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Snapshots: Barkov, Puljujärvi, Poulin

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Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has missed much of the past few weeks with an illness, and now we have clarity on why his absence was so long. Florida Hockey Now’s George Richards relays a Finnish report that Barkov was dealing with a bout of pneumonia, causing him to be away from the team.

Thankfully, Barkov is now healthy. He’s returned to skating with the team and is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow against Detroit, says Richards. In the seven games Barkov missed, the Panthers went 2-3-2. The return of their captain can’t come soon enough, as the team currently sits outside a playoff spot after winning the President’s Trophy last year. Richards also notes the team is optimistic that Anton Lundell can return from an injury tomorrow after missing the last two games.

  • After scoring just one goal in 26 games this season, offensive struggles are beginning to weigh on Edmonton Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi. Puljujärvi told a Finnish news agency today (translated) that “of course, I’d like to be a productive top-line player, but right now, it looks like I can’t do that in NHL. Maybe some other league.” The Finn had a career year last season with 36 points in 65 games and even received some Selke votes, but his play on both sides of the puck has dipped this year. Hopefully, the Oilers can help Puljujärvi figure out a way to regain his confidence.
  • Team Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin has deservedly won the 2022 Northern Star award, given to Canada’s top athlete of the year. Poulin led Canada’s top women’s hockey contingent to both Olympic gold and World Championships gold, scoring a combined 27 points in 14 games. She’s the first hockey player to win the award in seven years.

Los Angeles Kings Loan Brandt Clarke To Team Canada

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Finally, Brandt Clarke is getting his chance to play for Team Canada at the World Juniors. After not being named to the roster for the 2022 World Juniors, the Los Angeles Kings have now loaned the 19-year-old to Canada for 2023.

Clarke has not played for the Kings in over a month and was recently recalled from an AHL conditioning stint that allowed him five games in the minors. He’s been a healthy scratch since.

Those scratches haven’t necessarily been because of his play. Clarke is sitting at NHL games on the season – one more would cause his entry-level contract to go into effect. If he doesn’t play another game for LA, his contract will slide to next season.

Head coach Todd McLellan spoke on the team’s decision-making progress with where to assign Clarke moving forward:

Sometimes players get rushed and we don’t want to do that with Clarkie. There’s the hockey part, and then there’s all of the strength and professional habits, practice habits, travel habits and teammate habits that are really important and you don’t always get that at the junior level when you play 38 minutes a night and you stay on the power play for two straight minutes. I’m not saying that’s happening with Clarkie, they’re a very well-run team [in Barrie], but that can happen in certain situations. Right now, we think that this is a real good spot for him and we’ll see where it goes.

The eighth overall pick in 2021, Clarke has a goal and three assists in 14 games split between NHL Los Angeles and AHL Ontario this season. Despite notching over a point-per-game on a subpar Barrie Colts team in the OHL last season, Canada did not name him to their 2022 World Juniors roster.

It didn’t harm them – they won gold anyways. But with several players aging out of the tournament, Canada’s defense seemed weaker than last year’s when their selection camp roster was announced Monday. Clarke’s addition undoubtedly brings this team to an entirely different level and solidifies their status as favorites to win back-to-back gold medals for the first time since they won five straight from 2005 to 2009.

Hockey Canada Reveals 2023 WJC Selection Camp Roster

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With the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships beginning in three weeks to the day, teams are beginning to prepare for the second version of the tournament in just five months due to COVID. Organizations are already starting to release their first edition of rosters for the tournament, with USA Hockey doing so earlier today. Hockey Canada joined them minutes ago, releasing their list of 29 players invited to their World Junior Championship Selection Camp.

The organization will need to make six cuts before the tournament, but their camp selections are as follows:

