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Jared McIsaac

Detroit Red Wings Prospect Jared McIsaac Leaves Game On Stretcher

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A prospect match between the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets has been stopped after defender Jared McIsaac was hit along the boards. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler reports that McIsaac was responsive as he left the game on a stretcher.

The Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger tweets that McIsaac’s head hit the glass on a hit from Columbus Blue Jackets forward James Malatesta and fell to the ice. A report from the Detroit Red Wings says that McIsaac is indeed responsive and has feeling in his extremities. He’ll be observed at a local hospital. The rest of the game will proceed, with the 2:54 that was remaining in the first period added onto the second.

McIsaac has spent much of the last two seasons dealing with injury. He played in just one Liiga game and 10 AHL games with Grand Rapids in 2020-21. Expected to take on a full-time role in Grand Rapids this season, McIsaac’s health and well-being are what’s paramount now.

Everyone at PHR offers their best wishes to McIsaac, his family, and the Red Wings during this time.

Expansion Primer: Detroit Red Wings

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Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

The last time we gathered here to determine the Detroit Red Wings’ expansion draft considerations, the team was in a steep downward decline. Yet they still ended up losing a bit of a diamond in the rough, as the Vegas Golden Knights selected forward Tomas Nosek. Nosek’s been a contributor in a bottom-six role every season in Vegas’ history, robbing Detroit of some quality depth. Now, with Detroit having hit the rock-bottom of their rebuild, their expansion situation looks fairly clear-cut this time around. With a lot of young talent exempt (and no Jimmy Howard/Petr Mrazek goalie controversy), the Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman are in a good position coming into 2021’s Seattle expansion draft.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:
Riley Barber, Tyler Bertuzzi, Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik, Vladislav Namestnikov, Michael Rasmussen, Givani Smith, Evgeny Svechnikov, Hayden Verbeek, Jakub Vrana

Defense:
Dennis Cholowski, Danny DeKeyser, Christian Djoos, Filip Hronek, Gustav Lindstrom, Troy Stecher

Goalies:
Kaden Fulcher, Thomas Greiss

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

F Valtteri Filppula, F Sam Gagner, F Luke Glendening, F Darren Helm, F Bobby Ryan, D Alex Biega, D Marc Staal, G Jonathan Bernier

Notable Exemptions

F Joseph Veleno, F Filip Zadina, D Jared McIsaac, D Moritz Seider, G Filip Larsson

Key Decisions

The key decisions start with Detroit’s young forward group. They’ll undoubtedly be going with the seven forwards/three defensemen protection scheme. Four of those forward spots are relatively clear-cut, with Larkin, Bertuzzi, Fabbri, and recent acquisition Vrana being protection locks. That leaves three spots remaining, but with a mix of four veterans and young forwards competing for them.

The veteran of those candidates is Namestnikov. Signed to a two-year, $4MM deal prior to 2020-21 to provide some veteran presence during their rebuild, Namestnikov had his worst offensive season to date with just 17 points in 53 games. His defensive metrics were mediocre, which is on-brand for the versatile Russian forward. Detroit was Namestnikov’s fourth team since the beginning of 2019-20, and if left unprotected, Seattle could be his fifth.

However, there’s a trio of three younger forwards who could also vie for those spots. Erne, Rasmussen, and Svechnikov all looked good with the Wings this season. It was an especially important season for Svechnikov, who’s struggled with frequent injuries. He rebounded this year for eight points in 21 games while posting incredibly impressive possession metrics. Erne had a nice rebound season after a ghastly 2019-20 performance, scoring 11 goals and 20 points in 45 games. While his 15.5% shooting rate doesn’t scream sustainability, the 26-year-old showed nice flashes this season. There’s also Rasmussen, who’s still a developing project despite already playing in over 100 NHL contests. Drafted ninth overall in 2017, Rasmussen’s now totalled 30 points in 102 NHL games, including 12 points in 40 games last season. He’s consistently posted decent possession results, suggesting that the goal-scoring touch he had in juniors could be coming.

Detroit faces a similar quandary on defense with three names fighting for two spots. Hronek’s protection is a foregone conclusion, but Stecher, Cholowski, and Lindstrom are names that could fall into those last two spots.

