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Laurent Brossoit, Artyom Levshunov, Wyatt Kaiser To Begin Season On IR

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The Blackhawks released to reporters yesterday that, as expected, goaltender Laurent Brossoit and defensemen Artyom Levshunov and Wyatt Kaiser will all begin the regular season on injured reserve. Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Sports relayed the news.

There’s still no specific timeline for a return for Kaiser, the only one of the group placed on standard IR. The placement, which is due to illness, is retroactive to Sep. 19, Tirabassi relayed. That was the first day of Chicago’s training camp, which Kaiser has yet to be a full participant in. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier in the week that pre-camp testing flagged an undisclosed concern with Kaiser’s health that was invasive in nature, but that he’d since been cleared. He’s still ramping up to game speed, though, and won’t be ready for their season opener in Utah on Oct. 8.

Kaiser shouldn’t miss too much more time after that, though. That’s good news for the Hawks, who are hoping to work the 22-year-old into more regular minutes this season. A third-round pick in 2020, he split last year relatively evenly between Chicago and AHL Rockford. He looked like he’d taken a step forward in his NHL appearances, though, posting seven assists and an even rating in 32 games. Averaging 17:19 per game, they certainly could’ve gotten worse out of a young defender on a rebuilding squad.

Meanwhile, Brossoit and Levshunov are beginning the season on the non-roster list, which is no surprise. Both sustained knee and foot injuries, respectively, late in the offseason that the team said would keep them out of training camp and plunge their regular season opener availability into doubt. Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson did say Thursday that Brossoit is on track to return sometime during their season-opening road trip, though, so he’ll likely be added to the roster by the end of next weekend.

The 31-year-old will serve as a far more formidable backup to Petr Mrázek this year after logging a sparkling .927 SV% over the past two years in limited usage with the Golden Knights and Jets. That’s a massive step up on the level of play provided by 25-year-old Arvid Söderblom last year, who posted a .879 SV% and 3.92 GAA in 32 appearances behind Mrázek en route to carrying one of the worst stat lines in the NHL.

He or Kaiser will be the first one to return to action. Levshunov’s season debut, whether it comes with Chicago or Rockford, will need to wait until mid-to-late October. Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson said on Sep. 20 that the 2024 second-overall pick was still four weeks away from returning to game action after taking a puck to the foot in rookie camp. Levshunov, 19 later this month, had 35 points and a +27 rating in 38 games for Michigan State last year as a freshman before promptly signing his entry-level contract after being drafted by Chicago.

Blue Jackets Reassign Seven Players

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Oct. 5: The five players mentioned below were returned to AHL Cleveland this morning, along with goaltender Jet Greaves and center Owen Sillinger, per the team.

Oct. 4: For the second time in the past few days, the Blue Jackets have summoned some reinforcements from AHL Cleveland to get another crack in exhibition play after previously being cut from their training camp roster. Defensemen Cole Clayton and Stanislav Svozil were part of a round of recalls a few days back and are now again on the NHL roster, while centers Luca Del Bel Belluz and Hunter McKown and left wing James Malatesta are joining them today as well, the team announced. The quintet will suit up for Columbus tonight as they take on the Penguins in their final preseason game.

Clayton’s, McKown’s, and Svozil’s standings in the organization were covered during their roster moves earlier this week. But the 20-year-old Del Bel Belluz getting another look this late in camp isn’t wholly insignificant. The 6’0″ pivot was a second-round pick in 2022 and, thanks to his November birthday, was eligible for a full-time AHL assignment last year. The Blue Jackets took advantage, placing the youngster on the farm with Cleveland. He impressed, finishing sixth on the team in scoring with 31 points (9 G, 22 A) in 58 games.

There remain some concerns over his defensive game, but it was a strong initial showing on the scoresheet for Del Bel Belluz, who likely warranted a late first-round selection in his draft year. He made his NHL debut in Columbus’ final game of the 2023-24 season against the Hurricanes, scoring his first NHL goal in 9:35 of ice time.

