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St. Louis Blues Agree To Terms With Zack Bolduc

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The St. Louis Blues have agreed to a three-year, entry-level deal for first-round pick Zack Bolduc. The young forward was picked 17th overall in 2021 and is coming off a strong season with the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL.

Bolduc, 18, had 29 points in 27 games this season for Rimouski, following his 30-goal 2019-20 campaign that earned him the QMJHL Rookie of the Year honors. The former linemate of 2020 first-overall pick Alexis Lafreniere, Bolduc is a talented offensive player in his own right who has been compared to players like Sean Monahan in the past. His ability to play the middle of the ice is an important one, as true center prospects are difficult to acquire, especially ones with the upside that Bolduc represents.

That’s not to say he’ll be in the NHL right away. In fact, it seems very likely that the young forward will be back in the QMJHL this season to continue his development with the Oceanic and really try to dominate the league offensively. He’ll also be a candidate for Team Canada at the World Juniors and was recently at the team’s summer camp.

If he does return to junior, Bolduc’s contract will slide forward, meaning the first year of his three-year deal will not be burned in 2021-22. That could actually happen again is 2022-23 should he go back to the QMJHL once again, meaning this contract gives the team plenty of control.

Minor Notes: Royals, Thomson, Klimovich

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The Reading Royals and Philadelphia Flyers have announced an extension to their affiliation agreement, continuing a partnership that began in 2014. Along with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, Reading and Philadelphia form the “closest geographical chain of affiliates in professional hockey,” giving the organizations some obvious benefits. The agreement, which covers just 2021-22 also includes an option for the 2022-23 season.

Reading is set to enter their 20th season in the ECHL and has been one of the most consistent franchises in the low minors, qualifying for the playoffs nine straight years between 2010-18. They took home the Kelly Cup as league champions in 2013.

  • The Henderson Silver Knights have signed Ben Thomson to a one-year AHL contract, bringing in the veteran minor league forward to fill out the depth chart. Thomson, 28, was a fourth-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2012 and played three NHL games in the 2016-17 season, but has spent the vast majority of his career in the minor leagues. In 31 games with the Binghamton Devils last season, he registered six goals and seven points.
  • The Vancouver Canucks expect top draft pick Danila Klimovich to play in the QMJHL next season, according to Harman Dayal of The Athletic. The 41st overall pick in last month’s draft played for Belarus at the recent IIHF World Championship and is expected to take part in Olympic qualifiers at the end of the month. Klimovich was the 29th overall pick in the 2020 CHL Import Draft, and will play for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies if he does end up in the QMJHL.

Mathieu Perreault Signs With Montreal Canadiens

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The Montreal Canadiens have landed an experienced veteran at a tremendous discount. Coming off of a four-year, $16.5MM contract with the Winnipeg Jets, forward Mathieu Perreault has settled for a one-year, $950K deal with the Habs, reports TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. The 33-year-old Quebec native and former QMJHL star returns home after a dozen years away with three different NHL teams.

Lavoie notes that Perreault has always wanted to play for the Canadiens and his new contract says the same thing. Perreault is an incredibly effective defensive forward who often doesn’t get enough credit for excelling at the little things. That value alone exceeds his low-money deal, but Perreault’s willingness to play physical and his offensive contribution make the deal a steal. Perreault is no longer a perennial 40+ point player, but he has quietly kept up a .34 points per game pace over the past three seasons which would put him back in 30-point contention with a full season.

How Montreal decides to utilize Perreault will be the interesting part of this deal. The Stanley Cup finalists appear set in their top nine with most of their roster returning and Mike Hoffman joining the fold and Perreault is able to play a fourth line role, but could certainly push his fellow forwards for ice time and responsibility. At the very least, he is high-end replacement option in case of injury in the top nine while anchoring the fourth line.

2021 CHL Import Draft Results

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The CHL held its annual import draft today, where teams from across the Canadian junior leagues get to select the rights of players around the world. Often these are recently drafted prospects, or those seen to have a good chance at next year’s draft. Being selected has no guarantee that the player will actually ever suit up for the team, as Filip Chytil proved in 2017. Chytil was selected seventh overall by the North Bay Battalion but ended up spending the year with the New York Rangers and Hartford Wolf Pack after impressing in his first training camp.

