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College Hockey Round-Up: Season Preview

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Though the focus of the hockey world may be on the NHL preseason right now as we prepare for a full season for the first time in two years, college hockey is also making its triumphant return to play this weekend. After a season in which a number of teams did not participate, NCAA Division I men’s hockey is back at full strength – and then some. The University of St. Thomas is the newest member to the upper echelon of college hockey and will make their DI debut on Saturday in the first game of a home-and-home against championship runner-up No. 2 St. Cloud State. The weekend’s docket, though all non-conference matchups, still contains a number of incredible contests. Reigning NCAA champs No. 1 UMass starts with a tough test as they host No. 5 Minnesota State in a must-watch series. Lake Superior State and No. 17 Nebraska-Omaha is another clash of 2021 tournament teams, while UMass Lowell travels to Arizona State in a meeting of hopeful programs and the vaunted No. 3 Michigan starts off their campaign with a good challenge against Bowling Green.

Season Opening Rankings

The first national rankings, courtesy of USCHO.com, were released on Monday to open up the college hockey season. Predictably (albeit unimaginatively) last season’s champ and runner-up sit at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. Yet, UMass and St. Cloud State face a serious threat in No. 3 Michigan, the majority favorite to win the NCAA title this year. Like Wisconsin two years ago, fans are gravitating toward the team with the most elite NHL Draft talent and Michigan takes that title handily with four of the top five selections in the 2021 draft class along with three additional first-round picks and a number of other NHL prospects. The Wolverines look dangerous, but have high expectations to live up to.

The “State of Hockey” is well-represented at the top of the rankings. Beyond St. Cloud State are No. 4 Minnesota, No. 5 Minnesota State, and No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth (who ironically all come from different conferences.) Duluth could have a bone to pick with their ranking as NCAA Champs in 2018 and 2019 and a Frozen Four finalist last year, only losing to eventual champ UMass. Minnesota State was a also a finalist in 2021, finally bucking the trend of early tournament exits. Minnesota won a stacked Big Ten Conference last year and should be taken seriously, even with Michigan in their path to a title.

No. 7 Boston College and No. 8 North Dakota round out the group that should be considered top contenders to begin the year. The Eagles and Fighting Hawks are historic programs and perennial contenders and were the top two seeds in the NCAA Tournament last year.

A major drop-off in voting points separates the rest of the pack, none of whom received any first-place votes either. Highlights of the remainder of the Top 20 include No. 9 Quinnipiac, a rising program with a ranking to match; frequent top competitors in No. 10 BU, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 12 Providence. and No. 13 Denver; and the return of Ivy League power houses No. 14 Cornell and No. 15 Harvard. Atlantic Hockey hero No. 20 AIC wraps up the rankings, but there are 16 other schools who received votes, with Northeastern and UMass Lowell leading the chase.

What To Watch For This Season

If you are only going to watch one or two college hockey games this season, make them Michigan games. Owen Power (BUF), Matthew Beniers (SEA), Luke Hughes (NJD), Kent Johnson (CLB), Mackie Samoskevich (FLA), Brendan Brisson (VGK), Johnny Beecher (BOS), and Thomas Bordeleau (BUF) are all elite NHL prospects. Erik Portillo (BUF) and Dylan Duke (TBL) are no slouches either. At best, this team will be unstoppable. At worst, they will still be fun to watch. And with a couple of impressive recruiting classes along the way, may as well jump on the bandwagon now.

If you plan to watch a number of college hockey games this season and not just the Wolverines, you’re in luck. 40 programs have at least one drafted NHL prospect and eight, not including Michigan, have a double-digit total. Tyler Boucher (OTT) of Boston University, Matthew Coronato (CGY) of Harvard, Chaz Lucius (WPG) of Minnesota, and Corson Ceulemans (CLB) of Wisconsin are all 2021 first-rounders that aren’t playing in Ann Arbor this season. Jake Sanderson (OTT)and Tyler Kleven (OTT), selected in the first and second round respectively in 2020, are both current North Dakota defenders and future Ottawa Senators who could be manning the same blue line for years to come. Reigning Mike Richter Award winner Jack LaFontaine (CAR) of Minnesota is back for yet another year with the Gophers but sure to turn pro after the season, while Jay O’Brien (PHI) of BU has his sights set on the scoring title this year after finishing ninth in goals per game last year.

