New York Islanders Activate Hamonic, Terminate Emergency Conditions On Ho-Sang
Apparently Josh Ho-Sang did enough to stay with the big club last night, as the team has kept him around even after activating Travis Hamonic from injured reserve. Originally on emergency recall, the Islanders have terminated those conditions and placed him on a regular recall. That means Ho-Sang could last the rest of the season with the Islanders, and why not?
The ridiculously skilled winger played 17 minutes last night alongside Andrew Ladd and Brock Nelson, and didn’t look out of place at the NHL level. After dominating the AHL in his first taste of professional hockey—36 points in 48 games is a good start at any level for a 20-year old—he’ll get a chance to help the Islanders down the stretch and possibly into a playoff spot. The team, desperate for wingers all season has to be excited about the prospect of pairing Ho-Sang’s playmaking ability with John Tavares down the line, even if that will have to wait until next season.
Drafted 28th overall partly because of a belief he was a problem off the ice, the Islanders seem very happy with their newest player. They’ll need all the help they can get tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks, as the team continues a brutal nine game road trip that will see them fly all over the continent. They’re 3-1 on it so far after beating the Dallas Stars last night, but with games against Chicago, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and St. Louis left to go, it will likely decide their playoff fate.
Minor Transactions: 1/12/17
Here is where we’ll keep tabs on today’s comings and goings with the minor leagues:
- The Islanders announced (Twitter link) that they have recalled defenseman Scott Mayfield from AHL Bridgeport. He will take the place of Travis Hamonic on the active roster, who has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 7th. Mayfield has played in three games with the Isles this season, picking up a goal and two assists. He has spent the bulk of the season in the minors where he has three tallies and three helpers in 23 contests.
- Nashville announced the recall of defenseman Alexandre Carrier from Milwaukee of the AHL. Carrier, a fourth round pick of the Predators back in 2015, has had a strong rookie season in the minor leagues, recording 22 points (4-18-22) in 35 games, earning himself a spot in the AHL All-Star Game.
- With their bye week set to come to an end, the Coyotes announced that they have recalled center Laurent Dauphin and winger Brendan Perlini from their AHL affiliate in Tucson. Dauphin has spent the bulk of the season with Arizona, recording three points in 21 games while producing at a point-per-game clip in 11 minor league contests. As for Perlini, he has suited up in 15 NHL games, scoring four goals and an assist while adding 19 points (14-5-19) in 17 games with the Roadrunners.
- After just three games with AHL Hartford, the Rangers have recalled (Twitter link) winger Pavel Buchnevich. The Russian rookie made an early impact this season, recording four goals and four assists in ten games before back spasms took him out of the lineup for nearly two months. New York had sent Buchnevich down to get back into game shape and evidently they’re pleased with how performed; he had a goal and an assist in his three minor league contests.
- Pittsburgh has assigned defenseman Chad Ruhwedel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). He did not get into any action with the Penguins after being recalled on January 6th. Ruhwedel has suited up in five NHL games this season, recording a goal and and an assist.
- The Ducks announced that they have assigned center Chris Wagner to AHL San Diego. The 25 year old has three goals in 25 games with Anaheim this season and cleared waivers back in mid-November. Recently, the team had experimented with playing him on the wing; that type of versatility may come in handy as he pushes to be the next player recalled from the Gulls.
Islanders Notes: Defensive Struggles, Beauvillier, Goaltending
The New York Islanders find themselves near the top of the league in shots allowed at 32.6 per game; only Arizona (35.5) allows more. As Newsday’s Arthur Staple notes in a reader mailbag, their struggles in that area appear to stem from a systems change designed to compensate for some struggles in their transition game.
The Isles are coached to allow a bit more possession in their back end but strive to allow more shots from the outside as a trade-off. Unfortunately, they’ve struggled when it comes to retrieving the puck and as a result, they’ve taken a beating in the overall possession game which is one of the reasons for their slow start to the season.
