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Prospect Notes: Skinner, Morello, Armstrong

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Former pro Brett Skinner has stepped into the role of general manager for the USHL’s Fargo Force, succeeding Cary Eades, who has held the position since 2015. Eades will stay as Fargo’s assistant general manager, while Skinner will continue his duties as Fargo’s head coach.

Eades has a storied career through USA Hockey, serving in various coaching and managerial roles across Minnesota high school, college, and the USHL. He’s spent 15 years with the University of North Dakota, 11 years at Warroad High School, and now nine years with Fargo. He’ll pass the torch to Skinner, who’s found his groove as a coach after a pro career that took him through 12 different pro leagues and spanned 410 career AHL games and one Calder Cup Championship. His championship tendencies followed into his coaching career, with Skinner winning the 2018 USHL championship as an assistant coach with Sioux Falls, then winning the 2023 NAHL championship and 2024 USHL championship as a head coach. He’s proven successful thus far and will now take on even more responsibilities for a Fargo team coming off a 50-10-2 performance last season.

Other notes from around the prospect world:

  • Boston Bruins prospect Jonathan Morello has de-committed from Clarkson University just ahead of the start of the school year and will instead join the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints for the 2024-25 season, the team’s training camp roster confirms. Morello spent the last two seasons with the St. Michael’s Buzzers of the OJHL, posting 97 points in 101 games. That was enough to earn him the 154th-overall selection in the 2024 Draft – and Morello will now look to climb the ranks of Boston’s depth chart with a step up in the juniors hockey world.
  • The Nashville Predators have signed left-winger Easton Armstrong to an amateur try-out and included him on their rookie showcase roster. Armstrong is one of six right-handed wingers on the roster. He’s coming off a long career in the WHL, spanning five seasons and 210 games. He scored 60 goals and 99 points across those appearances, finding a promising edge as a power forward thanks to his six-foot-three, 205-pound frame. Armstrong is an unrestricted free agent after going undrafted through the 2022, 2023, and 2024 draft classes.

CHL Notes: Ritchie, Mrsic, Gardiner, Ekberg

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A blockbuster trade in the Western Hockey League got across the finish line today involving a pair of prospects taken in this year’s draft. The Medicine Hat Tigers have picked up Wild second-rounder Ryder Ritchie from the Prince Albert Raiders, per a team announcement, sending Blues fourth-rounder Tomas Mrsic and draft picks the other way.

Ritchie, who just turned 18 earlier this month, was a consensus late first/early second-round prospect but fell to Minnesota at No. 45. The 6’1″, 176-lb right-winger was the WHL’s Rookie of the Year in 2022-23 and continued to perform well last season without much of a supporting cast in Prince Albert. Injuries limited him to 47 games on the season, but he still showed out with 19 goals, 25 assists, 44 points, and a -1 rating. He closed out the campaign on a high note, scoring four goals and four assists in seven games while winning gold with Canada at the U18 World Juniors. In Medicine Hat, the Calgary native will likely star on a first line centered by 2024 fourth-overall pick Cayden Lindstrom and projected 2026 first-overall selection Gavin McKenna at left wing.

Mrsic isn’t an afterthought in this deal, though. The 6’0″, 170-lb sniper can play all three forward positions and went within his expected range to the Blues at No. 113. He fell just short of a point per game on a strong Tigers team last season, posting 23 goals and 39 assists for 62 points in 63 games – fourth on the team. Both players are likely due for another pair of seasons in juniors before turning pro with their respective NHL clubs in 2026-27.

Some other notable Canadian Hockey League moves today:

  • The Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts continue to be a popular destination for Stars prospects this summer, today acquiring center Brad Gardiner from the Ottawa 67’s for a quartet of draft picks. Gardiner, 19, was a Dallas third-rounder in 2023 and had 49 points in 67 games with the 67’s last season. Barrie selected 2024 Stars first-round pick Emil Hemming in this year’s CHL Import Draft and got him inked to an agreement last month, bringing him over to juniors from his native Finland. A strong season with the Colts will be crucial for Gardiner, who risks becoming a free agent if the Stars don’t sign him by June 1, 2025.
  • The 67’s will replace some of Gardiner’s roles with top 2025 draft-eligible prospect Filip Ekberg, who the team confirmed today has signed a Scholarship and Development Agreement. Ekberg, 17, is a likely late first-round selection in next year’s draft after posting 29 points in 33 games last year in his native Sweden with Almtuna IS’ U20 club. The left winger stands at 5’10” and 168 lbs and won a bronze medal with Sweden at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup earlier this month.