Of course, while it is great to watch your favorite NHL team’s draft picks play, it can be even better to build up excitement for the draft by keeping an eye on those top draft-eligible prospects. While this year’s crop of to-be-drafted freshman is not best or the biggest, it is led by a familiar name. Jack Hughes, yes a different Jack Hughes, looks to be the only surefire first-rounder out of the college ranks this year. The Northeastern center has been a well-regarded prospect in the U.S. ranks for some time and is ready to show what he can do at the next level. Denver winger Jack Devine could also sneak into the first round with a big freshman campaign, while defenseman Jake Martin of Wisconsin will try to show NHL teams that they should not have passed up on his top-notch defensive skills in the 2021 Draft. As always, some dark horse candidates could emerge over the course of the season as well. This weekend provides the first opportunity for prospects to make their mark on the college level and on NHL scouts.

Bruins Notes: Coyle, Lysell, Injuries

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To say it’s been an eventful offseason for the Boston Bruins would be an understatement. With the extensions for Taylor Hall and Mike Reilly and the acquisitions of Linus Ullmark and Nick Foligno came some serious departures. Longtime Bruin David Krejci left the team to continue his career at home in the Czech Republic, while netminder Tuukka Rask remains unsigned amid injury uncertainty. While Krejci’s replacement as the second-line center isn’t entirely clear, the frontrunner in the eyes of most is Charlie Coyle. However, as The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa notes, Coyle’s participation could be limited at the start of training camp. While not ordinarily a huge cause for concern, the news comes after it was revealed Coyle suffered through injury for much of last season and underwent knee surgery in July. It was an inordinately rough season for Coyle last year, who scored just six goals and 16 points in 51 games. An elevated role playing with Hall will likely boost those point totals. The team will be relying on Coyle much more next season to produce, meaning his health as the start of the season approaches could be a real storyline in Boston.

More from the Bruins’ sphere today:

  • General manager Don Sweeney, speaking after the Bruins’ development camp games concluded today, says that 2021 first-round pick Fabian Lysell will likely be playing in North American this season. Lysell signed his entry-level contract this summer after spending last season with Luleå HF in Sweden, but the signing offered little clarity over where he could take the ice in 2021-22. A loan back to Sweden was still possible, but it now appears he’ll be playing junior hockey this season with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants. It’s important to note that due to his European status and lack of a junior contract, Lysell was indeed eligible to suit up with the Providence Bruins in the AHL this year.
  • Shinzawa also notes that a trio of Bruins prospects — Victor Berglund, Josiah Didier, and J.D. Greenway — are all injured and unavailable for the beginning of training camp. The most exciting of these names to follow is undoubtedly Berglund’s. A seventh-round pick of the squad in 2017, he’s developed extremely well in his native Sweden. Loaned out to Luleå this year, sharing a team with Lysell, the 22-year-old impressed in his first season of SHL action with 21 points in 50 games. Likely a candidate to play serious minutes with Providence this year, Bruins fans may have to wait a little while to see him on the ice again.

Montreal To Host 2022 NHL Draft

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The 2022 NHL Draft will be held in Montreal at the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens. The event will be held over two days, starting on July 7. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman released a statement:

We are proud to announce that, once again, we are conducting our Draft in front of the great fans of the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal, the site of the first NHL Draft in 1963, is a wonderful place to bring the NHL family together and to focus on the future of our game as our Clubs call the names of top prospects from around the world. We also thank Geoff Molson and the entire Canadiens organization for their cooperation and support while we needed to conduct the Draft remotely the past two years.

The Canadiens had been set to host the 2020 draft before the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to be held virtually. The expectation since has always been that the league would return to Montreal as soon as it could, and now that is official.

