Overseas Notes: Burmistrov, Svedberg, Austin
Former Atlanta Thrashers top prospect Alexander Burmistrov really tried to make things work in the NHL. He committed to developing in North America with the OHL’s Barrie Colts, put up decent numbers as a young pro with the Thrashers/Jets, and even after a brief stint in the KHL, returned again and worked hard to find a fit in stops with Winnipeg, the Arizona Coyotes, and the Vancouver Canucks over the past two seasons. Burmistrov’s effort was there, but things just didn’t pan out and he returned to the KHL last season. Unlike in the NHL, teams in Russia are excited to have Burmistrov and willing to give him the benefit of the doubt even when his production doesn’t match the hype. Case in point: after returning to Ak Bars Kazan last year, Burmistrov registered six points in ten games, just three points in 17 playoff games, and has just five points in 27 games this year. Yet, Salavat Yulaev Ufa announced yesterday that they had acquired Burmistrov from Ak Bars for a trio of promising young players. The centerpiece is 24-year-old center Vyacheslav Osnovin who, at five points through 32 games, isn’t far off Burmistrov’s scoring pace. 19-year-old defenseman Alexander Lyakhov has been held scoreless in ten KHL games this season, but has the size and skating to make an impact down the road. Saveli Kuvardin, 17, is the final piece; a draft-eligible forward without any KHL experience, but with strong numbers in Russia’s junior ranks. A similar trade of this magnitude would never have been made to acquire Burmistrov in the NHL, but those are the perks of playing in your home country as an established pro. Now Burmistrov can get a fresh start in Ufa and hopefully make the deal worthwhile for his new team.
- Viktor Svedberg was once considered to be a future fixture on the Chicago Blackhawks blue line, but after spending the past two seasons exclusively with the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs, he returned to his native Sweden this off-season. That stay didn’t last long, as Svedberg has left the SHL’s Linkoping HC after just seven games to sign with the KHL’s Barys Astana, the league’s entry in Kazakhstan, per a team release. Svedberg is far from a flashy player, but even as a 22-year-old rookie back when he first signed with Chicago in 2013, was a solid stay-at-home defender in the AHL. A reliable presence on the back end, Svedberg should help out Barys, a top ten team in the KHL, in their pursuit of a title.
- Former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Brady Austin was unable to turn his PTO with the AHL’s Stockton Heat into a contract this year, despite accomplishing the same goal on a tryout with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters before last season. Without an opportunity in North America, Austin has signed on with the Esbjerg Energy of the Metal Ligaen in Denmark, the team announced. A low-level pro league, the Metal Ligaen has attracted very few NHL veterans. Yet, Esbjerg has managed to sign Austin and Brett Bellemore in the past week, boasting a blue line with two experienced North American pros. This would seemingly vault the Energy to one of the favorites to win the league championship this year.
College Notes: Henrikson, Crone, Risers
The jump to North America has not been kind to Arvid Henrikson thus far and it has impacted his college recruitment. Yet, the big Swedish defenseman has made his decision on where he will begin his NCAA career and hopes that transition yields better results than his move to the USHL this year. Henrikson, 20, was a seventh-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2016, following a point-per-game campaign in the Swedish juniors. His success in the pro ranks in Sweden has been less impressive, prompting a change in career path this off-season. Henrikson joined the Des Moines Buccaneers for the 2018-19 campaign, but has only registered one point through 18 games so far. While Henrikson has the size – 6’5″, 212 lbs. – and physical style to make a career out of being a stay-at-home defender, he has shown ample offensive ability before and hoped to showcase that side of his game in the USHL. Instead, he will hold out hope that perhaps his production will improve when he enrolls at Lake Superior State University next season. The Buccaneers announced today that Henrikson has committed to join the Lakers, where he will replace senior defenseman and Anaheim Ducks prospect Steven Ruggiero as the only drafted player in the program. Lake Superior may not be a powerhouse college program, but less spotlight and fewer expectations may be exactly what Henrikson needs to develop into the defenseman that the Canadiens hoped they were getting with a late flier a few years ago.
- When Hank Crone finished third in scoring in the USHL in 2016-17, ahead of the likes of Andrei Svechnikov, Eeli Tolvanen, and future Boston University teammate Shane Bowers, many expected that it would be enough to get him drafted. Yet, the talented albeit undersized forward again was passed up. Last season, his first with BU, also did not go according to plan. Crone managed to record just twelve points and failed to live up to the offensive prowess he showed in juniors. As a result, Crone is back in the USHL this season, re-joining the Fargo Force rather than staying on with the Terriers. Unsurprisingly, he’s back at his old ways with 21 points in 19 games. As a result, he’s also willing to try his hand at the college game again and has committed to another top program. Hockey Commitments announced today that Crone has signed on to join the University of Denver next season, where he will have three years of eligibility left to show NHL teams what they missed. If Crone is able to get it right on his second try in the NCAA, he should draw considerable interest from the pro ranks down the road.
