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Hockey Canada Releases 2024 World Championship Roster

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May 7: Celebrini and Fantilli have returned home from Czechia, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports. The former will participate in tonight’s 2024 NHL Draft Lottery, while Fantilli’s reasons for departing are undisclosed. It’s unclear whether they’ve been removed from the roster entirely. In a corresponding transaction, the team added Kings center Pierre-Luc Dubois and Lightning forwards Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul to the roster.

May 3: Hockey Canada has released its roster of 22 players who will wear the maple leaf at the 2024 World Championship, which begins next week in Ostrava and Prague, Czechia. There are three open spots left to be filled throughout the tournament as more teams are eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Much like the initial World Championship roster that USA Hockey released weeks back, it’s almost completely made up of NHL talent – a rarity for the top-level countries at this tournament recently. The return and promise of future best-on-best international tournaments in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics has players and front offices looking at this year’s Worlds as a tune-up and initial evaluation for those events.

In fact, the only non-NHL player on Canada’s tournament-opening roster will be in the league next season. That’s presumptive 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini, who continues his 2023-24 campaign after taking home the Hobey Baker Award for the top collegiate player in his freshman season with Boston University. Their offense is highlighted and led by Blackhawks rookie phenom Connor Bedard and Kraken sniper Jared McCann, while Sabres defenders Bowen Byram and Owen Power highlight the back end. Blues netminder Jordan Binnington is expected to serve as the team’s starter.

The full roster is as follows:

F Connor Bedard (Blackhawks)
F Michael Bunting (Penguins)
F Macklin Celebrini (2024 draft-eligible)
F Dylan Cozens (Sabres)
F Adam Fantilli (Blue Jackets)
F Ridly Greig (Senators)
F Dylan Guenther (NHL Utah)
F Andrew Mangiapane (Flames)
F Jack McBain (NHL Utah)
F Jared McCann (Kraken)
F Dawson Mercer (Devils)
F Brandon Tanev (Kraken)

D Bowen Byram (Sabres)
D Kaiden Guhle (Canadiens)
D Jamie Oleksiak (Kraken)
D Colton Parayko (Blues)
D Owen Power (Sabres)
D Damon Severson (Blue Jackets)
D Olen Zellweger (Ducks)

G Jordan Binnington (Blues)
G Nico Daws (Devils)
G Joel Hofer (Blues)

Snapshots: Marlies, Sabres, Hall, Golden Knights

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The Toronto Marlies have signed Boston University forward Sam Stevens to a one-year AHL contract set to begin next season (Twitter link). He’ll finish off this year on an amateur try-out contract with the Marlies. Stevens is turning pro after completing his fifth year with the Terriers, totaling 142 games across his collegiate career. That’s the most any one player has played for Boston University since 2018 when Brandon Hickey wrapped up his collegiate career with 147 games.

Stevens never found much of a scoring groove in Boston, totaling just 50 points in his appearances. 35 of those points came in the last two seasons when Stevens managed 18 and 17 points respectively. And while certainly modest scoring, Stevens was able to earn his keep with very stout defense for a centerman. He’s simply reliable, winning faceoffs and guarding opponents well. He’ll certainly need to improve his energy on the offensive side of the red-line as he approaches pro hockey, but Stevens’ ability to shut down play in his own zone could adapt well to the next level. He’ll look to slot into one of the Marlies remaining two games this regular season.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Buffalo Sabres will have good reason to tune into the 2024 World Championship, as five different Sabres are expected to represent their country, per Rachel Hopmayer of Spectrum News in Buffalo (Twitter link). This includes Owen Power, Bowen Byram, and Dylan Cozens representing Team Canada; Rasmus Dahlin representing Team Sweden; and John-Jason Peterka representing Team Germany. Zach Benson and Jack Quinn also mentioned that they haven’t yet been contacted by Team Canada, though they’d have to discuss with general manager Kevyn Adams before committing, per X (Twitter link).
  • Taylor Hall won’t be slotting into the Chicago Blackhawks’ season finale, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun Times (Twitter link). This news comes despite Hall appearing at the team’s Thursday morning skate. He’ll close his season having not played since November 19th, when he suffered an ACL injury that required surgery. Hall played in just 10 games this year, the fewest games of a season in his 14-year career. He scored four points in those appearances. Hall is under contract with Chicago through the end of next season, carrying a $6MM cap hit.
  • William Carrier and Mark Stone both took the ice at the Vegas Golden Knights’ optional Thursday practice, donning no-contact jerseys, per SinBinVegas (Twitter link). Both players are working their way back from long-term injuries, with Stone out since February 20th with a spleen injury and Carrier sidelined since March 25th with an upper-body injury. Stone returned to practice on April 12th and will push to be ready for the start of Vegas’ playoff race this weekend, though his continued no-contact assignment could shed doubt on his Game One availability.

