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Tyler Kleven

Senators Sign Tyler Kleven To Two-Year Extension

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The Ottawa Senators have signed defenseman Tyler Kleven to a two-year, $3.2MM contract extension per Chris Johnston of The Athletic. Kleven was set to become a restricted free agent this summer. The team has made the deal official.

Kleven played through his rookie season in the NHL this year. He operated from Ottawa’s third pair and managed 10 points, 27 penalty minutes, and a minus-11 through 79 games. It was a quiet year across the board, but Kleven stepped it up when the games mattered most. He recorded two assists and eight blocked shots – good for third on the team in blocks – through six playoff games. He played physical and instinctive throughout Ottawa’s First Round matchup against the Maple Leafs, and even earned a career-high 23 minutes of ice time in the Senators’ overtime win in Game 4.

The late-season flash seemed to reaffirm Kleven’s upside. Just one year into his career, he’s clearly still learning to keep up with the pace of NHL forwards. But at his best, Kleven is an effective shutdown defender who uses his stick and body to separate opponents from the puck. He’s a strong option to return to Ottawa’s third pairing next year, and could find his way up the depth chart with a hardier season. This new contract will carry Kleven through his age-25 season, and gives him a chance to earn a deal that could carry him through the bulk of his career on the other side.

Senators’ Tyler Kleven Out Week-To-Week With Lower-Body Injury

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Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven will miss extended time with his lower-body injury, head coach Travis Green told reporters Monday (via Claire Hanna of TSN). He’s been labeled week-to-week and will not travel with the team on their two-game road swing through Washington and Chicago.

Kleven, 23, left last Wednesday’s game against the Jets after laying a hit on Winnipeg forward Mason Appleton and subsequently fighting Adam Lowry. He was held out of Saturday’s win over the Sharks as a result.

Drafted 44th overall in 2020, the North Dakota product is in his first season of full-time NHL minutes. He’s been as consistent of a bottom-pairing presence as it gets – last weekend marked Kleven’s first absence of the campaign. The 6’5″ lefty has just 2-2–4 through 58 appearances, though, and his possession metrics leave much to be desired. While described as a defensively-skewed talent, Kleven has seen more offensive zone deployment than defensive at even strength. Despite starting 52.8% of his shifts in the offensive end, the Sens have controlled just 46.8% of shot attempts and 41.7% of expected goals with him on the ice. Those numbers aren’t promising, especially considering Ottawa controls 51.8% of shot attempts without Kleven.

As expected, Kleven has been a factor physically, tying for third on the team with 76 blocks and tying for ninth with 70 hits. Those numbers are certainly a product of his lack of possession time, though, and his cumulative -8.9 expected rating is the worst on the Sens.

Ottawa’s win against San Jose stopped a five-game streak of regulation losses, plunging their playoff chances back below 50%, per MoneyPuck. They’ve gotten healthier up front, seeing core forwards Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto, and Joshua Norris all recently return from multi-game absences. Outside of Kleven’s injury and a knee injury to Nick Cousins that’s expected to keep him out through the trade deadline, they’re fully healthy. Adding a forward this week will be the priority for the Senators’ 24th-ranked offense. Still, Kleven’s injury will likely motivate them to target a depth defenseman if their limited salary cap flexibility allows as well.

Senators Assign Tyler Kleven To Minors

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The Senators announced they’ve assigned rookie defenseman Tyler Kleven to AHL Belleville. His spot in the lineup will go to Thomas Chabot, who, according to multiple reports, has been cleared to return from a lower-body injury ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Devils.

Kleven, a 2020 second-round pick, had filled in for Chabot since the latter was injured in a March 27 contest against the Sabres. He played a limited role in his four-game recall, going without a point, posting a -2 rating, and logging five shots on goal while averaging 14:41 per game. That was up drastically from the minimal 11:01 per game he averaged during a five-game run on the roster in October and November.

