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PHR Panel: Prospect Pontificating

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We’re now several weeks into an NHL postponement and there is still no clear timeline on when professional hockey will return. While fans of the sport have received small tidbits of news over that time, including college signings and contract extensions, the thirst for discussion has rarely been quenched.

With that in mind, we’re happy to continue our new feature: The PHR Panel. Three times a week, our writing staff will give our individual takes on a question many hockey fans have been wondering about. If you’d ever like to submit a subject for us to discuss, be sure to put it in the comments. This series will run each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

To catch up on the previous edition, click here.

Today, we’ll each give our thoughts on a prospect that hasn’t yet made his NHL debut.

Q: Which already-drafted prospect outside of the NHL excites you the most?

Brian La Rose:

The question of when Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov will sign with Minnesota has been ongoing for a while. The first season PHR covered was the 2016-17 campaign where his contract in the KHL was expiring and there were questions as to whether or not he’d come to North America. Fast forward to today. His contract in the KHL is expiring and there is hope that he’ll finally cross the pond. I’m excited to see if he lives up to the hype.

There is plenty of reason for optimism. In recent years, he has progressed from being a good KHL winger to a legitimate star and actually led the KHL in goals (33) and points per game (1.09) this season. A few years ago, the thought was that he could come in and play right away. Now, the hope is that he can come in and play on the Wild’s top line right away.

Over the last few years, Minnesota has been a decent team but is missing that key piece or two to prop them up from being a bubble team. Kaprizov has the ability to help them do just that. Assuming he plays next season (even this year is a possibility if regular season games resume), he could be the player to help spark their turnaround. It seems we’ll soon find out if he winds up being well worth the wait.

Holger Stolzenberg: 

I find myself quite intrigued by the prospects in this upcoming draft, but that doesn’t answer today’s question. Considering that I’m German, I’ve always been fascinated by German prospects and with the continuing improvement in German-born players that last few years (very interested to see how Tim Stuetzle develops), I’m always watching prospects ready to come to the U.S closely.

The guy I’ve been most interested in the last couple of years is Carolina Hurricanes prospect Dominik Bokk. He was originally drafted 25th overall in 2018 by the Blues and was a key part of the trade which brought Justin Faulk to St. Louis. Bokk is considered to be quite the talent, joining the SHL at age 18, but has struggled to play among men, scoring nine goals in two seasons with Vaxjo. He then went over to top-ranked Rogle where he struggled even more, but after a dominating performance for Germany at the World Juniors this last year took off, scoring 10 goals since returning, while only averaging 12-13 minutes per game.

He’s expected to arrive and spend a season in the AHL where the Hurricanes already moved out a bunch of prospects out of their AHL system, including Julien Gauthier, Janne Kuokkanen and Eetu Luostarinen to give some playing time for incoming players, including Bokk. I wouldn’t be surprised if he dominates in his first AHL year and we’ll see how he develops, but I just get excited about Bokk as a prospect.

Zach Leach:

There are a number of talented future stars among the selections from the past couple of years—and even more in the upcoming draft class—but in my opinion “excitement” for a prospect peaks the closer he is to making an NHL impact.

For that reason, to me Kaprizov has to be the most exciting prospect outside of the NHL. The 2015 Minnesota Wild pick has been teasing North American fans for years with stunning numbers in the KHL for such a young player. The 22-year-old could be the second coming of Artemi Panarin and I believe he finally makes the jump this summer and takes on a top-six role for the Wild right away next year. Kaprizov is simply a dynamic offensive talent and gifted scorer who I would be surprised to see struggle with translating his penchant for points to the NHL. He would be my 2020-21 Calder Trophy favorite the minute he signs in Minny.

As for more recent picks, I continue to be impressed by Buffalo Sabres prospect Dylan Cozens. A player that I was high on when he was drafted last year, I feel Cozens was an outstanding value at No. 7 overall. For the sake of development, he was better off back in the WHL this season, where he again proved to be one of the league’s best players, rather than with a struggling Sabres squad. However, I expect the well-rounded power forward to break camp in Buffalo next season and make an impact for a team desperate for more talent, compete, and IQ in their forward corps.