One defense pairing in particular who hasn’t thrived under the changes is their expected top duo of Nick Leddy and Travis Hamonic. Both players have struggled considerably in their own end but Staple points out that the coaches are pleased with the other pairs which is why they haven’t been split up yet; they worry about doing more harm than good if they change things up.
Given that the Metropolitan Division has quickly become the hottest in hockey and that they find themselves at the bottom, they may soon have to take the risk of changing things up on the back end in the hopes that doing so can take some of the pressure off their goaltending.
More news from the Islanders:
- While some have speculated that rookie forward Anthony Beauvillier could potentially be loaned for the upcoming World Juniors, that won’t be the case, reports TSN’s Bob McKenzie (Twitter links). The 19 year old has seven points in 20 games this season but has been a healthy scratch more often as of late, suiting up just twice this month. Beauvillier is expected to sit tonight against Chicago, adds Brian Erni of IslandersPointBlank.
- The goaltending situation continues to be a strange one, as Erni along with Andy Graziano debate in a separate column. Jaroslav Halak has a below average goals against average and save percentage while Thomas Greiss is much better in both categories. However, Halak has seen the bulk of the action so far. Part of that is likely due to the fact he has been on the trade block for a while now but with the team quickly falling out of the playoff hunt, it would be understandable if they opted to go with the hotter hand. Further complicating things is Jean-Francois Berube, the third string netminder who has played all of six minutes this year. Graziano notes that if he doesn’t reach 30 appearances this year (highly unlikely at this point), Berube becomes eligible for unrestricted free agency so if they want to keep his RFA rights, they need to play him a lot more as well.
Snapshots: Islanders, Bickell, Hamilton
Travis Hamonic is a tough player to play against, and it turns out he’s also a tough player to keep out of the lineup.
Eight days ago, the Islanders announced Hamonic would miss between 4-6 weeks with an upper body injury. Despite that prognosis, Hamonic will dress on Monday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s a total of three games missed.
Islanders coach Jack Capuano told Arthur Staple and other reporters that the team would dress seven defensemen tonight, scratching forwards Alan Quine and Shane Prince.
Hamonic isn’t the only Islanders defenseman battling injury. Dennis Seidenberg was placed on Injured Reserve with an upper body injury, which Staple believes is a broken jaw. It’s a tough break for Seidenberg, who has been a success in Brooklyn after being bought out by the Bruins. Seidenberg has a nice statline, with 4 goals and 4 assists and a +10 rating in 15 games.
- Carolina Hurricanes winger Bryan Bickell spoke to Chris Hine from the Chicago Tribune about his recent diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, telling Hine that he’s “just uncertain.” He says doctors were able to catch the disease “early in its progression” and he hopes to be able to return later this season. Bickell would not be the first NHLer to play with MS: Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding was diagnosed early in the 2012-13 season but went on to play for parts of two more seasons. Hine quoted Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews as hoping Bickell can “find ways to stay strong.”
- Calgary Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton has already experienced his fair share of trade rumors during his time with the Boston Bruins. He was ultimately traded to Calgary for a first round pick and a pair of second round picks at the 2015 NHL Draft. Hamilton had a career-year in his first season with the Flames, but has just six points in 16 games this season, with half of those coming in just one game; he’s pointless and -10 in his last seven games. The Flames have not been good this year, with just five wins in 16 games. Two nights ago on Hockey Night In Canada, Sportsnet analyst Nick Kypreos reported that several teams have called Flames GM Brad Treliving to see about the big right-handed defenseman’s availability. Kypreos said he doesn’t “suggest for one second that Calgary is shopping this guy, but there are some teams inquiring.” He suggested Arizona and Pittsburgh have made calls about Hamilton. The Coyotes would love to have a big right-handed defenseman to compliment Oliver Ekman-Larsson, while the Penguins would just like to improve their defense. Hamilton told Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun that he saw Kypreos’ report, but that trade rumors are “part of the game” and the latest round is “just a distraction, if anything.”