Snapshots: Carlsson, Petry, Devils
When the Anaheim Ducks made a somewhat unexpected choice at the 2023 NHL draft to select Swedish pivot Leo Carlsson over Hobey Baker winner Adam Fantilli, many had circled today as a date to watch on the NHL calendar. That’s because Carlsson’s Ducks are set to play Fantilli’s Blue Jackets tonight, and with both players likely to be in the NHL today’s contest was viewed to be the first chance to watch the two players go head-to-head.
Fans will have to wait to get that chance, though, as Ducks team reporter Aly Lozoff confirms that Carlsson will not dress for today’s game. Carlsson began this season dealing with an injury and the Ducks have reportedly been attempting to “ease” Carlsson into the rigors of the NHL schedule. That means he’ll sit tonight, and as a result, fans will have to wait until the Blue Jackets travel to Orange County in February to get the chance to see Carlsson and Fantilli face off.
- Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jeff Petry did not skate this morning and is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, according to Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde. Petry, 35, was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins (via the Montreal Canadiens) this offseason and has thus far skated in four games for the Red Wings. The Red Wings’ defensive depth is an area of strength, so while Petry’s injury is definitely unfortunate, the Red Wings are well-equipped to survive in his absence.
- As relayed by Devils team reporter Sam Kasan, forwards Erik Haula and Nico Hischier “will be able to play” in tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, according to head coach Lindy Ruff. Hischier, the Devils’ captain, missed the later stages of the Devils’ last game with an upper-body injury, while Haula hasn’t appeared in the lineup since October 16th. With Tomáš Nosek out with an injury, these two players returning to health is an important development in helping the Devils maintain their impressive strength at the center position.
Pacific Notes: Carrier, Martinez, Vlasic, Carlsson, Soucy/Friedman
Golden Knights forward William Carrier will return to the lineup Tuesday against the Stars, head coach Bruce Cassidy confirmed today. Carrier, 28, missed Vegas’ last two games with an upper-body injury.
The defending Stanley Cup champions are picking up where they left off, receiving spectacular goaltending from Adin Hill and Logan Thompson en route to a 3-0-0 record and league-high +9 goal differential. Carrier hasn’t been a part of that, however – he played just over five minutes in the season opener against Seattle before leaving with the UBI and sitting out their following two wins against San Jose and Anaheim. He’s entering the final season of a four-year, $5.6MM contract that’s paid dividends for the Knights. Carrier has become one of the more dependable fourth-liners in the league since Vegas claimed him in the 2017 Expansion Draft, and he’s now played well over 300 games as a Knight. He posted a career-high 16 goals and 25 points last season and added six points in 18 postseason contests, playing a crucial depth role en route to the team’s first Stanley Cup win.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- Cassidy also said defenseman Alec Martinez practiced in a non-contact jersey today and will travel with the team on their upcoming road swing through Winnipeg and Chicago. The 36-year-old defender has been day-to-day with an upper-body injury since the beginning of the month and has remained on injured reserve since the season began one week ago. Entering the final season of a three-year deal earning him $5.25MM per season, the veteran of 763 NHL games was arguably Vegas’ most important shutdown defender last season, posting a team-high +30 rating and blocking 244 shots – the most in the NHL by far. His absence has meant increased ice time for the younger Nicolas Hague, who’s stepped up to the plate with three points in three games while averaging 21:20 per game.
- Sharks defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic practiced with the team this morning but is not expected to suit up Tuesday night against the Hurricanes, The Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka reports. Vlasic did not play the final two periods of the Sharks’ shootout loss at the hands of the Avalanche Saturday and is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. 22-year-old Henry Thrun will step into Vlasic’s place on the Sharks’ second pairing alongside Matt Benning after the former was scratched against Colorado.
- 2023 second-overall pick Leo Carlsson has returned to practice for the Ducks after missing the first two games of the season with a leg injury, writes Eric Stephens of The Athletic. Carlsson told The Sporting Tribune’s Derek Lee Tuesday that he wants “to be 100% [for] the first game,” of course referring to his first NHL appearance. He hopes to be ready for the Ducks’ next game, a Thursday showdown against the Stars. Carlsson is currently on season-opening injured reserve but can be activated at any time.