Stecher sits as effectively a more impressive Namestnikov. Joining Detroit as a free agent prior to this season, Stecher settled nicely into a top-four role, posting admirable defensive metrics considering the hacked-together situation that was Detroit’s defense. However, like Namestnikov, he’s under contract for just one more season and there’s no guarantee that he stays. There’s also a pair of younger defenders in Cholowski and Lindstrom. Cholowski was a first-round pick in 2016 and showed great potential in his 2018-19 rookie season, but has stagnated at all levels since then. Detroit is willing to play the wait-and-see game with the young defender, who may see a full-time role again next year after just 16 games played in 2020-21. Lindstrom’s a year younger and doesn’t have as much upside, but he’s cobbled together four assists in 29 NHL games and could have third-pairing potential.

Projected Protection List

F Tyler Bertuzzi
F Adam Erne
F Robby Fabbri
F Dylan Larkin
F Michael Rasmussen
F Evgeny Svechnikov
F Jakub Vrana

D Dennis Cholowski
D Filip Hronek
D Troy Stecher

G Thomas Greiss

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined.  Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined.  In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (3): Vladislav Namestnikov, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik
Defensemen (1): Danny DeKeyser

There are very few pickings here that the Kraken would be interested in, and Detroit is likely to emerge from the expansion draft unscathed. While Detroit will have some depth forwards exposed, Seattle can likely find cheaper and better options elsewhere. Seattle could end up taking an AHL skater with limited upside like Lindstrom or Smith, or take a pending UFA like Glendening if they really don’t like any of their options.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Snapshots: Larsson, McIsaac, Bergman

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While the Edmonton Oilers have much bigger free-agent fish to fry, there seems to be some life in their contract negotiations with defender Adam Larsson. The Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta reports that the Oilers and Larsson’s agent are to resume talks this week.

Larsson, of ’the trade is one-for-one’ fame, was an understated piece of the Oilers’ defense this season. After being plagued by injury in 2019-20, Larsson stepped up in a big way to help offset Edmonton’s loss of Oscar Klefbom. His 128 blocks this year were the same amount he had in a full 82-game season in 2018-19, while he ramped up his offensive production to four goals and 10 points. Talks about his extension first surfaced in May, where Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported a four-year deal was a likely outcome. It goes without saying that Edmonton would love to retain the 28-year-old Swede.

  • The Detroit Red Wings organization received some good news today, as defense prospect Jared McIsaac has a clean bill of health, per the team’s website. McIsaac, as the piece by Josh Berenter mentions, has been on the wrong end of three shoulder injuries in the past two calendar years. Drafted 36th overall by Detroit in 2018, he’s part of a prospect stable on defense that includes SHL standout Moritz Seider and Gustav Lindstrom. Before encountering his injury troubles, McIsaac had 62 points in just 53 games with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads in 2018-19. If he’s able to regain that form, a healthy McIsaac could prove to be a solid piece of Detroit’s rebuild.
  • Per a news release from the team’s website, SHL club Brynäs IF has signed former NHL prospect Julius Bergman. A 2014 second-round pick of the San Jose Sharks, Bergman was dealt three times over the course of his entry-level contract despite never playing an NHL game. Originally sent to the Ottawa Senators in the Mike Hoffman trade, he was then sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets along with Matt Duchene in February of 2019. He was dealt just three days later to the New York Rangers in exchange for Adam McQuaid. With Bergman’s offensive production declining sharply after his 30-point campaign with the San Jose Barracuda in 2016-17, it’s unlikely he sees NHL ice at any point during his career.

Jared McIsaac Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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Deja vu all over again. Detroit Red Wings prospect Jared McIssac underwent left shoulder surgery after suffering an injury while playing in Finland. The recovery period is expected to be between five and six months, something McIsaac is very familiar with after undergoing a similar procedure on his right shoulder just prior to the 2019-20 season.

