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Snapshots: Draft Rankings, Kovalchuk, NWHL

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The 2019 NHL Entry Draft is just over a month away, but the next few weeks could still determine the top few selections. Kaapo Kakko and Jack Hughes are set to battle head to head at the upcoming IIHF World Championship while playing with other NHL stars and their individual performances could determine the final outcome of June’s draft. It’s unsurprising then that Hughes and Kakko continue to lead Sam Cosentino of Sportsnet’s draft rankings, but it’s not like they’re the only ones still playing important hockey.

Bowen Byram, ranked third on Cosentino’s list, is currently leading the WHL playoffs with 23 points in 18 games and has a chance to even the championship series against Prince Albert tonight. Byram recorded 71 points in 67 games this season, and is the top defenseman available in this year’s draft. His placement at third is an interesting one though, as the Chicago Blackhawks who own the selection have drafted defensemen with their first two picks in each of the past two years—Adam Boqvist and Nicolas Beaudin in 2018, and Henri Jokiharju and Ian Mitchell in 2017. If the Blackhawks decide not to pick another blue liner they’ll have a few names to choose from, as prospects 4-10 on the list all skate up front.

  • Speaking with reporters including Igor Eronko of Sport-Express while working with the Russian national team, Ilya Kovalchuk explained that he is still motivated to play for the Los Angeles Kings and has reached out to some former players who spent time under head coach Todd McLellan. Kovalchuk clearly did not find the good graces of Willie Desjardins last season and ended the year with just 34 points while seeing fewer than 16 minutes of ice time in nearly half of his 64 games. The 36-year old winger has two years remaining on his $18.75MM deal signed last summer.
  • The NWHL is desperately trying to stay afloat after more than 200 of the best women hockey players in the world announced a boycott last week, but they’ll have to do it without the help of Kim Pegula, co-owner of the Buffalo Sabres. The Buffalo Beauts were the only team in the NWHL that shared ownership with an NHL franchise, but will now be operated by the league after Pegula announced that the relationship will be severed. As Hailey Salvian and Katie Strang of The Athletic (subscription required) write, the Beauts were the “gold standard” of the NWHL, mostly because of their relationship with the Sabres and access to resources other teams did not have.

Penguins’ Liam Gorman Commits To Princeton University

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The Princeton University Tigers received some major news today, as Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Liam Gorman announced that he had committed to join the program for next season. The big power forward will join a roster that did not feature any NHL draft picks this past season and lost several veteran leaders, and could immediately step into a top role as a freshman.

Gorman, who turns 19 this week, was a sixth-round pick by the Penguins last year out of St. Sebastian’s School in Massachusetts. The Boston-area native returned to St. Sebastian’s for one more year as the team’s captain and senior leader, but played through the whole season without making a decision on his NCAA future. In the meantime, he helped to grow his own game while playing a key role for a talented St. Sebastian’s squad. On one of the more talented teams at the New England prep school level this year, Gorman played alongside highly-regarded 2019 draft-eligible defenseman Jayden Struble, Boston University commit Liam Connolly, and uber-talented 15-year-old Jack Hughes. Gorman was the glue guy though – a 6’3″, two-way center who works hard and using his big frame to win battles and create offense.

Princeton hopes that he can bring that game to the college level right away next season. Outside of a surprise ECAC Tournament championship in 2018, it has been a decade since the Tigers were a presence on the national scale. Even with recently-signed NHLers Ryan Kuffner and Max Veronneau on the roster, Princeton still finished ninth in the conference and now have to deal with the loss of their top two scorers. They hope that Gorman, who is undoubtedly the highlight of the incoming recruiting class, can help make up for those losses and take the program on that first step back toward relevance during his tenure. Playing at the home of Hobey Baker himself, the pressure will be on the Penguins prospect to be a difference-maker, but with his size, strength, and mature game, Gorman should be ready to handle the expectations.

