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World Championship Notes: Stutzle, Swayman, Heiskanen

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Concerning news from the World Championships for the Ottawa Senators and Team Germany, as young forward Tim Stutzle was injured Monday in a game against France (link). The forward took a hit in the corner from France defenseman Thomas Thiry, coming up limp and leaving the ice, favoring his left leg. Stutzle, who had two assists in two games before the injury, would not return to the game.

It’s not immediately clear how severe Stutzle’s injury was, but seeing the young star immediately leave the ice and not come back is of concern. The injury is an unfortunate break for Stutzle, who had the opportunity to represent his country once again after a breakout sophomore season in the NHL, where he recorded 22 goals and 36 assists in 79 games. The silver lining to this situation is that if Stutzle did sustain any injury of significance, he does have over four months to recover before the start of the 2022-23 season. As for Germany, they next play on Thursday against Denmark and will hope to have one of their best players in Stutzle back in the lineup.

  • After the conclusion of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, several more key NHL names are off to the World Championships, including Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, writes The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf (link). Though many players have finished up their NHL seasons and have gone to their international teams just as Heiskanen has, his trip could be considered even more encouraging after his bout with mononucleosis earlier this season, which cost him 11 games. After returning, Heiskanen would record seven points in 18 games while averaging a considerable 25:14 time-on-ice for Dallas down the stretch, helping the team secure a playoff spot. In the seven-game series with Calgary, he would record another three points, averaging 25:35 time-on-ice. Considering his workload after battling mono, one might reasonably expect Heiskanen to be worn out, but his venture to the World Championships continues to show how well he has rebounded from the illness, an encouraging sign for Dallas not only in the short-term, but also when looking at future playoff runs.
  • Also headed to the World Championships is Jeremy Swayman, who will join Team USA (link). Swayman’s Boston Bruins were recently eliminated in seven games by the Carolina Hurricanes. The goaltender will join former Carolina netminder Alex Nedeljkovic to form a formidable goaltending duo for the United States in the tournament. As the Bruins look to answer some questions about their future plans with their season ending, Swayman has been a question-answered in net, recording a .914 save-percentage and 2.41 goals-against average over 41 regular season games in a breakout 2021-22.

Three Minnesota Wild Join United States At World Championships

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The Minnesota Wild announced today that forwards Matt Boldy, Ryan Hartman, and defenseman Jonathon Merrill have been added to Team USA’s IIHF World Championship roster.

Boldy and Hartman will both help solidify a forward core that was seriously lacking in talent. The team still got away with a 4-1 win against Latvia to open the tournament, largely in part due to the stellar play of San Jose Sharks prospect Strauss Mann in the net.

After a disappointing end to the Wild’s season, losing in six games in the First Round to the St. Louis Blues, Boldy, Hartman, and Merrill will get the chance for success on the international stage. Boldy earned a mid-season callup to the Wild this season and never looked back, tallying 15 goals, 24 assists, and 39 points in his first 47 NHL contests. Undoubtedly a top-six fixture in Minnesota for years to come, the 2019 12th overall pick joins the United States as their most skilled winger.

Hartman enjoyed a career year between wingers Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, smashing his previous career-high of 19 goals and 31 points with a 34-goal, 65-point season. He also had a respectable five assists in six playoff games.

Merrill also set a career-high in points this season with 20. The 30-year-old defenseman found a much more solid role in the Wild lineup after failing to make much of an impact with either the Detroit Red Wings or Montreal Canadiens last season.

The US is looking to capture their first gold medal at the tournament since 1960.

Snapshots: Benn, PHF, Team USA

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The Department of Player Safety has handed out another fine for Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn, his second of the series. This time it is a $5,000 fine, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for tripping Calgary Flames forward Trevor Lewis.

With no points and two fines, the series isn’t quite going how Benn had hoped, and he’ll now have to be even more cognizant of any supplementary discipline. The league will be keeping a close eye on his play as the games continue, and any further events might result in a suspension for the 32-year-old forward.

