Canucks Sign Dylan Ferguson To PTO Deal
The Canucks have been looking for some goaltending insurance with Thatcher Demko‘s lingering injury. They’ve found an extra netminder for training camp as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed Dylan Ferguson to a PTO agreement.
The 25-year-old spent last season in the KHL after being non-tendered last summer. He played in 23 games with Dinamo Minsk, posting a 9-9-0 record along with a 2.51 GAA and a .904 SV%, putting him 30th and 46th respectively in those categories.
Ferguson has three career NHL appearances under his belt, one with Vegas in their inaugural season and two with Ottawa in the 2022-23 campaign. In between those outings, he has spent parts of four seasons in the minors but played only sparingly due to injuries, getting into just 29 games overall where he put up a 2.56 GAA and a .915 SV%.
As things stand, Arturs Silovs is set to serve as the starter in Demko’s absence with free agent signing Jiri Patera – formerly Ferguson’s teammate in Vegas – operating as the backup. That could give Ferguson a chance to battle for minutes with Nikita Tolopilo and Ty Young who are both on their entry-level deals. While it seems unlikely that Ferguson would get an NHL deal at this time, if he does, he can be controlled through the 2025-26 season.
PHR Mailbag: Bounce-Back Seasons, McDavid, Breakout Player, Flames, Bedard, Demidov, No-Move Clauses
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include what type of point production could be expected from Connor Bedard this season, which teams could be interested in Calgary’s veterans, and much more. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in last weekend’s mailbag.
frozenaquatic: This is a question about expectations, both low and high: Who has a bigger bounce-back season, Matthew Beniers or Trevor Zegras? How do Leo Carlsson and Adam Fantilli stack up in their sophomore campaigns? And what do we really expect out of Pierre-Luc Dubois for the Caps in terms of production (what’s your prediction for goals and points)?
DigbyGuy: I would add Dylan Cozens to the bounce-back season question.
1) Between Beniers, Zegras, and Cozens, I’d go with Cozens. The Ducks had a dreadful showing offensively last year and didn’t add anyone of consequence to help their roster. Yes, there will be some improvement from their young core – including Zegras – but a bounce-back year for him might be staying healthy and getting to 55 points. I think Beniers can beat his rookie-season numbers although I’m not expecting a huge jump past that. I’d put him in the 60-65-point range. Cozens has already gotten there before and I expect the Sabres to be more consistent offensively so I’d slot him a few points ahead of Beniers.
2) I’m concerned about the offensive situation in Columbus. More specifically, the lack thereof. The Blue Jackets have a very weak attack as things stand and even if Fantilli plays a big role, a big point total is unlikely. I could see him around 50-55 points. Anaheim’s situation, as I noted above, isn’t particularly good either but I’d put theirs ahead. Add to that Carlsson likely playing on the front line (Fantilli probably starts behind Sean Monahan, their big offseason signing) and I think Carlsson lands around 60-65 points.
3) I think Dubois will primarily line up on the second line which is going to put his playing time pretty close (maybe slightly better) than it was with the Kings last season. He’s also now on a team that doesn’t have quite as much offensive depth. That should give Dubois enough runway to be more productive than he was a year ago but I wouldn’t put him at the level he was at with Winnipeg. I think he’ll wind up somewhere around 22 goals and 53 points.
drew ford: There’s social media banter about Connor McDavid playing out his Oiler contract and signing back home in Toronto. Do you think this is a possibility?
Two years out from McDavid’s free agency, anything is technically a possibility at this point. If things go entirely off the rails this season, he could very well decide that he wants to see what it’s like to play somewhere else and yes, his hometown team could theoretically be one of those options. But the odds of that happening have to be quite low.
For starters, Edmonton is widely expected to be a contender this season and just inked Leon Draisaitl to a record-setting contract, declining to match two offer sheets to ensure enough money was available to do so. This is a team that is squarely focused on winning now. When you’re in an environment like that and having the type of success he has had, why leave? If they were embarking on a rebuild, that’s one thing but there’s no indication they’ll be in that situation for the foreseeable future.
The other challenge the Maple Leafs would have is affording him. Yes, Mitch Marner and John Tavares are on expiring contracts and if they were only replaced (or retained) on one-year deals, they could keep enough flexibility to be able to afford McDavid should he actually hit the open market in 2026. I don’t see that happening so I’m skeptical they’d be able to afford the $16MM or more it’s probably going to take to sign him. But again, it’s highly unlikely he makes it that far anyway. Never say never to a hypothetical free agent situation two years out but let’s just say this is something I don’t expect to happen.