The most interesting part about this announcement is that NHL free agency will not open on July 1, as it did prior to the COVID-shifted calendars. Agent Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey tweets that the frenzy will be pushed back to mid-July, meaning once again it will be a condensed offseason. This is likely in part due to the extended season, as this year’s schedule is made up of 200 days thanks to an Olympic break in February.

It also means as PuckPedia points out, that the majority of players with signing bonuses will have them paid before the draft and free agency. That could drastically affect teams’ plans and player movement heading into the draft, as huge chunks of salary will have already been paid out.

Snapshots: 2022 Draft, Price, Ylonen

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Though the hockey calendar is starting to get back to normal, it looks like the 2022 NHL Draft may actually still be delayed from its normal late-June timeline. Corey Pronman of The Athletic tweets that the draft is likely to take place in the second week of July next year. Remember, now that the league has agreed to go to the Olympics the season schedule is a little longer than usual, which has seemingly pushed offseason dates back should Pronman’s expectation prove true.

Even though it won’t happen until next July, it’s never too early to start getting excited for the next wave of prospects. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic released his preseason top-32 ranking today, which has Shane Wright in the top spot as expected. Despite the OHL not playing last season, Wright remains the best prospect available in 2022 and is considered a lock by Wheeler at this point to be first off the board. The rest of the list has plenty of interesting scouting information on the top prospects available a year from now.

  • On July 23, the Montreal Canadiens announced that Carey Price underwent knee surgery and would face a recovery timeline of 10-12 weeks. The release included an expectation that he would be ready for the start of the regular season, and though Price has not yet begun skating, he is confident in the rehab he has been doing. The goaltender spoke with Dave Stubbs of NHL.com to discuss the injury and recovery, confirming that it had been a torn meniscus that he was dealing with for a while before the surgery. If all goes well, he’ll be back on the ice soon; his original timeline had him almost exactly synced up with the Canadiens’ season opener on October 13.
  • Speaking of Canadiens games, the organization expects young winger Jesse Ylonen to play in NHL games this season after spending last year with the Laval Rocket. That’s what director of player development Rob Ramage told Eric Engels of Sportsnet, though Ylonen will obviously still have to prove he’s ready to make the jump from Laval to Montreal. The 21-year-old was the 35th overall pick in 2018, had 17 points in 29 games with the Rocket, and actually made his NHL debut by playing 11:23 in the final game of the regular season.

Atlantic Notes: Cozens, Seider, Sogaard

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With the never-ending rumors of Jack Eichel’s eventual trade on top of the departures of several other core Sabres this summer, its fair to wonder who will fill the leadership vacuum in Buffalo. However, young standout Dylan Cozens is more than ready to take on that role. Appearing on WGR 550 in Buffalo, the 2019 seventh overall pick stated that he is confident in his ability to lead this next generation of Sabres. “I think definitely I could go out and be a leader on this team,” Cozens said. “Just by the way I play, leading by example and being a voice in the room. I think it’s something I’m ready to do. I want to lead by example and be a guy that guys can look to if they need anything or look to to inspire them. That’s what I’ve always been growing up – the guy that wants to lead and do things the right way.” Part of what makes Cozens a great candidate to lead Buffalo for years to come is an optimism that has been missing from other core members through a dark stretch for the franchise. “I think that we’re going to surprise a lot of people this year,” Cozens believes. “Everyone’s doubting us because we’re a young team, but if you look at the second half of last season, we were beating those veteran teams. So I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people and we’re going to have a good year.”

