Vegas Golden Knights Sign Peyton Krebs To Entry-Level Deal
The Vegas Golden Knights locked up one of their newest prospects Saturday by signing their 2019 first-round pick, Peyton Krebs. The team announced they have signed the 18-year-old to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Krebs was once considered an unreachable prospect for Vegas, selecting at 17, as the young prospect was considered to be a possible top-five pick and a lock to go in the top-10. However, Krebs tore his Achilles during offseason training, just weeks before the draft. While there was talk of that not affecting his draft stock, he did fall with the Golden Knights snatching the young center up quickly when their turn came up.
Krebs has been rehabbing that injury since, spending much of his time in Vegas working with the team training staff. Coincidentally, the Krebs’ signing comes as he has been cleared to return to game action and has been returned to the WHL’s Winnipeg’s Ice, where he was named team captain. He is expected to return to the ice on Sunday.
With Cody Glass now with Vegas as a full-time player, Krebs has slid into his role as Vegas’ top prospect. The center scored 19 goals and 49 assists last year in 64 games as a 17-year-old with a weak Kootenay Ice squad, before the team relocated to Winnipeg. Krebs is considered to be one of the top two-way centers in the WHL and an impressive pass-first center.
College Hockey Round-Up: 11/13/19
The University of Minnesota is one of the more storied programs in college hockey history and Minnesota-Duluth has appeared in each of the past three NCAA Championship Games, winning the last two. But is this finally the year of Minnesota State? The Mavericks are the No. 1 team in the nation and sport an 8-1-1 record through their first two games. Minnesota State has been impressively stingy, allowing just 1.30 goals per game behind the efforts of Dryden McKay and his .946 save percentage. Forward Marc Michaelis and defenseman Connor Mackey have also impressed early on. However, the concern, as it is every year for Minnesota State, is competition and whether their WCHA schedule can properly prepare them for the national tournament. The team is playing great and could very extend their current .800 winning percentage through the whole regular season, but will they be ready when the competition heats up this spring? Minnesota State has never made it to the National Championship nevertheless taken home the title, but they hope to change that this season.
Recent Results
Oftentimes, a team is only as good as it’s goaltending. That has been the case thus far for two of the most talented rosters in college hockey, as No. 15 Wisconsin and now-unranked Boston University are enduring surprising struggles this season that start in net. After sweeping No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth in October, the Badgers looked ready to make good on the high expectations placed on their young, highly-skilled squad. However, they ran into No. 8 Penn State two weeks ago and dropped both road games by a combined score of 10-3. To make matters worse, they also fell to Nebraska-Omaha this past weekend in a major upset. Starting goaltender Daniel Lebedeff has an .887 save percentage in ten games and his struggles have only been exasperated by a lack of support defensively for a team relying too heavily on freshmen Alex Turcotte (LAK) and Cole Caufield (MTL). But at least they’re not BU. The Terriers currently sit at 2-3-4 after failing to pick up a win in the past two weeks, going 0-2-2 against the University of Maine and No. 10 Providence College. Starter Sam Tucker has not played his best, but it’s backup Vinnie Purpura who has proven to be totally unreliable thus far for a BU team that simply needs more out of everyone – other than maybe red-hot Trevor Zegras (ANA). Things don’t get easier for the Terriers either, as they face No. 5 UMass in a home-and-home this weekend.
At the other end of the spectrum is No. 12 UMass Lowell, who has had a number of games stolen by the stellar play of senior keeper Tyler Wall (NYR). It’s hard to argue that Wall, the Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week for three weeks running, is not the best goalie in the NCAA thus far and a possibly Hobey Baker candidate if the River Hawks continue to move up the rankings. The team already has the designation being the only Hockey East team without a conference loss after sweeping the University of Vermont and getting a win and a tie against another impressive goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (BOS) and the Maine Black Bears to stay undefeated in college hockey’s toughest conference. With freshman forward Matt Brown tied for third in the country with 15 points as well, UMass Lowell is looking strong early this season. Remove a puzzling loss and tie against Colgate and this could be a top-five team.