Evening Notes: Jagr, Baertschi, Necas

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Hockey legend Jaromir Jagr has hit a lull in his off-season prep, announcing in an Instagram post that he’s suffered a torn hamstring. He’ll now be out for three-to-six weeks, adding that the injury was likely a result of overtraining, which team physio Pavel Kolar warned him against. In a quote translated from Czech by Derek O’Brien of The Hockey News, Jagr said, “When I talked to the physiotherapist Pavel Kolář about the fact that I would like to properly train, he warned me not to do anything that my body is not used to. Of course, I didn’t listen to him… I went for a run. Not the sprints I used to do uphill, but normally straight. But I put weights on my ankles and tore my hamstring.”

Jagr, a partial owner of Kladno, will now miss the team’s remaining four pre-season games and could be out for the start of the Czech Extraliga season on Sep. 18. Kladno has a game roughly every other day from there on out, eating into Jagr’s goal to play in every Extraliga game this season. The inevitable Hall-of-Fame winger has stayed productive into his 50s, scoring 18 points across his last 31 Extraliga games, dating back to 2022. He’s never shown any reason for doubt, and even through a hamstring injury, he hopes to continue a productive playing career in Kladno as soon as possible.

Other quick notes from around the NHL:

  • Former Vancouver Canucks winger Sven Baertschi has joined the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks as an assistant coach, shares Ryan Pike of Flames Nation. Baertschi spent two years with the Winterhawks in 2010 and 2011, ultimately scoring a dazzling 240 points in 156 games with the club. That was enough to motivate the Calgary Flames to select Baertschi with the 13th overall selection in the 2011 NHL Draft, though he never managed to live up to that precedent. His career year came with Vancouver in 2016-17, when he posted 18 goals and 35 points in 68 games. Baertschi finished his NHL career with 138 points in 292 games, playing in parts of 10 seasons. That’s a hockey career to be proud of – meager scoring or not – and Baertschi will now look to carry his experience back to the juniors team that helmed his early career.
  • Plenty of teams expressed interest in former top trade piece and recent Hurricanes re-signee Martin Necas, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in the latest written 32 Thoughts. Among the interested parties were the Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets, though Necas was ultimately swayed to stay in Carolina thanks to the support of his teammates off the ice. Necas will now look to make the most of his two-year contract after posting 71 and 53 points in the last two seasons, respectively. That’s strong production, and Necas should earn an impressive contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent, pending any collapse over the next two years.

Minor Transactions: 8/23/24

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We’ve seen a trade of note in the NHL today but there has been some transaction activity elsewhere as well.  Here’s a rundown of the ones with an NHL connection.

  • Former Buffalo blueliner Victor Antipin is on the move in the KHL as Barys Astana announced that they’ve signed the 31-year-old to a one-year deal. Antipin played in 47 games with Buffalo back in 2017-18 (notching ten assists while logging 15:17 per night) but elected to return to Russia early in free agency the following year.  Last season, Antipin played in 57 games with Traktor Chelyabinsk, recording 17 points.
  • Jets prospect Markus Loponen has, as expected, signed a contract with WHL Victoria, per a team release. The 18-year-old forward was a fifth-round pick by Winnipeg two months ago, going 155th overall.  Loponen had 25 goals and 29 assists in 45 games last season for Karpat’s under-20 team, resulting in him being picked in the first round of the CHL Import Draft this summer.  Loponen requested and was granted his release by Karpat earlier this week, paving the way for him to join the Royals.
  • Sharks prospect Leo Sahlin Wallenius has been loaned to Nybro in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan, the team announced. The blueliner was the 53rd overall pick back in June following a strong showing in Vaxjo’s junior system.  Sahlin Wallenius had 42 points in 43 regular season games at the Under-20 level while also picking up three assists for Sweden at the World Under-18s in the spring.

Snapshots: Swayman, Brodzinski, Yager

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Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman is at risk of entering September without a contract for the season. But team president and NHL Hall of Famer Cam Neely isn’t bothered by negotiations dragging on. In an appearance on The Rich Shertenlieb Show, Neely said, “Something will get done. There’s no question. I mean, not every negotiation is as smooth as you’d like it. I know our fan base would certainly love to have something done by now. But I’m fully confident that both sides will come to an agreement before too long here.”