Gavin Lee:

There’s no doubt that Kaprizov will get the juices flowing again when he finally does come over, but the will-he-won’t-he of the last few years has me drained of any excitement.

A really good case could be made for Alex Newhook, who has just oozed top-line NHL potential while dominating his NCAA competition. The Colorado Avalanche draft pick—16th overall in 2019—scored 19 goals and 42 points in 34 games for Boston College and was just named the Tim Taylor Award winner as NCAA Rookie of the Year. Newhook was somehow left off the Canadian roster at the World Juniors this year (they won gold, so I guess it was the right choice?) but you can bet he’ll be at the next one, before making his mark at the NHL level down the road.

Still, as much as this may cause some chuckles in the back, the prospect that excites me the most is still Joe Veleno. The QMJHL star and Detroit Red Wings prospect jumped to the AHL last season and recorded just 23 points in 54 games, but that performance comes with a few caveats. First, and most importantly, Veleno played a good chunk of the season as a teenager—something that isn’t normally allowed for a player drafted out of the CHL. His case was different because of the exceptional status he was granted to enter the CHL a year early; five years of junior meant he was eligible to jump to professional hockey.

The other was the overall scoring ineptitude of the Grand Rapids Griffins. Amazingly, Veleno’s 11 goals actually tied him for third on the team, behind only AHL veterans Chris Terry and Matt Puempel. Five of those goals actually came in his final 16 games of the season, hopefully pointing to a higher level of production next year.

It’s hard to explain exactly why Veleno excites me when I watch him play, but he does. At the World Juniors I thought he was arguably the most well-rounded forward in the tournament, and perhaps that’s why I have such high hopes. I think he can be a star offensively in the NHL if he’s put in that role, but I also think he could be one of the league’s best shutdown forwards. What better organization to be in than one helmed by Steve Yzerman.

Snapshots: Laviolette, Darling, AHL Signings

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It’s been quite a while since former Nashville Predators head coach Peter Laviolette has coached a game. The 55-year-old coach was fired by Nashville on Jan. 6 and was later hired to coach the U.S. at the World Championships which was cancelled on Mar. 21. However, the head coach has made it clear that he wants to return to the NHL coaching ranks as soon as possible, according to Adam Kimmelman of NHL.com.

The coach has gone back and looked at his successes behind the bench in hopes of improving as a coach.

“Right now, I think I’m just focused on going back to what I found has worked for me as a coach and go back to that,” Laviolette said. “I don’t have a team, I don’t have any players, but what I can focus on is what happens when I can go to a team and I can start to get involved with the players and the identity of the team and building that team, building the organization.”

  • Former NHL goaltender Scott Darling spent the 2019-20 season in Austria, quite a step down from the NHL after he was bought out by the Florida Panthers at the start of the season. While his team Innsbruck struggled last season, his numbers didn’t project those of a former NHL player as he finished with a 3.34 GAA and a .898 save percentage in 33 games. However, the 31-year-old, who played with the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes, made it clear that his primary goal is to return to North America and resume his career there, even if that means signing an AHL deal and working his way up from there, according to John Dietz of the Daily Herald. “This pandemic has kind of sidetracked everything,” Darling said. “I was talking to some teams here. Ideally I’m going to try and play here next year, whether it be starting in the (AHL) or whatever.”
  • Two junior players signed their first professional contracts as the Toronto Marlies announced they have signed defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer and forward Jeremy McKenna to two-year AHL contracts. the 21-year-old Hoefenmayer was the biggest prize after leading all OHL defensemen in scoring last season with 26 goals and 82 points last season for the Ottawa 67s. Hoefenmayer was originally a fourth-round pick in 2017 by the Arizona Coyotes, but was never offered a contract by the Coyotes. McKenna scored 40 goals and 82 points with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL this season. Both will join the Marlies next season, a team well-known for developing their minor league players.