- In his latest article about the biggest early “risers” of the most recent draft class, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman tabbed college or college-bound players as half of the most surprising performers so far this season. The top played named, who Pronman says has established himself as a “legit NHL prospect”, is Calgary Flames pick Emilio Pettersen. The Denver forward was a sixth-round pick out of the USHL after a strong but unspectacular season, but has been better than a point-per-game so far through twelve games and has looked like an elite play-maker against tough competition. Northeastern forward Tyler Madden, the Vancouver Canucks’ third-round pick, is next up. Madden has ten points through twelve games for the Huskies and has easily transitioned his two-way game to the college level. Also on Pronman’s list are UConn center Jachym Kondelik (NSH, Rd. 4), UMass center John Leonard (SJ, Rd. 6), Pettersen’s Denver teammate Brett Stapley (MTL, Rd. 7), and St. Lawrence-bound Martin Pospisil (CGY, Rd. 4), as the college game continues be a great developmental option for the NHL’s top prospects.
Brock Boeser To Return For Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks have assigned Reid Boucher to the Utica Comets of the AHL in order to make room for a returning star. Brock Boeser, out since November 2nd, is expected to return tonight and take on the Los Angeles Kings according to Ben Kuzma of Postmedia.
Boeser, 21, has managed just 84 games over parts of three seasons now in the NHL, battling injury several times over the past calendar year. Obviously extremely talented, the Canucks need him to stay on the ice consistently to really be able to rely on him going forward. The team has an exciting group of young players that could usher in the next great era of Canucks hockey, and Boeser can be a huge part of that if he’s healthy enough to contribute. Hopefully this will be the last injured reserve stint for a while, and the league will get to see what he can do for the rest of the year.
With 11 points in 13 games, the Minnesota-born forward is amazingly still sixth on the team in scoring and tied for fourth in goals. That total very well could increase right away given his expected position beside Elias Pettersson and Nikolay Goldobin tonight, two of the team’s most dangerous offensive weapons. That trio just happen to all be 23 or under, meaning they could be together for a long time if chemistry is apparent right away.
Vancouver’s Darren Archibald Placed On Waivers
Monday: Archibald has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues.
Sunday: As many expected after the Vancouver Canucks activated defenseman Alexander Edler Saturday but didn’t make a corresponding move, the team has now placed Darren Archibald on waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The Canucks designated Archibald as a non-roster player Saturday, according to CapFriendly, to complete the Edler transaction until the forward could be placed on waivers today. Archibald was recalled by the team on Oct. 30 and appeared in nine games, but averaged just 7:38 of ATOI, potting one goal, adding an assist and 12 penalty minutes. However, with an overload in forwards and the impending return of Brock Boeser soon, the team had to send a forward down.
The team did get Edler back finally, who made his return on Saturday after nearly a month after suffering a MCL strain in late October. Edler provides Vancouver with a much needed defensive leader and picked up 16:19 of ice time on his first game back, although he is expected to quickly work his way back to his normal ice time as he averages 21:47 for the season.
Pacific Notes: Vegas’ Defense, Boeser, Kovalchuk, Luff, McLellan
The Vegas Golden Knights have always followed a general philosophy when it comes to pairing up their defensemen. Head coach Gerard Gallant loves to pair a fast, quick-moving offensive defenseman with a bigger defensive counterpart. However, with Nate Schmidt missing the first 20 games of the season with a suspension, Gallant hasn’t had the opportunity to put together his perfect pairing, which included Schmidt matched up with Brayden McNabb, Shea Theodore with Deryk Engelland and Colin Miller paired with Nick Holden.
The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) analyzes those new changes which has produced a 3-0 record since Gallant put those pairings together, including a 2-1 overtime win over Arizona and a pair of shutouts over Calgary and San Jose, Friday and Saturday. That’s just one goal allowed in 183 minutes. While it has been made clear that the team missed Schmidt, Vegas’ entire defense missed him as everyone had been shuffled out of alignment without the speedy blueliner. Without Schmidt, the team lacked a third offensive defenseman as the team had to pair Holden with Jonathon Merrill, which struggled throughout the first quarter of the season.
“It adjusted our defenseman because they all played different roles when Nate was out,” Gallant said. “So, everybody is in their spots now and playing pretty well and they are confident.”
- Rick Dhailwal of Sportsnet reports that he’s heard from a source that Vancouver Canucks winger Brock Boeser is making good progress recovering from his groin injury. The 21-year-old has been out since Nov. 2. The scribe adds that Boeser is getting closer and should be back at some point next week. He has four goals and 11 points in 13 games so far this year.