  • The PHF, which recently made headlines with a massive contract for one of its rising stars, has grabbed the news again today by pulling an Olympian away from the PWHPA. Amanda Pelkey has signed a contract with the Metropolitan Riveters, just a few months after winning gold with Team USA. Pelky, 28, last played in the league in 2018-19 (then called the NWHL) and has two World Championship golds to go with her Olympic hardware.
  • Speaking of the World Championship, the U.S. announced their captains for the upcoming event, adding a “C” to Seth Jones’ sweater and an “A” to both Nate Schmidt and Austin Watson. The tournament kicks off in just a few days in Finland, where the U.S. will open things with a game against Latvia. Jones, 27, is returning to the event for the first time since 2015.

Andrew Peeke To Play In World Championship; Josh Norris Will Not

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Another name for Team USA at the upcoming World Championship has emerged, as Andrew Peeke will head to Finland for the event next month according to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. Peeke’s first full season in the NHL will come to an end tonight when the Columbus Blue Jackets take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It’s been an impressive year for the 24-year-old defenseman, who quickly went from organizational depth to top-pairing option. Over his last 45 games, Peeke has averaged nearly 24 minutes a night, racking up hits and blocked shots while carrying a huge defensive load. His deployment at even-strength is skewed heavily toward the defensive end, he averages more penalty-killing time than anyone else on the Blue Jackets roster, and his 168 blocks and 191 hits lead all Columbus defenders by a wide margin.

All of that comes at a cap hit of just $787.5K, as Peeke signed a two-year contract last summer that is paying him the league minimum this year. While he doesn’t provide much offense–just two goals and 15 points in 81 games–he’s still been one of the most valuable players on the Blue Jackets all season long. He’ll now be rewarded by getting a chance to represent his country on the international stage, something that hasn’t happened very often throughout his career. This will be his first chance at the World Championship, and though he did make the 2018 World Junior squad and played in one Hlinka-Gretzky, he isn’t a product of the USNTDP like so many others, which has limited his exposure to international tournaments.

The U.S. team will unfortunately not have Josh Norris, however, as Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that the Ottawa Senators forward has turned down the opportunity to play at the event. Norris is a pending restricted free agent, a status that often leads to players declining an invitation as they try to secure their future. Just 22, the San Jose draft pick scored 34 goals this season in just 65 games and looks like a candidate for a long-term extension. With no arbitration eligibility though, the Senators could go for a bridge deal or even squeeze him into a one-year, extremely inexpensive contract, if they want to try and maximize savings.

Seth Jones Will Play For Team USA At World Championship

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Now that the NHL season is coming to an end, some players will be focused on joining new teams. The IIHF World Championship is right around the corner, scheduled to start on May 13, and players eliminated from the playoffs have already started discussing it with their respective country’s management groups. In Chicago, Seth Jones told reporters including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago that he will be on the U.S. squad at the tournament next month.

Jones, 27, was acquired by the Blackhawks last summer in a blockbuster deal that saw multiple first-round picks and top prospect Adam Boqvist change hands. He was supposed to elevate Chicago to a legitimate playoff contender for years to come, as signaled by the eight-year, $76MM contract extension they quickly signed him to. His $9.5MM cap hit next season will tie him for the fourth-highest among defensemen.

Unfortunately, playoff contention didn’t follow Jones to Chicago. The Blackhawks are currently 27-42-11 on the season and closer to the bottom of the league than the postseason, with a clear mandate from new general manager Kyle Davidson to rebuild this offseason.

For Jones, the Worlds will be a relatively unfamiliar experience. He hasn’t taken part in the tournament since 2015 when he was still a member of the Nashville Predators, as four out of the six years he was in Columbus the team qualified for the postseason. He does however have plenty of experience suiting up for Team USA, and won gold medals at the U18 and U20 events.

He might have another Team USA standout coming with him, as Cole Caufield told reporters including Eric Engels of Sportsnet that he also received a call from the management group. The Montreal Canadiens sniper would “love to play” according to Engels, though he won’t make a final decision until after the season is actually finished.

