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Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: McCarron, Chabot, Matthews, Nylander

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Continuing on with Pro Hockey Rumors 2016-17 rookie profiles, we remain in the Atlantic Division. Included among today’s batch of first-year players is the most recent #1 overall draft choice, Auston Matthews. You can find the previous editions here, here and here.

Michael McCarron (Montreal) – A quick look at Montreal’s depth chart shows the Canadiens could surely use some size up front and McCarron is someone who boasts that trait in spades. At 6-foot-6 and 231 pounds. McCarron would easily be the largest forward on the ice for Montreal by a wide margin. But size isn’t the only quality he brings to the table; McCarron can also add some offense.

In his first taste of professional hockey, McCarron recorded 17 goals and 38 points for the St. John’s IceCaps in the AHL. That’s solid production for a first-year pro who played most of the season at 20-years-old.

McCarron would also get his first taste of the NHL playing 20 games with the Canadiens and scoring his first career big league goal. He also had a -10 plus-minus rating and although plus-minus ratings aren’t necessarily a good indicator of two-way prowess, it does suggest McCarron could use more polishing in the AHL. However, if he does get his chance in Montreal thi year, McCarron should at least add physicality and skill to the team’s bottom-six.

Thomas Chabot (Ottawa) – The Ottawa Senators used their first-round pick in 2015 on skilled, two-way defenseman Thomas Chabot and there is a decent chance he debuts this season in Canada’s capital. Scouting reports credit Chabot for being quick-thinking and an excellent skater; both traits that will fit well into today’s style of play in the NHL. But if Chabot wants to make an impact in the NHL he’ll have to ramp up the intensity.

Ottawa assistant GM Randy Lee felt Chabot’s performance at the team’s summer development camp was not up to par and evidently communicated that to the top prospect, as written about by Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun.

“I thought Thomas should have been a bit more intense, I thought Thomas should have dominated. I think Thomas should look at the landscape and see we’ve got six signed defencemen (to NHL contracts) … Thomas and I have talked about it.”

Clearly the Ottawa organization has high expectations for Chabot and will give him every chance to make the team this season. The Senators do have six NHL-caliber blue liners under contract, all of whom with significant professional experience. Erik Karlsson, Cody Ceci, Marc Mathot and Dion Phaneuf should hold down spots in the club’s top-four with Mark Borowiecki and Chris Wideman forming the third pair. Of the group, Wideman has the least amount of NHL experience with just 64 games played. However he does have nearly three seasons of AHL experience under his belt as well. Chabot will have his work cut out for him if he wants to suit up for the Senators this season.

Auston Matthews (Toronto) – Matthews, the first overall choice in the June’s entry draft, will be an early favorite for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. He is considered a future face-of-the-franchise player and while maybe not quite on the same level with Connor McDavid, last year’s top pick, in terms of being a “generational” talent, Matthews is still an exciting prospect.

Matthews already demonstrates excellent two-way ability and at 6-foot-2, 216 pounds has the requisite size to handle the rigors of a long NHL season. Additionally, his experience playing professionally against full-grown men in Switzerland should help facilitate his transition to the NHL. The Leafs have lacked a truly elite center since Mats Sundin left the club following the 2007-2008 campaign but all signs point to Matthews quickly filling that void.

William Nylander (Toronto) – The Maple Leafs have done an excellent job of adding high-end young talent to the organization in recent years and Nylander is part of the wave of top prospects preparing to lead Toronto to the top of the standings. Nylander reached the NHL last season and held his own in 22 games scoring six goals and 13 points while averaging 16:20 of ice time per contest.

Nylander also excelled playing for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL, tallying 18 goals and 45 points in 45 regular season games. In the postseason he added seven goals in 14 contests for the Marlies. It’s expected he’ll have a spot to lose in the Leafs’ top-four to open the season and has the skill to be one of the club’s top offensive producers.

Hockey apparently runs in the Nylander family blood as William’s father Michael carved out a solid NHL career playing for seven NHL clubs over a 15-year career. Alexander Nylander, William’s brother, was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the 2016 entry draft.

 

Arizona Adds Three Players On AHL Deals

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Amid all the news about the Arizona Coyotes and their acquisition of Dave Bolland, Lawson Crouse and skating coach Dawn Braid, comes another announcement that the organization has signed three more players to minor-league deals with the AHL. Hunter Fejes, Mark Cooper and Austin Lotz have all agreed to two-way AHL deals.

