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Injury Notes: Boeser, Severson, Perron, Hoffman

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While Vancouver fans are relieved to see Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes back in action after they signed new contracts to stay with the team, they’ll have to wait a bit longer to see one of their young core members debut this season. Head coach Travis Green said Friday morning that it’s doubtful Brock Boeser plays in that night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Boeser has been on the shelf with an undisclosed injury since October 2. He was expected to only miss one week, but that timeline has passed and his status is now day-to-day. In his absence, it appears rookie Vasily Podkolzin will now get a look on the second line with Pettersson and J.T. Miller.

Some other injury notes from around the league:

  • New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff notes that defenseman Damon Severson is progressing and could play in New Jersey’s game next Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken. The Devils play their season opener tonight, meaning Severson might only be on the shelf for one game. Severson suffered an undisclosed injury on October 4 and has been listed as day-to-day since then.
  • The Montreal Canadiens could see a big free-agent addition make his debut soon. Head coach Dominique Ducharme says that winger Mike Hoffman could be ready for the team’s Tuesday or Thursday night games next week, but he’ll miss Saturday’s tilt against the New York Rangers. That’s about right on time for Hoffman, who was projected to miss four weeks with a lower-body injury suffered in late September.
  • With the St. Louis Blues’ season opener looming Saturday in Colorado, they could be without forward David Perron, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. Perron was absent from the Blues’ practice today but was seen at the facility wearing street clothes. Head coach Craig Berube called it a “maintenance day” for Perron, who’s questionable for the game with an undisclosed injury.

College Hockey Round-Up: 10/14/21

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In college athletics, with rankings adjusted on a weekly basis, the glow of a National Championship only lasts as long as you keep winning. The UMass Minutemen found that out the hard way, debuting at No. 1 for the first time in program history but just two weeks later now sitting at No. 9. The team was swept in their opening week series with Minnesota State, who has taken the crown after opening at No. 4. UMass then did not play this past week, losing more votes as they were unable to bounce back right away. The Minutemen still sit ahead of Hockey East rival Providence College, who sits at No. 10 despite an NCAA-best 3-0-0 record, but the pressure is now on for UMass to pick up some wins if they want to remain in the top ten.

Recent Results

While (now) No. 1 Minnesota State and No. 9 UMass was far and away the highlight of the first week of college hockey action, there were more than a few other notable match-ups. No. 2 St. Cloud State played the bully role against St. Thomas in their Division I debut, recording 12 goals in game one and a shut out in game two. The star-studded No. 3 Michigan Wolverine won handily against Bowling Green in their opener, behind five points apiece from Owen Power (BUF) and Brendan Brisson (VGK).

Last week, a number of top teams collided in what marked the opening series many programs. It was hard to beat a clash of early favorites, as Minnesota State and St. Cloud State split their weekend series but stayed atop the rankings. No. 4 Minnesota was able to take home two wins easily against Mercyhurst, but No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth had a statement weekend, sweeping No. 20 Bemidji State. No. 6 Boston College and No. 8 Quinnipiac played to a tie, but Quinnipiac picked up a win the next night against No. 18 Northeastern. The surprise of the weekend was a sweep by No. 16 Michigan Tech of Wisconsin by a combined score of 10-3, vaulting the Huskies up the rankings and knocking the Badgers out.

This weekend, all eyes will be on Duluth as the host Bulldogs bring in Minnesota State, Michigan, and Providence for a mini-tournament of top-ten teams. No. 7 North Dakota will be tested by Bemidji State after picking up two easy wins last weekend, while St. Cloud and Minnesota will square off in a battle of undefeated top-five teams. Huskies super-senior goalie David Hrenak (LAK) has started all four games for St. Cloud and has a .961 save percentage and 0.84 GAA, making him quite possibly the most impressive player thus far in the young season and a pro-ready prospect to watch.

An Update On Alaska

Only one team from Alaska is taking part in the 2021-22 season, as Anchorage folded their program this summer leaving only Fairbanks to compete. Luckily, that will revert back next season. Anchorage announced in August that they had raised enough money to meet their fundraising goal for reinstating the team. The Sea Wolves will be back in action next year and are already closing in on a new coach, revealing three finalists late last month.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the NHL’s newest club, the Seattle Kraken, had a hand in raising money for Anchorage’s return. In doing so, they have built a strong relationship with the school and fans in the state. Friedman speculates that an outdoor game in Alaska, similar to the Lake Tahoe event last season, could be on the NHL’s slate before too long with the Kraken likely to host.

COVID Still Kicking Around

Though the expectation is that the COVID-19 pandemic will be much better controlled at all levels of hockey this season, the reality is that it is still likely to cause some issues. It didn’t take long for the virus to rear its ugly head at the college level. This weekend’s series between UMass Lowell and LIU has been postponed due to a breakout in the Sharks locker room. The two-game set has been changed to single games in November and February.

