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Snapshots: Canucks, AHL, Svejkovsky

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When Jim Rutherford took over the front office in Vancouver, he vowed that he would take his time to evaluate his new team and to choose from a multitude of potential GM candidates – and he is sticking to it. In an interview with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, Rutherford details his plans for the hockey operations hierarchy, including hiring two additional assistant GMs in addition to the GM, but shares that he is still evaluating a number of options for the top job. Rutherford is exploring some female options, as he tells MacIntyre that he appreciates the diversity within the Canucks organization and would not mind furthering those efforts. However, he has also been impressed with internal candidates as well, such as player development director Ryan Johnson and analytics lead Aiden Fox. Rutherford hopes to begin in-person interviews next month, but a hiring announcement could still be a ways away and to this point Rutherford has stuck with his plan not to make any major moves before bringing in another mind to share in the decision.

  • The NHL is not alone in dealing with the current COVID surge. The AHL has announced the postponement of three upcoming games, with the Stockton Heat and San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday and the San Diego Gulls and Tucson Roadrunners on Thursday and Sunday being moved to a later date. The league states that California clubs San Jose and San Diego are both in COVID-19 Protocols and unable to compete. Unlike the NHL, if rescheduling these games within the reasonable confines of the teams’ schedules, they could very well become cancellations rather than postponements.
  • Down another level, a Pittsburgh Penguins prospect has been moved in the WHL – and for a decent price. 2020 fourth-rounder Lukas Svejkovsky was traded to the Seattle Thunderbirds by the Medicine Hat Tigers in exchange for a 2022 first-round pick, a conditional 2023 second-round pick, and a conditional 2025 third-round pick. Though of Czech descent, Svejkovsky was in fact born in Florida and is an American citizen and even attended USA Hockey’s junior selection camp. While he did not make the WJC roster, Svejkovsky is still having a banner year. The small, but skilled forward recorded 30 points in 24 games with the Tigers before the move and now heads to a Seattle club that touts the fifth-best record in the WHL.

Czechia Announces Final Roster For 2022 WJC

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After their pre-tournament game against Switzerland was cancelled yesterday due to COVID-19 concerns, Czechia has named their final roster for the 2022 World Junior Championships which begin in earnest on December 26.

Two names in particular of note on this team are David Jiricek and Jiri Kulich, who are both eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft. Jiricek is a likely top-ten and potential top-five selection come July, and a good tournament could help solidify that positioning. He’s actually serving as an assistant captain for the team along with 19-year-old undrafted Michal Gut. Montreal Canadiens prospect Jan Mysak was announced as the team’s captain earlier in the week.

Jiricek is impressing this season with five goals and six assists in 29 games with HC Plzen in the Czech Extraliga. Kulich, a likely second- or third-round selection, has seven goals and four assists with Karlovy Vary in the Extraliga.

The Czechs will be watched intently by Columbus Blue Jackets fans, as they carry a pair of talented prospects in defenseman Stanislav Svozil and forward Martin Rysavy. Svozil somewhat unexpectedly fell to the third round in 2021 where Columbus drafted him 69th overall. He’s done well in his first season in North America, posting a goal and 17 assists in 26 games with the WHL’s Regina Pats. Rysavy, a seventh-rounder in 2021, has five goals and 11 assists in 28 games with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors.

Russia, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia, Germany Name 2022 WJC Captains

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While there may not be any NHL hockey left to look forward to for the next few days, the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships are just around the corner. Pre-tournament play is imminent, while the round-robin slate of games begins on December 26. With the tournament approaching, the Russian, Finnish, Czech, Slovak, and German contingents have all named their captains for their teams, supplementing the announcements for Canada (Kaiden Guhle) and the United States (Jake Sanderson). Their captains are as follows:

Russia: Marat Khusnutdinov (MIN)
Finland: Roni Hirvonen (TOR)
Czechia: Jan Mysak (MTL)
Slovakia: Samuel Knazko (CBJ)
Germany: Florian Elias (2022-eligible overage player)

This is Khusnutdinov’s second World Juniors appearance for Russia. Drafted in the second round by Minnesota in 2020, he impressed last year with five points in seven games. Now, in his last year of eligibility, Khusnutdinov is tasked with leading the team in hopes of a medal. The skilled two-way center has four goals and seven assists in 29 KHL games this season with SKA St. Petersburg, impressive numbers for a young player on such a deep team. He’s medalled once before internationally for Russia, winning a silver medal at the 2019 U-18 World Juniors.

