Snapshots: Calder Trophy, Ullmark, Fritz
The 2023-24 Calder Trophy race should be one of the most exciting in recent memory. While Connor Bedard is undeniably the runaway favorite, there is a suite of other talented rookies that could challenge Bedard’s title. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler and Harman Dayal recently ranked their top-20 Calder candidates. Bedard unsurprisingly took the top spot, with Arizona Coyotes center Logan Cooley, Buffalo Sabres goalie Devon Levi, and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli making up the rest of the top four. The list also included names like Luke Hughes, Matthew Knies, and Joel Hofer.
The list featured more Anaheim Ducks prospects than any other team, with Leo Carlsson (#7) and Olen Zellweger (#9) ranked in the Top 10, while Lukas Dostal, Jackson LaCombe, and Pavel Mintyukov were all listed as honorable mentions. The Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild, and Chicago Blackhawks were among other teams with multiple prospects featured.
Some other notes from around the NHL:
- Ty Anderson, a reporter for Boston radio show 98.5 The Sports Hub, shared that one team approached the Bruins with a, “fair, market value return” for reigning Vezina Trophy-winner Linus Ullmark. Ullmark posted a league-best save percentage (.938) and goals-against-average (1.89) last season. He followed it up with a .896 save percentage and 3.33 goals-against-average while appearing in six of Boston’s seven postseason games. And while he didn’t walk out of the postseason with any hardware, he confidently won the Vezina, receiving 22 votes to win it where no one else received more than three. Ullmark is signed to a $5MM cap hit through the next two seasons.
- The Bridgeport Islanders have signed 32-year-old forward Tanner Fritz. Fritz has been a minor league player since 2015-16 when he split time between the ECHL’s Missouri Mavericks and the Islanders AHL affiliate. His performances that season – notably his 12 points in 19 AHL games – were enough to earn him a consistent AHL role. The Grand Prairie, Alberta native got a taste of NHL experience in 2017-18, appearing in 34 games with the Islanders. He tacked on an additional eight NHL games in the following year but has been in the AHL ever since. With this deal, Fritz will remain a core piece of the Islanders depth chart, after recording 10 points in nine AHL playoff games last season.
Golden Knights Prospect Arttu Kärki Commits To OHL’s Soo Greyhounds
Vegas Golden Knights defense prospect Arttu Kärki has signed an OHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the Soo Greyhounds, bringing him to North America for the 2023-24 season. The Greyhounds selected Kärki with their first-round pick in the 2023 CHL Import Draft.
Kärki, 18, went off the board to Vegas with the final pick of the third round (96th overall) in this summer’s NHL Draft. A high-end offensive-minded defender in the Finnish junior circuit, Kärki confirms his move to North America just a day before OHL training camps begin.
Hailing from Viiala, Finland, the 6-foot-2, 176-pound defenseman recorded 13 goals and 26 assists for 39 points in 36 regular-season games with Tappara U20 of the U20 SM-sarja Finnish league. He led his team’s defensemen in goals and finished second in goals from defensemen in the entire league.
Vegas took Kärki around where most public scouts expected him to go. They haven’t signed him to an entry-level contract yet, and since he was drafted out of Finland (not the CHL), they have four years to sign him before letting his exclusive signing rights expire.
That said, Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis is quite high on Kärki and expects the transition to North American major junior hockey to be a positive thing for his development. “Arttu has all the tools of an elite defenseman,” Raftis said. “His size, skating ability, and high-end puck skills make him a threat all over the ice.”
The Greyhounds currently have three other NHL-drafted prospects expected to suit up for them next season: Detroit Red Wings defenseman Andrew Gibson, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev and New York Rangers center Bryce McConnell-Barker.
All Reserve List Expirees On August 15th
Originally published August 8. Updated to reflect Harrison Blaisdell is returning to the University of New Hampshire for a fifth season, meaning the Winnipeg Jets will retain his rights until August 15, 2024.
Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the National Hockey League and its Players Association, every year on August 15th, certain players (if parameters are met) become unrestricted free agents at 5 pm ET. If a college-drafted player has not received a bona fide offer, and graduates from a four-year university, that player will have the freedom of pursuing a different organization via unrestricted free agency.