Swayman has expressed confidence of his own that a deal will get done – making the ongoing holdout a bit surprising. The Bruins carry $8.64MM in projected cap space, per PuckPedia, and a full roster signed otherwise. That should be plenty of budget to sign Swayman to, at least, a short-term deal – perhaps an indication that contract details like signing bonuses are the impeding factor. Swayman has had a stellar NHL career through three seasons, posting a .919 save percentage in 132 games, but he’s yet to exceed 45 starts in a single season. That’s set to change in a big way with Linus Ullmark now in Ottawa – and if Swayman can withstand the barrage is yet to be seen.

Other notes from around the league:

  • College free agent Bryce Brodzinski has signed a one-year deal with the AHL’s Ontario Reign. The Philadelphia Flyers drafted Brodzinski in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft, but didn’t sign before August 1, 2024 deadline – pushing him into free agency after a five-year career at the University of Minnesota. Brodzisnki scored more-and-more in every season, ultimately posting a career-high 36 points in 39 games this year. He’ll look to continue growing next year, stepping into a competitive Ontario lineup where he’ll battle Los Angeles Kings prospects Martin Chromiak, Koehn Ziemmer, and Kaleb Lawrence for ice time on the wings.
  • The newest top Winnipeg Jets prospect, Brayden Yager, will either play in the NHL or CHL this season Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff shares with The Athletic’s Murat Ates. Yager remains eligible for the NHL-CHL agreement by just four days – keeping him eligible to return to the Moose Jaw Warriors, where he won a WHL championship last season. Yager played a pivotal role in the ring-winning year, scoring a career-high 35 goals and 95 points in 57 regular-season games and 27 points in 20 playoff games. He’s lived up to his 14th-overall standing thus far, and will have now receive a chance to break into the next step as part of a new team.

International Notes: Beaudin, Schmiemann, Zahejsky

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Some notable minor transactions from around the hockey world today as August moves along:

  • Former Senators center J.C. Beaudin will remain overseas this season after signing a one-year deal with Finland’s TPS, per a team announcement. Beaudin, 27, was a third-round pick of the Avalanche back in 2015 but didn’t make his NHL debut until 2019-20 with Ottawa, posting an assist and a -4 rating in 22 games. He spent the following two seasons in the AHL with Belleville and Laval before heading overseas in 2022. He signed with Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the German DEL, where he racked up 22 goals and 48 points in 90 games over the last two seasons.
  • Defenseman Quinn Schmiemann is making his first jump across the pond, as Slovakia’s HC Dukla Trencin announced on Facebook that they’ve signed the 23-year-old to a one-year contract. Schmiemann was a sixth-round pick of the Lightning in 2019 out of WHL Kamloops but never signed, instead beginning his professional career in the Canucks organization on an AHL deal with Abbotsford in 2022. Schmiemann rarely got into the lineup in Abbotsford and was sent back to the Lightning organization at last season’s AHL trade deadline, finishing the season with the Syracuse Crunch. The 6’2″, 201-lb left-shot defender had four goals and 10 assists for 14 points and a +10 rating in 67 AHL games the last two years and will now head to Europe after failing to land an NHL contract.
  • A potential first-round pick in next year’s draft is coming to North America. Czech forward Vit Zahejsky has signed a scholarship and development agreement with WHL Kamloops after they selected him second overall in last month’s CHL Import Draft, the team announced today. Zahejsky is one of the younger players in the 2025 class and doesn’t turn 17 until this weekend. The 5’10”, 170-lb forward spent last season in his native Czechia with HC Karlovy Vary’s U20 club, managing 19 goals and 39 points in 42 games against much older competition. He’s currently representing Czechia at this year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he has a goal and an assist in two games.

Minor Transactions: 8/1/24

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The calendar has flipped to August where transaction activity (at least outside the KHL) will slow down even more.  However, there have been some recent moves with an NHL connection; we’ll run those down here.

