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Doug Armstrong Named Canada GM For 2026 Winter Olympics

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Hockey Canada has named St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong as General Manager for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Other announced roles include Ryan Getzlaf as the Player Relations Advisor, Scott Salmond as Senior Vice-President of High Performance and Hockey Operations, Katherine Henderson as President and CEO, and Pat McLaughlin as COO and Executive Vice-President of Strategy.

Armstrong has become a key piece of Canada’s representation overseas. He’s been a part of two other Olympic Games, both in an assistant general manager capacity, and seven different World Championship or World Cup tournaments. Canada has won big under his leadership, with Armstrong boasting two Olympic gold medals and three World Championship gold medals. He’ll now get a chance to field what may be one of the best Canadian teams of all time, with the end of Sidney Crosby’s career, the prime of Connor McDavid’s career, and the start of Connor Bedard’s career all lining up perfectly. The team could also bring star defenseman Cale Makar, if the restrictions placed on members of Canada’s 2018 World Juniors Championship team are lifted before 2026.

One question that Armstrong will face is who the proper goaltender for Team Canada really is. His appointment is great news for Jordan Binnington, who served as a pivotal piece of Armstrong’s sole Stanley Cup win and continues to thrive in St. Louis. But Binnington isn’t the best Canadian goaltender on paper, with Vegas’ Adin Hill also championing his team to a Stanley Cup and consistently fighting for the NHL’s lead in save percentage, when he’s healthy. There’s also 25-year-old Stuart Skinner, who emphatically claimed an NHL starting role last season and has since posted 59 wins and a .911 in 98 games. Skinner hasn’t found his way into any hardware yet, but could offer a stronger impact when the Olympics role around in two years. With Team USA boasting Connor Hellebuyck and Jeremy Swayman, and Russia likely to bring Igor Shesterkin or Ilya Sorokin if they participate, Team Canada will need to make sure they’re as strong in net as they will be everywhere else. Those decisions will now be left up to one of the NHL’s longest-tenured general managers in Doug Armstrong.

Afternoon Snapshots: Perunovich, Binnington, Skinner, Three Stars

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St. Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich underwent an MRI on Monday for the lower-body injury he suffered in St. Louis’ Sunday night win over the Los Angeles Kings. Team reporter Lou Korac shares that Perunovich will be out on Tuesday but that the team is hoping the All-Star Break will be enough time for Perunovich to recover.

Perunovich has appeared in 31 games this season, netting 12 assists, six penalty minutes, and -4. The 25-year-old also played in 19 games and recorded six assists in the 2020-21 season, though he’s still searching for the first goal of his career. The oft-injured defender missed the majority of last season with a fractured shoulder that required surgery in October. His only action was 22 AHL games, where he scored two goals and 20 points.

The Blues have recalled Tyler Tucker from his conditioning stint in the AHL to replace Perunovich. Tucker appeared in six games with the Springfield Thunderbirds, recording no points, six penalty minutes, and a +2. He’s also managed two points and 22 penalty minutes in 15 NHL games this season

Other notes from around the league:

  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared on the recent 32 Thoughts Podcast that Jordan Binnington would be a top starting goaltender option for Team Canada, sharing, “Someone was saying to me the other day, if Canada was playing Game 1 of the World Cup right now… Jordan Binnington would be in the conversation to be your starter.” Friedman also mentioned Stuart Skinner as a second option. Binnington and Skinner have both gone through ups and downs throughout their careers but boast winning pedigrees, with Skinner winning the WHL championship in 2018 and Binnington winning the OHL championship in 2011 and Stanley Cup in 2019. Both were also runners-up for the Calder Trophy in their rookie seasons. They have each played in 34 games this season, with Skinner managing 23 wins a .910 save percentage while Binnington has 17 wins and a .907 save percentage.
  • The NHL has announced their ‘Three Stars of the Week’ for the last full week of January. Matthew Tkachuk wins Third Star with eight points, split evenly, in four games; Connor McDavid gets the Second Star by matching Tkachuk’s stat line in just three games; and Nikita Kucherov takes the First Star with four goals and nine points in just three games. The hot week brought Kucherov’s scoring totals up to a league-leading – and frankly dazzling – 85 points in 49 games.

Minor Transactions: 01/03/2024

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The hockey world is fulling pulling into the second half of the 2023-24 season, with the 100th anniversary of the Spengler Cup being awarded to the tourney’s host team, HC Davos, and the semi-finals of the World Juniors Championship set to begin soon. This means plenty of exciting time for international hockey, as well as plenty of roster moves, as players return from their national team back to their league play. As always, we’ll cover notable transactions here.

