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Snapshots: Hextall, Maple Leafs, QMJHL

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The Philadelphia Flyers are roaring through the 2020 NHL postseason, winning all three of their round-robin games convincingly and downing the Montreal Canadiens in game one of their first-round series. The team, led by head coach Alain Vigneault and GM Chuck Fletcher looks poised for a long Stanley Cup run this summer, but neither man was part of the organization when the seeds of this group were sown.

A lot of that credit goes to former GM Ron Hextall, who spoke to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun about his time in Philadelphia and how his vision is now playing out. Interestingly, LeBrun notes at the end of the piece how Hextall is “ready for another crack at it” and points out that there is a vacancy in the Florida Panthers front office right now.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that Paul McFarland has now left the organization to take the head coaching job with the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL, something that had already been reported. New though was that they have also not renewed the contract of assistant coach Andrew Brewer, who had been with the club since 2015. Brewer, a video coach, has a long history with former Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock, who was let go earlier this season.
  • Though the OHL and WHL have both indicated that they hope to start the 2020-21 season in December, the QMJHL is taking a different route. The other CHL league will begin to play on October 1 if all goes according to plan from here on out. Training camps are expected to start at the end of August with a 60-game regular season schedule planned.

Toronto Maple Leafs Loan Two Prospects Overseas

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are the latest team to send some prospects overseas for European training camp and game action. The team announced Filip Kral and Jesper Lindgren have been loaned to HC Prerov and MODO respectively.

Both players are defensemen that would be extreme long-shots to make the NHL roster next season, but they could be recalled from these loans to play for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL when the minor league season begins.

Kral, 20, saw his CHL career cut short when the season was canceled after posting 49 points in 53 games for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL. The Czech-born defender played three years for Spokane, developing just outside of the spotlight that was on New Jersey Devils prospect Ty Smith who was busy winning Defenseman of the Year awards. While Kral doesn’t have that kind of upside, his 120 points in 154 games and strong performances in the World Juniors certainly makes him more interesting than the average fifth-round pick.

Lindgren meanwhile played this season for the Marlies, recording nine points in 31 games during his first full season in North America. The 23-year old was a fourth-round selection in 2015 and took his time before coming over, but is also an interesting name to keep an eye on as the Maple Leafs try to find cheap depth for their roster. Lindgren has one year remaining on his entry-level contract and will still be waiver-exempt in 2020-21.

Alexis Lafreniere Will Not Report To QMJHL, Will Not Play In Europe

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Alexis Lafreniere is confident he’ll be playing in New York next season. According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the consensus first-overall pick has decided that he will not report to training camp for the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL or go overseas to play in Europe for the next few months. Instead, he intends on training individually and preparing for the NHL season.

The 18-year old Lafreniere was always expected to go straight to the NHL after his draft, but the uncertainty of when that 2020-21 season actually will begin created some confusion at how he would handle things. McKenzie did note that if the NHL season doesn’t begin in December or January as expected, he will then review his options.

It is interesting to note that the IIHF is still hoping to hold the 2021 World Junior Championship, scheduled to begin on December 26th in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta. If the NHL season still hasn’t begun by then, perhaps Lafreniere—who will still only be 19 and eligible—could represent Canada one last time at the tournament. He was named MVP of the event this year, scoring 10 points and leading Canada to a gold medal.

In any case, you won’t be seeing Lafreniere in Rimouski this fall as he ends his CHL career with two consecutive Player of the Year awards.

ECHL, OHL, WHL Announce Revised Start Dates

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Thursday: The WHL has announced its own adjusted start date, going with December 4 as well. They will also attempt a full 68-game schedule, even going as far as saying “regardless of our start date, the WHL is committed to playing a full regular season and playoffs in 2020-21.”

Wednesday: Two other leagues have announced their plans for a return to play, as the ECHL and OHL released revised start dates for the 2020-21 season.

The ECHL, a professional league used as the low-minors for the NHL, has approved a revised schedule for the upcoming season that will begin on December 4, 2020. The league anticipates holding a full 72-game season, though further adjustments to the schedule will be announced as we get closer to the start. The ECHL was originally scheduled to start their season at the beginning of October.

The OHL meanwhile, one of the three leagues that make up the CHL, announced that it is planning on starting their season December 1, 2020. The 2020-21 season will be a 64-game schedule for the OHL and include a 16-team playoff format.

The Memorial Cup, which will be hosted by either the Oshawa Generals or Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds will be held between June 17-27, 2021.

Like anything else in today’s world, these decisions are subject to change should health recommendations shift over the next few months.

Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Sean Day

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The “exceptional” star that has been anything but in professional hockey, will get another chance. Sean Day has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 2020-21 season.