This does not typically happen for some of the higher-profile college-drafted prospects around the league, but has happened before most notably in the case of Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey. This year, nine players find themselves headed for unrestricted free agency a week today:
F – John Farinacci (Arizona Coyotes, 76th overall, 2019)
F – Demetrios Koumontzis (Calgary Flames, 108th overall, 2018)
F – Kevin Wall (Carolina Hurricanes, 181st overall, 2019)
F – Jake Wise (Chicago Blackhawks, 69th overall, 2018)
F – Robert Mastrosimone (Detroit Red Wings, 54th overall, 2019)
F – Jay O’Brien (Philadelphia Flyers, 19th overall, 2018)
D – Ryan O’Connell (Toronto Maple Leafs, 203rd overall, 2017)
G – Jared Moe (Winnipeg Jets, 184th overall, 2018)
These players are seeing their NHL signing rights expire but have signed ECHL, AHL, or European contracts for the 2023-24 season:
D – Robbie Stucker (Columbus Blue Jackets, 210th overall, 2017) – Signed with ECHL Iowa
F – Skyler Brind’Amour (Edmonton Oilers, 177th overall, 2017) – Signed with AHL Charlotte
D – Christian Krygier (New York Islanders, 196th overall, 2018) – Signed with AHL Bridgeport
F – Jacob Pivonka (New York Islanders, 103rd overall, 2018) – Signed with AHL Bridgeport
F – Jakov Novak (Ottawa Senators, 188th overall, 2018) – Signed with AHL Laval
D – Jonny Tychonick (Ottawa Senators, 48th overall, 2018) – Signed with AHL Toronto
D – Arvid Henrikson (San Jose Sharks, 187th overall, 2016) – Signed with Västerviks IK in the HockeyAllsvenskan
An abundance of these individual players are destined for AHL or ECHL agreements for the 2023-24 season if they are able to play anywhere, but there are several that should garner some significant interest on the market leading up to training camp in September. The immediate being O’Brien, a recent graduate from Boston University, who tore up his United States Preparatory High School league in his draft year. Originally committing to Providence College, O’Brien would transfer to Boston for the last three years of his collegiate career.
In 79 total games with the Terriers, O’Brien put up 26 goals and 44 assists, nothing to shake your head about in the NCAA. O’Brien may not be ready for NHL minutes just yet, but there should be plenty of rebuilding clubs ready and waiting to give him a shot for next season.
Wise will also be another interesting name to keep an eye on in a week’s time. Originally committing to Boston University, his collegiate career did not get off to a great start with the club, and Wise transferred to Ohio State University for the remainder of his collegiate career. In his final season in the NCAA, Wise had a tremendous season, scoring 12 goals and 27 assists in 39 games. Garnering Second-Team All Big 10 honors for the 2022-23 season, Wise helped OSU make it all the way to the Frozen Four quarterfinals, losing to the eventual champions, Quinnipiac University.
Lastly, Mastrosimone is likely the player on this list most ready to crack an NHL roster next season. Originally looking to be a solid draft pick by the Red Wings back in 2019, the beginning of his college career with Boston University soured any chance of the team offering up a contract. In his final year of NCAA eligibility, Mastrosimone excelled, scoring 11 goals and 31 assists in 38 games for the Arizona State University Sun Devils.
One of the biggest knocks on Mastrosimone is his size, standing at 5’10” and 170 pounds, but his skill is apparently ready. The NHL is not as big on size as it had been previously, but some clubs may want him to fill out a bit more before giving him meaningful minutes.
Snapshots: Pekarcik, ECHL, Hurricanes
One St. Louis Blues 2023 draft choice has found a playing home for next season. 76th overall pick Juraj Pekarcik will be heading stateside to the USHL, committing to the Dubuque Fighting Saints for 2023-24 after spending his career until now in his native Slovakia.
This is a rather consequential choice for the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan, who just used the second overall pick on Pekarcik in this year’s CHL Import Draft. However, the USHL has had quite the influx of Slovak talent in recent seasons, and it makes sense Pekarcik would choose to go to a league where he knows what the development experience will be like. The 6-foot-2 winger doesn’t turn 18 until September and registered 20 points in 16 games with HK Nitra’s junior club in the Slovak U-20 circuit last season. He also added ten points in seven games for Slovakia at last year’s IIHF U-18 World Junior Championship.
