Neal Pionk And The College Standout Situation
Minnesota-Duluth’s defenseman Neal Pionk has decided to leave his college and pursue a pro hockey contract, per Elliotte Friedman. Colleague Gavin Lee wrote a wonderful piece about the small but hard-nosed defenseman late in this February, which is definitely worth a re-read. The 5’11” defenseman was named USHL defenseman of the year in 2014-15, and potted 7 goals and 27 assists in 42 games to go with his +24 rating this past season. His teammate Alex Iafello signed with the Los Angeles Kings just earlier this afternoon.
Undrafted college talents are all the rage in the modern NHL, and with their relative success at the NHL level, it’s easy to see why. Anyone who watched Jake Guentzel‘s hat trick last night may be interested to know that his linemate, Conor Sheary, went undrafted and nearly unsigned out of college. He never had spectacular numbers, and his small stature forced him to sign a PTO with a depleted Wilkes-Barre squad to even get a shot. He posted only 9 goals in 34 games for UMass-Amherst in his senior year before a solid showing of 11 points in 15 games in the Calder Cup Playoffs in 2013-14. Now, he’s playing with Sidney Crosby on the top line of a Cup contender, with a Stanley Cup ring on his mantle at home. It’s easy to see how prospects can get overlooked. Martin St. Louis is always cited as the go-to example for players with extreme success despite going undrafted. With his 1033 career points, lots of teams were certainly kicking themselves that they didn’t take a flyer on the winger. The likely future hall-of-famer gave defensive squads fits with his knack for staying on his feet and making plays. His creativity in playmaking made him an asset right up until the day he retired. So why did so many scouts miss out on him?
Scouting is an imperfect science, as any team official will tell you. At 17 years old, it can be near-impossible to project how mid-level talents will look in 3 years, let alone 7 or 8. For goalies and defensemen this problem is seemingly amplified. Goalies don’t normally hit their stride until their mid-to-late twenties. There are the obvious exceptions, such as John Gibson or Matt Murray, but years of minor league seasoning and perfecting technical aspects of their games can derail seemingly surefire careers. Malcolm Subban is such a case, where he has struggled mightily to convert his Junior dominance into even 20 wins at the AHL level. There is a reason that only two goalies have ever gone first overall – Rick DiPietro who is now out of the league and Marc-Andre Fleury who in hindsight was probably not worthy of the pick in a deep draft.
Defensemen have a particularly tough path in front of them, too. There is a need for physical maturation to make an impact in shutting down top NHL talent. Skating agility and speed need to be upped. The hits are harder, the forecheckers are faster, and players are far better at finding gaps in coverage. While a young forward can sometimes get by with fourth-line duty until the holes in his game are patched, defensemen can be exposed on any single play. The breakouts are more difficult, the pretty passes don’t work quite as well, and you have a second less to make that pivotal decision at the blue line to pinch or retreat. How every teenager deals with these challenges to mold their game varies wildly. The older the defenseman, the easier it is to tell how they are adapting.
So why not take a chance on a 21 or 22 year old defenseman who has shown flashes of brilliance? Late bloomers are in bloom this spring, and Pionk will certainly not be the only collegiate talent to catch the eye of teams looking to restock the cupboards.
AHL Releases First Round Playoff Schedule
The AHL has released the schedule for the first round of its Calder Cup Playoffs. Lots of squads are down top players with so many parent clubs still in contention, so the first round is always ripe with upsets. The schedule can be found here.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins had the league’s best record, and looks to have their best opportunity at a championship since their inception. Out West, the Chicago Wolves have gone from out of the playoffs and potential loss of affiliate to a dominant 1st seed performance. The action starts on Thursday, April 20th. The first round of semifinals includes a full 16 teams, but the series are only 5 games long.
The quality of play in the AHL only gets better as the years go by, and every hockey fan owes it to him/herself to catch a local playoff game when possible. Future stars and intriguing prospects can be caught up close and personal before they make an impact in the show. In terms of who to keep an eye out for:
San Jose – Daniel O’Regan (C) – 23G 35A
Stockton – Mark Jankowski (C) – 27G 29A
Chicago – Kenny Agostino (LW) – 24G 59A
Hershey – Christian Djoos (D) – 13G 45A
Wilkes-Barre – Casey DeSmith – .926 SV% 2.01 GAA
Providence – Zane McIntyre – .930 SV% 2.03 GAA
Snapshots: Tolvanen, Lowry, Senators
Adam Kimelman of NHL.com goes in depth on draft prospect Eevi Tolvanen in his latest article, detailing the move from Finland to the USHL for the undersized forward. Tolvanen put up a huge year for the Sioux City Musketeers this season with 54 points in 52 games, but it was his work at the defensive end that leads some to believe he can be an impact NHL player. While his offense is clearly his calling card, his willingness to work on the other parts of his game are what really excite scouts. Speaking to Kimelman, Sioux City GM Mark LeRose spoke of that defensive maturity:
I’m not going to say he’s defense-first, but he is responsible defensively. It’s not his passion to play defense, his passion is to score goals and create offense. But he does understand, especially this time of year with the playoffs starting, he can create offense from defense, so if he’s good defensively he’s going to get the puck in transition quicker.
