Kraken Sign Tyson Jugnauth To Entry-Level Contract
The Seattle Kraken have signed 2022 fourth-round pick Tyson Jugnauth to a three-year, entry-level contract. Jugnauth recently concluded his second season with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. He was expected to move to Michigan State University this summer, but will instead turn pro in the Kraken organization with this deal.
Jugnauth took home the BCHL’s ‘Top Defender’ award in his draft year of 2021-22, after posting 41 assists and 50 points in 52 games with the West Kelowna Warriors. He showed plenty of talent as a 200-foot playmaker, and carried his talents to the University of Wisconsin following his #100th-overall selection in the draft. The Badgers awarded Jugnauth with third-pairing minutes as a freshman and the dwindle in role seemed to impact him. He recorded a measly 15 points and minus-20 through 32 games. Those underclass struggles continued through 13 games of his sophomore season, marked by just two points in his first 13 games. That decrease sparked Jugnauth to make a rare mid-season move from college to the WHL.
That decision paid off almost instantly – as Jugnauth quickly rediscovered his two-way impact and won out a premier lineup role in the return to juniors. He recorded 41 points and a plus-40 through 41 games of his first WHL season, while backing lineup stars like Nate Danielson and Luca Cagnoni. Jugnauth took on a heap of responsibility when both players opted to turn pro last summer – and he matched the bill well. He scored 13 goals and 89 points in 65 games this season, good for second on Portland in scoring and enough to earn Jugnauth the WHL’s ‘Defenseman of the Year’ award.
Jugnauth will now try to use the momentum of an award-winning year to ramp his jump to the pro flight. He’s a nimble, speedy, and deceptive defender with the awareness to make smart plays on both sides of the puck. But a 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame could be a bit frail for the AHL – and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Jugnauth take a bit before he’s fully adjusted to pros. Current NCAA bylaws would restrict his ability to continue on to college this summer – though his eligibility will be worth monitoring as the NHL continues to flesh out a budding relationship between the CHL and college hockey.
West Notes: Nurse, Hintz, Connelly, Wakely
According to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety isn’t expected to bestow supplemental discipline to Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse for slashing Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final. Nurse was assessed a minor penalty on the play.
The news is disconcerting for a few reasons. The penalty was retaliatory, and Hintz was visibly injured after the play. Not only did Hintz leave Game 2 early in the third period, but it’s unknown if he’ll play in Games 3 or 4.
According to independent writer Robert Tiffin, Dallas head coach Peter DeBoer was noncommittal when asked if Hintz would travel with the team to Edmonton. Hintz’s absence would likely prove a major loss for the Stars, as he’s scored five goals and 11 points in their 15 postseason contests this year.
Other notes from the Western Conference:
- One of the Vegas Golden Knights’ top prospects is on the move in the WHL. The new Penticton Vees selected Trevor Connelly from the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL Expansion Draft and will own his rights for the foreseeable future. It won’t matter much, however. Connelly played for the NCAA’s Providence College last season before signing his entry-level contract on the first day of April. Since he will not be returning to the NCAA, it is highly unlikely that Connelly will move back to the Canadian major junior leagues anytime soon.
- Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reported that Oilers prospect Dalyn Wakely has secured a school in the NCAA. He’ll join the University of Massachusetts-Lowell after spending one year with the OHL’s Barrie Colts. The former 2024 sixth-round pick scored 23 goals and 58 points in 55 games for the Colts this past season.
Snapshots: Ylönen, Lipinski, Concussion Protocol
Former Montreal Canadiens winger Jesse Ylönen is reportedly considering signing a deal in the SHL this summer, per Johan Svensson of Swedish news site Expressen (subscription required). Svensson didn’t specify what club the Finnish wing could be headed to. Nonetheless, the potential for a move seems high after Ylönen spent a full season in the AHL for the first time in his four-year career in North America. His minor-league stint was split between the Syracuse Crunch and Milwaukee Admirals, sparked by a late-February trade that swapped Ylönen and fellow minor-leaguer Anthony Angello.
Ylönen was slightly less productive in the Midwest – netting 14 points in 26 games for Milwaukee, including playoffs, after totaling 25 points in 47 games with Syracuse. The full-year total of 39 points in 73 games is far below the scoring pace Ylönen managed through his first two seasons in the AHL in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He spent both seasons with Montreal’s AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, and scored 36 points in 52 games and 32 points in 39 games respectively. That latter hot streak earned Ylönen his NHL rookie year during the 2022-23 season – and he managed a modest 16 points in 37 games to show for it. Montreal responded to positive numbers by keeping Ylönen all the lineup for the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign – but the upside bet didn’t pan out. Ylönen managed just eight points in 59 NHL games last season, and landed in the Lightning organization after Montreal declined a qualifying offer at the start of last summer.
