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WHL Conference Awards, OHL Coaches Poll Highlight Top Prospects

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The Canadian Hockey League remains the largest source of young talent in the world, sending nearly countless players into various professional hockey leagues every year. The WHL, OHL and QMJHL are continually being picked over for the next great NHL player, and while some slip through the cracks the majority of the top performers are snapped up by organizations at the draft.

Today the WHL released their conference awards, highlighting the very best performers from this year. This list is littered with NHL prospects, including some who will make their debut as soon as next season. Each of the conference winners are eligible for the overall awards which will be given out at the beginning of May. The list is as follows:

Eastern Conference Player of the Year: Trey Fix-Wolansky, Edmonton Oil Kings (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Western Conference Player of the Year: Joachim Blichfeld, Portland Winterhawks (San Jose Sharks)

Eastern Conference Top Goaltender: Ian Scott, Prince Albert Raiders (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Western Conference Top Goaltender: Dustin Wolf, Everett Silvertips (2019 draft eligible)

Eastern Conference Top Defenseman: Josh Brook, Moose Jaw Warriors (Montreal Canadiens)
Western Conference Top Defenseman: Ty Smith, Spokane Chiefs (New Jersey Devils)

Eastern Conference Rookie of the Year: Brayden Tracey, Moose Jaw Warriors (2019 draft eligible)
Western Conference Rookie of the Year: Lassi Thomson, Spokane Chiefs (2019 draft eligible)

Eastern Conference Most Sportsmanlike Player: Justin Almeida, Moose Jaw Warriors (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Western Conference Most Sportsmanlike Player: Cody Glass, Portland Winterhawks (Vegas Golden Knights)

WHL Top Scorer: Joachim Blichfeld, Portland Winterhawks (San Jose Sharks)
68 GP, 53 G, 61 A, 114 PTS

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Canada, Sweden Upset At World Junior Championship

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The quarterfinal round of the 2019 World Junior Championships in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, is underway today and the first two results have both been stunning surprises. Sweden, the Group B winner, fell to Switzerland 2-0 earlier, while Canada, the host team and tournament favorite, lost to Finland 2-1 in overtime after giving up the lead in the final minute of regulation. The United States and Russia remain alive for now, ahead of their semifinal match-up on Friday, but two of the top teams and many of the best NHL prospects are now out far earlier than expected.

For Canada, the defending WJC champs, this loss is historic. It marks the first time that Canada has failed to medal in a World Junior on home soil. The Canadians, the leading team in goal differential following a definitive 14-0 win over Denmark to open the tournament, were heralded for their depth and talent this year. Anaheim Ducks prospect Max Comtois, who played in ten games with the team to begin the season, led a skilled group that also counted first-rounders Morgan Frost (PHI), Cody Glass (VGK), and Owen Tippett (FLA) among its top scorers. However, the group recorded only 25 shots against Finland’s Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF) in the loss and will depart the tournament with little to show for their efforts.

Meanwhile, Sweden continues to have terrible luck in the elimination stages of the World Juniors. The Swedes have not lost in group stage at the WJC since 2008, a whopping 48 wins in a row, but have just one gold medal and an overall losing record in the subsequent rounds in that time. This year, behind an incredible early effort from Emil Bemstrom (CLB) and Erik Brannstrom (VGK), the team finally looked primed for a deep run. Instead, undrafted Luca Hollenstein got the shutout for the Swiss as Sweden failed to produce many high danger chances.

With either Finland or Switzerland, whoever wins their resulting match-up, now guaranteed a spot in the gold medal game, this World Junior has already been turned on its head. Can the U.S., who won’t have to face Canada at all in the WJC for the first time since 2005, and Russia, the points leader through group play, avoid similar surprising fates? Or will one of those teams capitalize on the early upsets to seize the World Junior title this year?

Team Canada Announces World Junior Selection Camp Roster

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The World Junior Championship begins at the end of this month in Vancouver, and over the next few weeks countries will be deciding exactly who will be donning the sweater for them at the international tournament. Today, Team Canada revealed their selection camp roster of 33 players which will be whittled down to 23 by December 14th. The group includes many prospects that have already been drafted, and even a few that have already made their NHL debuts.

