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Players

World Cup Notes: Enroth, Holtby, RFAs

August 26, 2016 at 9:23 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

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.

Buffalo Sabres| Injury| Players| St. Louis Blues| Team Canada| Toronto Maple Leafs Anders Nilsson| Carey Price| Chad Johnson| Corey Crawford| Jacob Trouba| Jhonas Enroth| Johnny Gaudreau| World Cup

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Coyotes Add Three To Coaching Staff

August 24, 2016 at 3:36 pm CDT | by Glen Miller Leave a Comment

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.

AHL| Coaches| John Chayka| New York Rangers| OHL| Players| Utah Mammoth

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Snapshots: Fehr, NHLPA, Vegas, Lucic, Pietrangelo

August 24, 2016 at 2:16 pm CDT | by Glen Miller Leave a Comment

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.

Boston Bruins| CBA| Edmonton Oilers| Expansion| Free Agency| Injury| KHL| Players| Snapshots| St. Louis Blues| Vegas Golden Knights Alex Pietrangelo| David Backes| Milan Lucic| World Cup

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

August 24, 2016 at 12:43 pm CDT | by Glen Miller Leave a Comment

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.

AHL| Boston Bruins| Buffalo Sabres| Detroit Red Wings| Florida Panthers| Injury| Players| Uncategorized Aaron Ekblad| Anthony Mantha| Colin Miller| Dylan Larkin| Jack Eichel| Jason Demers| John-Michael Liles| Keith Yandle| Kyle Okposo

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Hudler Agrees To Deal With Stars

August 24, 2016 at 9:58 am CDT | by Glen Miller Leave a Comment

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.

Dallas Stars| Florida Panthers| Free Agency| New York Islanders| Newsstand| Players| RFA Alex Goligoski| Jason Demers| Jason Spezza| Jiri Hudler| Kris Russell

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Quotable: Hall, McDavid, Karlsson

August 23, 2016 at 4:40 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Various NHL players are in Toronto for the BioSteel Camp going on from August 22nd-25th, including Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin and Connor McDavid. TSN caught up with a variety of players talking about different topics.

Hall on joining New Jersey:

I’m excited for a new opportunity, a new start, a new group of guys and a new city.  I enjoyed my time in Edmonton, but I’m trying just to look forward at the situation in New Jersey. It’s going to be a lot different, I’m looking forward to maybe having a little more anonymity.

On the possibility of playing with former junior teammate Adam Henrique:

I get asked that all the time, and you know lines switch all the time in a season. There are going to be a few guys I play with most of the time. Adam is certainly a great player and we had a lot of success in junior so that’d be a lot of fun to play with him. In that top-six in Jersey there are a lot of guys that have skill and look like they’d be great linemates to play with.

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McDavid on the trade that brought in Adam Larsson:

Losing Taylor is a big loss, but you add in a guy who is one of the toughest guy in the league if not the toughest in the league. Adding a guy like Larsson is pretty underrated. You would only know how good he is once you actually play against him on the ice. I’ve played against him a few times; it’s not very fun.

McDavid on the possibility of being named captain of the Oilers:

It would mean so much. That’s the biggest honor I think. It would definitely be an accomplishment I’d be the most proud of, but with that said it’s still to be determined and I don’t want to talk that much about it.

TSN also spoke to Erik Karlsson at the World Cup training camp where he talked about the upcoming season:

I think you know with all the changes we’ve done, and the way we’ve been trending last year there are going to be some changes (to play style). We’re going to try and develop our game and play like the team we know we are.

On his training this summer:

I think I’ve done what I needed to do to play another 82 games and then some, and do it at the highest possible level I can. I think I set myself up really good and you know I feel like I’m really prepared going into this season and facing any challenge that may be thrown against us.

On his improving defensive game:

I think I can do a little bit more to get the puck out earlier, you know spend less time there. At the same time, I think I can skate better and block shots…I want to be a little bit better in everything I do that I was last year.

Edmonton Oilers| Players Adam Larsson| Connor McDavid| Erik Karlsson| World Cup

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Latest On Maple Leafs Roster Crunch

August 23, 2016 at 2:40 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail joined TSN 1050 today to speak about a few Toronto Maple Leafs topics including Mark Hunter’s new title and Mitch Marner’s shot with the team. He also was asked about the “log-jam” at the forward position going into this year.

I think there is going to be a trade coming. You remember last year there was that deal where they gave up five prospect type players to the Islanders for Michael Grabner right during training camp. That could be the kind of deal the Leafs need to make, where they just get rid of contracts.

There are so many forwards there that will need waivers to go down to the minors – you can debate whether they’ll be claimed or not – but there is definitely going to be a real battle there…not all those guys are going to be able to make the team.

After the Maple Leafs signed Brandon Prust yesterday to a PTO, they’ll now have at least 23 forwards in camp with NHL experience and a legitimate claim for a roster spot. While obviously many of these players could head back to the AHL (or in Marner’s case, the OHL), perhaps the Maple Leafs would want to move a few of the older bodies out in order to make room for their younger players.

