Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Team Canada

Hockey Canada Announces Invitees For 2019 Junior Development Camp

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Hockey Canada has announced their 43-man roster for the 2019 National Junior Team Development Camp, the first step towards participating at the next World Junior tournament. GM Mark Hunter and head coach Dale Hunter will be evaluating all 43 players over a four-game stretch in Plymouth, Michigan between July 27-August 4 where they will take on a team from the United States as well as Finland and Sweden. Team Canada will be broken into two teams for the short showcase.

The list of players includes many already drafted names, but also some that are available this weekend or even next June in the 2020 Entry Draft. The full group is listed below:

G Colten Ellis (2019 draft eligible)
G Zachary Emond (SJS)
G Alexis Gravel (CHI, unsigned)
G Hunter Jones (2019 draft eligible)
G Olivier Rodrigue (EDM)

D Calen Addison (PIT)
D Kevin Bahl (ARI)
D Justin Barron (2020 draft eligible)
D Jacob Bernard-Docker (OTT, unsigned)
D Bowen Byram (2019 draft eligible)
D Peter Diliberatore (VGK, unsigned)
D Noah Dobson (NYI)
D Thomas Harley (2019 draft eligible)
D Braden Schneider (2020 draft eligible)
D Ty Smith (NJD)
D Jonny Tychonick (OTT, unsigned)
D Jett Woo (VAN)

F Luka Burzan (2019 draft eligible)
F Dylan Cozens (2019 draft eligible)
F Kirby Dach (2019 draft eligible)
F Riley Damiani (DAL)
F Ty Dellandrea (DAL)
F Aidan Dudas (LAK, unsigned)
F Carson Focht (2019 draft eligible)
F Cole Fonstad (MTL, unsigned)
F Nolan Foote (2019 draft eligible)
F Gabriel Fortier (TBL)
F Liam Foudy (CBJ)
F Benoit-Olivier Groulx (ANA, unsigned)
F Barrett Hayton (ARI)
F Mathias Laferriere (STL, unsigned)
F Alexis Lafreniere (2020 draft eligible)
F Raphael Lavoie (2019 draft eligible)
F Jack McBain (MIN, unsigned)
F Allan McShane (MTL, unsigned)
F Alex Newhook (2019 draft eligible)
F Serron Noel (FLA)
F Ryan Suzuki (2019 draft eligible)
F Akil Thomas (LAK)
F Philip Tomasino (2019 draft eligible)
F Joe Veleno (DET)

Anthony Mantha Suspended At World Championship

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The IIHF Disciplinary Panel has decided that Team Canada forward Anthony Mantha will miss the upcoming quarter-final game at the World Championship. Mantha has been suspended for one game thanks to a check to the head of Colin White in yesterday’s Canada-USA game. Mantha was given a two-minute minor and ten minute misconduct for the incident during the game.

Mantha has been a revelation for Canada head coach Alain Vigneault, and is currently tied for the tournament lead in goals with seven. The Detroit Red Wings forward easily leads Canada with 12 points through seven games, making his absence from a do-or-die game all that more important. The Swiss team went 4-3 through the preliminary round, but have more than enough firepower to upset a team like Canada.

While obviously this is a setback for Mantha, the Red Wings coaching staff has to be pleased with his tournament so far. The big winger has shown he can continue to produce with top players while also setting the tone physically. Mantha is expected to be a mainstay on Detroit’s top line again next season, and provides a perfect physical complement to Dylan Larkin’s speed.

Snapshots: Monarchs, Myers, Wagner

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Manchester Monarchs are no more. The ECHL team announced today that they would be ceasing operations after 18 seasons, meaning the Los Angeles Kings no longer have an affiliate in the league. According to Jon Rosen the Kings are expected to share an ECHL affiliate with another NHL team, though it is not yet clear who that will be.

The Monarchs franchise was actually founded in 1993 as the Huntington Blizzard, and have gone by several other names over the years including the Ontario Reign—the two minor league affiliates swapped in 2015, keeping a professional team that had been there since 2001 in the city. During their four-year run as the Monarchs in the ECHL, the team made the Kelly Cup playoffs every season and advanced to the third round in 2017. Several NHL players have spent time with the team, including 2018-19 rookies Jayce Hawryluk, Josh Brown and Jacob Middleton.

