Rickard Rakell To Miss World Cup; Patrik Berglund Named Replacement
Anaheim center Rickard Rakell will miss the World Cup of Hockey, Team Sweden announced. Taking his place will be St. Louis Blues center Patrik Berglund.
Rakell played in Sweden’s first pre-tournament game, collecting an assist in 13:47 of ice time vs Finland on Thursday but did not play in the rematch on Saturday. He did not travel with the team as they flew to North America and is currently in a Swedish hospital being treated for an unspecified illness.
Rakell is currently a restricted free agent and is coming off his best NHL season so far, picking up 20 goals and 23 assists in 72 regular season games last year. He’s expected to play a top six role for the Ducks this coming season.
The issue may pertain to the surgery Rakell had back in March to remove his appendix, reports Eric Stephens of the OC Register. His agent, Peter Wallen, noted that Rakell is currently unable to eat.
Berglund, meanwhile, is coming off a tough year with the Blues. He didn’t get into game action until January after undergoing shoulder surgery last August and suited up in just 42 regular season contests, scoring a career low ten goals and five assists. He did, however, fare better in the postseason, tallying nine points in 20 games.
[Related: Sweden’s World Cup Depth Chart]
Snapshots: Capitals, Zetterberg, Team Canada
Washington Capitals fans will get a taste of what could have been on Wednesday night, when Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom and former Capitals first-rounder Filip Forsberg line up together for Sweden in D.C.
Forsberg told NHL.com’s Katie Brown that playing with his countryman Backstrom was a dream of his when he was drafted by the Capitals back in 2012. Unfortunately for Capitals fans, it didn’t work out that way as Forsberg was dealt to Nashville for Martin Erat in one of the worst trades in recent memory. Forsberg told Brown “it’s pretty cool” to play with Backstrom, even though “a lot has changed since then”.
In other news out of D.C., Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post reports that Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov isn’t sure where he’s going to end up playing next season. Orlov posted 29 points in 82 games last season, posting good possession numbers while averaging just over 16 minutes per game. Coach Barry Trotz said he’s looking for Orlov to play top-four minutes with John Carlson or Matt Niskanen at even strength, and to contribute at both special teams disciplines.
[Related: Capitals’ depth chart at Roster Resource]
The 25-year-old Russian is coming off a two-year contract worth $2.25MM per season, and will likely be looking for a raise on that. Based on the Capitals’ salary cap situation, Khurshudyan estimates the most the Capitals could give Orlov is around $2.6MM. That has lead to Sergei Fedorov, former Capital and GM of the KHL’s CSKA Moscow to contact Orlov’s agent. CSKA owns his KHL rights, and expressed interest in bringing him over to Russia, even if it’s just for one season. Despite the interest from overseas, Orlov says he enjoys playing in the NHL and “would like to stay there, but I don’t know how it’s going to happen. We’ll see.”
In other news from around the hockey world:
- Henrik Zetterberg was forced to pull out of the World Cup of Hockey with a knee injury. The Red Wings tweeted Monday morning that while Zetterberg is expected to be healthy for the season opener, his participation in training camp is still to be determined.
- Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported that Team Canada’s lines have not changed at practice on Monday. Forward Claude Giroux took a maintenance day, so the only rotating lines were Jake Muzzin and Jay Bouwmeester splitting time with Drew Doughty. Also according to Johnston, the power-play units have changed, with Sidney Crosby heading up the first unit with Joe Thornton, Corey Perry, Tyler Seguin, and Brent Burns. Meanwhile, Jonathan Toews, John Tavares, Ryan Getzlaf, Steven Stamkos, and Doughty are manning the second unit.
- In an appearance on TSN 690 in Montreal this morning, Bob McKenzie said he was encouraged by “how ridiculously hard” the Canadians and Americans played in their pair of pre-tournament games. McKenzie said fans can thank John Tortorella’s strategy of wanting to “maul [Canada] a little bit” for that. The veteran broadcaster compared the games to a late-night men’s league, laughing “it’s fun. Just go out there for a little skate… then there’s one guy out there… one guy does something stupid, and then suddenly it’s on. Next thing you know, you’ve got the constabulary being called in.”
World Cup Injury Updates: Rakell, Kruger
Joe McDonald, writing for ESPN, provides more info on an earlier note mentioning the absence of Team Sweden forward Rickard Rakell from practice today due to an unspecified illness. McDonald says Rakell remians hospitalized and did not travel with the team to the U.S today. McDonald’s article states Sweden’s head coach Rikard Gronberg had this to say about Rakell’s illness:
“He didn’t feel any better this morning, so he went back to the hospital. So far we haven’t found anything. We’ve got to be in contact with him [Monday] and then we’ll see where we’re at, and hopefully for his own sake we know what it is because right now we don’t.”
