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Zack Ostapchuk

Evening Notes: Bortuzzo, Wild, Oilers, Ostapchuk

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It has been a rough stretch for St. Louis defensemen lately with Torey Krug and Nick Leddy both being injured recently.  Those two join Marco Scandella and Scott Perunovich (both haven’t played this season) on injured reserve.  Last night, another defender went down in veteran Robert Bortuzzo who sustained a lower-body injury.  Speaking to reporters today, Blues head coach Craig Berube told reporters including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the veteran is currently listed as day-to-day although he’s still being evaluated.  Bortuzzo has played in 30 games this season on the third pairing and now their defensive depth will be tested a little more for the time being.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Prior to tonight’s game, the Wild announced (Twitter link) that winger Jordan Greenway wouldn’t play. No, it’s not another recurrence of the upper-body injury that has plagued him all season.  Instead, he’s out with a non-COVID illness.  Meanwhile, Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune relays (Twitter link) that winger Mats Zuccarello will accompany the team on their upcoming road trip after missing both Saturday’s game and tonight’s.  Between his injury and Greenway’s illness, Minnesota only has 11 healthy forwards on their roster and as a result, had to dress seven blueliners against St. Louis.
  • There are teams that will need to move first-round picks over the next couple of months to add a missing piece or two. While the Oilers typically haven’t been one of those lately, Allan Mitchell of The Athletic argues (subscription link) that they should be much more willing to do so this time around.  Whoever they get with that selection if they were to keep it likely wouldn’t be ready to play in Edmonton before the contracts of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl expire.  Accordingly, with the team in win-now mode, acquiring someone with that pick that can help the current core might be the better way for them to go.
  • The big trades in the CHL continue as Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports (Twitter link) that Senators prospect Zack Ostapchuk is being traded to WHL Winnipeg. The 2021 second-rounder played for Canada at the World Juniors and has 10 goals and 19 assists in 21 games this season.  The full trade package is unknown but it’s believed to involve three first-round picks.

Injury Notes: Copp, Caamano, Ostapchuk

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The Detroit Red Wings will be without Andrew Copp for training camp, announcing today that the big free agent signing underwent abdominal surgery in the offseason. Copp is expected back the first week of the regular season, when he’ll start to try and live up to the five-year, $28.125MM contract he signed this offseason.

It’s a tough start for the Red Wings, who also confirmed some timelines on other previously-reported injuries. Jake Walman will be back at some point in November, while Robby Fabbri and Mark Pysyk are out until early 2023. Chase Pearson, who made his NHL debut last season with Detroit, is away from the team indefinitely due to personal matters.

  • It was back surgery for Nicholas Caamano, according to general manager Jim Nill, who told reporters including Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News that the young forward will miss three months. Caamano, 24, played in 36 games for the Stars between 2019-2021 before spending all of last year in the minor leagues. Anton Khudobin has not yet been cleared for games but will be on the ice for training camp. The team signed Scott Wedgewood to a two-year deal this offseason after he played well down the stretch, suggesting that Khudobin is ticketed for the minor leagues once again.
  • Zack Ostapchuk, the 39th overall pick in 2021, is out a few weeks for the Ottawa Senators and will be sent back to junior after he’s healthy enough according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. That ends any possibility that he could make the team out of camp after his outstanding playoff run for the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. The 19-year-old is not yet eligible for the AHL and instead will go back and try to carry over that postseason success for an entire year.

Ottawa Senators Sign Zack Ostapchuk

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The Ottawa Senators have inked another interesting prospect, this time signing Zack Ostapchuk to a three-year entry-level contract. The young forward was selected 39th overall at the 2021 NHL Draft and is currently in training camp with the team. Senators GM Pierre Dorion released a statement:

Zack has had an exceptional camp and we are excited about watching his development this season. He possesses the necessary tools in terms of size, skill and skating ability that we feel are key attributes in today’s NHL. Zack’s strong hockey sense and work ethic will serve him well as he trends towards becoming a full-time pro. Credit to Trent Mann and his amateur scouting staff who identified a prospect we feel is well on his way to helping the future of the organization.

The Senators have drafted quite a few big-bodied forwards over the last few years, and Ostapchuk is no different. The 6’4″ winger was picked in the early part of the second round despite having scored just 24 career points at the WHL level and being ranked 60th overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. Ottawa must have seen something in the 22 games Ostapchuk played for the Vancouver Giants last season, in which he recorded seven goals and 16 points, because he’s come into camp this year looking like a player that deserved to be picked that high.

In fact, Ostapchuk has fit right in at the professional level despite only turning 18 a few months ago, suggesting he could be in for a big year in the WHL. There is still quite a bit of development time for the power forward, but the fact that the Senators have already signed him to an entry-level deal shows just how strongly they believe in his future. The first year of that contract won’t be burned this season should he return to the Giants as expected, and Ostapchuk won’t actually be eligible for the AHL until 2023-24.

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