Snapshots: Brouwer, Kostin, LTIR
With the addition of Jaromir Jagr to the Calgary Flames (which has still yet to actually be announced), there is something of a log jam for bottom-six wingers. Troy Brouwer, the most expensive one of the bunch, has now been rumored to be on his way out according to Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 in Vancouver. While Dhaliwal makes it clear that nothing is imminent, a Brouwer trade would make sense for the Flames.
Last year, Calgary spent a second-round pick to acquire Curtis Lazar with the hope that he could develop into more than just a fourth-line player. Mark Jankowski, another first-round pick who the Flames have been waiting on impressed in camp and has earned a spot on the team. When added with Matt Stajan, Kris Versteeg and Freddie Hamilton the team clearly has enough bodies to handle a trade. Whether they swing a deal for Brouwer and his hefty salary ($4.5MM for each of the next three seasons) is still unclear, but Calgary is definitely a team to watch in the coming days.
- Klim Kostin was on track to make the St. Louis Blues team out of camp but has suffered an injury according to Lou Korac of NHL.com. The young forward is set to miss 7-10 days and could start in the AHL to get his legs back under him before making an impact with the team. The Blues are without so many of their forwards to start the year that Kostin and other young players will likely have to play a role earlier than the team had wanted.
- Speaking of the St. Louis Blues and young players, the team has announced an entry-level contract for Tanner Kaspick after spending some time with the club in camp this year. Kaspick is already back playing with his Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, where he has four points in four games. Kaspick was a fourth-round pick of the team in 2016 but has shown that there may be more upside to his game than originally thought. In 49 games with the Wheat Kings last year he registered 45 points, and should be given even more responsibility this season as the new captain.
- Chris Johnston of Sportsnet asked Lou Lamoriello of the Toronto Maple Leafs if his team had been given any sort of decision from the league on the Joffrey Lupul situation, to which the GM said no. The league is set to decide whether Lupul and Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa can be placed on long-term injured reserve, a decision that should be made before long. If they are, both Toronto and Chicago could get more salary cap relief. The Blackhawks did place one player on LTIR today, moving defenseman Michal Rozsival there to free up another roster spot. Rozsival signed a contract last season in order to help the Blackhawks become expansion draft compliant, but did not pass his physical at the beginning of training camp.
Status Of 2017 First-Round Picks
By the end of September it will be clear where each of the 2017 first-round picks will be heading to continue their hockey careers, but we already have quite a few that have signed their entry-level contracts. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ticketed for the NHL or even North America, as most will have their deals slide for an additional season. Still, below you can find the current status of each player and their likely destination for the 2017-18 season. While they aren’t final, it will give you an early idea of where to catch them this year.
Nico Hischier – New Jersey Devils – Signed ELC on July 15th. Likely starts the year with New Jersey.
Nolan Patrick – Philadelphia Flyers – Signed ELC on July 17th. Likely starts the year with Philadelphia.
Miro Heiskanen – Dallas Stars – Signed ELC on July 8th. Will play for HIFK this season (Finland).
Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche – Will play for UMass-Amherst this season (NCAA).
Elias Pettersson – Vancouver Canucks – Will play for Vaxjo this season (Sweden).
Cody Glass – Vegas Golden Knights – Signed ELC on July 15th. Will likely play for Portland this season (WHL).
Lias Andersson – New York Rangers – Signed ELC on July 13th. Will battle for roster spot with New York, but likely play for Frolunda this season (Sweden).
Casey Mittelstadt – Buffalo Sabres – Will play for the University of Minnesota this season (NCAA).
Michael Rasmussen – Detroit Red Wings – Signed ELC on August 5th. Will likely play for Tri-City this season (WHL).
Owen Tippett – Florida Panthers – Signed ELC on July 19th. Will battle for roster spot with Florida; could play for Mississauga this season (OHL).
Gabe Vilardi – Los Angeles Kings – Will likely play for Windsor this season (OHL).
Martin Necas – Carolina Hurricanes – Signed ELC on July 14th. Will likely play for Brno this season (Czech Republic).
Nick Suzuki – Vegas Golden Knights – Signed ELC on July 15th. Will likely play for Owen Sound this season (OHL)
Cal Foote – Tampa Bay Lightning – Will likely play for Kelowna this season (WHL).