  • Team Canada is now without Brandon Montour for the rest of the IIHF World Championship, so were desperately trying to find a defenseman who could be added in the final roster spot. That defenseman is Philippe Myers, who today was added from the Philadelphia Flyers. Myers finally made his NHL debut this season and will now get the chance to represent his country on the world stage.
  • The Boston Bruins have received huge contributions from depth forwards like Chris Wagner in the postseason, but will have to find another source for the time being. Wagner has returned to Boston for further tests on his injured arm, one that was seen in a sling after he blocked a shot against the Carolina Hurricanes and was forced to exit game three. The Bruins will insert Noel Acciari into the lineup for game four in Carolina. If Wagner does not return in these playoffs he’ll end the postseason with an impressive 44 hits in 12 games while contributing two goals.

Hockey Canada Announces World Junior Coaching Staff

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s not much of a surprise, but Hockey Canada has officially named Dale Hunter head coach of the men’s U20 World Junior team for the 2020 tournament. Hunter, the head coach of the London Knights of the OHL joins his brother Mark Hunter who was named GM of the team in March. Andre Tourigny and Mitch Love will join Hunter on the bench as assistants. Canada also announced the coaching staff for the U18 team that will attend the 2019 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, naming Dan Lambert from the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL as head coach. Mario Duhamel and Dennis Williams will join Lambert as assistants.

Hunter had been rumored as the front runner for the job ever since his brother took control of the program, given how they already work together with the Knights in this capacity. He also has a long successful resume as a head coach, which includes a short time with the Washington Capitals and a gold medal coaching Team Canada at the Hlinka in 2014.

He will have plenty of experience beside him for the tournament, given that Tourigny has been an assistant at the World Juniors on three previous occasions. The Ottawa 67’s head coach also took home gold at the Hlinka last summer, while being named OHL Coach of the Year this season. He previously worked in the NHL as an assistant with both the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators, but has been back in the CHL since 2016.

Love was an assistant on Tourigny’s U18 staff last year, but has a shorter resume internationally. Still, he has been behind CHL bench for the better part of this decade and took over as head coach of the Saskatoon Blades this season.

The Canadian program will kick things off with the Summer Showcase in August.

Snapshots: Free Agents, Jost, Kakko

at CDT | by 2 Comments

There are now 27 NHL teams eliminated from Stanley Cup contention, and with that comes a new focus. Free agency is right around the corner and plans are starting to formulate on who to retain or who to pursue in order to improve for next season. Once considered a “Super class” of unrestricted free agents, the group for 2019 has dwindled considerably as teams are hesitant to give up their top players. Still, there is plenty of talent without a contract for next season and Frank Seravalli of TSN released an early ranking of those players today.

As expected, Artemi Panarin, Erik Karlsson and Sergei Bobrovsky occupy the top three spots, all superstars at their respective positions. The trio could change the face of any franchise in the league, but will each cost a fortune to obtain. Beyond those three though there are other impressive names on the list like Matt Duchene, Anders Lee and even Joe Pavelski. While it may no longer be the best class of free agents in history, teams are still hoping the next seven weeks pass quickly.

  • With John Tavares out of the IIHF World Championship due to an oblique injury, Team Canada suffered a defeat at the hands of Finland today 3-1. The forward group was quite unimpressive except perhaps for a few opportunities by Jonathan Marchessault and Anthony Mantha, and may have trouble creating offense at even strength in the tournament. Canada has three extra spots to add other players, and one of those will be used on Colorado Avalanche forward Tyson Jost according to Darren Dreger of TSN. Jost competed last year for the Canadians and recorded six points in nine games, and also took home a World Junior silver medal for them in the past. Update: The team will also be adding Columbus Blue Jackets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois.
  • While the Canadians struggled to create any offense, the Finnish squad had no problem thanks to the presence of top draft-eligible prospect Kaapo Kakko. The 18-year old opened the scoring on a breakaway and finished it off with an empty net goal after winning a loose puck from Marchessault while defending the lead. Kakko and fellow potential first-overall pick Jack Hughes are both competing in the tournament against other NHL stars, and have a chance to really show the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers what kind of impact they can have from day one.

