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Connor Zary

Injury Notes: Zary, Samberg, Kempny

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Connor Zary, one of the players who found immediate success in the AHL last season despite being too young to normally play there, had a good news-bad news kind of day. The good news is that he won’t require surgery on the ankle he injured this week, the bad news is that he did suffer a fracture in it and will be out on a week-to-week basis.

If you wondered how the Flames are going to add more scoring punch in the years to come, the answer may be Zary, the 24th overall pick from 2020. The 19-year-old center had seven points in nine games with the Stockton Heat before the WHL started up again, and then went back to the Kamloops Blazers to record 24 points in just 15 games down the stretch. This time around, Zary won’t be forced back to the junior level when he returns. He’ll turn 20 tomorrow, meaning he is now eligible for the AHL this season and can report right to the Heat after recovering from this injury.

  • Speaking of AHL players on the cusp of a roster spot, Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg has lost any chance of breaking camp with the NHL team after suffering a high ankle sprain. The young defenseman will be out six to eight weeks, according to GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, who spoke to reporters including Murat Ates of The Athletic today. Given the newcomers to the Jets blue line Samberg likely still had only an outside shot of landing an NHL spot to start the season, but now he’ll be playing catchup all season to try and get back on the strong development path he has shown thus far. The 22-year-old second-round pick was a star at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and fit right in at the AHL level in 2020-21.
  • Michal Kempny is finally pain-free after a brutal two-year stretch of injuries. The Washington Capitals defenseman confirmed to reporters including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post that all three of his recent injuries–a torn hamstring in 2019, torn Achilles in 2020 and MCL sprain in 2021–were to his left leg. Incredibly, that MCL sprain that happened last season came when a member of the Hershey Bears ice crew collided with him during his conditioning stint. Kempny ended up playing just two games during the 2020-21 campaign, both at the AHL level, but is ready to resume his career with a Capitals team that he played so well for during the 2018 Stanley Cup run.

AHL Exemption Coming For Some CHL Prospects

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In the 2020-21 season, with the OHL not playing at all and the other two CHL leagues playing shortened schedules, many prospects that would not normally be eligible for the AHL played in the minor leagues. According to the CHL-NHL agreement, many of those players would be forced back to junior for 2021-22, if they had not yet reached the age of 20. For a player like Cole Perfetti, it meant he would either have to make the Winnipeg Jets or return to the Saginaw Spirit, despite scoring 26 points in 32 games for the Manitoba Moose, clearly proving he can compete at the AHL level.

Special circumstances need special rules though, and Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the finishing touches are being put on an agreement that will allow junior eligible players who played 20 or more AHL games this season to return to the AHL in 2021-22. Perfetti, to stay with the same example, would not be required to go back to the OHL even though he is still just 19 years old.

The move would be a huge boost for the AHL, as the minor league could now have more young star power competing next season, but it is also a huge loss for the junior leagues, the OHL in particular. Players like Seth Jarvis or Connor Zary from the WHL didn’t have time to reach that 20-game threshold before their junior season started up again, even though they did play well in the short minor league stint.

One interesting case is Jamie Drysdale of the Anaheim Ducks. The 19-year-old defenseman played just 14 games at the AHL level, but that’s not because he went back to junior. Drysdale instead joined the NHL club for 24 games. Though he is likely to stay with the Ducks for next season, it is interesting to note that under the proposed rule, he would appear not to be eligible for AHL action if he struggles at all to start the year. Dreger does tweet that the eventual agreement will be a little more complicated, so perhaps there will be exceptions for players like Drysdale.

Prospect Notes: Kravtsov, Zary, Krys

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Vitaly Kravtsov’s KHL team was eliminated from the playoffs today, meaning the New York Rangers prospect can now come to North America to join his NHL club. The 21-year-old winger is already under contract and was just loaned overseas, meaning he could play as soon as his quarantine protocols are over. That’s expected to take up to two weeks, but it could still mean the Rangers have a boost down the stretch.

Kravtsov, the ninth overall pick in 2018, scored 16 goals and 24 points in 49 KHL games this season, a strong offensive showing for a player that had struggled at times in the past. The 6’3″ winger is still an important part of the Rangers’ future and gives them another young forward to build around.

  • With the British Columbia teams in the WHL set to return soon, Connor Zary’s time with the Stockton Heat is finished. The 19-year-old forward has been assigned back to the Kamloops Blazers after scoring seven points in nine AHL contests. Zary was the 24th overall pick in 2020 and is too young for the AHL whenever the WHL is in session, but showed quite well in his first taste of professional hockey. The Calgary Flames prospect had 38 goals and 86 points last season for the Blazers and should be even more dominant now that he has some AHL experience under his belt.
  • Chad Krys, the Chicago Blackhawks second-rounder from 2016, will end his own 2020-21 season after just six AHL appearances. The Rockford IceHogs announced today that Krys underwent successful shoulder surgery yesterday and will be out for the next five to seven months. Hopefully, that leaves him able to compete in Blackhawks training camp for next season, but Krys has a long road back at this point.

Calgary Flames Sign Connor Zary

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The Calgary Flames have signed one of their top prospects, inking Connor Zary to a three-year entry-level contract. Zary was the 24th overall selection in October’s draft and is currently playing with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship.

After spending the last three years with the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL, it’s not clear what lies next for Zary after the WJC is complete. With this contract he will be eligible to take part in Flames training camp and even be assigned to the AHL, should the WHL still not be up and running by the time the minor league kicks off its season in February. The question now becomes if Zary is ready for professional hockey, though he certainly looked like he didn’t have much more to prove at the WHL level last season.

In 57 games with Kamloops, Zary scored 38 goals and 86 points, regularly dominating the competition. Due to his late-September birthday, he was one of the oldest players eligible for the 2020 draft and is already 19. By the time the 2021-22 season rolls around, Zary will be old enough to suit up in the AHL even if everything is back to normal. With that in mind, perhaps the AHL is actually the best place for him anyway. The Flames will certainly get a better chance to evaluate his game in person when (and perhaps if) he joins training camp.

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