Minor Transactions: 03/06/20
The hockey world is in mourning today after Henri Richard‘s death, but the league unfortunately must march on even while grieving. As always, we’ll keep track of the minor moves right here.
- The Ottawa Senators have recalled Christian Wolanin from the minor leagues, sending Christian Jaros back to take his place. The swap gives them a different option for their trip to the west coast, which starts tomorrow with a game against the San Jose Sharks.
- The New Jersey Devils have sent both Jesper Boqvist and Josh Jacobs back to the AHL. Boqvist, 21, has played 35 games this season but has just four goals and zero assists. He’ll need to find his game again in the minors if he ever wants to be an impact player for the Devils.
- Jonas Johansson has been assigned to the Rochester Americans once again, leaving the Buffalo Sabres after two weeks. The big goaltender now has six games under his belt at the NHL level, with many more likely coming in the future.
- The Anaheim Ducks have returned goaltender Anthony Stolarz to AHL San Diego. He was recalled earlier this week to serve as the backup while Ryan Miller dealt with the flu but now that he has returned, Stolarz can return to his role as the starter for the Gulls. Anaheim has also returned defenseman Simon Benoit to San Diego, per the AHL’s Transactions Page. He was recalled for the second time this season on Wednesday but has yet to see NHL action.
- With Cody Ceci being activated off IR, the Maple Leafs have loaned defenseman Timothy Liljegren to the AHL’s Marlies. The 20-year-old got into 11 NHL games with Toronto, recording an assist while logging just over 10 minutes a night in ice time.
Timothy Liljegren Ruled Out Of The World Juniors
Maple Leafs prospect defenseman Timothy Liljegren has been ruled out of participating in the World Juniors, the team announced (Twitter link). He suffered a high ankle sprain at the beginning of the month with Toronto’s AHL affiliate and is currently classified as being out week-to-week.
Liljegren, Toronto’s first-round pick (17th overall) back in 2017, is in his second season with the Marlies and was off to a strong start before suffering the injury. He currently has eight points (2-6-8) in 19 games after collecting 17 (1-16-17) in 44 contests last year. This would have been his second time in this tournament after playing a regular role last year.
This is a tough blow for a Sweden back end that’s projected to be their strength. However, they still have quite a few first rounders on their defense corps in Adam Boqvist (Blackhawks), Erik Brannstrom (Golden Knights), Rasmus Sandin (Maple Leafs), and Nils Lundkvist (Rangers) while projected 2019 first rounder Philip Broberg is also in the mix for a spot. Sweden still has to cut one more defender before they finalize their roster for the tournament which gets underway on Wednesday against Finland.
Toronto Loans Tim Liljegren To Sweden’s World Juniors Team
Toronto Marlies defenseman Tim Liljegren may have been hoping that his next move would be up to the Maple Leafs, but this announcement was a close second. Liljegren has been loaned to Team Sweden for the upcoming World Junior Championships, as expected.
Liljegren, 18, was drafted 17th overall by Toronto this past June and, as an overseas player, was able to jump right into AHL action this season. He has played well against older, stronger, more experienced competition, tallying nine points and a +6 rating in 17 games.
However, at the World Juniors, Liljegren will again be among players his own age with a chance to play a leadership role for Sweden. With potential 2018 #1 overall pick Rasmus Dahlin and fellow 2017 first-rounder Erik Brannstrom (VGK) also manning Sweden’s blue line, it should be a talented defensive group that Liljegren is set to lead.