Morning Notes: Draft Order, Tavares, AHL Playoffs

at CDT | by 6 Comments

Now that the Conference Finals are set, the draft order is set up to pick 27. The Tampa Bay Lightning will select in that slot, while the four remaining teams—or whoever owns their first-round pick—will fit into 28-31. Notably, the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings now know exactly where their newly acquired first rounders will land. The Senators will use the Columbus Blue Jackets’ selection at No. 19, the Rangers will follow with the Winnipeg Jets’ pick at 20, and the Kings get the chance to add another top prospect at No. 22 where the Toronto Maple Leafs finished.

Even though the Colorado Avalanche were crushed last night when they lost a game seven against the San Jose Sharks, there is plenty to look forward to next month. The Avalanche will get to select 4th and 16th even after getting to the second round, thanks to the way the playoffs have shaken out overall. Adding two more players of that caliber could help the Avalanche become an even more realistic contender for the Stanley Cup. The full order can be found here, thanks to CapFriendly.

  • John Tavares was set to lead Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship that opens tomorrow, but now won’t get the chance. The Maple Leafs’ center has suffered an oblique injury and will return to Toronto for further evaluation. The Canadian roster was already lacking a bit of goal scoring punch, but will have to find a way to create some offense without the 47-goal man.
  • The AHL Eastern Conference Final is also set, after the Charlotte Checkers finished their sweep of the Hershey Bears last night. The Checkers will take on the defending Calder Cup champion Toronto Marlies, who are undefeated so far in these playoffs. Game one is scheduled for May 17th in Charlotte, giving the Western teams time to finish off their respective series.

Morning Notes: Datsyuk, Worlds, Fix-Wolansky

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Pavel Datsyuk’s contract has come to an end with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, but he’s not yet a completely unrestricted free agent. Datsyuk’s NHL rights still belong to the Arizona Coyotes until July 1st after they took on his contract in a cap relief deal. Still, Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News reports that the veteran forward is on his way to Michigan soon to discuss options with his agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, and that he would only return to the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings.

That by no means guarantees a return for Datsyuk, who according to Kulfan would also consider playing for his hometown team in Russia. That would be Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, who actually had an outstanding 2018-19 season but were upset in the second round of the Gagarin Cup playoffs. That option still does seem the most likely, given that Datsyuk will turn 41 in July.

  • Auston Matthews won’t be heading to the IIHF World Championship later this month, but the next potential American-born first-overall pick will be there instead. John Shannon of Sportsnet reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs star would not take part in the tournament, but Jack Hughes will join his brother on the USA squad. Hughes has just finished smashing nearly every record possible over the last year in the USNDTP and U-18 tournament, and will now try to show off his skills for the New Jersey Devils who hold the top pick in June’s draft.
  • Team Canada has also added another player to their roster, bringing in Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jared McCann. The Canadians have a few spots left for late additions, but will rely on the likes of John Tavares, Sean Couturier and Mark Stone to form the veteran core up front.
  • The Cleveland Monsters have added Trey Fix-Wolansky on an amateur tryout for the rest of the season, after his Edmonton Oil Kings were eliminated from WHL playoff contention. Fix-Wolansky was a seventh-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2018 but put up 102 points in 65 games as the captain of the Oil Kings this season, and has already signed his entry-level contract that will kick in next season.

Snapshots: Blackhawks, Team Canada, Nutivaara

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Although the Blackhawks finished 30th in the league in goals allowed this season, Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times cautions that there may not be big changes coming to their back end this summer.  He notes that GM Stan Bowman has confidence in his existing group and hopes that head coach Jeremy Colliton will be able to establish some more significant changes to their current strategies, something he wasn’t completely able to do after taking over for Joel Quenneville early in the season.  Veterans Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are signed for at least the next four seasons with no-move clauses so there isn’t a lot of flexibility to work with; they will have to rely on both of them to pick up their level of play for next season.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Canada has added several players to their team for the upcoming World Championships. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter links) that Maple Leafs center John Tavares, Golden Knights winger, and Penguins goalie Matt Murray have all agreed to participate.  Meanwhile, Sportsnet 650’s Rick Dhaliwal adds (Twitter link) that Canucks defenseman Troy Stecher will also be taking part in the tournament which gets underway on May 10th.
  • Blue Jackets defenseman Markus Nutivaara resumed skating today for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury back in the second game of their opening round series against Tampa Bay, notes Adam Jardy of the Columbus Post-Dispatch. He ranked fifth in average ice time on the back end in Columbus this season, logging nearly 18 minutes a night.  There’s no word on his timetable for a return; the 24-year-old indicated he was unsure if he’d be able to return in this series.  Adam Clendening will remain in the lineup in his absence.