Two weeks back, No. 4 Notre Dame managed to escape a hard-fought weekend series with the University of Minnesota with a win and a tie, but there was some doubt about whether they could stay undefeated as they were set to go up against No. 11 Ohio State. After all, the Buckeyes had just completed a sweep of the rival Wolverines of the University of Michigan and were riding high. Yet, the Fighting Irish remained perfect by edging out back-to-back one-goal wins over Ohio State.
The other two undefeated teams in the nation hail from the ECAC, as No. 3 Cornell and No. 13 Harvard got their seasons started two weeks ago and have remained perfect thus far. Cornell picked up wins over Michigan State (twice), Brown, and Yale by a combined score of 19-7, with Morgan Barron (NYR) leaping to the league lead in points per game with five goals and five assists in four games. Meanwhile, three members of the Crimson recorded six points apiece and Mitchell Gibson (WAS) allowed two goals on 65 shots as Harvard picked up wins over Dartmouth, Princeton, and the previously-ranked Quinnipiac.
And what of former top seed Denver? After easily disposing of Niagara, the Pioneers suffered their first loss against rival Minnesota-Duluth this past weekend and managed a tie in the other game of the series. Denver falls back to No. 2 in the rankings, but could re-take the top spot from Minnesota State if they can survive upcoming series with No. 9 North Dakota and No. 20 Western Michigan.
Dugan Dominating
While game results have been up and down for No. 10 Providence College, now 5-3-2 on the year, the consistent has been scoring. The architect of the nation’s most prolific offense has undoubtedly been sophomore sensation Jack Dugan (VGK). At 24 points on the year, Dugan is already 60% of the way toward surpassing his 39 total points from last year and has done it in less than 25% of the games. Not only that, he is also miles ahead of where leading scorers were last season. No player in the NCAA hit 24 points until December last year, whereas Dugan is already there. If Providence was to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament and Dugan was to keep up this torrid pace, 100 points could potentially come into play. No one in college hockey has cracked the hundred-point mark since Maine’s Paul Kariya in 1992-93, so Dugan would be joining elite company. Yet, even if Dugan’s production falls off or the Friars are one-and-done in the tournament, the Golden Knights’ prospect still stands a realistic chance of being the highest scoring playing in the NCAA since the turn of the century – he would need just 83 points to claim that title.
Dugan’s play is also having obvious effects on his teammates. The NCAA leader in assists with 19, Dugan’s helpers are feeding the likes of Tyce Thompson (NJD) and Greg Printz. Thompson sits alone in second in the college hockey points race with 16, including eight goals, which is tied for second in the NCAA. It’s Printz’ nine goals that lead the way, and his 13 total points have him inside the top ten.
The problem for Providence right now is that they are leaning too much on their top line and getting too little from their other nine forwards and six defensemen. If the hot streak does start to cool for Dugan and company, the Friars could be in trouble.
National Signing Week
National Letters of Intent have been sent out to athletes all over the globe as today marked their first opportunity to officially commit to play college athletics. Here are some of the intriguing early names headed for NCAA hockey:
- The aforementioned Friars have had a big day. Providence College picked up a commitment from Kimball Union Academy’s Tomas Mazura (EDM), a sixth-round pick of the Oilers in June, as well as Chase Yoder and Brett Berard of the U.S. National Development Program.
- Others made official by the USNTDP: Luke Tuch, Drew Commesso, and Dylan Peterson to Boston University, Eamon Powell to Boston College, Tyler Kleven and Jake Sanderson to North Dakota, Daniel Laatsch to Wisconsin, and Brock Faber to Minnesota. Top scorer and rising first-round talent Thomas Bordeleau had previously committed to Michigan.