While LIU certainly hopes to get healthy in time to avoid further delays, it is the River Hawks who could feel the brunt of this delay. Just outside the top 20 in the initial rankings, Lowell dropped one of its first two games against Arizona State and then was off last week, losing several votes in the process. Another week off won’t help them in the rankings, but the team hopes to be fresh and ready to face Michigan State and Hockey East rival Boston University in their next two series.

Washington Capitals Claim Dennis Cholowski

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The Seattle Kraken have lost one of their expansion picks to waivers, as Dennis Cholowski has been claimed by the Washington Capitals according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. To make room on the roster, the team has loaned Beck Malenstyn back to the AHL.

This is exactly the risk that we discussed earlier this summer, as the Kraken had collected almost a dozen defensemen who all required waivers to go to the minor leagues. While they managed to get several through in the preseason, Cholowski is now lost just a few months after being selected from the Detroit Red Wings in the Seattle expansion draft. He did not play for the team in the opener after Jamie Oleksiak was cleared from the COVID protocol at the last minute, and will now head to Washington where it’s nearly as crowded on the back end.

The Capitals used all six of their defensemen last night for at least 16:50, with Justin Schultz being the lowest on that pole but contributing a goal and six shots to the effort. Matt Irwin, who was serving as the team’s seventh defenseman, seems likely to be the odd man out when their newest player arrives. That doesn’t mean the 23-year-old Cholowski is in line for big minutes though, he’ll have to prove that his poor results in Detroit were more because of the team around him than his own shortcomings.

But he’s also a 2016 first-round pick that has over 100 games at the NHL level already, something that’s certainly worth another look for a team that can afford it. Roster spots are thin around the league, but given that Malenstyn can be moved down without issue and Irwin might even clear waivers if needed, the Capitals could take a chance. If they ever want to place Cholowski back on waivers and send him down, the Kraken would have a chance to reclaim him.

Injuries Delaying Roster Decisions For Islanders, Kraken

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The NHL season is now underway and yet the well-documented roster crunches of the New York Islanders and Seattle Kraken have gone completely unnoticed even as the league’s 23-man roster deadline came and went. What happened? Well, it may seem counterintuitive, but both teams have been helped out by injuries and health-related absences. However, they aren’t out of the woods yet and may only be delaying the inevitable.

In New York, the Isles knew that they would receive salary cap and roster flexibility by placing defenseman Johnny Boychuk on Long-Term Injured Reserve, but veteran forward Matt Martin also landed on IR. While just one unexpected injury may not seem like a lot, it has had a massive impact on how the Islanders prepare for the start of the season. While the club was successfully able to pass pricier veterans Richard Panik and Thomas Hickey through waivers and on to AHL Bridgeport, they have not yet had to make the tough decision between any of their other more attractive fringe players. Once Martin returns, someone else has to go. Martin’s fourth line replacement Ross Johnston appears to be safe as the apparent next man up, but is at least in the mix. Serviceable veteran Leo Komarov is not expected to be in the Isles’ Opening Night lineup on Thursday, but has been a valuable depth player for years in New York and is even more attractive to other teams now that he is on an expiring contract. Young Kieffer Bellows, whose new contract was finally registered with the league, would also be very interesting to other teams and represents the Islanders’ best top-six substitute. There is no easy choice as all three are more likely than not to be claimed, which explains why GM Lou Lamoriello has reportedly been exploring the trade market.

Things are a little more dire in Seattle, where the league’s newest team would like to keep their Opening Night roster intact but stand little chance of doing so. Already the team has had to make some risky waiver placements, including Kole Lind and Cale Fleury, but have been lucky thus far. Dennis Cholowski’s time on the wire could yield a different result, but even that loss would pale in comparison to what is coming down the line if the Kraken don’t make a move first. The lone holdover from the team’s recent mini-breakout of positive COVID-19 tests, veteran forward Calle Jarnkrok will be available sooner rather than later. Marcus Johansson, placed on injured reserve today, will likely be the next one back and Colin Blackwell is only expected to miss the first month of the season. Further down the road, the team will also need room for Yanni Gourde, who is expected back closer to December. That’s four valuable veterans forwards who all need spots on the Seattle roster, which already sits at 23 members with only one – Lind – that can safely be sent to the minors. On one hand, these early injuries allow the Kraken to take a look at some players who otherwise would not have made the roster, like waiver claim Alex Barre-Boulet for example. On the other hand, these “extra” players will eventually need to be waived, traded, or force the team to trade others instead. Lind and Barre-Boulet seem like easy cuts, but that is just two of four. Would Ryan Donato, who scored the first goal in franchise history on Tuesday, clear waivers? Would young grinder Nathan Bastian? Veteran center Riley Sheahan? The Kraken have a number of questions left to answer and their early injuries have only kicked the can down the road. The longer they wait, especially if the team is playing well, the less likely their fringe players are to clear waivers and the less likely that potential trade partners may be to make a deal rather than wait them out. GM Ron Francis and company have their work cut out for them.

