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Colin White

Atlantic Notes: Palat, Pageau, Dermott, Hudon, Rask

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Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper announced that winger Ondrej Palat is not expected to play Sunday, but after that the 27-year-old is expected to be listed as “day-to-day” and could be back soon. Palat hasn’t played since Oct. 26 when he left the game with a lower body injury and subsequently was listed out for at least four weeks. That seems about right as the team could get him back at some point this week.

Palat has appeared in just nine games this season and has failed to find the back of the net as he has just five assists in that span. The team needs the winger to return and re-establish himself in the team’s top-six as he also dealt with injuries last year as he played in 56 games, tallying only 11 goals.

Cooper also added that defenseman Anton Stralman is being re-evaluated and will be out Sunday. The 32-year-old hasn’t played since Nov. 8 with an undisclosed injury. Stralman has eight points in 16 games.

  • The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that center Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who has been out all season with a torn Achilles muscle, continues to make amazing progress as he joined the team on their four-game road trip in New York and skated with the team Sunday in a non-contact jersey. Despite a six-month timetable in mid-September, Pageau looks closer and closer to returning to the team quite a bit earlier than the original diagnosis. Garrioch also notes that Mark Stone, Colin White and Mark Borowiecki all took part in skating Sunday.
  • The Athletic’s Ian Tulloch (subscription required) breaks down the play of many of the Toronto Maple Leafs from Saturday’s game. Of note, Tulloch writes that one necessity in the near future is that Toronto must find a way to find a spot in their top-four for defenseman Travis Dermott. The 21-year-old is only averaging 17:53 of ATOI, but has been used more and more, getting 23:06 of ice time Saturday. The scribe adds that Dermott has developed into the team’s top defenseman and the Toronto needs to make adjustments accordingly, which means cutting playing time for struggling blueliners Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev.
  • After being a healthy scratch for Friday’s game, Montreal Canadiens forward Charles Hudon talked to head coach Claude Julien, who told him to be more aggressive, like he was last season when he had 126 hits, according to Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan. Hudon’s response was he had 13 hits in 9:09 of ice time.
  • It looks like the break that Tuukka Rask took a week ago has been paying off for the netminder. Rask has had three impressive starts since taking a critical weekend off earlier this month, including a .938 save percentage in his three appearances since his return, according to the Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont.

Ottawa Senators Preparing For Huge Roster Turnover

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Late last night after much of the hockey news had died down for the day, the Ottawa Senators released a video of defenseman Mark Borowiecki and owner Eugene Melnyk discussing the future of the organization. Touching on subjects from dressing room leadership to overcoming the low expectations for 2018-19, Melnyk made clear he would be staying with the franchise for a long time and will not move it from Ottawa. He also noted an interesting point about roster construction, explaining how quickly the rebuild will get underway:

This coming year we’re going to have 10 out of the 22 players are going to be new. Meaning they’re either rookies or they’ve played maybe under 10 games last year. Then the following year, it’s going to go up to about 15 of the 22, maybe 16. So that’s a total turnover you know, which is exactly what should be in a rebuild. 

Stripping your roster down to the studs and letting a group of young players grow and mature together is often a strategy for struggling teams who want to rebuild, and the Senators saw a similar situation play out just down the road in Toronto a few years ago. In fact, when the Maple Leafs traveled to Ottawa to open the season in 2016 they had seven rookies in the lineup including Auston Matthews, who scored four times despite the loss. That would appear to be the blue print for Melnyk and the Senators as they look to pull a similarly speedy rebuild.

The question though becomes how do they achieve the goal of having 10 rookies on the roster at the beginning of the year. The team currently has at least 19 players—Mark Stone, Bobby Ryan, Matt Duchene, Zack Smith, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ryan Dzingel, Tom Pyatt, Magnus Paajarvi, Max McCormick, Colin White, Marian Gaborik, Erik Karlsson, Cody Ceci, Chris Wideman, Ben Harpur, Thomas Chabot, Craig Anderson, Mike Condon and Borowiecki—who played more than 10 games for the organization last season and should at the very least be battling for roster spots. While perhaps Melnyk was exaggerating and players like White and Chabot would still be considered “rookies” given their relative youth and inexperience, it seems likely that there will be substantial turnover in the rest of the group.