- Former BU Terrier Mark Cheremeta is headed back to school next year and joining Ohio State. The Florida native recorded just three points as freshman last season with Boston University, but has re-discovered his game in the USHL with eleven points in eleven games and is ready to try again in the NCAA.
- Chong Min Lee will make history when he suits up for the University of Alaska-Anchorage next year. Lee will be just the second Korean-born player to ever play Division I hockey, following in the footsteps of Kyuin Shim, who played for Northern Michigan University in 1992-93. Shim didn’t last long in the NCAA, so Lee, a standout in the BCHL, is likely trying to emulate Richard Park instead, the only Korean-born player to play in the NHL.
Minor Transactions: 11/11/19
A new week begins by celebrating Veterans or Remembrance Day (depending on your place of origin), a cause linked closely to the hockey world for some time. There are two games on tap around the NHL, including the teams from the capitals of both Canada and the United States. Washington will try to keep their recent hot streak rolling against the Arizona Coyotes, while Ottawa travels to Carolina in search of their third consecutive win. As those and the rest of the league’s teams prepare for action, we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have sent Alexander Volkov back to the minor leagues after the young forward played in four games with the team. Volkov, 22, was given an opportunity with some of Tampa Bay’s best forwards, but failed to record his first NHL point. There is plenty of time for that though as he looks to be quite high in the prospect depth chart for the Lightning.
- After giving him a chance to travel with the Buffalo Sabres to Sweden for the Global Series games, Lawrence Pilut has been returned to the minor leagues. The Swedish defenseman didn’t actually play in the overseas games, but still got to experience the trip as a member of an NHL club. Pilut hasn’t played for the Sabres yet this season, but does have six points in eight minor league appearances.
- Though there has been no update yet on Torey Krug‘s status after he left last night’s game, the Boston Bruins have recalled Urho Vaakanainen from the minor leagues under emergency conditions. That would suggest that Krug is out for at least one game, but we’ll have to wait and see later today.
- The Detroit Red Wings are on a heater since acquiring Robby Fabbri, and now bring back another exciting young forward. Givani Smith has been recalled by the team for the second time this season. Smith has played in three games for the Red Wings so far but is still looking for his first NHL point.
- The Vegas Golden Knights don’t play until Wednesday and have completed their usual off-day assignment of Nicolas Roy and Nicolas Hague, but the pair have a third member on the bus to the AHL. Cody Glass has also been sent to the Chicago Wolves today, a curious move given his success so far this season. Glass has seen his ice time reduced significantly over the last two games, playing fewer than 12 minutes in each.
- Gavin Bayreuther didn’t leave Winnipeg with the Dallas Stars and instead was reassigned to the Texas Stars who play the Manitoba Moose this afternoon. The 25-year old defenseman hasn’t played in a game for Dallas yet this season.
- Brendan Guhle has been recalled by the Anaheim Ducks, while the team reassigned Simon Benoit to the AHL. Guhle was sent down at the end of October and has played well with the San Diego Gulls, registering four points in four games.
Western Notes: Walker, Rantanen, Tuch, Zucker
It isn’t hard to think of who the Los Angeles Kings’ best defenseman is — Drew Doughty. It’s an automatic response. However, that may not have been the case through 15 games this season. The Athletic’s Jordan Samuels-Thomas (subscription required) writes that Sean Walker has been the unsung hero on defense for a Kings’ team that has struggled this year.
The 5-foot-11, 194-pound blueliner has been the top performer in most statistical categories for the Kings’ this year. He ranks second among defensemen with six points, but is tops in 5×5 play in Corsi-for per/60 and Corsi-for percentage, while he is also third among Kings’ defensemen in expected goals per/60, while also showing off strong offense and possession numbers.
While Walker doesn’t have the immense talent that Doughty had, he has been a bright spot on the Kings’ current roster.
