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World Cup Notes: Matthews, Team USA, Canada B

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Team North America hits the ice for the first time in Toronto today, as they prepare for their opening match against Finland. While many eyes are drawn to Oilers’ superstar Connor McDavid or the reunion of Jonathan Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon – the two starred together for the Halifax Mooseheads before being drafted – it was Auston Matthews that got much of the attention at this morning’s presser.

Matthews will be skating on the top line alongside McDavid and Mark Scheifele, despite never having played a professional game on North American soil. He’ll be in front of his new team’s fans, trying to make an impression on Leaf Nation before the season even begins. According to Craig Custance of ESPN, Head coach Todd McLellan spoke highly of Matthews when asked, saying he is hockey’s version of a 5-tool player (a term in baseball that means a player who can do everything well), and saying “he’s got better every day.”

As we wrote yesterday, Matthews is a big part of the Maple Leafs rebuild, and he’s showing why he was the first overall pick and most talked about prospect during the season. If he can keep up with the best in the world, at just 19 years old, he’ll be well positioned to have a long and successful career in the NHL.

  • Team USA head coach John Tortorella is still taking a lot of heat today over his decision to bench Kyle Palmieri and Dustin Byfuglien prior to last night’s loss to Team Europe, and as the team hit the ice for practice the lines had already been mixed up. According to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun, Palmieri was back among the first 12 forwards, skating with Max Pacioretty and Brandon Dubinsky on the fourth line. Stephen Whyno adds that Byfuglien – widely expected to be a big part of the top pairing – is back skating with the powerplay unit (though the second group).
  • James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail revealed an interesting couple of tidbits that had been just rumored so far regarding the structure of the World Cup. First, he reported that an original idea for the tournament was to have two Canadian teams, because of the strong depth the country has; he goes on to list P.K. Subban, Kris Letang, Mark Giordano, Taylor Hall and many others as examples of the talent “Canada B” would have. Second, he says that it’s widely believed that the tournament will return to an eight-country format in 2020, meaning that teams like Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany will all have chances. He doesn’t, however, mention if Team Europe or North America will return, though with good showings from both thus far, it would be surprising to see them removed.

Snapshots: Team USA Reaction, Prospect Tournaments, Rantanen

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It was paramount for the United States to put themselves in a good position heading into its tilt with Team Canada on Tuesday. Instead, they made things even tougher on themselves. Lauding a gritty style that would intimidate opponents, the US looked anything but intimidating in a 3-0 loss to Team Europe. Until the third period, the US seemed to lack any sense of urgency.

USA Today’s Kevin Allen writes that while the US can still hypothetically advance, it would take a number of scenarios for that to happen. Further, Allen reports that giving up three goals in just shots never allowed the US to get control of the game. Puck Daddy’s Jen Neale writes more about how even before the game, Team USA was making odd decisions.

Head coach John Tortorella had defenseman Dustin Byfuglien as a healthy scratch, a befuddling move that had every analyst wondering what was going on. Neale goes on to write that the US team looked “listless” and then more telling, that after scoring its first goal, Team Europe sat back to allow the US to “implode on themselves.”

Frank Seravalli was even more blunt:

Just about everything Team USA had been billed as before the tournament started did not show up on Saturday for the first game of the tournament. They weren’t rugged or tough to play against. In fact, they played most of the game like the environment inside the arena: quiet and without much intensity.

The US will have to find that intensity quickly or else they will have a short stay in the tournament.

In other hockey news:

  • Gustav Forsling had an impressive showing for the Blackhawks during a 5-0 whitewashing of the Red Wings prospects at the Rookie Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan. Forsling had three points, with one coming as a goal. Nathan Noel, and Alex DeBrincat each added a goal while Alexandre Fortin scored two. In other action from Traverse City, the Rangers knocked off the Stars 5-4 in overtime. Jimmy Vesey had an assist and a shootout goal in the win.
  • It appears that Mikko Rantanen’s injury is not a serious one. Mike Chambers tweets that the Avs classified it as an ankle sprain and nothing more. It was reported earlier that Rantanen suffered an apparent right leg injury that looked troubling.

 

Full World Cup Of Hockey Schedule

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The World Cup officially kicks off today with a match-up between Team USA and Team Europe. After some interesting scratches announced earlier today, the American team will look to kick off the tournament with a win over Anze Kopitar and the European collection. Here’s a look at the entire schedule in Toronto (all times Central):

Saturday, Sept. 17

Team USA vs. Team Europe, 2:30 pm.

