Snapshots: Three Stars, Team Canada, Junior Snubs
The NHL released its three stars of the week today, with Brayden Schenn leading the group. Schenn has found brilliant success since being traded to St. Louis, already with 37 points in 31 games. Always possessing elite talent, some believed Schenn would never become the dominant presence he was projected to be when the Los Angeles Kings took him fifth-overall. He’s already been traded twice in his career, but looks ready to obliterate his previous career-high of 59 points and become an integral part of any St. Louis success.
Jake Allen and Brian Elliott round out the stars of the week, both posting perfect records and incredible save percentages. Allen and Elliott were teammates just two seasons ago, when the Blues went to just their second Conference Finals in nearly 30 years. With zero Stanley Cup victories in their history, Allen and Schenn will look to change the franchise fortunes this year.
- Team Canada has made two roster changes for the upcoming Channel One Cup, which beings on Wednesday morning in Russia. Marc-Andre Gragnani and Quinton Howden will replace Gilbert Brule and Karl Stollery for the Olympic tune-up, both coming from Minsk of the KHL. Howden, the older brother of Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Brett Howden, is still just 25-years old and was a first-round pick in 2010. While he’s finding much more success in the KHL than he ever did in NHL, one has to wonder whether an impressive showing at the Olympics would open up some eyes in North America. His Russian deal only runs through the end of April 2018, after which he could potentially sign with any team.
- Corey Pronman of The Athletic examined all the so-called “snubs” from World Junior selection camps, including top-10 picks in Michael Rasmussen and Owen Tippett. Alex DeBrincat, who was cut from last year’s Team USA despite being arguably the best offensive player in the entire CHL and is now enjoying a successful NHL campaign at age-19, had some words of encouragement (via Scott Powers of The Athletic) for Chad Krys, one of the listed snubs. Krys attended the tournament as a 17-year old, but hasn’t been asked back since, and is now starring at Boston University.
Russian Olympic Athletes Forced To Compete Under Neutral Flag
The IOC announced its decision today on Russian athletes for the upcoming 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games. They have suspended the Russian Olympic Committee from any influence on the games, but will allow clean Russian athletes to compete under the Olympic flag itself.
It’s unclear exactly what that means for the Russian hockey players, as they would need to play on a neutral team instead of for their country. The KHL has warned that they will potentially pull out entirely if a decision like this was made. The decision to pull all KHL players out would affect every country attending, and likely mean that both Hockey Canada and USA Hockey would need to turn to younger players to fill out the roster.
The IOC based its decision on the Schmid Commission which looked into “the systemic manipulation of the anti-doping rules and system in Russia” and found there was widespread corruption when it came to doping for Russian athletes in Sochi 2014.
In 1992, the men’s hockey event was won by a “Unified Team” of the countries which made up the former Soviet Union. They played under the Olympic flag, and took home the gold medal over Canada. That team included familiar names like Sergei Zubov, Alex Zhamnov, Dmitry Yushkevich, Alex Kovalev and others. It seems unlikely that a similar Russian team would play under the Olympic flag this time around. If they did, they would be known as “OAR” or “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”
Bob McKenzie of TSN spoke with IIHF President Rene Fasel, who will wait “24 to 48 hours to see where things are at.” The IIHF will likely wait for the KHL to make a decision before commenting on how this ruling will affect the Olympic hockey tournament, both for men and women.
International Notes: CHL Players In The Olympics, Expansion, Ryder Cup
With NHL players not participating in the Olympics and the availability of KHL players now in the air, the focus has shifted to availability for junior-aged players. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that Hockey Canada had a conference call with the heads of each of the three CHL leagues to discuss the potential for their players to be made available. Currently, junior teams are reluctant to grant permission for their players to participate at both the World Juniors and the Olympics as not only will that be a lot more wear and tear on their top players, it will also keep them out of their regular lineup for the better part of two months. A one or the other idea has been floated by the CHL leagues but that’s something Hockey Canada isn’t believed to be content with at this time. Once the availability of KHL players is determined (which should be next week), a decision on this should soon follow.