- Tuesday’s trade acquisition Mark Friedman will join the Vancouver Canucks on their upcoming road trip, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK reports. His recall likely spells the end of 24-year-old Akito Hirose‘s time on the NHL roster, as he does not require waivers to return to AHL Abbotsford, and Vancouver is now carrying eight healthy defensemen on the roster with Carson Soucy now expected to make his season debut today against the Flyers. Friedman has appeared in two games thus far in 2023-24, both with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, recording no points and a -1 rating.
Pacific Notes: Carlsson, McGinn, Oilers Hire
Although 2023 third overall pick Adam Fantilli is making his NHL debut tonight for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks fans may have to wait a little while to see 2023 second overall pick Leo Carlsson suit up. The Sporting Tribune’s Derek Lee relayed word from Ducks head coach Greg Cronin that Carlsson is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. As a result, he is likely to miss the team’s opening-night contest against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.
Lee does note that Carlsson is on the injured non-roster list, meaning he could be activated at any time once healthy. As a result, it may not end up too long of a wait before Carlsson is ready to make his NHL debut. Widely considered one of the best center prospects in the hockey world, Carlsson spent last season with Örebro HK of the SHL, scoring 34 points in 57 combined regular-season and playoff games.
Other notes from the Pacific Division:
- Another Ducks forward currently out with a lower-body injury on a day-to-day timeline is winger Brock McGinn. The 29-year-old veteran forward played in 75 games last season, scoring 12 goals and 19 points. Playing on a $2.75MM AAV cap hit, McGinn has been expected to play a regular role in Cronin’s bottom six, but that will have to wait as he works his way back to full health. Recent waiver claim Ross Johnston may slide into the opening-night lineup as a result of McGinn’s absence.
- The Edmonton Oilers have announced that Dani Rylan Kearney has been hired to the team’s hockey operations department as a regional scout. The former Northeastern Huskies captain is best known as the founder and commissioner of the NWHL, the professional women’s hockey league that became the PHF before ceasing operations this past summer. The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman reported that the Oilers had been “interested” in adding Rylan Kearney to the organization “for several months” and now the team has done so officially.
West Notes: Flames, Carlsson, Blackwell
The Calgary Flames have their leadership group to supplement new captain Mikael Backlund for the 2023-24 season, reports Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. Defenseman Rasmus Andersson, left wing Jonathan Huberdeau, center Elias Lindholm, and defenseman Chris Tanev will rotate in and out of the two alternate captain spots per game throughout the campaign.
All these names are notable for a variety of reasons – starting with Andersson, 26, who expressed interest in becoming the team’s captain earlier this offseason before Backlund received it, signing an extension in the process. The 2015 second-round pick has solidified himself as a top-flight defender in this league, logging significant time on both the power play and penalty kill over the past two seasons while posting 99 points in 161 games since the beginning of 2021-22. He’s also the only player who didn’t wear a letter on his jersey last season. He essentially replaced Backlund, while Huberdeau, Lindholm and Tanev all wore ‘A’s on their sweaters at different points throughout 2022-23.
More from the Western Conference this weekend:
- Anaheim Ducks promising center prospect Leo Carlsson will not be out long-term after sustaining a lower-body injury in practice yesterday, says Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. There is no exact timeline for the 18-year-old’s return, however, meaning he could miss the team’s season-opening game on the road against the Vegas Golden Knights next Saturday. The second-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft is coming off a strong camp, one GM Pat Verbeek said earlier this week has secured him a spot on the Ducks roster for the entire 2023-24 season.
- Chicago Blackhawks depth forward Colin Blackwell practiced for the first time in over six months today as he continues his recovery from sports hernia surgery in March, reports Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. The Blackhawks expected Blackwell back for the beginning of camp, but the player said he hadn’t fully recovered when he first took the ice last month. With the pending return to health, the 30-year-old becomes a waiver candidate in the coming days after posting just two goals and ten points in 53 contests with Chicago last season.