USA Hockey Reveals U18 World Championship Roster

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With the 2022 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship about to get underway, USA Hockey has revealed its roster for the eight-team tournament.  As expected, it features several projected high draft picks in July’s entry draft; the full team is as follows:

G Trey Augustine
G Michael Chambre
G Tyler Muszelik

D Hunter Brzustewicz
D Brady Cleveland
D Seamus Casey
D Ryan Chesley (A)
D Tyler Duke
D Charlie Leddy
D Lane Hutson
D Seamus Powell

F Gavin Brindley
F Logan Cooley
F Cutter Gauthier (A)
F Marek Hejduk
F Isaac Howard
F Devin Kaplan
F Ryan Leonard
F Cruz Lucius
F Rutger McGroarty (C)
F Frank Nazar
F Jimmy Snuggerud
F Cole Spicer
F Charlie Stramel

Cooley is a name that stands out as the center has worked his way up draft boards this season and is basically a consensus top-five selection with several scouting services placing him second.  He had a combined 89 points for the National Team Development Program this season and is heading to the University of Minnesota next season.  Nazar gives the US a dynamic one-two punch down the middle as the University of Michigan commit had 97 points this season and has a chance to be selected in the top ten in July as well.  Hutson won’t go as high given his size (5’9, 148 lbs) but he nearly had as many points as Cooley did this season which is quite impressive for a defenseman.  Because of his size, his draft rankings are all over the place with some ranking him as a first-rounder while others have him in the third round.

In terms of the 2023-eligible prospects, Brindley nearly doubled his production with Tri-City of the USHL this season and is the only player on the team that wasn’t in the development program all season.  Leonard and Stramel, meanwhile, spent time with both the U-17 and U-18 programs which bodes well for their draft stock.

The tournament is being hosted in Germany begins on Saturday and runs through May 1st.  It features teams from eight different countries split into two groups with each team playing the three opponents in their group before the medal round is set.

Injury Updates: MacKinnon, Sanderson, Devils

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The Colorado Avalanche will have Nathan MacKinnon back in the lineup tomorrow when they take on the Dallas Stars, according to head coach Jared Bednar. The superstar center was back with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen at practice today after missing the last four with a facial fracture. The team went 3-1 during that stretch but there are few players in the league more valuable than MacKinnon, who is in the midst of another outstanding season.

Through 31 games, the 26-year-old has 43 points despite only scoring nine goals of his own. A 6.6% shooting percentage is the culprit for that low goal total as MacKinnon is still generating huge amounts of offense whenever he’s on the ice. The idea of a Colorado team getting even more dangerous if the puck starts finding the back of the net more often for their top player is a scary thought for the rest of the Central Division. With Nazem Kadri, Rantanen, Landeskog, MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews all scoring at a point-per-game rate (or better), the high-flying Avalanche will play a home-and-home against the Stars over their next two games.

  • Team USA secured an impressive victory over Canada last night at the Beijing Olympics but it came at a cost. Jake Sanderson, who had to deal with several delays before joining his teammates because of COVID restrictions, suffered an injury that puts the rest of his tournament in question, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The medical staff is still evaluating the young Ottawa Senators prospect. Sanderson, 19, is already probably the best defenseman on the U.S. squad despite his young age and lack of pro experience and would be a tough loss for the team if he is ruled out.
  • The New Jersey Devils will be without Jesper Bratt and Janne Kuokkanen when they play tomorrow afternoon, as both are out with injury. Bratt is dealing with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day, while Kuokkanen is still out with the wrist injury that has kept him from playing the last two. Jack Hughes, out of the COVID protocol, will be back in the lineup after his impressive All-Star performance.

Morning Notes: Devils, Acciari, Sanderson

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The New Jersey Devils sure don’t sound like they’re looking for draft picks anymore. General manager Tom Fitzgerald spoke with Mike Morreale of NHL.com and mentioned the term “hockey trade” more than once, while admitting that they still haven’t made a decision on how the deadline will play out for their pending unrestricted free agents.