More notes on international play:
- While some have wondered if the NHL might look across the pond at some point for expansion, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski that an international-based NHL team is still a long way away. He cites the logistical challenges as well as arena sizes as a couple of barriers while also indicating that he’s not looking to compete with existing teams and leagues in those markets with the NHL looking to still grow the game internationally.
- In that same interview, Bettman suggested that the league is looking into a Ryder Cup-styled event but will likely wait until an announcement is made for the next World Cup before really looking into that. He added that all talks involving those go through the NHL Players Association and that he has urged them to “pick up the pace” on those discussions.
Jarome Iginla Will Not Play In Spengler Cup
The Olympic dream for Jarome Iginla could be over, as the veteran forward will not be ready to play in the upcoming Spengler Cup according to Darren Dreger of TSN. Hockey Canada has been clear that they want to see Iginla playing at a high level before naming him to a potential Olympic roster, something that doesn’t seem likely to happen.
Still, there is an outside chance that Iginla could be a late-season addition to an NHL club. The 40-year old winger wasn’t able to secure a deal this summer, but did look sharp in his 19-game stretch with the Los Angeles Kings after a deadline deal. If it is the end for Iginla’s playing career, it comes with championships at every level except the NHL.
Iginla is a two-time Memorial Cup champion, a gold medalist at the Olympics (twice), World Cup, World Championship and World Junior Championship, and has won a long list of individual awards. He has scored 625 goals and 1,300 points during the regular season, adding another 37 and 68 in a relatively short playoff career. The Stanley Cup eluded him, despite coming within a disallowed goal of it in 2004.
When he was without a contract at the end of the summer most hoped he would suit up one last time for Canada on the international stage, perhaps to bring some luck to what will be a lackluster squad pieced together from leagues around the world. It doesn’t seem like that will happen now, after his hip surgery has kept him out longer than expected.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Ryan Malone Returns To Iowa Wild
It wasn’t so long ago that Brandon Sleik and Michael Russo of The Athletic were reporting that Ryan Malone‘s return to the Iowa Wild was far from guaranteed, but apparently the team has decided to bring him back for at least a little while longer. According to the AHL transactions page, Malone has once again signed a professional tryout with the AHL Wild as he continues to train to potentially play in the Olympics for Team USA.
Malone came out of retirement this summer to test the waters and try to either return to the NHL or make a bid for a spot on the Olympic team. His eight-game stint for Iowa before leaving for an international tournament with the National Select team wasn’t all that productive, as the 37-year old winger recorded just one assist and 16 penalty minutes while accruing a -8 rating.
Iowa has turned their season around recently with an 8-2 record in their last ten games, but often lose forwards like Luke Kunin and Joel Eriksson Ek to Minnesota between games. Malone can at least provide some stability and experience to the club until his next international test, which could be the Spengler Cup at the end of December.
Russia Attempting To Pass Bill To Forbid KHL Players From Olympics
Already with the NHL not participating in the Olympics, a new report has surfaced today from NHL.com’s Igor Eronko that the Russian parliament is preparing a bill for the KHL that would allow the league to forbid its players to participate in the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. That would also include players in the league from other countries as well, suggesting that Russia doesn’t want any national team to use KHL players.
That could put a damper on any hopes of Canada and the United States from putting together competitive teams as both squads were expected to dip into the KHL for players on their respective teams. TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that this new development could get sticky as both the United States and Canada teams believe that U.S./Canada players in the KHL are there on IIHF transfers and the IIHF has sanctioned Olympic participation.
The news comes on the heel of news that International Olympic Committee will decide on Dec. 5 whether Russia will be allowed to compete in the Pyeongchang Winter Games due to state-backed doping at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
If this bill goes through, it could also start an uproar from former NHL players like Andrei Markov, who went overseas with the intention of playing in the Olympics. With the NHL already having decided long ago they will not participate in next year’s Olympic Games, Russia was considered to be the favorite since they would have the best players outside of the NHL. Perhaps not.
