West Notes: Wild, McLeod, Afanaseyev, Kesselring
The Wild could get several key veterans back in their lineup shortly. Randy Johnson of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune relays that while defensemen Jonas Brodin and Jacob Middleton plus wingers Brandon Duhaime and Marcus Foligno weren’t in the lineup today, they could all be back for Sunday’s contest against Washington. Brodin has been out the longest, missing the last four weeks with a lower-body injury which has been a big blow to their back end. Middleton is dealing with an illness sustained earlier this week. Meanwhile, Duhaime has missed more than two weeks with a head injury while Foligno has been out for a week with a lower-body issue of his own. Minnesota is in the midst of a very close three-way battle for positioning in the Central and getting multiple veterans back at once could certainly give their lineup a nice boost.
More from the Western Conference:
- Postmedia’s Jim Matheson suggests that center Ryan McLeod is dealing with a shoulder injury. He was injured on Tuesday against Ottawa and didn’t suit up versus Dallas on Thursday. There’s no word on how long the 23-year-old will be out. McLeod’s in the middle of a decent sophomore season, notching 11 goals and 11 assists in 55 games despite spending a lot of that time in Edmonton’s bottom six.
- After papering him down, the Predators announced that they’ve recalled winger Egor Afanasyev to AHL Milwaukee. The 22-year-old made his NHL debut last weekend after being brought up and has gotten into three games with Nashville, logging 9:32 per night while being held off the scoresheet. Afanasyev also has 13 goals and 13 assists in 55 games with the Admirals in the minors this season.
- A day after being sent down, the Coyotes announced (Twitter link) that they have once again recalled defenseman Michael Kesselring from AHL Tucson on an emergency basis. The 23-year-old has played in three games with Arizona since being acquired just before the deadline, logging 18:35 per contest. The 23-year-old has also suited up three times for the Roadrunners since the swap, picking up a goal and an assist.
Predators Recall McCarron, Send Down Afanasyev
The Nashville Predators announced a forward swap between the NHL team and their AHL affiliate. Michael McCarron has been called up from the Milwaukee Admirals while Egor Afanasyev has been sent down to the AHL. Afanasyev was up on an emergency basis, and McCarron’s recall was also on an emergency basis, so these do not count towards the four recalls the Predators are allowed to make after the trade deadline.
McCarron, a big, physical winger at 6-foot-6 and 231 pounds has split hit time between the NHL and AHL this season. He has played 19 games for the Predators, scoring one goal and two points while also suiting up for 13 AHL contests and scoring two goals and six points. He was sent down just two days ago so the team would have room to call up defenseman Kevin Gravel, but now McCarron returns to the NHL roster.
Afanasyev was called up on March 11 to make his NHL debut. He has played three games since then recording four shots on goal while averaging just under ten minutes of ice time per game. The 22-year-old Russian winger is having a decent season in the AHL, putting up 13 goals and 26 points in 55 games.
McCarron, at 28 years old gives the Predators a bit more experience in their lineup over Afanasyev. The Predators were sellers at the trade deadline, but sit just four points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the final playoff spot and have played three less games than the Jets. They will continue their unlikely playoff push tonight when they host the Chicago Blackhawks.
Predators Recall Egor Afanasyev
The Nashville Predators have announced they have recalled Egor Afanasyev from the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. The Russian winger is playing in his second season with the Admirals and has 13 goals and 26 points in 55 games this season. He had 12 goals and 33 points in 74 games as an AHL rookie last season.
Afanasyev was a second-round pick of the Predators in the 2019 NHL Draft. He was playing for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL before being selected, and had 27 goals and 62 points in 58 games for them. He headed to Windsor to join the Spirfires in the OHL in 2019-20 where he piled up 31 goals and 67 points in 62 games as an 18 year old.
The 2020-21 season saw him bounce around different Russian leagues during Covid lockdowns which put a halt to the OHL. Afanasyev did score two goals and five points in seven World Junior games in the 2021 tournament.
The 6-foot-4 winger obviously brings a lot of size to the Predators lineup, but he also showed at the OHL, World Juniors and AHL that he has some scoring punch as well. Afanasyev is an interesting 22-year-old forward who is third on the Admirals in goals scored.
The Predators took a sellers approach at the trade deadline and shipped out Mikael Granlund, Tanner Jeannot and Nino Niederreiter. That opens the door for younger wingers to step into the lineup, and Afanasyev looks like he will be getting an audition and a chance to make his NHL debut tonight against the Los Angeles Kings.