We’ve heard for months that Karlsson may be on the block, speculation that will only increase given his complete absence from this video, but other players including Stone and Duchene are both heading into the final years of their contracts and could be shipped out for prospects and picks. If the Senators are committed to a full scorched earth rebuild, they are powerful assets in trade.

At the very least, we should expect the Senators to be involved in trade talks all season. Even though Melnyk and Borowiecki seem excited about playing the underdogs this year, the amount of roster turnover that the owner mentions isn’t possible without some transactions coming through the pipe quickly. Camp starts in just a few days and Senators rookies should be licking their chops on the opportunity that is apparently there for the taking.

Atlantic Notes: Senators’ Youth, Walker, Howard, Nelson

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The Ottawa Senators seem to have little go right over the last year or so, whether it was the unhappiness of their star defenseman Erik Karlsson to the Matt Duchene trade in which the team traded away their No. 1 overall pick for next season to Colorado. With the team shipping off players left and right, that pick could be a costly one for the team.

However, the Ottawa Sun’s Ken Warren writes that who the Senators need to look at the success of the New Jersey Devils last season had when they opted to add a struggling team with youth. Just a season ago, the Devils had a 28-40-14 season and just 70 points. However, New Jersey brought in an infusion of youth, including Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Will Butcher, as well as second-year players like Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha. That group altered the makeup of the struggling franchise and turned last season into a 44-29-9 season for 97 points, an increase of 27 points on the year. The team even qualified for the playoffs.

The Senators, who are actually loaded with quality prospects within their system, could get a similar infusion from their prospects. That possibility might start with 2018 first-rounder Brady Tkachuk, who opted to turn pro last week and has a chance to walk right into the Senators lineup. The team has other young players who are ready for full seasons this year, including Colin White, Logan Brown, Thomas Chabot, Filip Chlapik and Drake Batherson. The team also has last year’s second-round pick Alex Formenton, who made the Senators squad out of training camp last year, who could also make the jump this year. Some success from some of those kids could make people forget a little about some of the franchise’s struggles.

  • Former Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Kurt Walker passed away Friday night at the age of 64 after a brief illness, according to the Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby. Walker, who might have been better known after his short NHL career, was an advocate for retired NHL players. His efforts nearly a decade ago helped retired players and opened doors for affordable health care, concussion research on NHL retired players and stem-cell research. Walker played three seasons in the NHL, all for the Maple Leafs, playing in 71 games, tallying four goals, five assists and 152 penalty minutes.
  • Mlive’s Ansar Khan writes that the Detroit Red Wings need a solid year out of 34-year-old goaltender Jimmy Howard, who has one year remaining on his contract. Howard started the 2017-18 season strong, but struggled in the second-half of the season, finishing the year with a 2.85 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 60 games. The team may have to lighten his workload now that the team added Jonathan Bernier, but if Howard will have to have a better year to earn another contract with the team. Khan writes the team might want to give him a two-year extension as they lack goalie prospects in their system.
  • The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington writes that Buffalo Sabres defensive prospect Casey Nelson has a good chance at breaking camp with the Sabres this year because he now requires Buffalo to pass him through waivers to send him to the AHL. Nelson, has played 55 games for Buffalo over the past three years and showed some promise last year, putting up three goals and eight assists in 37 games. However, because the team could conceivably lose him if they attempt to pass him through waivers, they may be more likely to hold onto him and send other prospects like Brendan Guhle to the AHL since he doesn’t require waivers.

U.S. Announces 2018 Men’s National Roster

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USA Hockey announced their initial 2018 national roster for the upcoming 2018 IIHF Men’s World Championships on May 4-20 in Copenhagen and Herning, Denmark, headlined by Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane.

