Minnesota Wild Sign UMD Defenseman Carson Soucy
The Minnesota Wild have wrapped up an immensely successful regular season and have turned their attention toward preparing for the postseason, but the front office is still working hard to prepare for the future. The Wild announced this evening that they have inked 2013 fifth-round pick Carson Soucy to a two-year entry-level contract that will begin in 2017-18. Soucy will join the AHL’s Iowa Wild for the remainder of the season.
Soucy is coming off a strong season playing for NCAA runner-up, the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The 6’4″ 22-year-old defenseman was a dominant force skating on the Bulldogs’ top pairing as they fought for the top spot in the nation all season long. Soucy, who wore the “A” in his senior season, was a model of defensive responsibility and physical play for four seasons in Duluth. Although he lack much offensive upside, with a career-high 15 points this season, he makes up for it in a solid stay at home game.
Although the Wild are known for having one of the deepest defensive units in hockey, their strength is also their weakness in the upcoming Expansion Draft. Able to protect only three or four defenseman, Minnesota faces a conundrum with five defenseman on the roster that would be very attractive to George McPhee and the Vegas Golden Knights. Ryan Suter must be protected, but it seems likely that only two of Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, and Matt Dumba will join him. One of the other two is prime for the picking. With that in mind, the Wild have begun stockpiling young depth options like Gustav Olofsson, Mike Reilly, and now Soucy. Assuming Minnesota is out a defenseman this summer, Soucy has a chance to make his NHL debut next season if his defensive game translates to the next level.
Morning Notes: Crosby, Patrick, Cangelosi
Last night, during the Pittsburgh Penguins-Ottawa Senators game, Sidney Crosby delivered a hard slash across the hands of Marc Methot resulting in one of the nastiest injuries this season in the NHL (*WARNING: GRAPHIC*). Senators’ head coach Guy Boucher said after the game that Methot would be out “weeks” with a “destroyed” and “shattered” finger, and owner Eugene Melnyk was upset about it this morning on TSN 1200 (via Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia and Frank Seravalli of TSN):
You hammer these [players who slash], you take away their money, and you say you know what? You are done for 10 games. We all know who [Crosby] is. The guy is a whiner beyond belief. You do this kind of stuff—I don’t care who you are in the league, I don’t care if you’re the number one player in the league—you should sit out a long time for this kind of crap.
Melnyk said that he was sure the league would be looking at it, but Pierre LeBrun of ESPN reports Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly will not be evaluating it further. Crosby will receive no discipline for this incident, just as he faced no penalty for his spear in an unfortunate area of Ryan O’Reilly‘s lower body.
- For anyone hoping to catch Nolan Patrick in the first round of the WHL playoffs, you might have to wait a few days. Mike Morreale of NHL.com reports that the projected top pick in the upcoming entry draft won’t play in game one due to a lower-body injury. The Brandon Wheat Kings take on the Medicine Hat Tigers in the first round of the WHL playoffs.
- The Calgary Flames have sent Garnet Hathaway back down to the Stockton Heat. The 25-year old forward didn’t play in his most recent call up, after Micheal Ferland returned earlier from his mumps quarantine. With Matthew Tkachuk now eligible to play after serving his two-game suspension, the need for Hathaway has lifted. Playing in 26 games for Calgary this season, Hathaway registered five points in under 10 minutes a night.
- Similarly, the Minnesota Wild have sent Gustav Olofsson down to the minors, liking meaning Christian Folin is ready to return to game action. Olofsson has played in 13 games for the Wild this season, but will have to wait until next year to really make his mark at the NHL level. The 22-year old will try to help the Iowa Wild make the postseason for the first time in their short history.
- Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports that the Albany Devils have signed Austin Cangelosi to a two-year AHL contract. The 22-year old forward just graduated from Boston College where he had back-to-back 20-goal seasons the past two years. The 5’7″ forward will try to prove that his size won’t stop his skill from shining through at the professional level, as he moves up to the next challenge in his hockey career.
Minor Transactions: 2/8/2017
Tracking the minor transactions from around the NHL for February 8, 2017.
- The Boston Bruins, fresh off firing their head coach, have once again swapped goaltenders with their AHL squad. Anton Khudobin has been recalled and Zane McIntyre demoted to Providence. Khudobin is in the first year of a two-year contract worth $1.2MM annually. His second stint in Boston has not gone well; he’s 1-5-1 with an 0.885 and a 3.06 GAA. While he has a 7-3-1 record in the AHL, that comes with a poor 0.896 SV% and 2.69 GAA. McIntyre is 0-3-1 in seven NHL games with a 0.860 SV5 and a 3.95 GAA, but has a sterling record in the AHL, going 11-0-0 with a 0.950 SV % and 1.44 GAA. Unfortunately for the Bruins, backups Khudobin, McIntyre, and Malcolm Subban have combined for one win in 11 starts.
- The Bruins Atlantic Division rivals in Montreal have also made a few roster moves, calling up Michael McCarron and Daniel Carr while sending Jacob de la Rose to the AHL. McCarron has four points in 15 NHL games and 19 points in 30 AHL games; Carr has eight points in 31 NHL games and the same total in just six AHL games. de la Rose has no points in nine NHL games, but has 15 in 34 games in the AHL.
- The NHL-leading Washington Capitals have recalled Zachary Sanford from the AHL. Sanford has one point in 20 NHL games and 14 points in 24 AHL games.
- Over in Minnesota, the Wild swapped defensemen with their AHL club. Mike Reilly will be heading to Iowa while Gustav Olofsson is coming back to Minnesota. Reilly has one point in 17 NHL games while Olofsson has only appeared in one NHL game this season.