    • The Detroit Red Wings are looking forward to prodigious defenseman Moritz Seider developing into a leader for their club in the future. Yet, he was nowhere to be found on the team’s roster for the upcoming Traverse City Prospects Tournament. However, Red Wings Director of Player Development Shawn Horcoff tells The Athletic’s Max Bultman that this is actually an endorsement of Seider’s position in the organization rather than an indictment. Although Seider has yet to see any NHL action, Detroit is so confident in his ability to make the roster this season that they did not feel they needed to use a roster spot on him in the development tournament. “With Moritz, he’s played two years of pro now – he spent a full year in Grand Rapids, spent a full year over in Europe playing,” Horcoff explained. “Frankly, there’s some younger players that we wanted to see on the (Traverse City Tournament) roster and we just wanted to make sure that Mo was ready to go for main camp.” Fear not, Wings fans; the team clearly has no concerns about their top prospect stepping into the NHL lineup and making an impact this year.
    • The Ottawa Senators could face a difficult decision with young goaltender Mads Sogaard this season. As Bruce Garrioch details for the Ottawa Sun, the impressive prospect keeper could very well be in line for a roster spot at the Olympics for Team Denmark, making their first men’s hockey appearance at the Winter Games. Sogaard served as the team’s backup in qualifying tournaments this summer and while the those contests were played without presumptive starter, the Carolina Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen, Sogaard is still likely to be the Danes’ first choice at third-string behind Andersen and qualifying starter Sebastian Dahm. The problem is that the AHL does not have an Olympic break like the NHL. While Ottawa’s players will have full flexibility to attend the Games if selected, Belleville’s may not. Garrioch points out that the farm team has ten games during the NHL’s Olympic break and, depending on how the organization’s goalie depth plays out this season, that could be a number of missed starts for Sogaard and a detriment to Belleville as well. The massive 6’7″ keeper had a strong first pro season last year and if fellow promising youngster Filip Gustavsson cracks the Ottawa roster, Sogaard could be the starter for Belleville. Will the Senators allow him to leave the team for an extended period in order to ride the bench for his country?

Buffalo Sabres Limited By Salary Cap Floor

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The Buffalo Sabres will be over the NHL’s salary cap floor by the start of the season, that much is obvious. While CapFriendly currently has the club sitting $2.3MM below the $60.2MM benchmark, that is with a 22-man roster that does not include unsigned RFA defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. While the 2018 first overall pick is not quite yet proven himself worthy of the considerable long-term deals signed by other top defenseman this off-season, he will surely make more than $2.3MM AAV on his next contract.

Yet, that does not end the Sabres’ battle with the cap floor. Just because they begin the season over the floor, does not mean that they will remain as such all season – or at least not if they wish to have flexibility with their transactions. Buffalo is again expected to be among the NHL’s worst teams this season and will be open to selling current members of the roster. Of course, Jack Eichel is the biggest name who could be available. However, at $10MM AAV it has been brought up numerous times that an Eichel trade is not as easy as it may seem. A team may offer a plethora of top picks, prospects, and entry-level players, but the Sabres would not be able to make that deal alone, as it would leave the team well below the salary cap floor regardless of Dahlin’s contract. Buffalo would have to acquire a nearly equal amount of salary back in the deal or else be prepared to quickly turn and add that salary in another deal. As a rebuilding team, the Sabres also won’t eager to add high-priced veterans who serve little purpose to a team with no title hopes. It makes an already difficult situation with Eichel all that much more tricky.

Even if Eichel begins the season with Buffalo, which seems increasingly likely, and even plays out the year with the team, the cap floor will still come into play. As the trade deadline approaches, the Sabres want to be in position to take full advantage of their valuable trade assets. The team has four forwards, four defensemen, and two goalies who are impending UFA’s and whose expiring contracts would be worth far more to another team. Colin Miller ($3.875MM), Will Butcher ($2.823MM), Cody Eakin ($2.25MM) and Vinnie Hinostroza ($1.05MM) stand out as potentially popular trade candidates at the deadline. Depending on Dahlin’s contract, could they move Hinostroza or maybe even Eakin or Butcher without going below the floor? Probably. But Miller? Or multiple moves? Likely not. The deadline is also not a place that is likely to offer even salary swaps.