More from across the league today:
- The Buffalo Sabres confirmed the Jacksonville Icemen as their next ECHL affiliate today, as expected. It amounts to a swap of affiliates between the Sabres and New York Rangers, now affiliated with the Cincinnati Cyclones, Buffalo’s previous affiliate in the second-tier minor league. The current Sabres team does have one connection to the Icemen – assistant coach Jason Christie, who coached the Icemen for four seasons before heading to the Sabres in 2021 and remains the ECHL’s all-time leader in games coached.
- Without an AHL affiliate to store their prospects next season, the Carolina Hurricanes have loaned a trio of Finnish prospects back to their home country, per team reporter Walt Ruff. 20-year-old defenseman Aleksi Heimosalmi will head back to Assat, where he’s spent the past two seasons on loan from Carolina after they selected him 44th overall in 2021. Right wing Tuukka Tieksola, their 2019 fourth-round pick, is heading back to Finland with Lukko after recording 24 points in 52 games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves last year. Lastly, forward Ville Koivunen is heading back to Karpat, where he’s played most of his career to date after recording 28 points in 52 games with them last season. Doing this early in the summer gives Carolina less to worry about when figuring out where to assign their prospects closer to the start of the season.
San Jose Sharks Sign Kasper Halttunen
The San Jose Sharks have signed 2023 draft choice Kasper Halttunen to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team said today. CapFriendly reports the deal carries a $940K cap hit with the breakdown as follows:
2023-24: $825K base salary + $95K signing bonus + $30K games played bonus + $82.5K minor salary
2024-25: $855K base salary + $95K signing bonus + $82.5K minor salary
2025-26: $855K base salary + $95K signing bonus + $82.5K minor salary
The hulking Finnish winger already stands at 6-foot-3 and 216 pounds, and he went off the board to the Sharks early in the second round with the 36th overall pick. He didn’t necessarily turn many heads in pro play, recording just one assist in limited minutes throughout 27 games with Liiga club HIFK, but he dominated amongst his age group with 24 points in 18 junior games with HIFK and ten points in five games while captaining the national squad at the 2023 IIHF U-18 World Championship.
The appeal with Halttunen lies mostly with his size and his shot – 18 of those 24 points in juniors were goals, and he had six goals in five games at the U-18s. Some skating issues and concerns about his overall hockey sense let him slip to the second round, and he’ll need a long development track before making an NHL impact.
He’s likely to get loaned back to HIFK for the 2023-24 campaign, which will slide the start of his entry-level contract back another season (assuming he plays less than ten NHL games). It’ll be three or four years before we likely see Halttunen in a Sharks jersey on a full-time basis, but when he does, expect one thing if nothing else – shots on goal.
Anaheim Ducks Sign Leo Carlsson
The Anaheim Ducks showed they believe in Leo Carlsson‘s potential when they selected him second overall just two weeks ago, and today they’ve affirmed it. He’s signed a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced, although they didn’t disclose financial details.
While Carlsson was considered a lock to go top-five on draft day, few thought he’d go second overall ahead of reigning Hobey Baker Award winner Adam Fantilli. The Ducks and general manager Pat Verbeek had made their choice internally, though, believing they were getting a better player in Carlsson. They opted to pass on Fantilli, who the Columbus Blue Jackets were happy to select at third overall.
The second overall selection is by no means a reach for Carlsson, though – he would have been in the discussion for the first overall choice in many past drafts. He was named the Swedish Junior Hockey Player of the Year last season playing for Orebro HK in the SHL, posting strong totals for a draft-eligible talent with ten goals, 15 assists, and 25 points in 44 games.
It’s impressive scoring for an 18-year-old against professional competition, especially when you consider his 25 points rank as the fifth-highest for a draft-eligible player in SHL history, trailing only Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Elias Lindholm, and Nicklas Backstrom. In addition, Carlsson led all SHL players aged 20 and under in points per game, ranking second in goals and third in total points and assists.