Selected with the 36th overall pick in 2018, McIssac was a steal for the Red Wings in the second round given his ranking by almost every scouting service. This was a player who had taken home the defensive rookie of the year award in 2017 after being picked second in the QMJHL draft, won gold at the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament, and looked like a future top-four NHL defenseman. Unfortunately, that development has been stalled by two major injuries now, which certainly raises questions about his future.

Still, after the last surgery, McIssac still returned in time to suit up for Team Canada at the most recent World Junior Championship, starring for the team and taking home a gold medal. He ended up playing in 28 games at the QMJHL level, recording 19 points.

If he can complete a similar rehab and get back on the ice by the end of this season, the Red Wings will be able to see what they have. At just 20 years old there is still plenty of time for him to get his development back on track, but we won’t see him in a Detroit sweater for a while.

Snapshots: Training Camps, Toews, McIsaac

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The 2020-21 league calendar was one of the key topics at Friday’s GM meetings and while there still is no word on when the season will begin, there appears to be an overview of what training camps could look like.  Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the NHL is targeting a two-week training camp along with three or four exhibition games per team; the seven that didn’t participate in the Return to Play would get an extra week as had been previously reported.  Instead of teams inviting a significant number of prospects and minor leaguers to camp, they would be capped at 35 players.  Additionally, a conditioning camp before training camp begins has been proposed but is capped to recent draft picks, players on entry-level deals, and tryouts but anyone who participates in it must be invited to training camp.  With the NHL still targeting a start around the first of January, that would have camps kicking off somewhere around mid-to-late December.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Colorado is expected to reach a settlement with RFA defenseman Devon Toews in advance of Saturday’s scheduled arbitration hearing, notes Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now. The Avalanche acquired the blueliner from the Islanders two weeks ago in exchange for second-round picks in each of the next two drafts.  The 26-year-old is a year away from UFA eligibility and is coming off a strong season that saw him collect 28 points in 68 games while logging 20:31 per night in ice time.  If GM Joe Sakic wants to ensure his new blueliner will be around for more than a year, they’ll need to reach an agreement over the next few days.
  • Red Wings prospect Jared McIsaac suffered an injury with HPK in Finland and has been recalled to Detroit, the SM-liiga team announced. The defenseman’s stint lasted all of one shift and 34 seconds.  McIsaac missed a big chunk of last season while recovering from shoulder surgery and the attempt to make up for that lost time has come to an end in a hurry.

Jared McIsaac Loaned To HPK

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The Detroit Red Wings have found a landing spot for another prospect, this time loaning Jared McIsaac to HPK in Finland. McIsaac is coming off his final season of junior and will be experiencing professional hockey for the first time. The press release from his new team explains that the initial plan is to have the young defenseman play the entire season overseas, though the Red Wings are allowed to recall him should the AHL season get underway and they feel it would be a better spot for his development.

McIsaac, 20, was the 36th overall pick in 2018 and was a star this year at the World Junior Championship. An elite puck-moving defenseman in the CHL, he tallied 180 points over 241 games. That kind of ability will help him succeed at the next level, but there’s still plenty of development left for the young defender.

It will be interesting to see if other prospects decide to spend the entire season overseas, given the uncertainty around the 2020-21 AHL season. While it would burn the first year of his entry-level contract (McIsaac’s deal has already slid forward twice, and he is now ineligible for it to happen again), Liiga is obviously a perfectly fine development league for many players and shouldn’t prove too intimidating for the youngster. Of course, if camps don’t start until the new year, perhaps the Red Wings will have seen enough by that point to believe that McIsaac could even compete for a roster spot on the NHL squad.

NHL Draft Picks Participating In The World Junior Championship

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The 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship is underway from Ostrava and Trinec in the Czech Republic. The tournament began today and will run through the championship game on January 5th. Each of the NHL’s 31 teams has at least one representative at the WJC. Five teams have only one draft pick participating, while the Los Angeles Kings (9) and Arizona Coyotes (7) each have more than those teams combined. However, it only takes one player and one moment to make history at the WJC. Check out which future NHLers will have that chance this year:

Anaheim Ducks (2):

G Lukas Dostal, Czech Republic
F Trevor Zegras, USA

Arizona Coyotes (7):