Pacific Notes: De Leo, Carlsson, Flames Arena, Smyl
Anaheim Ducks forward Chase De Leo will miss the next eight weeks after sustaining an MCL sprain during a Tuesday game against the Los Angeles Kings, per a team announcement. He sustained the injury on a knee-on-knee hit from Kings forward Arthur Kaliyev, whom the league suspended for four games today as a result.
De Leo, 27, has just seven games of NHL experience to his name but has been a high-end mainstay at the AHL level since turning pro in 2015. Despite his game never really translating to the game’s highest level, De Leo has been a dominant offensive force in the minors, spending four out of his eight pro seasons with Anaheim’s AHL affiliate in San Diego. He returned to San Diego last season after spending 2021-22 with the New Jersey Devils, serving as team captain for the first time and racking up 23 points in 22 games during a tough season for the Gulls. He’ll land on injured reserve to begin the season in Anaheim and will likely be waived and assigned to San Diego upon clearance when he’s ready to return.
More from the Pacific Division tonight:
- Sticking with the Ducks, GM Pat Verbeek confirmed on a radio spot on SiriusXM today that the team envisions keeping 2023 second-overall pick Leo Carlsson on the roster for the entire season. Verbeek wouldn’t commit to Carlsson being an everyday player, however, it seems he’ll get that shot out of the gate – multiple websites project Carlsson will slide into Anaheim’s top-six to begin the season, given the finger injury to free-agent signing Alex Killorn. The 18-year-old has had a strong camp and is coming off an incredibly strong draft year that saw him boost his stock into a top-four lock, recording 25 points in 44 games with SHL club Örebro HK and finishing off the season with five points in eight games for Sweden at the World Championship. He already has NHL size at 6-foot-3 and nearly 200 pounds.
- All parties involved have now officially signed off on a new arena deal for the Calgary Flames that was originally approved in April, according to multiple members of the Calgary media pool. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reported Wednesday that a rather significant announcement was coming on the arena front today, and he wasn’t wrong – as part of this approved agreement, the Flames will open up their new home with a 35-year lease to keep the team in Alberta. Construction will begin on the site next year, and is anticipated to be NHL-ready for the 2026-27 campaign, meaning the Flames have three seasons left (including this one) at the historic Scotiabank Saddledome.
- Former Vancouver Canucks forward and longtime hockey operations staffer Stan Smyl will transition away from his day-to-day duties with the club, the team said in a statement Thursday. Smyl has been a full-time employee of the Canucks since beginning his playing career with the team in 1978-79. After a 13-season NHL career with Vancouver, including multiple seasons as captain, Smyl immediately transitioned to an assistant coaching role upon retiring in 1991. He’s served in various coaching and advisory roles with the organization ever since and had most recently served as the team’s vice president of hockey operations for the last season and a half, earning a promotion from senior advisor in December 2021. Smyl, 65, will remain closely working with the organization in a reduced role.
Anaheim Ducks Sign Tristan Luneau To ELC
Eric Stephens of The Athletic is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks have signed their 2022 second-round pick Tristan Luneau to a three-year entry-level contract. Luneau’s game took a dramatic step in the right direction this past season as the native of Victoriaville, Quebec took home the Emile Bouchard Trophy awarded to the QMJHL Defenseman of the Year.
The 19-year-old nearly doubled his offensive output from his draft year to this year, as he went from 12 goals and 31 assists in 63 games back in 2021-22, to an offensive explosion this past year posting 20 goals and 63 assists in 65 games.
Luneau will join the Ducks farm system that is arguably the best in the NHL, and although he is joining a first-class prospect pipeline, he will likely spend one more year in the QMJHL. Barring unforeseen injuries he should dominate once again, as many predicted he would when he was taken first overall by the Gatineau Olympiques in the QMJHL Entry Draft.
