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Team Canada

Snapshots: Hlinka Gretzky, Kolesar, Kadri

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The Hlinka Gretzky Cup concluded tonight with Team Canada defeating Team Sweden 4-1 to take first place and the gold medal. As impressive as a gold medal is, saying just that wouldn’t begin to tell the entire story for Canada’s 2022 Hlinka Gretzky run. For one, the team was undefeated throughout the tournament, and in the process they outscored opponents by a jaw-dropping 34-3 score. In addition to the dominant performance, the Canadians were able to show their dominance on home ice, as the tournament was hosted in Red Deer, Alberta.

Denver Barkey of the London Knights was named the most outstanding player of the gold medal game, while Oshawa Generals forward Calum Ritchie led the tournament in scoring. In net, Canada’s Scott Ratzlaff had the best performance ever by a Canadian goalie in the tournament with three or more games played, as far as goals-against average and save-percentage are concerned, says Brock Otten of McKeens Hockey (link). Otten adds that while most of the top Canadian prospects in the 2005 class held their standard, Ethan Gauthier, Colby Barlow, and Caden Price were able to elevate their game, and thus their standing as prospects (link).

  • SinBin Vegas’s Ken Boehlke discusses Keegan Kolesar’s new three-year, $1.5MM AAV contract he signed recently to avoid arbitration with the Vegas Golden Knights (link). In sum, Boehlke classifies the contract as a win-win for both sides, Vegas getting a cost-controlled fourth-liner and Kolesar getting $4.5MM guaranteed despite not scoring much at the NHL level. What is notable Boehlke says, is that Kolesar’s lack of scoring (just seven goals in 77 games last season) could correlate to his below-average 7.4% shooting percentage and if he can at the least improve his shooting percentage to league average, he could increase his goal total, making him worth a good bit more than the $1.5MM cap hit he currently holds. Even if not, Kolesar has proven himself to be a reliable grinder for the Golden Knights’ bottom-six and at $1.5MM still represents a good value deal for the normally cap-strapped organization.
  • According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, it appears free agent forward Nazem Kadri’s asking price has not come down and the requested AAV still begins with at least a “9” (link). If that is indeed the case, it may provide a hint as to why Kadri remains unsigned, with many teams having spent up to or relatively close to the salary cap. Several teams have the room to sign Kadri, but if he is also looking to go to a team that has a real chance at a Stanley Cup, his options may be slim. Soon-to-be 32, if Kadri is able to regularly repeat his breakout 87 point performance from this season, a $9MM AAV contract would be worth it for the two-way star, but otherwise it could wind up a salary cap issue, even if he’s still a solid performer.

Canada Names Roster For The 2022 World Juniors

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With the tournament now a little more than a week away, Hockey Canada is the latest to reveal its roster for the upcoming World Juniors.  Their team is as follows:

Goalies

Brett Brochu
Sebastian Cossa (DET)
Dylan Garand (NYR)

Defense

Lukas Cormier (VGK)
Daemon Hunt (MIN)
Carson Lambos (MIN)
Ryan O’Rourke (MIN)
Donovan Sebrango (DET)
Ronan Seeley (CAR)
Jack Thompson (TB)
Olen Zellweger (ANA)

Forwards

Connor Bedard
Will Cuylle (NYR)
Elliot Desnoyers (PHI)
William Dufour (NYI)
Tyson Foerster (PHI)
Nathan Gaucher (ANA)
Ridly Greig (OTT)
Kent Johnson (CBJ)
Riley Kidney (MTL)
Mason McTavish (ANA)
Zack Ostapchuk (OTT)
Brennan Othmann (NYR)
Joshua Roy (MTL)
Logan Stankoven (DAL)

As is the case with other countries, there are some notable absentees from Canada’s squad.  On the back end, Owen Power and Kaiden Guhle aren’t returning while up front, Cole Perfetti, Jake Neighbours, and Shane Wright are among the seven forwards that won’t be back after playing briefly in the original tournament last December.

However, there are still some notable players to watch for.  Johnson and McTavish both got their feet wet in the NHL last season while Bedard is widely expected to be the first-overall selection in 2023.  He had four goals in two games before the tournament was canceled.  On the back end, there are six returnees while Canada’s goalie tandem from the December tourney remains intact.