Erik Brannstrom – Vegas Golden Knights – Signed ELC on July 15th. Will play for HV71 this season (Sweden).
Juuso Valimaki – Calgary Flames- Signed ELC on July 21th. Will likely play for Tri-City this season (WHL).
Timothy Liljegren – Toronto Maple Leafs – Signed ELC on July 12th. Will likely play for Rogle this season (Sweden).
Urho Vaakanainen – Boston Bruins – Will play for SaiPa this season (Finland)
Josh Norris – San Jose Sharks – Will play for the University of Michigan this season (NCAA).
Robert Thomas – St. Louis Blues – Will play for London this season (OHL).
Filip Chytil – New York Rangers – Signed ELC on July 14th. Will likely play for HC Zlin this season (Czech Republic); could play for Hartford (AHL).
Kailer Yamamoto – Edmonton Oilers – Signed ELC on August 10th. Will likely play for Spokane this year (WHL).
Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Arizona Coyotes – Will likely play for Charlottetown this season (QMJHL).
Kristian Vesalainen – Winnipeg Jets – Will play for HPK this season (Finland).
Ryan Poehling – Montreal Canadiens – Will play for St. Cloud State University this season (NCAA).
Jake Oettinger – Dallas Stars – Will play for Boston University this season (NCAA).
Morgan Frost – Philadelphia Flyers – Signed ELC on August 3rd. Will play for Sault Ste. Marie this season (OHL).
Shane Bowers – Ottawa Senators – Will play for Boston University this season (NCAA).
Henri Jokiharju – Chicago Blackhawks – Will likely play for Portland this season (WHL).
Eeli Tolvanen – Nashville Predators – Will battle for a roster spot with Nashville, but will likely play for Jokerit this season (KHL).
Klim Kostin – St. Louis Blues – Signed ELC on July 5th. Will battle for roster spot with St. Louis; could play in AHL (St. Louis doesn’t have an AHL affiliate for this season, but will be providing players for Chicago and other teams).
Poll: Which 2017 Draft Pick Will Make The Biggest Impact In 2017-18?
It’s a difficult thing to ask a draft pick to jump straight from junior hockey to the NHL, and only a select few are able to do it with any success. Last season saw Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Matthew Tkachuk and Jakob Chychrun play the whole season for their respective clubs, while six others including Jesse Puljujarvi made their debuts at some point. Each found various levels of success but most were either in the running for this year’s Calder Trophy or are among those expected to compete for next year’s. 
This year, Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick were the consensus top-2 picks heading into the draft and ended up going to two Metropolitan Division teams who could use their help. New Jersey and Philadelphia will both provide ample opportunity for the youngsters to make an impact, but there are some others that could make the difficult jump.
Florida has been clear that they’ll give Owen Tippett the chance to break camp with the team, and the 10th-overall pick already possesses an NHL-level shot that could provide some immediate success. Tippett was injured in the World Junior Summer Showcase and didn’t play today for Canada, but doesn’t expect to miss much time. Lias Andersson impressed the New York Rangers organization at development camp, and already has experience playing in a professional league in Sweden. He showed off today in a loss to Team USA at the Showcase, scoring two goals and generally looking a step ahead of his competition despite being one of the younger players on the ice. Andersson was selected seventh overall and could make the jump to help New York’s center depth right away.
Even the last pick of the first round, Klim Kostin has a shot of playing in the NHL this season after he’s told the St. Louis Blues that he doesn’t want to play in the WHL where his junior rights are owned. Kostin turned just about every head in the building during development camp with a game that seemed ready to not only keep up but dominate at the professional level. After losing his entire season to injury in 2016-17, Kostin already looks like one of the steals of the draft and St. Louis took no time in signing him to his entry-level contract.
So who will make the biggest impact from this draft class in 2017-18? Will it be one of the top two star prospects, or a surprise in training camp? If Tkachuk had been in most other years, his 48 point 18-year old season would have been viewed as an outstanding accomplishment (it still was, even if overshadowed by Matthews and Laine). Vote below on who you think will have the biggest season, and leave why in the comments!
Included are all the first-round picks, but be sure to mention any middle round players you think could make the jump. Remember, even those who are headed for junior or college could make an impact at the end of the year or in the playoffs like Charlie McAvoy this season.
Which 2017 Draft Pick Will Make The Biggest Impact In 2017-18?
