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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.

Canucks Hire Justin Pogge As AHL Goalie Coach

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The Abbotsford Canucks will only have gone five days without a goaltending coach as the team has moved quickly to fill the void left by Marko Torenius’ promotion to the Vancouver Canucks. Special assistant to the general manager with Vancouver and general manager of Abbotsford, Ryan Johnson, announced the team hired longtime veteran goaltender Justin Pogge as the organization’s next goaltending coach.

Pogge originally found his way to the American Hockey League in the 2006-07 season after a four-year career in the Western Hockey League split between the Prince George Cougars and Calgary Hitmen. He was drafted 90th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2004 NHL Draft before finishing his WHL tenure with a 79-49-12 record with a .919 save percentage. Pogge also helped Team Canada win the 2006 IIHF World Junior Championships on the heels of a .952 SV% and six wins which certainly elevated his prospect pedigree heading into his professional career.

His days as a decent goaltending prospect would summarily end there as Pogge only managed seven NHL appearances over the next six years before continuing his career overseas. He fared as a much better goaltender in the AHL albeit off a larger sample size. The Fort McMurray, Alberta native owned a record 120-94-24 record in the AHL and a career .902 SV% and 2.81 GAA with the Toronto, Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, and Phoenix Coyotes organizations.

Pogge would bounce around Italy, Sweden, Russia, and Germany over the next several years before retiring as a member of the DEL’s Grizzlys Wolfsburg in 2022-23. The longtime netminder didn’t stay away from the game long after his retirement as he immediately began working as a goaltending consultant for the Columbus Blue Jackets in addition to Team Canada’s World Championship and Hlinka Gretzky Cup teams.

He will now have the opportunity to have quite the impact at the highest level of the Canucks’ minor league system as the return date of starting netminder Thatcher Demko remains up in the air. He will likely work closest with Nikita Tolopino this season as the only true goaltending prospect from Vancouver’s pipeline that has graduated to the AHL.

AHL Mandating Cut-Resistant Neckwear For Players, Officials

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The AHL announced today that all players and officials will be required to wear cut-resistant neckwear during games starting this season. The top feeder league’s Board of Governors unanimously approved the policy.

It’s the first time a North American professional league has instituted such a rule regarding neckwear. The AHL began requiring its players and officials to wear cut-resistant socks and wrist sleeves starting last year.

The NHL doesn’t require either form of protection to be worn, but they’ve been spiking in popularity in recent years – especially the latter. Neck protection is also quickly becoming common in the league following the death of former NHLer Adam Johnson last year due to a skate laceration to his neck suffered while playing in the United Kingdom’s Elite Ice Hockey League.

Mandatory cut protection is gradually rising from the lower levels of the game. USA Hockey announced last month that beginning Aug. 1, all youth, high school, and junior hockey players competing within the organization’s purview must wear neck protection during all games and practices. The AHL’s release didn’t specify whether practices are included in the mandate.

It’s a trend that will likely continue, although there’s no indication yet when the NHL may follow its primary feeder league in instituting such a rule. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said last year that the league had initiated discussions with the NHLPA, but it doesn’t appear they’ve gone anywhere since. The overwhelming majority of NHLers were against a full mandate for neck protection in a poll conducted by The Athletic in February.

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.

AHL Notes: Burke, Mara, Jackson, Giroux

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The AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers, the Hartford Wolf Pack, rounded out their coaching staff today as they announced the hire of Brendan Burke as the team’s goaltending coach and Paul Mara as one of the team’s assistant coaches. Burke is replacing Jeff Malcolm as the team’s full-time goaltending coach who was promoted to the Rangers’ goaltending coach yesterday.

It will be Burke’s first professional opportunity to coach after spending the last two years with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. In Portland, Burke would teach goaltenders Jan Spunar and Dante Giannuzzi during his two-year tenure with Spunar collecting a .908 SV% and .913% each year, respectively. Hartford will have several young options to compete for the backup role with Louis Domingue set to take on the starting minutes next season.