Nha Trang: Time for my annual question: who’s the guy who comes out of nowhere to be a major impact player this season?
Evidently, I’m getting worse at this each season. The first time this question came up, I had Tage Thompson in his breakout year. Then I went with Taylor Raddysh for 2022-23 and while he managed 20 goals, that wasn’t the same level of a breakout. Morgan Geekie was my pick last season and although he had a career year with 39 points in 76 games, that’s not a true breakout. (I did get a reasonable return on one of my two longshot picks though with Michael Carcone getting a 21-goal campaign after just having six career NHL tallies heading into the year.)
For 2022-23, I put in a self-imposed criterion that a player couldn’t be in the top 300 in scoring. Otherwise, that player wouldn’t exactly be coming out of nowhere. I’ll continue to stick with that despite it making this question a bit more challenging.
My initial thought to this question is Montreal’s Kirby Dach. He’s coming off yet another injury-riddled campaign but he showed some positive signs when healthy in his first season with the Canadiens. He also now has an intriguing winger in Patrik Laine. If the two of them can stay healthy (and that’s a big if on both fronts), it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Dach could push for 60 points which would be a new personal best by a pretty big margin. That’s not quite a Thompson-like leap but it would certainly flip the script on him being an underwhelming top-three pick to an impact player.
Jaysen: I’m not an expert by any means but I can sense that the Flames are about to enter a full-scale rebuild, even though they might not say it. Kadri has been rumored to be available. But that Huberdeau contract is nearly impossible to move. I’d keep Weegar, for now.
What are your top three destinations for both Kadri and Huberdeau, and what would be the best trade return for both players that could benefit the Flames? And for Huberdeau, let’s propose a return where the Flames retain and one where they don’t.
DigbyGuy: I would add Rasmus Andersson to this as well.
I’m going to cover Jonathan Huberdeau first as the answer here is pretty quick. With him making $10.5MM through 2030-31 and coming off two seasons with a point total in the 50s, there isn’t one viable trade option for him let alone three. That contract might be the worst in the league. Could there be a fit with maximum retention? Possibly but the return wouldn’t be anywhere near enough to justify the $36.75MM in actual money they’d have to pay Huberdeau not to play for them; ownership probably isn’t signing off on that type of move either. Maybe there would be an option three or four years from now when the term isn’t as bad but right now, that’s not a movable contract.
Nazem Kadri, on the other hand, has a viable trade market should GM Craig Conroy choose to pursue it. At $7MM for four years, it’s a bit pricey for a second liner but there’s always high demand for a center. Winnipeg comes to mind as a good fit as they’ve been looking for a consistent second center behind Mark Scheifele for a while. Minnesota would be another fit although they’d need to wait until next season to do it (or Calgary would really have to pay down the cost) to make it work within their current cap situation. But they’re another team that hasn’t had a consistent number two option for a while.
For a third team, I’d put Chicago which might seem strange at first glance given the prospect depth they have down the middle. But those prospects might be a couple more years away and at that point, Kadri becomes a high-end third option, one they can afford since they’ll have so many players and prospects on likely below-market contracts. But as they look to get through their rebuild, they will need some capable veterans.
As for a hypothetical trade scenario, there are way too many elements to consider here. Can they retain? If so, how much? Can they take money back? If so, how much? How full-scale of a rebuild are they going for? That determines the preferred type of assets to acquire (draft picks, junior-aged prospects, or pieces close to contributing now.) Each answer to each question would modify the trade proposal and that’s too many variables to get through in a piece like this for three separate teams. The short answer is that if it’s a full-scale rebuild (and I’m not convinced it is), get the best combination of assets possible regardless of whether they’re near-ready pieces or ones that are five or six years away. You can always find short-term stopgaps (bridge players as I call them sometimes) to fill out a roster or hold a spot to allow a prospect to develop properly so Conroy shouldn’t restrict himself to looking for specific types of assets.
Onto Andersson now. If Calgary decides to move him, I imagine Conroy would get a call from about 15 general managers in about 15 minutes. The contract is more than manageable ($4.55MM for a top-pairing player for only two years) and he’s a right-shot player to boot, the side that’s always in high demand. The best way to answer this is as follows. If you’re wondering about teams who might be interested, look at the standings on March 1st. Pretty much any team within five points of a playoff spot at that time would be calling unless they’re a team already well-stocked on the back end. Dallas and Nashville come to mind in particular; no, I wasn’t cherry-picking Central Division teams as landing spots on purpose, it just worked out that way.
bottlesup: With Bedard getting a year of experience under his belt and much more veteran support around him, is it possible to think he can hit a point per game this year?