Ylönen could be a proper match in Sweden. He grew up in Finland’s youth hockey program and played pro games in each of the country’s top two leagues. That includes totaling a combined 56 points in 127 games across three seasons in the Liiga, before he came over to North America. The SHL has certainly risen above its peers this season, but Ylönen could be well equipped for the challenge after finding, and then losing, his scoring touch in the NHL and AHL.
Other quick notes from around the league:
- Calgary Flames prospect Jaden Lipinski is headed to the University of Maine next season, per the club’s Instagram. Lipinski will be one of the very few NCAA players with pro hockey experience – after playing one game at the end of the 2023-24 season, and two games this season, in the AHL. He recorded no notable stat changes. Lipinski is still eligible to attend college because all three games were played on an amateur try-out with the Calgary Wranglers, which kept him from earning any compensation for the matchups. NCAA revokes collegiate eligibility once players accept payment, or promise of payment, from a pro sports league. Since he didn’t, Lipinski will enter the league as a junior player who played up one year, akin to Vancouver Canucks prospect Tom Willander, who played two SHL games before joining Boston University last season. The Maine Black Bears will get a hardy addition with this news. Lipinski scored 58 points in 59 WHL games this season, and seemed to improve his ability to play physical and productive hockey. Those are the hallmarks of Maine’s style, and should create a golden stage for the Flames prospect to continue growing.
- NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly shared that the league is satisfied with how the concussion protocol has performed this season in an interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Daly shared that the league has embedded due diligence into the process, even when players don’t formally enter the protocol. He shared that, with an additional layer of consideration, he feels the league has been able to properly answer any open questions about the process. Rates of concussions have risen and fallen in the NHL over time, but concerns around long-term effects of head injuries continues to ring louder. News site NPR published an op-ed on the link between lengthy hockey careers and CTE in December, sparking newfound debate over the effectiveness of the NHL’s concussion spotting.
Lightning Sign Harrison Meneghin To Entry-Level Contract
The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed goaltender Harrison Meneghin to a three-year, entry-level contract. Meneghin won the WHL Championship with the Medicine Hat Tigers just days ago. He was awarded the WHL Playoffs MVP for his 14-1-0 record and .906 save percentage through the postseason.
Meneghin becomes just the third player from the seventh-round, and the fourth goalie overall, to sign his entry-level contract after the 2024 NHL Draft. He was originally drafted out of the Lethbridge Hurricanes lineup, where he posted a 27-20-5 record and .919 Sv% last season. Meneghin seemed headed back to Lethbridge’s starting role this season, but was instead traded to the goalie-needy Medicine Hat just one game into the year. He quickly became the Tigers’ de facto starter, and continued to perform at a top-level behind an all-gas, no-breaks lineup. Meneghin finished this season with a 23-9-2 record, .901 Sv%, and three shutouts in 35 games. He shined through as an athletic and technical goalie, who leans into the advantage of a six-foot-four frame.
Meneghin will have one more chance to flash his potential before his CHL career ends. The Medicine Hat Tigers are headed to the Memorial Cup this weekend, where they face off against the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic and Moncton Wildcats. But even if his season ends on a sour note, Tampa Bay has recognized Meneghin’s title-winning year. He’ll join the Lightning’s minor-league ranks next season, and likely compete with Brandon Halverson for minutes. Halverson posted a 22-11-8 record and .915 Sv% in 43 games as Syracuse’s starter this season and is signed for one more year.
Kraken Expected To Sign Tyson Jugnauth
It appears that one of Seattle’s prospects has changed his development plan. After previously committing to Michigan State, Nathaniel Bott of the Lansing State Journal and Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek report (Twitter links) that defenseman Tyson Jugnauth won’t return to college and will instead sign with the Kraken.
The 21-year-old actually spent parts of two seasons at the University of Wisconsin but elected to move to the WHL early in the 2023-24 season, joining Portland. After notching just two assists in 13 games with the Badgers, he was a point-per-game player with the Winterhawks in 41 outings while adding 16 points in 18 postseason contests.
As it turned out, Jugnauth had a new level to get to offensively. He potted 13 goals and 76 assists in 65 games, finishing 13th in WHL scoring while leading all blueliners. He found yet another gear in the playoffs, picking up four goals and 29 assists in just 18 games, good for a share of fourth in WHL postseason scoring while once again leading all defenders.
Not surprisingly, that performance earned him WHL Defenseman of the Year honors. With how things went, it’s not surprising that Jugnauth will now be seeking a new challenge by turning pro rather than returning to college to finish up his eligibility. Assuming he ultimately puts pen to paper on a contract, he’ll likely begin next season with AHL Coachella Valley.
