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Wyatt Kalynuk

Wyatt Kalynuk Signs With Liiga’s Pelicans

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Pelicans of Liiga, Finland’s top-level professional league, have signed free agent defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk to a one-year deal, per a team press release.

Kalynuk, 27, spent last season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds while on a two-way contract with the Blues. He became a UFA at the end of the season after finishing fourth among Thunderbirds defenders in scoring with five goals, 13 assists and 18 points in 66 games with 65 PIMs and a -1 rating.

A seventh-round pick of the Flyers in 2017, Kalynuk spent three seasons at Wisconsin but opted not to sign with Philadelphia upon graduating. Instead, the Manitoba native inked an entry-level deal with the Blackhawks in 2020 after a junior year with the Badgers that saw him post 28 points in 36 games while serving as captain, earning Big 10 First All-Star Team honors.

Kalynuk made his NHL debut in his first professional season, suiting up in 21 games with Chicago during the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign. The left-shot defender stayed on the NHL roster or taxi squad for most of the year, doing well in a bottom-pairing role with four goals, five assists, and 25 hits while averaging 16:16 per game with a -6 rating. In his short stint with AHL Rockford that year, he was elite offensively, with 10 points in only eight games.

But things went downhill from there for Kalynuk, who played only five NHL contests the following season. His effectiveness in the minors was also diminished, but he was still Rockford’s second-highest-scoring defender with 27 points in 52 games. Still, it wasn’t enough to convince Chicago to keep him around, and they opted not to issue him a qualifying offer when his ELC expired in 2022.

Kalynuk has since played exclusively in the minors on two-way deals, suiting up for the Blues’, Canucks’ and Rangers’ primary affiliates. After failing to repeat his previous offensive success wherever he went, it’s not surprising to see the blue-liner opt for perhaps a bigger role in Finland. He leaves the AHL behind after 74 points in 187 games over the last four years.

He’ll be Pelicans’ second defenseman with NHL experience on this season’s roster, joining former Hurricane Michal Jordan. The Lahti-based club will suit up in the Champions Hockey League beginning next month after finishing as the runner-up to the Liiga championship last season.

St. Louis Blues Sign Four Players

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The St. Louis Blues have signed four players, according to a team announcement. They are: forward Mackenzie MacEachern (two years, one-way), defenders Joshua Jacobs and Wyatt Kalynuk (one year, two-way), and netminder Malcolm Subban. (one year, two-way)

MacEachern’s AAV on his deal is a league-minimum $775K, and one would assume it’s a similar arrangement for the other three though there is no confirmation at this time as the team did not release the financial terms of the moves.

MacEachern is the most experienced of the group with 119 career NHL appearances, all coming in his first stint with St. Louis.  However, the 29-year-old spent last season in Carolina’s system on a two-way deal.  While he only saw AHL action during the regular season (collecting 30 points in 37 games), MacEachern was brought up by the Hurricanes for the playoffs and got into eight games, picking up a goal and an assist.

Jacobs, meanwhile, last saw NHL action back in 2019-20 with New Jersey and has just three appearances at the top level under his belt.  However, he has been a capable AHL blueliner for several years now with over 300 games played at that level.  Last season, he had ten points and 18 penalty minutes while suiting up for Colorado’s AHL affiliate.

As for Kalynuk, he looked like he could be a part of Chicago’s future when he put up nine points in 21 games back in 2020-21 but has been limited to just five NHL games since then.  Last season, the 26-year-old spent time with AHL affiliates for the Rangers and Canucks, combining to put up 18 points in 61 games.

Subban is set to take over as the new third-string option for St. Louis with Joel Hofer set to serve as Jordan Binnington’s backup next season.  The 29-year-old didn’t see an NHL action last season for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.  Instead, he was the starter at AHL Rochester, putting up a 2.94 GAA and a .903 SV% in 39 games while also playing in 14 playoff contests.

All four players are set to serve as depth options for St. Louis next season with MacEachern, Kalynuk, and Subban projected to be among the top recall options when someone at their respective positions is injured.

Riley Stillman Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Chicago Blackhawks have placed Riley Stillman on injured reserve while recalling Wyatt Kalynuk to take his place on the roster. Stillman suffered a left knee injury in last night’s game when Tyler Motte was pushed into his leg from behind. The team has not indicated how long he’ll be out for, but a stint on IR means at least a week.

