslan Iskhakov will make his NHL playoff debut.  Martin has been a long-time mainstay on New York’s fourth line but saw his production wane this season as he was limited to just eight points in 57 games.  Iskhakov, meanwhile, was a quality producer in the minors for the second straight year, notching 50 points in 69 games while recording an assist in his NHL debut earlier this month.  While the team will be missing some physicality with Martin out, Iskhakov might give them a better shot at scoring, an area of concern as they’re averaging just two goals per game through the first three games of the series.
  • Flyers prospect Alex Ciernik has inked a one-year deal with Nybro of Sweden’s Allsvenskan, per a team release. The 19-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Philadelphia last June, going 120th overall.  Ciernik had a decent showing this season in his first full professional campaign, notching 14 points in 26 games with Vasterviks along with three assists in six contests in a relegation series.  The Flyers hold Ciernik’s rights through June 1st, 2027 so they have plenty of time still before they need to sign him.

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