- One of the Los Angeles Kings struggles comes from the play of major off-season acquisition Ilya Kovalchuk who has failed to record a point in eight straight games, according to Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times. The 35-year-old, who signed a three-year, $18.75MM contract this summer, has gone from the team’s top winger to a third-stringer and has dropped to the second unit of the power play. The team broke their 0-for-16 slump on the power play Saturday with Kovalchuk on the bench.
- Fox Sports Jon Rosen writes that the Kings need to get more playing time to rookie Matt Luff, who has played well since being called up from the AHL. The 21-year-old has three goals in eight games after dominating in Ontario. Head coach Willie Desjardins re-teamed him with Carl Hagelin and Adrian Kempe, which found some success for the Kings. The scribe writes that Luff needs playing time and needs to start receiving power play time as well.
- Rosen also adds that the Kings have no interest in bringing former Edmonton Oilers’ coach Todd McLellan aboard.
Canucks Winger Antoine Roussel Fined For Biting Incident
Late in Friday’s game between Vancouver and San Jose, Canucks winger Antoine Roussel got involved in a scrum with Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Near the end of it, Roussel appeared to bite Vlasic and the league has completed its review, announcing (Twitter link) that the winger has been fined $5K, the maximum allowable in the CBA.
Roussel is no stranger to supplementary discipline having had a pair of incidents back in the 2014-15 season, one that resulted in a fine for roughing while the other yielded a two-game suspension for an illegal cross-check. However, despite his history, the league ruled that this particular incident didn’t reach the level of being worthy of a suspension.
This ruling is largely consistent with how they’ve viewed bites in recent years which have yielded either fines or have gone unpunished. The last suspension handed out for a biting incident was handed out back in 2009 when Senators winger Jarkko Ruutu was given a two-game ban for a bite on Sabres winger Andrew Peters.
Sven Baertschi Skated Last Weekend But His Concussion Symptoms Returned
Canucks winger Sven Baertschi attempted to skate last weekend for the first time since suffering a concussion back in October. However, he told Marcel Perren of Swiss newspaper Blick that he had to stop after just 15 minutes due to a recurrence of symptoms. With that in mind, he has been shut down once again and Baertschi indicated to Perren that there’s a chance that he does not return this season. That would be a significant blow for Vancouver as the 26-year-old is an important part of their attack and was off to a solid start to his campaign with six points in ten games before being concussed.
Minor Transactions: 11/22/18
Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers in the United States, who unfortunately will not have any hockey to watch tonight. The NHL has a rare day off with no games scheduled, which will give the entire league some time to readjust their rosters. As always, we’ll keep track of all those minor moves right here.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled Tyrell Goulbourne from the AHL, sending Nicolas Aube-Kubel back down in his place. Goulbourne has four points in ten games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season, adding 29 penalty minutes for good measure. Aube-Kubel meanwhile has played nine games for the Flyers without recording a point, meaning this could be a chance for him to get back on track offensively. The 22-year old forward has a huge offensive ceiling, but needs more consistent ice time to continue his development.
- Jakub Zboril was reassigned to the AHL last night by the Boston Bruins, following the return of Kevan Miller to the lineup. That means Connor Clifton is safe for now as the team awaits the returns of Zdeno Chara, Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy. Zboril is still in the long-term plans of the Bruins, but needs to see the ice on a regular basis and not sit in the press box for the NHL team.
- Mario Kempe has been assigned to the AHL by the Arizona Coyotes, after the team activated Alex Goligoski and Jakob Chychrun for last night’s game. Kempe has suited up four times for the Coyotes this season but is still looking for his first point. That hasn’t been a problem in the minor leagues for the 30-year old forward, who has nine points in eight games for the Tucson Roadrunners.
- The Vancouver Canucks have recalled Reid Boucher from the minor leagues, assigning Brendan Gaunce to Utica in the process. Boucher has been a part-time player his entire career, playing just 132 games across five NHL seasons. He came to the Canucks in 2016-17 and looked like he might have a chance to contribute on a more consistent basis, but has spent more time in the minor leagues than with the NHL club.
- Taylor Fedun was acquired by the Dallas Stars earlier this month, and today he’ll get his first recall from the minor leagues. Fedun is on his way up to take the place of Ben Gleason, who has been reassigned to the AHL. The 30-year old Fedun played just seven games in the NHL last season and has 46 contests under his belt over a long professional career.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled Daniel Carr from Chicago of the AHL. He’s taking the place of Tomas Hyka who was went down to make room for him. Carr is the leading scorer in the minors with 22 points in 16 games and has had some success at the NHL level, collecting 16 points in 38 games with Montreal last year. Meanwhile, Hyka has spent most of the season with Vegas, picking up a goal and three assists in 17 games.