Kane, who announced he’d play this summer after his Blackhawks season ended with no trip to the playoffs, represented the U.S. twice in both the 2010 and 2014 Olympic Games, leading the U.S. to a silver medal in 2010, was named the captain of this team back on April 9. He will be joined by four others with World Championship experience, including Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin, New York Islanders forward Anders Lee, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy and the Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau.

The one interesting roster note is the addition of 18-year-old Quinn Hughes, who is considered to be a likely top-10 pick in the upcoming NHL draft. The full roster can be found below:

G Scott Darling
G Keith Kincaid
G Charlie Lindgren

D Will Butcher
D Quinn Hughes
D Nick Jensen
D Alec Martinez
D Connor Murphy
D Jordan Oesterle
D Neal Pionk

F Cam Atkinson
F Blake Coleman
F Alex DeBrincat
F Johnny Gaudreau
F Brian Gibbons
F Patrick Kane
F Chris Kreider
F Dylan Larkin
F Anders Lee
F Sonny Milano
F Derek Ryan
F Tage Thompson
F Colin White

 

Ottawa Senators Re-Assign Filip Chlapik, Colin White

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The Ottawa Senators have decided the season isn’t over for Filip Chlapik or Colin White, and have re-assigned both forwards to the AHL. The Belleville Senators aren’t headed to the playoffs this year, but do have three games remaining in the regular season. While Ottawa rests and prepares for the 2018-19 season, Chlapik and White will continue their development with a few more games.

It was a somewhat disappointing season for first-round pick White, who after a pair of outstanding seasons at Boston College was expected to make an impact right away. He failed to do so, recording just six points in 21 games and spending the rest of the year in the minor leagues. Though there is no reason to believe that he can’t be a contributor as soon as next season, he hasn’t progressed as quickly as some had hoped. If Ottawa is going to bounce back from this season, he’ll be a key part of the success.

Chlapik on the other hand came in with lower expectations, a second-round pick coming off a great junior season that likely needed some seasoning in the minor leagues. The fact that he immediately seemed acclimated to the AHL pace earned him a call-up in late October, where he registered his first NHL point in his first game. Though he would go on to record just three more points in his next 19 NHL games, he has proved he can handle play at the highest level. Like White, Chlapik could see more time in the minor leagues to start 2018-19, but is a big part of any future they’re trying to build.

Minor Transactions: 03/29/18

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The Arizona Coyotes are playing the ultimate spoiler down the stretch, winning again last night against the Vegas Golden Knights to draw even with the Vancouver Canucks for last in the Western Conference. Arizona has played well of late, giving them some hope for next season as they look to build around a young core.

For the Coyotes and all the teams out of the playoffs, now is the time to experiment with players who might not have had a chance to prove what they can do earlier in the season. With that, we’ll keep track of all the minor transactions around the league right here.

  • The Boston Bruins have sent Paul Postma back to the minors while recalling Tommy Cross under emergency conditions. Cross, the Providence Bruins captain, has played 66 games in the AHL this season and could be getting just a nice bonus for a good season. The 28-year old defenseman wasn’t on any of the pairings at morning skate, as both Zdeno Chara and Matt Grzelcyk took their normal spots.
  • The Ottawa Senators have recalled Colin White under emergency conditions, and announced that Chris Wideman will not play again this season. White has played 15 games with the Senators this season, but failed to make enough of an impact to keep him in the lineup full-time. The 21-year old forward is still a big part of the Senators’ future, but hasn’t had the season many had hoped from him after his dominant career at Boston College.
  • Josh Jooris has been recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins as Derick Brassard battles injury, meaning Riley Sheahan probably moves back to the third line center position. Jooris was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes for just this reason, giving the Penguins some added depth should they face injury.
  • Pheonix Copley has been re-assigned once again, sent back to the minor leagues after a short recall. Copley has been filling in for the Washington Capitals when needed, but still hasn’t actually entered a game.
  • Spencer Foo is coming up for the Calgary Flames, using their fourth post-deadline recall. Foo was signed out of the NCAA last spring, and has made an impact in the AHL during his first season of professional hockey. He’ll likely get a chance to make his NHL debut over the last week of the season, and compete for a full-time job next fall.
  • With Semyon Varlamov (illness) and Jonathan Bernier (infection) both expected to be available on Friday night, the Avalanche have returned goaltender Spencer Martin to San Antonio of the AHL.  Martin has not seen any action with Colorado this season but has appeared in 32 games at the minor league level, posting a 3.02 GAA and a .895 SV%.