  • Edmonton’s AHL affiliate was busy today, signing four players, goaltender Brett Brochu, defensemen Darren Brady and Tyler Inamoto, and forward Alex Swetlikoff. Brochu posted a .920 SV% in 20 ECHL games last season while Brady had 21 points in 50 ECHL contests.  As for Inamoto, he was limited to just 16 games in 2023-24 between the AHL and ECHL due to injury, spending time in Los Angeles’ system.  Swetlikoff spent the last two years in Vegas’ system, primarily in the ECHL but he did have three goals in 19 AHL contests last season.
  • Vancouver’s AHL team in Abbotsford recently made a trio of signings, announcing that they’ve signed forward Cooper Walker to a one-year extension while adding forwards Lee Lapid and Ben Berard on one-year deals. Walker spent most of last season with ECHL Kalamazoo but did get into 13 AHL appearances, picking up a goal.  Lapid also spent the bulk of last year in the ECHL but also spent time in Finland with SaiPa, collecting a pair of tallies in 14 games.  Berard, meanwhile, had a limited role with AHL Texas last season, notching four points in 30 contests.
  • Maple Leafs prospect Miroslav Holinka has committed to WHL Edmonton for the upcoming season, per an announcement from the Oil Kings. The 18-year-old was a fifth-round pick at the draft in June, going 151st overall while he was selected 14th overall in the CHL Import Draft a few days later.  Holinka spent last season in Trinec in Czechia, splitting time between the Extraliga and junior levels.  At the top level, he had three points in 16 games while adding 41 more in 29 junior contests.
  • Originally expected to go to Providence College for the 2025-26 season, Canadiens prospect Logan Sawyer has had a change of heart and will play there next season, relays Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 18-year-old was the 78th overall pick in June after a good showing with Brooks of the AJHL and BCHL (the franchise changed leagues midseason), combining for 78 points in 59 games.

USA Hockey, Hockey Canada Announce Hlinka Gretzky Cup Rosters

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USA Hockey and Hockey Canada have both announced their rosters for the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, officially revealing all eight rosters for the upcoming tournament, which is set to begin on August 5th in Edmonton. The event will also feature Czechia, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Team Canada, per Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff, is led by star-studded prospects Matthew Schaefer, Cole Reschny, Liam Kilfoil, Caleb Desnoyers, and Gavin McKenna. The group of future top draft names is flanked by a strong supporting cast, including stalwart starting goaltender Jack Ivankovic. They seem poised to push for yet another gold medal, after winning gold in each of the last two tournaments.

Meanwhile, Team USA will put their faith in premier forwards Jesse Orlowsky, Cooper Simpson, Nicolas Sykora, and Ben Kevan – though the team is backed by a defense and goaltending group fighting more to show their worth on the top stage. Both the defense and goaltenders face a competition for minutes – with Blake Fiddler and Carter Casey seemingly best positioned to lead the respective positions. Team USA doesn’t carry the same breakaway talent of Team Canada, though they do have the gift of a flexible lineup, which could prove very advantageous in the U18 tourney.

The full rosters are:

Team USA

F – Alexander Donovan (Shattuck, USHS); Travis Hayes (Soo, OHL); Chase Jette (B.K. Selects, AAA); Sam Kappell (Madison, USHL); Ben Kevan (Des Moines, USHL); Matthew Lansing (Waterloo, USHL); Mason Moe (Eden Prairie High, USHS); Teddy Mutryn (St. Sebastian’s, USHS); Jesse Orlowsky (Waterloo, USHL); Cooper Simpson (Tri-City, USHL); Sam Spehar (Sioux Falls Power, AAA); Kade Stengrim (Brainerd High, USHS); Nicolas Sykora (Omaha, USHL)

D – Tommy Bleyl (Dubuque, USHL); Edison Engle (Des Moines, USHL); Blake Fiddler (Edmonton, WHL); Matt Grimes (Sioux Falls, USHL); Cullen McCrate (Dubuque, USHL); Carter Murphy (Youngstown, USHL); Jacob Rombach (Lincoln, USHL)

G – Ryan Cameron (Long Island, AAA); Carter Casey (Grand Rapids, USHS); Charles Menard (Culver Academy, USHS)

Team Canada

F – Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat, WHL); Jake O’Brien (Brantford, OHL); Brady Martin (Sault St. Marie, OHL); Émile Guité (Chicoutimi, QMJHL); Tyler Hopkins (Kingston, OHL); Cole Reschny (Victoria, WHL); Ethan Czata (Niagara, OHL); Benjamin Kindel (Calgary, WHL); Cameron Schmidt (Vancouver, WHL); Liam Kilfoil (Halifax, QMJHL); Luca Romano (Kitchener, OHL); Caleb Desnoyers (Moncton, QMJHL); Braden Cootes (Seattle, WHL)

D – Jackson Smith (Tri-City, WHL); Peyton Kettles (Swift Current, WHL); Matthew Schaefer (Erie, OHL); Reese Hamilton (Calgary, WHL); Quinn Beauchesne (Guelph, OHL); Alex Huang (Chicoutimi, QMJHL); Cameron Reid (Kitchener, OHL)

G – Jack Ivankovic (Brampton, OHL); Lucas Beckman (Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)

Prospect Notes: Hemming, Berggren, Willander, Dragicevic

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Dallas Stars 2024 first-round pick Emil Hemming has signed with the OHL’s Barrie Colts for the 2024-25 season. Hemming will forgo the final year of his three-year contract with Liiga’s TPS, where he’s played the past two seasons. Much of his 2022-23 campaign was spent on the TPS U20 roster – with Hemming potting 16 points in 22 games. He returned to the U20 lineup at the start of last season, though quickly earned a promotion to the Liiga after scoring 11 goals and 18 points in the first 13 games of the U20 season.

