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Mason McTavish

Snapshots: Ducks, Bortuzzo, Larkin

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Prior to their game tonight against Winnipeg, the Ducks announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Radko Gudas was out with an upper-body injury while center Mason McTavish was out with a lower-body issue.  Gudas was injured early in Thursday’s contest against Minnesota while McTavish made it through the game.  Gudas is averaging 19:24 per night in his first year on Anaheim’s back end, his highest ATOI since the 2015-16 season, his first in Philadelphia.  McTavish, meanwhile, has had a strong sophomore year with 40 points in 56 games so far, good for fourth on team scoring.  There’s word for how long either player will be out for.  Notably, Anaheim could only dress 11 forwards so if McTavish is to miss any time beyond tonight’s action, a recall will likely be coming from AHL San Diego.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Islanders have activated defenseman Robert Bortuzzo off LTIR, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The 34-year-old was acquired from St. Louis back in December but then suffered a lower-body injury in early January, one that has kept him out for the last ten weeks.  Bortuzzo has been limited to third-pairing duty in his 15 appearances so far this season as he’s averaging just 13:40 per night while chipping in with 20 hits and 21 blocked shots.  Bortuzzo is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
  • Red Wings center Dylan Larkin briefly took part in practice today as he works his way back from a lower-body injury, relays MLive’s Ansar Khan. However, he has already been ruled out for their two games this weekend and head coach Derek Lalonde expressed some hesitance about his captain returning on Tuesday as well.  Detroit has lost five straight without Larkin, who is still tied for the team lead in scoring with 26 goals and 28 assists in 55 games so far.

Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Bellemare, Mintyukov, McTavish

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The Vegas Golden Knights made some roster moves today as they’ve assigned goaltender Jiri Patera and forward Sheldon Rempal to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL.

Patera dressed last night as starting netminder Adin Hill’s backup as netminder Logan Thompson was out of action due to an illness. The 24-year-old Patera has appeared in five games this season for Vegas, registering a 1-3 record with a 3.75 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.

Rempal has also appeared in five games at the NHL level this season and has posted the first two goals of his NHL career. The Calgary, Alberta native has appeared sparingly over parts of five NHL seasons and once again finds himself in the AHL where he has posted solid offensive numbers with 21 goals and 12 assists in 43 games.

In other Pacific Division notes:

  • Roots Sports reporter Scott Malone tweeted that the Seattle Kraken have activated forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare off the injured reserve. The 38-year-old has been out of action since suffering a lower-body injury back on December 18th and has appeared in 29 games this season for the Kraken, posting four goals and a single assist while averaging 9:34 of ice time per game. Bellemare is in his tenth NHL season as he was a late arrival to the NHL having spent his first 11 professional seasons playing in his native country of France.
  • Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks have welcomed back defenseman Pavel Mintyukov as the rookie 20-year-old was activated off the injured reserve today. According to Lee, Mintyukov skated on the Ducks’ third pairing tonight alongside Ilya Lyubushkin. Mintyukov has had a solid first season in the NHL, posting two goals and 17 assists in 41 games this season while averaging over 18 minutes a night in ice time.
  • The Ducks also welcomed back forward Mason McTavish after a one-game absence. The 21-year-old was dealing with an upper-body injury that kept him sidelined briefly but was healthy enough to be reinserted into the lineup tonight as the Ducks fell to the Montreal Canadiens 5-0. McTavish is mired in a six-game goalless drought but still has 13 goals on the season to go along with 18 assists in 44 games.

Pacific Notes: Arvidsson, McTavish, Jones

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Kings winger Viktor Arvidsson skated in a full-contact jersey Friday for the first time since sustaining back and lower-body injuries during the preseason, Zach Dooley of the team’s official site reports. The 30-year-old’s return to the lineup is not imminent, but it’s a major step forward toward Arvidsson making his season debut before the March 8 trade deadline.

The 5-foot-9 sniper has not played since Los Angeles’ loss to the Oilers in Game 6 of last year’s first-round series. His absence has left a significant hole in the cap-strapped Kings’ top-nine, and as such, their 18th-ranked offense has performed under expectations.

Arvidsson has been skating with a non-contact designation for a few weeks, so his conditioning is likely close to game action after the extended absence. Interim head coach Jim Hiller has not commented on when Arvidsson could make his season debut.