Minor Transactions: 01/29/18

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As January comes to a close, the NHL resumes a normal schedule and teams across the league try to make a push for the playoffs. The trade deadline, which comes in just a few weeks will bring new addresses for some of the very best players, while along the way many minor moves will be made to help the edges of a roster. We’ll keep track of all the day’s minor transactions right here.

Minor Transactions: 01/19/18

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There will be plenty of minor moves again today as the NHL prepares for the weekend, and we’ll keep track of them right here. Keep checking back throughout the day to find out if your favorite team has tweaked their roster.

  • The Winnipeg Jets are coming off their bye week, and have recalled Michael Hutchinson and Jack Roslovic. Hutchinson’s recall likely means that Steve Mason is still dealing with the concussion-like symptoms that took him out of the lineup last week, and provides an interesting opportunity for the younger netminder. Hutchinson has dominated the AHL this season and is set to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer. Showing that he’s capable at the NHL level, even in a limited sample, would go a long way to earning him a contract in a few months.
  • Buffalo, fresh off another loss at the hands of the New York Rangers, have recalled Nicholas Baptiste from the Rochester Americans. Baptiste has played four games for the Sabres this season, and has 17 points in 34 games during his time in the AHL. The third-round pick had four points for Buffalo last season, but isn’t expected to make an immediate offensive impact.
  • The New York Islanders have placed Casey Cizikas on injured reserve, recalling Ross Johnston from the minor leagues in the process. Johnston can fill a physical role on the Islanders, as the 6’5″ 236-lbs winger currently leads the AHL in penalty minutes with 113. He does have 11 points through 37 games, but won’t be used for his offensive ability in the NHL.
  • The Calgary Flames are off their bye week, and with that they’ve recalled Marek Hrivik and Andrew Mangiapane from the AHL. The pair were sent down to continue playing, but were always expected to be brought back up when the week break ended. The Flames are back in action tomorrow afternoon against the Winnipeg Jets.
  • Ken Appleby is back up with the New Jersey Devils, this time under emergency conditions. Appleby will likely serve as the backup for Keith Kinkaid tomorrow, while Corey Schneider continues to deal with an injury. Appleby, 22, has now spent time on an ECHL, AHL and NHL roster this season.
  • The Minnesota Wild have recalled Kyle Rau from the AHL ahead of their game tomorrow against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’s Rau’s first call up of the season, but he does have 33 NHL games under his belt with the Florida Panthers. Rau was signed to a one-year, two-way deal on July 1st, and has 21 points in 36 games for the Iowa Wild.
  • With Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Nate Thompson dealing with injuries for the Ottawa Senators, the club has recalled forward Colin White from the AHL. The Senators take on the Maple Leafs tomorrow night, and needed a twelfth body to line up at forward. White has 16 points in 30 games for the Belleville Senators this season, but is a big part of the Ottawa plan going forward. The first-round pick could get a longer look down the stretch.

Senators Not Likely To See Youth Movement Soon

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The Ottawa Senators finally promoted one of their top prospects in 2015 first-rounder Colin White on Saturday with three games left before their bye week starts. It would be a perfect time for the 20-year-old center to prove himself to head coach Guy Boucher and the organization. However, Boucher is well-known to put little faith in young players as he prefers not to place young players in stressful situations. He proved that in White’s first appearance Saturday by giving the youngster a whopping 7:50 of ice time. At this rate, he’ll be reassigned after the next two games and not seen again for quite a while.

