Central Notes: Wood, Heinola, Anderson-Dolan, Lipkin
Even after recalling T.J. Tynan from AHL Colorado earlier today, the Avalanche won’t have a full complement of healthy forwards for tonight’s game against the Lightning. That’s because winger Miles Wood has been ruled out with the undisclosed injury he’s been playing through for the past few days, head coach Jared Bednar said on Altitude Sports Radio this morning (via Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet).
With Wood out but not headed for injured reserve, the Avalanche don’t have a roster spot for another recall. They’ll dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen tonight, but not in the traditional sense. Instead of rotating in on different defense pairs, Oliver Kylington will pinch-hit as a winger in his first appearance since Oct. 16. He’ll skate on the fourth line with Matthew Stienburg and Chris Wagner while Tynan makes his season debut as a third-line left wing with Parker Kelly and Joel Kiviranta, Daily Faceoff projects. Meanwhile, rookie Nikolai Kovalenko slides up to play top-line duties alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen in relief of the injured Ross Colton, who himself had been playing top-six minutes in place of the injured Jonathan Drouin.
Wood’s injury means Colorado will be without a remarkable six regular forwards for tonight’s matchup, joining Colton, Drouin, Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen, and Valeri Nichushkin as unavailable impact pieces for the Avs. With that kind of poor injury luck and a nightmare start to the season for starting goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, it’s remarkable Colorado has been able to tread water with a 5-5-0 record. The 29-year-old Wood had one goal, a -2 rating, 19 shots, and eight hits in 10 appearances to start the season for the Avs.
More from the Central Division:
- The Jets relayed good news on a pair of injured skaters today. Head coach Scott Arniel told Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press that defenseman Ville Heinola has returned to skating on his own the past few days at home while the team is on a road trip, as has forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan. Heinola, 23, hasn’t played since the beginning of training camp due to an infection in his ankle that he had surgically repaired last season. The 2019 first-round pick was expected to build on his 11 points in 35 career NHL games this season after the Jets lost a few pieces on the blue line but has remained on IR. Anderson-Dolan, meanwhile, has been out since the beginning of the month after blocking a shot in a preseason game against the Flames. The 25-year-old had four points in 31 games last season, split between the Kings and Predators.
- Utah left-wing prospect Sam Lipkin suited up for AHL Tucson last night, indicating he’s been quietly activated off season-opening injured reserve and assigned to the minors. Lipkin, 21, had missed the first few weeks of the campaign with an undisclosed injury. The 2021 seventh-round pick of the Coyotes turned pro after a standout pair of collegiate seasons with Quinnipiac, where he had 78 points in 78 games and won a national championship in 2023.
Coyotes Sign Sam Lipkin To Entry-Level Deal
The Arizona Coyotes have signed 2021 seventh-round pick Sam Lipkin to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will begin in the 2024-25 season, carrying a $925K cap-hit and $277.5K in signing bonuses, per CapFriendly (Link). Lipkin is expected to sign an amateur try-out agreement with the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners for the remaining season, per PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan (Twitter link).
Lipkin has caught fire since being drafted with the second-to-last pick in 2021, serving as an integral member of Quinnipiac University’s championship run in 2023, scoring the overtime goal that would take Quinnipiac to the championship and assisting on the title-clinching goal from Jacob Quillan. Lipkin brings a hefty energy every single shift, showing no fear in diving into the gritty areas of the ice, and often emerging with the puck. He’s a hard-nosed player not scared of taking risks – an attribute that ultimately earned him 78 points across 78 collegiate games. Lipkin entered college on the back of a phenomenal season in the USHL, where he managed 36 goals and 71 points while serving as the captain of the Chicago Steel.
Lipkin joins teammates Quillan and Collin Graf in signing their first pro deals – with Quillan joining the Toronto Maple Leafs and Graf moving to the San Jose Sharks. This trio represents one of the school’s best scorers, sharpest playmakers, and grittiest forecheckers – marking a major blow to the team’s 2024-25 roster. Legendary coach Rand Pecknold will look to mend those holes with Boston Bruins draft pick Christopher Pelosi leading a group of 15 commits headed to Quinnipiac next season.
Snapshots: Coyotes, Lipkin, Jiricek
The Coyotes have a lot of work to do contract-wise on their back end for next season as none of their regulars are under contract for 2024-25. However, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (video link) that the team does not have the green light to start working on contracts for next season at this time. As has been well documented, their arena situation is once again in some question for a few more months at least, pending a possible land purchase which would be late in the spring. It was also reported after the trade deadline that GM Bill Armstrong wasn’t able to retain salary, limiting the returns they received on Jason Zucker and Matt Dumba. At this point, it’s far from a must to begin extension discussions at this point in the season but if those internal restrictions continue into the offseason, it could be something to keep an eye on.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Still with the Coyotes, prospect Sam Lipkin is expected to decide between turning pro or returning for his junior year within the next 24 hours, reports PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan (Twitter link). The 21-year-old was the second-last pick in the 2021 draft, going 223rd overall but has outperformed his draft stock, scoring 78 points in 78 games over his first two seasons with Quinnipiac, yielding a contract offer from Arizona. Quinnipiac’s leading scorer (Collin Graf) is expected to sign soon while their second-leading scorer (Jacob Quillan) signed with Toronto earlier this week; those signings could significantly impact Lipkin’s decision.
- The Blue Jackets intend to keep defenseman David Jiricek up for the remainder of the regular season, relays team reporter Jeff Svoboda (Twitter link). Columbus recalled the 20-year-old yesterday, the latest of a busy series of transactions as it’s his fifth recall of the season. Jiricek has played in 36 games with the Jackets this season, notching a goal and eight assists while averaging a little under 15 minutes a night. He has been more productive in the minors, however, collecting seven goals and ten helpers with the Monsters. Notably, he’s four NHL appearances away from accruing a season toward UFA eligibility. Accordingly, while Columbus might keep him up for the last couple of weeks, it wouldn’t be surprising to see his game action limited as a result.
College Signing Notes: Farinacci, Lipkin, Johnson
Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports Arizona Coyotes draft pick John Farinacci is unlikely to sign with the team that drafted him. Farinacci is a 22-year-old forward who just finished his senior season with Harvard, scoring five goals and 20 points in 19 games. The Coyotes selected the 6-foot and 185 pound center in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He has since played three seasons at Harvard, with one year being wiped out due to Covid restrictions, and he scored 61 points in 79 career college games. With his NCAA career over, Farinacci is eligible to become an NHL free agent on August 15 if he is not signed by the Coyotes and it sounds like he will choose that route.
- On the other hand, Morgan also reports that the Coyotes are interested in getting a deal done with Sam Lipkin. Lipkin was a seventh-round draft pick of the Coyotes in the 2021 NHL Draft. The 20-year-old forward just finished his first college season, helping Quinnipiac win a national championship by scoring 14 goals and 43 points in 39 games. Lipkin, a skilled 6-foot-3 and 192 pound center has proven to be worthy of more than a seventh-round pick and would be a big addition to the Coyotes prospect pool if they can get a deal done.
- Another possible college signing to keep an eye on is Ryan Johnson. Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports that the Buffalo Sabres and Johnson had a zoom meeting and though things went well during the meeting, nothing official was put in place. Johnson has been a great two-way defender for Minnesota for the past four seasons, putting up four goals and 18 points in 40 games this season while playing a shutdown style and penalty killing role for a defensively sound squad. Johnson was the Sabres first-round pick in 2019 and would be another terrific young player on the Sabres squad if they are able to get a deal done. If not, Johnson has the option to become a free agent in August.