Stillman, 23, is another one of the players in their first full season with the Blackhawks, after being acquired at last season’s deadline along with Brett Connolly and Henrik Borgstrom. The young defenseman had played in 12 games and was averaging more than 15 minutes a night before going down early last night. Unfortunately, even those limited minutes had led to pretty poor results to this point, with the Blackhawks outscored 6-2 with Stillman on the ice at even-strength.

Kalynuk meanwhile had been dealing with a injury of his own, starting the year on LTIR and only joining the Rockford Icehogs earlier this month. He has played in four games and has three points, continuing his history of production at the professional level. Since leaving the University of Wisconsin and signing with Chicago, Kalynuk has played 33 games combined between the AHL and NHL. He has 22 points in those contests, including seven goals. With the loss of Stillman, he could get an opportunity immediately to get back into the Blackhawks lineup and continue his strong early play.

Wyatt Kalynuk Activated From Injured Reserve

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Nov 10: Kalynuk has now been assigned to the Rockford IceHogs to get some game action in. The AHL club plays tonight against the Iowa Wild, where he’ll make his season debut.

Nov 9: The Chicago Blackhawks activated defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk from long-term injured reserve today, per NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis. Kalynuk was previously sidelined with a right ankle sprain.

He’ll be taking warmups Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, however, interim head coach Derek King confirmed that he won’t be in the lineup.

Kalynuk was placed on long-term injured reserve retroactive to October 5 with the injury and was classified as week-to-week. He could make his season debut soon and could make an effort to push Riley Stillman, who’s playing just 15:17 per game, out of the lineup.

The 24-year-old Kalynuk is entering his second season in the NHL after an impressive rookie campaign last year. Originally a seventh-round selection in 2017 by the Philadelphia Flyers, he was never signed and instead signed his entry-level contract with Chicago prior to the 2020-21 season. Skating in 21 games, Kalynuk scored four goals and five assists for nine points while registering 16:16 of ice time per game last season.

Wyatt Kalynuk Out A Few Weeks With Ankle Injury

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One of the more interesting things to watch at the start of the 2021-22 season will be the Chicago Blackhawks’ overhauled defensive group. Seth Jones and Jake McCabe are two new members of the team’s top-four, while it looked like youngsters Riley Stillman and Wyatt Kalynuk could be in the opening night lineup as the third pair. That won’t be true anymore, as Kalynuk is likely out a few weeks with an ankle injury according to head coach Jeremy Colliton, who spoke with reporters including Scott Powers of The Athletic today.

As Mark Lazerus of The Athletic points out, Kalynuk was expected to play his off-side to start the year, meaning there is now an opening on the right for one of the team’s other young defensemen. Ian Mitchell or Alec Regula seem the most likely candidates, though given both are waiver-exempt it could end up being a rotation of some sort. That is unless one of the other left-handed options–Calvin de Haan, Caleb Jones, or Stillman–move to the right side to start.

Either way, this is a disappointing start for Kalynuk, who showed last season that he’s far from the player that fell to the seventh round in 2017. After three seasons at the University of Wisconsin, the 24-year-old was a legitimate NHL defenseman in his rookie season, recording nine points in 21 games and strong possession statistics. Entering the second year of his entry-level contract, there was a good chance he will be a regular for the team when healthy. Of course, missing the start of the year is never ideal, and Kalynuk will now have to not only work to return from injury, but also overtake whoever gets the minutes in his place.

The Blackhawks kick off their regular season schedule on October 13 when they take on the Colorado Avalanche.

Andrew Shaw In Concussion Protocol

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The Chicago Blackhawks announced some unfortunate injury news today, noting that Connor Murphy will be out for 10-14 days with a right hip issue and Andrew Shaw is in the concussion protocol. Murphy didn’t play in the team’s last game, but Shaw did, hitting the ice for nearly 15 minutes in their overtime win against the Dallas Stars.

The important thing here is Shaw’s health, given his history of concussions. The bang-and-crash forward has been sidelined by head injuries many times in the past, and head coach Jeremy Colliton (whose playing career was also ended due to concussions) was “visibly distraught” when he updated reporters including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago on Shaw’s status today.