- Las Vegas Review Journal’s David Schoen reports that Vegas Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch had a setback Friday after sustaining an upper-body injury last week. The original hope was for Tuch to meet up with the team on their road trip, but with just two days remaining on that trip, it doesn’t look like Tuch will be meeting up with the team. “I was hoping he was going to come in for this trip. He’s not coming in. There’s nothing that changed with his injury,” said head coach Gerard Gallant. Tuch has appeared in just two games for the Golden Knights this season.
- Adrian Dater of ColoradoHockeyNow reports that Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen‘s status remains vague. Rantanen has been working out on his own, but has yet to skate on the ice as of yet. The forward was injured on Oct. 21, suffering a lower-body injury, but head coach Jared Bednar said he had no idea when Rantanen might get back on the ice.
- Minnesota Wild forward Jason Zucker got the point after the first period Thursday night when head coach Bruce Boudreau benched him for a large amount of time in the final 40 minutes of play after the winger struggled defensively that allowed the San Jose Sharks to get out to an early lead. According to Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required), Zucker only played two shifts in the second period and five in the third, playing in a season-low 10:09. “We talk about it all the time. We show him all the time,” Boudreau said about Zucker’s defensive struggles. “He’s gotta be committed to doing it all the time, not just when you feel like it.”
Minor Transactions: 11/07/19
The NHL schedule is packed with action tonight as 22 of the league’s teams take the ice. Among them are the Colorado Avalanche who will try to right the ship against a division rival, and the New York Islanders who will go for an 11th-straight win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. As teams prepare for the action, we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.
- The Boston Bruins have recalled Zachary Senyshyn and Peter Cehlarik from the minor leagues before their game tomorrow night. Senyshyn had two assists in his first game of the season on Tuesday despite playing just under 11 minutes. The 22-year old forward is finally getting a chance to show what he can do at the NHL level.
- As expected, the Vegas Golden Knights have recalled both Nicolas Roy and Nicolas Hague from the minor leagues. The team had sent them down to save some cap space while they were between games.
- The same was true with the Islanders, who today recalled Seth Helgeson and Otto Koivula once again. Koivula is still waiting to make his NHL debut, but is at least making an NHL salary whenever he spends a day with the big club.
- Brandon Davidson is back in the NHL, this time with the Calgary Flames. The 28-year old defenseman has been recalled by the team to replace Oliver Kylington, who has been sent back to continue his development. Davidson has 162 NHL games under his belt, but hasn’t been a regular for several years.
- Adam Werner has been recalled by the Colorado Avalanche as an extra goalie while Philipp Grubauer was missing from practice today. The team has yet to give an explanation, but Pavel Francouz appears to be the starter for the time being.
Minor Transactions: 11/06/19
Last night was another step in the right direction for three struggling Western Conference teams, as the Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild were all victorious in their respective matchups. The same can not be said about the Los Angeles Kings, who are now 5-10 and have trade rumors swirling all about. Just two games are on the schedule tonight, and as teams prepare for that action we’ll be right here keeping track of all the minor moves.
- With Alexandre Texier nearing a return, the Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Markus Hannikainen to the minor leagues. Hannikainen still hasn’t played in a single game for the Blue Jackets this season after suiting up 44 times in 2018-19. The 26-year old is just injury depth at this point.
- Dominic Toninato has been recalled by the Florida Panthers, after they sent Riley Stillman back yesterday. The Panthers acquired Toninato from the Colorado Avalanche just a few months ago, and this will be his first call-up with the organization.
- German Rubtsov‘s time with the NHL club is over for now, as the Philadelphia Flyers have sent him back to the AHL and recalled Mikhail Vorobyev. In three games Rubtsov was held scoreless and still looks to have some development to do in the minor leagues. The 21-year old has played just 21 AHL games so far after injury robbed him of much of the 2018-19 season.
- Nicolas Hague and Nicolas Roy are on their way back to the Chicago Wolves, the latest in a series of transactions for the pair of Vegas Golden Knights prospects. The team is using off days to bank some cap space, but could recall one or both down the road.
