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Isaiah Saville

Snapshots: NCAA Recruitment, Colorado, Lekkerimäki

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The NCAA commitment window opened to the 2008 birth year on August 1st, bringing another wave of top young players to the collegiate level. International recruits have so far headlined this year’s class, with five Europeans and 13 Canadians already announcing their commitments. Among the notable international commits is hefty centerman Caleb Malhotra, who went eighth overall to Kingston in this year’s OHL Draft, but solidified his plans to play outside of the OHL with a commitment to Boston University. Malhotra is emerging as a top Canadian in the 2008 birth year – even despite battles with injury this season. He played in just 48 games, though he still did enough to score at a point-per-game pace and earn a five-star rating from PuckPreps, who praised his mobility and puck skills.

Malhotra – the son of longtime Vancouver Canucks center Manny Malhotra – is a cerebral playmaker, who knows how to use his frame and stickhandling to create space. With a college commitment out of the way, he’s now set for the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL. Malhotra is undeniably one of the BCHL’s top recruits and will now look to vindicate the expectations around him, and quickly bounce back from injury, by finding scoring quickly at the juniors level. If all goes well, he’ll enter BU with the same lofty expectations.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The AHL’s Colorado Eagles have announced they’ve hired Kim Weiss as a video coach and Matt Zaba as a goalie coach. Weiss moves to the pro level after becoming the first female coach in D-III history this season, serving behind the bench of her alma mater Trinity College. Trinity won their conference championship under Weiss’ guard – earning her a ring after losing in the NAHL’s 2023 Robertson Cup semifinals with the Maryland Black Bears. Zaba is also moving from American juniors, having spent the last seven seasons as the goalie coach for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. He’s built up multiple NHL prospects over that span, including Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Filip Larson, Calgary Flames prospect Arseni Sergeyev, and Vegas Golden Knights prospect Isaiah Saville. He’ll now join that trio at the AHL level – coaching in familiar territory after starting his career at Colorado College. Zaba is also an alum of one NHL game, 66 AHL games, and 31 ECHL games – though much of his personal playing career was spent in Austria and Italy.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are facing a list of lineup questions as training camp approaches, shares Thomas Drance of The Athletic, who highlighted the right-wing role next to Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson as the team’s most glaring hole. Drance mentioned Nils Hoglander as an early favorite for the role, though he’ll face pressure from new signee Daniel Sprong. However, Drance also noted that star prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki could be a dark horse to round out what should be Vancouver’s scoring line. Lekkerimäki won the SHL’s ’Rookie of the Year’ award last season, after posting 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games with Örebro HK. He signed his entry-level contract and moved to the AHL after Örebro’s early playoff exit – adding two points in six more games with the Abbotsford Canucks. Lekkerimäki is an effective scorer, with an eye for the offensive zone and hard snapshot – though his size has some worried about how he’ll adjust to the next step. It seems he’ll have a chance to answer that bell at training camp, as he fights for a significant role out of the gates.

Golden Knights Add Nine Players To Playoff Roster

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Now up 2-0 in their first-round series against the Stars, the Golden Knights have recalled nine players from AHL Henderson to serve as Black Aces for the remainder of their playoff run, per CapFriendly’s transaction log. Forwards Brendan Brisson, Grigori Denisenko, Byron Froese and Mason Morelli; defensemen Kaedan Korczak, Dysin Mayo and Christoffer Sedoff; and goaltenders Isaiah Saville and Jesper Vikman are now all immediately available to Vegas if injuries force them to reach deep into their pool of depth players.

There was no postseason action in store for any of these players in the minors. Henderson failed to qualify for the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs after going 28-36-3-5 in the regular season, missing out for the second year in a row.

Many of these players, including all of the forwards mentioned and Korczak on the blue line, played in NHL games with the Knights this season. Mayo had 82 NHL games of experience across 2021-22 and 2022-23 with the Coyotes but didn’t suit up for Vegas in 2023-24. Saville, Sedoff and Vikman have yet to make their NHL debuts.