With Luneau now under contract, he joins Leo Carlsson, Jackson LaCombe, Jamie Drysdale, Trevor Zegras, and a slew of other players under the age of 25 who should make up the Ducks core over the next decade in what should be an exciting time to be an Anaheim Ducks fan.
Snapshots: Calder Trophy, Ullmark, Fritz
The 2023-24 Calder Trophy race should be one of the most exciting in recent memory. While Connor Bedard is undeniably the runaway favorite, there is a suite of other talented rookies that could challenge Bedard’s title. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler and Harman Dayal recently ranked their top-20 Calder candidates. Bedard unsurprisingly took the top spot, with Arizona Coyotes center Logan Cooley, Buffalo Sabres goalie Devon Levi, and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli making up the rest of the top four. The list also included names like Luke Hughes, Matthew Knies, and Joel Hofer.
The list featured more Anaheim Ducks prospects than any other team, with Leo Carlsson (#7) and Olen Zellweger (#9) ranked in the Top 10, while Lukas Dostal, Jackson LaCombe, and Pavel Mintyukov were all listed as honorable mentions. The Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, and Chicago Blackhawks were among other teams with multiple prospects featured.
Some other notes from around the NHL:
- Ty Anderson, a reporter for Boston radio show 98.5 The Sports Hub, shared that one team approached the Bruins with a, “fair, market value return” for reigning Vezina Trophy-winner Linus Ullmark. Ullmark posted a league-best save percentage (.938) and goals-against-average (1.89) last season. He followed it up with a .896 save percentage and 3.33 goals-against-average while appearing in six of Boston’s seven postseason games. And while he didn’t walk out of the postseason with any hardware, he confidently won the Vezina, receiving 22 votes to win it where no one else received more than three. Ullmark is signed to a $5MM cap hit through the next two seasons.
- The Bridgeport Islanders have signed 32-year-old forward Tanner Fritz. Fritz has been a minor league player since 2015-16 when he split time between the ECHL’s Missouri Mavericks and the Islanders AHL affiliate. His performances that season – notably his 12 points in 19 AHL games – were enough to earn him a consistent AHL role. The Grand Prairie, Alberta native got a taste of NHL experience in 2017-18, appearing in 34 games with the Islanders. He tacked on an additional eight NHL games in the following year but has been in the AHL ever since. With this deal, Fritz will remain a core piece of the Islanders depth chart, after recording 10 points in nine AHL playoff games last season.
Snapshots: Silfverberg, Carlsson, Jones, Seattle
Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg missed the final 23 games of the 2021-22 season due to a blood clot and had to deal with one once again this summer. Gefle Dagblad’s Daniel Sandstrom reports that the 32-year-old sustained one while suiting up for his native Sweden at the Worlds back in May. Fortunately, he is expected to be ready for the start of next season. Silfverberg is coming off a 26-point season while playing over 80 games for the first time since 2015-16 and is entering the final year of his contract which carries a cap hit of $5.25MM.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Still with Anaheim, while there is an expectation that Ducks prospect Leo Carlsson will make the jump to the NHL next season, GM Pat Verbeek told NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika that no determination has been made just yet on their plans for him. Carlsson was the second overall pick back in June and had a productive year with SHL Orebro, recording 10 goals and 15 assists in 44 games. If Carlsson doesn’t make the team, Verbeek indicated that he’d be assigned to AHL San Diego next, not back to the Swedish league. If he does make the team at his natural center position, Verbeek feels that Trevor Zegras who would move to the wing to make room for him.
- At the moment, the defensive depth chart for the Rangers suggests that defenseman Zac Jones – now waiver-eligible – could be in line to land the seventh spot on the back end. However, in that scenario, Arthur Staple of The Athletic believes (subscription link) that the likelier outcome would be New York trading the 22-year-old over risking having his value stagnate as a frequent healthy scratch. Jones seemed likely to crack the top six before the Rangers brought in veteran Erik Gustafsson (who played for new head coach Peter Laviolette last season in Washington) which should give him a leg up in the competition for a regular spot on the third pairing.