If GM Kevyn Adams and the Sabres want to enter the 2021-22 season with the confidence that they can make any move they want without limitation, they need to find a way to sensibly add salary to the roster. For a rebuilding team, it may be difficult to think about adding salary to a team that won’t contend, but it would be a short-term sacrifice to ensure their long-term plans are not affected. The team could explore the trade market for a veteran or two that can help to develop the young roster or perhaps a young, but overpaid reclamation project. Or maybe they could entertain adding a legitimate starting goalie. They could also explore the free agent market which, even late in the summer, still has some attractive names available. With the Sabres pegged to give roster spots to minimum-salary fourth-liners like Drake Caggiula and John Hayden, it might make more sense to give those slots and more importantly more salary to a high-upside project like Ryan Donato, Alex Galchenyuk, or Nikita Gusev or a veteran leader like Tyler Bozak, James Neal, or Jason Demers. 

The Sabres have plenty of options to solve their salary cap floor conundrum beyond just re-signing Dahlin. However, those options could disappear if they don’t act quickly, and with it their transactional flexibility this season.

Coaching Notes: Koivu, Penguins, Wickenheiser

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The Minnesota Wild will have former captain and franchise icon Mikko Koivu at training camp this season, but not as a player. Michael Russo of The Athletic tweets that the expectation is that Koivu will have an official position with the organization eventually, though none has been announced yet.

Koivu, 38, retired earlier this year, leaving the Columbus Blue Jackets after playing just seven games. That time in Columbus is perhaps an unfortunate footnote on a career that up until then was spent entirely in Minnesota, spanning 15 years and more than 1,000 games with the organization.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have hired a pair of goaltending development coaches, bringing in Kain Tisi and Charles Grant. The two will work with goaltending prospects throughout the Penguins organization, in Europe, the minor leagues, juniors and college hockey, as well as scout draft-eligible and college free agent goalies. Tisi previously worked with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, while Grant is coming over from the Cape Breton Eagles of the QMJHL.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs development camp has a bit of a different feel this season and that’s in part due to the leadership. Hayley Wickenheiser was promoted to senior director of player development earlier this year and she’s running the camp, telling TSN’s Kristen Shilton the group has decided to “create a competitive environment versus a teaching environment.” A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, it’s actually Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser now; she’s also currently doing an emergency room rotation at a Toronto hospital.

Toronto Marlies Hire Hannu Toivonen, Troy Paquette

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The Toronto Marlies have made a duo of coaching hires today. Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun reports that the team will bring on Hannu Toivonen as their goalie coach and Troy Paquette as their video coach.

Toivonen’s a name that will likely ring a bell for some. Drafted by the Boston Bruins in the first round in 2002, Toivonen could never stick around at the NHL level despite strong showings early in his career in the AHL. Toivonen’s NHL career lasted just three seasons between 2005 and 2008, but he continued playing overseas and in minor leagues until his retirement just recently in 2019. After taking 2019-20 off, Toivonen got his first coaching gig as a goalie coach with the University of New England last season. He’ll now join the Marlies as his first professional coaching job, looking to make an impact with prospects such as Joseph Woll, Ian Scott, and Erik Kallgren.

The hire of Toivonen comes after the Marlies quickly announced and renounced the hiring of Dusty Imoo last month after social media backlash.

Paquette is somewhat of an early bloomer in the coaching world at just 25 years old. A former goalie, Paquette never played at a level higher than junior hockey with his last game action in 2015-16. However, this will be Paquette’s fourth season already as a video coach. He’s been with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs for the past three years, as well as serving as the goalie coach for Queen’s University the past two seasons.

Keith Petruzzelli Signs With AHL’s Toronto Marlies

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In a somewhat stunning turn of events, highly-touted goalie prospect Keith Petruzelli will not be playing in the NCAA nor on an NHL contract this season. The 2017 third-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings had parted ways with his rights holder, allegedly by his own choice, and was believed to be looking for a new NHL home or else returning for a fifth year at Quinnipiac University. Instead, the AHL’s Toronto Marlies have announced that they have signed Petruzzelli and to a two-year deal at that. It is quite the unexpected outcome for the decorated NCAA goaltender.