The Swede is in his third season in Hollywood, notching 46 goals and 108 points in 143 games since a 2021 trade brought him West from Nashville. He’s in the final season of a seven-year, $29.75MM deal signed with the Predators in 2017 and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Other updates from SoCal:

  • Ducks sophomore Mason McTavish is out Friday against the Oilers with an upper-body injury, head coach Greg Cronin said. It’s unclear whether this is a recurrence of the upper-body injury that sidelined McTavish for seven games in December. The 2021 third-overall pick looks well on his way to holding down a long-term center spot in Anaheim’s top six, ranking fourth on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 31 points in 43 games. His 54.2 faceoff win percentage is the highest on the team, and while his possession metrics this season are mediocre, they don’t suggest he’s been a defensive liability.
  • Replacing McTavish in the lineup will be winger Max Jones, who was activated off injured reserve Friday, according to the NHL’s media portal. The 25-year-old has not played since sustaining an upper-body injury on Jan. 5 against the Jets that caused him to miss Anaheim’s last 12 games. A pending RFA upon completion of his three-year, $3.885MM deal, the 2016 first-round pick has four goals and eight points in 34 games.

Injury Notes: Ducks, Lehkonen, Benning, Puljujarvi, Blue Jackets

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The Anaheim Ducks are nearing the return of two of the most important players in their organization, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale. Zegras, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury, has been out of the lineup since November 10th, while Drysdale, has been out with a lower-body injury since October 19th.

There is no firm date for the eventual return of either player, but Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports that both players returned for practice this morning. In the same report, Lee also mentioned that breakout center, Mason McTavish, was still absent from practice after suffering an upper-body injury last week.

Anaheim could certainly use the reinforcements on both sides of the puck, as the team has recorded only one win in the last 11 games. Aside from just returning to the lineup, the Ducks will need both players to step up their game, as Zegras has only registered two points in 12 games, while Drysdale has only been in the lineup 10 times in the last 108 regular season games.

Other injury notes:

  • Without much specificity into the severity of the injury, the Colorado Avalanche have been without top-six forward, Artturi Lehkonen, for the last month after he suffered a neck injury in the team’s game against the Seattle Kraken on November 9th. After joining the team for practice yesterday, the expectation is that Lehkonen will not return for another six to eight weeks, narrowing his return to January or February (X Link). Currently sitting at fourth in the Western Conference, Colorado will only have a few weeks to see how Lehkonen returns before potentially making a move at the trade deadline on March 9th.
  • Missing nearly a month to an undisclosed injury in early November, beat writer Curtis Pashelka reports that San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Benning is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. In arguably the weakest defensive core in the NHL, Benning is one of 11 defensemen to play at least one game for San Jose this season, averaging just under 18 and a half minutes of ice time per night, placing him sixth on the team amongst defensemen in that category.
  • Hoping to make his return to the NHL soon, Chris Johnston of TSN is reporting that unrestricted free agent forward, Jesse Puljujarvi, has fully recovered from his hip surgery and has been cleared for full-contact training by doctors. Even when healthy, Puljujarvi’s market is going to be extremely limited, if one develops at all. The former fourth overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft, Puljujarvi has scored 114 points in 334 career games, including a 36-point season for the Edmonton Oilers back in the 2021-22 season.
  • Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that in the Columbus Blue Jackets game tomorrow against the Florida Panthers, forwards Cole Sillinger and Patrik Laine may be making their return to the lineup. Sillinger has missed the last five games due to an upper-body injury suffered on November 29th, while Laine has been out through the last three games with an illness.

West Injury Notes: McTavish, Markstrom, Lindholm, Golden Knights

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Heading into the Anaheim Ducks’ two-game road trip this week, it was largely expected that Mason McTavish would be able to join the team, even after suffering an upper-body injury in the team’s loss last week to the Colorado Avalanche. However, earlier today, Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reported that McTavish will not be making the trip with the team, and will likely be available for the team’s game against the Winnipeg Jets next Sunday.

Last season, McTavish produced at a solid clip, scoring 17 goals and 43 assists in a disappointing offensive season for the Ducks. His work at the center position left a lot to be desired in the faceoff dot specifically. Still, McTavish’s offensive production and his defensive attributes were good enough to see him finish seventh in Calder Memorial Trophy voting by season’s end.

This year, if he continues on the same pace, McTavish will pass his point production from last season a little past the halfway mark of this year. He’s gotten off to an incredible start with Anaheim, scoring 10 goals and 21 points in 24 games, currently sitting second on the team in scoring. His work in the faceoff dot has also improved significantly, winning 57.0% of his 337 draws this year, a year-on-year improvement of 14.7%.