Gary Bettman Speaks On Olympics, CBA
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman took the stage today in Toronto at the PrimeTime Sports Management conference, and was asked a multitude of questions regarding the upcoming 2018 Olympic Games and the possibility of expansion in the future. Emily Kaplan of ESPN was there and reported on the highlights, including one particularly chilling Olympic answer.
One: [IOC President] Thomas Bach said if you don’t go to Korea, you can’t come to Beijing. Well, OK. Thank you. The second is, if the Winter Olympics comes back to North America, I’m not saying we’d go, but it’s a different equation.
The mention of Beijing of course refers to the 2022 Olympics set to be held in China, a Games that there is no guarantee the NHL will return for. There is clearly a desire from the players to go to the international tournament, as stars from Alex Ovechkin to Connor McDavid to Drew Doughty have all expressed their disappointment this year. Not every player gets many chances to represent his country at a tournament as highly-regarded as the Olympics, but perhaps the NHL is trying to change that. Bettman brought up the World Cup, a NHL-NHLPA owned event that had a so-so reception from the hockey world last fall. The league wants to hold that tournament every four years, which would essentially replace the Olympics in some sense.
It is interesting that Bettman mentioned the North American factor, as just today Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi spoke to reporters including Donna Spencer of the Canadian Press about the city’s potential 2026 bid.
It’s council’s choice, it’s Calgary’s choice, but if we choose to bid, we’ll win. The question is, is it right for Calgary right now? If it’s right for Calgary, then we will go all guns in. I think that we will have an incredibly powerful bid and I think we’ll win.
The return of the Winter Olympics to Canadian soil would surely come with public outcry for the league to return, and Bettman has obviously already had discussions about that exact scenario. There is by no means a guarantee that Calgary submits a bid (in fact, today’s comments may lean towards them abandoning the project) but it is nice to hear that the league admits it would be a different situation should they come back to North America.
Interestingly, the current President of the IIHF Rene Fasel also announced that he will retire from his position in 2020 when his term is up. While there is no indication that would change anything between them, the IOC and the NHL, it could spark at least some more dialogue on how to get the best players in the world back competing.
Much of the Olympic and World Cup talk though revolves around what will happen in 2019 when both the NHL and NHLPA have opt-outs from the current CBA. That would cancel the agreement in 2020, meaning a possible work stoppage is again on the horizon. Bettman talked about how he hates work stoppages, but would do whatever is needed to secure a solid future for the game. With a dispute over escrow becoming the main talking point between the two sides, the next two years should be filled with hard-nosed negotiations and media mud-slinging. For fans of a sport that’s seen a season and a half already lost to work stoppages in the last 15 years, the possibility of another one is a crippling thought.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Vadim Shipachyov Still Waiting On Paperwork
We learned this weekend that the NHL and NHLPA have agreed on a resolution to the Vadim Shipachyov scenario, but still we haven’t been given anything official. According to Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, that’s because the two sides are still working on the paperwork to allow Shipachyov to “retire” from the NHL, with an official announcement not expected until Wednesday.
The deal will have Shipachyov pay back most of the $2MM signing bonus and leave the league, much like Ilya Kovalchuk did previously. His current contract will be voided, but the Golden Knights will retain his rights until he turns 35. That means, if he wants to make a comeback at some point he would need to sign a new deal with Vegas—which seems very unlikely after how this situation has played out.
It seems ever more likely that the one goal he scored this season will be the first and last he’ll ever tally in the NHL, a disappointing ending for a player who was expected to be one of faces of the league’s newest franchise. Now most of the intrigue surrounding Shipachyov will be whether he is selected to play for Russia in the Olympics, something he’s never done previously.
KHL Could Block Players From Participating In Olympics If Russia Is Banned
The KHL may consider blocking its players from participating in the upcoming Olympics if the Russian Federation is banned from participating as a result of the doping scandal from the 2014 Games, Sport-Express’ Igor Eronko reports (Twitter link). The league has scheduled a lengthy break during the season (from January 24th through February 25th) to coincide with the event so even if they do stop their players from going, all of them will still be off for a month.