Meanwhile, Malatesta got a bit of a longer look at the NHL level last season, with a rash of injuries creating opportunities for some of Columbus’ younger forwards. The 21-year-old Montreal native didn’t look entirely out of place, posting two goals and two assists for four points with a -1 rating in 11 games. He managed 12 shots on goal and a whopping 41 hits – nearly four per game – while averaging 10:13 per night. The 2021 fifth-round pick is a strong skater and a true energy winger, playing much bigger than his 5’9″, 190-lb frame would indicate. He had 12 goals and 22 points in 56 games for Cleveland last year in his first taste of professional hockey.

Lightning Expected To Release Logan Brown

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The Lightning have released center Logan Brown from his professional tryout, PuckPedia reports. He’s expected to remain in the organization on a contract with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.

Brown signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Bolts back in July 2023 after being non-tendered by the Blues. But the 6’6″ pivot sustained a hip injury in training camp that required surgery, which ended up shutting him down for the entire 2023-24 season.

Unfortunately, after being given a second chance in Tampa on a PTO, Brown has also missed the last few days of camp with an undisclosed injury. Injured players can’t be placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment, so for now, signing him to an NHL deal and attempting to send him to Syracuse that way wouldn’t have been an option. Instead, he’ll start the year in Syracuse to get up to speed as he returns from a lengthy injury absence. He’s still an unrestricted free agent and is eligible to sign with any NHL club, but it’s certainly possible Tampa Bay will look to quickly re-sign Brown after he gets some AHL action and attempt to pass him through waivers to send him back to the Crunch or keep him around on the NHL roster.

The 26-year-old Brown made his NHL debut with the Senators back in 2017-18, one year after being taken 11th overall in the 2016 draft. The big-bodied center has never been able to convert his offensive success from juniors to the NHL level, posting only seven goals and 26 points in 99 career appearances thus far in parts of six seasons. He’s been much more effective in the minors, where he has 98 points in 115 games for the Blues and Senators affiliates.

Brown’s 27th birthday is in March 2025, so regardless of his service time lost to injury, he’ll be eligible for outright UFA status next summer if he happens to ink a one-year deal with the Lightning or any other team.

Evening Notes: Rangers, Aube-Kubel, Blues

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New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin returned to practice today, but remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury, head coach Peter Laviolette shared with Arthur Staple of The Athletic. Top prospect Brennan Othmann replaced Panarin in the team’s Friday night preseason matchup against the Islanders.

Othmann has managed four points through the preseason, tied with defender Zachary Jones for the team’s scoring lead. He’s managed one goal and three assists, all primary, making him one of just five Rangers with multiple primary points this preseason. Othmann is preparing for his second professional season, after netting a shrewd 49 points in 67 AHL games last season. He’ll get another chance to show the Rangers his might on Friday, while Panarin preps for the team’s October 9th season opener.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Buffalo Sabres winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel was seen wearing a brace on his left leg after the team’s season opener, shares Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. Head coach Lindy Ruff didn’t provide any updates, other than mentioning that the team will know more this weekend. Aube-Kubel is one of the many fighting for a spot in Buffalo’s bottom six. He scored two points in two preseason games, and managed two shots in the team’s first game.
  • The St. Louis Blues have extended their affiliation with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds through the 2030-31 season. The two sides have been partnered since 2020, on a deal that was originally set to expire in 2025. Springfield has produced heaps of talent for the Blues roster in the years since, including being the initial testing grounds for current Blues head coach Drew Bannister. Springfield has managed a 111-87-22 record across three seasons under the Blues, though they’re coming off a losing record in 2023-24 (30-37-5).

Blues Recall Eight Players From AHL

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The St. Louis Blues have recalled eight players from the AHL in preparation for their final preseason game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. The full list of call-ups includes forwards Dalibor Dvorsky, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Mathias Laferriere, MacKenzie MacEachern, Hugh McGing, and Dylan Peterson; as well as defensemen Samuel Johannesson and Hunter Skinner.