Another good defensive center finds his way onto this list with Hirvonen. Also a product of the 2020 Draft’s second round, it’s also Hirvonen’s second and final chance at a World Juniors medal. He had six points in seven games last year as Finland took home the bronze medal. He’s also performing well in his home country’s top league this season, posting six goals and 10 assists in 28 games with HIFK in the Liiga.

Mysak, playing with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the OHL, is the third second-round draft pick in 2020 on this list. Unlike Khusnutdinov and Hirvonen, though, he made the U-20 team as a 17-year-old, meaning this is his third chance at a medal. It’s his second straight year serving as the captain, with three goals and two assists in 10 games combined. He has 17 goals and 14 assists through 25 OHL games this year.

Knazko breaks the chain, as Columbus drafted him in the third round in 2020. Like Mysak, though, it’s Knazko’s third WJC and his second as the captain. The mobile two-way defenseman has two assists in nine games at the tournament. Now with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, he has a goal and two assists through five games.

Playing with Adler Mannheim in the DEL, Elias was passed over in last year’s draft. Playing with Ottawa’s Tim Stützle at last year’s World Juniors, though, he exploded for four goals and five assists through five games. He’s got four points through 21 games in the DEL this year, and now it’s his turn to lead the German squad.

Minor Transactions: 12/12/21

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With a lighter schedule at the NHL level today, expect some moves from other niches of the hockey world. For those more minor moves, we’ll keep an ongoing list of today’s transactions right here.

  • There’s a junior trade on the block today, as WHL netminder Cole Tisdale was dealt from the Tri-City Americans to the Prince Albert Raiders Saturday night in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick, a team release from the Raiders confirms. The 19-year-old netminder is playing his first full WHL season but now finds himself on his third team. Originally a draft pick of the Kelowna Rockets, he was moved to Tri-City after six games with Kelowna this year. After just two games there, he now finds himself in Prince Albert looking for some stability.
  • As the Pittsburgh Penguins organization becomes healthier, the baby Penguins in AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are making corresponding moves. Today, they re-assigned forward Shaw Boomhower to the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers, per a team tweet. The 23-year-old Boomhower took last season off from hockey entirely but has impressed with six points in 12 games in Wheeling. He didn’t get into a game with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton during his callup.

East Notes: Flyers, WHL Trade, Sabres

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After a summer that featured plenty of roster turnover, the results haven’t been much different for the Flyers in the early going this season.  They missed the playoffs last season and sit seventh in the Metropolitan early on this year which has them out of the postseason mix for the time being.  Despite that, GM Chuck Fletcher was preaching patience at a recent press conference (video link):

I’d really like to see what we have before we start making changes. I don’t feel I’ve been able to see that to this point in time. We’re always looking, I’m talking to teams every day. If there are ways to make us better, we’ll look at it. But right now, if you just look at how we played the first 10 games versus the last 10 games, clearly one segment was way better than the other.

So we’ve shown the ability to play better than how we are right now. That’s the most important thing, we’ve got to get back, we’ve got to get playing better. Then from there, we’ll get a sense of what we really are and then we can make those decisions.

Philadelphia has battled some injury trouble early on (including in tonight’s game with Joel Farabee leaving early) which hasn’t helped their cause and that’s clearly a point of optimism for Fletcher that as their players return, they could get back on track.  However, if that doesn’t happen over the next couple of months or so, they could be a team to keep an eye on before the March 21st trade deadline.

More from the East:

  • A notable trade occurred in the WHL today when Canadiens prospect blueliner Kaiden Guhle was dealt to Edmonton. The 2020 first-round was acquired for a package of four draft picks including two first-rounders plus two players, headlined by 2021 Senators fourth-round selection Carson Latimer.
  • The Sabres are about to get some help from the infirmary as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News relays that center Casey Mittelstadt will return on Thursday against Florida after being injured in the season-opener versus Montreal. Blueliner Jacob Bryson will also return after missing Monday’s contest with a nagging injury.  Meanwhile, winger Alex Tuch skated in a non-contact sweater at practice as he works his way back from offseason shoulder surgery while goaltender Craig Anderson also accompanied the team on their road trip although there remains no timetable for a return from his upper-body injury that has kept him out for a month.