While that would clearly take Russia out of the equation, it would also wreak havoc on several other countries that are likely to draw from KHL teams as well. For the Karjala Cup (which teams are using as a pre-Olympics camp) that gets underway next week, Canada has 16 KHL players on their roster while Finland has 13, Sweden has 11, and the Czech Republic has nine. The United States, Switzerland, and Slovenia all have players in that league as well.
Although the possibility exists for athletes from countries that are barred from participating to play under a neutral flag, Russian players would not do so, Gennady Timchenko, chairman of the KHL Board of Directors and vice-president of Russia’s Olympic Committee, told R-Sport (link in Russian). In an interview with Eronko (link in Russian), IIHF President Rene Fasel stated that if Russia was not allowed to participate, they would not be replaced by another country for the tournament.
A final decision has not been made by the International Olympic Committee regarding Russia’s eligibility just yet nor has the KHL officially decided that they would block all of its players from participating in response to a ban though league president Dmitry Chernyshenko told Eronko (Twitter link) that he is prepared to do so if it comes to it. However, it appears that there is at least a chance that an already weaker Olympics in terms of availability of players could find itself drawing from even less of a talent pool.
Rasmus Dahlin To Play In Karjala Cup
Team Sweden released their roster for the upcoming Karjala Cup today, and Craig Button of TSN provided us a snapshot of the list. Remember, this is the tournament where Hockey Canada will send their Olympic tune-up squad and will be a sneak peek of what to expect at Pyeongchang in 2018. If your eyes spot an odd birthday in the mix, you’re not crazy. Rasmus Dahlin, born March 13th, 2000 will be heading to the tournament for his country. The 17-year old defenseman is the front-runner to be the first-overall pick in next year’s NHL draft, and fans look like they might get an up close viewing of him against international talent over the next few months.
In addition to the Kajala Cup, Dahlin seems like a lock for Team Sweden at the World Junior U20 (though he would actually qualify for the U18 tournament) and could even work his way into a spot at the Olympics. While that still seems like a long-shot, even being in the conversation at this point is ridiculous. Dahlin is seven years the junior of the next youngest Swedish defenseman on the Kajala roster, and has just Linus Soderstrom—a 21-year old goaltender drafted by the New York Islanders—and Rasmus Asplund—a 19-year old forward drafted by the Buffalo Sabres—anywhere close to his age group.
Dahlin is playing for Frolunda in the SHL currently, recording six points in his first 14 games with the professional club. Even at 17, he doesn’t look out of place playing against men sometimes twice his age. A dynamic offensive player, who has looked better in his own end and adds some physicality at times, Dahlin is a franchise-changing player that should be considered among the best defensive prospects in several years. While there is a chance he falls out of favor and loses his #1 standing next June—this draft has several incredible prospects at the top—a good showing at international tournaments will only increase his profile.
Button also provides the roster for Team Finland, which has two standout names. Miro Heiskanen and Eeli Tolvanen will both suit up for their country, just a few months after being selected in the first round of the NHL draft. Heiskanen of course went third-overall to the Dallas Stars, while Tolvanen fell all the way to 30th thanks to a late denial of his Boston College application. He eventually went to the Nashville Predators, who are likely quite pleased with their selection at the back end of the round.
Tolvanen has 23 points in 24 games for Jokerit of the KHL, setting all kinds of rookie records in the process. The 18-year old winger has immense offensive potential, and already has experience with the North American game having spent two seasons in the USHL before being drafted. Heiskanen on the other hand is playing for HIFK of the Finnish Ligga (both Jokerit and HIFK are based out of Helsinki) and has recorded eight points in eight games while providing his normal error-less two-way game. Heiskanen and Tolvanen are among the early standouts from the 2017 draft class, despite not playing in North America this season. Both should have long careers ahead of them, and will start to prove it on the international stage at the upcoming tournament.
The Karjala Cup is hosted in Sweden and Finland from November 6th to 12th.