Metropolitan Notes: Jankowski, Lindstrom, Lindberg, Karpa
Although Hurricanes center Mark Jankowski skated again today, team reporters Walt Ruff and Peter Dewar relay that Jankowski is listed as doubtful for tonight’s third game against Washington. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour indicated yesterday that the 30-year-old is close to returning so he shouldn’t be out for too much longer. Jankowski suffered an undisclosed injury in the opening game of the series. Acquired at the trade deadline from Nashville, he wound up providing them with some quality depth scoring as he had eight goals in just 19 games following the swap while he has an assist in three playoff contests so far.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Friday was a big night for Blue Jackets prospect Cayden Lindstrom as the 2024 fourth-overall selection made his 2024-25 debut in the WHL Final, recording an assist in the first minute of the game. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that he spent most of his rehab with Columbus, skating with them from February through early April before returning to Medicine Hat to work with his junior club. After missing the entirety of the season until yesterday due to back surgery, Lindstrom wound up going 399 days between games.
- Penguins RFA goaltender Filip Lindberg has signed a one-year deal with Assat in Finland, per a team release. The 26-year-old spent two seasons in Pittsburgh’s system with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before opting to return home in 2023. This season, Lindberg split time between HFK and Tappara, putting up a 2.43 GAA and a .908 SV% in 26 regular season games. The Penguins will hold his rights until June 30, 2026.
- The Rangers’ farm team in Hartford recently announced the signing of center Zakary Karpa to a one-year deal for next season. The 23-year-old spent the last four years at Harvard but production was hard to come by. Karpa played in 33 games this season for the Crimson, collecting a goal and six assists. In 117 games over his four-year collegiate career, he had 16 goals and 19 assists.
Jets Recall Brayden Yager From WHL
The Winnipeg Jets have assigned top prospect Brayden Yager to the NHL roster after the end of his season with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes. Yager will join the club ahead of a potential series-clinching Game 6. He finished the WHL playoffs with eight goals and 14 points in 16 games.
Winnipeg acquired Yager in a one-for-one swap that sent Rutger McGroarty back to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The move helped keep the Saskatoon native in western Canada, after growing up in Martensville and spending the last five seasons in the WHL. Yager was drafted 14th-overall in the 2023 NHL Draft by Pittsburgh, following a dazzling age-18 season with the Moose Jaw Warriors. He scored 28 goals and 78 points in 67 games of his draft-eligible campaign, and earned a confident hold over Moose Jaw’s top center role. Yager has continued to match that mark in the years since, with 95 points in 57 games last year and a combined 82 points in 54 games this season – split between Moose Jaw and Lethbridge. He has also been a dominant force for Canada internationally, scoring five points in five games at the 2024 World Juniors and returning to captain the lineup and net three assists in five games this year.
Yager is a playmaker through-and-through, with strong control over the middle lane and an impressive ability to keep his poise at top speeds. He has a slight frame – six-foot tall and 170-pounds – that’s worried some scouts in the past. But the right-shot centerman has shown a consistent ability to play above his size and bully his way into the dirty areas of the ice. It’s unlikely that he sees any NHL action in the coming days, though a first-round could have Winnipeg excited to test their top man in round two.
Senators Recall Twelve Players
With the Senators in the playoffs and their farm team in Belleville not making the playoffs, Ottawa has determined which players will be joining the team as their Black Aces. The team announced (Twitter link) that forwards Zack MacEwen, Angus Crookshank, Stephen Halliday, Cole Reinhardt, Jan Jenik, Tyler Boucher, Garrett Pilon, and Wyatt Bongiovanni, along with defenseman Donovan Sebrango and goaltender Mads Sogaard have all been recalled from Belleville.
In addition, the Sens have also recalled two players from the major junior ranks. Defenseman Carter Yakemchuk was brought up from WHL Calgary while blueliner Tomas Hamara was recalled from OHL Brantford.
Among the recalls, MacEwen saw the most game action with Ottawa this season, playing in 21 games where he had three points and 49 hits in a little under eight minutes a night of action. Reinhardt had two points in 17 outings while Crookshank had an assist in eight contests. Jenik, Sebrango, and Sogaard all got into a pair of games and were held off the scoresheet while Sogaard allowed eight goals on just 40 shots.
Looking at the AHL recalls who didn’t play with Ottawa this season, Halliday and Pilon were Belleville’s top scorers, checking in with 51 and 48 points, respectively. Meanwhile, Bongiovanni tied Crookshank for the team lead in goals with 22. Boucher, meanwhile, had just 10 points in 47 games this season, not a great showing for the tenth overall pick from 2021.
Yakemchuk very briefly made Ottawa’s roster out of training camp before being sent back without playing a game. He was the seventh pick in last year’s draft and had a solid year with the Hitmen, picking up 49 points in 56 games. As for Hamara, he also checked in just below the point-per-game mark with the Bulldogs, notching 55 in 58 appearances.
These recalls could be short-lived, however. Ottawa is down 3-0 in their opening round series against Toronto so the series could be over as soon as tonight. But regardless of how long their postseason push lasts, the Sens now have their extra skaters in place.