Prospect Notes: Lafreniere, Gildon, Whelan, Richter Award

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The announcement this afternoon that the NHL would be postponing the 2020 NHL Draft means that top prospect Alexis Lafreniere will have to wait a while longer to presumably be selected first overall. Yet, with his QMJHL season already canceled, the young forward has little else to focus on. The same can be said for a number of NHL teams who already know that they won’t be making the postseason regardless of the format the league chooses if and when they return to action. No team has more to gain from the coming draft than the Ottawa Senators. If the NHL Draft Lottery were to be held without any further changes to the regular season standings, the Detroit Red Wings would have the best singular odds of winning, 18.5%, but the Senators in both second and third, given their ownership of the San Jose Sharks’ pick, would actually have much better odds at a combined 25%. Naturally, the question was asked by TSN today of the Quebec native Lafreniere how he would feel about playing in Canada’s capital. “It would be fun. It would be special,” Lafreniere said, “It’s a great place to play and it would be an honor [to be selected.]” While the Senators have not exactly been a top free agent destination in recent years, the club is building up quite a talented group of prospects and Lafreniere would be a great fit to lead the team into the future, especially alongside whoever else the team selects early in the first round.

  • One existing NHL prospect who may soon be joining his pro home is Florida Panthers pick Max Gildon. Gildon, who just wrapped up his junior season at the University of New Hampshire, is close to signing an entry-level deal reports New England hockey insider Mark Divver. Divver expects the two sides to come to terms on a deal within a week. Gildon was a 2017 third-round pick out of the U.S. National Team Development Program, but has outplayed his draft slot over three productive years on the UNH blue line. He also pairs a big frame, physical play, and ability to play in all situations with his considerable skill and vision. Joining a Florida team with a pretty thin pipeline of defensive talent, Gildon could be in the NHL sooner rather than later.
  • Quinnipiac University forward Alex Whelan has found his first pro destination, as the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack announced a contract with the nearby product or the 2020-21 season. Whelan, who just finished his fourth and final year with Quinnipiac, was nothing if not consistent in his NCAA career. However, his 24 points this season came in just 29 games as opposed to 25 in 38 last year. On a per-game basis, he was the Bobcats’ second-best scorer on a team that was within reach of an NCAA Tournament berth. A power forward who looks prepared for the pro game, Whelan is a nice pickup for Hartford and will likely bring some Quinnipiac fans along with him.
  • The NCAA announced the ten semifinalists for the Mike Richter Award for top goaltender on Tuesday, with several NHL prospects on the list. Maine’s Jeremy Swayman, who recently signed his entry-level deal with the Boston Bruins, heads up a list that also includes 2019 top goalie draft pick Spencer Knight of Boston College and the Florida Panthers, as well as UMass Lowell’s Tyler Wall, whose rights are owned by the New York Rangers but could be headed for unrestricted free agency. However, the favorite for the award is likely an undrafted product, Minnesota State’s Dryden McKay, who led the nation in wins, save percentage, and GAA. McKay and Swayman are the only Richter semifinalists who are also Hobey Baker finalists. Other standouts include Cornell’s Matthew Galajda, Michigan’s Strauss Mann, and Bemidji State’s Zach Driscoll. The three finalists will be announced at a later date.

WHL Designates Connor Bedard With First Ever Exceptional Player Status

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Exceptional player status in the CHL is only declared for those elite 15-year-olds deemed worthy of joining the major junior ranks a year early. Exceptional player status has been granted five times in the OHL – John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Connor McDavid, Sean Day, and Shane Wright – and just once in the QMJHL – Joe Veleno – but never before in the WHL. That is, until today. Just one day after the WHL was forced to make the disappointing announcement that the remainder of their season had been canceled, tonight they made the exciting revelation that for the first time exceptional player status has been awarded.

The lucky 15-year-old-to-be is Connor Bedard of North Vancouver, British Columbia. Bedard played this season with the U-18 team of West Vancouver Academy in the Canadian Sports School Hockey League. In 36 games, Bedard recorded a whopping 43 goals and 84 points. He led the league in both categories by a significant margin and contributed on nearly 50% of his teams total goals on the year. While Bedard is still undersized at 5’8” and 165 lbs., he is still four years away from his draft year and will spend all of that time in the WHL growing his already-impressive skills in addition to growing physically.