Brisson, 22, is the most likely of these recalls to see game action in the playoffs. The 2020 first-round pick did well in his first NHL season, recording two goals and six assists for eight points in 15 games across a spattering of late-season recalls. Averaging 12:20 per game, he played a handful of different units but spent most of his time on the wing with William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault. The trio controlled 65.2% of expected goals in 43 minutes together, per MoneyPuck. The former University of Michigan standout also had 19 goals and 38 points in 52 contests with Henderson, his second full season in the pros.

Denisenko, 23, was picked up in the first round by the Panthers two years before Brisson. After failing to crack Florida’s opening night roster, he was nabbed off the waiver wire by Vegas in October. He was assigned to Henderson after there were no takers for him on waivers a second time – including his former team. The 5’11” winger still doesn’t have an NHL goal to his name in 32 appearances, six of which came in a Golden Knights sweater this season. However, he did have a breakthrough campaign in the minors, recording career-highs across the board with 20 goals, 36 assists and 56 points in 65 games. That led the club in assists and points, and only veteran Sheldon Rempal had more goals (27).

Froese, 33, recorded an assist in 16 appearances for Vegas this year, marking his first time playing in back-to-back NHL seasons since playing in three straight from 2015-16 to 2017-18. The longtime farmhand has suited up 141 times in parts of six seasons for the Canadiens, Flames, Golden Knights, Maple Leafs and Lightning. An alternate captain with Henderson, Froese finished fifth on the club in scoring with 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) in 53 games.

Morelli, 28, earned his first NHL contract with the Golden Knights last July after spending three years on minor-league deals with the Hershey Bears, the Capitals’ AHL affiliate. Fresh off a Calder Cup win in 2023, Morelli made his NHL debut in February while injuries decimated the Knights’ forward group. He put up a goal and an assist on his first try against the Sharks and finished his callup with four points in nine games. The North Dakota native also had a career-high 13 goals in 56 games with Henderson, adding 16 assists for 29 points on the year.

On the blue line, Korczak will be head coach Bruce Cassidy’s first choice to insert into the lineup if Vegas needs to reach past the two extra defenders they entered the postseason with. The 23-year-old was a second-round pick in 2019 and played a career-high 26 games for the Golden Knights this year, posting nine points and a +12 rating while averaging 16:30 per game. He mirrored those stats in Henderson with a goal and eight assists in 26 games there and still carries significant NHL upside as a smooth-skating, 6’4″ right-shot defender. His entry-level contract is up this summer, but his next deal shouldn’t cost more than $1MM just yet and will be a cheap, reliable call-up option with an outside chance to crack next year’s opening night roster.

Mayo, 27, was picked up by the Knights in a February 2023 trade with Arizona that sent a fifth-round pick and the contract of defenseman Shea Weber, who won’t play again due to various injuries, to the Yotes. An adept shutdown defender with depth NHL upside, Mayo had a career-high 25 points in 67 games with the Silver Knights this season with a -6 rating and 79 PIMs, his most in a single season since his junior hockey days.

Sedoff, 22, was an undrafted free-agent signing by Vegas from the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels last year. The Finnish blue-liner managed to stick in the AHL the whole season, avoiding a demotion to the ECHL, but didn’t score in 46 appearances. He tallied 10 assists for his first-ever professional points and posted a -1 rating, the second-highest on the team behind Brisson among qualified skaters.

Saville and Vikman split backup duties for Henderson behind the more experienced Jiří Patera, although neither won the job outright. The 23-year-old Saville had slightly better numbers, going 7-12-1 with a .893 SV%, 3.27 GAA and one shutout in 22 appearances. The Alaska native was a Vegas fifth-round pick in 2019. Vikman, 22, was a fifth-round pick a year after Saville. The 6’3″ Swede split the year between Henderson and ECHL Savannah, failing to cross the .900 SV% plateau at either level.

Golden Knights Recall Two From AHL, Place Tobias Bjornfot On IR

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Vegas has made a pair of roster moves in advance of their game tonight against Calgary, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled center Byron Froese and goaltender Isaiah Saville from AHL Henderson.  To make room on the roster, defenseman Tobias Bjornfot has been placed on IR.

