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Canucks Recall Nikita Tolopilo And Ty Mueller

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The Canucks have brought up a pair of players for their game tonight against Minnesota, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled goaltender Nikita Tolopilo and forward Ty Mueller from AHL Abbotsford on an emergency basis.

It’s the third recall in the last two months for Tolopilo, who has still not made his NHL debut.  The 25-year-old has played in 34 games with Abbotsford this season, putting up a 2.68 GAA and a .901 SV%, numbers that are pretty close to his first year in North America last season (2.83 and .905, respectively).  He’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer.  Sportsnet 960’s Brendan Batchelor adds (Twitter link) that Thatcher Demko didn’t take part in the morning skate, suggesting that Tolopilo’s recall is to cover Demko’s spot on the roster.

As for Mueller, it’s his first career NHL recall.  The 22-year-old was a fourth-round pick by the Canucks in 2023 and signed one year later.  This is Mueller’s first professional season and he has fared reasonably well, sitting fourth on Abbotsford in scoring with 12 goals and 26 assists in 62 games.  Batchelor adds (Twitter link) that Max Sasson is not taking part in the morning skate so it appears Mueller – who lined up on the second line at the skate – is up to take Sasson’s place.

With both moves qualifying as emergency recalls, they won’t count toward Vancouver’s post-deadline regular recall limit.

Oilers Recall Derek Ryan On An Emergency Basis

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With Edmonton’s long list of injuries continuing to grow, the Oilers have brought back a familiar forward.  The team announced that they’ve recalled center Derek Ryan from AHL Bakersfield on an emergency basis.  Additionally, blueliner Cam Dineen is back up as well; he was recalled on Thursday and papered back to the minors late Friday.

Ryan spent the first half of the season in Edmonton but struggled to produce in limited minutes, notching just one goal and four assists in his first 33 outings.  That resulted in the 38-year-old being placed on waivers in January with the Oilers opting to look at some other options for that roster spot.  Eventually, they turned to the trade market to try to fill it but their most notable deadline acquisition up front, Trent Frederic, has only played once and is injured once again.

Aside from a two-game stint with the big club last month, Ryan has played with the Condors, his first taste of AHL action since the 2015-16 season when he returned to North America after playing in Sweden.  Ryan has suited up in 13 games with Bakersfield so far, picking up three goals and five assists.  His absence will certainly hurt the Condors, who remain in a close battle for the seventh and final playoff spot in the Pacific Division.

Dineen wasn’t needed last night with Mattias Ekholm returning to the lineup.  However, with Ekholm being injured just a few shifts in and Jake Walman’s availability for Sunday still in question, Dineen will get to stay with the big club a little while longer.

John Hayden And Cale Fleury Clear Waivers

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Saturday: Unsurprisingly, both players have cleared waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.

Friday: According to a team announcement, the Seattle Kraken have placed forward John Hayden and defenseman Cale Fleury on waivers. The team will reassign them both to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, should they go through waivers unclaimed.

Hayden is in his third season with the Kraken organization after signing as an unrestricted free agent before the 2022-23 NHL season. He’s primarily been an AHL talent in that stretch but has registered 19 games for the Kraken this season, scoring one goal and one assist while averaging 8:29 of ice time per game.

He’s been a valuable veteran presence with AHL Coachella Valley, helping the team secure back-to-back Calder Cup Final appearances. Throughout his tenure with the club, Hayden has scored 43 goals and 86 points in 155 AHL appearances, with another 10 goals and 15 points in 28 postseason contests.

Meanwhile, Fleury hits the waiver wire one day after he qualified for Group VI unrestricted free agency. Fleury can sign with any organization this upcoming summer since he is older than 25 and has yet to reach 80 games played throughout his NHL career.

Still, he shouldn’t expect anything more than a two-way agreement. He’s tallied one assist in 14 games with Seattle this season while averaging 12:52 of ice time a night and has registered six goals and 24 points in 36 AHL appearances. Plenty of teams will want solid AHL options on hand should they need defensive depth throughout the regular season, meaning Fleury should feel safe in securing a new contract in a few months.

Ducks Sign Ian Moore

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The Ducks have officially signed one of their defense prospects, announcing that they’ve inked defenseman Ian Moore to a two-year, entry-level contract.  The deal begins this season while financial terms were not disclosed.

The 23-year-old was a third-round pick by Anaheim in 2020, going 67th overall after playing at St. Mark’s at the high school level.  Moore then spent one season with USHL Chicago before beginning his college career at Harvard in 2021.

Moore spent four seasons with the Crimson with his best offensive showing coming in his sophomore year when he had 19 points in 34 games.  This season, he came up a bit short of that point total, notching three goals and 11 helpers in 32 contests before turning pro last month on a tryout deal with AHL San Diego.

Moore has done well with the Gulls, collecting a goal and four assists in nine games which has helped him officially secure this contract.  Speculatively, the concept of starting in the minors and then being converted to an NHL deal that begins this season was likely discussed last month when Moore first joined San Diego.  While it’s not a common route for prospects, Anaheim did this with Sam Colangelo last season, starting him with the Gulls and then converting his deal late.