Youth Added To Team USA For IIHF World Championship

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USA Hockey has announced a trio of new additions to their IIHF World Championship roster, and all three represent the next wave of NHL talent. Not only will the team bring in potential first-overall pick Jack Hughes, but newly acquired New York Rangers prospect Adam Fox is heading to Slovakia along with Ottawa Senators defenseman Christian Wolanin.

Hughes is obviously a huge addition after lighting up the U18 tournament last month, but Fox represents a very interesting situation. The 21-year old defenseman was traded from the Carolina Hurricanes to the Rangers just yesterday, but hasn’t officially signed his entry-level contract. While it is obviously expected to happen before the season begins, technically he still could return to Harvard for his senior season in 2019-20. Fox will be joining Brady Skjei on the Team USA roster, a potential defensive partner next season with the Rangers.

Wolanin meanwhile is a little bit older than the other two, after turning 24 in March, but also brings a little bit of NHL experience. The Senators defenseman has 40 games under his belt at the highest level, but still spent most of this season in the minor leagues with the Belleville Senators. The former University of North Dakota standout has 15 points in those first 40 NHL contests, and is expected to take on a bigger role with Ottawa next season.

The full roster is now as follows:

G Thatcher Demko
G Cayden Primeau
G Cory Schneider

D Quinn Hughes
D Alec Martinez
D Brady Skjei
D Ryan Suter
D Noah Hanifin
D Adam Fox
D Christian Wolanin

F Alex DeBrincat
F Jack Eichel
F Luke Glendening
F Patrick Kane
F Clayton Keller
F Chris Kreider
F Dylan Larkin
F James van Riemsdyk
F Frank Vatrano
F Colin White
F Johnny Gaudreau
F Derek Ryan
F Jack Hughes

Hughes, at just 17 years old will become the youngest player ever to suit up for Team USA at the World Championships.

Morning Notes: Datsyuk, Worlds, Fix-Wolansky

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Pavel Datsyuk’s contract has come to an end with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, but he’s not yet a completely unrestricted free agent. Datsyuk’s NHL rights still belong to the Arizona Coyotes until July 1st after they took on his contract in a cap relief deal. Still, Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News reports that the veteran forward is on his way to Michigan soon to discuss options with his agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, and that he would only return to the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings.

That by no means guarantees a return for Datsyuk, who according to Kulfan would also consider playing for his hometown team in Russia. That would be Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, who actually had an outstanding 2018-19 season but were upset in the second round of the Gagarin Cup playoffs. That option still does seem the most likely, given that Datsyuk will turn 41 in July.

  • Auston Matthews won’t be heading to the IIHF World Championship later this month, but the next potential American-born first-overall pick will be there instead. John Shannon of Sportsnet reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs star would not take part in the tournament, but Jack Hughes will join his brother on the USA squad. Hughes has just finished smashing nearly every record possible over the last year in the USNDTP and U-18 tournament, and will now try to show off his skills for the New Jersey Devils who hold the top pick in June’s draft.
  • Team Canada has also added another player to their roster, bringing in Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jared McCann. The Canadians have a few spots left for late additions, but will rely on the likes of John Tavares, Sean Couturier and Mark Stone to form the veteran core up front.
  • The Cleveland Monsters have added Trey Fix-Wolansky on an amateur tryout for the rest of the season, after his Edmonton Oil Kings were eliminated from WHL playoff contention. Fix-Wolansky was a seventh-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2018 but put up 102 points in 65 games as the captain of the Oil Kings this season, and has already signed his entry-level contract that will kick in next season.

Metropolitan Notes: Devils Defense, Santini, Svechnikov

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The New Jersey Devils outlook for their future shot upwards a few weeks ago during the draft lottery after they won for the second time in three years, and now have the opportunity to add top prospects Jack Hughes or Kappo Kakko. However, one thing that is missing from a potential playoff roster in the future is a dominant defenseman.