The WHL Bantam Draft is set for April 22, 2020 and Bedard is now expected to be the prize at No. 1 overall. The 2020 WHL Bantam Draft Lottery is scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday March 25 and will determine the order of the first six selections of the draft. In the running for the top spot are the the Swift Current Broncos, Moose Jaw Warriors, Tri-City Americans, Prince George Cougars, Regina Pats, and Red Deer Rebels. Just one will end up fortunate enough to land the first ever “exceptional” player in league history.

Snapshots: Timelines, Juniors, College Signings

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It sounds like many NHL players are as restless as the average hockey fan while waiting for the season to resume. The panel on TSN’s Insider Trading outlined a return to action timeline that a group of players has been developing and will submit to the NHLPA, which includes playing the rest of the regular season games in late July.

A plan like this would obviously be exciting for fans as hockey would be played throughout the summer, but there would be an incredible amount of logistics to be worked out. Part of the reasoning behind the plan may also be financial in nature, as players want the league to recoup all of their potential gate revenue in order to not get dinged with even higher escrow numbers than expected. None of the timelines being discussed have any legs at this point, given how there is so much uncertainty there still is on when the season could be allowed to resume. Remember however, that deputy commissioner Bill Daly was clear when speaking with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic recently that the league does not intend on shortening the 2020-21 season if they can help it, at least in terms of games played.

  • The QMJHL has canceled the remainder of their regular season, meaning playoff seeding will be based on points percentage should it resume at some point. That same move is expected by the WHL according to Bob McKenzie of TSN, with the OHL also discussing their future tomorrow on a conference call. McKenzie suggests that the CHL playoffs at this point are a “long shot” and also notes that the Memorial Cup, which was originally set to start on May 22nd, is scheduled in a province that recently mandated no sporting events with more than 50 people could take place before June.
  • While college free agents continue to sign with NHL organizations, there is some concern rising around the league that some teams are gaining an unfair advantage in negotiations according to Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest. Strickland suggests that some teams may find it more difficult to pay out bonus money to college and European signings while in a suspended league state, noting the difference in cash flow between organizations like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. It’s not clear however what would be done to stop teams from negotiating, especially when any contract signed would likely be ticketed to start with the 2020-21 season.

AHL, CHL Temporarily Suspend 2019-20 Seasons

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March 16: The AHL has advised its clubs that the league will not resume before May. Like the NHL, they have now recommended that players return to their primary residences.

March 12: As expected, and like the NBA G-League did last night following the NBA’s decision, the American Hockey League will also temporarily suspend their 2019-20 season. The AHL will follow the lead of the NHL who paused their season earlier today, with hopes of resuming at some point down the road.

The CHL will also temporarily suspend their season, after a meeting between leadership of the OHL, WHL and QMJHL according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. The USHL and NAHL suspended their seasons earlier today.

It is not clear if the leagues will return at the same time as the NHL, but for now there will be no high level professional hockey nor any major junior hockey played in North America.

Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Mikhail Abramov

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs battle to make the playoffs, the front office still has their eyes on the future. The team has signed prospect Mikhail Abramov to a three-year entry-level contract. Abramov is currently playing with the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL, where he will remain for the rest of the season.

The 18-year old Russian forward was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, after his first season in North America. His goal scoring ability has exploded this season, with his 35 tallies tying him for tenth in the entire QMJHL. More impressively perhaps is that Abramov leads his club in scoring by 35 points, scoring 16 more goals than the next best. That kind of production without support is usually a strong indicator of success at the next level, though there is still a long way to go for him before any sort of NHL action.

Most likely Abramov will either stay in the QMJHL next season, though the Maple Leafs could also loan him back to Russia. Either way his deal will not kick in for the 2020-21 season, given he won’t turn 19 until later this month.

Prospect Notes: Draft Rankings, AHL Affiliates, Angello

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As more and more teams fall out of the playoff race, focus will be turned to the upcoming draft where another class of talented youngsters will be snapped up by professional organizations. Alexis Lafreniere once again leads the pack in Sam Cosentino’s new ranking for Sportsnet, to absolutely no one’s surprise. It’s the rest of the list that may raise some eyebrows.

