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Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Sam Poulin

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed top prospect Sam Poulin to a three-year entry-level contract. Poulin was selected 21st overall in this June’s draft, and played last season with the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL. Penguins GM Jim Rutherford released a short statement on the signing:

Sam is a good, young forward whose style is hard to play against. He has had a good training camp and we’re happy to get him signed and look forward to watching his development.

Poulin, 18, will be heading back to the Phoenix this year as a potential dominant player in the CHL. Last season saw him record 76 points in 67 games, a number he should easily eclipse this time around as long as he continues to play his solid two-way game that allows the coaching staff to keep him on the ice. A candidate for the Canadian World Junior team at some point, Poulin recently won the gold medal at the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament.

As they have for a decade, the Penguins will hope to support Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin up front with their draft picks and college signings, needing only a silver of production to help out their star centers.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/20/19

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Like always, we’ll keep track of all the training camp cuts right here. It is important to note that today is the first day teams can place players on waivers for the 2019-20 season, meaning a flood of moves will likely come in over the next few days. Keep checking back to see the updated list:

Chicago Blackhawks (per team release)

F Nathan Noel (to Rockford, AHL)
F Graham Knott (to Rockford, AHL)
F Tim Soderlund (to Rockford, AHL)
F Dylan McLaughlin (to Rockford, AHL)
F Kris Versteeg (to Rockford, AHL)
F Tyler Sikura (to Rockford, AHL)
D Chad Krys (to Rockford, AHL)
D Jack Ramsey (to Rockford, AHL)
D Jake Ryczek (to Rockford, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Egor Sokolov (released from PTO)

Dallas Stars (per team release)

F Tony Calderone (to Texas, AHL)
F Josh Melnick (to Texas, AHL)
D John Nyberg (to Texas, AHL)
D Ondrej Vala (to Texas, AHL)
G Colton Point (to Texas, AHL)
F Diego Cuglietta (released from ATO)
F Parker MacKay (released from ATO)
D Tanner Jago (released from ATO)
F Corey Elkins (released from PTO)
F Brad McClure (released from PTO)
F Anthony Nellis (released from PTO)
G Tomas Sholl (released from PTO

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Tyler Benson (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
F Cameron Hebig (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
F Kirill Maksimov (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
F Cooper Marody (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
F Ryan McLeod (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
F Anthony Peluso (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
D Caleb Jones (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
D Dmitri Samorukov (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
G Dylan Wells (to Bakersfiled, AHL)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F Will Bitten (to Iowa, AHL)
F Connor Dewar (to Iowa, AHL)
F Brandon Duhaime (to Iowa, AHL)
F Ivan Lodnia (to Iowa, AHL)
F Dmitry Sokolov (to Iowa, AHL)
D Brennan Menell (to Iowa, AHL)
D Stepan Falkovsky (to Iowa, AHL)
G Dereck Baribeau (to Iowa, AHL)
G Kaapo Kakhonen (to Iowa, AHL)
G Mat Robson (to Iowa, AHL)
F Alexander Khovanov (to Moncton, QMJHL)
F Olivier Archambault (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)
F Kyle Bauman (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)
F Mitch McLain (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)
F Tyler Sheehy (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)
D Nicholas Boka (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)
D Alex Breton (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)
D Jack Sadek (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)

New York Rangers (per team release)

F Jake Elmer (to Hartford, AHL)
D Brandon Crawley (to Hartford, AHL)
D Vincent LoVerde (to Hartford, AHL)
D Darren Raddysh (to Hartford, AHL)

Ottawa Senators (per team release)

D Maxence Guenette (to Val-d’Or, QMJHL)
F Tristan Scherwey (to Bern, NLA)
F J.C. Beaudin (to Belleville, AHL)
F Michael Carcone (to Belleville, AHL)
F Mark Kastelic (to Belleville, AHL)
F Jack Rodewald (to Belleville, AHL)
F Andrew Sturtz (to Belleville, AHL)
D Jonathan Aspirot (to Belleville, AHL)
D Nick Ebert (to Belleville, AHL)
D Hubert Labrie (to Belleville, AHL)

Philadelphia Flyers (per team release)

