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Alex Turcotte

John Wroblewski Named Head Coach Of AHL’s Ontario Reign

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Monday: The Kings have officially announced Wroblewski has agreed to become the next coach of the Reign. Los Angeles GM Rob Blake released a short statement on his new coach:

John has a proven background in working with young players and helping them develop their game. He’s a strong leader who communicates well and he’ll play an important role for our organization. We welcome John and his family to southern California and look forward to having him coach the Reign.

Saturday: After the news on Friday that Seth Appert is expected to join the AHL’s Rochester Americans, affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, as head coach, the U.S. National Team Development Program has been dealt yet another blow. Appert’s fellow head coach with the USNTDP, John Wroblewski, is also expected to depart for the AHL. The New England Hockey Journal’s Jeff Cox reports that Wroblewski is expected to be named the head coach of the Ontario Reign, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings.

Wroblewski, just 39 years old, nevertheless has a lengthy coaching resume at both the professional and amateur level including a pair of seasons in the AHL as an assistant with none other than the Rochester Americans. Wroblewski initially began his coaching career with USA Hockey before spending time as an assistant and head coach in the ECHL and USHL. He returned to the USNTDP in 2016 and has served as a head coach in the program for the past four years.

Wroblewski has had the privilege of coaching some elite NHL prospects in recent years with the USNTDP. As the head coach of the U-17 team in 2017-18 and U-18 team in 2018-19, he spent two seasons with the historic 2019 NHL Draft class, which included first-round picks Jack Hughes (NJD), Alex Turcotte (LAK), Trevor Zegras (ANA),  Matthew Boldy (MIN), Spencer Knight (FLA), Cam York (PHI), Cole Caufield (MTL), and John Beecher (BOS). As the U-17 head coach this year, Wroblewski again worked with some promising American youngster in presumptive 2021 top picks Luke Hughes and Matthew Beniers. The Kings hope that this experience will allow Wroblewski to be an effective leader for their prospects, which includes former player Turcotte who is one of a number of talented young players in the L.A. pipeline.

For as much as Wroblewski has played a positive role for the USNTDP over the past four years, his departure along with Appert’s has left the program reeling. With the USHL still targeting a normal fall start to the 2020-21 season, USA Hockey may have less than a month to replace both of the head coaches in the program. Expect some dominoes in the coaching ranks to continue falling as a result of these moves.

USA Hockey Announces 2020 Summer Showcase Roster

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USA Hockey is moving forward with their annual World Junior Summer Showcase, announcing a 43-man roster for the upcoming event at their home in Plymouth, Michigan from July 24 to August 1. The camp will be used to select the roster for the 2021 World Junior Champions, which is also proceeding as scheduled in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta from December 26 to January 5.

Of course, the Coronavirus threat will have an impact on this year’s showcase and not only in increased focus on health and safety procedures. Team USA will be competing alone this year, as regular participants Canada, Finland, and Sweden have all declined the invitation due to health risks and logistical issues. The camp will have much more of an inter-squad scrimmage feel than most years, but USA Hockey hopes that it will still produce good competition and valuable data for selecting their WJC roster.

Of the 43 participants, most are new faces. Just nine players will take part in camp who played for the 2020 WJC team. This could work in USA Hockey’s favor, as their most recent entry snapped a four-year medal streak with a disappointing sixth-place finish. However, they are surely happy to have Florida Panthers prospect goaltender Spencer Knight back for a third year in a row to lead the squad. The 2019 No. 13 overall pick remains one of the top prospects in hockey after a stellar freshman season at Boston College and can win games single-handedly for the U.S. at the 2021 tournament.

Unsurprisingly, Knight is not the only college player who will be in attendance at the Summer Showcase, as the NCAA has a heavy presence with 38 of 43 participants are active or committed collegiate competitors. While 14 different schools will be represented, there is a strong Boston presence with Boston University sending a whopping eight players and prospects, while Boston College, Harvard, and Northeastern each send at least three. Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin also will have at least three in attendance.

At the NHL level, things are more balanced. A total of 16 clubs will have a draft pick in Plymouth, but only the Anaheim Ducks will have more than two. With a large number of 2020-eligible names and a top 2021 prospect in attendance, all 31 (32?) teams are sure to be interested in the event.