That’s where Tolvanen will make his mark, not by being an elite defender but by doing just enough to keep the puck off his opponent’s stick and in the offensive zone. At a World Junior tournament that saw Finland do everything wrong, Tolvanen was one of the bright spots at just 17. Ranked #8 among the CSS final North American skaters, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him go in the top-10 in June.
- According to Victoria Sports News (h/t Mike Halford at NBC Pro Hockey Talk), Dave Lowry, head coach of the Victoria Royals and former NHL assistant with the Calgary Flames has been in talks with the Vancouver Canucks for up to six weeks about a possible coaching position of some sort. While there is no indication that it would be the head coaching job, Lowry would be a solid addition to a staff after his fifth straight winning season in Victoria. While Travis Green, coach of the AHL Utica Comets, keeps coming up regarding the NHL head coaching job, Lowry is clearly familiar to the Canucks having played there and coached in their backyard for the past few years.
- Brent Wallace of TSN reports that the Ottawa Senators had several new faces practicing with the starters today, including Marc Methot who took his normal place beside Erik Karlsson. As Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports, a decision will be made on the defenseman tomorrow morning ahead of their game 2 tilt with the Boston Bruins. Methot has been out since his finger was shattered by a Sidney Crosby slash late in the season, and Ottawa has felt his absence in the defensive zone. After losing game one, they would be glad to welcome back the natural pair for Karlsson, and take some pressure off Dion Phaneuf and Mark Borowiecki. They’ll play at 2pm tomorrow, in the early slot of a full day of playoffs.
NHL Central Scouting Releases Final Rankings
NHL Central Scouting has released their final rankings of the eligible prospects for the 2017 Entry Draft, and Nolan Patrick has retained his #1 spot. Despite an injury-riddled season that saw him miss much of the first half and the entire first round of the playoffs—Brandon was swept without their best player—the Wheat Kings’ superstar will fend off Nico Hischier and his rising stock.
This doesn’t necessarily mean Patrick will be selected first overall by whoever wins the draft lottery, but it does bode well for how confident scouts are with his ability to bounce back from the injuries and still be an impact player at the next level.
Hischier does hold the second spot among North American skaters, while Casey Mittelstadt takes the third spot after his outstanding season split between high school and the USHL. Mittelstadt has already committed to the University of Minnesota, but that won’t stop many teams from picking him in the top five.
Among the other notable rankings is Timothy Liljegren, who at one point was expected to be the second-overall pick in June. Now all the way down at #6 among international skaters, he may be a big prize for a mid-round selection. His draft season has been even worse than Patrick’s, after battling mono early on and fighting for ice time late in the season. He may be the third defenseman off the board behind Cale Makar and Miro Heiskanen.
Jake Oettinger easily climbs to the top ranking among North American goaltenders, and has a chance to go in the first round after his standout season at Boston University. Despite being just 17 for much of the season, Oettinger ranked among the nation’s best goaltenders putting up a .927 save percentage while going 21-11-3.
One of the biggest drops was Maxime Comtois, who was ranked 15th at mid-season but is now listed down at 30. The Victoriaville winger had a very disappointing season, but still possesses the size and offensive ability to make him an interesting choice, especially if he falls into the second round. Any team selecting him would be betting on his future development, instead of evaluating on this season.
Minor Transactions: Last Day Of The Regular Season
The Washington Capitals, who have long since clinched the President’s Trophy for the best record in the NHL this season, have next to nothing to play for in their 2016-17 regular season finale. What better use for such a game than to reward a time-tested contributor to the organization. The Capitals announced today that they have recalled Garrett Mitchell, as well as Chandler Stephenson, from the AHL’s Hershey Bears for the last game of the season. Mitchell, the Hersey captain, will make his NHL debut at 25 after being a sixth-round selection of the Capitals back in 2009. Far from an offensive juggernaut, Mitchell is instead a physical two-way forward who makes up for his lack of points by sticking up for the Bears’ younger players and leading by example in his own end. It is a classy move by Washington to give a player who has worked hard for the organization a brief glimpse at NHL life, even though his ceiling appears to be a nothing more than a fourth-line player at this time.