Atlantic Notes: Byram, Dahlin, Edmundson, Lyubushkin

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The Buffalo Sabres will be without newcomer defenseman Bowen Byram on Thursday due to a personal matter (Twitter link). Byram also missed the team’s morning practice. He has so far played in 16 games with the Sabres, netting three goals and seven points. That’s a 0.438 point-per-game pace, a significant boost over the 0.363 scoring pace he managed prior to being traded, when he scored 20 points in 55 games with the Colorado Avalanche. His combined 27 points in 71 games mark a new career-high for Byram, topping his 24 points last season.

Buffalo will now be back to square one, trying to make up for a lack of defense depth now without Byram or Erik Johnson, who was also traded at the Trade Deadline. This likely opens the door for Kale Clague to step back into the lineup for Buffalo’s last three games. Clague has made two other appearances in the Sabres lineup this season, recording one assist and one penalty. He was a much more frequent lineup piece last season, playing in 33 games with Buffalo and recording four assists, but he lost his platoon role to rookie Ryan Johnson this year. Johnson, who has played in his first 41 NHL games this year, is currently assigned to the minor-leagues but could receive a call-up if Buffalo wants added depth to close out the season.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Staying with the Sabres defense, star Rasmus Dahlin has shared that he is ready to take on the Sabres captaincy, if the opportunity presents itself, per Paul Hamilton of WGR550 (Twitter link). Buffalo recently traded two-year captain Kyle Okposo, leaving the role once again vacant. Dahlin is serving alongside Zemgus Girgensons as the team’s assistant captains, though Girgensons is on an expiring deal and faced trade rumors earlier in the season. That leaves Dahlin, who is signed through the 2031-32 season, as seemingly the last man up in Buffalo’s search for leadership. He could face competition from top centerman Tage Thompson, long-tenured veteran Jeff Skinner, or grizzled personality-piece Alex Tuch – though it’s hard to envision the Sabres not once again placing their trust in Dahlin, who this season became the first Sabres defender since Phil Housley to score 20 goals.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Joel Edmundson has shared that he’s good to go, after missing the team’s last eight games with an undisclosed injury, shares TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). He will be joined in re-entering the lineup by Ilya Lyubushkin, who has missed Toronto’s last three games. Masters adds that Conor Timmins and Jake McCabe will step out of the lineup – with McCabe getting rested after an extended stint in the lineup.

Bowen Byram Fined By Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety issued their punishment to Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram, issuing him a $5,000 fine for interference, the maximum allowable financial penalty under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. This will mark the first time in his young career that Byram has received disciplinary action from the Department of Player Safety.

The play in question took place in last night’s game against the Ottawa Senators, as Byram delivered a blindside hit to Senators’ forward Angus Crookshank (Video Link). Byram was assessed a two-minute minor penalty on the play for interference, and Crookshank was able to return to the contest.

Luckily for the organization, the Department of Player Safety did not choose to suspend Byram, allowing the team to keep him in the lineup for the rest of the regular season. Since acquiring Byram from the Colorado Avalanche at this year’s trade deadline, Byram has scored three goals and six points in 10 games, averaging just over 23 minutes of ice time per game.

Unfortunately, although the team got off to a 4-2-0 start with Byram in the lineup, the team has only managed a 1-3-0 record in their last four, dropping them further down in the Eastern Conference wild-card standings. Nevertheless, with a positive showing in his first few games with the organization, Buffalo will be eager for a full year of Byram next season.

Trade Notes: Edmundson, Byram, Rangers, Panthers

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Washington Capitals defenseman Joel Edmundson is once again preparing for a trade, with TSN’s Darren Dreger reporting that multiple teams are interested in the 30-year-old. Dreger shares that the Boston Bruins likely lead the pack right now, though the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are also interested.