That’s emphasized by the fact that none of the recalled managed any preseason scoring, despite each playing in at least one game excluding Peterson. In fact, the bunch only combined for five shots through their collective 10 games. Luckily, St. Louis’ preseason wasn’t as unproductive as the Blackhawks – who’ve so far managed just four goals in four games.

St. Louis’ bunch of recalls is led by 2023’s 10th-overall selection, Dalibor Dvorsky – a popular pick to make the Blues roster headed into training camp. His demotion to the AHL likely snubs those hopes, though Dvorsky is still carrying plenty of momentum into his first professional season in North America, after recording 45 goals and 88 points in 52 OHL games last season. The Slovak has been a top prospect throughout his teens and joined Sweden’s AIK for his age 17 and 18 seasons. Playing in the HockeyAllsvenskan – Sweden’s second-tier pro league – Dvorsky combined for 17 points in 55 games across the two seasons, enough to inspire the Blues to spend their earliest draft pick since they selected Alex Pietrangelo fourth-overall in 2008.

Pending a major breakout in Saturday’s matchup, all eight recalls can expect to head back to Springfield in due time. The Thunderbirds open their season against the Laval Rocket on October 12th, while St. Louis will kick things off in Seattle on October 8th.

NCAA Preparing Vote To Expand Eligibility To CHL

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The NCAA is prepared to vote on a proposal that could expand eligibility to CHL players, per NHL player agent Allan Walsh and Jim Connelly of USCHO.com. Connelly adds that the vote will implement emergency legislation, if passed, and could occur during one of the board’s routine Tuesday and Wednesday meetings. This decision follows pressure from an antitrust lawsuit filed in August, that claimed the NCAA’s exclusion of CHL athletes is unlawful. The NCAA organized a committee to review the league’s eligibility in response to the lawsuit and received an official recommendation to expand eligibility.

While this vote formalizes the news, the topic of allowing CHL players into the NCAA has rapidly gained popularity over recent months. That hype peaked when Regina Pats forward Braxton Whitehead announced a commitment to Arizona State University. Current rules list Whitehead as ineligible to join ASU, as he’s already played five seasons and 199 games in the WHL – suggesting that a change is imminent. Whitehead scored 96 points in those outings, slowly climbing his way up Regina’s roster and finding his footing as a responsible, middle-six winger.

It’s presently unclear how this vote would impact the NCAA, or when fans may be able to expect the new recruiting pool to open up. The standard CHL player contract already covers costs of post-secondary schooling – though that’s typically led players to Canadian universities. CHL contracts also hold players through the age of 20 – or four CHL seasons – a rule that would seem sensible to translate into a partnership with the NCAA.

Whitehead’s verbal commitment currently has him joining the Sun Devils for the 2025-26 season. He may not be the only Canadian juniors player to make that jump, should the looming vote go through.

Maple Leafs Announce Multiple Minor Injuries

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced a handful of injuries as they approach their final game. The group is notably led by winger Nicholas Robertson, who’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury per David Alter of The Hockey News. Robertson has been among Toronto’s biggest standouts this preseason, netting a team-leading three goals through four appearances. Toronto has been vocal about Robertson’s chance to earn more ice time this season, as they look to fill the void left by 20-goal scorer Tyler Bertuzzi, who moved to the Chicago Blackhawks this summer. Robertson has stifled through menial NHL roles for the past three seasons, with the 2023-24 campaign representing his only full year with the Leafs. He’s so far totaled 34 points, split evenly, in 87 career appearances.

Robertson will be joined on the absentee list by defender Jake McCabe (upper-body) and utility forward Calle Jarnkrok (lower-body), who are bearing through day-to-day injuries of their own per a team announcement. Both players have only played in two games this preseason, and neither scored a point.

McCabe proved the healthier of the two in 2023-24, though a groin injury held him out of nine games in the year’s first half. He scored a career-high eight goals and 28 points in his remaining 73 games, while averaging over-20 minutes of ice time for the first time since the 2021-22 season. Jarnkrok’s role wasn’t as substantial, instead spending his time rotating through the team’s third line. He recorded 10 goals and 21 points in 52 games, near-perfectly half of his scoring totals from last year.