  • Philadelphia Flyers prospect Alexis Gendron has seen his QMJHL rights traded from the Gatineau Olympiques to the Drummondville Voltigeurs, with Gatineau receiving three draft picks in return. This must have been what Philadelphia wanted to see, as they’ve assigned Gendron back to the QMJHL for the rest of the season. The 20-year-old, former seventh-round draft pick was previously playing in his first professional season, recording five goals and seven points in 17 AHL games. Gendron has previously played four seasons in the QMJHL – including three with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada – totaling 141 points in 160 games in the league.
  • Team Canada’s Spengler Cup team has returned a quartet of players to their AHL squad. This includes the Laval Rockets’ Nicolas Beaudin, the Belleville Senators’ Dillon Heatherington, the Manitoba Moose’s Thomas Milic, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ Ty Smith. Milic appeared in one game between the pipes for Team Canada, while Smith led the team’s defensemen with five points. Heatherington and Beaudin only combined for one assist through the tournament’s four games.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

West Notes: Firkus, Chrona, Korenar

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Currently sitting in second place of Group A in the 2024 World Junior Championships, Hockey Canada announced today that forward Jagger Firkus had been placed on the Team Canada 25-man roster. As one of the most explosive offensive talents in the Major Junior level in all of Canada, it was a surprise to not see Firkus on the initial Team Canada roster entering the tournament.

Originally drafted by the Seattle Kraken in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft, Firkus will now make his international debut under the Canadian flag. Currently playing for the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League, Firkus has 27 goals and 59 points in 32 games, sitting fourth in the league in scoring.

Overall in his junior career up to this point, Firkus has played in a total of 199 regular season games, all with Moose Jaw, and has scored at an excellent rate with 110 goals and 243 points in total. In the postseason, the Warriors have reached the playoffs in Firkus’ last two seasons, as he has accrued 16 goals and 33 points in 20 games.

Other notes:

  • Beat writer for the San Jose Sharks, Curtis Pashelka, reports that the team opted to send down goaltender Magnus Chrona to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, opening up a spot on the 23-man roster. Chrona was able to make the first start of his NHL career only two nights ago against the Edmonton Oilers, having already made his NHL debut on November 4th. Unfortunately, in that start, the Denver University alumni let in four goals on 12 shots in the first period, and would not resume playing the rest of the game.
  • With his contractual rights still owned by the Arizona Coyotes, the team should not be expecting goaltender Josef Korenar back with the organization any time soon. Now in his second season with HC Sparta over in Czechia, the organization announced today that Korenar had signed a three-year extension with the team. This season with HC Sparta, Korenar holds a 10-2-0 record in 12 games, carrying a .914 SV% and a 2.07 GAA.

World Junior Notes: Donovan, Nelson, Molendyk, Luneau, Lindstein

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Senators prospect Jorian Donovan was cut by Team Canada at their World Juniors selection camp earlier this month but Hockey Canada announced (Twitter link) that the defenseman has been added to their roster along with Kraken defense prospect Ty Nelson, another player originally cut from their selection camp.

Donovan was a fifth-round pick of the Sens in 2022 and has eight goals and 26 points in 31 games with OHL Brantford so far this season.  He was notified of his addition on Friday and arrived in time for today’s 6-5 overtime loss to the United States in pre-tournament action and was named their Player of the Game.

As for Nelson, he was a third-round pick by the Kraken in 2022 and has been a prolific point producer with OHL North Bay.  Last season, he finished third in the league for points by a defenseman with 76 in 67 regular season games while adding 25 more in 20 playoff contests.  He’s producing at a similar rate this season with 31 points in his first 28 appearances.

Other news from the World Juniors:

  • Those two being added to the roster means that two players have to come off. Those are Predators blueliner Tanner Molendyk and Ducks defenseman Tristan Luneau who are both out due to injury.  Molendyk was dealing with a wrist issue while Luneau had missed pre-tournament games due to illness which has turned out to be a viral infection.  Molendyk was off to a nice start with WHL Saskatoon before making the team as he already has 28 points on his season in just 24 games.  Luneau, meanwhile, cracked Anaheim’s roster in training camp although playing time has been limited; he has played in seven games for the Ducks and six more while on a conditioning loan with AHL San Diego.
  • Team Sweden has also made a roster move for the upcoming World Juniors. They announced (Twitter link) that Blues defenseman Theo Lindstein has been added to their roster for the event, replacing Jakob Noren who was injured in pre-tournament action.  The 18-year-old was the 29th pick back in June and has spent the majority of this season in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan level, recording 11 points in 27 games so far.  Louis now has seven prospects at the tournament, tied for the most among NHL teams with Arizona and Buffalo.