The full selection camp roster is as follows, with their respective NHL teams in parenthesis:

G Michael DiPietro (VAN)
G Ian Scott (TOR)
G Matthew Villalta (LAK)

D Calen Addison (PIT)
D Nicolas Beaudin (CHI)
D Jacob Bernard-Docker (OTT)
D Evan Bouchard (EDM)
D Josh Brook (MTL)
D Cameron Crotty (ARI)
D Noah Dobson (NYI)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph (ARI)
D Jared McIsaac (DET)
D Ian Mitchell (CHI)
D Markus Phillips (LAK)
D Ty Smith (NJD)

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan (LAK)
F Shane Bowers (COL)
F Maxime Comtois (ANA)
F Ty Dellandrea (DAL)
F MacKenzie Entwistle (CHI)
F Alex Formenton (OTT)
F Liam Foudy (CBJ)
F Morgan Frost (PHI)
F Cody Glass (VGK)
F Barrett Hayton (ARI)
F Alexis Lafreniere (2020 eligible)
F Raphael Lavoie (2019 eligible)
F Brett Leason (2019 eligible)
F Isaac Ratcliff (PHI)
F Jack Studnicka (BOS)
F Nick Suzuki (MTL)
F Owen Tippett (FLA)
F Joe Veleno (DET)
F Gabe Vilardi (LAK)

Snapshots: Team Canada, Rieder, Vesalainen

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The World Junior Championship is just over a month away, and the selection camp for Team Canada will begin on December 10th in Victoria, British Columbia. That camp will decide who takes part in the top junior tournament in the world, and there are already projections being made on who will be attending. Sam Cosentino of Sportsnet breaks down who he believes will be there battling for roster spots, and the group includes plenty of already drafted NHL prospects. Evan Bouchard (Oilers), Noah Dobson (Islanders) and Ty Smith (Devils) highlight an impressive blue line, while Alex Formenton (Senators), Cody Glass (Golden Knights) and Morgan Frost (Flyers) appear in a forward group that is going to have to cut some extremely talented prospects.

Perhaps most notably is the appearance of Alexis Lafreniere, who isn’t eligible for selection until 2020 but is the early favorite to go first overall. Even though he only turned 17 last month, Lafreniere already has 54 goals and 116 points in 81 regular season QMJHL games. Players as young as him often get left out of tournaments like this given they’ll have other chances in the future, but the Canadian brain trust may just have to bring him along like they have other exceptional talents in the past.

Vegas Golden Knights Building Winner From Within

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The Vegas Golden Knights had an incredible season last year, but with just one offseason between a Stanley Cup Finals appearance, there are many who feel that the Golden Knights fortunes are folding. A recent poll by PHR that asked what NHL playoff team won’t make the playoffs next year has the Vegas Golden Knights receiving the most votes after the team allowed James Neal and David Perron to walk away this offseason. Much of that has to do with Neal’s 25 goals last year, while Perron himself contributed 50 assists in Vegas.

Yet, the Vegas Golden Knights, aside from signing center Paul Stastny to a three-year deal, have made it clear they don’t want to be locked into long-term deals and would prefer to see their young players continue to grow. That’s why the team let Neal go to Calgary for five years and Perron to St. Louis for four. Instead, the team feels they can build from within. The only reason that Vegas didn’t trade Neal and Perron away at the trade deadline is the team decided they would use them as their own rental players, which seemed to have worked as they went to the finals.

While the team probably has to wait another year for their top prospects in Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki, Erik Brannstrom and Nicolas Hague to start paying dividends for the team, the Golden Knights already have two players in place who they know are ready to take that next step as the team expects to move Alex Tuch and Tomas Tatar up to the second line, according to Gary Lawless of NHL.com.

Tuch, who came over in a trade with the Minnesota Wild in an expansion draft deal, played a big role on the team’s third line last year and often got playing time on the second line while Neal and/or Perron were injured. The 22-year-old winger is eight years younger than Neal as well as two inches taller. Tuch posted 15 goals, playing just almost two minutes less than Neal. Tuch’s 37 points was just seven shy of Neal’s totals of 44 points. And Tuch doesn’t have Neals’ injury issues, which kept the veteran out of 11 games last season.

Tatar came over at the trade deadline as the team unloaded a first, second and third-round pick to acquire the 27-year-old winger, but he struggled to adjust to the Golden Knights lineup and found himself a healthy scratch during much of the team’s playoff run and even when he did play, he only saw time on the team’s third line. Regardless, Tatar has proven to be a capable winger, who has tallied 19 goals or more for five straight years. With a full training camp to adjust to the team, it’s extremely likely, he should be able to take a bigger role on Vegas’ second line as well.