The Wolf Pack also decided to remove the interim tag from Mara after being brought to the organization in early December last year. Mara has already collected significant hardware as a coach as he previously served as the head coach of the Boston Pride in the NWHL and PHF. He coached the Pride to back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022 while also collecting a gold medal as an assistant coach with Team USA’s Women’s team during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Other AHL notes:

  • The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have brought in an ECHL standout from last season as they announced an AHL contract for forward Kyle Jackson earlier today. After wrapping up his OHL career with the North Bay Battalion in 2022-23, Jackson spent all last year with the Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL which saw him collect 14 goals and 44 points in 53 games. Jackson’s final two years in the OHL were extremely productive as he scored 61 goals and 145 points in 112 games leading to him being selected by the Seattle Kraken in the seventh round of the 2022 NHL Draft although he would not sign.
  • The two-time defending Western Conference champion, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, have also entered the free agent market as the team has signed forward Damien Giroux to an AHL contract for the 2024-25 season. Giroux served in three seasons with the Iowa Wild as a playmaking option on the team’s bottom six before making his NHL debut with the Minnesota Wild on April 13, 2023. The young forward spent last year split between the AHL and ECHL with the Buffalo Sabres organization and will likely serve in a similar capacity with the Firebirds.

Metropolitan Notes: Kolosov, Bergeron, Vaisanen

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Flyers goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov’s status for next season remains in the air. Reports over the last month indicated that Kolosov had informed the team that he wouldn’t report to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, if assigned there in the fall. Those were later refuted by general manager Daniel Brière, who said the team had no confirmation about Kolosov’s desires for the 2024-25 campaign.

Early this morning, Daria Tuboltseva of Responsible Gambling reported that Kolosov had switched his representation, now being represented by Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein. He was previously represented by CAA Sports’ J.P. Barry, who also represents Philly netminder Ivan Fedotov and likely Calder Trophy contender Matvei Michkov.

That was quickly followed up by a report from The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz that Kolosov’s new camp, led by Milstein, is expected to meet with the Flyers later this week. A source tells Kurz that Kolosov does indeed wish to return to his native Belarus on loan this season to play for Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, where he’s played since 2020. The Flyers, who signed Kolosov to his entry-level contract in 2023, loaned Kolosov to Minsk last season, expecting him to play the final two years of his rookie deal in North America, either with the Phantoms or the Flyers.

Kurz says the plan hasn’t changed, and the Flyers aren’t interested in loaning Kolosov back to Minsk or terminating his contract. Philadelphia, whose NHL tandem is expected to consist of Fedotov and Samuel Ersson out of camp, could suspend Kolosov without pay if he refuses to report to Lehigh Valley upon assignment in the fall. Since the KHL now exists independently from the IIHF and the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, there would be no sanctions against them if Kolosov signed a contract with Minsk in violation of his deal with the Flyers.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • The Blue Jackets have hired Chris Bergeron as an associate coach for the Cleveland Monsters, their AHL affiliate, the team announced today. He’s the replacement for Mike Haviland, who was promoted to the NHL bench earlier this month as an assistant under new head coach Dean Evason. An Ontario native, Bergeron sticks in the only state he’s ever known as a coach. The 53-year-old boasts a collegiate career spanning 24 years as an assistant with Miami University, a head coach with Bowling Green State University, and a second stint with Miami as head coach.
  • Penguins defense prospect Joona Väisänen has committed to Western Michigan University, the school announced. Pittsburgh selected Väisänen, 20, as an overage pick in the seventh round of this year’s draft. The puck-moving Finn is coming off his first season in North America, posting 40 points and a team-leading +31 rating in 53 games with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. The right-shot blue-liner will suit up for WMU as a freshman this fall.

Minor Transactions: 8/15/24

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We saw a couple of NHL transactions today with a pair of PTOs being handed out.  In the meantime, some former NHL-contracted players recently landed contracts which are among the deals in our latest roundup of minor moves.

