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Matthew Highmore

Ottawa Senators Recall Matthew Highmore

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The Ottawa Senators have recalled forward Matthew Highmore from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. Per the team’s announcement, Highmore will make his Senators debut tonight against the Vancouver Canucks.

He’ll replace forward Zack MacEwen in the team’s lineup, according to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. MacEwen has been on the Senators’ roster on an emergency recall and has averaged under six minutes of ice time in the Senators’ last two games.

Assuming Highmore is a direct replacement for MacEwen, he’ll draw into head coach D.J. Smith’s fourth line, alongside Roby Järventie and Parker Kelly. Whereas MacEwen brings imposing size and physicality to that role (but not all that much else), Highmore has a bit more offensive touch. The undrafted former QMJHL champion was an AHL All-Star as a rookie and scored a career-high 61 points in 68 games last season for the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds.

The Senators gave Highmore a hefty $400k AHL salary to be a key offensive contributor to Belleville, and so far he has delivered with seven points in nine games. Although he has just 27 points in 139 career NHL games, the addition of Highmore adds some skill to the Senators’ fourth line in place of some physicality.

With Ottawa playing Vancouver rather than the Toronto Maple Leafs (who have enforcer Ryan Reaves on their roster) and the Tampa Bay Lightning (who employ Tanner Jeannot and Austin Watson) it’s understandable that Smith might see himself more in need of offensive energy from his fourth line rather than imposing physicality.

Waivers: 10/03/23

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Oct. 4: All players have cleared waivers, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. This means a pair of rather highly-touted Senators, Bernard-Docker and Sokolov, will remain with the organization.

Oct. 3: Following a large list of players hitting the waiver wire this time yesterday, today’s list is quite a bit smaller, but there is some solid talent that could potentially be claimed by a different organization. Today’s full list of players hitting the waiver wire comes courtesy of TSN’s Chris Johnston:

Boston Bruins

D Alec Regula
D Dan Renouf
F Anthony Richard
D Reilly Walsh
D Parker Wotherspoon

Edmonton Oilers

F Seth Griffith

New Jersey Devils

G Erik Kallgren

Ottawa Senators

D Jacob Bernard-Docker
F Matthew Highmore
D Jacob Larsson
F Egor Sokolov

Philadelphia Flyers

F Tanner Laczynski
G Calvin Petersen

St. Louis Blues Reassign Matthew Highmore

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Feb 23: A disappointing week later and Highmore has been returned to the AHL. The 26-year-old forward played in two games, both losses, and registered two shots on net.

Feb 18: After moving forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari to Toronto last night, the Blues had a pair of open roster spots to fill.  They’ve now decided who will get them as they announced the recalls of Nikita Alexandrov and Matthew Highmore from AHL Springfield.

Alexandrov is up with St. Louis for the fourth time this season.  He got into 18 games during the first three opportunities, picking up three goals and two assists, pretty good production for someone who was basically limited to exclusive fourth line duty as he’s averaging just 8:46 per game.  The 22-year-old has been much more productive with the Thunderbirds, chipping in with a dozen goals and ten helpers in 28 AHL contests.  He’s in the second season of a three-year, entry-level deal carrying a cap hit of just under $817K.

As for Highmore, he’s in his first season with St. Louis after signing a one-year, two-way deal for the NHL minimum with them last summer.  The 26-year-old hasn’t seen any NHL action in 2022-23 but has 137 appearances over parts of four seasons with Chicago and Vancouver prior to this year.  Highmore has done quite well with Springfield this season, picking up 46 points in 47 games to lead the team in scoring.  He’ll be eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.

Meanwhile, the Blues have also assigned Adam Gaudette to Springfield.  He was one of the players they picked up in the deal from Toronto and while he’s a bit more experienced than Highmore with 218 career appearances, he’ll stay in the minors for the time being.