Tyler Bozak, Joffrey Lupul and Milan Michalek all carry fairly substantial cap-hits, but also provide experience and some level of offensive ability. There are also names like Peter Holland, Colin Greening and Byron Froese who all have shown the ability to contribute in the bottom-six at the NHL level and carry much smaller salaries. If a deal is made – and even if one isn’t – expect Marner to stay with the club all season, after some strong words of confidence from his head coach recently.

AHL| New York Islanders| OHL| Players| Toronto Maple Leafs| Waivers Peter Holland

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NHL-Olympic Future Still Undecided, Decision To Come This Winter

August 23, 2016 at 12:21 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

In a new article in the Globe and Mail by Jonas Siegel of the Canadian Press, he reports that the league is still weighing their options with respect to the 2018 Olympics and whether or not they will include NHL players. While the league has been a part of every games since 1998, with the upcoming launch of the World Cup and a debate over who should pay the fees associated with travel, insurance and accommodation, the league is unsure of its stance on heading to Pyeongchang.

Shutting down the league for weeks at a time has never been a positive thing for commissioner Gary Bettman:

It’s not good to shut down, the question is whether or not it’s worth it to go to the Olympics. You need to satisfy yourself that it’s worth it.

The players want to suit up for their country, but also have their careers and health to worry about.  NHLPA president Donald Fehr spoke to the Canadian Press and said as much:

Hockey is unique in terms of the Olympics because essentially, what is being asked, is shut down for close to three weeks, shut down your revenue, change your marketing approach, run the risk that the athletes are going to be injured and that’ll affect the fortunes of their teams and … and in addition, pay a lot of money. So we’ll have to see.

It seems as though neither the NHL or NHLPA is focused on the 2018 Olympics as of right now, with both putting all their effort into the upcoming World Cup in Toronto. If the tournament is a success perhaps the need to go to the Olympics is lessened even further, with the league instead putting on their own international competition.  According to Bill Daly, NHL deputy commissioner, the sides are expected to come to a final decision in December or January.

Players World Cup

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Atlantic Division Snapshots: Radulov, Holland, Larkin, Kempfer

August 22, 2016 at 5:00 pm CDT | by Glen Miller 1 Comment

One of the summer’s more interesting free agent signings, winger Alexander Radulov, met for the first time with the Montreal media and Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette transcribed the event. It’s worth a read in full but here are some of the highlights.

  • Radulov talked about how “things change,” as you grow older, implying he feels is a more mature player than the one who left Nashville. Of course Radulov, along with then teammate Andrei Kostitsyn, is notoriously remembered for missing curfew the night before a playoff game in Nashville’s second round series against the Coyotes in 2012. After the Predators were eliminated, Radulov left the NHL to return to the KHL.
  • He addressed where he might fit into the Canadiens lineup and gave an answer typical of a player by deferring to his coaches.
  • Even though Radulov had other options, Florida and Detroit were both rumored to be interested in the skilled winger, his experience as a junior player in Quebec led to him choosing to sign with Montreal.

“We played and we won the Memorial Cup. It was a lot of fun and I saw those fans when they were the happiest people in the world. What can be better than when you make people, fans happy, and that’s the best time.”

Radulov has the skill to be one of the elite offensive wingers in the game and ordinarily securing a player of his ability to a one-year deal worth $5MM would be considered an absolute steal. But given his baggage, no team wanted to go beyond a one year commitment in case it doesn’t work out. Montreal made a similar addition in the summer of 2015 when they signed Alexander Semin to a cheap contract, one which didn’t work out. It’s possible the Radulov signing won’t work out either but it’s a good gamble to take for Montreal given their need for more offensive firepower.

More from the Atlantic Division…..

  • Ansar Khan of MLive opened up his mailbag and answered an array of reader questions. Of particular note was the sense of frustration fans are feeling about longtime GM Ken Holland. Not only is Detroit not considered serious Stanley Cup contenders at this point, there is also the impression that some of Holland’s recent re-signings for veteran Red Wing players will serve to hamstring the club’s salary cap situation in future seasons. Again, there’s plenty of insight in the post so feel free to give it a read in its entirety.
  • Writing for the Sun Sentinel, Harvey Fialkov discusses the upcoming battle veteran defenseman Steve Kampfer faces to make the Florida roster despite coming off a career-best season with the Panthers. Kampfer appeared in 47 games in 2015-16 and told Fialkov that if not for a late-season injury he would have been in the lineup during the playoffs. Florida made several notable additions to their blue line this summer, bringing in Keith Yandle, Jason Demers and Mark Pysyk to add skill and puck-handling ability to the defense corps. Joining the new trio is young superstar Aaron Ekblad. Jakub Kindl and Alex Petrovic round out the top six on the team’s depth chart. Kampfer is going to face an uphill battle to earn playing time but it’s a battle the veteran depth defender is fairly accustomed to.

Coaches| Florida Panthers| Injury| KHL| Montreal Canadiens| Nashville Predators| Players| Snapshots| Utah Mammoth Aaron Ekblad| Alexander Radulov| Jason Demers| Keith Yandle

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Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: Zacha, Barzal, Pulock, Provorov

August 22, 2016 at 4:00 pm CDT | by Glen Miller 1 Comment

Last week Pro Hockey Rumors began profiling first year players who have both a solid chance of making their respective teams and of also impacting their club’s on-ice fortunes this season. We started with four Metro rookies and today we finish up with four more from the same division.