Those will likely be his only two stints on the NHL roster in 2023-24, closing out what’s otherwise been a strong campaign for the shutdown prospect. The 6’4″, 200-lb blue-liner has made 45 appearances for the B-Sens, recording 17 points and a +13 rating. He’s in his first full professional campaign after spending three seasons with the University of North Dakota, with whom he won the NCHC tournament and regular-season championship in 2021, along with a gold medal while representing the United States at the World Juniors.

Signed to an entry-level contract with a $917K cap hit, Kleven is still one year away from his initial deal running out and will be an RFA in 2025. The North Dakota native should be a candidate to land a role on their opening night roster in the fall.

Ottawa Senators Recall Tyler Kleven

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A few moments ago, the Ottawa Senators announced that the team has recalled defenseman Tyler Kleven from their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. Since the transaction is being registered as an emergency loan, it will not count against the four potential call-ups the Senators have available to them since the trade deadline.

Albeit positive news for Kleven to be back up at the NHL level, it was preluded by some unfortunate news, as top defenseman Thomas Chabot was injured last night in the team’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, necessitating the transaction. It is unclear how long Chabot will be out with this specific injury, but it has certainly been a theme this season for one of Ottawa’s best players.

Because of these injuries, Chabot has only played in a total of 44 out of a possible 71 games for the Senators this year, projected to be his lowest total since the 2020-21 NHL shortened season. When healthy, Chabot has still been heavily relied upon by Ottawa, scoring eight goals and 28 points while averaging 23:31 of ice time per game.

Kleven, on the other hand, is not as heavily utilized by the Senators, as he’s only suited up in five games at the NHL level this season. In those five contests, the former 44th overall pick has registered only one assist while averaging just over 11 minutes of ice time per game.

At the AHL level, Kleven has shown flashes of being a quality shutdown defenseman in professional hockey, scoring three goals and 17 points in 45 games for Belleville, while also registering a +13 rating. While still carrying six healthy defensemen on the NHL roster, it remains to be seen if Kleven will suit up in the team’s game tonight.

Senators Notes: Bernard-Docker, Kubalik, Belleville

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The Ottawa Senators had a quiet deadline – only moving winger Vladimir Tarasenko – but it wasn’t from lack of trying, with Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reporting that teams called about defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker but weren’t willing to pay Ottawa’s high asking price. What that asking price was isn’t clear, though there’s no doubt that Ottawa highly values their former first-round pick, despite his struggles at the top level. Garrioch added that Ottawa likely wasn’t eager to move the 23-year-old, happy to continue letting him grow now in a full-time NHL role. Bernard-Docker, the 26th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, is still searching for a groove in the league, with just four goals and 12 points in 53 games this season. It’s his first full season in the NHL, entering the season with just 32 career games across the last three years.

Other Senators trade notes:

  • Garrioch also reports that Ottawa continued to try and find a trade for winger Dominik Kubalik, who the team has been shopping around since December. Garrioch adds that Kubalik will likely be out the door when he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. The 28-year-old winger has 10 goals and 14 points in 58 games this season, netting double digit goals for the fifth-straight season, despite a down-year in overall production. Kubalik has managed 92 goals and 175 points across 341 career NHL games.
  • Tarasenko’s move opened up space on the Senators lineup that the team hopes to fill creatively. While they did claim bottom-six staple Boris Katchouk off of waivers, Senators general manager Steve Staios shared that the team could give top Belleville Senators prospects – including Tyler Kleven, Zack Ostapchuk, and Oskar Pettersson – a chance at the majors as well. He told Garrioch, “All of those players have progressed nicely. They’re worthy of an opportunity to play.” Ottawa currently sits second-to-last in the Eastern Conference, with just 25 wins on the season. With a quiet deadline not providing much change, they could be well-poised to try out their top young names.

Ottawa Senators Assign Three Players To AHL

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In order to keep both roster and salary cap flexibility over the next several days following their games in Sweden, the Ottawa Senators announced they have sent defensemen Tyler Kleven and Jacob Larsson, as well as forward Matthew Highmore to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.