Fejes, the most well-known out of the bunch, was drafted by the Coyotes in the sixth round in 2012 before heading to Colorado College for four seasons. He began his professional career last year when he got into 10 games for the Springfield Falcons (the former affiliate of Arizona, now known as the Tucson Roadrunners) down the stretch. The former high school stand out took a while to get his feet under him in college, but put up 22 points in 36 games in his senior year. Now 22-years old, he’ll have to work extremely hard if he’s to ever crack an NHL roster.

Cooper, 24, is coming off a more successful college career that saw him put up 91 points across four years at Bowling Green. Undrafted out of Scarborough, Ontario the big winger will add some leadership and a two-way presence for the Roadrunners this season.

The last signee was goaltender Austin Lotz out of the WHL. Lotz played four seasons for the Everett Silvertips before joining the Medicine Hat Tigers as an over-ager last year. Overall, he’s put up a 75-63-17 record with a 2.96 GAA and .902 save percentage in the Western Hockey League, and will fight for starts in the AHL or ECHL this season.

Blues Notes: Steen, Pietrangelo, Sobotka

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In Jeremy Rutherford’s latest post for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he walks us through a few notes from Blues camp.

  • Alex Steen seems to be progressing admirably from the shoulder surgery he underwent in June. Originally given a four to six month timeline, Steen now is on track to be ready for the start of the season just four months and nine days after the operation. Steen himself was even pushing hard in his rehab to try and make it to the World Cup in September, though it is not going to happen; Steen was replaced by Rickard Rakell last week.
  • After announcing Alex Pietrangelo as their newest captain yesterday, owner Tom Stillman heaped praise onto his young defenseman: “Alex is one of the elite players in the game, and he’s a model citizen. He takes responsibility, he leads by example, he’s not afraid to speak up, he’s just an exemplary person.” The captaincy was vacant after the Blues saw David Backes hit free agency and sign with Boston this summer.
  • In the long and winding saga of Vladimir Sobotka, nothing seems to have changed from either side, though they are at odds on what will happen after the World Cup.  Doug Armstrong reiterates that he’s been told Sobotka will stay in North America following the tournament, while Victor Shalaev, general manger of Omsk Avangard told a Russian news outlet “Sobotka will join us as soon as he’s healthy. Forget about St. Louises and other nonsense.”  Armstrong says that he is healthy, and that he’ll be ready to join Blues camp as soon as the World Cup is completed.
  • T.J. Galiardi and Mike Weber have already received PTOs from the Blues this year, and Armstrong thinks they may give at least one more out now that Jay Bouwmeester is heading to the World Cup. He’s leaving that in the hands of three of his lieutenants though; Martin Brodeur, Kevin McDonald and Rob DiMaio are in charge of contacting players for try-outs, and since two players earned contracts from them last year, Armstrong thinks they are an attractive spot.

Chayka Speaks About Lawson Crouse, Dawn Braid

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Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka joined Jeff Blair on Sportsnet 590 yesterday to talk about his coaching hires and the big trade from yesterday. The 27-year old hired three coaches including the NHL’s first full-time female coach, and dealt two draft picks for Dave Bolland and Lawson Crouse.

On why he decided to make the deal:

It’s about Lawson Crouse. It’s about a guy who we think is a rare asset. Usually when you acquire a power forward like this you’re giving up something in terms of speed or skill. We think that not only is he speedy and skilled, he’s going to enhance that for our group as well.

Usually these guys (power forwards) when they’re at the caliber Lawson is, they’re hard to find. Usually they don’t become available until they’re in their thirties. At that point you’re paying a premium for a guy who is not on the right side of his career, and we didn’t want to do that.

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Las Vegas Adds Scott Luce To Front Office

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Late last night the Las Vegas expansion franchise announced that they had hired another former director of player personnel to their front office, this time in the form of Scott Luce. The former Florida Panther director will now serve in the role of director of amateur scouting for the Vegas franchise, a role which he should excel at.

Luce has spent time as a scout for the Panthers, Lightning and Senators over his hockey career, one that has spanned more than three decades.  A goalie in his playing days, Luce made it all the way to the AHL with the Rochester Americans in 1990-91 before calling it a career a year later.

He was fired from the Panthers early this summer when the team decided it needed a shake-up in their front office, despite coming off the most successful season in their history.  The team shuffled the chairs and Luce was left without a seat when the music stopped, even though he’d been a huge part of the turnaround in Florida.

Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck, Erik Gudbranson, Nick Bjugstad, Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau are just a few of the names that Luce had been instrumental in drafting over the past few years, building a young core almost unrivaled among other NHL teams. While no scout has a perfect record, Luce seems to be a well respected judge of talent and will be another strong signing by GM George McPhee and the group in Las Vegas. If the team is to succeed they’ll need strong drafts in their first few years, giving young players for the city to latch onto.

World Cup Notes: Enroth, Holtby, RFAs

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With news hitting the wire that Swedish goaltender Robin Lehner is still recovering from foot surgery and is unable to participate in the upcoming World Cup, newly signed Toronto Maple Leafs backup Jhonas Enroth has been added to the team. He’s not expected to play much, as the team has Henrik Lundqvist and Jacob Markstrom as the primary goaltending tandem.

Lehner played extremely well in his first season with the Buffalo Sabres, despite the relatively low talent iced in front of him. The team will be looking to him to take the reins has the number one goaltender this year with Chad Johnson having moved on.  Anders Nilsson, another Swedish born goaltender will be his primary backup this season after coming over from the Blues earlier this summer.

  • Staying with goalie notes, Team Canada has one of the best trios in the tournament, with Braden Holtby, Carey Price and Corey Crawford suiting up for the squad.  Despite winning the Vesina trophy for the league’s best goaltender last season Holtby thinks the starting job should go to Price: “All of us want to play, but if Carey’s healthy, there’s no reason to not go with him. He has all the experience internationally and the smart choice obviously would be that.”  Indeed, Price has represented Canada multiple times over his career, winning an U-18 silver, World Junior gold, and an Olympic gold medal in 2014.
  • Multiple players will be heading into this World Cup without a contract in hand for 2016-17, and have had to purchase extra insurance on themselves to guard against a potential injury. Two such players, Johnny Gaudreau and Jacob Trouba are suiting up for the North American team and should play big parts in the tournament. Gaudreau has been quoted as saying he will not negotiate while the tournament is ongoing, meaning that if it’s not within the next few days, the team will have a very short window to iron out a deal before the season begins.

Coyotes Add Three To Coaching Staff

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Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka, via a release on the team’s website, today announced the team has hired Mike Van Ryn, Steve Potvin and Dawn Braid to the club’s coaching staff.

Van Ryn, a former NHL defenseman who skated with Florida, St. Louis and Toronto during an eight-year career, will become the team’s player development coach. According to the team’s post, he will assist Steve Sullivan, the club’s director of player development, “in amateur player development as well as in working with coaches and players in Tucson (AHL) during the season.” Van Ryn was most recently the head coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers.

Potvin joins the team as the skills coach. His responsibilities, again via the team’s website, will include, “player assessment and individual skill improvement.” Potvin enjoyed a lengthy playing career which included 10 seasons appearing in top European professional leagues and 158 AHL games.

Ordinarily a team fleshing out its coaching ranks wouldn’t be of particular note but the addition of Braid makes her the league’s only full-time female assistant coach. Braid is set to become the Coyotes skating coach after filling the same role on a part-time basis in 2015. Prior to that she has served as a skating consultant with the Toronto, Anaheim, Calgary and Buffalo organizations.

Snapshots: Fehr, NHLPA, Vegas, Lucic, Pietrangelo

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The head of the NHLPA, Donald Fehr, recently sat down with the Canadian media to discuss the upcoming World Cup of Hockey while also touching on other subjects of note. An edited and condensed version of the interview was posted by Jonas Siegel on The Globe And Mail. As usual, the entire piece is worth a read but here are some of the highlights.

When asked whether or not the union was on board with the timing of the tournament, Fehr said, “it’s not that pre-season is the best time, but it probably is, at the moment, better than the others.”

He would go on to state: “There has been some informal discussions, for purposes of this World Cup that never rose to the level of serious consideration, that maybe we ought to do it in February. And it’s conceivable that that would be considered going forward.”

There is no perfect time to hold an event like this. Any way you look at it, a tournament held at any point in the year is going to prolong the season and shorten the summer for the players. While teams would probably prefer their players not to participate due in large part to the risk of injury, both owners and union members have a vested interest in successfully pulling off events of this nature since the added revenue will be divided by the players and the league.

Fehr also addressed the idea of European expansion from the players’ perspective. He indicated at least a few players have taken note of the KHL’s presence on the continent and the fact that so many players are European born. While making it clear these conversations were of the internal variety and did not involve the NHL in any way, Fehr did seem to suggest the players would be open to the idea and it was something that would merit further study.

Finally, on the subject of the potential of another lockout, Fehr pointed out that baseball has been the only sport to experience prolonged labor peace over the last two decades. He also mentions, probably not coincidentally, that baseball is the only major sports league without a salary cap.