F Kyle Criscuolo (to waivers on 09/21)
D Tyler Wotherspoon (to waivers on 09/21)
D Nate Prosser (to waivers on 09/21)
D T.J. Brennan (to waivers on 09/21)
D Reece Wilcox (to waivers on 09/21)
F Cal O’Reilly (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Greg Carey (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Maksim Sushko (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Gerry Fitzgerald (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F David Kase (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Pascal Laberge (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Isaac Ratcliffe (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Matthew Strome (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Rob Michel (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D David Drake (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Josh Couturier (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Felix Sandstrom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Kirill Ustimenko (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

Pittsburgh Penguins (per team release)

F Chase Berger (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Jordy Bellerive (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Jan Drozg (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Ben Sexton (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Matt Abt (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Michael Kim (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Jon Lizotte (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
G Alex D’Orio (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
G Dustin Tokarski (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Calen Addison (to Lethbridge, WHL)

St. Louis Blues (per team release)

F Cameron Darcy (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Zach Nastasiuk (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Evan Polei (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Alexei Toropchenko (to San Antonio, AHL)
D Jake Christiansen (to San Antonio, AHL)
D Rob O’Gara (to San Antonio, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)

F Paul Cotter (to Chicago, AHL)
F Lucas Elvenes (to Chicago, AHL)
F Ben Jones (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jake Leschyshyn (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jermaine Loewen (released from ATO, assigned to Chicago, AHL)
F Tye McGinn (to Chicago, AHL)
F Gage Quinney (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jonas Rondbjerg (to Chicago, AHL)
D Brayden Pachal (to Chicago, AHL)

Zachary Lauzon Announces Retirement

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Today a promising young career was cut short, as 20-year old defenseman Zachary Lauzon has announced his retirement through a piece by Mikael Lalancette of TVA Sports. The former Pittsburgh Penguins prospect was not offered a contract from the team this summer after dealing with post-concussion symptoms for two years, but did receive an invitation to their rookie camp. Unfortunately, Lauzon’s headaches and dizziness returned, leading to his decision to end his hockey career.

Selected 51st overall in 2017, Lauzon was a promising puck-moving defenseman from the QMJHL that had just put up 21 points in 63 games. Even when he was drafted though there were concerns, as he had just suffered another concussion in the playoffs with Rouyn-Noranda and would miss most of the Penguins development camp that summer. He played just 25 games for the Huskies the following year, and missed all of 2018-19 as he tried to get himself right.

At this point, it would have been a long road to even get to the level he was playing at in 2017. Instead Lauzon will hang up his skates and focus on his health, another example of how easily the dream of professional hockey can be taken away.

Snapshots: Devils, Senators, Bolduc

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The New Jersey Devils are restructuring their front office ahead of the start of a new season. The Associated Press reports that the team has promoted two top executives to vice president status. Tom Fitzgerald, who has been linked to the Minnesota Wild GM opening in each of the past two years, will add Executive Vice President to his existing Assistant GM title. The former NHLer is entering his fourth season as Assistant GM in New Jersey after six seasons in the same role with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Dan MacKinnon, who had previously served as the team’s Senior Director of Player Personnel, will take on the Senior Vice President role while also being officially named an Assistant GM as well. MacKinnon is another executive poached by GM Ray Shero from the Penguins; he served the team for a decade in player personnel before moving into the same role with the Devils in 2016. Having all worked together in Pittsburgh and now New Jersey for some time, Shero, Fitzgerald, and MacKinnon form a solid trio as the base of the front office operations for the Devils, as reflected by these new titles.