Team Czech Republic vs. Team Canada, 7 pm.

Sunday, Sept. 18

Team Sweden vs. Team Russia, 2 pm.

Team North America vs. Team Finland, 7 pm.

Monday, Sept. 19

Team Europe vs. Team Czech Republic, 2 pm.

Team Russia vs. Team North America, 7 pm.

Read more

World Cup Notes: Team USA, Seguin, Olympics

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The World Cup of Hockey starts today in Toronto, and Team USA will take on Team Europe in the first game of the revamped tournament. While the American team has one of the strongest teams in their history, head coach John Tortorella has made some interesting decisions going into the opener.  As Dan Rosen of NHL.com tweets, the infamous head coach has scratched Kyle Palmieri, Dustin Byfuglien and Cory Schneider for the afternoon matchup.

Byfuglien, part of the team’s original 16 named players, was expected to be a big part of the top pairing on this team and a weapon on the powerplay. As Tom Gulitti adds, Tortorella said just this week that he was excited about the Jets’ blueliner’s big shot. Instead, Erik Johnson will suit up as the team’s sixth defenseman.

  • Tyler Seguin, who injured his foot this week in a pre-tournament match, is not expected to miss any training camp, as Mike Leslie of WFAA in Dallas reports. The hairline fracture that the Stars’ forward suffered is not serious enough to warrant him missing much time, and did not come as a surprise to the Dallas medical staff.  Seguin was replaced by Ryan O’Reilly on Team Canada’s roster.
  • In a new column from Helene Elliott of the LA Times, she examines how any success at the World Cup will give the NHL leverage in any Olympic negotiations down the road. With players and fans getting their international fix from the pre-season tournament, the league is not necessarily obligated to send players to the Winter Games, which usually causes an ugly stoppage mid-season, and prevents the league from hosting their all-star events. With the build up for the tournament being mixed, but overall fairly positive, it seems the league and NHLPA will have a strong bargaining chip to play to try and get a pay structure put in place for any player headed to the Olympics.

Snapshots: Ovechkin, Cleary, World Cup Predictions

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If the NHL won’t send players to the 2018 Olympics, it won’t stop Alex Ovechkin from representing Team Russia. ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the superstar simply said “I will go there,” and elaborated a bit more on his wording:

“My decision is the same,” Ovechkin said. “So, I don’t know what’s going to happen right now, but we just have to wait what they say and we’ll see. …It’s a situation where you don’t know what’s going to happen. But obviously I said I’m going to play.”

The major hangup over participation is 2018 is insurance costs for players should they play in South Korea. The IOC, according to LeBrun, have expressed hesitancy over covering travel and insurance costs for those playing in the Olympics.

In other hockey news:

  • The Detroit Red Wings have offered Dan Cleary a professional tryout tweets Ansar Khan. Cleary spent the season in Grand Rapids, and was not re-signed by the organization. However, this news will certainly rankle many Detroit fans who point to Cleary as one of the many reasons the Red Wings have continued to slide. Cleary had a hand shake deal with general manager Ken Holland to return following the 2013-14 season, a season where his decline began. Since then, he played sparingly and was relegated to the AHL after the emergence of Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou.
  • With the World Cup of Hockey beginning its first slate of tournament games today, analysts have started releasing their predictions. NHL.com had a slew of analysts picking their favorites and there were three analysts (Amalie Benjamin, Michael Langr and Dave Stubbs) to reach the championship round. Langr believes that Team USA will win Group A. As for the champions, it was either Team Canada or Team Sweden from the handful of analysts. Puck Daddy’s crew of Greg Wyshynski, Sean Leahy, Josh Cooper and Jen Neale all have Canada being crowned as champions. The runner ups varied from the US (Wyshynski and Neale) to Sweden (Cooper and Leahy). Neale adds that the matchup the NHL desires is USA-Canada, but Sweden–or possibly Team North America, could certainly prevent that.
  • Puck Daddy’s writers also conducted a roundtable where they discussed what must happen for the World Cup to be considered a success. Wyshysnki is conflicted because the success of the World Cup–which he calls a negotiating tool against the IOC–may encourage the lack of NHL participation in the Olympics. This is less about national pride, Wyshynski writes, and more about showing the viability of international hockey outside of the Olympics. WCOH gear is selling well and advertisers are aplenty. Josh Cooper writes that North America, USA, and Canada all need to be successful because it was placed in the North America timezone to cement its support. Neale adds that every game needs to be competitive in order to keep the casual fan interested. Ryan Lambert just hopes for more entertainment than an NHL exhibition game, calling that a moral victory for the NHL.