Hemming took the move to Finland’s top flight in stride, showing off just how physically mature his heavy, shoot-first style was. He only managed 11 points in 40 league games but showed plenty of growth as the year progressed, becoming much more confident in the defensive zone and more aggressive on offense. He curbed a meager two-point performance at the World Juniors with six points in five games at the World U18 Championships, continuing to show his strides as the season went along. All of that was enough to earn Hemming the 29th overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, coupling him with a Stars team that’s quickly become known for finding draft-day steals. Hemming has shown he’s sturdy enough to play at a pro level and will now join Utah prospect Cole Beaudoin and Edmonton prospect Beau Akey as some of the many heavy and physical options in Barrie.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Jonatan Berggren is a bit buried down the Detroit Red Wings depth charts, but Max Bultman of The Athletic says he isn’t expecting Berggren to be traded. Instead, Bultman posits the benefits of a role reminiscent of Daniel Sprong’s role: operating on the team’s third line but still managing consistent power-play minutes. Berggren led the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins in scoring last season, netting 24 goals and 56 points. He’s also scored a commendable 17 goals and 34 points in 79 NHL games over the last two years. He’ll now have a golden chance to secure a consistent NHL role, with Sprong headed to the Vancouver Canucks on a one-year contract.
  • Vancouver Canucks defense prospect Tom Willander has suffered a minor lower-body injury and won’t play at the World Junior Summer Showcase, shares Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK Sports. Willander was a surprising choice at 11th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, though he showed top-prospect upside during his freshman year at Boston University. Willander scored 25 points in 38 games, ranking second among Terrier defensemen. With injury now holding him out of Team Sweden’s summer games, Willander will shift his focus towards a breakout sophomore season at BU, where he’ll get a full run towards the top-defender role after Lane Hutson signed his entry-level contract.
  • Seattle Kraken defense prospect Lukas Dragicevic has seen his WHL rights traded from the Tri-City Americans to the Price Albert Raiders as part of a massive, seven-asset trade. Dragicevic signed his entry-level contract with Seattle in March after Tri-City missed out on the WHL playoffs. He finished the year with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, recording one assist through his first three AHL games. Prince Albert paid a hefty price for Dragicevic, suggesting that he could be set for a return to the CHL after getting a quick taste of the pros.  If that is the case, he’ll return looking to rediscover his strong scoring touch after recording 25 fewer points this season (50) than he did in 2022-23 (75).

Penguins Sign Brayden Yager To Entry-Level Contract

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed 2023 first-round pick Brayden Yager to his entry-level contract. Contract details have not yet been released. This move will likely turn Yager pro after a successful four-year career with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors. He was one of many offensive stars on the Warriors lineup, flanked by players like Jagger Firkus, Denton Mateychyuk, and, this season, Matthew Savoie. Moose Jaw vindicated such a talented lineup with a WHL championship this year, though they fell to third place in the 2024 Memorial Cup. Yager was a crucial piece all year long, tallying 35 goals and 95 points across 57 regular season games, and 27 points in 20 playoff games.

The season was a fantastic encore to Yager’s draft-year performance in 2022-23, when he managed 78 points in 67 games on a, relatively, weaker Moose Jaw lineup. He showed all of the makings of a top prospect, and even earned top-10 and top-five hype from some public sources. He earned the attention with some fantastic playmaking abilities, showing a special ability to orchestrate play even at top speeds. But a lanky six-foot, 170-pound frame had some teams apprehensive come draft day, ultimately pushing Yager to 14th overall.

Only four players selected above Yager have made their NHL debuts – Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli, and Zach Benson – and they’ve each quickly carved out lineup roles. Yager will have the chance to do the same in Pittsburgh’s training camp, and could even wind up an X-factor for an aging Penguins core. But he seems more likely set for a trip to the AHL first, where he could join Moose Jaw teammate Atley Calvert, as well as Tristan Broz and Owen Pickering, as a top prospect fighting for minutes.

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