In terms of possibly avoiding another work stoppage following the 2018-19 campaign when both parties will have the option of opting out of the current CBA, Fehr referenced just how far off that point in time is relative to the average player’s career by saying: “our membership will turn over more than 50 per cent between now and then.”

More from around the NHL:

  • The Las Vegas expansion franchise today announced yet another addition to their front office/operations staff. The club has hired Mike Levine for a scouting/player development position. Levine spent the last three years as an assistant coach at Brown University. According to the release on the Vegas Is Hockey website, Levine comes with a solid reputation as a recruiter both at the collegiate and prep levels.
  • Not surprisingly, Milan Lucic said as many as 10 teams expressed serious interest in signing the big winger before he inked a seven-year contract with Edmonton, according to Chris Nichols writing for Today’s Slap Shot. Lucic was one of the top players available on July 1st and was guaranteed to generate a lot of interest on the free agent market. It’s not certain how many of Lucic’s suitors were willing to extend themselves as far as the Oilers did, either financially or with a seven-year term, but his status as a coveted free agent was never in doubt. He would ultimately choose Edmonton, saying, “I went with my heart and my loyalty to Peter and chose the Edmonton Oilers.”
  • Sportsnet’s John Shannon tweeted earlier today that the St. Louis Blues will announce Alex Pietrangelo as the team’s new captain tomorrow. He will replace David Backes, who left St. Louis in free agency after accepting a five-year deal with the Boston Bruins. The choice of Pietrangelo makes a lot of sense given he is one of the team’s best players, has been with the organization his entire pro career and is under long-term contract ensuring he will be a Blue for the foreseeable future.

Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: Carlo, Fasching, Mantha, Matheson

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Pro Hockey Rumors continues our series profiling this year’s crop of rookies, now moving on to the Atlantic Division and four more first-year players who could make a splash this season. You can see the first posts covering the Metro Division here and here.

Brandon Carlo (Boston) – Even though Boston has an aging roster and failed to qualify for the postseason in either of the last two seasons, the Bruins surprisingly might not be integrating any rookie talent to the roster to start the 2016-17 campaign. The team does have some quality young talent coming down the pipeline but most of those prospects are probably a year away and Boston wouldn’t appear to have much room on their roster for a first-year player. But if one of the kids does give the Bruins a reason to carry a rookie this year it may well be defenseman Brandon Carlo.

Carlo was chosen by Boston in the second-round of the 2015 entry draft with the 37th overall selection on the heels of a 25-point campaign with TriCity of the WHL. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 203 pounds, Carlo certainly has NHL size. He currently projects as a smooth skating, defense-first blue liner with enough tools to project as an above-average offensive contributor if he develops further.

The incomparable Zdeno Chara still anchors the Bruins defense corps but is 39-years-old and has seen his best years are in the rear-view mirror. Torey Krug is probably the club’s #2 defenseman – if not #1 – and Adam McQuaid is solid enough. But outside of those three players, the Bruins currently have Kevan Miller, John-Michael Liles and Colin Miller in the top-six on their depth chart. Assuming Carlo shows well at training camp, he could easily force his way onto the roster ahead of any one of the latter three names.

Boston’s assistant general manager, Scott Bradley, spoke highly of Carlo earlier this summer when discussing some of the club’s prospects including; Carlo, Jakub Zboril and Jeremy Lauzon.

“Obviously [you had to like] what Carlo did when he was brought in [to Providence] at the end. It just bodes well for what we have coming this year. Zboril and Lauzon are probably going back to junior, but Carlo is going to get a long look.”

Bradley’s comments certainly suggest Carlo has a leg up on his fellow top defense prospects coming into camp.

Hudson Fasching (Buffalo) – Last season, Buffalo broke camp with two supremely talented rookies, Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, in their opening night lineup. The duo would combine to score 47 goals and 98 points in 160 games for the Sabres. Hudson Fasching is unlikely to have that same type of impact in Buffalo this season but should earn a regular role and has the potential to provide some offense from the team’s bottom-six.

Fasching made his Buffalo debut last season, appearing in seven contests and netting his first career NHL goal. He signed his ELC with Buffalo after wrapping up his junior season at the University of Minnesota, where he scored 20 goals in 37 games for the Golden Gophers. Fasching also saw action in 10 games during the 2016 IIHF World Championship and tallied two assists playing for Team USA.