There are clear benefits from picking at the top of the draft though, as the Sudbury Wolves found out in 2018-19. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was the third-overall selection and ended up winning the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player. Because things in the hockey world were so unclear last season, only 66 players ended up being picked in the 2020 draft. Even selections as high as tenth overall were forfeited. This time around things will be a little different as the CHL prepares for a return to a normal schedule in 2021-22.

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Snapshots: Coyotes’ Coach Search, Nylander, Ak Bars

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With head coaches flying off the market and one of the top available names being the guy they just let go, the Arizona Coyotes’ hunt for a head coach is in an interesting spot. From the get-go, the word was that the ’Yotes and GM Bill Armstrong could be looking for a fresh voice, perhaps even a first-time NHL coach, so they may be unfazed by the recent run on big names. Yet, insider Craig Morgan reports that one of their top candidates is in fact a seasoned veteran. Morgan writes that Dallas Stars assistant Todd Nelson is scheduled to have his third interview for the vacancy, by all accounts the most of any candidate. Nelson has been in the NHL (or AHL) since 2006, including a brief stint as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. He has found great success in the minors, winning two Calder Cups, and never really got a fair shake as the bench boss in Edmonton, so in a way he would be somewhat of a first-time NHL head coach. He has picked up experience in Dallas over the past three years under Jim Montgomery and Rick Bowness and could be ready for another shot at the top job.

Morgan considers Nelson’s greatest competition to be Andre Tourigny, the head coach of the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s and most recently an assistant for Canada’s gold medal World Championship entry. Tourigny briefly coached in the NHL as an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators over three years, but has mostly coached at the major junior level and has been the bench boss of Canada’s World Junior team the past two years. Tourigny has found immense success working with young players; he has been named OHL Coach of the Year (twice), QMJHL Coach of the Year, and the overall CHL Coach of the Year, not to mention medals at four World Juniors. Can he translate that ability to the pros and lead a Coyotes team that needs to take a step forward rather than continuing to tread water? That is the question that Armstrong must answer. According to Morgan, he has already decided that St. Louis Blues assistant Mike Van Ryn and AHL Providence head coach Jay Leach are not the men for the job.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks just gained some Expansion Draft flexibility. The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that Alexander Nylander has been declared exempt from the impending selection process. In order to be eligible for the draft, a player must have three pro service years. Nylander, who has been playing professionally in North America for five seasons, may seem like an impossibility to avoid that label, but somehow he does. Despite playing in 116 AHL games between 2016-17 and 2017-18, he played in only seven combined NHL games and his rookie contract underwent the entry-level slide each season, meaning service time did not accrue. He then played countable NHL season in each of the past two years. However, this season – in what was meant to be his third year of service – Nylander missed the entire campaign due to injury. This means that, again, his service time will not clock. After five years in and out of the NHL, Nylander will be considered a second-year pro and untouchable for the Seattle Kraken. As Powers notes, Nylander was expected to be protected by the Blackhawks next month. Now off the board, it will allow the team to protected another forward that they may not have expected. He suggests deadline addition Adam Gaudette or reliable fourth-liner David Kampf could be the pick, while young, high-upside assets Brandon Hagel and Henrik Borgstrom should now be locks.
  • The KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan has succeeded in keeping a pair of drafted prospects away from their NHL teams for a while longer. The team announced that they have re-signed Columbus’ Dmitri Voronkov and Anaheim’s Artyom Galimov to multi-year extensions. At their age, this is not an NHL career death sentence for either player, but it is likely disheartening to their teams who would like to get them on North American ice as soon as possible. 20-year-old Voronkov, a 2019 fourth-round pick of the Blue Jackets, has signed a two-year deal with Ak Bars after setting career highs across the board in the KHL this season. The impressive youngster has already played two full seasons in the KHL and has been dominant for Russia on the World Junior stage as well. Voronkov’s name carries weight as a prospect and the Jackets undoubtedly hope that he will follow WJC teammate Yegor Chinakhov to Columbus as soon as his new contract expires. There is a bit more cause for pause when it comes to Galimov. The 21-year-old was an overage pick by the Ducks just last year and despite his age has signed a three-year extension with Ak Bars. Galimov is a grassroots product of Kazan and has loyalty to the club, as they do to him after two successful seasons to begin his KHL career. Galimov has actually outpaced Voronkov to this point, showing that he too is a serious NHL prospect. However, Galimov will be 25 years old before he could ever step onto Anaheim ice and will have that much more attachment to Ak Bars. His ability should keep him interested in the NHL and the Ducks in him, but it is not a guarantee.