Froese is in his second season with Vegas after signing a two-year, two-way deal for the league minimum in free agency back in 2022.  The 33-year-old got into nine games with the Golden Knights last season where he had a pair of points but has played exclusively with the Silver Knights this year, collecting six goals and six assists in 33 games.  Froese has 125 NHL appearances under his belt, many of which have been in a fourth line depth role which is the one he’s likely to fill if he sees any game action.  Jack Eichel didn’t take part in the game day skate so it appears Froese’s recall is to hedge against Eichel not being available.

As for Saville, he was just sent back down yesterday and has been shuffled back and forth recently due to the uncertain availability of both Adin Hill and Jiri Patera.  The 23-year-old has missed the bulk of the campaign after starting the year on season-opening IR, limiting him to seven appearances with Henderson where he has a 2.52 GAA and a .914 SV%.

Bjornfot, meanwhile, was claimed off waivers from Los Angeles earlier this month.  Since then, the 22-year-old has played in a pair of games, bringing his season total to three as he has spent the bulk of the year in a reserve role.  There’s no word yet on the nature of the injury and how long he might be out of the lineup.  Between IR and LTIR, Vegas now has eight players on injured reserve.

West Notes: Oettinger, Jones, Emberson, Saville

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The Stars welcomed back a key player tonight with the team announcing (Twitter link) that Jake Oettinger was getting the start against Nashville.  The 25-year-old missed the last four weeks with a lower-body injury, forcing Scott Wedgewood to take on the interim starting role in his absence, a role Wedgewood had some success in.  Oettinger had a career year last season with a 2.37 GAA and a .919 SV%, earning him a top-five spot in Vezina Trophy voting but hasn’t had quite the same success this season with those numbers checking in at 2.93 and .901 respectively heading into Friday’s action.  If he can get back to being a top netminder in the second half, that could give Dallas a big lift as they jockey for seeding in the Central Division.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Blackhawks blueliner Seth Jones was a full participant in practice today for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury just over a month ago, notes Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago. The original diagnosis was that he’d miss two weeks but further testing doubled that timeline.  Jones, who has 11 points – all assists – in 27 games this season, is hoping to be cleared to return to Chicago’s lineup tomorrow against Dallas.
  • Sharks defenseman Ty Emberson has returned to San Jose for further evaluation, relays Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). The 23-year-old is dealing with an upper-body injury that has caused him to miss last night’s victory over Montreal, joining Matt Benning and Jacob MacDonald as blueliners currently out of the lineup.  Emberson is currently considered as out week-to-week so he’ll likely land on injured reserve shortly, opening up a spot for Logan Couture whose return is getting closer.
  • The Golden Knights announced (Twitter link) that they returned goaltender Isaiah Saville to AHL Henderson. The 23-year-old was recalled recently after Adin Hill was unable to dress for Thursday’s game due to an undisclosed injury.  Saville has battled injuries himself this season and has been limited to seven games with the Silver Knights where he has a 2.52 GAA and a .914 SV%.

Vegas Recalls Isaiah Saville With Adin Hill, Michael Amadio Out

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The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled goaltender Isaiah Saville ahead of their Wednesday night game, as expected starter Adin Hill is not yet ready to return. The Golden Knights also shared that forward Michael Amadio will miss Wednesday’s matchup with illness.

Saville will serve as the team’s backup against the Colorado Avalanche, with Jiri Patera set to make his fourth start of the season. It’s only the sixth start of Patera’s career, which kicked off with two NHL appearances last season. He’s set a 3-2-0 record and .908 save percentage in his limited NHL career, though he’s spent more of his time operating as the starter for the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. He’s appeared in 14 AHL games this year, setting a 6-6-2 record and .900 save percentage. He’s been backed up by a platoon of goalies, including Saville, who has managed a 4-3-0 record and .914 save percentages in seven games of his own. The sudden recall is only the second of Saville’s career, though the 23-year-old has yet to play in his first NHL game.