All three players seem to be locks for Toronto’s lineup when healthy, plenty of reason to be cautious with just one preseason matchup against Detroit remaining on their calendar. They’ll now each look to heal quickly, in preparation for the Leafs’ season opener against Montreal on October 9th.

Blue Jackets Place Dmitri Voronkov On Injured Reserve

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are set to open the 2024-25 NHL season without forward Dmitri Voronkov. The team announced they’ve placed Voronkov on injured reserve with an upper-body injury from their most recent preseason contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He originally came to the organization as the 114th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft from the Kontinental Hockey League. He spent four more years suiting up for the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan but the Blue Jackets quickly pulled him to North America after his impressive 2022-23 KHL season where he scored 18 goals and 31 points in 54 games.

Voronkov became one of the few bright spots on Columbus’ roster last year scoring 18 goals and 34 points in 75 contests finishing fifth on the team in scoring as a rookie. The season was good enough for some outside consideration for the Calder Memorial Trophy as Voronkov placed 11th in voting.

It will be a while before Voronkov follows up on his strong rookie campaign with Aaron Portzline of The Athletic indicating that Voronkov will be out long-term. The Blue Jackets did not give a timeline for his return in their original announcement.

It’s another blow to a forward core that is still facing the void of Johnny Gaudreau after his tragic death in August. Voronkov was expected to be a reliable scorer Columbus could plug into their top- or middle-six even before the team signed unrestricted free agent forward James van Riemsdyk to a one-year deal. The Blue Jackets will need big years out of several players if they hope to improve or maintain their 2.85 GF/G from a year ago.

Jack Campbell Enters NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program

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The National Hockey League and its Players’ Association have announced Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jack Campbell has entered the Player Assistance Program and will be away from the team indefinitely. Campbell signed a one-year, $775K contract with the Red Wings on the opening day of free agency this past offseason.

It’s an unfortunate turnaround for Campbell as he had hoped to rebuild his value on a one-year contract in Detroit after a disappointing 2023-24 season with the Edmonton Oilers. Campbell signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Oilers after a 2021-22 season in which he earned a .914 save percentage in 49 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Campbell would only see two years of his five-year, $25MM contract in Edmonton.

The team bought him out at the end of the 2023-24 season after Campbell posted a 22-13-4 record in 39 starts from 2022-24 with a .886 SV% and 3.53 goals-against average. The Oilers sent Campbell down to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, after only five games last year and he proved much better in the minor leagues. He secured an 18-13-1 record with the Condors in 33 games with a .918 SV% and 2.63 GAA in his first AHL competition since 2018-19.

Campbell was always likely to find himself with the Red Wings’ AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, with the team having one of the most crowded creases in the league. Detroit was poised to enter the 2024-25 NHL season with Ville Husso, Alex Lyon, and prospect Sebastian Cossa already under contract and brought in Campbell and Cam Talbot over the offseason. Campbell will now look to the Player Assistance Program for help and work through whatever he is going through.

Waiver Wire: 10/4/24

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According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman all 17 players on waivers yesterday have cleared. There are again several players to hit the wire today as reported by Friedman:

Anaheim Ducks

F Jansen Harkins

Boston Bruins

G Michael DiPietro
F Vinni Lettieri
D Jordan Oesterle

Florida Panthers

F William Lockwood

Los Angeles Kings

F Taylor Ward

New Jersey Devils

F Justin Dowling
F Mike Hardman
F Samuel Laberge
F Nathan Légaré
F Maxwell Willman

Philadelphia Flyers

F Olle Lycksell
F Anthony Richard

Pittsburgh Penguins

F Emil Bemström
D Nate Clurman
F Jonathan Gruden
F Joona Koppanen
D Filip Král
D John Ludvig
F Samuel Poulin

Tampa Bay Lightning

G Matt Tomkins

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Alex Steeves

Washington Capitals

D Ethan Bear
F Luke Philp
F Michael Sgarbossa

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