  • Philadelphia’s AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley officially announced the previously reported signing of goaltender Keith Petruzzelli to a one-year deal.  The 24-year-old was originally a prospect of Detroit but didn’t sign with them, instead inking a minor-league deal with Toronto, one that was eventually elevated to an entry-level pact.  Last season, Petruzzelli played in 17 games with the AHL’s Marlies, posting a 3.55 GAA and a .867 SV%, resulting in him being non-tendered in late June.  With there being some uncertainty surrounding Flyers prospect Alexei Kolosov’s plans for the upcoming season, Petruzzelli will serve as some insurance between the pipes.
  • Forward Blake McLaughlin has inked a one-year deal with AHL Hartford (affiliate of the Rangers), per a team release. The 24-year-old split last season between the AHL and ECHL, notching two assists in 29 games with AHL San Diego but was much more productive with ECHL Tulsa, recording 25 points in 21 appearances but it wasn’t enough to earn a qualifying offer earlier this summer.
  • The Canucks’ AHL affiliate in Abbotsford announced the signings of forward Zach Okabe and defenceman Zach Berzolla to one-year deals. Okabe turned pro late last season after wrapping up his college career with a 24-point effort at St. Cloud State and got into nine games with AHL Cleveland, recording three points.  Berzolla, meanwhile, has spent the majority of his four professional campaigns in the ECHL but did get into 17 games with AHL Hartford last season.
  • Seattle’s farm team in Coachella Valley announced the re-signing of goaltender Jack LaFontaine to a one-year deal. The 26-year-old was originally drafted by Carolina and left college early to sign with them, getting into one NHL contest before spending the last two years exclusively in the minors.  LaFontaine primarily played with ECHL Kansas City (the Kraken’s affiliate at that level) last season, posting a 2.77 GAA with a .911 SV% in 23 regular season games.

Pennsylvania Notes: Crosby, Drysdale, Bernard, Sedley

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Penguins fans are still waiting on confirmation that Sidney Crosby has signed an extension. Early last month, Rob Rossi of The Athletic reported that a three-year deal in the $10MM AAV range was close to being finalized, but nothing came across the wire. Speculation then ran rampant that he might ink a deal to keep him in Pittsburgh past this season on his birthday, Aug. 7, but that date also came and went without any news.

It’s a situation that has the potential to cast a dark cloud over the Penguins’ season if Crosby remains without a new contract when training camp begins, Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes. “This isn’t good for ticket sales,” Yohe opines. “It’s not good for corporate sponsorships. That lack of buzz around the Penguins right now is deafening, but it grows a little louder every day that passes without Crosby signing a new deal. He’s the Penguins’ heartbeat. He keeps the organization financially stable.”

Aside from the lack of any recent news, there’s no real indication that the relationship between Crosby’s camp and the Penguins’ front office, led by general manager Kyle Dubas, has fractured in the slightest. Both sides have still maintained constant public messaging that signing an extension is their top priority. The 37-year-old is still the team’s most impactful player by a wide margin, coming off a 42-goal, 94-point season in 2023-24.

More notes out of the Keystone State:

  • The Flyers are entering their first full season with defenseman Jamie Drysdale in tow. The 22-year-old defenseman was one half of a blockbuster swap with the Ducks last January, heading to Philly in exchange for the signing rights to 2022 fifth-overall pick Cutter Gauthier. After again struggling to stay in the lineup last season due to injuries, Drysdale enters a make-or-break 2024-25 campaign that will likely set the tone for the rest of his tenure with the Flyers, Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports writes (subscription required).
  • The Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, have signed Xavier Bernard and Sam Sedley to contracts for the 2024-25 campaign, per a team announcement. Bernard, 24, was a fourth-round pick of the Devils in 2018 but never signed his entry-level contract. He’s spent the past few seasons bouncing between the AHL and ECHL, most recently in the Oilers organization with the Bakersfield Condors and Fort Wayne Komets. He spent nearly all of 2023-24 in the ECHL with Fort Wayne, where the 6’4″ left-shot had 16 points, 92 PIMs and a +23 rating in 64 games. Sedley, meanwhile, is entering his first professional season after five years with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack. The 21-year-old had been invited to multiple Flyers rookie camps in the past. The diminutive right-shot defender led Owen Sound defensemen in scoring last year with 63 points in 64 games.

AHL’s San Jose Barracuda Sign Colin White

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The Sharks’ AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, has signed UFA center Colin White to a one-year contract, according to a team press release.