Lawless also suggests that fourth-line energizer Tomas Nosek is another candidate to take a larger role next season and could blossom in the right situation. The 25-year-old center has been one of the keys to Vegas’ successful fourth line, but only averaged 11:06 of playing time through the season, posting seven goals. However, his presence is the playoffs suggests he could be ready for an increased role after scoring four goals in 17 games.

Throw in the fact that many of their players are just starting to hit their prime, most of their players should continue to improve and get better.

Pacific Notes: Golden Knights Prospects, Juolevi, Gaudette

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The Vegas Golden Knights are coming off an impressive inaugural season, capped off by a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. However, with the team adjusting its original five-year plan to a much shorter one, which was proven when they traded their 2018 first-round pick to Detroit to acquire Tomas Tatar, one would think that Vegas lacks quality young prospects. However, that’s far from the case.

SinBin’s Ken Boehlke breaks down the team’s top 21 skaters and top four goaltending prospects. The scribe’s criteria for qualifying includes prospects under 23 years of age, who have played fewer than 10 NHL games. However, while many people might be expecting center Cody Glass to hold the top spot, that isn’t the case. Boehlke hands that award to 2017 first-round defenseman Erik Brannstrom instead. The 5-foot-10, 173-pound blueliner is an outstanding skater who excels at stretch passes, something that the Golden Knights are very high on. He posted solid numbers in the SHL and is ready to come over to North America. Brannstrom has a chance to win a spot on the team, but due to Vegas’ depth on defense, it’s more likely that Brannstrom will start his season off in the AHL.

  • With Vancouer’s Quinn Hughes planning to return to the University of Michigan, The Province’s Jason Botchford writes that 2016 first-round pick Olli Juolevi could get a chance to make the team now. With other bigger-named rookies like Elias Pettersson and Hughes around, Juolevi has been an almost forgotten man. However, Juolevi must prove that he belongs as the former fifth-overall pick has struggled with both the OHL London Knights as well as his TPS Turku team in the top league in Finland last season. However, Sami Salo, one of his coaches in Finland said that by the time the playoffs rolled around, Juolevi was the team’s top defenseman, suggesting he might be ready to come to the NHL and with a team full of average defenseman, he might just make it.
  • NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin profiles the Vancouver Canucks’ Adam Gaudette, who has made it clear that he wants to make the Canucks roster out of training camp this year. The 21-year-old out of Northeastern University played five games for Vancouver after signing with the team, but failed to register a point. He will have his work cut out for him as the team signed three veterans to the team, which will likely force several youngsters to play in the AHL next season. However, Gaudette feels he’s ready. “I’ve always been kind of a guy who’s been looked down on, that won’t really get anywhere, but I embraced that, took that in and turned it around and used it as motivation,” Gaudette said. “I think that, no matter what, people are going to doubt [me] at every level. I’ve already heard it about the NHL and nothing would make me more satisfied than to just go in and prove them wrong.”

Team Canada Announces Summer Showcase Roster

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The World Junior Summer Showcase is scheduled for July 28-Aug 4, and will see the very best U20 players match up in hopes of being selected to their country’s national team for the IIHF World Junior Championship in late December. USA Hockey already released their list of invitees to the tournament, and today Hockey Canada did the same. Maxime Comtois, Robert Thomas and Alex Formenton are back from the reigning gold medal-winning club while plenty of other top NHL prospects will be there. This list will get whittled down before the tournament begins, but even an invitation to training camp is an honor for these players.

The full roster is as follows:

G Michael DiPietro (VAN, 64th overall, 2017)
G Olivier Rodrigue (EDM, 62nd overall, 2018)
G Matthew Villalta (LAK, 72nd overall, 2017)
G Matthew Welsh (undrafted)

D Calen Addison (PIT, 53rd overall, 2018)
D Kevin Bahl (ARZ, 55th overall, 2018)
D Nicolas Beaudin (CHI, 27th overall, 2018)
D Jacob Bernard-Docker (OTT, 26th overall, 2018)
D Evan Bouchard (EDM, 10th overall, 2018)
D Josh Brook (MTL, 56th overall, 2017)
D Noah Dobson (NYI, 12th overall, 2018)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph (ARI, 23rd overall, 2017)
D Jared McIsaac (DET, 36th overall, 2018)
D Ian Mitchell (CHI, 57th overall, 2017)
D Ty Smith (NJD, 17th overall, 2018)
D Jett Woo (VAN, 37th overall, 2018)