F Barrett Hayton, Canada
F Jan Jenik, Czech Republic
F Matias Maccelli, Finland
D Aku Raty, Finland
D Victor Soderstrom, Sweden
F Valentin Nussbaumer, Switzerland
D Ty Emberson, USA

Boston Bruins (3):

F Jakub Lauko, Czech Republic
F John Beecher, USA
F Curtis Hall, USA

Buffalo Sabres (4):

F Dylan Cozens, Canada
F Matej Pekar, Czech Republic
G Erik Portillo, Sweden
D Mattias Samuelsson, USA

Calgary Flames (1):

G Dustin Wolf, USA

Carolina Hurricanes (5):

D Anttoni Honka, Finland
F Lenni Killinen, Finland
F Patrik Puistola, Finland
F Dominik Bokk, Germany
F Jack Drury, USA

Chicago Blackhawks (2):

F Antti Saarela, Finland
F Michal Teply, Czech Republic

Colorado Avalanche (4):

D Bowen Byram, Canada
G Justus Annunen, Finland
F Sampo Ranta, Finland
D Daniil Zhuravlyov, Russia

Columbus Blue Jackets (4):

F Liam Foudy, Canada
F Kirill Marchenko, Russia
F Dmitri Voronkov, Russia
D Tim Berni, Switzerland

Dallas Stars (3):

F Ty Dellandrea, Canada
F Oskar Back, Sweden
F Albin Eriksson, Sweden

Detroit Red Wings (5):

D Jared McIsaac, Canada
F Joseph Veleno, Canada
D Moritz Seider, Germany
F Jonatan Berggren, Sweden
F Jesper Eliasson, Sweden

Edmonton Oilers (4):

F Raphael Lavoie, Canada
G Olivier Rodrigue, Canada
F Matej Blumel, Czech Republic
D Philip Broberg, Sweden

Florida Panthers (3):

Justin Schutz, Germany
F Grigori Denisenko, Russia
G Spencer Knight, USA

Los Angeles Kings (9):

F Aidan Dudas, Canada
F Akil Thomas, Canada
F Lukas Parik, Czech Republic
F Rasmus Kupari, Finland
D Kim Nousiainen, Finland
D Tobias Bjornfot, Sweden
F Samuel Fagemo, Sweden
F Arthur Kaliyev, USA
F Alex Turcotte, USA

Minnesota Wild (1):

F Alexander Khovanov, Russia

Montreal Canadiens (4):

D Alexander Romanov, Russia
D Mattias Norlinder, Sweden
F Cole Caufield, USA
D Jordan Harris, USA

Nashville Predators (1):

D Spencer Stastney, USA

New Jersey Devils (5):

D Kevin Bahl, Canada
D Ty Smith, Canada
D Daniil Misyul, Russia
F Nikola Pasic, Sweden
G Akira Schmid, Switzerland

New York Islanders (2):

F Jacob Pivonka, USA
F Oliver Wahlstrom, USA

New York Rangers (5):

D Nico Gross, Switzerland
F Karl Henriksson, Sweden
D Nils Lundkvist, Sweden
D Zachary Jones, USA

D K’Andre Miller, USA

Ottawa Senators (3):

D Jacob Bernard-Docker, Canada
D Lassi Thomson, Finland
F Shane Pinto, USA

Philadelphia Flyers (4):

F Egor Zamula, Russia
D Adam Ginning, Sweden
F Bobby Brink, USA
D Cameron York, USA

Pittsburgh Penguins (1):

D Calen Addison, Canada

San Jose Sharks (1):

Santeri Hatakka, Finland

St. Louis Blues (2):

G Joel Hofer, Canada
F Nikita Alexandrov, Russia

Tampa Bay Lightning (3):

F Nolan Foote, Canada
F Maxim Cajkovic, Czech Republic
G Hugo Alnefelt, Sweden

Toronto Maple Leafs (3):

D Mikko Kokkonen, Finland
D Rasmus Sandin, Sweden
F Nicholas Robertson, USA

Vancouver Canucks (4):

F Karel Plasek, Czech Republic
D Toni Utunen, Finland
F Vasily Podkolzin, Russia
F Nils Hoglander, Sweden