Snapshots: Protas, DeMelo, Lightning, Miettinen
5:30 PM: Protas will not play in Game 3 on Friday, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. He will target a Game 4 return, while the Capitals will continue forward with Taylor Raddysh in the lineup.
4:00 PM: The Washington Capitals could be in store for a major addition to their postseason lineup, as top forward Aliaksei Protas continues to work his way back from a foot injury. Protas returned to full-contact practice on Friday morning and could step back into the lineup in Game 3, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News. He has missed Washington’s last eight games after being cut by a skate on April 4th.
Protas was on the tail end of a loud breakout season at the time of his injury. He ranked third on the Capitals in scoring at the time, with 30 goals and 66 points in 75 games. He’s confidently lapped the six goals and 29 points he scored in 78 games last season. That rise in scoring has been largely helped along by Protas’ shooting percentage rising from 5.3 percent to 21.1 percent this season. But despite the inflated shooting percentage, Protas looked perfectly at home in the Capitals’ top-six and should return to a major role as soon as he’s back to full health. Protas recorded two assists in four playoff games last season – and will look to carry his booming shooting percentage into must-win games.
Other quick notes from around the league:
- It has been revealed that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo missed Game 3 due to illness per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Jets were bullied by the St. Louis Blues in DeMelo’s absence, dropping their first game of the postseason with a 7-3 loss. DeMelo was a major part of the Jets gameplan through Game 1 and 2. He averaged over 20 minutes of ice time between the two games and recorded one assist and a plus-two. DeMelo appeared in all 82 games of the Jets’ regular season. He scored 19 points and averaged 21:31 in ice time. Veteran defenseman Colin Miller stepped into the lineup for DeMelo and recorded one assist. But the Jets weren’t able to make up for the booming physical presence DeMelo brings. They’ll hope for a quick return to health before Game 4 on Sunday.
- Tampa Bay Lightning fans can breathe a sigh of relief after head coach Jon Cooper shared that both Yanni Gourde and Anthony Cirelli are expected to stay in the lineup, per NHL.com’s Benjamin Pierce. Both players missed Friday morning’s practice for undisclosed reasons. Neither player has found any scoring through two playoff games so far, though they’ve continued to serve physical roles from the team’s second-line. The band could be without their third in Tampa Bay’s next matchup, with left-winger Brandon Hagel facing a suspension after a dirty hit on Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.
- Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen has signed an amateur try-out with the Coachella Valley Firebirds for the remainder of the season per the AHL Transactions Log. Miettinen sustained a lower-body injury at the World Junior Championship that held him out of a handful of games. Even through the injury, he managed a strong 11 goals and 39 points in 36 WHL game this season – a 0.06 point-per-game increase over his 67 points in 66 games last season. The six-foot-three Finn will bring a boost of heft and instinctive offense to the Firebirds lineup as they prepare for a series against the Calgary Wranglers.
Canadiens Sign Tyler Thorpe To Three-Year Contract
1:00 p.m.: According to PuckPedia, Thorpe’s entry-level contract breaks down as follows:
- Year 1: $775K salary, $97.5K signing bonus, $102.5K unspecified games played bonus
- Year 2: $775K salary, $97.5K signing bonus, $102.5K unspecified games played bonus
- Year 3: $775K salary, $85K signing bonus
9:47 a.m.: The Montreal Canadiens have signed 2024 fifth-round pick Tyler Thorpe to a three-year, entry-level contract. Thorpe has also signed an AHL professional try-out agreement with the Laval Rocket for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Laval has five regular season games, and likely a hardy playoff run, remaining in their year.
Thorpe has spent the last three seasons with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants, where he’s grown from a menial bottom-six power-forward to a top-six scorer. He managed 27 goals and 52 points in 68 games this season, good for third on the team in goals and fifth in scoring among forwards. The performance was a slight downtick in point-per-game scoring from Thorpe’s 23 goals and 44 points in 51 games last season. It was on the heels of that performance that Montreal chose to draft Thorpe in the midrounds – no doubt allured by his six-foot-five, 215-pound frame.
Thorpe does it all in his hefty frame – capable of filling a strong role in front of the net, beating opponents with a heavy shot, or throwing his body around in the corners. He’s grown substantially in his ability to move around in his big frame, a direct contributor to his growth from just six points as a rookie to 44 last year, and then to 52 this season. Thorpe’s finding new ways to make an impact in all three zones, and should enter the pro flight with a projectable style thanks to his size advantage. He’ll find comfort in his abilities to control the netfront, but Montreal will surely watch for his hard shot to reach a pro level.
With this move, Thorpe becomes the third 2024 fifth-round pick to sign their entry-level deals, behind Utah’s Owen Allard and Edmonton’s Connor Clattenburg.