Snapshots: Worlds, McLellan, Hawkey

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Team Canada got turned down by Carey Price for the upcoming IIHF World Championship, but still could have some pretty excellent goaltending for the tournament. Not only will young phenom Carter Hart be part of the team, but Craig Morgan of The Athletic has heard that Darcy Kuemper is also on the team’s radar. There could be several other candidates considered, especially since teams exiting the first round of the playoffs would make their players available.

If it is Hart and Kuemper, it would certainly not be tandem that was expected at the beginning of the season. The Philadelphia Flyers goaltender won’t turn 21 until August, but put together quite an NHL debut this season. In 31 games Hart put up a .917 save percentage and kept Philadelphia in the playoff hunt longer than many expected early in the year. The same could be said about Kuemper, who went from unheralded backup to potential Vezina candidate after posting a .925 in 55 appearances. The tournament begins on May 10th.

  • Now that the draft lottery is over all eyes in Los Angeles will be waiting for the result of the Kings’ coaching search, which appears to still have some work to do. Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times tweets that as of earlier today nothing was imminent for the Kings, though they are still in the “sweepstakes” for Todd McLellan. McLellan has also been meeting with the Buffalo Sabres this week as he also takes in the NCAA Frozen Four, and reports have seemingly come from both sides that they were close to signing the coach. Wherever McLellan does end up, it seems as though the other team will quickly have to move on to their next candidate—unless another team moves on him first.
  • Speaking of the Frozen Four, Minnesota-Duluth won their semi-final game earlier today and eliminated the Providence Friars. That marks the end of several NCAA careers for Providence including goaltender Hayden Hawkey, who will now have to make a decision on whether to sign right away or wait for unrestricted free agency this summer. The Montreal Canadiens traded Hawkey’s rights last summer in exchange for a fifth-round pick, likely to avoid this situation since they already have a full depth chart of goaltenders. The 24-year old posted a .920 save percentage for Providence this season, his third as the team’s starter. He’ll become a free agent in August if the Oilers don’t get him under contract.

Rosters Announced For U18 World Championship

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The rosters for both Team USA and Team Canada have been released for the upcoming U18 World Championship, and they include some top prospects set to be drafted this summer. Jack Hughes is the obvious name to watch on the American squad, but several of his teammates from the USNTDP are also sure to turn heads. The full U.S. roster is as follows:

G Spencer Knight
G Cameron Rowe

D Domenick Fensore
D Drew Helleson
D Case McCarthy
D Henry Thun
D Alex Vlasic
D Marshall Warren
D Cam York

F John Beecher
F Matthew Beniers
F Matthew Boldy
F Cole Caufield
F Judd Caulfield
F Sean Farrell
F Michael Gildon
F Jack Hughes
F Owen Lindmark
F Patrick Moynihan
F Landon Slaggert
F Trevor Zegras

Several other players including Zegras, Caufield, Knight and York are all considered potential first-round selections, making this U18 squad a powerhouse in the upcoming tournament. The team will be looking for their 11th gold medal in the event, the most by any country. John Wroblewski will be the head coach.

Meanwhile, Canada is also putting together an impressive group of prospects but unfortunately will not have potential first-overall pick Alexis Lafreniere available. That’s because Lafreniere is still in the QMJHL playoffs with Rimouski and could go all the way to a Memorial Cup. Instead the focus will be on potential top-five pick Dylan Cozens and several other 2019 draft-eligibles. The full pre-competition roster is as follows:

G Taylor Gauthier
G Dylan Garand
G Jonathan Lemieux

D Braden Schneider
D Kaedan Korczak
D Thomas Harley
D Michael Vukojevic
D Jamie Drysdale
D Lukas Cormier
D Daemon Hunt

F Brayden Tracey
F Keean Washkurak
F Nathan Legare
F Mavrik Bourque
F Jamieson Rees
F Alex Newhook
F Ryan Suzuki
F Dylan Cozens
F Connor Zary
F Peyton Krebs
F Hendrix Lapierre
F Jean-Luc Foudy
F Jacob Perreault

The Canadian team does not appear on paper to be as dominant as their American counterparts, but anything can happen in a short tournament. The group will be coached by Brett Gibson, and could invite more players from the CHL as teams are eliminated.

The tournament begins on April 18th in Sweden.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top