Yeah, I’d say that’s a more than reasonable goal to try to achieve. He wasn’t that far off the mark last season with 61 points in 68 games. With the return of Taylor Hall (who missed all of last season) and the additions of Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen, he’s going to have wingers who are much better fits to play on the top line and should be better at finishing some of Bedard’s passes. If he stays healthy, 90 points is where I’d peg Bedard’s point total at for the upcoming season.
Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Jani Hakanpää
Sunday: Toronto has officially registered the contract, per PuckPedia. The deal contains a signing bonus of $695K and a base salary of $775K, the league minimum. Hakanpää also received an eight-team no-trade clause.
Wednesday: Defenseman Jani Hakanpää‘s eventful trip through unrestricted free agency ended after an offseason full of speculation. The Toronto Maple Leafs made public that the team has signed Hakanpää to a one-year contract worth $1.47MM.
Back at the beginning of the offseason on July 1st TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the Maple Leafs and Hakanpää agreed to a two-year contract with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relaying a $1.5MM cap hit each season. Mum was the word after that as Toronto never registered the contract with the league offices as Hakanpää’s knee injury became a cause for concern. Hakanpää’s year during the 2023-24 season was cut short on March 16th as he underwent an arthroscopic procedure.
After debating whether or not Hakanpää would be healthy enough to play on Toronto’s blue line the team ultimately decided to mitigate their risk with a one-year deal. Despite the relatively low cap hit it complicates an already tight Maple Leafs’ cap structure. The team entered the afternoon with approximately $400K in salary cap room according to PuckPedia and Hakanpää’s salary will now put them in negative territory.
The risk may be solid as Hakanpää’s last three years with the Dallas Stars were more than quality. He scored a mild 12 goals and 40 points over 226 games but his 668 hits and 363 blocked shots over that span made him one of the more physically oppressive defensemen in the league. The Stars played a suffocating style on defenseman and Hakanpää was one of the reasons their structure became so restrictive for opponents.
There won’t be much expectation for high levels of ice time at 5on5 play for Hakanpää but he should see a healthy amount of minutes on the team’s penalty kill. He jumps from a penalty kill ranked 8th last season to one that was ranked 23rd. He also should help Toronto keep the puck out of their net. The team wasn’t horrible in that category last season by any stretch of the imagination but their 3.18 GA/G did rank 21st in the league which could be improved upon.
His benefit to Toronto’s blue line will only be important if he is available making his knee injury something to monitor. If he can play much of the regular season the Maple Leafs’ defense will certainly be nastier to play against this year, especially after factoring in the team’s free addition of Chris Tanev earlier in the summer.
Snapshots: Ehlers, Demko, Zelenov, Buium
Earlier in the offseason, there was a fair amount of trade speculation surrounding Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers although a move never materialized. Now in the final season of his seven-year, $42MM contract, the 28-year-old is now extension-eligible leading some to wonder if the fact he wasn’t traded could mean there are positive signs towards a new agreement. That doesn’t appear to be the case, however, as GM Kevin Cheveldayoff told Thomas Drance of The Athletic (subscription link) that they are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to contract talks for Ehlers. While he allowed for the possibility of in-season discussions, he noted that they might wait to address it until after the upcoming season. Ehlers had 25 goals and 36 assists in 81 games last season, his best offensive performance since when he was on his entry-level contract. It appears Cheveldayoff may be wanting to wait to see if that will be repeatable under new head coach Scott Arniel before beginning extension talks.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Canucks don’t have a target date in mind for Thatcher Demko to return from his knee injury, head coach Rick Tocchet told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. However, the bench boss acknowledged that the netminder is excited about how his recovery is progressing and that he has been improving over the past two to three weeks which is certainly a positive sign. Vancouver has been looking at free agents to see if there’s a viable option to bring in as insurance but as of yet, they haven’t been able to reach an agreement with one. Arturs Silovs, who took over the starting job in the playoffs, is in line to open the season as Vancouver’s starter assuming Demko won’t be ready to play by then.
- Sabres prospect Vasili Zelenov has committed to play for Wisconsin, reports Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 18-year-old was a seventh-round pick in June, going 204th overall after a strong season in Austria that saw him record 37 points in 40 games. Zelenov is set to suit up for USHL Green Bay this season and will likely look to make the jump to Wisconsin for the 2025-26 campaign.