- The Vancouver Canucks have sent Ashton Sautner back down, a good sign after he was forced from his only game with an injury. The 25-year old defenseman won’t be a full-time player for the Canucks this season, but is valuable injury depth.
- Josh Mahura has been assigned to the Anaheim Ducks, another likely cap-saving move that while the team waits for their next game. The Ducks don’t play again until Sunday.
- Zachary Senyshyn and Cameron Hughes have both been sent back down by the Boston Bruins, who don’t play again until Friday evening. At least one of the young forwards will likely be recalled at that time, but for now the team will save some cap space on the off days.
- Jayson Megna has been returned to the AHL by the Colorado Avalanche, with T.J. Tynan taking his place on the NHL roster. The 27-year old Tynan has been on fire at the minor league level, scoring 12 points in his first ten games for the Colorado Eagles.
- The Washington Capitals have returned Liam O’Brien to the minor leagues, giving him a chance at some playing time after sitting on the sidelines the last few days. O’Brien is an important player for the Hershey Bears, but hasn’t suited up for an NHL game since 2017-18.
- The Chicago Blackhawks announced that defenseman Dennis Gilbert has been re-assigned to the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs. The 23-year-old has split his season between the NHL and AHL, most recently getting some starts in Chicago in place of Brent Seabrook.
Alex Tuch Not Travelling With Vegas On Their Road Trip
- The Golden Knights will be without Alex Tuch for the start of their four-game road trip, notes David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Tuch sustained an upper-body injury in just his second game of the season after returning from an LTIR stint to start the season. Head coach Gerard Gallant declined to comment on whether or not the winger is in concussion protocol and suggested that it’s possible that Tuch rejoins the team later on during the trip.
Minor Transactions: 11/04/19
Though it was a relatively quiet night in the NHL, Sunday’s action still brought some big moments for young players. Adam Boqvist scored the first goal of his NHL career for the Chicago Blackhawks, while Jakub Vrana recorded his first career hat trick for the Washington Capitals. With four more games on the docket you can bet more fireworks will follow, and we’ll be here keeping track of all the minor moves leading up to this evening’s action.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have recalled both Nicolas Roy and Nicolas Hague as they prepare for a four-game road trip that starts tomorrow in Columbus. Hague remains one of the team’s top defensive prospects and played eight games earlier this season for the team. The 20-year old was selected 34th overall in 2017 and had 32 points in 75 games for the Chicago Wolves last season.
- The Boston Bruins have recalled Cameron Hughes from the minor leagues and expect him to make his NHL debut tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins. To make room, Peter Cehlarik has been sent to the AHL’s Providence Bruins after just two NHL games.
- Another recent NHL debut was C.J. Suess with the Winnipeg Jets, but that’s all he’ll get on this recall. The 25-year old played his first game with the Jets on Friday, but was sent back to the AHL today.
- Max Jones has been recalled by the Anaheim Ducks after just a few days in the minor leagues. Jones has spent the vast majority of the season in the NHL, suiting up 12 times so far for the Ducks.
- Joel Hanley is back once again with the Dallas Stars, a trip he’s used to at this point. The Stars are using his waiver-exempt status (after clearing just before the season began) as a way to save some cap space on off days. It also keeps Hanley’s waiver clock from ticking—players have to clear again after 30 days or 10 games played in the NHL.
Minor Transactions: 11/03/19
Only a few NHL markets will compete with football this Sunday as just two games are on the schedule for tonight. The Calgary Flames will try to continue their recent resurgence in a game against the Washington Capitals, while the Chicago Blackhawks attempt to get anything going against the Anaheim Ducks. As teams prepare for the action, we’ll be here to keep track of all the minor moves.
- The New Jersey Devils have sent Matt Tennyson to the minor leagues once again, already the fifth transaction of the young season for the veteran defenseman. The Devils don’t have another game until Tuesday, giving them some time to make another move.