Now 22, Day is infamously one of the few players that was granted exceptional status to play in the CHL a year early. While the ones who came before him—John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad and Connor McDavid—were all selected first overall in their respective NHL drafts, Day slipped to the third round after a less-than-dominant OHL career. The 6’3″ defenseman was picked by the Rangers in 2016, but ended up going back to the OHL for two more seasons and then ending up in the minor leagues.

Since turning pro in 2018, Day has played nearly as many games in the ECHL as in the AHL and still hasn’t cracked an NHL roster. This season he split his time between the Hartford Wolf Pack and Maine Mariners, performing much better at the lower level. His contract was terminated at the end of May after clearing unconditional waivers, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Even without much success, there is a reason why teams will continue to believe in Day. There is obvious raw talent, with the size and offensive ability to be a difference-maker at the highest level. The Tampa Bay front office must believe their development system can do what the Rangers’ couldn’t, as even an NHL contract is a surprise at this point.

Danil Gushchin, Albin Grewe Sign In OHL

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Two notable NHL prospects and recent CHL Import Draft selections have joined the ranks of the OHL. 2020 draft eligible forward Danil Gushchin, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 Import Draft, has signed with the Niagara Ice Dogs, while forward Albin Grewe, a 2019 third-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings, has signed with the Saginaw Spirit.

Gushchin’s move signals a shift in his developmental path. A consensus second-round pick in the coming NHL Entry Draft, Gushchin is a very talented forward with great speed and stick skills. The one glaring concern about his game is his size: Gushchin stands just 5’8” and weighs in at around 160 lbs. For this reason, it seemed the Russian winger was favoring the collegiate development path, which can often be better for undersized players. The No. 7 overall pick in the CHL Import Draft last year, Gushchin instead opted to play another season in the USHL with the Muskegon Lumberjacks, preserving his NCAA eligibility. However, with questions about the likelihood of a college hockey season, Gushchin may have decided that the best choice for his development was to improve his level of play next season and the OHL was his safest bet. The question now, and one that NHL scouting staffs will have to decide, is whether the size and skill that made him a point-per-game player in the USHL will translate to the OHL and eventually to the pros.

As for Grewe, the move to the OHL is not unexpected following a disappointing 2019-20 campaign. A skilled and pesky two-way winger out of Sweden, Grewe was considered a great value for the Red Wings at No. 66 overall last year. He was expected to play a larger role with the SHL’s Djurgardens IF this year after getting into 15 games last season but failing to record a point. Instead, he was limited to just 19 games and managed just one point, while his production fell off considerably in the junior SuperElit as well. In fact, the only real statistical growth this year for Grewe was in penalty minutes. Grewe needs to work more on his offensive game and skill development and has a better chance of doing that playing meaningful minutes against his peers at the junior level rather than bouncing back and forth from a pro team where he was clearly not ready to compete. Although Saginaw waited to select Grewe until the second round of the Import Draft, both sides were happy to sign on for next year. Now Detroit fans just have to hope that the talented forward can get back on track with his new team and league.

Alexis Lafreniere Wins CHL Player Of The Year For Second Straight Season

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When your name is in the running for the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft, it doesn’t hurt to have a bullet point on your resume that only Sidney Crosby shares in hockey history. Forward Alexis Lafreniere of the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic is projected to be the top pick in the 2020 draft almost unanimously. Any doubt that he may not take that title was likely put to rest on Wednesday when the CHL announced that Lafreniere had been named the 2019-20 CHL Player of the Year. As if that wasn’t enough of an accomplishment, this is actually the second straight campaign in which Lafreniere has received the award. He was named the CHL’s best player in 2018-19 as well. The only other player honored in consecutive seasons: Pittsburgh Penguins captain and one of the game’s all-time best, Sidney Crosby.

Lafreniere, 18, recorded an eye-popping 112 points in just 52 games this season with Rimouski. His 2.15 per-game scoring rate was the CHL’s best since another NHL mega star, Connor McDavid, was playing juniors. It also marks a sharp increase from Lafreniere’s 2018-19 production of 105 points in 61 games, which was still good enough to take home the CHL’s Player of the Year honors last season. Altogether, Lafreniere registered 72 goals and 217 points in 113 games across his two MVP campaigns and nearly 300 points total in his three junior seasons combined. As a result, there is approximately a 0% chance that he will ever play in the juniors again.

Instead, the presumptive top pick will simply sit and wait to see where his first pro destination will be. The NHL answer could arrive as early as later this month, as the NHL Draft Lottery is scheduled for Friday, June 26th. However, if the nearby Ottawa Senators or the historically bad Detroit Red Wings or one of the other non-playoff teams does not win the first to select first overall, Lafreniere will have to wait even longer. A second lottery later this summer would determine which playoff team eliminated in the knockout round of the NHL’s adapted playoff format would have the first pick. On top of that, there is still some concern that with a possible delayed start to the 2020-21 NHL season that Lafreniere’s pro career may actually begin in Europe. The young star has entertained the thought of getting his first pro season started on time, even if that isn’t with his NHL club. He would of course be expected to return to North America once the new season does begin.