- Red Wings prospect blueliner Shai Buium was injured today after taking a shot off the ankle, relays Max Bultman of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team is hopeful that he will be able to take part in Detroit’s training camp but it’s too early for that to be known just yet. Buium is getting set for his first professional season after spending the last three years at the University of Denver. He finished up his college career on a high note with 36 points in 43 games last season before making his debut with AHL Grand Rapids for one game.
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign James Van Riemsdyk
4:56 PM: The Blue Jackets made the deal official according to a team announcement. Waddell said, “James van Riemsdyk has been a very consistent, productive player throughout his career and bringing him to Columbus will not only provide depth to our group up front, but also valuable leadership and another veteran presence in our dressing room“.
3:34 PM: TSN’s Chris Johnston is reporting the Columbus Blue Jackets have signed UFA forward James van Riemsdyk. A few moments later, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that it would be a one-year, $900K contract for van Riemsdyk in Columbus.
The veteran sniper will join the fourth team of his career as the Blue Jackets inch closer to the salary cap floor. It was reported only yesterday that Columbus would be looking to add up front after moving on from Patrik Laine this summer and the tragic loss of winger Johnny Gaudreau at the end of last month. Forward Justin Danforth is not expected to be ready for the start of the regular season due to a wrist injury that knocks the Blue Jackets down to 10 healthy forwards. Putting together a complete lineup is more forward in the mind of general manager Don Waddell, as there isn’t an expectation the team will be penalized for starting the year under the salary cap floor.
JVR is no longer the offensive threat he used to be with the Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs but should reasonably add some punch to the middle-six of Columbus’ forward core. He’s coming off a one-year deal with the Boston Bruins in which he scored 11 goals and 38 points in 71 games while also skating in his 1000th NHL contest. Most of his points in Boston came in the first half of the season, with seven goals and 29 points through the first 41 games. He only managed four goals and nine points in the last 30 games without having a major decline in ATOI.
Columbus can reasonably expect 30 to 35 points from JVR this year but his real value may come through his leadership skills. He made it to the Stanley Cup Final in his rookie campaign with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2009-10 with seven more appearances in the postseason since. He’s scored over 300 goals at the NHL level and could be a tremendous teacher to the number of young guns on the Blue Jackets’ roster.
He may become a buy-low trade candidate this season for contending teams looking to add scoring in their bottom six. The Blue Jackets are not expected to compete, and van Riemsdyk’s $900K salary will be more than affordable for interested parties. The now second-oldest player in Columbus will have to take advantage of the first half of the year if he hopes to compete for a Stanley Cup by the end of next season.
Atlantic Notes: Sabres Captain, Minten, Brandsegg-Nygård
General manager Kevyn Adams and head coach Lindy Ruff appear close to naming a captain for the Buffalo Sabres according to WGR’s Paul Hamilton. The team has not had a captain since trading Kyle Okposo to the Florida Panthers at last year’s trade deadline who held the role since the 2022-23 season.
Hamilton quoted Adams saying, “We’ve talked at length about it and Lindy said that he wants to get to know the guys. He spent a lot of time in the summer whether in person or on the phone, but just being around them and feeling them in practice, and I think we’re on the same page“. Although Adams was non-committal about when the organization may name their next captain all signs indicate it will happen before their first game on October 4th.
The top two candidates will likely be between defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and forward Alex Tuch. Dahlin is the former first-overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Sabres and has isolated himself as one of the best defensemen in the league. Tuch, on the other hand, is not necessarily the most talented player on the roster but holds a very public love for the city of Buffalo having grown up just east of the team in Syracuse, NY.
Other Atlantic notes:
- The Toronto Maple Leafs received a mild scare today with forward prospect Fraser Minten stepping away from the rest of today’s prospects game against the Montreal Canadiens. He was hit awkwardly into the boards in the second period before exiting from the game but Nick Barden of The Hockey News reports he’s only being held out for precautionary reasons. The former 38th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft went scoreless in his first few games with the Maple Leafs last season and is expected to spend much of next year with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.
- On the other side of the border, the Detroit Red Wings are dealing with mild injury news to one of their forward prospects. Max Bultman of The Athletic reports that Michael Brandsegg-Nygård tweaked his groin in yesterday’s matchup against the Dallas Stars and will not play today. There’s no cause for concern for the recent 15th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft after registering an assist in yesterday’s win. He’s expected to join Detroit in Traverse City on Thursday to begin training camp as the team did not want to force a quick turnaround on their new prospect.