The team did manage to salvage two wins during their overseas trip, defeating the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild, with Highmore being only one of the trio to make an appearance during the games. In just under six minutes of ice time against Detroit, Highmore did not find his name on the scoresheet in any capacity.

In his first season with the Senators organization, Highmore has primarily been playing in the AHL, suiting up in nine games for Belleville, scoring two goals and five assists. In very limited action at the NHL level, Highmore has tallied only one assist through three games played in Ottawa.

Kleven, on the other hand, has received the most playing time in the NHL amongst the three players, playing in five games for the Senators this season, and scoring one assist over that time. As a second-round draft choice by the Senators in the 2020 NHL Draft, Kleven was a teammate of fellow defenseman, Jake Sanderson, at the University of North Dakota prior to their time in professional hockey.

Lastly, of the three, Larsson is the most familiar with the AHL, playing in 201 games over the course of his career spent between the Senators and the Anaheim Ducks. Not much of an offensive weapon, Larsson has two assists for Belleville already this season through 10 games played.

Even with these three on the roster for the foreseeable future, it will be difficult for Belleville to climb out of a quick hole in the AHL’s North Division. Losers of their last three games, the Senators have a 6-7-0-1 record, in sit in second to last place in the division.

Ottawa Senators Recall Tyler Kleven, Nikolas Matinpalo

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The Ottawa Senators have announced that defensemen Tyler Kleven and Nikolas Matinpalo have been recalled from the club’s AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators.

These moves have been made in the aftermath of two significant injuries that have hit the Senators’ blueline. Yesterday, it was announced that Thomas Chabot would miss significant time with a fractured hand, while defenseman Erik Brännström also suffered an injury as well.

In a corresponding move to create the necessary cap space for these recalls, CapFriendly reports that Chabot has been placed on long-term injured reserve, creating $8MM in LTIR relief for Ottawa.

The result of this absence: the Senators have a massive number of minutes that need to be filled on their blueline.

Chabot is the club’s most highly-utilized defenseman, soaking up time at both even strength and on the power play. There’s no way what he offers the Senators can be truly replaced by any call-ups, although that’s not to say the Senators’ call-up options aren’t quality players in their own right.

Kleven, 21, is an expected call-up as he’s widely viewed as the top Senators defenseman in Belleville. The 21-year-old 2020 second-round pick got a small taste of life in the NHL at the end of last season, skating in eight games for the Senators after the conclusion of his three-year NCAA career at the University of North Dakota.

The six-foot-four, 200-pound stay-at-home blueliner excels in his own end and will be able to offer size, physicality, and shutdown ability to head coach D.J. Smith.

As for Matinpalo, he’s a player with a very different background and someone who has taken a very different path to receiving this call-up. Like Kleven, Matinpalo also offers above-average size (he’s six-foot-three, 207 pounds) as well as defensive responsibility.

But unlike Kleven, Matinpalo’s standing in the Senators organization isn’t backed by a valuable draft pick they invested in him.

The 25-year-old wasn’t a high draft pick like Kleven, instead he’s an undrafted player who only joined the organization this past summer, signing his one-year entry-level deal after establishing himself in his home country’s Finnish Liiga for three seasons with Ässät Pori.

As a result, this recall represents a massive opportunity for Matinpalo. With Chabot injured, the right side of the Senators’ defense is relatively wide open. Artem Zub is still dealing with an upper-body injury and did not travel with the Senators for their two-game road trip.

As a result, Matinpalo is positioned to make his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight, and he has just two healthy players ahead of him on the team’s right-shot depth chart: Travis Hamonic and Jacob Bernard-Docker.

With some strong play as well as some luck, Matinpalo stands a chance of playing a bigger role in the NHL than anyone could have anticipated, at least for one game, which would be a major opportunity for him to showcase his skills.