Vegas Golden Knights (3):

F Pavel Dorofeyev, Russia
F Ivan Morozov, Russia
G Isaiah Saville, USA

Washington Capitals (2):

F Connor McMichael, Canada
D Martin Has, Czech Republic

Winnipeg Jets (2):

F David Gustafsson, Sweden
D Ville Heinola, Finland

Training Camp Cuts: 10/01/19

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Even with the season starting tomorrow, teams still have some final cuts to make today. Rosters have to be cap compliant by the end of the day. though with so much talent on waivers there might still be some last-minute moves. We’ll keep track of those right here. Keep checking back throughout the day for updates.

Arizona Coyotes (per team release)

D Ilya Lyubushkin (to Tucson, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Remi Elie (to Rochester, AHL)
F Curtis Lazar (to Rochester, AHL)
F Scott Wilson (to Rochester, AHL)
D Casey Nelson (to Rochester, AHL)

Calgary Flames (per team release)

F Alan Quine (to Stockton, AHL)
F Zac Rinaldo (to Stockton, AHL)
F Dillon Dube (to Stockton, AHL)
D Andrew MacDonald (released from PTO)

Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)

F Clark Bishop (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Julien Gauthier (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Brian Gibbons (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Gustav Forsling (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Roland McKeown (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Anton Forsberg (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Max McCormick (placed on injured/non-roster)
D Trevor van Riemsdyk (placed on injured/non-roster)

Chicago Blackhawks (per team release)

G Collin Delia (to Rockford, AHL)
F Kirby Dach (placed on injured/non-roster)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Marko Dano (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Andrew Peeke (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Liam Foudy (placed on injured/non-roster)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

F Jayson Megna (to Colorado, AHL)
D Kevin Connauton (to Colorado, AHL)
D Calle Rosen (to Colorado, AHL)
D Ian Cole (placed on injured/non-roster)

Detroit Red Wings (per team release)

D Jared McIsaac (to Halifax, QMJHL)
F Chase Pearson (placed on injured/non-roster)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Sam Gagner (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F J.T. Brown (to Iowa, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens (per team release)

F Ryan Poehling (to Laval, AHL)

Nashville Predators (per team release)

F Miikka Salomaki (to Milwaukee, AHL)
D Steven Santini (to Milwaukee, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (per team release)

D Matt Tennyson (to Binghamton, AHL)
D Ty Smith (to Spokane, WHL)

Pittsburgh Penguins (per team release)

D John Marino (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
G Casey DeSmith (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)

F Nicolas Roy (to Chicago, AHL)
D Nicolas Hague (to Chicago, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team release)

F Liam O’Brien (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
D Christian Djoos (to Hershey, AHL)
D Michal Kempny (placed on injured/non-roster)

Winnipeg Jets (per team release)

D Sami Niku (to Manitoba, AHL)

Jared McIsaac To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

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The Detroit Red Wings won’t have top prospect Jared McIsaac fighting for a spot on the blue line this training camp. McIsaac will undergo shoulder surgery today in Detroit and will be out for five to six months. McIsaac apparently played injured for much of the season, still helping the Halifax Mooseheads all the way to the QMJHL final and Memorial Cup as host city.

McIsaac, 19, was the 36th-overall pick in last year’s draft and returned to Halifax this season to continue his junior career. The left-handed defensemen ended up with 62 points in 53 regular season games, while also suiting up for Canada at the World Junior tournament. Despite dealing with this shoulder injury through the second half of the season, McIsaac still recorded 16 points in 22 playoff contests and was named to the QMJHL Second All-Star Team.

Interestingly, this injury may actually give Detroit some extra options with their young defenseman. Originally, it was likely that McIsaac would have had to go back to the CHL for another full season given he is not eligible to play in the AHL at this point. That would have been despite him showing quite clearly that he can dominate that league, and is likely ready for the next step. Now, the team can potentially allow him to rehab and then send him to the World Juniors again (if selected and ready) before giving him a short conditioning stint in the minor leagues. In short, there is now no rush to send him back to Halifax right away—something that the Mooseheads certainly won’t be excited about.

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