While the preseason trade market remained quiet and there were no earth-shattering waiver claims, this is at least partially due to some unexpected injuries in New York and Seattle. At some point these situations will need to be resolved and, one way or another, players will wind up changing hands.

Marcus Johansson Out Indefinitely With Lower-Body Injury

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The Seattle Kraken’s inaugural season hasn’t gotten off to the smoothest start. After a handful of players hit the COVID protocol only for most of them to be cleared just before the game last night, Marcus Johansson–one of the players to be cleared and play–has suffered a lower-body injury and will be out indefinitely. Johansson has been moved to injured reserve. The team has also swapped Kole Lind and Alexander True between the AHL and NHL rosters, with the former joining the Kraken for their journey to Nashville.

Johansson played more than 16 minutes last night, actually logging the sixth-most ice time among the team’s forwards. Now that he’s out, the team will have to reorganize their lines and find another option for the powerplay. The 31-year-old forward signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Kraken this offseason after a disappointing season with the Minnesota Wild, but has long been a reliable two-way option that can play up and down the lineup.

With Calle Jarnkrok still listed in the COVID protocol, Yanni Gourde still working his way back and Johansson now shelved with an injury, the team is already getting thin on capable NHL forwards. This is the difficult part about having only a partial minor league affiliate, as the Kraken only actually have five forwards (not including Lind) in the AHL to draw from, meaning a rash of injuries could put them in a very tough spot. For now, things can be handled with a few recalls, but if many more serious injuries happen look for the Kraken to make a waiver claim, trade, or free agent signing to add to the group. Alex Barre-Boulet, exactly that kind of addition, was not active for last night’s game but could make his Seattle debut in the coming days now that there is another open spot.

Dennis Cholowski Placed On Waivers

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The Seattle Kraken have placed defenseman Dennis Cholowski on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Kraken got good news on several players that were in the COVID protocol just ahead of their game last night, meaning Cholowski–who started the year on the injured/non-roster list–isn’t needed right away, and will likely be assigned to the minor leagues should he clear.

Cholowski was expected to play last night for the Kraken until Jamie Oleksiak cleared at the last minute, making it curious how he was even moved to the non-roster list at all. The team could have submitted him to waivers with the purpose of assigning him to the AHL, which would force them to send him down at least temporarily should he clear. While that may have not been the ideal situation for the team, they were going to have to waive defensemen eventually after collecting so many in the offseason.

Without him on the roster, the team is still carrying eight options at the position. William Borgen and Carson Soucy were both scratched last night, but either is more than capable of stepping into the lineup if needed. They also likely pose more of a waiver claim risk, even with Soucy’s $2.75MM contract. After Cholowski’s disappointing 2020-21, he very well could clear unscathed.

A first-round pick in 2016, the 23-year-old defenseman has not developed the way the Detroit Red Wings hoped and finds himself battling to even stay in the NHL. The Kraken are currently sharing the Charlotte Checkers as they wait for their own AHL affiliate to start play in 2022-23, meaning that’s where Cholowski would likely end up should he go unclaimed.

NHL Down To Four Unvaccinated Players

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The NHL expected that 98% or perhaps even 99% of their players would be vaccinated against the Coronavirus before the start of the 2021-22 season. It seems that they have somehow bettered that mark. Commissioner Gary Bettman has revealed that there are currently only four unvaccinated players in the league. This is understood to mean that all but four of the roughly 736 players on NHL rosters as of yesterday’s deadline are vaccinated – 99.5% of all players. Bettman spoke to his appreciation and respect for how the players have handled the pandemic in many ways over the past two years:

Throughout all of this, we had great collaboration and cooperation with the players and Players’ Association. This doesn’t happen to get to this point without that collaboration and cooperation. Yes, the players have stepped up to get vaccinated, but even thinking about how the players had to function the last two years, to go into the bubble… Having to adhere to the protocols last season so we could administer 330,000 tests to keep everybody healthy. The fact that we were in the bubble and I think we did 35,000 tests and didn’t have one positive. Everybody banded together to do the right thing. Maybe that’s why hockey is the ultimate team sport.

Of those four players, two have previously been confirmed as New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, who has at least considered receiving the vaccine, and Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi. While Montreal Canadiens forward Jesse Ylonen is also unvaccinated and veteran Vancouver Canucks defenseman Travis Hamonic has been speculated as such as well, neither are considered to be part of this group of four as they are both currently in the AHL.

