Back in the spring, presumptive number one pick Owen Power raised some eyebrows when he suggested he was leaning towards staying at Michigan over turning pro. He may not be the only prominent Wolverine to do so as Matthew Beniers told NHL.com’s Mike Morreale (Twitter links) that he is leaning towards doing the same as well. Beniers is viewed by many as the top center available in this draft class but unlike Power, he may not quite be NHL-ready just yet so more time in college seems like a wise idea.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- The Penguins would like to retain pending UFA defenseman Cody Ceci this summer but they’ll have to cut some payroll to make that happen. GM Ron Hextall told Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that they’d have to move out some money to have a shot at bringing the veteran back. The 27-year-old had a nice bounce-back year, notching 17 points in 53 games while logging 18:31 per night, a number that jumped to over 22 minutes a game in the playoffs. He wound up being a strong bargain for Pittsburgh at $1.25MM and has earned a raise but with over $78MM in commitments already per CapFriendly and a handful of roster spots that still need to be filled, some roster juggling will be needed to make that happen.
- Penguins AHL coach J.D. Forrest has been selected to coach the United States at the upcoming Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The tournament features many draft-eligible players each year although Canada is opting not to participate this season given travel concerns. Forrest has been with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the past five years with this season being his first as head coach.
- Lightning winger Alex Killorn made the trip to Montreal as the Stanley Cup Final continues, notes Mari Faiello of the Tampa Bay Times. He missed yesterday’s game after blocking a shot late in the second period but while Killorn flew out with the team, head coach Jon Cooper wouldn’t commit to providing an update on whether or not the veteran will be available for Friday’s third game of the series.