Pittsburgh Penguins Showed Interest In Brandon Montour
The Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks have made in-season trades in the past, most notably swapping Carl Hagelin for David Perron and Adam Clendening just a few months before the Penguins would go on to win the Stanley Cup. Hagelin was a huge part of that 2016 run, and Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford beat the rush at the trade deadline by acquiring him in mid-January. Well, now Rutherford has sent Hagelin packing and the Penguins are looking for more help to get them back into the playoff race, and he at least is looking west at an old trade partner. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes that Pittsburgh tried to get Brandon Montour out of Anaheim but the Ducks wouldn’t move the young defenseman. Friedman then speculates that perhaps Jakob Silfverberg could fit into the Penguins forward group, given they’ve been unable to find much help from the third and fourth lines this season.
Montour’s name has been thrown around plenty this season, with some also pondering whether he’d be a match for a potential William Nylander trade. It’s easy to see why teams—including the Ducks themselves—would covet him after recording a 32-point campaign in his first full NHL season. Montour is averaging nearly 22 minutes a game this season and has seen that ice time jump even further since Cam Fowler went down to injury. He played a career-high 29:36 in an overtime loss to the Maple Leafs last week and looks like a top-pairing option even at such a young age.
The Penguins meanwhile haven’t been able to keep the puck out of their own net this season, allowing the ninth-most even-strength goals in the league despite having only played 19 games. That’s resulted in a 7-8-4 record and a spot at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division standings. Jack Johnson hasn’t worked out as planned, and Justin Schultz is out long-term with a leg injury.
Silfverberg though presents a different way to improve the team, given that only six forwards on the team have at least 10 points this season. The 28-year old winger is a pending unrestricted free agent, and has shown an ability to be a consistent 20-goal, 40-point player in the past. That’s the kind of offensive help the Penguins could use, and something they were hoping to spark in newcomer Tanner Pearson.
Regardless of whether the Penguins actually have any interest in Silfverberg, it’s obvious that the team is still looking for ways to make their team better this season. Pittsburgh is still in win-now mode with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel all still producing at a high level, and have a known horse trader in Rutherford at the helm. It won’t be surprising to see them make another move long before the trade deadline talk heats up, and try to right this ship before it gets too far off course.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: Outdoor Game, Penguins, Patrick
The 2019 NHL Winter Classic is still more than a month away and the 2019 NHL Stadium Series game even further, but that hasn’t stopped discussions about where the league could turn next for an outdoor game. Today, BSN Denver’s Adrian Dater reports that the Colorado Avalanche are likely to be an outdoor game host “sooner rather than later.” In talking with deputy commissioner Bill Daly, Dater learned that the league is very interested in placing a game at the nearby Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where Falcon Stadium normally plays host to the Air Force football team and a capacity crowd of close to 47,000. Given the success of the NHL’s last foray into an outdoor game in Colorado – the 2016 showdown at Coors Field in Denver – and their special interest in games played at American military institutions, such as last year’s game at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, not to mention the successful Division I hockey program at Air Force, the school seems like a great fit to host a gme. For now though, the league remains focused on their next contest at a college football venue, when the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks square off at Notre Dame on New Year’s Day.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins hope that their team is in much better shape when they take part in their outdoor game later this season, a match-up with the rival Flyers at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on February 23rd. The team continues to struggle and, even after his acquisition of forward Tanner Pearson, GM Jim Rutherford remains open for business per numerous sources. However, the next move might not be just a simple one-for-one to land a role player. TSN’s Bob McKenzie raised the stakes on the latest “Insider Trading” segment, stating that “anything and everything is on the table” in Pittsburgh. McKenzie says that the Penguins’ list of untouchables is rather short – just Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. McKenzie believes that anyone else could be move, perhaps adding fuel to the fire of recent rumors that Phil Kessel, Derick Brassard, Olli Maatta, and Matt Murray are among the names that could be on the move if things don’t improve.
- The Penguins did make a noteworthy move today, announcing that legendary executive Craig Patrick has re-joined the team as a pro scout. The 72-year-old Hall of Famer served as Pittsburgh’s GM for 17 years, from 1989 to 2006. Patrick was the architect of the 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup-winning Penguins teams and much of the 2009 championship team and beyond were the products of Patrick’s regime, including Crosby and Malkin. Many will also recognize Patrick as an assistant coach to Herb Brooks on the famed “Miracle” 1980 U.S. Olympic team, while he also served as both coach and GM for the New York Rangers over a nine-year span in the 80’s. The extent of Patrick’s role is unclear, but particularly in the midst of a difficult season, this is a great hire by the Penguins if only for the wisdom and guidance of an experienced hockey guru.