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Nolan Patrick (PHI) 26% (163)
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Nico Hischier (NJ) 25% (155)
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Lias Andersson (NYR) 7% (44)
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Klim Kostin (STL) 5% (32)
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Owen Tippett (FLA) 4% (25)
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Timothy Liljegren (TOR) 4% (24)
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Other (rounds 2-7) 4% (23)
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Cale Makar (COL) 3% (18)
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Cody Glass (VGK) 3% (17)
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Miro Heiskanen (DAL) 3% (16)
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Michael Rasmussen (DET) 2% (15)
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Gabriel Vilardi (LAK) 2% (13)
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Urho Vaakanainen (BOS) 2% (12)
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Casey Mittelstadt (BUF) 2% (11)
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Nick Suzuki (VGK) 1% (7)
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Martin Necas (CAR) 1% (6)
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Ryan Poehling (MON) 1% (5)
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Eeli Tolvanen (NSH) 1% (5)
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Elias Pettersson (VAN) 1% (4)
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Kailer Yamamoto (EDM) 1% (4)
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Kristian Vesalainen (WPG) 1% (4)
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Juuso Valimaki (CAL) 0% (3)
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Josh Norris (SJS) 0% (3)
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Shane Bowers (OTT) 0% (3)
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Robert Thomas (STL) 0% (1)
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Filip Chytil (NYR) 0% (1)
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Jake Oettinger (DAL) 0% (1)
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Morgan Frost (PHI) 0% (1)
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Cal Foote (TB) 0% (0)
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Erik Brannstrom (VGK) 0% (0)
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Pierre-Olivier Joseph (ARZ) 0% (0)
Total votes: 616
[Mobile users click here to vote!]
St. Louis Blues Sign Klim Kostin To Entry-Level Contract
After being released from his KHL team due to financial issues, Klim Kostin has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues, allowing him to come over to North America for next season to play in either the NHL or AHL. The 31st-overall pick has already made quite the impression at Blues development camp, after being relatively unseen in his draft year.
The Blues acquired the pick by trading Ryan Reaves to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Kostin has huge boom-or-bust potential. The Russian winger played in just a handful of games after losing most of his season to injury, but was still ranked as the top international skater by the NHL’s Central Scouting. His profile, as a do-it-all power winger that can skate, shoot and hit is one scouts drool over but still has to overcome some consistency issues (like most draft talents).
Kostin was selected first-overall in last year’s CHL import draft, but he’s already said he won’t play for Kootenay and signing his ELC makes that even more clear. The Blues want him to get into the system right away, as his offensive game is developed enough to jump right to the AHL level. There’s no guarantee he ever makes the NHL, but if initial reports out of camp are to be believed, he’s got his eye on the top league already and the talent to get there.
Snapshots: Kostin, Toninato, Mrazek
The drama that is Dynamo Moscow continued today, with the team releasing most of their players due to unpaid wages going back almost a year. The new owners would not honor those debts, and instead have given freedom to the vast majority of their players. One of those players is Klim Kostin, the 31st overall pick at the draft and St. Louis Blues prospect.
Kostin is now free to sign an entry-level deal with the Blues, and already attended their development camp last week. At camp, Kostin turned many heads and has an outside shot of even playing in the NHL this season. More likely, he’ll head to the AHL next season after expressing that he will not suit up for Kootenay of the CHL. Interestingly, St. Louis doesn’t have a primary AHL affiliate this season, meaning Kostin would either go to the Chicago Wolves (Vegas Golden Knights) or somewhere else around the league.
- According to Zach Schneider of KBJR 6 in Minnesota, Toronto Maple Leafs’ draft pick Dominic Toninato will not sign with the team and instead become a free agent in August. Toninato finished his senior season at the University of the Minnesota-Duluth and needs to sign somewhere, but the Maple Leafs are close to their contract limit and couldn’t fit him in. Should he not be able to find an ELC somewhere around the league, there is always the possibility the Maple Leafs could circle back and sign him to an AHL contract.
- There has been much speculation about the Detroit Red Wings’ goaltending situation, as they once again have an expensive duo of Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek heading into the season. While the team doesn’t really need both in a rebuilding season, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press tells us they currently plan on heading into the year with both in tow. That means you’ll likely hear their names bandied about near the trade deadline once again, if any teams find themselves needing goaltending.