Morning Notes: Määttä, Celebrini, Zegras

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The Detroit Red Wings have announced that defenseman Olli Määttä will be unavailable for tonight’s game against the New Jersey Devils. Määttä is dealing with an upper-body injury that forced him out of last night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. There’s no word on a timetable for Määttä to return to the lineup but that could be provided in the coming days as Detroit gets set to head into the break. The Red Wings won’t be action again until Wednesday against the Minnesota Wild and an update should be provided before that time.

A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Määttä has settled into a role with the Red Wings since signing with the team as a free agent back in July 2022. Määttä had bounced around to a few teams after being traded away by the Penguins but has since found a home in Detroit. In 27 games this season, the 29-year-old has a goal and six assists and is +6 while playing almost 15 minutes a night.

In other morning notes:

  • The IIHF has announced that Team Canada forward Macklin Celebrini will not face any supplemental discipline for his boarding incident that occurred in Canada’s second pre-tournament game as they get prepared for this year’s World Junior tournament. Celebrini is projected to be the first overall selection in the 2024 NHL entry draft and would have been a huge loss for Canada had he been suspended. The 17-year-old had two assists in the first half of the game against Switzerland before he was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding. Canada plays their final pre-tournament game today against the United States and will begin the official tournament against Finland on Boxing Day.
  • NHL.com is reporting that Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras could return to the Ducks lineup tonight as they take on the Seattle Kraken. Zegras reportedly practiced yesterday on the Ducks’ top line alongside Alex Killorn and Troy Terry. The 22-year-old has missed the Ducks’ last 20 games with an upper-body injury and would presumably slide into Leo Carlsson’s spot as the top center as Carlsson is being evaluated for an injury as well. The native of Bedford, New York has had a rough start to his season as he started with just a goal and an assist in his first 12 games before going down to injury.

Bruins Loan Matthew Poitras To Team Canada For 2024 World Juniors

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The Bruins have loaned rookie center Matthew Poitras to Team Canada for the upcoming 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, a team release states.

Poitras, 19, is a tremendous addition to a Canada roster that’s thinner on offense than we’re used to seeing. Canadiens prospect Owen Beck is the only returnee from last year’s group, which captured the gold medal thanks to one of the best single-tournament showings of all time from then-17-year-old Connor Bedard. The roster still features six recent first-round picks on offense and one future first-overall selection: 17-year-old Boston University center Macklin Celebrini, who is third in NCAA Division I men’s hockey in points per game.

When Hockey Canada announced the cuts from their preliminary roster last week, they left a spot open for one forward to join the team, hoping an NHL team would part with a rostered under-20 prospect. That spot will go to Poitras, the 54th overall pick in 2022, who few expected to crack the Bruins’ roster out of camp.

Poitras’ 13 points in 27 games rank eighth on the Bruins in scoring, although he’s seen a diminished role as the calendar shifted to December. Head coach Jim Montgomery has made Poitras a healthy scratch in two of the last five games after playing in all of Boston’s first 24 contests.

Still, given how well he fits into the Boston lineup, Poitras is expected to return to the Bruins after the tournament ends instead of being loaned out to his junior team, the OHL’s Guelph Storm. He’s averaged 14:06 per game this season for Boston, ranking seventh among their forwards and solidly positioning him in a top-nine role.

Assuming Canada advances to the medal games, Poitras will miss the Bruins’ next eight games at a minimum. The tournament wraps up on January 5, 2024, making him doubtful for the Bruins’ game against the Lightning on January 6, meaning at least a nine-game absence is most likely.

Sabres Appear Unlikely To Send Benson To World Juniors

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Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News is reporting that it seems likely that the Buffalo Sabres will hold on to 18-year-old Zach Benson rather than sending him overseas to play for Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship. Nothing concrete has been decided yet, but as Lysowski writes, the Sabres will likely need the 2023 13th overall pick to fill in for the injured Jeff Skinner.

Hockey Canada is hoping to finalize their roster by the end of this week and purposely left a roster spot vacant because they were hoping to see if an NHL player could be made eligible at some point this week. With Skinner out, the Sabres have lost a top-line left winger and will have to try to fill that void by committee, and Benson could be a big part of that.

Benson has dressed in 20 games thus far this season posting three goals and five assists. While his offensive numbers don’t jump off the page at first glance, his analytics are quite good and he’s done a very good job of driving play at 5 on 5.

The Sabres are dealing with a bunch of injury issues at the moment and likely won’t be able to spare a forward when they are already missing Skinner, Jordan Greenway, Jack Quinn, and Zemgus Girgensons.

TSN’s Darren Dreger also weighed in on the situation and echoed what Lysowski had said. Dreger believes that Benson is not expected to be loaned to Team Canada.