Hill’s unexpected setback now makes nine consecutive games that he’s missed with an undisclosed injury. The 27-year-old has continued to look fantastic in the ice time he has managed, setting a league-leading .933 save percentage and 1.93 goals-against-average in the 15 games he’s played this season. His injury forces Vegas to turn to their AHL netminders, as the team is also missing Logan Thompson due to illness. Thompson has served as the de facto starter in Hill’s absence, setting a 12-8 record and .902 save percentage in 24 games.

Minor Transactions: 12/24/23

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With no games on the NHL schedule until Wednesday, many teams snuck last-minute transactions in before the full roster freeze kicked in.  We’ve covered a handful of them here throughout the day in Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and St. Louis; here’s a rundown of the remaining moves.  All transactions are via the AHL’s transactions log unless otherwise noted.

  • The Capitals returned winger Ivan Miroshnichenko and center Hendrix Lapierre to AHL Hershey. Both players were recalled on Tuesday with Miroshnichenko making his NHL debut.  He was held off the scoresheet in his three appearances while Lapierre has five points in 14 games with Washington so far.
  • The Red Wings re-assigned center Austin Czarnik and defenseman Simon Edvinsson back to AHL Grand Rapids. Czarnik has been shuffled back and forth frequently this month and has one assist in 16 games with Detroit while Edvinsson, who was only brought up Saturday, made his season debut last night.
  • The Kings loaned Jacob Moverare back to AHL Ontario after playing just shy of 15 minutes last night versus Calgary. The 25-year-old has been recalled and sent back down ten separate times each since mid-November.
  • The Golden Knights have loaned goaltender Isaiah Saville back to AHL Henderson, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). He has been serving as their interim backup with both Adin Hill and Logan Thompson injured.  As Thompson remains on the active roster, Saville was eligible to be sent back down.  The 23-year-old was activated off SOIR earlier this month and has made three appearances for the Silver Knights.
  • The Bruins sent three players back to AHL Providence – defensemen Mason Lohrei and Parker Wotherspoon along with center Patrick Brown. Lohrei has five points in 17 games so far in his first full professional campaign while Wotherspoon is logging nearly 16 minutes a night in eight games with Boston.  As for Brown, he cleared waivers early in the season and has been brought up four separate times now; he has an assist in nine games at the top level so far.
  • Boston also made one other transaction as they converted defenseman Ian Mitchell from an emergency recall to a regular one, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). Mitchell was recalled on Saturday and has two assists in 13 games with Boston so far.  The Bruins will now be ineligible to send him down until after the roster freeze lifts.
  • The Maple Leafs have returned center Pontus Holmberg to AHL Toronto. It’s the third time he has been sent back down since Wednesday as Toronto has been shuffling him up and down quite frequently.  The 24-year-old has an assist in eight games with the big club so far.
  • A day after recalling him, the Coyotes have sent center Justin Kirkland back to Tucson of the AHL. The 27-year-old had spent the full year with the Roadrunners prior to yesterday’s move, notching ten points in nine contests.
  • Grant Hutton is once again on the move as the Islanders have sent him back to AHL Bridgeport, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). He has been recalled and re-assigned six times apiece in the last month and has been limited to just two appearances with New York so far this season.

Many of these transactions will be undone on the 27th or 28th as NHL teams return to action.  In the meantime, these teams will save a bit of salary money and cap space with these demotions.  Toronto and Ottawa’s moves could have AHL implications as well as their two affiliates will play on Tuesday so the players they sent down could suit up in that contest.