Rakell, a RFA who the Ducks are still trying to sign, was named to Team Sweden as a replacement for Blues forward Alexander Steen. He had a breakout season for Anaheim in 2015-16, scoring 20 goals and 43 points in 72 regular season games.
Should Rakell not recover in time to participate, Sweden would have until September 16th to designate a replacement, according to McDonald. His piece does not list any specific possibilities in that regard but speculatively speaking, the Swedes could choose either Alexander Wennberg, who tallied eight goals and 40 points as a rookie with the Blue Jackets, or Detroit’s Gustav Nyqvist, who has recorded three straight seasons of 40-plus points for the Red Wings.
On a side note, McDonald does say that Marcus Kruger, who missed Saturday’s game with an upper-body injury, was back on the ice for practice today. Kruger also said that he hopes to return to the lineup in Wednesday’s tuneup game against Russia. If Kruger is a go, he could step into the lineup and replace Rakell.
World Cup Notes: Muzzin, Kruger, Rakell
Jake Muzzin isn’t a household name, but he should be. The oft-overlooked Los Angeles Kings defenseman is one of the best players in the league, and his selection to Team Canada proves that. With a roster of all-stars and first overall picks, Muzzin didn’t arrive quite the same way. In a new article by Jonas Siegal on TSN.ca, he examines how long it took for Muzzin to become, well, Muzzin. He’s not just a great defender, he’s an elite one, as hall of fame blueliner Rob Blake says:
You’ll get D that can make extremely high-level plays or you’ve got solid (defensive) defencemen. But to be an elite one, in the category that I think Jake has put himself in with this World Cup, you have to do both and that’s what made him pretty special.
Indeed, Muzzin has shown that he can play at both ends of the rink with any player in the league, including his own teammate Drew Doughty, also at the tournament for Team Canada. He’s 27 now, and is only just hitting his stride. Bank on Muzzin suiting up for Canada at the next Olympics, and perhaps even the one after that.
- In other World Cup news, team Sweden took the ice for a practice today without Rickard Rakell, who is out with an illness, according to Stephen Whyno. Marcus Kruger however, who missed Saturday’s pre-tournament game, was back on the ice for a full practice, seemingly ready to go for the beginning of the tournament.
- In the second Team North America game, who are now seemingly the darlings of the tournament, the young-guns got off to a good start scoring four goals on just eight shots (three by defensemen), again because of their speed. As we reported yesterday, the North American squad has a great shot at upsetting some of the favorites in the tournament, and making a real push for the championship.
Snapshots: Team North America, Kaleta
News and notes from around the NHL this morning:
- Team North America announced the lineup for its second World Cup of Hockey exhibition matchup against Team Europe today. According to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, Todd McLellan decided to sit Jacob Trouba, J.T. Miller, and Matt Murray. Murray sitting means that John Gibson is set to play the full game. Healthy scratches in this format do not imply injuries—ESPN’s Craig Custance says JT Miller is completely healthy—but rather chances for coaches to see other fringe players in action. Last night Canada held out Sidney Crosby in its matchup with Team USA simply because the coaching staff knew what he could do, and wanted to see other players in action. For Team North America, this means both Dylan Larkin and Colton Parayko will get an opportunity to showcase their skills.
- Patrick Kaleta spoke to the Buffalo News this week about his attempt to make an NHL comeback. Kaleta does not have a contract this season, but is working out in Buffalo with former teammates in an effort to reattain his former level of play. Kaleta is hoping to receive a PTO from a team this year, but expressed that he does not want to toil in the AHL again this season. Last year Kaleta tried out for the Buffalo Sabres in training camp before a groin injury cut his attempts short. He played only 26 games for the Rochester Americans—Buffalo’s AHL affiliate—due to injury and limited playing opportunities. The Buffalo native embodied the enforcer role during his NHL stint with the Sabres over nine years, never scoring more than 15 points in a season. In his last season with the big club he netter only 3A in 42 games. Look for Kaleta to garner a PTO from the Buffalo Sabres, if only because of his previous service to the club.
Snapshots: US-Canada Rivalry, Injury Updates
Though the comments were tepid, many top tier Canadian players took exception to some of the late hits by Team USA during the American squad’s 4-2 victory yesterday. Jonathan Toews was careful with his comments, but was blunt about some of the questionable hits doled out by the aggressive Americans. Via the Chicago Tribune, Toews had this to say:
“Without saying too much, I think there were a couple of borderline hits there where our guys were put in some awkward positions and there’s not much you can do there. The one on Weber was the right call there. We just have to try and protect ourselves and expect that the officials are going to do what they have to do. We have no problem with the chippiness and the physical play (but) it doesn’t matter where you’re playing, I think you always have to respect the player when he has his back to you.”