Is there a hockey trade you could make to not only help your team immediately, but the future? Somebody in the age demographic of where we’re at with the core of our team. Is there a hockey trade that makes sense for us more long term, but can help jumpstart us now?

The Devils already have several high-end young players on the roster, so it makes sense that they would want to add to that group instead of looking a few years down the road with any additional draft picks. When Jack Hughes’ huge extension kicks in next season the pressure will be on to start competing for a playoff spot, especially after handing out a $63MM contract to Dougie Hamilton last summer. P.K. Subban and Jimmy Vesey are the team’s two more notable players on expiring deals, though neither one would be expected to bring back a very valuable asset.

  • After just two games with the Charlotte Checkers, Noel Acciari has been recalled from his AHL conditioning loan. Of note, since he’s on long-term injured reserve he does not need to be activated yet, and Acciari is still listed on IR. The Florida Panthers do actually have an extra roster spot open at the moment, though that had been used by Matt Kiersted and Spencer Knight at various points, both of who are currently assigned to the minor leagues.
  • It’s still a waiting game for Team USA defenseman Jake Sanderson, who missed photo day last night at the Olympics as he remains in Los Angeles following a positive COVID test. Steven Kampfer and Andy Miele, who were also stuck in isolation for a short period of time, have rejoined the group according to Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff, but it’s still not clear if Sanderson will be able to join the team by Thursday’s opener.

Brianna Decker Out For Rest Of Olympics

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The Olympic women’s ice hockey event kicked off last night, with Canada dominating Switzerland but potentially losing Melodie Daoust after she left the game early holding her shoulder. Team Canada hasn’t provided an update on the star forward, only that she continues to be assessed by the medical staff.

It’s much worse for Team USA, who have confirmed to reporters including Erica L. Ayala of the PHF that Brianna Decker will miss the rest of the tournament. Decker was shown on crutches with a cast on her ankle and foot, after being stretchered off earlier in the game against Finland. The U.S. forward got tangled with a Finnish player behind the net partway through the first period and obviously did not return.

While the U.S. still took down Finland–the third-best team in the world–losing Decker is a huge blow in their quest to take home gold. The 30-year-old is an incredibly decorated member of the national program, with six World Championship and one Olympic gold medal. A Patty Kazmaier winner as the best player in college hockey, a CWHL Rookie of the Year and champion with multiple NWHL MVPs, and in her third Olympics, there are few players in the world that can bring Decker’s resume to international competition.

2022 Team USA Olympic Roster

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Though the official announcement is still an hour away, Frank Seravalli and Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff are reporting all 25 players that are expected to be named to Team USA for the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. The group includes players from the NCAA, AHL, and several overseas leagues.

The roster will be:

G Drew Commesso
G Strauss Mann
G Pat Nagle

D Brian Cooper
D Brock Faber
D Drew Helleson
D Steven Kampfer
D Aaron Ness
D Nick Perbix
D Jake Sanderson
D David Warsofsky

F Nick Abruzzese
F Kenny Agostino
F Matty Beniers
F Brendan Brisson
F Noah Cates
F Sean Farrell
F Sam Hentges
F Matthew Knies
F Marc McLaughlin
F Ben Meyers
F Andy Miele
F Brian O’Neill
F Nick Shore
F Nathan Smith

This group has a huge college contingent and also includes several players who were robbed of an opportunity to compete for a World Junior medal this year when the tournament was canceled.

In all, 13 NHL prospects are included on the team, including Beniers, the first-ever draft pick in Seattle Kraken history. The Toronto Maple Leafs are the only club with two prospects, as Minnesota freshman Knies and Harvard sophomore Abruzzese both made the squad.

The tournament is set to kick-off for the U.S. on February 10 when they take on China, a nation that was given entry to the tournament because it is hosting the event.

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