World Cup Notes: Team USA Cannot Afford A Letdown

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It’s now or never for Team USA. ESPN’s Scott Burnside writes that Team USA is in an absolute must win today against Team Europe and can’t afford any sort of letdown. While he explains that every team is in the same boat, it’s the construction of the US team that makes a victory today imperative. Pundits and analysts have all sounded off about the hard nosed, tough style the United States wishes to play while wondering if it can stand up against the speedier, skilled teams like Team Canada, Team Sweden, and Team North America. Beating the Czech Republic and Team Europe then, is “imperative” with Canada looming over the Americans. Burnside reports that Team Europe came back strong against Sweden and will hardly be the pushover that many initially thought. Canada, meanwhile, outplayed the United States in both meetings, despite an American victory in the exhibition opener for both squads. Jonathan Quick will start in the net for the US today while forward Justin Abdelkader appears to be the extra forward.

  • The New York Post’s Larry Brooks strikes a similar chord, saying that this may be the USA’s best chance to ease the pressure of the tournament with a win over Team Europe. Otherwise, Brooks writes, they make the contest with Canada a do-or-die affair, something the US can ill afford. Brooks also calls the US team one that is hardly the fastest or most skilled and echoing Burnside, notes that it’s all by design. Forward Max Pacioretty calls his American teammates a “lunch pail” group that will “make life difficult” for other teams. Pacioretty should know well, as Brooks writes that the Canadiens forward irritated coach John Tortorella with an early hesitation to play hard nosed hockey by skating around the perimeter. But changes were made and now Pacioretty is one of many American players altering their game to fit the “blue collar” hockey America was designed to play. Though they have snipers in Patrick Kane and Blake Wheeler, Team USA appears ready to live and die with the blueprint of toughness.

Metro Notes: Weise, Giroux, Elias

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Dale Weise was in the midst of a career season with 14 goals and 26 points in 56 games with Montreal until a trade deadline deal shipped the rugged winger to Chicago along with Tomas Fleischmann for Phillip Danault and a 2018 second-round pick. Ordinarily, going from a non-playoff squad to a serious Stanley Cup contender is usually a desirable situation for any player. But Weise doesn’t necessarily feel that way about his move to Chicago. He saw his ice time cut by nearly 4 1/2 minutes per contest after the trade and netted just a single point, an assist, in 15 games for the Hawks.

Weise would use the word “disaster,” to describe his move to Chicago in a piece appearing on Philly.com, written by Sam Carchidi.

“I had 14 goals by mid-February. Going to Chicago was a disaster because I played like five minutes a night. [Actually it was just under 10 minutes, which is still a paltry average.] It’s pretty tough to do anything when you play so little. It was a new experience for me.”

After signing a four-year deal worth $9.4MM with the Philadelphia Flyers in the offseason, Weise credited GM Ron Hextall with selling him on the opportunity to play in the City of Brotherly Love.

“I’m really excited. I really like what Hexy had to say and what he thought about my game. He was very honest, and I liked that we’re on the same page. I think I can play on any line and play in any role.”

Whether or not Wiese can be a consistent offensive producer for the Flyers remains to be seen – though it should be noted he did tally 29 points in 2014-15 offering some hope for solid future production. Regardless, the gritty winger will add size, toughness and versatility to the Flyers lineup and it’s pretty clear Weise feels as if he is in a better situation now than he was in Chicago.

Elsewhere around the NHL’s Metro Division:

  • Sticking with Philadelphia, Flyers fans were undoubtedly worried about the health of #1 center Claude Giroux after he missed a Team Canada practice Monday and was announced as a scratch for the team’s final exhibition match on Wednesday. Giroux absorbed a big hit from Team USA’s Joe Pavelski in Friday night’s tilt and appeared shaken up afterwards. However, quelling fears of a potentially lengthy absence, Hextall said today that his star center was fine and equated the injury to that of a normal bump or bruise a player would experience during the season, according to Tim Panaccio of CSN Philadelphia.

“There’s a difference between, well, he’s not injured. Throughout the year, you get a bump or bruise and that’s the case there.”