It’s not clear at all what this mean’s for Shaw’s future, but for now, he won’t be in the lineup when the Blackhawks host the Columbus Blue Jackets this evening.

The team announced two other transactions: Wyatt Kalynuk has been recalled to the taxi squad from the AHL, while Anton Lindholm has gone the other way, assigned to the Rockford IceHogs.

Chicago Blackhawks Officially Announce Three Signings

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Though news had broke about each of them in recent days, the Chicago Blackhawks have officially announced three signings. Ian Mitchell has signed a three-year entry-level contract, Wyatt Kalynuk has signed a two-year entry-level contract and Pius Suter has signed a one-year entry-level contract. All three deals will start in 2020-21.

Mitchell is the most recognizable name of the bunch after being a second-round pick in 2017 and quickly becoming one of the best defensemen in college hockey. The expectations are sky-high for the 21-year old, who recorded 32 points in 36 games this season for the University of Denver. Mitchell joins a talented defensive crop that is pushing to change the look of the Blackhawks blueline in the coming years.

Kalynuk will also join that group, even if his story is a little different. The 23-year old was a seventh-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2017 but decided not to sign with them after three years at the University of Wisconsin. He may be an option for the Blackhawks next season, but doesn’t have quite the same upside found in Mitchell.

Suter meanwhile is coming over from Europe after dominating the Swiss league for years. In 2019-20 he scored 30 goals and 53 points in 50 games for Zurich and took home the NLA MVP. Already 24, he’ll try to follow in the footsteps of Dominik Kubalik, who came to the Blackhawks after several successful years in Europe and is now a finalist for the Calder Trophy. Suter has played against top competition before, suiting up many times for Switzerland on the international stage including at the 2018 Olympics.

Chicago Blackhawks Expected To Sign Wyatt Kalynuk

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The Chicago Blackhawks will be adding another interesting defensive prospect to their organization, as Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that they will sign Wyatt Kalynuk to an entry-level contract. Originally drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers, Kalynuk became an unrestricted free agent last month after failing to reach an agreement with the team in their exclusive negotiating window. The 23-year old had informed the team that he would not be returning for his senior season at the University of Wisconsin and instead will end up turning pro with the Blackhawks instead.

Kalynuk, a seventh-round pick in 2017, has put up consistent offensive numbers at Wisconsin over his three years of collegiate hockey and now joins a Blackhawks pipeline brimming with defensive prospects. Chicago had already convinced Ian Mitchell earlier this spring to forgo his senior season, signing him to his own entry-level contract.

While Mitchell’s deal will be for three seasons, Kalynuk will be signing just a two-year pact given his age. With reports recently emerging that players can burn the first year of entry-level contracts this summer and no further clarification coming from Lazerus, it is not clear exactly when Wyatt’s will kick in.

The smooth-skating defenseman could potentially be an option for the Blackhawks as soon as 2020-21 given his age and experience, but will not be eligible to play this summer in Chicago’s playoff run.

Flyers’ 2017 Seventh-Round Pick Wyatt Kalynuk Becomes Free Agent

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The Flyers’ window of exclusive negotiating rights with prospect Wyatt Kalynuk has passed, making the blueliner a free agent, tweets The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor.

Kalynuk, 23, was selected by Philadelphia in the 7th round of the 2017 draft out of the University of Wisconsin. The southpaw defenseman played the past three seasons with Badgers, totaling 25, 25, and 28 points, respectively. Since the Flyers could not come to a contract agreement with Kalynuk, he’s officially unencumbered, and, as O’Connor notes, he’s ready to see what’s out there. That said, the Flyers are still interested in bringing Kalynuk aboard, and he’s not eliminating them from the running just yet.

In profiling the class of potential free agents from college, major juniors, and Europe, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman listed Kalynuk as the third-best potential option. As such, he should definitely garner some interest on the open market.

At the time of the article’s publication in February, Pronman wrote, “Kalynuk, a seventh-round pick in 2017, looks like he has a chance to be a great value selection if the Flyers can sign him. Kalynuk is different from your usual late round college selection who is usually too slow or too small. Kalynuk has NHL size and speed. He’s a fantastic skater with a high skill level with a game that should translate. The minor quibble in his game is his decision-making can run you the wrong way at times.”

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