With the signing, Moore will now report to Anaheim for their final three games and will join the team today for practice.  By burning a year early, he’ll become a restricted free agent in the 2026 offseason.

Blackhawks Sign Aidan Thompson

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The Blackhawks have signed another one of their promising prospects.  A couple of weeks after inking Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel, they announced that they’ve signed forward Aidan Thompson to a two-year, entry-level contract.  The deal begins next season and will carry a cap hit of $895K.

The 23-year-old was a third-round pick by Chicago back in 2022, going 90th overall after an impressive showing with USHL Lincoln where he had 82 points in 57 games, putting him fourth in league scoring.  Thompson then made the jump to the University of Denver for the 2022-23 campaign and did well in his freshman year, notching 32 points in as many games with them.

Things didn’t go as well for Thompson from an individual standpoint last year.  While Denver won the NCAA title, his output dipped slightly to 11 goals and 19 assists in 44 games, raising some question marks heading into this season.  Those were certainly answered and then some, however, as Thompson finished the year with 21 goals and 34 assists in 44 games, good for not just second on the Pioneers in scoring but second in Division I overall.  That performance was clearly enough for Chicago to get him to put pen to paper on his first professional contract.

While Thompson’s deal doesn’t start until next season, he should have a chance to make his pro debut in the coming days as he has inked a tryout agreement with AHL Rockford.  The IceHogs have five games left in their regular season and are getting close to clinching the final playoff spot in the Central Division so Thompson should be able to get into the lineup with them in the near future.

Stars Recall Alexander Petrovic

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The Stars have added a bit of depth to their back end heading into tonight’s game versus Utah.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Alexander Petrovic from AHL Texas.

It’s the fourth recall of the season for the 33-year-old although playing time on the first three was hard to come by.  Petrovic has been limited to just three games this season in Dallas, being held off the scoresheet in a little over 35 minutes of action.  Still, it’s the second straight season of him getting into an NHL game which is notable as prior to last year, Petrovic’s last action at the top level was back in 2018-19.

Petrovic has once again spent the bulk of the season in Texas and through 58 outings with them, he has five goals and 20 assists.  Texas has been Petrovic’s professional home for the last four years and likely will be his home again next season as he has one season left on his two-year, two-way contract signed last summer.

Team radio analyst Bruce LeVine relays (Twitter link) that several players are questionable for tonight’s game due to illness so it appears as if Petrovic is up as insurance if some of the defensemen can’t go.  In that case, he’ll qualify as an emergency recall and not count against their post-deadline limit of four.

Senators Recall Hayden Hodgson

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The Ottawa Senators have recalled enforcer Hayden Hodgson from the minor leagues. It is his first call-up this season. Hodgson has amassed 156 penalty minutes in 43 AHL games this season, good for most on the Belleville Senators and second-most in the entire league. He will play in the eighth NHL game of his career, and his first with the Senators, on Friday night.

Hodgson is on the tail end of his first season in the Senators organization. He’s added three goals and 11 points to his lofty penalty minutes, putting him just shy of the scoring pace that earned him 16 points in 49 games last season. But Hodgson’s penalty minutes are a career-high, blowing out his previous high of 116 PIMs recorded in 49 games last season.

Hodgson has worked his way into a full-time role in the AHL over the last four seasons, but he’s made a full turn towards bruiser as of late. He earned an AHL deal in the Philadelphia Flyers for the 2021-22 season, after spending four seasons in the ECHL – and part of one in Slovakia’s Extraliga. Hodgson proceeded to have what appeared to be a breakout season. He scored 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and stayed true to his style with 70 PIMs. That scoring earned him the first six games of his NHL career in the same year, and Hodgson recorded a modest three points and 11 PIMs. But his scoring saw a spike in 2022-23 – after he posted eight points and 83 PIMs in 44 games. He earned one more NHL appearance but didn’t manage any stat changes – before moving to the Ontario Reign last season and Belleville this year.

Friday’s game will mark Hodgson’s first chance at NHL minutes in two years. He’s a burly six-foot-two, 221-pounds and is often a safe bet to earn at least one penalty per game.

Dallas Stars Sign Arno Tiefensee To Entry-Level Contract

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The Dallas Stars have signed one of their selections from the 2023 NHL Draft. According to a team announcement, the Stars have signed netminder Arno Tiefensee to a two-year entry-level contract beginning in the 2025-26 season.

Dallas selected Tiefensee with the 157th overall pick in 2023, making him the 16th netminder off the board in that summer’s draft. The Weißwasser, Germany native had just played in his first year with the DEL’s Adler Mannheim, managing a 13-10-0 record with a .910 SV%, 2.43 GAA, and three shutouts in 23 games.

Germany’s highest professional league is where he’s made his way since. In the two seasons following his draft year, still with Adler Mannheim, Tiefensee brought his career record up to 51-33-0 with seven shutouts, a save percentage of .910, and a goals-against average to 2.37. Unfortunately, Tiefensee failed to bring his team beyond the semifinals of the postseason tournament, losing in his rookie year and this season.