Toews wasn’t the only one making careful comments. Captain Sidney Crosby and netminder Carey Price both agreed that some hits “crossed the line.” Nick Cotsonika writes that Mike Babcock put the onus on the referees to control the rough play during a game between two rivals:
“There were lots of scrums tonight. They were generated by the players. The referees can clean that up in two seconds. All you’ve got to do is put people in the box. No more scrums.”
The US and Canada meet again in exhibition play tonight.
In other hockey news:
- The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc writes about the concern every team has with the injuries as the World Cup begins its tournament play with an exhibition tilt. With injuries to Marian Hossa, and Marcus Kruger, Blackhawks players were understandably concerned when two significant players from their team suffered injuries. Hossa’s, as it turns out, will not limit him and Europe coach Ralph Krueger said it’s “all green lights” for Hossa to play in Saturday’s game. Kruger, Kuc reports, has a more mysterious upper body injury and will be held out of play during Saturday’s Sweden’s exhibition game against Finland. Both Patrick Kane and Toews, when asked about the possibility of injury, shrugged it off and attributed it to a risk that’s always there, regardless of the circumstance.
Snapshots: World Cup Power Rankings, Updates
TSN’s Scott Cullen writes that Canada is the team to beat in the World Cup of Hockey. Cullen ranks Canada, Sweden, and North America ahead of the American squad, who he pegs as fourth in his tournament power rankings. Cullen expects the Americans to be competitive but can’t see a team squarely more concerned about a “tougher” style of play going very far in a tournament that emphasizes speed and skill. The US, Cullen writes, is all about smash mouth hockey, but their goalie tandem of Cory Schneider, Ben Bishop and Jonathan Quick could give those aforementioned skilled teams some fits. Cullen places Canada at the top simply because of the top end talent they boast on every line. Sweden, he writes, has an “absurd” defensive corps with Erik Karlsson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman, Hampus Lindholm, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Mattias Ekholm all on the roster. He cautions that in order to knock off favorite Canada, they’ll need young forwards Filip Forsberg and Gabriel Landeskog to carry the team in scoring.
Team North America is one that Cullen believes could truly shock everyone. With young, fast, and skilled players like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, and John Gaudreau, the under 23 team could turn some heads, and possibly pull some upsets that could unseat the favorites. For the rest of his rankings, Cullen places Russia, Finland, Czech Republic, and Europe as the bottom four teams respectively.
In other World Cup of Hockey News:
- The USA’s 4-2 victory over Canada featured a lot of aggressive play and injury scares that remained only as fears and nothing serious. Several high profile players took vicious hits, and some had to leave the ice. Flyers captain Claude Giroux took a hit from Joe Pavelski and didn’t return until later in the third period. Logan Couture also took a hard hit from T.J. Oshie in the second period but returned in the third. Though Shea Weber was slammed into the boards by Ryan Kesler in the second period, he didn’t miss any ice time. Kesler was assessed a boarding major and a game misconduct. Pavelski recorded the game winner while Derek Stepan sealed the game with an empty net goal in a contest that became more physical as it wore on. Earlier in the day, PHR recapped some of the other injury scares during exhibition play on Thursday.
Red Wings Notes: Sheahan, Larkin, Renouf
The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James writes that former Red Wings goaltender and current Wings analyst Chris Osgood believes that Riley Sheahan can be an elite center. Though Sheahan had a career best 14 goals last season, he slumped in terms of total production, notching only 25 points after posting 36 a season prior. Osgood, believes that the best is yet to come for the 24-year-old forward:
“To me, he has a nice offensive ability, he’s responsible defensively, he’s really strong. I think if you put him in the right spot, he’ll flourish. He’ll become one of the best third-line centers in the NHL. And he’s getting to be that age now where he’s a little more mature. He’s played a lot. He had some rough patches last year, and he’s learned from them. He’s a tough kid and he perseveres. So to me, he’s the guy to really look to be kind of that third-line center, power forward, leader, that’s going to get a lot of more points.”
Sheahan will be slotted in as the third line center as Dylan Larkin and Frans Nielsen are expected to center the top two lines.
In other Red Wings news:
- Larkin was a healthy scratch in North America’s victory over Europe on Thursday, but Craig Custance tweets that Larkin will most likely see time on the fourth line during Sunday’s exhibition game against Team Europe. The the Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan reports that Larkin was excited nonetheless–prior to the game–about being part of the North American team and the World Cup of Hockey:
“Talking to other players that are in the tournament, they know we’re going to be pretty good. We’re just excited to get together and start playing some games. I don’t think we’re going to shock any teams. We’re definitely going to play our best. Teams know the kind of players we have. We hope to win the whole thing. It’s cool how players from Canada and the U.S. come together. It’s going to be a bit of a feeling out process, a lot of players from different teams, but it’ll go well and we’ll be an exciting team to watch.”