F Justin Almeida (PIT, 129th overall, 2018)
F Jaret Anderson-Dolan (LAK, 41st overall, 2017)
F Jordy Bellerive (PIT, free agent)
F Shane Bowers (OTT, 28th overall, 2017 – traded to COL)
F Maxime Comtois (ANA, 50th overall, 2017)
F Ty Dellandrea (DAL, 13th overall, 2018)
F Connor Dewar (MIN, 92nd overall, 2018)
F MacKenzie Entwistle (ARI, 69th overall, 2017)
F Alex Formenton (OTT, 47th overall, 2017)
F Morgan Frost (PHI 27th overall, 2017)
F Cody Glass (VGK, 6th overall, 2017)
F Barrett Hayton (ARI, 5th overall, 2018)
F Stelio Mattheos (CAR, 73rd overall, 2017)
F Ryan McLeod (EDM, 40th overall, 2018)
F Antoine Morand (ANA, 60th overall, 2017)
F Michael Rasmussen (DET, 9th overall, 2017)
F Isaac Ratcliffe (PHI, 35th overall, 2017)
F Jack Studnicka (BOS, 53rd overall, 2017)
F Nick Suzuki (VGK, 13th overall, 2017)
F Joel Teasdale (undrafted)
F Robert Thomas (STL, 20th overall, 2017)
F Owen Tippett (FLA, 10th overall, 2017)
F Joe Veleno (DET, 30th overall, 2018)
F Gabe Vilardi (LAK, 11th overall, 2017)

Erik Karlsson Not Likely To Get Moved To Vegas

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With their season wrapping up much more quietly than the Washington Capitals, the Vegas Golden Knights will now look to continue their success next season. Due to the failed trade deadline move to acquire Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson many months ago, many people believe that Vegas general manager George McPhee will try to rekindle those trade talks.

The move would make quite a bit of sense since Vegas’ defense struggled against Washington during their Stanley Cup run as the Capitals dominated the neutral zone throughout the finals. And while the Golden Knights have many quality top-four defensemen, what the team is truly lacking is a No. 1 defenseman, which showed against Washington. However, Elliotte Friedman suggests a deal for Karlsson might be unlikely this offseason in his 31 Thoughts segment.

Friedman writes the main reason the original Karlsson trade collapsed was Ottawa’s insistence on Vegas including 2017 first-round pick Cody Glass, the team’s top prospect. The 19-year-old center, who was the sixth-overall pick in last year’s draft, potted 37 goals and 102 points for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. Vegas didn’t want to include him, despite the fact that 13th overall pick Nick Suzuki, also a center, tallied 42 goals and 100 points for the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack.

The team isn’t ready to deplete it’s prospect pool. They would rather move picks such as when they traded their 2018 first-rounder, a 2019 second rounder and a 2021 third-rounder to get a player like Tomas Tatar. They already know what they have in Glass and Suzuki even if it takes another year for them to step into their lineup. However, despite having six picks in the first three rounds last year (three first-rounders), the team is still building its prospect pool for the future and with just one pick in the first three rounds this year (not in the first round), the team isn’t going to build it up a whole lot this year.

Friedman suggests that a better move for the Golden Knights would be to steal away John Carlson from Washington (McPhee drafted him back in 2008). Considering the amount of cap space Vegas has, that would be the best way to bring in veteran talent.

While many people believe that bringing in Karlsson, who has been unhappy with Ottawa’s ownership, is the better course of action, trading one (or more) of their top prospects and likely taking on the bloated contract of winger Bobby Ryan for another four years at $7.25MM will quickly destroy both their cap flexibility and cut into their small, but solid prospect pool. Vegas will have at least $28MM in cap room, so why not just spend some of it on Carlson and keep their prospects?

Western Notes: Niederreiter, Dumba, Golden Knights, Gusev

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The Minnesota Wild were expected to shake things up after another disappointing playoff run and made that clear when they replaced general manager Chuck Fletcher with Paul Fenton. One forgets that Fenton as the assistant to David Poile in Nashville for the past 20 years, has been involved in many blockbuster trades in that time. So, don’t be surprised to see the team make several big moves this offseason.

The Athletic’s Mike Russo (subscription required) delves into several potential trade candidates and what the chances are that Fenton might move them. At the top of the list is winger Nino Niederreiter, who might be the perfect trade candidate. After three 20-goal seasons, Niederreiter came up two goals short this year, but also missed 19 games this year with a high ankle sprain and a broken fibula. Unfortunately, Niederreiter also has struggled in the playoffs recently combining for just one assist in 10 playoff games over the past two seasons. However, the fact that he’s 25 years old and is locked in for another four years at $5.25MM AAV could make him the team’s biggest trade chip. Throw in the fact that Jason Zucker and Zach Parise are listed as the top two left wings on the team, he is expendable.