F Caedan Bankier – Kamloops, WHL (MIN 86th overall, 2021)
F Owen Beck – Mississauga, OHL (MTL 33rd overall, 2022)
F Connor Bedard – Regina, WHL (2023 draft-eligible)
F Zachary Bolduc – Québec, QMJHL (STL 17th overall, 2021)
F Colton Dach – Kelowna, WHL (CHI 62nd overall, 2021)
F Zach Dean – Gatineau, QMJHL (VGK 30th overall, 2021)
F Jordan Dumais – Halifax, QMJHL (CBJ 96th overall, 2022)
F Adam Fantilli – Michigan, NCAA (2023 draft-eligible)
F Nathan Gaucher – Québec, QMJHL (ANA 22nd overall, 2022)
F Ryan Greene – Boston University, NCAA (CHI 57th overall, 2022)
F Riley Kidney – Acadie-Bathurst, QMJHL (MTL 63rd overall, 2021)
F Zack Ostapchuk – Vancouver, WHL (OTT 39th overall, 2021)
F Brennan Othmann – Peterborough, OHL (NYR 16th overall, 2021)
F Joshua Roy – Sherbrooke, QMJHL (MTL 150th overall, 2021)
F Reid Schaefer – Seattle, WHL (EDM 32nd overall, 2022)
F Logan Stankoven – Kamloops, WHL (DAL 47th overall, 2021)

D Nolan Allan – Seattle, WHL (CHI 32nd overall, 2021)
D Ethan Del Mastro – Mississauga, OHL (CHI 105th overall, 2021)
D Tyson Hinds – Sherbrooke, QMJHL (ANA 76th overall, 2021)
D Kevin Korchinski – Seattle, WHL (CHI 7th overall, 2022)
D Carson Lambos – Winnipeg, WHL (MIN 26th overall, 2021)
D Jack Matier – Ottawa, OHL (NSH 124th overall, 2021)
D Evan Nause – Québec, QMJHL (FLA 56th overall, 2021)
D Ethan Samson – Prince George, WHL (PHI 174th overall, 2021)
D Olen Zellweger – Everett, WHL (ANA 34th overall, 2021)

G Tyler Brennan – Prince George, WHL (NJD 102nd overall, 2022)
G Benjamin Gaudreau – Sarnia, OHL (SJS 81st overall, 2021)
G Thomas Milic – Seattle, WHL (undrafted)
G William Rousseau – Québec, QMJHL (undrafted)

While Shane Wright is noticeably absent from this roster, all it means is that the Kraken have yet to loan him to Team Canada. Wright is eligible to play in the tournament as long as he is loaned to Canada by December 25.

Team Canada Wins Gold At 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championships

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Team Canada has completed their run at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championships, culminating today in a 2-1 win against the United States to take home the gold medal for the second straight season.

For the national Canadian women’s team, it’s a sweep of the three major international events — they won gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and at the U18 Women’s Worlds in June, also against the United States.

This year’s edition of the Women’s World Championships also saw Czechia take home the bronze, marking the first time that they’ve medalled at the tournament. It’s the first time there’s been a new medalist at the Women’s Worlds in over a decade, a hallmark of the constantly increasing parity in the game.

Canada was led in scoring by youngster Sarah Fillier, who tallied five goals and six assists for 11 points in seven games. Team captain and international legend Marie-Philip Poulin finished second in team scoring with ten points. Overall in the tournament, American Taylor Heise led the pack with seven goals, 11 assists, and 18 points in seven games.

The Women’s Worlds was the last major event of the 2022 IIHF season.

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.

Ethan Del Mastro Replaces Daemon Hunt On Team Canada’s World Juniors Roster

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According to NHL.com’s Mike Morreale, Team Canada defenseman Daemon Hunt will not be able to join the team for the World Junior Championship due to injury, and has instead been replaced by fellow defenseman Ethan Del Mastro (link). The move comes just three days before Canada is set to kick off its 2022 World Juniors run, matching up against Latvia Wednesday evening. Both players are left-shot defensemen, so the impact on the rest of the lineup should be minimal at most, and though Hunt was Canada’s first choice among the two, Del Mastro represents high-quality talent that should help the country chase Gold once again.

By losing Hunt, Canada will be without a very talented two-way defenseman who even comes with a bit of pro experience as well. Hunt has played parts of five seasons as a member of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, his best season coming in 2021-22 where he had 17 goals and 22 assists in 46 games en route to a playoff berth and fourth-place finish in the league’s Eastern Conference. A third-round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2020, the defenseman made his professional debut during the 2020-21 season, getting into six games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild, scoring a goal. Missing the tournament is an especially tough break for Hunt, now age 20 and in what would have been his final year of eligibility for the tournament with a chance to represent his country in his home province of Alberta.