2023 AHL All-Star Rosters Announced

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While the focus of many hockey fans is on the upcoming NHL All-Star festivities, the AHL is set to hold its own event to honor the league’s best players. Today, they announced the rosters for the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic, which will be held in Laval, Quebec on February 5-6. Todd Nelson (Hershey), Greg Moore (Toronto), Neil Graham (Texas), and Mitch Love (Calgary) will be the four head coaches.

The rosters are as follows:

Atlantic Division

F Will Cuylle, Hartford Wolf Pack
F Tyson Foerster, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
F Ethen Frank, Hershey Bears
F Matthew Highmore, Springfield Thunderbirds
F Vinni Lettieri, Providence Bruins
F Riley Nash, Charlotte Checkers
F Mike Vecchione, Hershey Bears

D Samuel Bolduc, Bridgeport Islanders
D Xavier Ouellet, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
D Cam York, Lehigh Valley Phantoms

G Brandon Bussi, Providence Bruins
G Joel Hofer, Springfield Thunderbirds

North Division 

F Alex Barré-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch
F Brandon Biro, Rochester Americans
F Gabriel Dumont, Syracuse Crunch
F Anthony Richard, Laval Rocket
F Logan Shaw, Toronto Marlies
F Egor Sokolov, Belleville Senators

D Justin Barron, Laval Rocket
D Noel Hoefenmayer, Toronto Marlies
D David Jiricek, Cleveland Monsters
D Darren Raddysh, Syracuse Crunch

G Nico Daws, Utica Comets
G Joseph Woll, Toronto Marlies

Central Division 

F Riley Barber, Texas Stars
F David Gust, Rockford IceHogs
F Tommy Novak, Milwaukee Admirals
F Lukas Reichel, Rockford IceHogs
F Brett Seney, Rockford IceHogs
F Sammy Walker, Iowa Wild

D Declan Chisholm, Manitoba Moose
D Thomas Harley, Texas Stars
D Max Lajoie, Chicago Wolves
D Brian Lashoff, Grand Rapids Griffins

G Yaroslav Askarov, Milwaukee Admirals
G Jesper Wallstedt, Iowa Wild

Pacific Division

F Thomas Bordeleau, San Jose Barracuda
F Michael Carcone, Tucson Roadrunners
F Seth Griffith, Bakersfield Condors
F Matthew Phillips, Calgary Wranglers
F Andrew Poturalski, Coachella Valley Firebirds
F T.J. Tynan, Ontario Reign

D Ryker Evans, Coachella Valley Firebirds
D Brad Hunt, Colorado Eagles
D Daniil Miromanov, Henderson Silver Knights
D Christian Wolanin, Abbotsford Canucks

G Lukas Dostal, San Diego Gulls
G Dustin Wolf, Calgary Wranglers

St. Louis Blues Sign Perunovich, Five Others

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The St. Louis Blues have announced six contracts, including a new one for restricted free agent Scott Perunovich. The 23-year-old defenseman has agreed to a one-year, one-way contract for next season.

The team has also signed Josh Leivo to a one-year, one-way contract, while Anthony Angello, Matthew Highmore, and Dylan McLaughlin are all coming aboard on one-year, two-way contracts. Nathan Walker has agreed to a one-year contract extension for 2023-24.

Perunovich will be earning just $750K according to Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest, a number that leaves a lot of room for surplus value. The young defenseman has shown top-four NHL ability but hasn’t been able to stay healthy long enough to establish himself as a full-time option. Since signing in 2020, he has just 43 games of professional experience. Seven of those came this spring in the playoffs for St. Louis, where he recorded four points despite averaging fewer than 11 minutes a game. That’s the kind of offensive upside he brings, able to contribute even in a limited role.

With no arbitration rights, there wasn’t much leverage that Perunovich had at this point. The fact that he is still waiver-exempt also likely played into the negotiation, as his qualifying offer would have come with a higher salary ($874K) but would have been two-way, giving him much less if he ends up in the AHL. Agreeing to the one-way deal guarantees him the $750K and likely helps him stay in the NHL, as he’ll carry a lower cap hit for the Blues to navigate.