While he analyzes a number of trade candidates in the article, Russo suggests that despite going well out of their way to protect Mathew Dumba at the expansion draft last season (that cost them Erik Haula and Alex Tuch), Dumba rewarded the team with a career highs in goals and assists with 14 goals and 36 assists. Now a restricted free agent, the team must decide whether Dumba is worth a long-term deal and if not, the Wild might want to move him while his value is high.

  • With the team’s success this year, Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee refers to their 2017 first-round picks, Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki and Erik Brannstrom as “long shots” to making the team next season, according to SinBinVegas. If one of those picks were to make the Golden Knights roster out of training camp, they would have to be “really, really good.” McPhee also said he doesn’t believe teenagers belong in the NHL and the team must take more responsibility to develop their prospects properly. “Smartest thing we can do is take our time and develop them,” McPhee said.
  • Sticking with the Vegas Golden Knights, David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that McPhee said the team continues to pursue Russian winger Nikita Gusev, who the team acquired in an expansion-day deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning last year. The 25-year-old has scored 46 goals and tallied 133 points over the past two seasons in the KHL. He still has one more year remaining on a two-year deal he signed last summer, so the Golden Knights have to wait a while longer. “He’s got another year on his deal and then we’ll see what we can do. He’s a talented guy and we’ll do what we can to get him here. We’ve talked to him, and we’ll continue to talk to him,” McPhee said.

The Vegas Train Isn’t Slowing Down: 2018-19 & Beyond

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They’re just off to a hot start. His shooting percentage is unsustainable. The schedule gets tougher in the second half. They’re not playoff-tested.

All of these things have been said about the Vegas Golden Knights, and all of them have been shot down as the team keeps rolling through the NHL like they were relegated from an even higher league. The team knocked out the San Jose Sharks yesterday on the back of another shutout by Marc-Andre Fleury, and will now sit and wait for the winner of Nashville-Winnipeg. Both the Predators and Jets are impressive hockey clubs, but if you think they’ll be big favorites over the Golden Knights, you haven’t been paying attention.

Vegas may well go all the way to the Stanley Cup in their first season. They could even take home the trophy, handing it to Fleury, James Neal, David Perron, and Deryk Engelland before handing it to some of the less experienced players. Eventually it would end up in the hands of 22-year old Shea Theodore, a defenseman who started the year in the AHL only to now log more than 22 and a half minutes a night in the playoffs. Or Alex Tuch, the 21-year old prospect the Golden Knights received from Minnesota who, while still unpolished, can look like an animal off his leash at times as he disrupts breakouts and crashes heavily on the forecheck.

It would be passed to Malcolm Subban, a forgotten first-round pick who showed that all he needed was a chance and some confidence. He’ll still be 24 when next season begins, and looking like the obvious successor to Fleury down the road.

It’s that “down the road” that is so interesting for the Golden Knights. That’s when everyone was expecting them to compete. Down the road. Maybe sometime in the future. When their draft picks develop.

Those draft picks are developing already.

Cody Glass, the first draft pick in Vegas franchise history, recorded 102 points in 64 games for the Portland Winterhawks this season. He only just turned 19, but on a weaker team would be pushing for a role in the NHL as soon as next season. Nick Suzuki, his CHL counterpart selected just a few picks later, recorded 100 points in 64 matches. 42 goals tied him for third in OHL scoring, and he won’t turn 19 until August. Only AHL eligibility rules will likely stop him from playing professional hockey next season, as he’s already too good for the junior ranks.

Erik Brannstrom, the forgotten first-round pick, logged a regular shift on defense against professionals in the SHL, recording 22 points in 44 games. Fellow drafted blueliner Nicolas Hague put up 35 goals and 78 points as a dominant presence in the OHL.

Some criticized the Golden Knights for giving up three draft picks for Tomas Tatar at the trade deadline, especially because of the limited impact he’s had for them. But Vegas still holds 11 combined picks in rounds 1-3 of the 2019 and 2020 drafts, and will continue to pump talent into their pipeline. They’re not going away.

This summer could see the departure of Neal and Perron, and the offense will suffer. There is a chance that Fleury takes a step backwards, and the top line doesn’t produce as much. But there is more talent coming, there are more players ready to take the next step. Even as the core changes in the next few years, Vegas is set up for long-term success. The train isn’t slowing down, it’s just going to change conductors.

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