- MLive’s Brendan Savage pens a piece on Red Wings prospect Dan Renouf and how he hopes to take the same road to the Red Wings as current defenseman Danny DeKeyser did. Renouf is hoping that his career trajectory follows that of DeKeyser, who signed with Detroit as an undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan and has been a mainstay on the blue line since. Renouf played six games with Detroit’s AHL affiliate Grand Rapids but spent the majority of his time with the University of Maine. Renouf was the leading scorer for all defenseman with 15 points (6-9).
Capitals Notes: Johansson, Eller, Holtby
After playing last season on a one year, $3.75MM deal, Capitals forward Marcus Johansson is looking forward to having more stability this year, writes Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. Back in July, he inked a three year, $13.75MM contract, one that also affords him a small bit of no-trade protection in the form of a five team no-trade clause. As Johansson notes, not having looming contract talks takes some of the pressure off:
“Especially family-wise, it feels good. You still always put pressure on yourself to do well, and I think that’s never going to change for anyone. It’s just mostly off the ice with the family and all, you can, you know, relax and settle in a little bit more and just focus on the game.”
Johansson is coming off his third straight 40+ point season, picking up 17 goals and 29 assists in 74 games while averaging 16:38 of ice time per game. He also had a solid postseason, adding a pair of goals and five helpers in 12 contests with a 16:41 ATOI.
The 25 year old battled through an injury late in the year and told CSN Atlantic’s Tarik El-Bashir that he is 100% recovered although he wouldn’t specific what or where the injury actually was.
Last season, Johansson shifted between the left wing and center despite not playing the latter position much in the previous three seasons. However, that shouldn’t be the case this season as the addition of Lars Eller from Montreal should free him up to focus primarily on the wing. Johansson is certainly a fan of that as well, noting that it will be nice to just “focus on one thing at a time”.
With the roster as it stands, there’s a good chance that Johansson will start on the left side on the second line behind Alex Ovechkin at that position.
More from Washington:
- Speaking of stability, Eller is looking forward to playing center full-time this season instead of shuffling positions, Khurshudyan wrote in a separate column. Eller spent time both there and on the left wing last year with the Canadiens but noted that he’s “never hidden the fact that I like to play center the most” and that he couldn’t be happier to be at center this season. With both Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom at the World Cup of Hockey, Eller will open up camp as their top pivot, meaning he should have a chance to showcase his offensive skills before settling in to his two-way bottom six role when the season gets underway next month.
- Goaltender Braden Holtby’s World Cup of Hockey mask features a tribute to Canadian band The Tragically Hip and he will auction it off with the proceeds intended to go to the charity of the band’s choice, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Holtby enters the tournament as the presumed backup goaltender to Carey Price but he will have a chance to debut the mask on Saturday night as he is expected to play half the game in Canada’s second exhibition game against the USA.
Snapshots: Price, World Cup
The World Cup of Hockey exhibition round kicked off on Thursday, with Russia beating Czech Republic, Finland defeating Sweden, and Team North America shutting out Team Europe. Though we’re only one day into the pre-tournament action, there have already been some injury concerns. With that in mind, the eyes of the hockey world will be on Team Canada goaltender Carey Price when the Canadians take on the United States in the first game of back-to-back exhibition contests. Price will make his hotly anticipated first start since November.
When asked about Price, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock said he expects him “to be great”, before asking that needed any elaboration.
USA left winger and Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty told TSN’s Mark Masters that, on a personal level, he’s happy to see Price “put on the pads again… because I know he suffered last year”. Pacioretty said he wasn’t able to share any secrets on scoring on Price because “there are no secrets on how to beat Carey”.
- Speaking of players competing against their NHL goaltenders, Team Canada forward Steven Stamkos and American goaltender Ben Bishop have been teammates in Tampa Bay for three and a half seasons, so Bishop has seen plenty of Stamkos in practice. However, Stamkos claims he shoots different spots in practice and that he’s going to “ring one by [Bishop]’s head first” then shoot somewhere else next.
- Also from the Team Canada camp, Coach Babcock confirmed that Corey Perry and Jay Bouwmeester will be healthy scratches tonight. Both men were injury replacements, for Jeff Carter and Duncan Keith respectively. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston spoke with Babcock about how he plans on telling NHL stars that they will be scratched: “I’m just going to tell them. I’ve found in life when someone’s giving me bad news I like it fast.”
- Despite beating Team Europe pretty soundly last night, Team North America changed up their lines this morning. ESPN’s Craig Custance reported Flames RFA Johnny Gaudreau and Sabres sophomore Jack Eichel are now on the top line with captain Connor McDavid. Coach Todd McLellan said they will be making adjustments, and “the overall vision and hockey IQ” of McDavid, Eichel, and Gaudreau made it easy to put them together.