The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required) divides up the current roster, but makes it clear on many occasions that what the team truly needs is a dominant defenseman who can run the defense. Even with 2018 first-rounder Ty Smith likely to join the team next season, the team could very well be on the lookout for a dominant blueliner via trade (if one can be found), suggesting the team may have to move one of their current top three to make a deal like that work in either Damon Severson, Will Butcher or Sami Vatanen.

Both Severson and Butcher are listed as unlikely to be traded unless a blockbuster deal can be found are both considered to be top-four defenseman along with Vatanen, but both blueliners would have significant value in return for an elite defenseman. Vatanen would unlikely have much trade value due to his age, but more importantly due to his injury history.

  • Sticking with the Devils defense, the team hopes they have found a regular to their defensive core as defenseman Steven Santini seemed to have found his niche in the final six weeks of the season. The 24-year-old had dealt with injuries and time in the minors, but looks to have a good chance to establish himself as an everyday defenseman next season for New Jersey, according to NJ.com’s Chris Ryan. After missing a large chunk of the season after breaking his jaw on the first game of the season last year, Santini came back in December, but needed time to find his game. His opportunity came at the trade deadline when the team traded Ben Lovejoy to Dallas, giving Santini a shot at Lovejoy’s minutes. He took advantage of them. “He’s got to be difficult to play against. Tight gaps on line-rush defense. He needs to be hard at the net front. He needs to be able to end plays defensively down low,” Devils coach John Hynes said. “We’d like to see him take a step on a penalty kill, missing a guy like Ben Lovejoy where he could fill into that type of role. And understanding that his puck skills need to improve.”
  • With Game 2 lineups out, the Carolina Hurricanes still don’t have injured forward Andrei Svechnikov back in the lineup. The 2018 second-overall pick has been in concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in a fight with fellow-Russian Alex Ovechkin in the first round of the playoffs. News & Observer’s Chip Alexander reports that a Game 3 return would be perfect timing for the Hurricanes and would get the home crowd even more hyped up, regardless of Carolina’s Game 2 performance.

Jack Hughes Sets U-18 Worlds Scoring Record

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Presumptive No. 1 overall pick and future New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes is only adding to his legacy as the 2019 NHL Entry Draft draws closer. With three points in today’s bronze medal win over Team Canada, the American phenom reached a record 32 points over his career at the IIHF U-18 World Junior Championship. This breaks the previous mark of 31 total points, scored by future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin from 2002 and 2003.

Hughes, who turns 18 next month, made his U-18 WJC debut last year for Team USA. Then just 16, Hughes nevertheless put his effortless play-making ability to work and recorded 12 points in seven games en route to a silver medal. The talented pivot has been even more impressive a year later, totaling 20 points in seven games. Hughes’ name will no go down in the record books as the best ever to play in this particular tournament and it could be a tough mark to break, as it will take another talent capable of playing in two tournaments, which is uncommon. This tournament caps off an incredible season for Hughes, as he totaled 111 points in 49 games this season between the U.S. National Team Development Program and the U-20 and U-18 World Juniors for a whopping 2.27 points per game.

Hughes’ efforts continue a string of records set by the Americans, as teammate Cole Caufield tied the U-18 single-tournament goal record of 14, also set by Ovechkin. This USNTDP roster could be remembered as one of the best of all-time, with Hughes and Caufield as two of at least seven players expected to be selected in the first round of the draft in June and upwards of 25 who could be taken at some point. A bronze medal thus comes as a disappointment for the team at the U-18’s, but it won’t be long before many of them have a new challenge at the pro or collegiate level next season.

Morning Notes: Gronborg, Hayton, Hughes

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There are still quite a few coaching vacancies around the NHL after some of the big names have been snatched up in recent days, and Scott Burnside of The Athletic (subscription required) breaks down all the expected candidates in a new piece. While the scribe details everyone from Dave Tippett to Scott Sandelin, one interesting name appears with a connection to the Buffalo Sabres. Burnside notes that after missing out on Todd McLellan recently, the Sabres threw Rikard Gronborg’s name “into the mix” for their head coaching positions.