Regardless of where Lafreniere ends up, any team that has him in their lineup will receive a major boost. Lafreniere has shown for several years now that he is a special prospect and his second straight CHL Player of the Year Award puts him in elite company. Is it too early to proclaim him the next Crosby? Of course. That won’t stop the winners of this year’s draft lottery from keeping their hopes up though.

Snapshots: Carter, Sorokin, Hoefenmayer

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The Los Angeles Kings won’t be taking part in the 24-team playoffs this summer, so it’s time to get healthy and prepare for 2020-21. With that in mind, the team announced that Jeff Carter underwent surgery on June 4 to repair a core muscle injury. Carter is expected to be fully recovered for the next season.

Carter could very well be 36 when the next season starts and the front-loaded nature of his contract means he won’t be making very much (relatively speaking) when he does get back on the ice. With two years left on his deal but only $4MM in salary, he would be a potential option to trade out of Los Angeles in order to free up some playing time for some of their young talent. Carter does not have a no-trade clause in his deal, though there have been rumors in the past that he may decide to simply retire if sent to a destination he did not approve of.

  • Reports surfaced recently that New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin had restarted preliminary talks with his KHL team on a potential new contract, though absolutely nothing was decided at that point. Today, Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Sorokin has changed his North American representation, hiring Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey as his new agent. Interestingly enough, Kirill Kaprizov, another high-profile KHL prospect (and teammate of Sorokin with CSKA Moscow) hoping to come to North America, recently parted ways with Milstein.
  • Noel Hoefenmayer has added another trophy to his cabinet after being named the CHL Defenseman of the Year today. The Arizona Coyotes draft pick led all OHL defensemen in scoring with 82 points in 56 games for the Ottawa 67’s. Unfortunately, Hoefenmayer never signed with the Coyotes and instead had to settle for an AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies a few months ago.

Dustin Wolf Named CHL Goaltender Of The Year

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What a run for Dustin Wolf. The Calgary Flames prospect has now added CHL Goaltender of the Year to his resume, following his previous selections as the top netminder from both the WHL and USA Hockey. Wolf also signed his entry-level contract with the Flames last month.

Wolf, 19, has done nothing but dominate at the junior hockey level, recording a .934 save percentage across three seasons and 127 appearances. His goals-against average during that time was a minuscule 1.85 and he posted an 88-31-6 record in the regular season.

One might expect a goaltender like that to be a top draft pick, especially given he won the CHL Scholastic Player of the Year award in his draft year. Wolf, however, fell all the way to the seventh round before the Flames used the 214th overall pick on him a year ago.

The reason is simple, Wolf stands just 6’0″ 165-lbs, much smaller than the goaltenders that have reached the peak of professional hockey in recent years. In comparison to mammoth netminders like Ben Bishop and Mikko Koskinen—both standing 6’7″—it’s easy to see why teams may hesitate on Wolf’s potential.

Still, the Flames are obviously willing to give him a shot to show what he can do at the professional level. That won’t happen until next year when he is eligible for the AHL, but with a contract in hand and a history of success he’ll be one of the more interesting goaltending prospects to follow.

Previous winners of the CHL award include current NHL goaltenders like Carter Hart (twice), Darcy Kuemper, Jake Allen and Carey Price.

Shane Wright Wins OHL, CHL Rookie Of The Year

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June 5: Wright has also won the CHL Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Kingston player to ever earn the award.

May 14: He won’t be eligible for the NHL draft until 2022, but that doesn’t mean hockey fans should overlook Shane Wright. The Kingston Frontenacs forward has just been named the OHL Rookie of the Year after an outstanding start to his CHL career. That start of course came a year earlier than most players, after Wright was given exceptional status to enter the OHL.

Not only did Wright score 39 goals and 66 points for the Frontenacs to lead the team in both categories, but he was also named an alternate captain just after Christmas. Having a letter sewn onto your jersey may not be notable for most top NHL prospects, but it happened to Wright when he was still just 15 years old, making him the youngest alternate in CHL history.

Following in the footsteps of other exceptional players like John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad and Connor McDavid, Wright is already dominating the competition in the CHL and looks like he will have a good shot at being selected first overall in 2022.

The list of winners for OHL Rookie of the Year is a who’s who of NHL talent. Andrei Svechnikov, Alex DeBrincat, Travis Konecny, McDavid, Ekblad, Taylor Hall, Patrick Kane and Tavares have all taken home the award over the last fifteen years.

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