Free Agent Henry Rybinski Receiving Interest

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Generally, the market for free agent junior players isn’t typically strong.  Sure, the odd late-bloomer might make it through but more often than not, the more prominent free agents come from the college ranks.  However, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 32 Thoughts column, one CHL free agent that is generating interest is winger Henry Rybinski.

The 20-year-old was actually drafted by Florida back in the fifth round in 2019 (136th overall) but wasn’t signed by June 1st.  Now that he’s too old to be drafted again, he can sign as a free agent.

Rybinski is off to a strong start in his final season with WHL Seattle, notching four goals and 11 assists in 13 games with the Thunderbirds.  That’s a similar level of production to last season when he had seven goals and 21 helpers in 23 contests which wasn’t enough to get Florida to sign him.

What works in Rybinski’s favor is that Seattle has several quality draft-eligible players; they had four ranked in NHL Central Scouting’s Players to Watch headlined by defenseman Kevin Korchinski who is viewed as a possible first-round pick.  That will keep scouts coming to watch the Thunderbirds play and keep Rybinski on the radar as a result.

While some players that sign contracts now have their deals sign a year, that wouldn’t be the case for Rybinski as he’s too old for that option.  Meanwhile, if a team wants to sign him and ensure that they have him for three full years in their system, they’ll have to wait until future contracts (beginning the following season) can be signed on March 1st.

Brent Seabrook Joins Vancouver Giants As Assistant Coach

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The playing career of Brent Seabrook is over, despite three years remaining on his contract. The veteran defenseman has been on long-term injured reserve for two seasons now and is not expected to ever play in the NHL again. That doesn’t mean he won’t be around the rink though, as Seabrook has accepted a position with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL as a volunteer/interim assistant coach. He’ll be behind the bench for the team helping while Michael Dyck is serving as an assistant with Canada’s World Junior team.

Seabrook, 36, is certainly experienced enough to help out a junior coaching staff, given his 1,114 regular season games in the NHL. A three-time Stanley Cup champion, he also suited up 123 times for the Chicago Blackhawks in the playoffs. A core piece of those championship clubs, Seabrook was a perfect complement to the smooth-skating Duncan Keith, adding some real power and physicality to the lineup every night. Even when they weren’t playing together, Keith calmly patrolled on one pairing while Seabrook punished attackers on another.

He recorded more than 2,000 blocked shots throughout his career, along with more than 2,100 hits, things that eventually took their toll on his body. After multiple surgeries that helped his quality of life, he won’t be back on the ice in the NHL. His deal, which extends through the 2023-24 season, was actually traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in July as part of the deal that brought Tyler Johnson to Chicago.

While Seabrook didn’t play for the Giants in junior, he’s from Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver. Giving a little back to your hometown club while Dyck, as Seabrook puts it, “goes for gold” makes sense for such a respected veteran. Perhaps this will even be the start of a second career for the Blackhawks legend.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Minor Transactions: 11/29/21

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Perhaps the American Thanksgiving break spurred some action in players and teams alike, as there has been a flurry of intriguing moves of late – and not just in the NHL. Keep up with the action in the minors, Europe, and more right here:

  • After clearing unconditional waivers on Thursday and seeing his contract terminated by the Nashville Predators, Patrick Harper has found a new home. HPK of Finland’s Liiga has announced a deal with the former Boston University standout for the remainder of the season. While Harper recorded 115 points in 128 NCAA games, that scoring touch has all but disappeared in the pros. He recorded only two points in 15 AHL games last season, which earned him a demotion to the ECHL, and was held scoreless through nine AHL games this game as well. Harper seemingly feels a fresh start in a new league could be the answer to this development hiccup – and at just 23 years old he could be right – but a move to Europe via contract termination isn’t a strong signal of a long career to come in North America.
  • Another college star at a crossroads is defenseman Will Cullen. After an excellent 2020-21 season with Bowling Green State University, Cullen was on NHL radars this off-season and could have signed an AHL contract. Instead, Cullen decided to extend his NCAA career as a graduate transfer at Miami University, likely hoping to earn an entry-level contract this spring. However, this lasted just seven games, as Cullen has departed the RedHawks early to sign an AHL deal with the Bridgeport Islanders. While this could be seen as just a delayed inevitability, Cullen’s late transition means that he will head to the ECHL to begin his pro career. He now has to climb a couple of pro ranks if he wants to make his way to the NHL. A puck-moving defenseman who logged 25 points and a +20 rating in 28 games last season, Cullen has the ability but needs to make the most of an unusual midseason transition.
  • NHL veteran David Booth is not quite done. After taking last season off, Booth is back in the game, signing in Norway where he last suited up in 2019-20. The 37-year-old has inked a one-year deal with Valerenga, the team announced. Booth last played in the NHL in 2017-18 with the Detroit Red Wings, but has spent five of his past six seasons in Europe after nine years in the NHL to begin his pro career. With over 500 games and 230 points in the NHL to his credit, Booth is still a major addition for Valerenga – or any roster in Norway – despite his age.
  • The WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes are potentially buying low on a 2022 NHL Draft prospect, hoping he can help turn their season around or at least become a core piece down the road. Forward Tristan Zandee has been acquired from the Calgary Hitmen at the meager price of a 2022 fifth-round pick, the Hurricanes announced. Zandee has desirable size at 6’3″ and 200 lbs. but has struggled to score in the WHL with nine points in 21 games in last year’s shortened campaign and only three points through 15 games so far this year. However, that hasn’t stopped some NHL Draft sources from eyeing Zandee as an intriguing prospect given his stature and previous production in the AJHL. Getting a fresh start in Lethbridge, Zandee could find himself with more scoring opportunity and a chance to boost both his development and his draft stock.