Tiefensee will likely join the Stars’ AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, next year. There’s no guarantee the organization will retain third-string netminder Magnus Hellberg beyond this season, and his tandem partner, Remi Poirier, will also need a new contract as a restricted free agent. Assuming the AHL Stars give Poirier a higher share of starts next season, the team could offer Tiefensee the backup role, making his transition to professional hockey in North America easier.

Avalanche Assign Gabriel Landeskog To AHL On Conditioning Stint

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Apr. 11th: According to a team announcement, Landeskog has officially entered the Eagles’ lineup for tonight’s contest. It will be his first professional hockey game since June 26, 2022.

Apr. 9th: Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog could finally be in line to play his first professional hockey in three years. The team announced they’ve loaned him to AHL Colorado on an LTIR conditioning loan that will likely last the remainder of the regular season.

The playoff-bound Eagles have five games remaining on their regular-season schedule. Landeskog can play in three of them as part of his conditioning assignment before Colorado must recall him to the NHL roster and decide whether to activate him from long-term injured reserve. They have a back-to-back against the Henderson Silver Knights on Friday and Saturday, either of which could mark Landeskog’s return to game action for the first time since hoisting the Stanley Cup on June 26, 2022. He’ll practice with the Eagles today before the organization decides whether he’ll actually suit up, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports.

If he can get through a couple of games without incident, Landeskog could make his return to the NHL when they kick off their first-round playoff series, either against the Jets or Stars, in a week and a half. The 32-year-old has ramped up his participation in practice over the last couple of months since undergoing a cartilage transplant in his right knee in May 2023, the latest of multiple surgeries to address lingering side effects from a skate cut to his leg in the 2020 bubble.

Head coach Jared Bednar hinted at the possibility of a conditioning stint in the AHL for Landeskog, who’s never seen a minor-league assignment since being selected second overall by the Avs in the 2011 draft, on Monday. If he suits up for the Eagles, it will mark his first league action for a non-Avalanche team since he appeared for Sweden’s Djurgårdens IF in the 2012 lockout.

Expectations will still be reserved for the nine-time 20-goal scorer. Regardless of the on-ice impact he has, managing to continue his NHL career at all after missing so much time is one of the more remarkable accomplishments in recent league history. Announced as the Avs’ Masterton Trophy nominee today for understandable reasons, he’s likely a shoo-in for the honor if he’s able to lace up the skates in the postseason.

In a best-case scenario, Landeskog will add even more forward depth to a Colorado roster retooled on the fly by general manager Chris MacFarland this season. Out is star winger Mikko Rantanen, but their depth lines have improved dramatically, with Charlie Coyle, Jack Drury, Martin Nečas, and Brock Nelson now in the mix.

Image courtesy of Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports.

Avalanche Recall Wyatt Aamodt, Jack Ahcan, Jere Innala

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The Avalanche announced today they’ve recalled defensemen Wyatt Aamodt and Jack Ahcan, along with forward Jere Innala from AHL Colorado. The trio will presumably get into game action for the Avs’ season-ending back-to-back this weekend to allow some lineup fixtures extra rest ahead of the postseason.

Colorado is already without a laundry list of lineup fixtures for their final two games, namely superstar pivot Nathan MacKinnon. He’s dealing with a minor injury that wouldn’t hold him out of playoff action, but he’s expected to sit for both contests after missing last night’s game against the Canucks. Carrying more serious injury designations up front are Ross Colton (undisclosed) and Jonathan Drouin (lower body), both of whom are day-to-day and probable for their Game 1 lineup in over a week. On the back end, Ryan Lindgren and Josh Manson are unavailable with upper-body injuries.

On top of those absences, today’s recalls indicate they’ll allow multiple other players to rest. It would be Aamodt’s NHL debut if he plays. Colorado signed the 27-year-old as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State in 2022, playing exclusively with their AHL club since. While he was set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, he signed a two-year extension at the trade deadline. The lefty is amid a spectacular two-way season with the Eagles, posting 3-13–16 in 66 games while posting a league-leading +35 rating. The Minnesota native has 12-36–48 with 131 PIMs and a +48 rating in 181 career AHL games over the last four years.

Ahcan hasn’t seen NHL ice since suiting up nine times with the Bruins in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Now 27, the 5’9″ lefty is set to be a UFA this summer upon completing the two-year, two-way deal he signed with the Avs in 2023. The 2017 World Juniors gold medalist with Team USA has a career-high 5-36–41 scoring line in 67 games with the Eagles this year.

Innala is the most familiar of the trio. The 27-year-old Finn is in his first season in North America, signing an entry-level deal with the Avs last summer following a standout playoff performance with Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League. He made 15 NHL appearances for Colorado earlier this season, going without a point and logging a minus-three rating while averaging just 6:55 per game. He hasn’t made an appearance for the Avs since January. The 5’9″ left-winger has been a decent complementary scorer in the minors, logging 16-11–27 in 42 games.

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