Gronborg is an extremely well respected name in international coaching circles, but it would certainly be an out of the box hire for the Sabres as he doesn’t have any previous NHL experience. Still, there were rumors that GM Jason Botterill considered Ralph Kruger during his last head coaching search, and he is likely turning over every possible stone to try and find the right fit for his flailing organization.

  • Barrett Hayton finished his OHL season with 82 points in 50 combined regular season and playoff games, the expected big step forward in production after being the fifth-overall pick last June. His development has gone so well that Craig Morgan of The Athletic (subscription required) suggests that he may even compete for a roster spot with the Arizona Coyotes for the coming season, despite not turning 19 until this June. Hayton will be too young to be eligible for the AHL as he was drafted out of the CHL, meaning he’ll have to go back to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds if he fails to make the Coyotes roster. While that’s not a death sentence for his development, it certainly might not be the best place for him after all he showed this season.
  • If you wanted proof that Jack Hughes was a little bit ahead of his fellow draft eligible players, he’s providing it at the U18 World Championship. After a quiet opening game with just a single point, Hughes recorded seven in his second game of the tournament and already has a goal in today’s matchup with Russia. The potential first-overall pick is doing his best to show he still belongs at the top of every draft board, while others like Cole Caufield and Alex Turcotte continue to impress.

NHL Central Scouting Releases Final 2019 Rankings

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The NHL Central Scouting has released their final rankings for the 2018 Entry Draft, listing the best prospects in both North America and the rest of the world. Though Jack Hughes is still expected to be taken with the first-overall pick, Kaapo Kakko is giving him a run for the top spot while the rest of the top ten is anyone’s guess.

At this year’s Draft Lottery, the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks were able to secure the top three selections. The full draft order can be found here. These scouting lists will help to inform who your team might have a chance at, though obviously anything can happen. The top-5 North American and International skaters are listed below:

North America:

  1. Jack Hughes, USA U-18, NTDP
  2. Bowen Byram, Vancouver Giants, WHL
  3. Kirby Dach, Saskatoon Blades, WHL
  4. Alex Turcotte, USA U-18, NTDP
  5. Dylan Cozens, Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL

International:

  1. Kaapo Kakko, TPS, Finland
  2. Vasily Podkolzin, Neva St. Petersurg, Russia
  3. Victor Soderstrom, Brynas, Sweden
  4. Ville Heinola, Lukko, Finland
  5. Philip Broberg, AIK, Sweden

While Hughes and Kakko leading their respective lists doesn’t come as much of a surprise, there are some interesting other rankings to be found. Byram’s rise to the second spot for North America is sure to draw plenty of attention, as he passes over his WHL rivals in Dach and Cozens from the midterm ranking. Byram has had an incredible season for the Giants with 71 points in 67 games and offers real first-pairing NHL upside. Arguably the best defenseman available in the class, he won’t have to wait long to hear his name on draft day.

Not to be outdone, undersized defenseman Heinola jumps up several spots from the midterm after a similarly excellent season in Finland. Though the doesn’t have the eye-popping point totals that Byram does—Heinola scored 14 points in 34 games—the fact that he recorded a regular shift in a professional league is impressive enough. Add that to a World Junior gold medal and things have gone quite well for the left-handed defenseman this season. He could potentially be the second defenseman off the board if his stock keeps rising.

Central Scouting also released their rankings for the top goaltenders, but there is no doubt that Spencer Knight leads the way at the position. The USNTDP netminder has a chance to be one of the highest selected goaltenders in several years, and should go at some point in the middle of the first round.