Snapshots: Diamond Sports, Sharks, McMichael, Jagr, Beaudin, Golden Knights

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Diamond Sports Group has reached a deal with the 11 NHL teams it has regional broadcast rights for to televise their games through the end of this season, sports business reporter Daniel Kaplan reports (Twitter link).  With that agreement being made through bankruptcy court, it stands to reason that those affected will not be receiving the full value of their contracts, some of which lasted until 2030.  After this season, the broadcast rights for those teams will revert to the league with future plans uncertain at this point.  However, Amazon has held discussions with some MLB teams that are in similar situations (regional rights with Diamond for this season and reverting to the league after) so it’s possible that they could look to hold talks about NHL rights as well.  Detroit, Columbus, St. Louis, Anaheim, Carolina, Los Angeles, Tampa Bay, Florida, Nashville, Dallas, and Minnesota are the teams that will be impacted by this news.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • After missing last night’s game, Sharks defensemen Jan Rutta (illness) and Calen Addison (lower-body injury) were both feeling better today and could suit up Thursday versus Arizona, relays Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). Rutta has five assists and 43 blocked shots in 26 games so far this season, his first with San Jose after being acquired from Pittsburgh.  Addison, meanwhile, has picked a goal and five helpers in 19 games since being picked up last month in a trade with Minnesota.
  • Before tonight’s game against the Islanders, the Capitals announced (Twitter link) that forward Connor McMichael was a late scratch due to an illness. Matthew Phillips took his place.  McMichael is off to his best start, notching six goals and seven assists through his first 28 games; last season, he was limited to just six NHL contests, being held off the scoresheet.
  • Veteran forward Jaromir Jagr has officially started his 36th professional season, playing in his first game of the year with Kladno in his native Czechia, the team he owns. The 51-year-old played nearly 14 minutes, picking up an assist.  Jagr’s participation in that game will delay his Hockey Hall of Fame eligibility by another season.
  • The Canadiens will loan defenseman Nicolas Beaudin to Team Canada for the upcoming Spengler Cup, reports BPM Sports Radio’s Anthony Marcotte (Twitter link). The 24-year-old played in the event on a loan last year as well.  Beaudin, a 2018 first-round pick by Chicago, has been in and out of the lineup with AHL Laval this season, recording six assists in 13 games so far.
  • The Golden Knights announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Logan Thompson is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.  To get a second netminder on the roster for Thursday’s game against Carolina, Isaiah Saville was recalled from AHL Henderson.  Thompson has posted a .904 SV% in his first 19 games this season for Vegas while Saville, who was just activated from SOIR recently, has a .950 mark in three games with the Silver Knights.

Golden Knights Activate Isaiah Saville From SOIR, Assign Him To AHL

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Golden Knights prospect goaltender Isaiah Saville was placed on season-opening IR back in September with an undisclosed injury.  Now, it appears as if he has been cleared to return as Vegas has activated him and assigned him to their affiliate in Henderson, per the AHL’s transactions log.

The 23-year-old was a fifth-round pick by Vegas back in 2019 (135th overall).  Last season was his first full professional campaign after leaving the University of Nebraska-Omaha following his junior year; Saville signed in March 2022, immediately burning the first season of his three-year, entry-level deal.  He is now in the final season of that agreement.

Saville spent most of last season at the ECHL level with Savannah, posting an impressive .920 SV% in 33 games with the Ghost Pirates.  That helped him get into ten games with the Silver Knights as well where he had a 3.21 GAA with a .902 SV%.  He spent some time with Vegas during the playoffs as a Black Ace as well.

With Jiri Patera currently up with the Golden Knights covering for the injured Adin Hill and prospect Jesper Vikman injured, there’s a spot on the Silver Knights’ roster for Saville to fill for the time being, giving him a good opportunity to make a case to secure a qualifying offer in June.

Golden Knights Sign Isaiah Saville

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7:45 PM: The Golden Knights officially announced the signing.  PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the AAV of the deal is just under $850K.

6:47 PM: The Golden Knights have agreed to terms with one of their college prospects as Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports (Twitter link) that Vegas has signed goaltender Isaiah Saville to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

The 21-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Golden Knights back in 2019 (155th overall) out of Tri-City of the USHL and has played the last three seasons with the University of Nebraska-Omaha.  This season, he suited up in 30 games for the Mavericks, recording a 2.52 GAA along with a save percentage of .907 for the third straight year.  His college season came to an end last week and evidently, he decided to forego his senior year.

It’s unknown if Vegas elected to burn the first year of Saville’s entry-level deal now or if it will come into effect beginning next season in which case he’d ink an amateur tryout deal with AHL Henderson for the rest of 2021-22.  There could be a bit of a logjam for the Golden Knights in terms of their signed goalie depth for 2022-23 with Saville joining Logan Thompson and Jiri Patera as young netminders under contract while Dylan Ferguson is a restricted free agent.

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