In Del Mastro, Hunt’s replacement, Canada will be bringing in a large, physical defenseman with some bite and playmaking ability, albeit with less experience. A fourth-round pick in 2021 by the Chicago Blackhawks, Del Mastro debuted for the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads in 2019-20, recording seven assists in 57 games. With the OHL cancelling the 2020-21 season amid COVID-19 concerns and restrictions, Del Mastro himself missed the entire season, but came back better than ever this year, scoring seven goals to go with 41 assists, a plus-34 rating and 91 penalty minutes in 68 games. Though losing Hunt is far from ideal, Del Mastro’s addition to the roster gives Canada another quality two-way defenseman, this one with a bit more size added to his game.

The tournament begins this Tuesday, August 9th at 2:00 pm ET, as Czechia plays Slovakia (link for full schedule). The United States will see its first game action Tuesday night at 10:00 pm ET, with Canada and Latvia hitting the ice Wednesday at 6:00 pm ET. The Bronze and Gold medal games will take place on Saturday, August 20th.

Snapshots: Hlinka Gretzky, Kolesar, Kadri

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The Hlinka Gretzky Cup concluded tonight with Team Canada defeating Team Sweden 4-1 to take first place and the gold medal. As impressive as a gold medal is, saying just that wouldn’t begin to tell the entire story for Canada’s 2022 Hlinka Gretzky run. For one, the team was undefeated throughout the tournament, and in the process they outscored opponents by a jaw-dropping 34-3 score. In addition to the dominant performance, the Canadians were able to show their dominance on home ice, as the tournament was hosted in Red Deer, Alberta.

Denver Barkey of the London Knights was named the most outstanding player of the gold medal game, while Oshawa Generals forward Calum Ritchie led the tournament in scoring. In net, Canada’s Scott Ratzlaff had the best performance ever by a Canadian goalie in the tournament with three or more games played, as far as goals-against average and save-percentage are concerned, says Brock Otten of McKeens Hockey (link). Otten adds that while most of the top Canadian prospects in the 2005 class held their standard, Ethan Gauthier, Colby Barlow, and Caden Price were able to elevate their game, and thus their standing as prospects (link).

  • SinBin Vegas’s Ken Boehlke discusses Keegan Kolesar’s new three-year, $1.5MM AAV contract he signed recently to avoid arbitration with the Vegas Golden Knights (link). In sum, Boehlke classifies the contract as a win-win for both sides, Vegas getting a cost-controlled fourth-liner and Kolesar getting $4.5MM guaranteed despite not scoring much at the NHL level. What is notable Boehlke says, is that Kolesar’s lack of scoring (just seven goals in 77 games last season) could correlate to his below-average 7.4% shooting percentage and if he can at the least improve his shooting percentage to league average, he could increase his goal total, making him worth a good bit more than the $1.5MM cap hit he currently holds. Even if not, Kolesar has proven himself to be a reliable grinder for the Golden Knights’ bottom-six and at $1.5MM still represents a good value deal for the normally cap-strapped organization.
  • According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, it appears free agent forward Nazem Kadri’s asking price has not come down and the requested AAV still begins with at least a “9” (link). If that is indeed the case, it may provide a hint as to why Kadri remains unsigned, with many teams having spent up to or relatively close to the salary cap. Several teams have the room to sign Kadri, but if he is also looking to go to a team that has a real chance at a Stanley Cup, his options may be slim. Soon-to-be 32, if Kadri is able to regularly repeat his breakout 87 point performance from this season, a $9MM AAV contract would be worth it for the two-way star, but otherwise it could wind up a salary cap issue, even if he’s still a solid performer.

West Notes: Kaprizov, Keith, Jets Prospects

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Concerns continue to rise about the availability of Russian players to NHL teams next season. One player who’s come into focus today due to a variety of conflicting reports is Kirill Kaprizov, who Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin confirmed today is still in Russia despite rumors stating he had returned to the United States. In response to reports this morning that Kaprizov is currently wanted in Russia for buying a false military ID card five years ago, Guerin said the following:

We’re not going to push the panic button or anything like that. We’re just trying to gather information right now and find out if this is even credible.

Kaprizov is one of the multiple players whose situations are in limbo, exacerbated by the fact their KHL rights are held by CSKA Moscow, a Russian army-owned team. Russo notes that in the past, CSKA players have been exempt from military service, but this is an informal and non-codified rule. In addition, Kaprizov’s exemption from mandatory military service via a studentship in a Russian organization expired at the end of June. Very little is confirmed about the situation, but it’s a significant development that bears watching over the course of the offseason as it pertains to Kaprizov’s availability to the Wild next season.