Coaching Notes: Vincent, Hakstol, Boudreau, Tocchet

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New Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen is adding to his staff. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Blue Jackets are set to hire Manitoba Moose head coach Pascal Vincent as an assistant to Larsen. Vincent had previously left Paul Maurice’s Winnipeg Jets staff in favor of being the head coach for their AHL affiliate, but seemingly is back to being open to an NHL assistant role. Vincent has spent the past decade with the Jets organization and the previous dozen years as a head coach and GM in the QMJHL. With an impressive resume, Vincent may see this Columbus opportunity as a way to get his name out there beyond the confines of Winnipeg in hopes of attracting NHL head coach attention of his own down the road. Vincent will re-unite with Jack Roslovic in Columbus; he previously coached him as a prospect with the Moose but he has now become the No. 1 center for the Blue Jackets. That relationship should be mutually beneficial for the pair.

  • The big coaching news of the day was of course the hiring of Dave Hakstol as the first head coach of the expansion Seattle Kraken. And while Hakstol’s role will be in the locker room and not the front office, GM Ron Francis will certainly take his opinions into consideration. After all, it was the Florida Panthers, the former team of Vegas’ inaugural head coach, Gerard Gallant, that were swindled the worst by the Golden Knights in the last Expansion Draft. Florida traded Reilly Smith and a fourth-round pick so that Vegas would select Jonathan Marchessault over the likes of Alexander Petrovic and Mark Pysyk. While no teams should be fooled so badly this time around, Hakstol’s knowledge of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadephia Flyers – not to mention the numerous University of North Dakota alumni around the league – could come into play. The Flyers in particular are expected to have many well-known names exposed in the draft, some of whom played their best seasons under Hakstol, and the coach may know exactly how to target the team.
  • The Maple Leafs now have a vacancy on their coaching staff in the wake of Hakstol’s departure, but the club’s fans think they have already figured it out. Yahoo’s Thomas Williams writes that there has already been an outpouring of support for veteran coach Bruce Boudreau to be hired as the team’s newest assistant. The Toronto native and former Maple Leafs player spoke out this off-season as a free agent that he would like to coach his hometown team and fans seem to agree with the match. Boudreau has had a long and successful coaching career and some feel that head coach Sheldon Keefe could use the veteran support on the bench. With that said, Boudreau has never served as an assistant in the NHL and interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach vacancy late last month. Despite any personal feelings and fan support, Boudreau will take the top job for the struggling Sabres over a No. 2 role for Toronto.
  • Of course, Boudreau is not the only candidate for the Sabres’ job, as Rick Tocchet is also among the names who interviewed for the position. Tocchet interviewed multiple times with the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Seattle Kraken, only to lose out on all three jobs. He has reportedly only interviewed once with Buffalo, who may not have been his top choice at first, but they are the only landing spot left, as the other remaining NHL head coach position is the post he vacated with the Arizona Coyotes. Tocchet is clearly a well-regarded and sought-after coach, so now that they are his last hope at a top job this season, perhaps the Sabres and Tocchet will get serious about a potential match.

Minor Transactions: 6/23/21

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As we cross the middle of the week, many minor transactions are coming up on the wire. Many teams are trying to solidify depth for the 2021-22 campaign as a return to normal operations is expected throughout the hockey world. You can keep up on today’s slate of minor transactions right here:

  • The AHL’s Rockford IceHogs announced today via their team website that they’ve re-signed goalie Cale Morris to a one-year contract. After four seasons (three as the starter) for the University of Notre Dame, Morris, who went undrafted, signed with the IceHogs prior to the 2020-21 campaign. As Rockford faced goalie uncertainty this year with expected starter Kevin Lankinen working his way up to the Chicago Blackhawks, Morris impressed in a backup role. Playing in seven contests, Morris amassed a .923 save percentage in spite of a 2-3-0 record. The Larkspur, Colorado native will likely split time between Rockford and the ECHL’s Indy Fuel next season as Chicago’s goalie depth chart is replenished.
  • Another AHL club made moves today as well, as the Cleveland Monsters made two additions on offense, announced today on the team’s website. One of them was Justin Scott, who’ll return to the team for a sixth straight season. Signing with Cleveland after his last OHL season, Scott’s been a member of the club since 2016-17. He served as an assistant captain this past season, posting seven points in 18 games. Scott should be a solid voice in the room, as the Blue Jackets will rely heavily on Cleveland in the coming seasons to develop their next generation of players. The team also announced the re-signing of Tristan Mullin, who got into 15 games with Cleveland last year after his college career ended with the University of Vermont. The 6′ 2″ forward showed flashes of potential, scoring three goals, but still might spend time in the ECHL next year with a restocked Cleveland roster.
  • A rather large trade was announced this morning in the QMJHL via the league’s Twitter account. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan acquired Washington Capitals first-round selection Hendrix Lapierre and a 2023 seventh-round draft pick from the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in exchange for forwards Julien Bourget and Alexis Dubé along with a myriad of draft selections, including first-rounders in 2022 and 2023. Lapierre was one of the most highly-regarded prospects in the 2020 draft before a season laced with injury limited him to just 17 points in 19 games. Lapierre, healthy this season, improved mightily on the scoresheet, scoring 31 points in a shortened 21-game season with Chicoutimi. He’ll now spend his last season in the OHL with Acadie-Bathurst as he continues his development.
  • Teams will be adding a couple of names to their draft boards soon, as CapFriendly clarified the draft re-entry status of two NHL prospects. Mathew Hill, a former sixth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks, and Eemeli Rasanen, a former second-round selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs, will both re-enter the draft in July. One of the last selections taken before Kyle Dubas became general manager, Rasanen appealed with his physical presence and 6′ 7″ frame. However, the Finnish defenseman has struggled immensely overseas, posting no points this year with HPK in the Liiga. He’ll re-enter the draft as a 22-year-old overager, and it’s unlikely he’ll be selected at this point. Hill, just 20 years old, has also failed to pan out in the way Anaheim wished. With his Barrie Colts not playing a season this year in the OHL, and Hill seeing just three games of action in Demark’s junior league on loan, his future in the NHL remains extremely uncertain.

Snapshots: Capuano, Tardif, Asselin

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With the divisional playoffs now over, the days of the North, East, West, and Central (sort of) are over. Teams are already shifting their mindsets back to the Atlantic, Metropolitan, Pacific, and the true Central, working out how best to beat out their division rivals and make the postseason next year. After taking a step forward this season, albeit against lesser competition, the Ottawa Senators are no exception. The long-time bottom-dwellers are just as cutthroat in their pursuit of success, even if that means handicapping one of their own. Joe MacDonald of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that the Senators have blocked associate head coach Jack Capuano from interviewing for the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach vacancy. Buffalo will be Ottawa’s divisional rival once again next season and beyond and the team will not lose a valued member of their staff with inside knowledge of the organization to one of their most frequent competitors. After leading Team USA to a bronze medal and the best record in group play at the recent IIHF World Championships, Capuano’s name is back in the mix as a head coach candidate. The long-time New York Islander bench boss is still held in high regard around the league and the Sabres may not be the only team kicking his tires. Perhaps the Senators will let him go elsewhere, just not within the Atlantic Division.

  • After wrapping a strong junior career in the QMJHL, capped off by a stellar run with the Victoriaville Tigres that ended with a league title, Ben Tardif was expected to have some NHL interest. The 21-year-old forward had scored at better than a point-per-game clip in each of the past two seasons, culminating in 11 goals and 22 points in 19 games for Victoriaville en route to the President’s Cup. However, Tardif seemingly did not receive the attention he might have expected and has settled for an AHL contract. The Colorado Eagles announced that they have signed Tardif to a two-year contract. The Colorado Avalanche obviously have some stock in the move as well, hoping that Tardif can use the time to round out his game and show that his offense can translate to the pro level. If he succeeds, Tardif will find himself in a great spot as part of an Avs club that looks like it will contend for many years to come.
  • One player whose career Tardif will likely be following is Samuel Asselin. A QMJHL star himself –  a Memorial Cup champion and league-leading goal-scorer – Asselin too was surprisingly unable to land an NHL contract after his junior career ended. Like Tardif, he signed a two-year deal with the AHL’s Providence Bruins instead. Following a point-per-game, All-Star season in the ECHL last year, Asselin was a full-time member of the P-Bruins this season and showed that there is more to his game than scoring ability with a gritty, high-energy style. And other teams took notice. Mark Divver of The New England Hockey Journal writes that NHL competitors are sniffing around Asselin and time is running out for the Bruins to lock him in to an entry-level contract. The club holds the right of first refusal to match any competing offer, but only while Asselin remains under contract. Once the off-season arrives, Asselin could depart with Boston having nothing to show for two years of development.