Petruzzelli, 22, is coming off of an excellent collegiate season in which he was named an ECAC first-team all-star, ECAC goalie of the year, a finalist for the Mike Richter Award as the NCAA’s best goaltender,and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s most outstanding player. He posted a .926 save percentage and 1.89 GAA while leading the Bobcats to a conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance. This was reasonably expected to boost his value as an NHL prospect. After all, recent Richter winners include top young pro keepers like Jeremy Swayman, Cayden Primeau, and Thatcher Demko. Petruzzelli was in a unique situation as well. Having played four seasons in the NCAA, Petruzzelli could watch the Red Wings’ draft rights expire in August and sign elsewhere. However, he was also granted an additional fifth year of NCAA eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic that would have allowed him to return to Quinnipiac if the NHL market did not develop as he had hoped and test free agency next summer instead. When August 15 came and went, as well as a development camp appearance with his hometown Boston Bruins, and there was no contract announcement, it seemed likely that a collegiate return was likely.

Instead, the curveball result is Petruzzelli signing an AHL contract and for two years instead of one. This cannot be the result that Petruzzelli’s camp imagined if and when they did spurn Detroit. It’s difficult to imagine that Petruzzelli did not receive an NHL contract, but his representation misread the market as most others did. The talented goaltender is now locked into a low-money, minor league pact when he ideally would have been on an entry-level contract with a shot at NHL starts. Toronto is also not a great landing spot in particular. The Maple Leafs will have NHL veteran Michael Hutchinson and signed prospects Joseph Woll and Ian Scott all battling for play time with the Marlies and Petruzzelli, who the team is not as invested in, could easily fall through the cracks. This may not provide enough exposure to garner NHL offers that could relieve him of his AHL contract. It’s a strange and surprising situation for a such well-regarded prospect and will be an interesting storyline to follow in the minors this season.

Adam Fantilli Commits To The University of Michigan

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The Wolverines have done it again. The same school that saw four members of their 2021-22 roster selected in the top five of the 2021 NHL Draft has just secured another probable top-five pick. Forward Adam Fantilli of the USHL’s Chicago Steel has committed to the University of Michigan, reports TSN’s Darren Dreger. Fantilli is considered a candidate to go first overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.

Fantilli, 16, will spend one more season with Chicago and then it is off to Ann Arbor to join the Wolverines for the 2022-23 season. Fantilli, who already helped the Steel to a Clark Cup championship this past season and took home postseason MVP honors himself, would probably be ready for the NCAA ranks already were it not for his age and academic status. Fantilli will have to try to improve in the USHL this season after already posting 36 points in 49 games last year, followed by a stunning eight goals in eight playoff games. NHL teams are already convinced of his high-end ability and impressed by his growing 6’2″ frame, but now will see if he can remain consistent and driven in the USHL and then still have another season to see how he adjusts to the college game. If the rangy center can continue to score and flash immense skill while bulking up, he could be the can’t-miss prospect at the top of the 2023 draft class.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Fantilli will get a chance to play with many of Michigan’s current star players. Owen Power (BUF, No. 1 overall in 2021), Matthew Beniers (SEA, No. 2 overall in 2021), Kent Johnson (CLB, No. 5 overall in 2021) and Johnny Beecher (BOS, No. 30 overall in 2019) are almost certain to turn pro after this season, while Luke Hughes (NJD, No. 4 overall in 2021), Brendan Brisson (VGK, No. 29 overall in 2020), and Thomas Bordeleau (SJS, No. 38 overall in 2020) could follow. However, it is a safe bet that Mackie Samoskevich (FLA, No. 24 overall in 2021), Erik Portillo (BUF, No. 67 overall in 2019), and Dylan Duke (TBL, No. 126 overall in 2020) will stick around for Fantilli’s freshman year, where he will be joined by other notable prospects like Jackson Hallum (VGK, No. 91 overall in 2020), Frank Nazar, and brother Luca Fantilli in the recruiting class. This should keep the Wolverines’ National Championship window open for at least a couple years longer as they have quickly turned into the premier program in college hockey.

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