Seth Jarvis To Burn First Year Of ELC

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Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour confirmed to reporters today including Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer that Seth Jarvis will play tonight, meaning he will burn the first year of his entry-level contract this season.

Jarvis, as we examined yesterday, is one of a handful of junior-aged players to get a chance at the NHL level this year. Unlike some of the other young forwards who played in the AHL last season though, Jarvis isn’t eligible to go to the minor leagues because he suited up for just nine games. Had he crossed the 20-game threshold like some of his OHL counterparts, he wouldn’t need to return to the WHL at all.

But the WHL–specifically the Portland Winterhawks–is the only other place for Jarvis to go, if the NHL wasn’t going to keep him around. Given how well he played in the AHL during that nine-game stop, and the fact that he has four goals and five points in nine NHL games, it seems unlikely that going back to junior would do anything for the 19-year-old forward.

After tonight, when his ELC officially kicks in, the next question will be whether the Hurricanes play Jarvis for 40 games this season. That would take him a year toward unrestricted free agency, sometimes a threshold that teams consider more important for young players. At any rate, if the team believes he’s one of the 12 forwards that can help them win, it seems likely that the Hurricanes will put him in the lineup. This team has Stanley Cup aspirations and are proving just how dangerous they are with a 14-2 record through the first 16 games.

Snapshots: Islanders, Norlinder, Fix-Wolansky

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The New York Islanders were dealt a tough hand to start the season with a 13-game road trip, but things aren’t exactly looking up with the news that defenseman Ryan Pulock will miss the next four to six weeks with a lower-body injury. The Islanders sit with a 5-6-2 record, and while it’s certainly recoverable, especially considering their track record, they find themselves in an extremely competitive division with seven teams ahead of them. With a defense core that’s looked troubling at times, the team could look to get outside help via the form of a trade. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple says that while the team could put faith into their staff in AHL Bridgeport to help bridge the gap until Pulock’s return, there’s a variety of trade targets they could examine. While D-men who have experience playing on the right side aren’t usually available for trade, he lists Seattle’s Vince Dunn as a potential option who could still prove to pay dividends on the power play once Pulock returns, a role that hasn’t been filled properly since the departure of Devon Toews.

More from around the NHL:

  • Montreal Canadiens prospect Mattias Norlinder is set to make his NHL debut on Thursday. The defenseman is healthy after a preseason injury sidelined him up until the last week, where he spent three games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket on a conditioning stint. The 64th overall pick in 2019 is expected to play on the second pairing alongside veteran David Savard, who’ll give him what should be a reliable defensive partner to open his NHL career.
  • It’s another prospect returning to the lineup as Columbus’ Trey Fix-Wolansky is making his season debut for AHL Cleveland tonight after an eight-month absence. The Hockey Writers’ Mark Scheig notes that the forward had ACL surgery in March. Fix-Wolansky wasn’t picked until the seventh round in 2018, likely due to his 5′ 8″ height, but proceeded to light up the WHL the following season with the Edmonton Oil Kings, scoring 37 goals and 102 points in just 65 games. After having an impressive first professional go-around with Cleveland last year as well, look for Fix-Wolansky to get an NHL look sooner rather than later.

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