While these Senators’ injuries are hardly ideal, they do offer opportunities for two less-experienced Senators defensemen to get into NHL contests.

Ottawa’s competitive chances have undoubtedly been reduced by these injuries, but the silver lining of this situation is that the Senators now has the chance to evaluate the progress of two younger blueliners at the NHL level.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

USA Hockey Adds Tyler Kleven To World Championship Roster

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After a 2-0 start to the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championship, USA Hockey announced after today’s win against Hungary they’ve added Ottawa Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven to their tournament roster.

Kleven, who registered two assists in eight games down the stretch of the 2022-23 season with Ottawa, could suit up when the United States faces Germany in continued round-robin play tomorrow. The 21-year-old second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft signed his entry-level contract with Ottawa after the end of his junior season at the University of North Dakota.

While this will be Kleven’s first World Championship appearance, he’s no stranger to the United States national program. He played with the National Team Development Program for two seasons before joining North Dakota in 2020-21 and played for Team USA at the 2021 and 2022 IIHF Men’s World Junior Championship, recording one point in a combined seven games between tournaments.

Kleven brings an added layer of size and physicality to the American roster, becoming the third defender on the team who stands at least 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds (Nicklaus Perbix, Dylan Samberg). A defensive player first and foremost, Kleven will try and shut down some of the tougher opponents remaining on the Americans’ group schedule, namely Germany and Sweden.

Ottawa Senators Sign Tyler Kleven

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The Ottawa Senators have officially signed prospect Tyler Kleven, ending his college career after three seasons at the University of North Dakota. The contract will start this season, with Kleven joining the Senators tomorrow.

General manager Pierre Dorion released the following:

We’re very pleased that Tyler has recently made the decision to begin his pro career. He’s a big, rangy, hard-nosed defender who maintains a physical presence while on the ice and an ability to hammer the puck with his shot. We’ve been especially impressed with his overall development dating to his draft year.

Kleven, 21, will join former college teammates Shane Pinto and Jake Sanderson with the Senators as he tries to carve out a role as a defensive defenseman at the next level. The 44th overall pick from 2020 recorded just 35 points in his three years with the Fighting Hawks but added 214 penalty minutes in an uber-physical shutdown role.

Given Ottawa’s offensive talent on the blue line, a player like Kleven might be a perfect fit. Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun, and Erik Brannstrom can all move the puck effectively, meaning Kleven can be insulated as he gets used to the speed of the professional game.

Moving forward, there will be plenty of playing time up for grabs, as Travis Hamonic and Nick Holden are both set to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the year. While it’s no guarantee that Kleven will make the team out of camp for 2023-24, there is an obvious path to a roster spot available.

Starting his entry-level deal immediately means he is just over two years away from restricted free agency. Kleven’s contract will expire at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

Ottawa Senators Expected To Begin Contract Talks With Tyler Kleven

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The Ottawa Senators are gearing up to sign one of their top defensive prospects, reports Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun and TSN. Tyler Kleven’s college season has come to a close, and Garrioch notes that talks between the Senators and his agent, Craig Oster, “will likely begin soon.”

Kleven, 21, is a strong one-on-one defender and has decent zone exit skills, too. However, it’s his offensive game that showed signs of growth throughout three seasons at the University of North Dakota. After notching just two goals and 12 assists in 62 games with the United States National U18 Team during his draft year, Kleven’s offensive totals steadily grew in college. That growth culminated in an eight-goal, 18-point campaign in 35 games in 2022-23.

The 44th overall selection in the 2020 NHL Draft could join the Senators this year, although it’s unclear whether he would head to NHL Ottawa or AHL Belleville. Garrioch remarks he has “little doubt” that Kleven will want his entry-level contract to start immediately rather than deferring until 2023-24 and joining the Belleville Senators on a tryout for the remainder of 2022-23.

Kleven’s season came to an end last night with a 3-2 overtime loss to St. Cloud State in the NCHC semifinals. He didn’t record a point but registered a +1 rating.

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