  • The Edmonton Oilers will get some clarity soon on the playing future of defenseman Duncan Keith, who could potentially decide to retire with one season remaining on his contract carrying a $5.54MM cap hit. General manager Ken Holland noted that he’d spoken to Keith twice in the past few weeks and that he’s requested an answer by this Saturday. That gives the Oilers a brief window of time ahead of free agency to work out replacement plans for Keith if he retires. The 38-year-old defenseman would not inflict a cap penalty on the Oilers if he opts to call it a career.
  • Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff gave injury updates today on a pair of important Jets prospects. Cole Perfetti, who suffered an upper-body injury in mid-February, has just started skating again and is not cleared to participate in the 2022 World Junior Championship for Team Canada. Additionally, 2021 first-rounder Chaz Lucius, who underwent ankle surgery after suffering a late-season injury with the University of Minnesota, won’t participate for the United States.

Finland Wins 2022 IIHF World Championship

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After an exciting Gold Medal game that saw Finland and Canada battle into overtime, Team Finland was able to pull away with the win and the Gold Medal on home ice at this year’s IIHF World Championship. Forward Sakari Manninen scored the golden goal winner on the powerplay in the first overtime period. Finland’s victory was not without drama, however, as several officiating decisions were called into question, chief among them was an apparent phantom high-sticking penalty on Team Canada’s Cole Sillinger in the third period. After the call on Sillinger, Finland was put on a 5-on-3 powerplay, where they would score twice, taking a 3-1 lead. Canada would come back however, tying the game at three and forcing overtime.

Goaltender Jussi Olkinuora of Finalnd was named the tournament’s MVP following the game. The entire Tournament All Star Team, as selected by the media, includes: Olkinuora (G, FIN), Seth Jones (D, USA), Mikko Lehtonen (D, FIN), Pierre-Luc Dubois (F, CAN), Roman Cervenka (F, CZE), and Manninen (F, FIN).

Also medaling was team Czechia, who took Bronze, defeating the United States handedly earlier today 8-4, highlighted by a David Pastrnak hat trick. Leading the way for Czechia, and the entire tournament, was Cervenka, who’s 17 points lead the entire tournament.

Several high-profile prospects in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft also represented their countries in the tournament, most notably Austria’s Marco Kasper, Czechia’s David Jiricek, and a haul of prospect talent from Slovakia, including Simon Nemec, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Adam Sykora. Perhaps the most standout among them was Slafkovsky, a projected top pick in the draft, who continued his Olympic dominance into the IIHF tournament, where he posted nine points over eight games, an impressive mark for an 18-year-old playing amongst men, many of whom are NHL veterans.

Another milestone was notched with Finland securing Gold, as Valtteri Filppula became the first Finnish player to join the triple-Gold club, including a Stanley Cup, an Olympic Gold Medal, and an IIHF World Championship Gold Medal.

Morning Notes: Team Canada, Crosby, Bokk

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The Canadian contingent for the IIHF World Championship has named their leadership group, with Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot given the captaincy. The team will go with a group of alternates including Josh Anderson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Adam Lowry, and Damon Severson for the event, likely rotating each game.

The tournament, which starts tomorrow, is a nice way for Chabot to get some more on-ice reps after missing a huge chunk of this season, though with the amount he plays it has already been a long year. In 59 games this season, the Senators’ defenseman scored 38 points and averaged more than 26 minutes a night for the third season in a row.

  • There’s no update yet on Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, as head coach Mike Sullivan only confirmed that his captain is dealing with an upper-body injury and will be evaluated further on their return home. Crosby took a hit from Jacob Trouba in last night’s game that kept him out, and obviously has a long history with head injuries. The Penguins stayed in New York after last night’s loss and will fly to Pittsburgh today to prepare for tomorrow’s game six.
  • After spending half of this season playing back home in Germany, Dominik Bokk is coming back to North America. His club team announced today that Bokk will re-join the Carolina Hurricanes organization for the 2022-23 season, a previously agreed upon decision. After playing 32 games in the AHL this year, Bokk was loaned to Eisbaren Berlin in the DEL for the stretch run, where he scored 11 points in 14 games and another three in 12 playoff contests. The first-round pick originally selected by St. Louis in 2018 has one year left on his entry-level deal.

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