Here is the roster for the 2020 Summer Showcase, USA-only edition:

Goaltenders

Spencer Knight, Boston College (FLA)
Drew Commesso, USNTDP/Boston Univ. (2020)
Logan Stein, Waterloo Blackhawks/Ferris State Univ. (2020)
Dustin Wolf, Everett Silvertips (CGY)

Defensemen

Brock Faber, USNTDP/Univ. of Minnesota (2020)
Domenick Fensore, Boston Univ. (CAR)
Drew Helleson, Boston College (COL)
Ryan Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota (BUF)
Tyler Kleven, USNTDP/Univ. of North Dakota (2020)
Jackson Lacombe, Univ. of Minnesota (ANA)
Case McCarthy, Boston Univ. (NJD)
Jake Sanderson, USNTDP/Univ. of North Dakota (2020)
Hunter Skinner, London Knights (NYR)
Jayden Struble, Northeastern Univ. (MTL)
Henry Thrun, Harvard Univ. (ANA)
Alex Vlasic, Boston Univ. (CHI)
Marshall Warren, Boston College (MIN)
Cam York, Univ. of Michigan (PHI)

Forwards

John Beecher, Univ. of Michigan (BOS)
Matthew Beniers, USNTDP/Harvard Univ. (2021)
Brett Berard, USNTDP/Providence College (2020)
Matthew Boldy, Boston College (MIN)
Thomas Bordeleau, USNTDP/Univ. of Michigan (2020)
Bobby Brink, Univ. of Denver (PHI)
Brendan Brisson, Chicago Steel/Univ. of Michigan (2020)
Cole Caufield, Univ. of Wisconsin (MTL)
Sam Colangelo, Lawrence Academy/Northeastern Univ. (2020)
John Farinacci, Harvard Univ. (ARI)
Sean Farrell, Chicago Steel/Harvard Univ. (2020)
Michael Gildon, Ohio State Univ. (2020)
Cross Hanas, Portland Winterhawks (2020)
Arthur Kaliyev, Hamilton Bulldogs (LAK)
Owen Lindmark, Univ. of Wisconsin (FLA)
Robert Mastrosimone, Boston Univ. (DET)
Patrick Moynihan, Providence College (NJD)
Josh Nodler, Michigan State Univ. (CGY)
Dylan Peterson, USNTDP/Boston Univ. (2020)
Landon Slaggert, USNTDP/Univ. of Notre Dame (2020)
Sam Stange, Sioux Falls Stampede/Univ. of Wisconsin (2020)
Lukas Svejkovsky, Medicine Hat Tigers (2020)
Luke Tuch, USNTDP/Boston Univ. (2020)
Alex Turcotte, Univ. of Wisconsin (LAK)
Trevor Zegras, Boston Univ. (ANA)

Los Angeles Kings Sign Top Prospect Alex Turcotte

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It seems 2019 No. 5 overall pick Alex Turcotte will be one-and-done at the University of Wisconsin. The Los Angeles Kings have announced that Turcotte has signed his entry-level contract. Even better for L.A., the deal does not start until the 2020-21 season, meaning Turcotte will not be playing down the stretch and burning a year in what is a lost season for the Kings. Instead, Turcotte will join the AHL’s Ontario Reign on an ATO for the remainder of the season.

Turcotte, 19, has signed a standard entry-level contract of three years with a cap hit of $925K. However, the deal also includes more than $1.5MM in annual performance bonuses for an AAV of $2.475MM. Yet, even that amount could turn out to be a bargain for the Kings. Lauded as the best two-way forward in last year’s draft class, Turcotte was a superstar with the U.S. National Team Development Program, recording 62 points in 37 games and 78 points overall in 56 points over two years with the U-18 team. As a freshman at Wisconsin this year, Turcotte again impressed with 26 points in 29 games. While injury concerns have remained through Turcotte’s developmental years, when on the ice he looks like a top-six NHL forward in the making and should make an immediate impact for L.A.

Turcotte’s departure is another tough blow for the Badgers. The team was a preseason favorite of many given their depth of NHL prospect talent, but inconsistent play and spotty goaltending led the team out of the NCAA rankings and eventually to a last place finish in the Big Ten Conference. While Montreal top prospect Cole Caufield seems likely to return for his sophomore season, New York Rangers defensive prospect K’Andre Miller could follow Turcotte out of Madison and Wisconsin’s title window could close just like that. The team has to hope that their numerous NHL prospects and solid incoming recruiting class can improve on this season’s disappointing results.

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