Bettman also noted that all team personnel and all officials are vaccinated. As a whole, the NHL is about as close to full protection against COVID-19 as could reasonably be expected, not to mention lightyears ahead of the other top North American pro sports leagues.

And yet, Coronavirus will continue to play a part in this NHL season. The Seattle Kraken have already dealt with numerous players entering the COVID Protocol before they can even play their first game in the league, while individual players like Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and Vegas’ Mattias Janmark are also sidelined by positive tests. The league and its players have done their best to this point, but will have to continue to adhere to COVID Protocol policies and procedures as all involved hope to play a full and uninterrupted schedule this season.

Five Kraken Players In COVID Protocol

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Oct 12: Johansson has been cleared and can play tonight, but Hakstol told reporters including Clark that Jarnkrok, McCann, Oleksiak and Donskoi are all still unavailable. The lineup is a “work in progress” for the Kraken.

Oct 11: Just after the Vegas Golden Knights announced that Mattias Janmark is in the COVID protocol, their opponent for tomorrow night had some even worse news. Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol told reporters including Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic that Calle Jarnkrok, Marcus Johansson, Jared McCann, Jamie Oleksiak and Joonas Donskoi are all in the COVID protocol.

Just like with Janmark, it is important to remember that inclusion in the protocol does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list–which actually won’t be released for the first time until tomorrow–are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol.

Still, this is troubling news for a Kraken team that is expected to play the first game in franchise history tomorrow. Clark notes that the team is trying to get Alex Barre-Boulet, claimed off waivers today from the Tampa Bay Lightning to Vegas in time to play tomorrow night for the Kraken. Losing Jarnkrok, Johansson, McCann and Donskoi from the forward group is taking a huge chunk of the team’s offensive potential off the ice, though it is not confirmed yet if all of them will miss tomorrow’s game.

The team will have to make some adjustments to the roster before today’s deadline, not exactly the start that GM Ron Francis was likely hoping for as the Kraken get ready to take the ice for the first time.

Colin Blackwell Out Indefinitely

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  • Kraken forward Colin Blackwell is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, notes Marisa Ingemi of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). The 28-year-old didn’t play at all in the preseason with the injury and it doesn’t appear as if he’s close to returning.  That’s another regular player that will be missing on opening night on top of the five that are currently in COVID protocol.

Barre-Boulet, Brooks, Brown Claimed Off Waivers

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Three players were claimed off waivers today, just before opening night rosters are submitted. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Seattle Kraken claimed Alex Barre-Boulet from the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Montreal Canadiens claimed Adam Brooks from the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Philadelphia Flyers claimed Patrick Brown from the Vegas Golden Knights. The Washington Capitals also re-claimed Axel Jonsson-Fjallby from the Buffalo Sabres and assuming they were the only team to put in a claim, can now send him directly to the minor leagues. The other 39 players placed on waivers yesterday have cleared.

Barre-Boulet seemed the likeliest player to be claimed among yesterday’s group, as the 24-year-old has not only shown extremely well at the minor league level, but also is signed at league minimum for the next three seasons. The former Lightning prospect signed a three-year deal in July that pays him $750K at the NHL level this year and next, and $775K in 2023-24 when the minimum increases. That alone makes him valuable and he’ll now get a chance to show exactly what he can do in Seattle, rather than be blocked by countless talented teammates in Tampa Bay.

Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2018, Barre-Boulet was a superstar in the QMJHL but lacks the size of a traditional NHL player. That certainly hasn’t held him back in the AHL, as he has posted 136 points in 144 games for the Syracuse Crunch since turning pro. That includes eight goals in just ten games last season, which helped elevate him to the NHL level where he played in 15 games for the Lightning. Though he is by no means a lock to produce for the Kraken, it was an easy choice to add his talent to the organization when it came available.

Brooks too seemed like an inevitable loss for the Maple Leafs when they decided to place him on waivers instead of Michael Amadio yesterday. Toronto will lose their depth forward to the rival Canadiens and could see him on the other side of the ice quickly. Montreal will travel to Toronto on Wednesday for their season opener, though it’s not clear if Brooks will step directly into the lineup. The 25-year-old has always seemed to play well when given the chance–that just hasn’t been very often. He has played just 18 regular season games for the Maple Leafs thus far, registering eight points.

There seems to be something of a trend in Philadelphia, where Brown will be the latest Boston College alumni to join the roster. He played college hockey with both Kevin Hayes and Cam Atkinson, winning the national championship in 2012 with the former. He adds plenty of pro experience but not a lot at the NHL level, given he’s only suited up for 33 regular season games. Incredibly, that total has almost been matched by his postseason experience, where he has played in 22 games the last three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes and Golden Knights.

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