Edmundson has been traded three times since 2019, though he’s never been moved in-season before. The Capitals brought in Edmundson on July 1st, sending the Montreal Canadiens a third and seventh round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Washington marked the fourth team of Edmundson’s career. He’s served in a modest role for the club, scoring six points in 44 games and averaging just 16-and-a-half minutes of ice time – though he’s played as much as 22 minutes a night when Washington needs him.

The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun pointed out that Edmundson could carry a cap hit as little as $875K, if Washington retains half of his salary. That’s a cheap price to pay for a defenseman with over 500 NHL games and one Stanley Cup under his belt. Edmundson is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, likely making him a depth rental for a playoff contender.

Other trade notes from around the league:

  • Bowen Byram will join the Buffalo Sabres in Nashville for their Thursday night game against the Predators, per Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Head coach Don Granato also shared that Byram will be paired with star defender Rasmus Dahlin when he’s ready to play. Byram missed the Colorado Avalanche’s last game with an illness, something that could limit him on Thursday as well, though Lysowski reports that Byram is feeling better. The Sabres brought in the 22-year-old defenseman in a one-for-one trade with Colorado, sending Casey Mittelstadt the other way. Byram has 20 points in 55 games this season, playing in nearly 20 minutes a night for the Avalanche.
  • Alexander Wennberg was just the start of the New York Rangers’ deadline moves, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The Rangers still have their first-round picks in both the 2024 and 2025 drafts, as well as $2.91MM in cap space, per CapFriendly. That’s likely more than enough to land them some of the market’s top names. While the Rangers haven’t been tied to any specific names, they draw a clear connection with interdivision-rival Jake Guentzel and former Ranger Pavel Buchnevich. Both players are garnering plenty of interest ahead of the deadline, each offering dominant, point-per-game scoring on the wing. With the assets and cap space to make most moves work, it will be interesting to see if the Rangers once again shoot for the stars.
  • Seravalli also reported that the Florida Panthers were still searching for a scoring winger, mentioning Max Pacioretty as a potential option. The Panthers were also tied to Guentzel by Pierre LeBrun. Florida just acquired Vladimir Tarasenko from the Ottawa Senators, giving them five forwards in their top-six with at least 40 points this season. They also have Evan Rodrigues and Sam Bennett sporting 36 and 30 points respectively. Adding yet another scoring winger to the mix would give Florida high-production through their third-line, something they may deem necessary to get over teams like Vegas or Carolina. Pacioretty, who has 15 points in 25 games since returning from an Achille’s Tendon injury, would likely be one of the cheapest options on the market and carries a modest $2MM cap hit that would fit into Florida’s books.

Avalanche, Sabres To Swap Casey Mittelstadt, Bowen Byram

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Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to correctly reflect that Byram was the fourth overall pick in the 2019 draft.

The Avalanche are making their second high-impact deal of the day, acquiring center Casey Mittelstadt from the Sabres in exchange for defenseman Bowen Byram, per a team release. With the two trades made today, Colorado has increased their salary cap space to $4.9MM leading up to the deadline.

This trade will mark the third attempt by the Avalanche to fill in the second-center void left by Nazem Kadri two years ago. With Alex Newhook and Ryan Johansen not working out in the role, Colorado is taking a swing on Mittelstadt amidst his breakout campaign in Buffalo.

Largely inconsistent during his first four years with the Sabres, Mittelstadt has become a formidable offensive threat over his last two campaigns. In 144 games for the Sabres since the start of the 2022-23 season, Mittlestadt has recorded 29 goals and 106 points, as well as leading all Buffalo players in scoring this year.

He will leave much to be desired in the faceoff dot as well as defensive play in his end, but the Avalanche carry enough defensively-minded forwards to shore up Mittelstadt’s shortcomings. Nevertheless, as they already sit atop the league in GF/G, the introduction of Mittelstadt, coupled with the eventual return of Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog, will create a nearly unstoppable offense for Colorado come playoff time.

The elephant in the room, when it comes to Mittelstadt, is his looming restricted free agency this summer. With Mittelstadt playing himself into a hefty raise upon his current $2.5MM salary, it will be difficult for the Avalanche to keep him in the fold for the long-term future of the organization. Heading into the offseason, Colorado will only have around $10MM available in cap space with plenty of depth pieces headed for unrestricted free agency.