Victor Soderstrom Signs Two-Year Deal In SHL
Sunday: TSN’s Chris Johnston reports the deal is finalized and Soderstrom will join Brynäs on a two-year agreement. It will mark the first time since the 2019-20 season that Soderstrom has suited up for the Swedish squad. The Utah Hockey Club will retain his signing rights as a restricted free agent should he choose to return to North America after the end of the contract.
Saturday: Should the deal get finalized, it will be a two-year agreement for Soderstrom in Brynäs, Abrahamsson and Rose report. There is no word if the deal contains an NHL out clause should Utah move Soderstrom’s NHL rights.
Thursday: One of the remaining restricted free agents around the NHL is Utah defenseman Victor Soderstrom. He has made it known that he wasn’t a fan of how things went last season when he only got into three games with the Coyotes after playing in 30 in 2022-23.
While the plan seemed to be for him to remain in North America for the upcoming season, that may not be the case anymore. Aftonbladet’s Hans Abrahamsson and Tomas Rose report that Utah is not inclined to part with the 2019 first-round pick. Meanwhile, while Soderstrom’s preference would be to sign an NHL deal, it appears as if he’s unwilling to do so with Utah at this time, resulting in him looking into overseas options.
Abrahamsson and Rose note that quite a few Swiss League teams and SHL squads have shown interest in the 23-year-old with his old team in Brynäs believed to be finalizing a deal with him. In doing so, Soderstrom will be leaving some money on the table compared to other offers out there but it would allow him to return to the program he spent several years in before being drafted by Arizona.
Last season, Soderstrom played in 62 games with AHL Tucson, notching nine goals and 23 assists, both career-bests at that level but it didn’t seem to help his fortunes for a recall. Now, with Utah overhauling its back end with the additions of Mikhail Sergachev, John Marino, and Ian Cole, securing a roster spot to start the season will be even more difficult.
It’s worth noting that Soderstrom is now waiver-eligible so had he signed an NHL deal, he’d have had to go through waivers to return to the minors, giving other teams an opportunity to add him. Instead, it appears as if he’ll return home at least for the upcoming season. Utah will retain his rights as a restricted free agent and the stalemate between the two sides will continue for the foreseeable future.
Exploring Options At Defense For Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers will enter the 2024-25 NHL season with a glaring hole on the right side of their defense. The team will likely have to deploy one of Josh Brown, Ty Emberson, or Troy Stecher on the second pairing but it strikes as a major need if the Oilers plan on competing for a Stanley Cup again this season.
Radio commentator for the team, Bob Stauffer, indicated today that a right-handed shot defenseman with term will be on Edmonton’s radar this season but is fairly vague about when they will ultimately make that addition. Edmonton still has a few options left on the free-agent market such as Kevin Shattenkirk or Justin Schultz. Still, Stauffer’s report indicating that the Oilers are looking for term attached likely alienates any current free-agent candidates.
Not only will it push Edmonton away from any free-agent options but the report from Stauffer indicates the Oilers will peruse the trade market for a second pairing right-handed shot defenseman. Their options are limited at this stage of the NHL calendar but there are still a few options worth exploring.
Arguably the best option for Edmonton resides about 200 miles south in Calgary. Rasmus Andersson of the Calgary Flames has two years and $9.1MM remaining on his contract and represents an ideal candidate for the Oilers to plug into their top four. He’s scored 138 points in 239 games for the Flames over the last three years while averaging 23:31 of ice time per night. Andersson can be trusted in all situations and is a responsible player in the defensive zone.
Despite the fit and the separate trajectories of both teams — the Oilers and Flames don’t like each other to put it bluntly. The two organizations have only connected on three trades in their histories with the most recent coming in 2019 being a swap of James Neal and Milan Lucic. General manager of the Flames, Craig Conroy, has shown a willingness to trade within the Pacific Division but aiding his organization’s biggest rival may be too bitter of a pill to swallow.
The Washington Capitals are another option although they would not be considered a rebuilding organization. The team brought in Matt Roy this summer on a six-year, $34.50MM contract which may make them more comfortable moving a defenseman such as Trevor van Riemsdyk. He wouldn’t be as much of a needle mover as Andersson but he would be a more reliable option than their internal candidates.
The younger van Riemsdyk brother recently played in his 10th NHL campaign last year and has excelled in blocking shots. He’s averaged 126 blocked shots a season with the Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes, and Capitals and the Oilers could use more of that after finishing 30th in the category last season. Adding van Riemsdyk to their defensive core would give Edmonton a grace period in adding a true top-four defenseman as they could then move van Riemsdyk to the bottom-pairing next to Darnell Nurse or Brett Kulak.