- Joel Hanley is also on his way back to the AHL, with the Dallas Stars also off until Tuesday evening. Hanley played just 11 minutes last night for Dallas and has one point in five games this season.
- That’s more than Otto Koivula, who didn’t get into a single game with the New York Islanders before being sent back to the AHL today. The 6’4″ winger is still waiting to make his NHL debut, but will be welcomed back to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers where he is a big part of the offense.
- The Vegas Golden Knights announced they have assigned goaltender Garret Sparks to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. Sparks was brought up as an emergency recall as Marc-Andre Fleury was out sick. However, with the demotion of Sparks, that would suggest that Fleury is expected to be well enough to play against Columbus on Tuesday.
- The Arizona Coyotes announced they have recalled Michael Chaput from the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL. The 27-year-old AHL veteran will take the place of Brad Richardson, who isn’t expected to join the team for their two-game road trip to Edmonton and Calgary. Chaput has put up five goals and six points in nine AHL games this season. He had five assists in 32 games for Montreal last season.
- The San Jose Sharks announced they have assigned defenseman Trevor Carrick to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. The blueliner has been up and down, but has played the most of his season with the Sharks, having appeared in three games for them, as opposed to one for the Barracuda. It could also suggest that Carrick is heading to the AHL to make room for Radim Simek, who is expected to be activated off of injured reserve.
- The Buffalo Sabres made a few moves in anticipation of their trip to Sweden. The team announced they have recalled defenseman Lawrence Pilut from the Rochester Americans of the AHL, while the team placed defenseman Marco Scandella on injured reserve. Pilut has fared quite well in Rochester, posting a goal and six points in eight games this year. Scandella suffered a lower-body injury during Thursday’s game against the Rangers. He is expected to miss two to three weeks. The team also announced that Rochester goaltender Andrew Hammond will be accompanying Buffalo on its trip as an emergency third goaltender.
Pacific Notes: Hughes, Fleury, Subban, Russell
Vancouver Canucks fans are hoping that defenseman Quinn Hughes will be back sooner than later after the Calder Trophy candidate went down in the first period of Friday’s game against the Ducks. Having played nearly half of the first 15 minutes of play, the rookie blueliner was rushing to get back into his zone when he appeared to pivot and stub his toe that had him fall forward to his knees and needed to helped off the ice.
Sportsnet’s Ian McIntyre writes that the injury is likely to be a short-term injury and the defenseman will be re-examined Saturday in San Jose before their game against the Sharks with a remote possibility of playing. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Hughes will not play Saturday.
Hughes has been a key member to the Canucks’ defense despite his youth as he has immediately become a top-four player and already averages more than 20 minutes per game. His ability to quarterback the power play has been critical to the Canucks’ recent 8-1-1 streak. Hopefully, he’ll be back sooner than later.
- With Garret Sparks recalled under emergency conditions and the return of Malcolm Subban to the ice, many were wondering what was going on with the Vegas Golden Knights’ goaltending situation. However, The Athletic’s Jesse Granger answered that question by reporting that starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has the flu and will sit out today. Head coach Gerard Gallant stated that it wasn’t anything that will keep the veteran goaltender out for very long. Without Fleury, Granger also reported that Subban, who has been out since Oct. 10 when he played just one period, will get the start tonight against the Jets. Subban, coincidentally, has never allowed a goal to Winnipeg in his career.
- In a mailbag piece, The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman (subscription required) writes that while it would be advantageous for the Edmonton Oilers to trade off some of their defensive depth for some forward help, however the team few players that have much value. The most likley candidate to trade would be Kris Russell, who has just one more year on his contract. However, the scribe adds that Russell might be hard to move due to his $4MM contract right now as well as the fact that he has a 20-team no-trade clause in his contract. Both those issues would make it difficult to move him, especially since it might be a stretch to consider him as a No. 4 defenseman.