Pavel Zacha (New Jersey) – Zacha, a skilled 6-foot-3, 210-pound pivot, was the Devils first-round choice in the 2015 entry draft, selected sixth overall from the Sarnia Sting of the OHL. In his draft year, Zacha tallied 34 points in 37 games for the Sting and followed that solid performance with a stronger 2015-16 campaign, scoring 28 goals and 64 points in just 51 contests. His terrific play led to the Devils electing to suit him up for the team’s season finale where Zacha recorded two assists in nearly 17 minutes of ice time.

Zacha also appeared for the Devils AHL affiliate in Albany, netting three points (one goal, two assists) in three regular season games and another three points in five postseason contests. Ultimately, Zacha would find himself sidelined due to a hip pointer which knocked him out of the postseason and also prevented him from participating in the team’s summer development camp.

Even after acquiring LW Taylor Hall this summer, the Devils could certainly use additional offensive firepower up front and Zacha’s potential could earn him a spot in training camp. He’s already listed as the the third LW on the team’s depth chart over at Roster Resource, suggesting there isn’t a lot of experienced NHL talent he’ll have to beat out for a spot. Given his level of skill and the opportunity he should be presented with in New Jersey, there’s a reasonable chance Zacha could quickly become one of the Devils top offensive performers.

Matthew Barzal (New York Islanders) – It’s not often a player selected in the middle of the first round make their NHL debuts little more than a year after the draft. But the Islanders need for a scoring line pivot following the loss of Frans Nielsen to Detroit in free agency and Barzal’s skill could lead to a scenario where the 19-year-old center makes the club out of camp.

Barzal made a great impression in camp last year  and was one of the team’s final roster cuts. He returned to his junior team, the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, and got off to a blazing start with seven goals and 40 points in just 22 games. He finished with 88 points in 58 contests with Seattle.

The Islanders made what looks to be in hindsight a brilliant trade to acquire the draft choice used to select Barzal by sending defense prospect Griffin Reinhart to Edmonton for #16 overall along with a 2015 second-round pick. Reinhart had trouble cracking the Oilers lineup despite the dearth of competent defensemen in Edmonton. Meanwhile, Barzal is one of the game’s top prospects and could flourish with the Islanders as soon as this season.

Ryan Pulock (New York Islanders) – Drafted 15th overall by the Islanders in the 2013 entry draft, Pulock is a strong defenseman already with NHL size and a good, hard shot. He made his NHL debut in 2015-16 scoring two goals and 4 points in 15 regular season games. Pulock would also appear in six postseason contests tallying another three points.

Pulock also has extensive pro experience playing for the Islanders AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. In 108 games with the Sound Tigers, Pulock has netted an impressive 24 goals and 30 assists.

The Islanders do boast a solid contingent of top-four blue liners with Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuck, Calvin de Haan and Travis Hamonic expected to see the lion’s share of defensive work. But there would appear to be an opening on the third pair opposite Thomas Hickey and Pulock should be a near lock to earn that spot. It’s possible playing a sheltered role while receiving some second unit power play time, where his big shot would be quite useful, that Pulock could prove to be a valuable asset on the club’s blue line.

Ivan Provorov (Philadelphia) – In an ideal world the Flyers would likely prefer Provorov to return to Brandon of the WHL for more seasoning. Philadelphia GM Ron Hextall wants young players to be ready for the rigors of the NHL and they simply need to be better than what the team already has on the roster. However, the Flyers currently list both Andrew MacDonald and Mark Streit among their top six defenders leaving open the possibility that a great camp could propel Provorov to a spot with the Flyers.

MacDonald was demoted to the minors to start the 2015-16 campaign despite the minimal cap savings the move created. He was only recalled in February when injuries to several regulars crippled the Flyers blue line depth. Assuming his standing in the eyes of the organization is much the same as it was a year ago, MacDonald shouldn’t prove to be much of an impediment toward Provorov’s chances of sticking with the Flyers.

Streit has had a wonderful career in the NHL but turns 39 in December and is in the final year of his contract with Philadelphia. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if at some point this season the club moved on from Streit to open up a spot on the blue line for a younger player like Provorov.

The Flyers do boast a lot of prospect depth among their defense corps and it’s possible the team would rather give one of Samuel Morin, Mark Alt, Travis Sanheim or Robert Hagg – all of whom already have professional experience – the first crack to make the team out of camp. However, Provorov has the most upside of the team’s defensive prospects and could force his way into the lineup with a solid preseason performance. While he likely wouldn’t have the same impact as last year’s breakout rookie, Shayne Gostisbehere, Provorov has plenty of talent himself and could provide a boost to the team’s blue line.

 

AHL| Edmonton Oilers| Free Agency| New Jersey Devils| New York Islanders| OHL| Philadelphia Flyers| Players Frans Nielsen| Frans Nielsen| Mark Alt| Mark Streit

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