  • With all of the teams currently holding more salary cap space also still needing to sign one or two prominent restricted free agents, the Ottawa Senators are the odds-on favorite to begin the regular season with the most cap flexibility. CapFriendly currently projects the team to have more than $10MM in space, even with a fully healthy, optimal lineup. Many have suggested that the Senators could use this space to add talent, or at least to pick up picks or prospects in a deal for an overpriced veteran, as they did with the injured Ryan Callahan. However, don’t expect any such move until farther along in training camp at the earliest. While Ottawa may have the least amount of dollars committed to their roster, they have the most contracts signed in the league, tied with the Los Angeles Kings with 49 of a maximum 50 slots filled. They can alleviate that contract crunch slightly by sending teenage prospects Jon Gruden or Lassi Thomson back to junior, but will likely wait to do so until they get a better look at the pair in training camp. In the meantime, and even afterward, the Senators are surely going to be a team keeping a close eye on the waiver wire, hoping to add a young, affordable player to the mix. Making a trade for a veteran too soon could interfere with their ability to make claims. If they can make it through to the start of the regular season and still have room to add a player, then they could re-emerge as a candidate to take on a bad contract from a cap-strapped contender.
  • Both the Devils and Senators are among the teams that could be looking down the road a ways and following what Mark Divver calls the biggest recruiting battle in hockey right now. 16-year-old forward Zachary Bolduc is considered one of the top prospects in the 2021 NHL Draft class. The Quebec native is playing prep school hockey in Rhode Island this season, but still deciding what to do next year. Bolduc was the 14th overall pick in the QMJHL Entry Draft by Rimouski Oceanic this year and the club would very much like to sign the local product. However, Bolduc has also been eyeing the college route. Divver reports that he has already visited the University of Massachusetts, Boston University, and the University of Maine and has planned trips to the University of Michigan and the University of North Dakota. Should he opt for the NCAA, Bolduc could play in the USHL next year, having been drafted by the Sioux City Musketeers in the second round of the USHL Draft this year as well. The talented center has plenty of options and NHL teams will surely be interested to see which development route he chooses.

Minor Transactions: 08/18/19

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It’s the dog days of summer, and while many prominent free agents, restricted and unrestricted, remain unsigned, major NHL signings are few and far between. Yet, minor league teams, foreign clubs, and college programs continue to make make moves in preparation for the coming season. Keep up with all of those minor transactions here:

  • Northeastern University landed a pair of high-quality graduate transfers last week in University of New Hampshire forward Brendan van Riemsdyk and Merrimack College goalie Craig Pantano, both of whom are expected to be major contributors. However, they’ve also now suffered a loss. After two disappointing seasons to begin his collegiate career, center Bobby Hampton has opted to leave the program, reports USCHO. Hampton will enroll at Penn State University and will join the Nittany Lions for the 2020-21 season with two years of NCAA eligibility remaining. Hampton joined Northeastern in 2017 with high expectations after leading the USHL’s Cedar Rapids Rough Riders in scoring the season prior, but recorded just seven points combined in his first two college seasons.
  • Trevor Yates had up and down between the AHL and ECHL last season and he’s already well on his way to a similar start to the 2019-20 campaign. After signing with the ECHL’s Reading Royals on Friday, Jason Guarente of the Reading Eagle already reports that Yates will be in camp with their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, trying to instead earn an AHL contract, with Lehigh or elsewhere. A former star for the Cornell University Big Red, Yates’ pro career got off to a slow start last year, but he finished strong with a point-per-game stretch in the ECHL. The 24-year-old forward has the size and intelligence to be a key two-way forward in the AHL or, as he slowed late last season, a top-line forward at the “AA” level.
  • The AHL’s Manitoba Moose have re-signed defenseman Charles-David Beaudoin to a one-year extension, the team announced. Beaudoin has played a part-time role for the Moose in each of the past two seasons, recording 15 points combined over the past two seasons. The 25-year-old righty took an unorthodox route to the AHL, spending two years at the University of Quebec – Trois Rivieres after his QMJHL junior career before jumping from USports to the pros, and will look to take on a larger role in his third AHL season.

Minor Transactions: 08/13/19

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As August continues and we get further into restricted free agent contract negotiations, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the hockey landscape. We’ll keep updating as more come in:

  • Northeastern has announced a pair of graduate transfers for the upcoming season, one with a very familiar hockey name. Brendan van Riemsdyk, younger brother of NHL players James van Riemsdyk and Trevor van Riemsdyk, will join the Huskies after three seasons at the University of New Hampshire. Undrafted, the 23-year old forward had 16 points in 36 games last season.
  • Former Kelly Cup champion Gabriel Verpaelst has signed on with the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL for next season, bringing his physicality to a new organization. Verpaelst has racked up 706 penalty minutes in 292 ECHL games including 65 fighting majors.
  • The Halifax Mooseheads and Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL have completed a trade, swapping Cameron Whynot and a 2021 third for Xavier Parent. Whynot was the ninth overall pick in the most recent QMJHL draft and is already a 6’2″ defenseman at the age of 16. He is eligible for selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, but still has a lot of development to do in junior. Parent meanwhile was also a high pick, selected fourth in 2017 by the Mooseheads. He recorded 34 points in 67 games last season and was part of the gold medal-winning Hlinka-Gretzky team. He was eligible this season but went undrafted by the NHL likely thanks in part to his 5’7″ stature.