The Karlstad product also made history at the 2023 IIHF World Championship as the youngest player ever to score a goal for Sweden at 18 years and 138 days old.
Where Carlsson actually suits up next season remains unclear. His agent said earlier this month that there was no rush to decide where he’d play in 2023-24, and he now has four options with his entry-level contract out of the way: the NHL, AHL, SHL, or a combination. Being a first-round pick, his ELC with Anaheim takes precedence over the contract he’d signed in Sweden next season with Orebro, although Anaheim could still opt to loan him back to Sweden if that’s what Carlsson and the team believes is best for his development. They can also keep him in North America the entire year if they want, as he’s eligible for assignment to the minors with the San Diego Gulls.
Detroit Red Wings Sign Nate Danielson To Entry-Level Contract
The Detroit Red Wings became the third team to ink a 2023 top-ten pick today, signing center Nate Danielson to a three-year, entry-level contract. The 18-year-old forward was selected by the Red Wings with the ninth overall pick two weeks ago, becoming the fifth center off the board after Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli, and Will Smith comprised the first four picks of the draft. Financial terms haven’t been reported.
Like Bedard, Danielson captained his WHL team during the 2022-23 season. The 6-foot-2, 186-pound center was the life and soul of the Brandon Wheat Kings last year, leading the team in goals (33), assists (45), and points (78) across 68 games while demonstrating a dominant two-way game with a mediocre supporting cast.
The questions around Danielson aren’t around holes in his game. He’s solid in transition, smart in his defensive positioning without the puck, and he’s even rather proficient on the power play, potting 13 goals and 38 points on the man advantage last season. It’s whether or not he can elevate his scoring potential to align with the others picked around him in an incredibly talented 2023 class.
Consistency is certainly the name of his game, posting scoring totals above a point per game in his two pre-draft seasons. While he was one of the oldest players in his class (a late September 2004 birthday), there’s very little risk of a complete bust with a Danielson selection. Ideally, Detroit will let him develop as long as he needs, allowing him to develop the offensive tools he needs to be an everyday top-six producer.
He was one of the more well-rounded centers available in the draft, though, a position that Detroit’s struggled to develop in recent seasons. They’ve plugged their holes down the middle in free agency with players like Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher, and hopefully, their performances give Danielson the runway he needs to develop into the legitimate second-line center they’ve been missing behind captain Dylan Larkin.
Washington Capitals Sign Andrew Cristall
2023 second-round pick Andrew Cristall is the first member of the Washington Capitals’ draft class to sign his entry-level contract with the team. Per an announcement from the Capitals, his three-year deal holds an average annual value of $810K at the NHL level and $82.5K in the AHL. Per PuckPedia, the deal carries a $905K cap hit, and the exact breakdown is as follows:
Year 1: $775K NHL salary, $95K signing bonus, $80K games played bonus, $82.5K AHL salary
Year 2: $800K NHL salary, $95K signing bonus, $55K games played bonus, $82.5K AHL salary
Year 3: $855K NHL salary, $95K signing bonus, $82.5K AHL salary
The Capitals selected the 18-year-old 40th overall one week ago today, well below where public scouts had pegged the skilled forward to land in the draft. Listed as the fifth-ranked North American left wing and the 15th-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting, Cristall was one of the highest-scoring players in the entire WHL this season, but his size, skating, and below-average defensive play knocked him out of the top 32 picks.
It’s worth noting some public boards had Cristall ranked inside the top 10 – a true testament to the ultimate upside Washington has in Cristall. Standing at 5-foot-10 and weighing 175 pounds, Cristall was a dominant force with the Kelowna Rockets last season, leading the team in goals (39), assists (56), and points (95). Among the entire WHL, Cristall’s 1.76 points-per-game rate ranked third among qualified players – trailing only first-overall pick Connor Bedard and Dallas Stars top prospect Logan Stankoven.
It also wasn’t a late rise for Cristall, who set Kelowna franchise records in 2021-22 for goals by a 16-year-old with 28, and he equaled the franchise record for points by a 16-year-old with 69. Throughout his WHL career to date, spanning 129 games with the Kelowna Rockets, Cristall has amassed an impressive 169 points.