The tournament will run from August 9th through the 20th with pre-tournament games getting underway later this week.

West Notes: Kaprizov, Keith, Jets Prospects

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Concerns continue to rise about the availability of Russian players to NHL teams next season. One player who’s come into focus today due to a variety of conflicting reports is Kirill Kaprizov, who Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin confirmed today is still in Russia despite rumors stating he had returned to the United States. In response to reports this morning that Kaprizov is currently wanted in Russia for buying a false military ID card five years ago, Guerin said the following:

We’re not going to push the panic button or anything like that. We’re just trying to gather information right now and find out if this is even credible.

Kaprizov is one of the multiple players whose situations are in limbo, exacerbated by the fact their KHL rights are held by CSKA Moscow, a Russian army-owned team. Russo notes that in the past, CSKA players have been exempt from military service, but this is an informal and non-codified rule. In addition, Kaprizov’s exemption from mandatory military service via a studentship in a Russian organization expired at the end of June. Very little is confirmed about the situation, but it’s a significant development that bears watching over the course of the offseason as it pertains to Kaprizov’s availability to the Wild next season.

  • The Edmonton Oilers will get some clarity soon on the playing future of defenseman Duncan Keith, who could potentially decide to retire with one season remaining on his contract carrying a $5.54MM cap hit. General manager Ken Holland noted that he’d spoken to Keith twice in the past few weeks and that he’s requested an answer by this Saturday. That gives the Oilers a brief window of time ahead of free agency to work out replacement plans for Keith if he retires. The 38-year-old defenseman would not inflict a cap penalty on the Oilers if he opts to call it a career.
  • Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff gave injury updates today on a pair of important Jets prospects. Cole Perfetti, who suffered an upper-body injury in mid-February, has just started skating again and is not cleared to participate in the 2022 World Junior Championship for Team Canada. Additionally, 2021 first-rounder Chaz Lucius, who underwent ankle surgery after suffering a late-season injury with the University of Minnesota, won’t participate for the United States.

Finland Wins 2022 IIHF World Championship

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After an exciting Gold Medal game that saw Finland and Canada battle into overtime, Team Finland was able to pull away with the win and the Gold Medal on home ice at this year’s IIHF World Championship. Forward Sakari Manninen scored the golden goal winner on the powerplay in the first overtime period. Finland’s victory was not without drama, however, as several officiating decisions were called into question, chief among them was an apparent phantom high-sticking penalty on Team Canada’s Cole Sillinger in the third period. After the call on Sillinger, Finland was put on a 5-on-3 powerplay, where they would score twice, taking a 3-1 lead. Canada would come back however, tying the game at three and forcing overtime.

Goaltender Jussi Olkinuora of Finalnd was named the tournament’s MVP following the game. The entire Tournament All Star Team, as selected by the media, includes: Olkinuora (G, FIN), Seth Jones (D, USA), Mikko Lehtonen (D, FIN), Pierre-Luc Dubois (F, CAN), Roman Cervenka (F, CZE), and Manninen (F, FIN).

Also medaling was team Czechia, who took Bronze, defeating the United States handedly earlier today 8-4, highlighted by a David Pastrnak hat trick. Leading the way for Czechia, and the entire tournament, was Cervenka, who’s 17 points lead the entire tournament.

Several high-profile prospects in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft also represented their countries in the tournament, most notably Austria’s Marco Kasper, Czechia’s David Jiricek, and a haul of prospect talent from Slovakia, including Simon Nemec, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Adam Sykora. Perhaps the most standout among them was Slafkovsky, a projected top pick in the draft, who continued his Olympic dominance into the IIHF tournament, where he posted nine points over eight games, an impressive mark for an 18-year-old playing amongst men, many of whom are NHL veterans.

Another milestone was notched with Finland securing Gold, as Valtteri Filppula became the first Finnish player to join the triple-Gold club, including a Stanley Cup, an Olympic Gold Medal, and an IIHF World Championship Gold Medal.

Mathew Barzal To Play At World Championship

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The New York Islanders don’t have any playoff games to suit up for this year, so one of their young stars will get a chance to represent his country for the first time in a while. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Mathew Barzal will suit up for Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF World Championship, held later this month in Finland.