Snapshots: Ducks, Kings, Desruisseaux

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The Anaheim Ducks will not be making any changes at the general manager or head coaching positions, according to Eric Stephens of The Athletic. Ducks GM Bob Murray indicated today that both he and Dallas Eakins will return for the 2021-22 season, despite the struggles the team has gone through on the ice. The team finished 17-30-9 on the season but do have some nice building blocks in young players like Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale.

Eakins, who now has an 82-126-32 record as an NHL head coach, is only signed through next season. With the team going through a rebuild, it seems as though he may end up being the sacrificial coach before a more experienced or successful name is brought in to really compete. Of course, if the Ducks turn things around and make the playoffs next year that could all change.

  • The Los Angeles Kings have made four additions to their hockey operations staff hiring Ryan Kruse as Vice President of Research and Development, Jake Goldberg as Senior Director of Hockey Operations, Vukie Mpofu as Manager of Hockey Operations, and Legal Affairs and Rosie Yu as Software Engineer for Research and Development. The group has a varied history, but in terms of NHL experience, Goldberg is coming from the Arizona Coyotes where he served as Director of Hockey Operations and Assistant to the General Manager.
  • The Laval Rocket have announced a one-year, two-way minor league contract for Cedric Desruisseaux, who will join the club for the 2021-22 season. Though he stands only 5’8″ 165-lbs, Desruisseaux dominated the QMJHL this season, recording 42 goals and 78 points in 40 games. That easily led the league in both categories, though the undrafted 21-year-old will have a much tougher time putting up those kinds of numbers in professional hockey. Still, he’ll get a chance to show what he can do in the Rocket organization.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Alex Beaucage

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Not a bad week so far for Alex Beaucage. On Sunday, he scored two goals in game four of the QMJHL semi-finals, on Tuesday his Victoriaville Tigres clinched a berth in the Presidents Cup finals, and today he has signed his entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche. The team announced the three-year contract this afternoon.  Per CapFriendly, the deal carries a $925K AAV and breaks down as follows:

2021-22: $750K base salary, $92.5K signing bonus, $82.5K games played bonus
2022-23: $775K base salary, $92.5K signing bonus, $57.5K games played bonus
2023-24: $832.5K base salary, $92.5K signing bonus

Beaucage, 19, was selected 78th overall in 2019 by the Avalanche, part of an impressive class that has already produced NHL talent in Bowen Byram and Alex Newhook. He was the team’s fifth selection that year, but has already shown exactly why the Avalanche jumped at the opportunity to select him. In his first post-draft season, Beaucage recorded 40 goals in 63 games for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, finishing tied for third in the league. This season he came back and put up 14 goals in 14 games for the Huskies before a late-season trade took him to Victoriaville. In the postseason he has been a dominant force, posting six goals and 17 points in ten games.

Though not an elite skater, the 6’1″ forward has learned to use his strength and excellent shot to create goals from anywhere in the offensive zone. Before this season Corey Pronman of The Athletic listed him as one of the Colorado prospects with NHL potential, and that certainly hasn’t changed in the shortened QMJHL year. If anything, Beaucage has established himself as another player to watch in the Avalanche system and one who could quickly work his way through the minor leagues if his goal-scoring ability transitions to the professional level.

For Colorado, that 2019 class is looking like an incredible piece of managerial work from GM Joe Sakic and his staff. Not only was the team already one of the most dangerous groups in the NHL but continue to supplement their roster with homegrown talent.

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