  • Even though veteran forward Patrik Elias is technically a UFA, it’s been widely assumed he would retire rather than play for anyone other than the Devils. Currently, there has been no indication from New Jersey on whether they will offer the franchise’s all-time leading scorer a contract for 2016-17. In his Fire and Ice blog, Andrew Gross also indicated that there is no time table to make such a decision, as Elias is still rehabbing from offseason knee surgery and won’t be ready for the start of training camp. Elias has spent his entire 20-year NHL career with the Devils, winning three Stanley Cups along the way. He’s also the franchise’s all-time leader in many offensive categories including: goals (408), assists (617) and power play goals (113). Even though the Devils have already added LW Taylor Hall via trade and are expected to give young forward Pavel Zacha a chance to earn regular time on the port side, it seems likely they would still welcome Elias back to the fold if the longtime Devil is healthy and wants to return.

Snapshots: Capitals, Zetterberg, Team Canada

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Washington Capitals fans will get a taste of what could have been on Wednesday night, when Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom and former Capitals first-rounder Filip Forsberg line up together for Sweden in D.C.

Forsberg told NHL.com’s Katie Brown that playing with his countryman Backstrom was a dream of his when he was drafted by the Capitals back in 2012. Unfortunately for Capitals fans, it didn’t work out that way as Forsberg was dealt to Nashville for Martin Erat in one of the worst trades in recent memory. Forsberg told Brown “it’s pretty cool” to play with Backstrom, even though “a lot has changed since then”.

In other news out of D.C., Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post reports that Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov isn’t sure where he’s going to end up playing next season. Orlov posted 29 points in 82 games last season, posting good possession numbers while averaging just over 16 minutes per game. Coach Barry Trotz said he’s looking for Orlov to play top-four minutes with John Carlson or Matt Niskanen at even strength, and to contribute at both special teams disciplines.

[Related: Capitals’ depth chart at Roster Resource]

The 25-year-old Russian is coming off a two-year contract worth $2.25MM per season, and will likely be looking for a raise on that. Based on the Capitals’ salary cap situation, Khurshudyan estimates the most the Capitals could give Orlov is around $2.6MM. That has lead to Sergei Fedorov, former Capital and GM of the KHL’s CSKA Moscow to contact Orlov’s agent. CSKA owns his KHL rights, and expressed interest in bringing him over to Russia, even if it’s just for one season. Despite the interest from overseas, Orlov says he enjoys playing in the NHL and “would like to stay there, but I don’t know how it’s going to happen. We’ll see.”

In other news from around the hockey world:

Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: Puljujarvi, Kempe, Goldobin, Tkachuk

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It’s rare for players to debut in the NHL and make a significant impact for their teams in the same year they are drafted. In 2015-16, just three players selected in the prior June’s draft – Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin – appeared in more than 18 NHL contests as rookies. However, we could see as many as five 2016 draftees all earn regular shifts with their clubs during the 2016-17 season, two of whom appear in this post.

Jesse Puljujarvi (Edmonton) – Expected to go in the top-three of the draft, Puljujarvi surprisingly dropped to #4 after Columbus elected to take C Pierre-Luc Dubois at #3 instead of the Finnish winger. Edmonton happily grabbed Puljujarvi with their choice and this stroke of good fortune may have played a role in the June 29th trade of Taylor Hall to New Jersey for Adam Larsson. Having Puljujarvi in the fold provided Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli the knowledge he had enough depth on the wings to cash in a player of Hall’s caliber to address their weakness on the blue line.

Puljujarvi combines NHL size at 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds with excellent skating ability. He starred for the Finns helping his home country win the gold medal in the World Junior Championships. He also captured the tourney’s MVP award and finished tops among all participants in both assists (12) and points (17).

The Oilers already have one of the top young superstars in the game in MacDavid and saw 2014 first-round pick Leon Draisaitl bust out with a 51-point campaign in 2016-17. Joining that dangerous duo up front is former top overall selection Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton boasts plenty of talented high-end forwards which virtually assures Puljujarvi will have a chance to skate with some good players. Don’t be surprised if he ends up as a Calder Trophy finalist and the leading scorer among all 2016 draftees.

Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles) – After losing forwards Milan Lucic and Kris Versteeg to free agency and with Dustin Brown’s offense regressing to a level where he has no business in the top-nine, the Kings could turn to Kempe to provide additional scoring. Kempe, the team’s first-round choice in 2014, already has 55 games of pro experience in North America after suiting up this past season for the Kings AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. The Swedish winger tallied 11 goals and recorded 28 points during the regular season and another four goals and five points in 13 postseason contests.

Since Kempe doesn’t turn 20 until later this month and given he didn’t exactly dominate at the AHL level, it wouldn’t be a bad idea if the Kings sent him back to Ontario to start the 2016-17 campaign and get some more seasoning. But with Kyle Clifford (nine points in 56 games) and Brown (28 points in 82 games) currently expected to hold top-nine spots, according to Roster Resource, Los Angeles might decide they need to inject more offense into the lineup and Kempe could be the source of that offense.

Nikolay Goldobin (San Jose) – The Sharks addressed any need they may have had for a scoring line LW by signing Mikkel Boedker as a free agent this summer. With Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau also listed as LW’s on the team’s depth chart, it’s likely the highly skilled Goldobin begins the season with the San Jose Barracudas of the AHL to gain more experience. But in the event of injury, Goldobin could be among the team’s first choices for a promotion to the big club.

Goldobin is said to have an excellent shot and release and is a creative offensive player. He can use some work on his defensive game, as do many young players, which is another reason he might find himself in the AHL to start the 2016-17 campaign. But with Marleau entering the final year of his contract, Goldobin is in line to land a job with the Sharks soon enough; perhaps as early as this year.

Matthew Tkachuk (Calgary) – The Flames already possess several skilled young players, but as mentioned in an earlier installment of this series, if they do have an opening it would be for a scoring line LW with size. Hunter Shinkaruk might get the first crack to fill that role though he doesn’t possess the size the Flames would seem to need. If Shinkaruk isn’t ready for regular NHL action, Tkachuk could be an option for Calgary up front.

Tkachuk, the son of former NHL power forward Keith Tkachuk, was drafted by the Flames with the sixth overall selection of the 2016 draft following an impressive 107-point season with the London Knights of the OHL. While his dad was noted for playing a physical game (2,219 PIM in 1,201 NHL games), as well as being a terrific goal scorer, Matthew is more of a complete, two-way player who is also a good skater with high-end offensive instincts. He helped Team USA to a bronze medal at the 2016 WJC U20 tournament, tallying 11 points in seven contests.

Tkachuk might be better off returning to junior to gain more experience. He will certainly have to prove to the Flames that he is truly ready to play at the NHL level but he has the talent and the skill to provide some offense if he earns a role in Calgary.

 

 

Snapshots: US-Canada Rivalry, Injury Updates

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Though the comments were tepid, many top tier Canadian players took exception to some of the late hits by Team USA during the American squad’s 4-2 victory yesterday. Jonathan Toews was careful with his comments, but was blunt about some of the questionable hits doled out by the aggressive Americans. Via the Chicago Tribune, Toews had this to say:

“Without saying too much, I think there were a couple of borderline hits there where our guys were put in some awkward positions and there’s not much you can do there. The one on Weber was the right call there. We just have to try and protect ourselves and expect that the officials are going to do what they have to do. We have no problem with the chippiness and the physical play (but) it doesn’t matter where you’re playing, I think you always have to respect the player when he has his back to you.”

Toews wasn’t the only one making careful comments. Captain Sidney Crosby and netminder Carey Price both agreed that some hits “crossed the line.” Nick Cotsonika writes that Mike Babcock put the onus on the referees to control the rough play during a game between two rivals:

“There were lots of scrums tonight. They were generated by the players. The referees can clean that up in two seconds. All you’ve got to do is put people in the box. No more scrums.”

The US and Canada meet again in exhibition play tonight.

In other hockey news:

  • The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc writes about the concern every team has with the injuries as the World Cup begins its tournament play with an exhibition tilt. With injuries to Marian Hossa, and Marcus Kruger, Blackhawks players were understandably concerned when two significant players from their team suffered injuries. Hossa’s, as it turns out, will not limit him and Europe coach Ralph Krueger said it’s “all green lights” for Hossa to play in Saturday’s game. Kruger, Kuc reports, has a more mysterious upper body injury and will be held out of play during Saturday’s Sweden’s exhibition game against Finland. Both Patrick Kane and Toews, when asked about the possibility of injury, shrugged it off and attributed it to a risk that’s always there, regardless of the circumstance.

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