Yu Sato Signs In QMJHL

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If you were following along with the 2019 CHL Import Draft in June, you may have noticed something extremely uncommon partway through the first round. With the 24th selection, the Quebec Remparts picked Yu Sato of Japan. While countries like Finland, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland are commonly represented in the draft, Japan is not. Six weeks later Sato has signed with the Remparts and will be suiting up for head coach Patrick Roy this season.

Sato, 17, is eligible for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and if selected would become just the third Japanese-born player ever picked. Defenseman Hiroyuki Miura was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in 1992 but never appeared in an NHL game, while goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji was picked by the Los Angeles Kings in 2004 and played four games for them in 2007. There was also the infamous Taro Tsujimoto incident in 1974, when Buffalo Sabres GM Punch Imlach created a fictional Japanese player to select in the late rounds as a joke.

The young Remparts forward however is no joke. Sato played last season in Finland’s junior system and dominated, something he’d done in Russia’s junior league the year prior. If he can find some success in Quebec under Roy this season, perhaps there will be a new name added to the history books next June and potentially the first Japanese NHL skater a few years after that.

Snapshots: Hughes, MacKenzie, Dwyer

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Jack Hughes hasn’t played a game in the NHL and Quinn Hughes has played just five, but already some are looking ahead to another member of the family. Young Luke Hughes, a 15-year old defenseman who will join the USNTDP next season is on the radar as a potential top pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and was recently profiled by Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet.

Hughes has the same exceptional skating ability as his older brothers, but already stands 5’11” and has plenty of time to grow. Even if he never becomes a hulking defenseman there seems to be a good chance the trio will all be in the NHL at the same time down the road. The young prospect is currently committed to the University of Michigan for 2021-22, the same school that Quinn went to for two seasons before signing his entry-level deal with the Vancouver Canucks a few months ago.

  • The CHL has hired former NBA executive Dan MacKenzie as the league’s first full-time president, responsible for growing the junior leagues and “enhancing the player and fan experience.” All three commissioners—David Branch of the OHL, Gilles Courteau of the QMJHL and Ron Robison of the WHL—will stay in their current positions and work with MacKenzie, who has spent the last eight years as managing director of NBA Canada.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes have hired Patrick Dwyer as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Checkers. Dwyer only just finished his playing career after suiting up for a season with the Belfast Giants, but is very familiar with the Hurricanes organization. The 36-year old played 416 NHL games, all with Carolina and recorded 93 points. He’ll join new Checkers head coach Ryan Warsofsky in trying to replace the success delivered by Mike Vellucci before he left for the Pittsburgh Penguins organization earlier this summer.

Snapshots: Maroon, Rantanen, Ryczek, Puutio

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Defending Stanley Cup champion Patrick Maroon tells NHL.com’s Lou Korac that “it’s tough right now” for veterans to find a contract. Given the meager increase of the salary cap and the immense number of restricted free agents still unsigned, there has been a considerable break in unrestricted free agent signings over the past week or two. 14 of PHR’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents still remain available, including Maroon, with little chatter pertaining to any of them. Maroon at least offers a glimmer of hope for his own situation, also informing Korac that he has had discussions with GM Doug Armstrong about a return to his hometown St. Louis Blues, saying that they’ve “had good conversations.” However, the Blues still have four RFA’s to sign, including three potential arbitration cases in Joel Edmundson, Oskar Sundqvist, and Ville Husso. Maroon will also be looking for fair value from St. Louis after taking a hometown discount last summer and becoming a key contributor for the team down the stretch and in the postseason. An extension won’t come easy for either side, but both parties and fans would surely like to see Maroon back in town next season. He and other unsigned veterans may just have to wait a while longer for offers to finally come through.