Around the league, the transactions are coming in fast:
- Washington’s opponent tonight is the Florida Panthers and newly-recalled young goalie Sam Brittain. It remains to be seen if Brittain will make his NHL debut tonight, but he’ll at least be on the bench as Florida announced that the 24-year-old had been promoted from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds for the game. Brittain has played mostly in the ECHL this season and is far from being a regular NHLer any time soon, but will at least get a look at big league action in the season finale.
- Another goalie getting a rare look at the highest level is the New York Rangers’ Magnus Hellberg. Buried behind all-world keeper Henrik Lundqvist and one of the more reliable backups in the league, Antti Raanta, Hellberg was surely excited to hear that he had been called up from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. Hellberg, 26, has never started an NHL game and that won’t change tonight as Raanta gets the call for the Rangers. However, Hellberg has seen the ice three times in his career and has strung together several strong AHL seasons in a row, so gaining some more experience tonight, even from the bench, brings him closer to an NHL future.
- A goalie headed the other way today is the Montreal Canadiens’ Charlie Lindgren. Despite nothing but success in his few NHL appearances early in his young career, the Habs are set in net with Carey Price and Al Montoya. Lindgren will have to wait for opportunity to strike for a longer stint with the Canadiens, as he’ll head back down to the AHL and the St. John’s Ice Caps alongside defenseman Brett Lernout, the team announced.
- Another pair headed back to the minors are Winnipeg Jets’ prospects Kyle Connor and Nelson Nogier. Following their season finale yesterday, the Jets decided today to return the duo to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose to get some final play time in this season. While the Jets expected more than five points in 20 games from Connor in his rookie season, after being a Hobey Baker finalist for the University of Michigan last year, expect him to play a major role for Winnipeg in 2017-18.
- Another player set to take on a major role next year is Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg. Fans can get a preview of the prospect-studded blue line that Philly is likely to roll out in 2017-18 when Hagg makes his NHL debut today. The team announced his recall this morning from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and he will skate alongside the likes of Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov tonight and Travis Sanheim and Samuel Morin as well next year in a truly impressive collection of young talent.
- Across the state, the Pittsburgh Penguins are planning on resting some of their players today – those that aren’t already injured anyway – and have called up a trio of players from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to help fill the voids. Oskar Sundqvist and Derrick Pouliot, two names familiar to Penguins fans, will return to the lineup, while Jean-Sebastien Dea will make his NHL debut. A longtime WBS contributor, Dea’s work ethic and consistency has finally earned him his first shot at the pros for a team that is in desperate need of depth that can step up their play.
- Pittsburgh’s Round One opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets, are adding some promising young talent of their own in forward Sonny Milano. The team announced that they had promoted the 2014 first-rounder from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and that he will get the call today against the Toronto Maple Leafs as the Jackets look to reverse their recent luck before the postseason gets underway. Milano has only skated in three games with Columbus this season, but leads the Monsters in scoring with 46 points in 61 games.
- The St. Louis Blues announced that they have recalled defenseman Chris Butler from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. However, Butler’s return to the NHL lineup may be overshadowed by the possibility that Vladimir Sobotka could also make his season debut after a long hiatus from the team while playing in the KHL.
- With an extremely disappointing season finally over in Dallas, the Stars have moved a slew of players back down to the AHL’s Texas Stars to give them some play time before the end of the season. Forwards Jason Dickinson, Mark McNeill, Gemel Smith, Denis Gurianov, and Remi Elie and defenseman Julius Honka will all head back to Texas, a team that, like its affiliate, has no chance at the playoffs either.
More to come throughout the final day of the 2016-17 season
Snapshots: McNeill, Tolchinsky, Borgstrom
The Dallas Stars have recalled a pair of prospects for their final game of the season tomorrow against the Colorado Avalanche. Mark McNeill and Denis Gurianov are both on their way to Dallas and would be making their Stars debut should they be inserted into the lineup. McNeill, 24, came over in the Johnny Oduya trade at the deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks, where he had been a first-round pick (18th overall) and top prospect. The big center has just one NHL game under his belt and is actually in the midst of his worst (though still effective) AHL season yet. He’ll need a breakthrough at the NHL level soon if he’s to stay in the plans of the Stars long-term, as he’s approaching the end of “prospect status”.