Leivo, meanwhile is coming in on a $750K contract according to John Matisz of theScore, after leading the Chicago Wolves to the Calder Cup this year. The 29-year-old forward had seemingly established himself as an NHL regular before 2021-22 but ended up in the AHL and made the most of it. With 29 points in 18 playoff games, Leivo was named playoff MVP and now has another chance to show he is too good for the minor leagues. In 214 NHL games, he has 38 goals and 77 points.

Walker actually played in 30 games for the Blues this season, easily the longest NHL stint of his career. He even had eight goals and 12 points during that time and dressed in four playoff games. While he won’t be making a huge impact, extending him now suggests he’s a valued part of the organization that the team doesn’t want to see hit free agency next summer.

West Notes: Blackhawks, Lehkonen, Labanc, Highmore

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The Blackhawks welcomed one center back tonight but found themselves without another.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Tyler Johnson has been cleared from concussion protocol and activated off IR while Kirby Dach was a late scratch with a non-COVID illness.  It has been a tough first season in Chicago for Johnson after coming over from Tampa Bay as injuries have limited him to just 14 games where he has just a goal and two assists while averaging a career low in ice time at just 12:41 per night.  As for Dach, he has also had a quiet year offensively, notching 23 points in 63 games despite being a fixture in their top six.

Elsewhere around the Western Conference:

  • The wait is over when it comes to Artturi Lehkonen making his Colorado debut as the team announced (Twitter link) that the winger’s immigration has been approved, paving the way for him to suit up against Calgary on Tuesday. The 26-year-old was brought in at the trade deadline in exchange for prospect defenseman Justin Barron and a 2024 second-round pick and he’s expected to play a key role on the third line for the Avalanche down the stretch.  Lehkonen has 16 goals and 13 assists in 58 games this season.
  • The Sharks could get winger Kevin Labanc back at some point next week, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The 26-year-old has been out since undergoing shoulder surgery back in mid-November.  It had been a disappointing season for Labanc prior to the injury as he had just three goals and three assists in 21 games and with San Jose ten points out of a playoff spot heading into Monday’s games, his return will be more about trying to rediscover his offensive form over helping a late playoff push.
  • Matthew Highmore’s upper-body injury will keep him out of Vancouver’s lineup on a week-to-week basis, relays Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650 (Twitter link). The 26-year-old has 10 points in 39 games this season.  The Canucks recalled William Lockwood on an emergency basis last week to take Highmore’s spot but if they wanted to bring another player up for extra depth, they’d have to use one of their four post-deadline regular recalls.

Snapshots: QMJHL, Balcers, Niemela, Highmore

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The QMJHL announced that they have extended their holiday break through to January 14th with the season set to restart no earlier than January 17th.  With most teams not permitted to have any fans plus an increase in positive COVID tests, the move doesn’t come as much of a surprise.  With several games in the OHL and WHL being postponed as well plus more restrictions on attendance in recent days, it wouldn’t be surprising to see those major junior leagues hit the pause button on their seasons as well.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • The Sharks are hoping to have winger Rudolfs Balcers back in the lineup on Sunday against Pittsburgh, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The 24-year-old has missed the last three weeks due to a lower-body injury after getting off to a decent start with 10 points in 24 games (a career high in points per game) while also averaging nearly 16 minutes a game, a mark that would also be a career best if maintained.
  • While it was a disappointing day for players at the World Juniors following their cancellation yesterday, there was a silver lining for Finnish defenseman Topi Niemela. Karpat of the SM-liiga announced that the Maple Leafs prospect has signed a one-year extension through the end of next season, meaning his arrival in North America will have to wait.  The 2020 third-rounder (64th overall) leads all Liiga blueliners in scoring with 24 points in 31 games this season.
  • The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they have activated winger Matthew Highmore off long-term injured reserve. The 25-year-old had missed the last 23 games due to an upper-body injury.  Highmore had two assists in eight games before being injured and is in his first full season with Vancouver after they acquired him back at the trade deadline in April.

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