Edmonton will be hard-pressed to find other options on the trade market with most teams having already finalized their roster heading into the 2024-25 NHL season. The Oilers are unique as their offense could easily carry them to the trade deadline but the right side of their defense must be addressed before the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Devils Expected To Sign Kevin Labanc To PTO
The New Jersey Devils are expected to sign longtime San Jose Sharks winger Kevin Labanc to a professional try-out agreement. The deal was first reported by Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.
Labanc – a native of Brooklyn, New York – has spent the entirety of his eight-year NHL career with the Sharks. He made his NHL debut in 2016, just two years after his sixth-round selection in the 2014 NHL Draft. Labanc was effective out of the gates, recording eight goals and 20 points in 55 rookie games. His scoring climbed over the next two seasons, peaking with a career-high 17 goals and 56 points in the 2018-19 season – the only year that Labanc played in all 82 games. But he’s been on the down-slope ever since, with a pair of 33-point seasons the closest he’s come to matching his career year.
Labanc finally fell out of the lineup last season. He scored just two goals and nine points in 46 appearances, ultimately ceding ice time to the likes of Givani Smith and Daniil Gushchin. That’s a heavy blow to take on an offense as poor as the 2024 Sharks – but Labanc can’t be written off just yet. He’s still managed 225 points across 478 games, and could offer stout third-line scoring for a team in need. New Jersey certainly fits that bill, looking for consistent lineup pieces to surround Erik Haula and Curtis Lazar in the bottom-six. Labanc will step into competition for minutes with wingers like Nathan Bastian, Stefan Noesen, and Paul Cotter when New Jersey opens their training camp on September 18th.
Rookie Notes: Clarke, Cristall, Barkey, Tuomaala
The start of NHL rookie camps is bringing a boost of motivation out of the league’s next-up, felt most by top Los Angeles Kings prospect Brandt Clarke, who shared with Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period that he’s pushing for more than an NHL spot. Clarke told Bernstein, “[My own] expectations are higher than anyone could put on me. I expect the best of myself…..I want to be great. I want to be a key contributor on the team….. I told my dad this year, my goal isn’t just to make the NHL, it’s to excel in the NHL.”
Those are proud words from one of the top defensive prospects across the NHL. Clarke played through his first pro season last year, recording 46 points in 50 AHL appearances, and adding six points in his first 16 NHL games. He posted the highest production from a rookie AHL defender since Kings teammate Jordan Spence posted 42 points in 46 games in 2021. But Clarke’s ability to command the #1-lineup role in the midst of that scoring is what’s made him stand out. He should get a chance to work into a top-line and special-teams with L.A. this season, and seems ready to take the chance in stride.
Other notes from the prospect world:
- Top Washington Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall has his eyes similarly set on the NHL roster, telling Sammi Silber of The Hockey News that his goal is, “obviously to make the team… I’m checking the boxes pretty well.” Cristall played through his final year of juniors hockey last year, finally breaking the century-scoring mark (111 points in 62 games, to be exact) after years of chasing it. He finishes his four-year WHL career with 280 points in 191 games, though many have criticized his chances of translating that scoring to the pro flight. He’ll stand a chance to prove his doubters wrong by earning a spot on the opening day lineup.
- Philadelphia Flyers winger Denver Barkey is sitting out of camp activities to start this week, with Jordan Hall of NBCS Philly sharing the prospect is dealing with illness. Barkey – whose position was swapped from LW to RW this camp – skated through the early part of rookie camp, and isn’t expected to miss a large chunk of time. He’s coming off a premier year in the OHL, recording 35 goals and 102 points in 64 games with the OHL-champions London Knights. Barkey is a high-energy, undersized winger who’s shown the drive to jump to the next level. He’ll continue fighting to take that step when he’s healthy again, though Barkey does have one more year of OHL eligibility available.
- Fellow Flyers wing prospect Samu Tuomaala is also out of action, described as “just a little banged up” by Jordan Hall. He’s also been an early standout of rookie camp, playing in both games so far and scoring the OT-winner in Philadelphia’s Saturday matchup. Hall adds that Tuomaala seemed fine in postgame interviews, suggesting that Philadelphia could be taking an abundance of caution with their up-and-comers. Tuomaala played through an impactful AHL rookie season last year, netting 43 points in 69 games. That should position him as one of the top minor-league options headed into the new year.