At 6-foot-2 and 216 pounds, Fasching has the size necessary to excel in a power forward role. Whether or not he can score enough to eventually fill a top-six scoring role with the Sabres is the question. But with talented players like Eichel, Reinhart, Ryan O’Reilly and Kyle Okposo around him, Fasching could produce points if he can develop chemistry with some combination of the aforementioned skaters.

Anthony Mantha (Detroit) – The development of Mantha could be key to Detroit’s ability to keep its 25-season playoff appearance streak in tact. Like Boston, Detroit’s core is aging with half of the 18 skaters expected to see regular ice time either turning or already at least 30-years-old during the 2016-17 season. Mantha has the skill and talent to join Dylan Larkin as future foundation pieces for Detroit.

Mantha got his first taste of NHL action last season, racking up two goals and three points in 10 games while averaging 11:42 of ice time per contest. He has also accumulated extensive pro experience playing for Detroit’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids. In 122 games with the Griffins, Mantha recorded 36 goals and 88 points. His experience playing for Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill, both with Detroit and Grand Rapids, should benefit the big winger as he attempts to make the roster for the 2016-17 campaign.

The 6-foot-5, 214 pound Mantha is said to be an excellent skater with a terrific shot and release. Detroit is known for being patient with their prospects and allowing them to develop at a slow pace in the minor leagues. It’s possible Mantha will start the year in Grand Rapids but could position himself as one of the first players promoted in the event of an injury on the big club. If he does get his shot at some point with the Wings, Mantha could surprise some people.

Michael Matheson (Florida) – The Panthers boast a solid defense corps with plenty of options to flesh out the six man group. Keith Yandle, Aaron Ekblad, Alex Petrovic and Jason Demers comprise a skilled group of top-four blue liners while currently Mark Pysyk and Jakub Kindl are listed as the third pair on the team’s depth chart. Additionally, the team can also call on veteran Steven Kampfer to provide further depth.

There doesn’t seem to be room for a rookie to earn a spot but injuries are an unfortunate reality in hockey and Michael Matheson would likely be the first player Florida goes to if one of their regulars goes down. Matheson got into three games with the Panthers last year, going scoreless and averaging 17:32 of ice time. He’s also appeared in 59 AHL games over the last two seasons and recorded eight goals and 22 points during that time.

The former Boston College Eagle was the Panthers first-round pick, 23rd overall, in the 2012 draft. He’s known as an excellent skater and puck-handler with offensive instincts. With the NHL evolving into a speed and transition gme, Matheson would seem well-suited to one day play a regular role in the league. If things fall just right, that day could come as soon as this season.

Hudler Agrees To Deal With Stars

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It appears Jiri Hudler’s long wait is finally over as the 11-year veteran winger has reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the Dallas Stars. Sonny Sachdeva of Today’s Slap Shot – the hockey division of Fan Rag Sports – initially broke the news via Twitter after receiving the word directly from Hudler’s agent, former NHL defenseman Petr Svoboda. Sachdeva later tweeted that Hudler would receive $2MM for the 2016-17 season.

Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News has confirmed the agreement and the terms, indicating only that the contract has yet to be officially signed.

Hudler was one of the top remaining unrestricted free agents on the market ranking 18th on Pro Hockey Rumors’ Top-50 List. He netted 10 goals and 25 assists in 53 games with Calgary in 2015-16 before being dealt to Florida for two draft choices at the trade deadline. He would then contribute six goals and 11 points in 19 regular season contests with the Panthers but would struggle in the postseason, recording a single assist in Florida’s six-game first-round playoff loss to the Islanders.

His 2015-16 campaign was a step down from his performance the previous year when Hudler tied for eighth in scoring with a career best 76 points. He made $4MM in the final year of the four-year deal he inked with Calgary and will see his salary cut in half with his new contract.

The Stars may seem an odd fit for Hudler on the surface as they already boast one of the league’s best offenses and after losing three regular defensemen – Kris Russell, Alex Goligoski and Jason Demers – to free agency, it would have made more sense if any late summer addition was made on the blue line. But clearly Stars management is comfortable allowing a few of their young players to compete for regular roles on defense. Plus the opportunity to add a skilled winger of Hudler’s caliber on the cheap had to be appealing.

Dallas has Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza slotted as their numbers one and two centers with Hudler likely to line up next to one of the talented pivots. He’s also a good bet to see plenty of power play time for the Stars and could be set up for a nice bounce-back season playing with all of the talent in Dallas. A good campaign with the Stars would put Hudler in a better position to hit the free agent market next summer in search of a multiyear deal.

Our friends at Roster Resource have already updated the Stars depth chart based on the reports of the signing.

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