Hockey Canada Announces Final 2024 WJC Roster

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Dec. 13: After their selection camp process was completed, Canada made eight cuts to arrive at their final roster: Barkey, Firkus, Ludwinski, Vidicek, Buchinger, Donovan, Nelson and DiVincentiis did not make the team. One forward will likely be reinstated before the tournament begins to arrive at a 23-player roster, but for now, the Canadians are leaving a spot open in hopes of an NHL team loaning out a top prospect such as Buffalo’s Zach Benson or Boston’s Matthew Poitras.

Dec. 5: The best time of the year for prospect watchers is right around the corner. The 2024 edition of the IIHF World Junior Championship begins later this month, as normal, on December 26. This year’s event will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, which was initially slated to host the event in 2022 but needed to be rescheduled due to COVID restrictions.

Yesterday, Team Canada’s biggest rival, Team USA, released their 29-man preliminary roster, building excitement for the tournament at the end of the month. With a different-looking roster than last year, Team Canada will now look to win their third consecutive title in the World Junior Championship.

Last season, the team was led by top prospects Connor Bedard, Shane Wright, Adam Fantilli, and Brandt Clarke, and will now look to compete with more future high-end draft picks. Nevertheless, even without some of the greatest junior players of all time on the roster this season, Team Canada should still be considered a favorite to win. The full roster is as follows:

F Owen Allard (2024 draft-eligible)
F Denver Barkey (Flyers, 2023, 95th overall)
F Owen Beck (Canadiens, 2022, 33rd overall)
F Macklin Celebrini (2024 draft-eligible)
F Easton Cowan (Maple Leafs, 2023, 28th overall)
F Nate Danielson (Red Wings, 2023, 9th overall)
F Jordan Dumais (Blue Jackets, 2022, 96th overall)
F Jagger Firkus (Kraken, 2022, 35th overall)
F Conor Geekie (Coyotes, 2022, 11th overall)
F Paul Ludwinski (Blackhawks, 2022, 39th overall)
F Fraser Minten (Maple Leafs, 2022, 38th overall)
F Carson Rehkopf (Kraken, 2023, 50th overall)
F Matthew Savoie (Sabres, 2022, 9th overall)
F Markus Vidicek (2024 draft-eligible)
F Matthew Wood (Predators, 2023, 15th overall)
F Brayden Yager (Penguins, 2023, 14th overall)

D Oliver Bonk (Flyers, 2023, 22nd overall)
D Michael Buchinger (Blues, 2022, 88th overall)
D Jorian Donovan (Senators, 2022, 136th overall)
D Jake Furlong (Sharks, 2022, 140th overall)
D Maveric Lamoureux (Coyotes, 2022, 29th overall)
D Denton Mateychuk (Blue Jackets, 2022, 12th overall)
D Tanner Molendyk (Predators, 2023, 24th overall)
D Ty Nelson (Kraken, 2022, 68th overall)
D Noah Warren (Ducks, 2022, 42nd overall)

G Domenic DiVincentiis (Jets, 2022, 207th overall)
G Scott Ratzlaff (Sabres, 2023, 141st overall)
G Mathis Rousseau (2024 draft-eligible)
G Samuel St-Hilaire (2024 draft-eligible)

The team will be highlighted by top-10 selections in previous drafts such as Danielson and Savoie, while also the projected first overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft in Celebrini. The Seattle Kraken will have the most representatives on the team, with three.

Ducks Recall Robert Hagg, Tristan Luneau Loaned To Team Canada

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The Anaheim Ducks have announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Robert Hagg from the AHL. Hagg has spent the bulk of the season in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls where he has dressed in 15 games and has a goal and two assists. The veteran of 338 NHL games signed a one-year deal with the Ducks on July 4th and did spend time in the NHL, however, he has yet to dress in an NHL game for the Ducks.

The 28-year-old was once a promising prospect after he was drafted in the second round of the 2013 NHL entry draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. He made his debut with the Flyers back in 2016-17 and became a full-time NHLer the following year. Hagg stayed in the NHL for six full seasons but bounced around to four different organizations and often found himself to be a healthy scratch. As his career went on teams began to shelter his usage, often giving him the bulk of his starts in the offensive zone to try and set him up for success. This past offseason Hagg was able to secure a one-way NHL contract for the league minimum of $775K, however, thus far he has only seen action in the AHL.

Hagg was recalled to replace rookie defenseman Tristan Luneau who was loaned to Team Canada by the Ducks for the upcoming World Junior Championship. The 19-year-old was the Ducks’ second-round pick in 2022 and was recalled by the club back in November to make his NHL debut. So far this season in seven games, Luneau has a goal and two assists and has averaged almost 18 minutes a night in ice time.

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