Barzal, 24, participated in the event in 2018 after his outstanding rookie season, and actually had seven assists for Canada in ten games. Before that, he’d taken up medals at both the U20 and U18 World Juniors, but neither one was gold. Barzal has only reached that level at the Hlinka-Gretzky, quite a few years ago now.

One of the most enigmatic players in the league, there’s no doubt that Barzal’s skill level is among the best in the world. But the results have been middling after that 85-point rookie season, which earned him the Calder Trophy. He hasn’t hit 20 goals in the four years since, and had just 59 points in 73 games this season for an Islanders team that struggled right from the beginning of the season.

While he still is an obvious leader on the team, Barzal’s name is starting to come up a bit because of his contract situation. Signed only through next season and a restricted free agent for the final time in the summer of 2023, the Islanders could sign him to a long-term extension as soon as this summer. His performance at these Worlds won’t change things one way or the other, but decision time is coming for Lou Lamoriello and the rest of the front office at some point.

Canada will likely release the full roster in the coming days, as the tournament kicks off just a week from now. They’ll take on Germany on May 13.

Scott Smith To Become Hockey Canada CEO

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Tom Renney has officially announced his upcoming retirement from Hockey Canada, stepping down from his position as CEO on July 1. Renney, who has been in the position for the past eight years, released a lengthy statement that read, in part:

This is a decision I have been preparing for over the past year and while it is never easy, I know the time is right and I am grateful for the past eight years. I am appreciative of the opportunity that was afforded to me by past board chair, Jim Hornell, to lead this organization as its president and CEO. To our Hockey Canada directors past and present, chair Michael Brind’Amour, the volunteers and our incredible staff, I thank you for your dedication, commitment and support of our great game. I thank the people I have met through this game who have all made a positive and lasting impact in my life.

Renney, 67, will be replaced by Scott Smith, who had already taken over as president of the organization in 2017 when Renney stepped down from that role. Though he had been CEO for eight years, it was much longer than that as part of Hockey Canada for Renney, who was the head coach of the 1994 Olympic team which won a silver medal. Head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and Edmonton Oilers for various periods, he also helped lead Canada to multiple World Championship, World Junior, and Spengler Cup medals.

Smith, meanwhile, will add CEO to his title of president and become the leader of the entire organization. He has been with Hockey Canada since 1995 and was named COO in 2007. Michael Brind’Amour, chair of the board of directors, released the following statement:

There is no question Scott is ready to embrace this change, with his expertise and experience working alongside Tom ensuring a smooth transition into his role as CEO. For the past two decades, his understanding of the game and its importance will be invaluable as we work to best to serve our Members from the grassroots to the national level.

Hockey Canada recently announced the dates and venues for two international tournaments. The 2022 World Juniors will be held in Edmonton, while the 2022 Hlinka-Gretzky will be held in Red Deer.

Snapshots: Byron, Team Canada, Perbix

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Paul Byron can’t catch a break. The veteran forward has been limited to just 26 games this season due to injury. While many of these absences came while Byron was recovering from hip surgery, he has continued to be in and out of the lineup ever since he returned. The Montreal Canadiens announced that he was returning to the lineup on Tuesday night – but the return was short-lived. Less than two periods into the game, the Habs revealed that Byron has left the game and would not return due to a lower-body injury. Its unclear if this is another new injury or a reoccurrence of his hip issue. Either way, with just five games remaining in a lost season, it might be time for Montreal to simply shut Byron down for the year. Byron has one year remaining on his contract and will be back with the Canadiens in 2022-23 if he isn’t traded or bought out.

  • The Canadian entry into the upcoming IIHF World Championship may look very familiar to the fans of a Canadian NHL team. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes that Senators head coach D.J. Smith, who will be an assistant for Team Canada, has recruited several of his star players to join the tournament. If healthy, Drake Batherson, Connor Brown, and Thomas Chabot will suit up for Canada. Health is a question though; Chabot is currently on the injured reserve with a fractured hand and Batherson and Brown have both missed time due to injury this season and may not rush to play extra games if those issues flare up.
  • Another notable name has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. Defenseman Jack Perbix, an Anaheim Ducks fourth-round pick in 2018, is leaving the University of Minnesota. Most would have expected that if Perbix was leaving the Gophers, it would be for the NHL. Older brother Nick Perbix, a Tampa Bay Lightning prospect, signed his entry level contract last month after four years at St. Cloud State University. Rather than follow suit, Jack will instead stay in college for his senior year but will don a different jersey and have a different name on his degree.