White, a former first-round pick of the Senators who was bought out by Ottawa in 2022, signed a two-way deal with the Penguins last October after attending training camp on a PTO. He was immediately waived and assigned to the AHL for the first time since 2018.

The 27-year-old embarked on a mediocre run with the Penguins’ affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, posting 10 points (5 G, 5 A) in 21 games before Pittsburgh called him up in January. White played 11 games with the Penguins after the call-up but failed to record a point and logged a -2 rating while averaging just 9:57 per game.

White was waived again in late February and claimed by the Canadiens. It was more of the same in Montreal, where he had no points, a -3 rating and averaged just 9:15 per game through 17 appearances. He also struggled immensely in the faceoff dot, winning just 36 of 108 draws (33.3%).

It was no surprise to see White not retained by the Habs, and it’s not too surprising he’s had to settle for a minor-league contract after a difficult run. Since getting bought out by the Sens, White has just eight goals and 15 points in 96 games over the past two years with the Canadiens, Panthers and Penguins. It’s a far cry from the 14 goals, 27 assists and 41 points he scored in 71 games during his rookie campaign with Ottawa in 2018-19, which earned him an ill-fated six-year, $28.5MM contract marred by injuries and declining play.

While White will suit up with the Sharks’ prospects and depth veterans this fall, he can sign with any NHL team should he attract interest. A strong run of play from the No. 21 overall pick in 2015 could land him an NHL deal at some point during the season, but he’d have to clear waivers to return to the minors after doing so. He’ll also likely receive a training camp invite from the Sharks, who could opt to sign him to a two-way contract.

Snapshots: Cousins, Soderstrom, Avalanche, Pellerin

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Winger Nick Cousins remains unsigned as we approach six weeks into the free agent market.  Accordingly, he has decided the time is right to change representation as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that he has changed his agent from Octagon’s Andy Scott to Newport’s Craig Oster.  The 31-year-old spent the last two seasons with Florida but saw his offensive output dip from 27 points in 79 games in 2022-23 to 15 in 69 contests in 2023-24, his lowest full-season point total.  Cousins also suited up in a dozen playoff contests along the way to the Panthers’ first Stanley Cup title.  The veteran has 180 points in 592 regular season appearances in his 10-year NHL career so far and should be able to land a PTO agreement at a minimum in the coming weeks.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Rasmus Kagstrom of Hockey Sverige relays that goaltender Linus Soderstrom attracted some recent interest in North America before opting to sign a one-year extension with SHL Skelleftea back in March. The 27-year-old was a fourth-round pick of the Islanders in 2014 and received his entry-level deal but played only four games in their system during that time.  Since then, Soderstrom has become one of the top-performing netminders in the SHL, putting up a 1.63 GAA with a .929 SV% in 30 appearances in 2022-23 and a 2.03 GAA with a .913 SV% in 36 games in 2023-24.  He bettered those numbers in the postseason, including a .944 SV% in 14 contests last season.  Another showing like that could have him on the NHL radar again next spring.
  • Colorado’s AHL affiliate announced the signing of three players to contracts for the upcoming season, forwards Tye Felhaber and Keaton Mastrodonato along with defenseman Bryan Yoon. Felhaber, 26, spent the last two seasons with AHL Milwaukee and recorded 23 points in 50 games with the Admirals last season.  Mastrodonato, meanwhile, spent most of last season, the 23-year-old’s first full professional campaign, with ECHL Idaho where he put up 24 goals and 18 assists in 48 games.  As for Yoon, the 26-year-old spent most of his first full pro season in the ECHL as well with Utah, recording 17 points in 35 appearances.
  • The Canadiens have invited undrafted forward Maxime Pellerin to their upcoming rookie camp, per a note from his junior team in Victoriaville (Twitter link). The 21-year-old spent his entire five-year QMJHL career with the Tigres and is coming off his second straight year of averaging more than a point per game, notching 73 points in 67 regular season games plus 21 more in 14 playoff contests.  Pellerin is ineligible to return to junior so he’ll be hoping to land a professional contract off this tryout.

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