Other injury notes:

  • During practice today, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet reported that the starting goaltender of the Calgary Flames, Jacob Markstrom, left practice early, and is being evaluated for a hand injury. At this time, there have been no other updates to the injury status of Markstrom, but the team may look to recall top prospect Dustin Wolf, since their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers, do not play until the end of the week.
  • Sticking in Southern Alberta, one member of the Flames who missed the entirety of the team’s practice today was forward Elias Lindholm. The team announced that Lindholm was out with an illness for today’s practice, and his status is unknown as to whether or not he will be in the team’s lineup tomorrow night.
  • Out in Vegas, the expectation is that goaltender Adin Hill (who has been out since December 2nd) and defenseman Alec Martinez (who has been out since November 22nd) will not be able to make the team’s upcoming two-game road trip (X Link). In the crease specifically, Logan Thompson will take over the crease for the most part, but with back-to-back games this weekend, Jiri Patera may have to make a start if Hill is not able to return by Sunday.

Mason McTavish Is Day-To-Day With Injury

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The Anaheim Ducks have announced that center Mason McTavish is day-to-day with an injury. Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune tweeted that Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek told reporters that McTavish tweaked something at yesterday’s practice while he was reaching for a puck. Verbeek remained optimistic that the injury was of the minor variety adding that he believed it was a muscle spasm that likely needed a day or two of rest before the 20-year-old could get back on the ice.

The Ducks are already missing several key young pieces at training camp who are without contracts for next year and can ill afford to miss McTavish for any length of time. Although the Ducks aren’t expected to be a contender this season the club is hoping that their young players like McTavish can take a big step forward and develop into frontline NHL players.

McTavish was the Ducks’ third overall pick in the 2021 NHL entry draft and had a good rookie season last year posting 17 goals and 26 assists in 80 games. Despite his decent numbers, McTavish ran out of gas for the last stretch of the season posting just a goal and an assist in the final 12 games of the regular season. He also suffered an injury on April 11th that effectively ended his season. A strong training camp will go a long way to getting McTavish some of his confidence back that he seemed to lose towards the end of last year.

If Verbeek’s assessment is correct it shouldn’t be an issue for the young McTavish to be well-prepared for the Ducks regular-season opener on October 14th against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Mason McTavish Out For The Rest Of The Season

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Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune is reporting that Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish will miss the remainder of the season after suffering an injury in last night’s 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. McTavish scored a powerplay goal in the game but was limited to just 8:09 in ice time after he left with an upper body injury. He will now miss Anaheim’s season finale on Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings.

The 2021 third overall pick will finish his first full NHL season with 17 goals and 26 assists in 80 games, pretty good numbers for a 20-year-old who was tasked to play against top line opponents on a nightly basis. McTavish is among a group of young, skilled, exciting forwards that Anaheim has been able to draft and develop over the past few years. But, with all that youth there have been growing pains, Anaheim will finish this season out of the playoffs for a fifth straight season and are currently tied for the second worst record in the NHL.

While they don’t have a ton of talent at the NHL level, Anaheim boasts one of the best farm systems in the entire NHL. Should they land another top tier prospect in the 2023 entry draft, they could be turning the corner on their rebuild sooner than later.  And while they didn’t get a first round pick for John Klingberg, they do boast an awful lot of second and third round picks in the next two drafts.

The Ducks will be busy this summer, on top of what will be a busy draft day, they will need to work out new contracts for Troy Terry, Trevor Zegras, Maxime Comtois, and Jamie Drysdale. The Ducks will have plenty of cap space to work with though, as they currently sit $38MM under the salary cap for the 2023-24 season.

Anaheim Ducks Activate Isac Lundestrom

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The Anaheim Ducks have announced that forward Isac Lundestrom will be playing in tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, meaning he has been activated off of injured reserve.

In addition to the news that Lundestrom is back in the lineup, the Ducks have announced that 2021 third-overall pick Mason McTavish is out with a lower-body injury.

On January 11th, we covered how Lundestrom was reportedly nearing a return from the fractured finger that had kept him out of commission for a month. Now, that return has finally come.

The 23-year-old Swede was a first-round pick at the 2018 draft and has been with the Ducks since the 2018-19 season. Last year was Lundestrom’s best in his young career, as he scored 16 goals and 29 points and cemented himself as a regular face in coach Dallas Eakins’ lineup.