One name that could do just that is Justin Barron, the Halifax Mooseheads defenseman who just recently returned to action. Barron was on track to be a lot closer to the top of the first round coming into this season, but after doctors found a blood clot in late-November he spent nearly three months on the sideline. In four contests since returning Barron has looked notably rusty, recording just two points and a -8 rating. Unfortunately he has just eight games left to show what he can do as the Mooseheads aren’t going to be in the QMJHL playoffs.

  • Prospects in the Florida Panthers organization may have a different place to play next season, as Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest tweets that there are whispers of the team moving their AHL affiliate to Chicago next season. The Chicago Wolves, who are currently operating as the affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, will be looking for a new partner after the pending relocation of the San Antonio Rampage to Las Vegas. Any change for Florida would leave the Springfield Thunderbirds available.
  • 23-year old forward Anthony Angello had been filling in for the Pittsburgh Penguins of late, his first opportunity in the NHL. That will come to an end for now however, as Angello suffered an upper-body injury in last night’s game and is ruled out on a “week-to-week” basis. The 6’5″ forward has a single goal in eight NHL games this season.

Snapshots: Anderson, Blais, Lafreniere

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Despite the fact that the Columbus Blue Jackets have carried through an incredibly discouraging summer and are currently sitting in a playoff position in the Eastern Conference, they are still facing a decision on what to do with one of their core players. Josh Anderson, who scored 27 goals for the Blue Jackets last season and looked like he would be one of the faces of the franchise after Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovksy left in free agency, now be on the move himself. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that the “feeling around the NHL” is that Anderson will be moved either by this season’s deadline or more likely in the summer as he becomes a restricted free agent for the final time.

Portzline examines the entire situation revolving around Anderson, including the potential ways his future could unfold. The 25-year old will be an RFA with arbitration rights in the offseason and could potentially take the Blue Jackets (or any acquiring team) to arbitration in order to walk right into unrestricted free agent status in 2021. Dealing with injuries all year, Anderson has just one goal and four points in 26 games with the Blue Jackets and hasn’t played since the middle of December.

  • Another physical forward dealing with injuries this season has been Sammy Blais, but he’ll have his return tonight for the St. Louis Blues. The 23-year old Blais has been activated from injured reserve after missing the last 28 games for the Blues. In 20 games this season he has five goals and eight points, both career-highs for the young forward.
  • If you’ve been counting the points Alexis Lafreniere has scored on a nightly basis, take a break. TSN reports that the prospective first-overall pick in this year’s draft has been suspended for the next three games in the QMJHL for a headshot, meaning he’ll have to sit at 84 points on the season for a while. Lafreniere leads all QMJHL players in scoring despite taking off part of the season to play in the World Juniors, but this is not the first time he has received supplementary discipline from the league. While his physicality is part of the appeal, he’ll need to avoid these kinds of hits if he wants to keep a clean record when he makes it to the NHL.

Snapshots: Three Stars, QMJHL Trades, Jets

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The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week, with Nathan MacKinnon taking home top spot. The Colorado Avalanche superstar had eight points in three games and has now almost caught Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in the NHL scoring race. MacKinnon has 25 goals and 64 points on the season, a pace that would see him easily eclipse his personal best of 99 points set last season.

In second place is another exceptional center in Mark Scheifele, who posted eight points of his own in three games. The Winnipeg Jets forward now has 20 goals and 48 points this season, while averaging close to 22 minutes a game. The third star went to Zach Werenski, who incredibly scored five of the eight goals that the Columbus Blue Jackets totaled last week. The 22-year old defenseman now has double digit goal totals in each of his first four seasons, and 13 this year in just 35 games.

  • With the World Juniors over, several CHL players that took part in the tournament will likely see their rights traded as teams load up for Memorial Cup runs. Nowhere is that more obvious than the QMJHL, where both Raphael Lavoie and Dawson Mercer were dealt today. The pair of Canadian gold medalists are on the move to Chicoutimi where they’ll join a Sangueneens team that is 27-7-4 on the season.
  • Andrew Copp has been officially activated from injured reserve by the Winnipeg Jets, with Nathan Beaulieu taking his place. Copp hasn’t played since the middle of December, but is an important depth forward for the Jets. In 34 games this season the 25-year old has 14 points, seeing more playing time and better linemates than ever before in his career.

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