Kelowna is where he’ll spend the 2023-24 season, as he still has quite a bit of work to do to round out his game before he’s ready for any NHL time. If he can continue to develop his skating, however, he has a high likelihood of remaining a top-six fixture for quite a while in the nation’s capital. He’s ineligible for AHL time until his age 20 season, so his contract can slide for two years if he’s not a full-time NHLer by 2025-26.
Nashville Predators Sign Tanner Molendyk, Kalan Lind
The Nashville Predators became the third team to sign a 2023 draft pick to their entry-level contract today, signing defenseman Tanner Molendyk to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. They immediately followed Molendyk’s announcement with that of second-round pick Kalan Lind, who’s also signed a three-year ELC.
Moldenyk joins Columbus Blue Jackets center Adam Fantilli and Montreal Canadiens defender David Reinbacher as 2023 first-round picks already under contract with their teams.
The 18-year-old from McBride, British Columbia, was selected with the 24th overall pick last week in Nashville. The 5-foot-11, 181-pound blueliner enjoyed an outstanding season with the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL in 2022-23, setting career-highs with nine goals, 28 assists, and 37 points in 67 regular-season games en route to a berth in the Eastern Conference Final.
During the WHL playoffs, Molendyk continued to excel, notching three goals and five assists in 18 games. That was good enough to share the lead for playoff goals among WHL defensemen and finish second in points and assists.
Beyond his league success, Molendyk started off his draft year by representing Canada at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. In his first-ever national team appearance, he recorded one goal and three assists in five games, winning a gold medal in the process.
It wasn’t Molendyk’s offensive production that warranted a first-round selection, however. Those in the analytics community know better than anyone that he’s an absolute monster in transition, dominating the WHL with his two-way play. An incredibly skilled skater, Molendyk doesn’t ever project to break any team records in terms of points but is as steady as they come in terms of advancing the puck and dominating possession.
Molendyk is expected to return to Saskatoon for his third full WHL season next year, which would slide his entry-level contract to begin in 2024-25 (assuming he plays less than 10 NHL games). He won’t be eligible for AHL assignment until 2025-26, per the NHL-CHL transfer agreement.
Nashville drafted Lind with their fourth pick of the draft and their second of the second round, taking him 46th overall. The 6-foot, 158-pound left wing also played in the WHL, posting good offensive totals with the Red Deer Rebels (16 goals, 28 assists, 44 points in 43 games). One of the few power forwards available in the draft, Lind is a dominant checker whose effort is unmatched in most situations. He carries solid offensive smarts and playmaking capabilities, too – which became apparent with his over-point-per-game production.
Nashville Predators Trying To Acquire Top Five Pick
This is a huge night for the Nashville Predators franchise, hosting the 2023 NHL Draft – the first under the leadership of new general manager and franchise coaching legend Barry Trotz. Over the past few hours, it’s become clear Trotz is looking to make an earth-shattering move on the draft floor tonight to move up in the first round.
Multiple reports suggest the Predators have called the Montreal Canadiens about trading up to fifth overall, and Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli now reports Nashville’s put goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov into play. The Russian netminder, who was the 11th overall pick in the 2020 draft, is one of the best netminder prospects in the world and posted a .911 save percentage in 48 games with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals this season.
Askarov would make tremendous amounts of sense for the two teams Nashville’s called about in the top five – Montreal and the San Jose Sharks, who Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic says are getting multiple calls about their fourth overall selection. Both teams have a decent pool of goalie prospects but no surefire starter in their future.
It’ll take much more than Askarov to get either of those teams to part with their picks, though. Nashville holds the 15th and 24th overall selections tonight, with the latter acquired from the Edmonton Oilers for Mattias Ekholm. It’ll take at least Askarov plus the 15th pick, potentially a tad more given the game-breaking, franchise-changing talent available with each of the first five picks in this draft.
With Trotz’s public posturing of wanting high-upside, skilled players in Nashville’s prospect pool, it’s fair to wonder if Nashville is targeting Matvei Michkov if they do move up. While there are some concerns about his defensive engagement (depending on who you ask) and obvious off-ice questions given his contract status and geopolitical uncertainty, he’s the highest-upside prospect in this draft not named Connor Bedard.