Morning Notes: Crosby, Cossa, Carfagna
In a move that should not come as a surprise to anyone, Hockey Canada has named legendary forward Sidney Crosby its captain for the upcoming men’s hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. Team Canada’s leadership group is rounded out by Connor McDavid and Cale Makar, who will each wear an “A” on their jersey for the tournament.
This is not Crosby’s first time captaining the Canadian national team. He captained the team at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, leading Canada to a gold medal. He also wore the “C” at the 2015 IIHF Men’s World Championship, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, last year’s 4-Nations Face-Off and last year’s World Championship. He’s widely considered to be among the greatest players in Canadian history, and owns one of the country’s most iconic hockey moments – his “Golden Goal” at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Now 38 years old, it’s entirely possible this is Crosby’s final Olympic tournament, and while McDavid is his obvious successor as captain, Crosby will at least get one more run to try to lead Canada to another gold medal.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- 23-year-old Sebastian Cossa, who was the No. 15 pick of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings, is making a real push for consideration for an NHL roster spot, writes Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen. Cossa has gone 20-4-2 with a .928 save percentage on a juggernaut Grand Rapids team, the best season of his young pro career. While offseason acquisition John Gibson has been solid as Detroit’s starter (22-12-2, .904 save percentage), the grip of veteran backup Cam Talbot on an NHL roster spot is likely less firm. In 24 games this season, Talbot, who is 38 years old, has an .892 save percentage, which ranks inside the bottom-15 in the league among netminders with at least 20 games played.
- Another young player making a push for consideration to land on his team’s NHL roster is Edmonton Oilers prospect defenseman Damien Carfagna. The 23-year-old undrafted blueliner is playing his first campaign as a professional, and has scored 13 points in 40 AHL games for the Bakersfield Condors. The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell wrote that Carfagna “appears close to NHL ready” and could see a call-up to Edmonton thanks in large part to his skating, which Mitchell called “exceptional at the AHL level.”
Oilers Notes: Carfagna, Clattenburg, Rodrigue
Sunday has been a busy day for the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL ranks. It was kicked off when the Bakersfield Condors announced that they’ve signed college free agent Damien Carfagna to an amateur try-out for the remainder of the season. Carfagna will turn pro after wrapping up his junior year of school at The Ohio State University. He was first draft eligible in 2021, during his time with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL.
Carfagna was a high-impact defender in juniors on the back of strong play on both blue lines. He began his final year in the USHL – the 2021-22 campaign – with a strong 37 points in 40 games with the Green Bay Gamblers, then joined the eventual championship-winning Sioux City Musketeers via trade and contributed an additional 13 points in 31 games. Carfagna moved to the University of New Hampshire in the following year, and managed a stout 16 points in 35 games as a freshman. He moved to Ohio State for his sophomore season, and saw a dip to just six points in 34 games in his first year as a Buckeye. But Carfagna straightened that out this season, finishing the year with 28 points, six penalty minutes, and a plus-16 in 38 games.
He’ll now look to maintain his strong footing into the pro ranks. Carfagna is likely to serve as a depth option, rotating in-and-out of the lineup, through Bakersfield’s final seven games of the season.
Other notes out of Edmonton:
- Joining Carfagna on the Bakersfield blue-line will be Connor Clattenburg, who the Oilers have reassigned to the AHL after the end of his OHL season. Clattenburg has spent the last two seasons with the Flint Firebirds and totaled 35 points, 108 penalty minutes, and a plus-two in 46 games this season. His OHL career – which was split between tenures with the Firebirds and Soo Greyhounds – ends with 74 points in 162 career games. Edmonton drafted Clattenburg in the fifth-round of the 2024 NHL Draft – drawn in by the hard-hitting style of the six-foot-two, 205-pound centerman. Clattenburg will also serve a depth role through Bakersfield’s remaining season.
- Longtime Bakersfield goaltender Olivier Rodrigue is expected to receive his first career NHL start on Monday night per Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Rodrigue made his NHL debut in relief of Calvin Pickard on March 27th, after the latter allowed five goals on 29 shots. Rodrigue went on to allow one more goal on eight shots. Pickard has allowed 13 goals and platooned starter Stuart Skinner has allowed 15 in their last five games respectively. With that precedent, and a playoff spot all but guaranteed, Edmonton will look for a spark with their AHL starter. Rodrigue has set a 18-15-7 record and .899 save percentage in 40 AHL games this season. He posted a .916 in 37 games, and a .912 in 29 games, in the last two seasons respectively.
Oilers Sign Damien Carfagna To Two-Year Contract
Apr. 1: PuckPedia shared the terms of Carfagna’s two-year entry-level contract with the Oilers earlier today. He’ll earn a salary of $775K at the NHL level and $85K at the AHL level. Additionally, Carfagna will receive an $87.5K signing bonus for each year of the deal and have access to $12.5K in performance bonuses for an unspecified number of games played. After including his signing bonus, Carfagna’s cap hit rises to $862.5K each year of the contract.
Mar. 31: The Edmonton Oilers have joined in on the race for college free agents. The team announced they’ve signed junior-year defenseman Damien Carfagna from The Ohio State University. Carfagna has agreed to a two-year, entry-level contract beginning in the 2025-26 season. There has so far been no indication on if he will join the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors through the end of the season.
Carfagna becomes yet another undrafted college free agent to earn a pro deal. He just wrapped up a fantastic season with the Ohio State Buckeyes, ranking second in scoring on the team’s blue-line with seven goals and 28 points in 38 games. Carfagna transferred to OSU ahead of the 2023-24 season, after spending his freshman year at the University of New Hampshire. He posted a modest 16 points, two penalty minutes, and minus-15 in 35 games with UNH, then fell to just six points in 34 games with Ohio State last year. At a glance, it seemed Carfagna’s search for a bigger role at a bigger school had flunked – as he fell from UNH’s second pair to Ohio State’s third pair. But he regained plenty of ground this season, and had his feet planted on Ohio State’s top pairing by the end of the season.
Carfagna is a stout five-foot-11, 170-pound defenseman who excels at making plays over both blue-lines. He’s strong on the puck and has grown substantially in his ability to play through contact – though he’s still working on his ability to clear out the danger areas of the ice. His ascension to OSU’s top role was built on a stellar ability to move the puck, and his great stylistic compliment to fellow nimble puck-mover Aiden Hansen-Bukata. Carfagna will likely need a hardy runway to translate his smart plays and responsible positioning to the pro flight, but his ability to support the breakout and join the rush should soon stand out.