“We’re going to try to manage him as best as we can,” Boucher said before Saturday’s game. “We’re playing the best team in the league. The one thing we have is the last change (as the home team), so we’re going to have him play against players he’ll be able to manage. If we say it like it is, Tampa’s third line can beat most team’s first lines. In that respect, we have to be smart.”

And what makes that so difficult for fans is that the Senators are stockpiled with young talent. If the team continues to struggle, the fans want to see their young players give them hope. It took their other 2015 first-rounder Thomas Chabot a long time to get the confidence of Boucher, assuming he even has it. Chabot was rarely given a chance to prove himself at the NHL level and only now seems to be getting solid minutes with the franchise.

Ken Warren of The Ottawa Citizen writes that the best chance any fans have of seeing some of their top young players such as White, Chabot or Filip Chlapik getting legitimate minutes would be if the Senators completely fell out of the playoff race. Chlapik is another example of a player recently sent down to Belleville. He’s played in six games for Ottawa this year, averaging 9:06 of ice time. Not exactly enough time to learn your way around the NHL. Even 2017 secound-rounder Alex Formenton, who surprised many when he made the team out of training camp, only managed to get into one game for 4:54 before he was eventually returned to his junior team.

However, Warren says its about time to start taking time away from the veterans who haven’t produced enough for the team to enjoy the same success they had a year ago. Players like Alexandre Burrows and Gabriel Dumont might have to give way for progress, and find out if some of their youngsters can handle the pressure of life in the NHL. Neither has produced much as fourth-line players.

And there is even more talent on the way. The Athletic’s Ary Maharaj breaks down (subscription required) that many top Senator performers in the World Junior Championships, including Drake Batherson, Formenton, Markus Nurmi and 2016 first-rounder Logan Brown. Along with the likelihood that the Senators could end up with a top-ten pick (or none at all) in the upcoming 2018 NHL Draft, talent is definitely not their problem. Getting them on the ice will be.

Minor Transactions: 01/06/18

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As is typically the case, Saturday will be a busy day around the league with nine games on tap so there is bound to be a fair bit of roster shuffling.  We’ll keep tabs on those moves here.

  • St. Louis announced that they have recalled defenseman Jake Walman from Chicago of the AHL. To make room for him on the roster, they have transferred blueliner Vince Dunn (illness) to injured reserve.  Walman, one of the better prospects for the Blues, is in his first full professional campaign and has 13 points (2-11-13) in 34 games at the minor league level this season.
  • The Senators revealed via Twitter that they have called up center Colin White from AHL Belleville. This will be his first stint with the team this season; although he was expected to contend for a roster spot in training camp, he broke his wrist early on which set things back.  His first season at the minor league level has been rather bumpy as he has 13 points (5-8-13) in 27 games to go along with a team-worst -15 rating.  White is expected to take the place of Nate Thompson, who was injured on Friday night against San Jose.
  • The Capitals have brought back defenseman Madison Bowey and winger Jakub Vrana from Hershey (AHL), via the AHL’s transactions page. Neither move comes as a surprise as they were just sent down yesterday in an effort to free up a little bit more cap space.  For perspective, it’s the fourth time they’ve been sent back and forth since December 17th.
  • The Islanders annouced (Twitter link) that they have recalled winger Anthony Beauvillier from AHL Bridgeport on an emergency basis.  The move comes on the heels of New York losing both Josh Bailey and Andrew Ladd to injury last night.  The 2o-year-old has spent the majority of the season with the Isles, picking up four goals and three assists in 31 games.  He has a pair of goals in two minor league contests.
  • The San Jose Sharks activated winger Barclay Goodrow from injured reserve late last night and assigned winger Marcus Sorensen to the San Jose Barracuda, according to Elite Prospects. Goodrow has been in and out of the lineup with a lower-body injury for a couple of months now. He has two goals and two assists in 10 games this year. The 25-year-old Sorensen had three goals in 13 games for the Sharks this season. He has five goals and nine assists in 17 games for the Barracuda.

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