Armstrong, Guerin Among Staff No Longer Involved In Olympic Selections

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Dec 27: As expected, Quinn will take over the head coaching duties of Team USA. John Vanbiesbrouck, assistant executive director of USA Hockey, will serve as general manager–a position he already holds for the National Junior Team that is currently competing in Alberta. Without NHL participation, several members of that junior group could find themselves on the Olympic team in a few months.

Dec 22: The NHL isn’t going to the Olympics, and that doesn’t mean just Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane. The active NHL executives and coaches that had previously been announced will also be pulled out, meaning, for instance, that Bill Guerin is no longer the general manager of Team USA and Doug Armstrong is no longer with Team Canada.

For the U.S. the announcement that the managers and coaches will no longer be involved was made this morning, though no direct replacements have been officially named. David Quinn, formerly of the New York Rangers, has been linked to the head coaching position by several reports, including Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff. The U.S. management group is expected to name the final roster–one that will now be made up of players from college, the minor leagues, and European leagues–by mid-January. Peters projected a potential “Plan B” roster earlier this month.

For Canada, Armstrong confirmed to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that he will step down as general manager. He’s handing the reins to Hockey Canada’s Scott Salmond who will now have to find a roster outside the NHL to compete at the Games, one that doesn’t have the luxury of the Spengler Cup later this month to prepare. In LeBrun’s interview with Armstrong, the St. Louis Blues manager confirms that Crosby would have been the team’s captain, something that was decided very early on. He also explained that they had already locked in “three full forward lines and two sets of D” with January 12 the date they would reveal the entire group.

The managers and coaches involved will all now have to focus on their own NHL schedules–ones that are currently on hold and seemingly changing by the hour.

2021 Spengler Cup Cancelled Due To COVID-19

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The 2021 Spengler Cup won’t be taking place due to COVID-19 cases affecting teams within the tournament, per The Hockey News’ Steven Ellis.

The tournament was set to begin tomorrow, December 26th. A severe number of cases today within the NL’s HC Davos organization, the hosts of the tournament, forced the cancellation after the Canadian national squad and HC Ambri-Piotta (NL) also backed out.

The Spengler Cup is the world’s oldest invitational hockey tournament, including six teams every year including Team Canada and HC Davos. This year, Frolunda HC (SHL), HC Slovan Bratislava (Slovak Extraliga), KalPa (Liiga), HC Sparta Praha (Czech Extraliga), and the Bern Selects were also scheduled to participate.

It’s the second straight year that the tournament has been cancelled due to COVID-19.

Team Canada’s Alex Pietrangelo Uncertain About Olympic Participation

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In a piece by David Schoen of the Las Vegas-Review Journal, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who was one of the three players initially named to Team Canada’s roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics, now says he’s uncertain if he’ll participate in the Games.

Pietrangelo’s concerns come after the International Olympic Committee confirmed a three-to-five-week quarantine period for a positive COVID-19 test. As Pietrangelo notes in the Schoen report, he has a young family and multiple kids and, understandably, doesn’t want to risk being away from his family for that long.

It’s a recent memory for a lot of NHLers, who were forced into a similar situation for the bubble-style 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After the fact, many players expressed concerns and regrets about being away from their families for such a long length of time.

If he does proceed to opt-out, Pietrangelo would be the first confirmed member of an Olympic roster to do. Golden Knight teammate Robin Lehner said publicly last week that he wouldn’t be attending, but was not one of the first three players named to his native Sweden’s Olympic roster.

Obviously, losing a player of Pietrangelo’s caliber won’t be great for Team Canada. However, assuming they still have a large pool of NHLers to select from, they still prove to have the most dynamic puck-moving group of defensemen in the tournament.

Pietrangelo is third on the Golden Knights with 18 points in 26 games this season.

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