In Byram, the Sabres will acquire the former fourth-overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft, joining Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power on Buffalo’s blue line of former top-five selections. Still only 22 years old, Byram is in his fourth professional season, already having a Stanley Cup victory under his belt.

Limited by concussion issues in the past, Byram has put together back-to-back respectable seasons in Colorado, with a slight downtick in his production this season. Over the last two years, Byram has managed to suit up in 97 games for the Avalanche, scoring 18 goals and 44 points while averaging 20:44 of ice time per night.

Unfortunately, throughout his tenure in Colorado, Byram had to play second fiddle to the defensive pair of Cale Makar and Devon Toews and may be finding himself in a similar situation in Buffalo. With the top defensive unit of Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson set in stone, the Sabres have at the very least found a viable alternative to put next to Power on the team’s second defensive pairing.

If Byram’s development process continues on an upward trajectory, there is every indication that Buffalo could deploy one of the league’s most formidable defensive cores. With Dahlin, Samuelsson, and Power all signed to long-term contracts, the Sabres still have another year after this season to lock Byram up to a similar contract.

ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was the first to report the trade.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic was first to report that the trade was one for one.

Avalanche To Activate Artturi Lehkonen

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The Avalanche will activate winger Artturi Lehkonen off long-term injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Capitals, head coach Jared Bednar said on Altitude Sports 92.5 FM (KKSE-FM) on Wednesday. Both he and defenseman Bowen Byram, who the team activated from injured reserve Tuesday, will return from multi-week absences tonight, per Bednar.

Lehkonen has not played since sustaining a neck injury against the Kraken on Nov. 9. His return ends a 35-game absence over the course of two and a half months.

The 28-year-old’s return to play comes soon after Colorado’s other major source of secondary scoring, Valeri Nichushkin, entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. The Avalanche have a 3-2-0 record and a +4 goal differential in their last five games without either Lehkonen or Nichushkin, importantly keeping pace for second place in the Central Division ahead of the Stars, who are only one point back of Colorado and are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.

Lehkonen shouldered major minutes for the Avalanche through the first 12 games of the year, averaging 18:29 per game, including his injury-shortened outing against Seattle. The Finnish winger posted three goals and five assists for eight points, a slight dip in pace from last season’s career-high 21 goals and 51 points in 64 games.

His return will help shoulder the indefinite loss of Nichushkin and will provide a needed boost to a middle-six that’s struggled to produce much offense. While Colorado’s 179 goals lead the league, a disproportionate amount of that has come from Nichushkin, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Notably, Ross Colton and Logan O’Connor each have six points in their last five games and are hovering around a 41-point pace.

Now, the Avalanche hope Lehkonen can stay healthy until the postseason, where he’s done some of his best work. He posted 14 points in 20 games en route to 2022’s Stanley Cup win and had three goals and six points in last season’s seven-game loss to the Kraken in the First Round.

Morning Notes: Laine, Werenski, Byram, Engvall

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Zach Werenski and Patrik Laine are expected to return on the five-game road trip the Columbus Blue Jackets begin on Tuesday. Laine has missed the team’s last 14 games with a broken collarbone, while Werenski has missed 10 games with an ankle injury.

The Blue Jackets went 3-4-3 without their pair of top talents, averaging just 2.7 goals-for and 4.1 goals-against. Werenski’s return will mark the most notable impact, as the 26-year-old defenseman still ranks third on the team in scoring – with one goal and 25 points in 34 games – despite missing 11 games on the season. Laine hasn’t been as productive, boasting six goals and nine points in 18 games, though he was on a hot streak before his injury – netting five points in his last six games. The duo have become pivotal to Columbus’ success, and frequent absentees from the lineup. Laine posted 22 goals and 52 points in 55 games last season, while Werenski was only able to appear in 13 games – and score eight points – as he missed most of the season with a torn labrum and separated shoulder. The Blue Jackets will hope both players can find a newfound bout of health upon their return, as they work to improve on a season that currently has them ranked in the league’s bottom five.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have activated defenseman Bowen Byram off on injured reserve. The 22-year-old defenseman has appeared in 39 of Colorado’s 47 games this season, netting 12 points split evenly. He’s managed the scoring while serving in a top-end role, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time – though it’s a step down from the nearly 22 minutes of ice time Byram averaged in 42 games last season. Caleb Jones and Sam Malinski will likely step out of the lineup to make space for Byram, though one of the two could still see ice time as the Avalanche have opted for seven defensemen recently.