This year, Lundestrom’s offense has dried up, and he has just six points in 24 games. He has remained an important penalty killer in Anaheim, though, and is generally regarded to be more of a defensive player. He’ll head back to the lineup and straight into a prominent role, centering veteran Adam Henrique and All-Star Troy Terry.

For McTavish, this absence due to a lower-body injury is the first in his young NHL career. He’s had an impressive rookie season thus far, often looking like a veteran player despite being just 19 years old. He has scored 27 points in 45 games this season, and could garner some Calder Trophy votes with a hot second half to his season.

As McTavish has been one of the few-and-far-between bright spots to the Ducks’ season, the team is undoubtedly hoping that the injury keeping him out of the lineup tonight is a minor one.

January Calder Trophy Watch: Forwards

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The middle of the season is a common time for awards check-ins in the NHL, and for good reason. Enough sample size is under our belts to cross off some early-season hot and cold streaks, and it’s given some time for players to grow into impact roles for new teams.

That’s especially true with the Calder Trophy, tracking the best rookie in the league. Young players are especially susceptible to streakiness, for better or for worse. Many players’ seasons have evened out somewhat, and it’s as good a time as any to take a look at where things stand for a handful of top Calder Trophy candidates, this time at the forward position.

Forwards

Matthew Beniers, Seattle Kraken

Beniers stands as the clear front-runner for the Calder in most circles, and for good reason. He leads all rookies in goals (17) and points (36), and is playing serious minutes at 17:05 per game. He’s one point behind Andre Burakovsky for the Kraken lead in scoring, and he’s been a crucial part of Seattle’s improvement from basement dweller to playoff contender in 2022-23.

The 2021 second-overall pick was a “safe floor, unsure ceiling” type of player when he was drafted. With this kind of production so early in his career, Seattle can be optimistic that Beniers will hit his first-line center ceiling as his defense improves. He’s a poor 43.7% in the faceoff dot, but that’s been a problem for the entire Kraken squad, as they don’t have a single player over 50%.

Cole Perfetti, Winnipeg Jets

Along with the rest of the Jets, Perfetti is thriving offensively under head coach Rick Bowness. He had a solid seven points in 18 NHL games last season, maintaining his rookie status, but this season leads rookies with 20 assists.

While he has thrived playing with some of Winnipeg’s top talent, Perfetti’s point production is impressive in its own right. Very little of his scoring has come on the power play, he has just four points there. He’s sixth on the Jets in scoring, and while he isn’t receiving top minutes quite yet, nearly 15 minutes a night is still fine for a player his age. Look for his goal-scoring to improve throughout the season, too; he’s shooting at just 8.2%.

Mason McTavish, Anaheim Ducks

After a 2022 World Juniors for the ages, McTavish has transitioned well to the NHL on a struggling team. Anaheim’s systems have been a mess all season, but McTavish has still managed 27 points in 45 games and is drawing some tough matchups in the top six.

Used on and off at the center position, McTavish is scoring without much support. He’s third on the team in points and his -14 rating is actually one of the better ones on the team. Selected immediately after Beniers in 2021, it’s looking like an incredibly strong top-five from that class.

On the cusp: Matias Maccelli and Dylan Guenther (ARI), Kent Johnson (CBJ), Jack Quinn and John-Jason Peterka (BUF), Wyatt Johnston (DAL), Juuso Parssinen (NSH), Noah Cates (PHI)

Mason McTavish Named 2022 World Juniors MVP

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After his Team Canada won gold last night at the much-delayed 2022 World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Anaheim Ducks prospect Mason McTavish was named the tournament’s MVP by the IIHF. He also took home the IIHF Directorate Award for Best Forward, while Florida Panthers prospect Kasper Puutio won Best Defender and Minnesota Wild prospect Jesper Wallstedt won Best Goalkeeper.

This World Juniors team was the seventh different team McTavish played on in the 2021-22 season if you count the canceled WJC in January as a separate team. He saved his best performance of the year for last, leading the tournament with an astounding 17 points in just seven games. As captain of the squad, McTavish led the team in goals with eight and tied his future Ducks teammate, Olen Zellweger, for the team lead in assists with nine.

McTavish’s next stop will be Ducks training camp next month. While not a guarantee, it would be a shocking development at this point if McTavish was not a full-time member of the Ducks next season.

In the WJC playoffs, McTavish played at least 20 minutes of every game Canada played, including a whopping 26:50 in their gold medal game overtime win — not to mention his game-saving save just seconds before the eventual winner.

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