- Seattle will be entering a bid to host the 2026 World Juniors, reports NHL Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link). If their proposal is accepted, Climate Pledge Arena – the home of the Kraken – would be one of the host facilities which means the Kraken would be eyeing a long road trip during the event. A decision on the host city for the event is expected later this year.
Anaheim Ducks Sign Leo Carlsson
The Anaheim Ducks showed they believe in Leo Carlsson‘s potential when they selected him second overall just two weeks ago, and today they’ve affirmed it. He’s signed a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced, although they didn’t disclose financial details.
While Carlsson was considered a lock to go top-five on draft day, few thought he’d go second overall ahead of reigning Hobey Baker Award winner Adam Fantilli. The Ducks and general manager Pat Verbeek had made their choice internally, though, believing they were getting a better player in Carlsson. They opted to pass on Fantilli, who the Columbus Blue Jackets were happy to select at third overall.
The second overall selection is by no means a reach for Carlsson, though – he would have been in the discussion for the first overall choice in many past drafts. He was named the Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year last season playing for Orebro HK in the SHL, posting strong totals for a draft-eligible talent with ten goals, 15 assists, and 25 points in 44 games.
It’s impressive scoring for an 18-year-old against professional competition, especially when you consider his 25 points rank as the fifth-highest for a draft-eligible player in SHL history, trailing only Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Elias Lindholm, and Nicklas Backstrom. In addition, Carlsson led all SHL players aged 20 and under in points per game, ranking second in goals and third in total points and assists.
The Karlstad product also made history at the 2023 IIHF World Championship as the youngest player ever to score a goal for Sweden at 18 years and 138 days old.
Where Carlsson actually suits up next season remains unclear. His agent said earlier this month that there was no rush to decide where he’d play in 2023-24, and he now has four options with his entry-level contract out of the way: the NHL, AHL, SHL, or a combination. Being a first-round pick, his ELC with Anaheim takes precedence over the contract he’d signed in Sweden next season with Orebro, although Anaheim could still opt to loan him back to Sweden if that’s what Carlsson and the team believes is best for his development. They can also keep him in North America the entire year if they want, as he’s eligible for assignment to the minors with the San Diego Gulls.
Prospect Notes: Carlsson, Clara, Wild
The Ducks drafted center Leo Carlsson with the second-overall pick in the draft last month and he is widely considered to be one of the most NHL-ready prospects of this draft class. However, Carlsson’s agent Matt Keator told Jim Alexander of The Press-Enterprise that there is no rush for him to make a decision on where the youngster will play in 2023-24. Carlsson is under contract for two more years with Orebro of the SHL but as Carlsson is a first-round pick and Sweden has a transfer agreement with the NHL, a contract with Anaheim can supersede that. Carlsson had 25 points in 44 games last season in Sweden’s top division and a decision on where he plays next season will be jointly made between him and the team.
Other prospect news from around the hockey world:
- There were a total of a dozen NHL-drafted players in the recently-completed CHL Import Draft. One name that wasn’t on that list was Ducks goaltender Damian Clara. Lisa Dillman of the Orange County Register notes that several CHL squads expressed an interest in bringing over the 18-year-old Italian but that the netminder remained committed to playing on loan in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan next season with Brynas. He has two years remaining on his deal over there but if things don’t go as planned for him next season, Clara would be eligible for selection in the Import Draft next summer as well.
- Wild prospects Danila Yurov and Liam Ohgren both intend to play in North America in 2024-25, relays Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription link). The pair were first-round picks back in 2022, going 19th and 22nd overall, respectively, and are two of Minnesota’s top prospects. Both are under contracts with their club teams (Metallurg Magnitogorsk for Yurov and Farjestad for Ohgren) next season but the plan is for Yurov to sign once that contract expires while Ohgren, already signed, will have his deal slide once more. The Wild will need an influx of young, cost-controllable talent and these two could push to make the jump to the NHL right away once they sign.