  • Stefen Rosner of NHL.com is reporting that New York Islanders forward Pierre Engvall is feeling better and has returned to full contact at Islanders practice. The 27-year-old has been dealing with an upper-body injury and has not suited up for New York since a 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on January 15th. Engvall’s style of play should be well suited for new head coach Patrick Roy’s system as puck possession remains a strong suit for the former seventh-round pick. Engvall’s numbers are down a bit this season as has just five goals and nine assists in 41 games this season. His shooting percentage has plummeted to just 7.5% down from a career-high 13% last season. There is no timetable yet for Engvall to return to the Islanders lineup.

Morning Notes: Byram, Lehkonen, Ovechkin, Guentzel

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Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram and winger Artturi Lehkonen will make their returns to the lineup within the next week, head coach Jared Bednar said on Altitude Sports Radio (KKSE-FM). Both players, who are on IR and LTIR, respectively, will be activated by next Wednesday’s game against the Capitals at the latest. They’ve been ruled out for tomorrow’s game in Boston, however. Byram will have missed at least seven games with a lower-body injury sustained Jan. 4 against the Stars, while Lehkonen has been out for over two months with a neck injury and will miss his 34th game tomorrow. The Avalanche will either need to assign one contract to the minors or move Valeri Nichushkin to LTIR while he completes treatment in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program to clear up the cap space for Lehkonen’s $4.5MM cap hit to come off LTIR. They’re currently short about $500K in space to execute the transaction, per CapFriendly.

More from around the NHL this morning:

  • The Capitals expect captain Alex Ovechkin to return from a lower-body injury during their next two games, head coach Spencer Carbery said on 106.7 The Fan (WJFK-FM) today. Ovechkin has missed the last three games, but the Capitals have emerged with a 2-1-0 record in a trio of low-scoring affairs without him. Carbery commented further on the nature of his star sniper’s absence, saying the injury isn’t related to an awkward collision he had with Hurricanes center Jordan Staal earlier in the month. While “The Great 8” has had a much-publicized down season in the goal-scoring department (8-19–27 in 39 games), he was on a six-game point streak before exiting the lineup and still holds a slim lead on Dylan Strome for most points on the team.
  • Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas is expected to have a conversation with pending UFA winger Jake Guentzel’s camp about his future with the team during the upcoming All-Star break, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Monday’s edition of the “32 Thoughts” podcast. Reports earlier this month indicated Guentzel’s agent, Ben Hankinson, may opt to delay extension talks until the summer. While a 6-2-2 run in their last 10 games now has the Penguins at a 60% chance of making the postseason, per Hockey Reference, they’re not a lock in a competitive Metropolitan Division. If their conversation in a few weeks doesn’t result in Dubas having substantive confidence in his ability to extend Guentzel, the two-time 40-goal scorer may end up the subject of a blockbuster deadline trade.

Metropolitan Notes: Flyers, Ovechkin, Kakko

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Among the teams that the Flyers discussed a Cutter Gauthier trade with was the Avalanche, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link).  Friedman suggests that Philadelphia’s target from the Avs may have been blueliner Bowen Byram, an option that wasn’t palatable for Colorado in a one-for-one swap.  Of course, Gauthier wound up being moved to Anaheim for another blueliner, Jamie Drysdale, who is off to a nice start with his new team with a pair of assists in his first two games while averaging nearly 21 minutes a night.  With Drysdale being a right-shot player and Byram a left-shot blueliner (which Philadelphia has more of in their system), it’s possible that Colorado’s rejection may work out better for them in the long run.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin was scratched today due to a lower-body injury, the team announced (Twitter link). It has been a tough year for Washington’s captain as the 38-year-old has been limited to just eight goals and 19 assists in 38 games although his 27 points still lead the team.  Ovechkin has missed several practices in recent days with this lingering issue and it looks as if they’re going to try resting him outright to see if that helps the injury heal.
  • Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko isn’t quite ready to return yet, relays Newsday’s Colin Stephenson (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has missed the last six weeks with a lower-body injury and while he’s skating with the team, head coach Peter Laviolette indicated that they want to give Kakko a ramp-up period before returning so it appears he’ll need a bit more time.  Kakko has struggled this season, notching just three points in 20 games before the injury.

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