  • On the off chance that RFA Mikko Rantanen and the Colorado Avalanche cannot come to terms on an extension this summer, his KHL rights holder is preparing their pursuit. However, it’s not exactly a Godfather offer. Sport Express’ Igor Eronko reports that Ak Bars Kazan is willing to offer Rantanen a one-year, $4MM contract. While Eronko notes the lower tax rate in Russia and lack of escrow concerns, it’s still a very underwhelming number for a 22-year-old star forward coming off back-to-back 80+ point seasons. The Avalanche would be happy to top that salary, even taking the differences in tax and escrow into consideration. Rantanen is well within his right to be seeking a long-term contract with an AAV of $10MM+ or at least a bridge deal in the $8MM range, so Ak Bars’ offer is unlikely to move the needle toward a return to Europe.
  • Chicago Blackhawks prospect Jake Ryczek will have to prove himself in the AHL before earning an entry-level contract. The 21-year-old defenseman has signed a one-year deal with Chicago’s affiliate, the Rockford Ice Hogs, the team announced. Ryczek was a 2016 seventh-round pick, expected to be a long-term project developing at Providence College. Instead, Ryczek left the Friars midway through his freshman year and joined the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads. The problem now is that Ryczek has aged out of the junior level with just a year and half of QMJHL experience and is still a raw prospect. Rather than use a limited roster spot to sign an unproven commodity, the Blackhawks will see what he can do in the AHL for the time being. Ryczek remains Chicago’s exclusive property until June 1st of next year.
  • The first overall pick in the CHL Import Draft has signed. Finnish defenseman Kasper Puutio, taken at No. 1 by the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos in June, has officially joined the team. Puutio began turning heads this past season when he was called up to the top level of Finland’s junior ranks at the age of 16 and performed well to boot. Draft source Future Considerations ranks Puutio as the No. 67 prospect for the 2020 NHL Draft in their early initial rankings, but some have called him a first-round caliber player, and that was before he joined the Canadian junior ranks. If he can continue to grow and produce in the more competitive WHL as a very young prospect, he could easily climb into the top 31 picks next year. Either way, the Broncos hope that they can take advantage of his puck-moving ability and competent defensive game for several years to come.

Bruins Announce Six AHL Signings

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The Boston Bruins have made only a minor impact on the free agent market thus far, but the AHL’s Providence Bruins have gained plenty. Since May, Boston has re-signed AHL leaders Paul Carey, Anton Blidh, and Ryan Fitzgerald, signed promising prospect Oskar Steen, signed goaltender Maxime Lagace and forward Brendan Gaunce with earmarks for the minors, and signed or extended Brett Ritchie, Par Lindholm, and Peter Cehlarik, all of whom could be candidates to spend time in Providence. Meanwhile, the P-Bruins also added valued stay-at-home defender Josiah Didier on an AHL contract on June 1st. The pipeline continues to pile up, as today the Bruins announced six more AHL signings.

Of these six new additions, two have previously been reported: QMJHL star Samuel Asselin and Providence mainstay Chris Breen. The other four signings had not yet been leaked.

Joining Asselin on a two-year AHL deal is former Carolina Hurricanes prospect Brendan Woods. Woods was a fifth-round pick in 2012 and looked to have the size and scoring ability to make it big, but it hasn’t panned out that way. The big winger has seven NHL games to his credit but has almost exclusively played in the AHL in his six-year pro career. Woods brings some physicality and experience as well as some modest production to Providence, but at 27 he’s no longer the top prospect he used to be.

The team is bringing back defenseman Joel Messner on a one-way deal. Messner split last season between Providence and the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators, but did manage to contribute seven points in 32 AHL games. The University of Nebraska-Omaha product is a work in progress even at 25, but clearly did enough last season to prove to the Bruins’ brass that he was worth bringing back.

The other two one-year signings belong to defenseman Alexey Solovyev and winger Robert Lantosi. Solovyev, 24, hails from Russia but spent the past four years at nearby Bentley University. With good size and mobility, Solovyev flew under the radar at a small program but could be a surprise at the pro level. Lantosi, 23, is an import from Slovakia making his North American debut. A product of the Swedish junior ranks, Lantosi has been playing professionally in Slovakia the past two years and dominated in 2018-19 with 58 points in 56 games to finish in the top five of the league. He too has more upside than it may seem on a minor league contract.

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