Gurianov is the Stars’ own first round pick from 2015 (12th overall) and has had a solid rookie campaign in the AHL after coming over from Russia this year. With 25 points in 54 games he’s only brushing the surface of his eventual power forward game, and still hasn’t quite filled out into his 6’3″ frame. He’ll be making his NHL debut, and hope to push for a full-time role in the next year or so at the top level.
- Speaking of young Russian wingers, the Carolina Hurricanes have recalled Sergey Tolchinsky from the Charlotte Checkers, while sending Andrew Poturalski back down. Tolchinsky has 22 points on the year in the AHL and still hasn’t replicated the immense scoring talent he showed for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. The 22-year old has some of the slickest hands in professional hockey, but has had trouble at times with his big size disadvantage. When he gets the puck in space though, watch out as you might see a highlight every time.
- The Buffalo Sabres have brought Linus Ullmark back up, likely meaning that Anders Nilsson isn’t quite ready to get back on the ice just yet. Ullmark was sent down yesterday in what was apparently just a paper transaction, as neither the Buffalo Sabres nor the Rochester Americans played last night.
- Andy Strickland of Fox Sports is reporting that Henrik Borgstrom will return to the University of Denver next season, meaning the Florida Panthers won’t get him into their system just yet. The first-round pick had 43 points in 36 games for DU this year, and will play for the national championship tomorrow night against Minnesota-Duluth. The lanky center has a great shot at the NHL after his college career ends, but the questions from the World Juniors still remain. He disappeared in the tournament for Finland and was held scoreless, not the first time he’s played poorly at an international event. With Finland firing their head coach mid-tournament, perhaps it was just a symptom of a bad system. For Borgstrom, he’ll need to prove his doubters wrong by continuing the consistent play he’s shown this year in the NCHC.
Western Prospect Notes: Lagesson, Roslovic, Phillips
The Edmonton Oilers have signed their fourth-round pick from the 2014 draft, inking William Lagesson to a three-year, entry-level deal. After two seasons at the University of Massechusetts-Amherst, the Swedish defenseman has decided to turn pro. While he’s never been much of an offensive contributor, he was a key part of a blueline and logged tough minutes in the defensive end.
Lagesson was actually the second selection of the draft for the Oilers that year, as they didn’t have their second or third round picks. The first selection? None other than Leon Draisaitl who has already made a big impact in the NHL. While Lagesson will never quite reach those heights, the Oilers are hoping a second member from their 2014 group can reach the NHL level.
- Jack Roslovic and Eric Comrie are both headed back down to the Manitoba Moose after their NHL debuts on Thursday night. Comrie stopped 34 of 38 shots for his first NHL win, while Roslovic played just over eight minutes and was held scoreless. While the pair will focus on their game at the AHL level for the time being, don’t underestimate the impact they’ll have at the NHL level sooner than later. Both players represent solid prospects in a system full of them, and should be knocking on the door as soon as next season.
- The Moose have also signed Michael Spacek to an amateur tryout for the remainder of the season after his huge breakout in the WHL. Spacek exploded for 85 points in 59 games and scored another 12 in the Red Deer Rebels’ hard fought series loss at the hands of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. He also impressed for the Czech Republic at the World Juniors, his third such tournament for his home country. Spacek is a very interesting prospect for the Jets going into next year, as he’ll turn just 20 years old on Sunday. His offensive game has no ceiling, and he could easily turn into a legitimate scoring threat in the AHL as a rookie next year.
- The Calgary Flames won’t be left behind, as they’ve also signed an interesting name to an amateur deal. Matthew Phillips—he of the 50 goal season—has signed an ATO with the Stockton Heat and will spend a little time with them before heading back to junior next year. Despite turning 19 yesterday, Phillips still only weighs in at a paltry 151 lbs. It will be extremely difficult for him to succeed at the professional level with his 5’7″ frame, but if anyone can do it perhaps he can. Phillips has scored at every level so far, including a 40 goal campaign in bantam hockey when he was 14—while playing only 33 games.
Checking In On Unsigned Draft Picks
As we close out the 2016-17 NHL season teams continue to sign their prospects to entry-level deals, bringing them over from whichever league they’ve played in around the world and installing them into their own systems. CapFriendly reminds us today of all the draft picks that will become free agents should they remain unsigned on June 1st of this year.
Buffalo Sabres
Devante Stephens (5th round, 2015)
Giorgio Estephan (6th round, 2015)
Gustav Possler (5th round, 2013)
Calgary Flames
Riley Bruce (7th round, 2015)
Carolina Hurricanes
Steven Lorentz (7th round, 2015)