Rosters Announced For U18 World Championship

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The rosters for both Team USA and Team Canada have been released for the upcoming U18 World Championship, and they include some top prospects set to be drafted this summer. Jack Hughes is the obvious name to watch on the American squad, but several of his teammates from the USNTDP are also sure to turn heads. The full U.S. roster is as follows:

G Spencer Knight
G Cameron Rowe

D Domenick Fensore
D Drew Helleson
D Case McCarthy
D Henry Thun
D Alex Vlasic
D Marshall Warren
D Cam York

F John Beecher
F Matthew Beniers
F Matthew Boldy
F Cole Caufield
F Judd Caulfield
F Sean Farrell
F Michael Gildon
F Jack Hughes
F Owen Lindmark
F Patrick Moynihan
F Landon Slaggert
F Trevor Zegras

Several other players including Zegras, Caufield, Knight and York are all considered potential first-round selections, making this U18 squad a powerhouse in the upcoming tournament. The team will be looking for their 11th gold medal in the event, the most by any country. John Wroblewski will be the head coach.

Meanwhile, Canada is also putting together an impressive group of prospects but unfortunately will not have potential first-overall pick Alexis Lafreniere available. That’s because Lafreniere is still in the QMJHL playoffs with Rimouski and could go all the way to a Memorial Cup. Instead the focus will be on potential top-five pick Dylan Cozens and several other 2019 draft-eligibles. The full pre-competition roster is as follows:

G Taylor Gauthier
G Dylan Garand
G Jonathan Lemieux

D Braden Schneider
D Kaedan Korczak
D Thomas Harley
D Michael Vukojevic
D Jamie Drysdale
D Lukas Cormier
D Daemon Hunt

F Brayden Tracey
F Keean Washkurak
F Nathan Legare
F Mavrik Bourque
F Jamieson Rees
F Alex Newhook
F Ryan Suzuki
F Dylan Cozens
F Connor Zary
F Peyton Krebs
F Hendrix Lapierre
F Jean-Luc Foudy
F Jacob Perreault

The Canadian team does not appear on paper to be as dominant as their American counterparts, but anything can happen in a short tournament. The group will be coached by Brett Gibson, and could invite more players from the CHL as teams are eliminated.

The tournament begins on April 18th in Sweden.

2019 NHL Draft Lottery Results

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The ping pong balls have been drawn and the first 15 picks of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft are set. The league conducted its annual Draft Lottery tonight and the big winners were the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, and Chicago Blackhawks. The Devils, with an 11.5% chance of winning the No. 1 overall selection, did just that and astoundingly will have their pick of the class for the second time in three years. New Jersey won the draft lottery in 2017 and selected Nico Hischier and will have the chance to add another elite talent this year. This continues the almost comical lottery luck that has followed Taylor Hall in his career, moving from Edmonton to New Jersey. The Rangers held a 7.8% chance of moving up to the second overall pick and in this specific draft class were very lucky as well, as their consolation prize will be the second of two elite players at the top of the draft board. This will also be the first time in the modern draft era that New York selects within the first three picks. The Blackhawks may have a more difficult choice facing them at No. 3, but aren’t complaining after jumping from No. 12 into the top three, a move that had just a 3% chance of happening. Chicago has been a dynastic franchise this decade and will look to return to greatness by adding one of the draft’s top talents. Altogether, these three teams all moving up in this order was a result that had just a 0.027% chance of occurring.

Following the lottery results, the odds for which were set by the final league standings for non-playoff teams, the first half of the first round will play out as follows:

  1. New Jersey Devils
  2. New York Rangers
  3. Chicago Blackhawks
  4. Colorado Avalanche (from Ottawa Senators)
  5. Los Angeles Kings
  6. Detroit Red Wings
  7. Buffalo Sabres
  8. Edmonton Oilers
  9. Anaheim Ducks
  10. Vancouver Canucks
  11. Philadelphia Flyers
  12. Minnesota Wild
  13. Florida Panthers
  14. Arizona Coyotes
  15. Montreal Canadiens

The biggest loser of the night has to be the Colorado Avalanche, who fall out of the top three spots despite having a 49.4% chance of winning at least one of the those picks. This is the second time in just three years that Colorado has entered the lottery with the best odds at No. 1, only see three teams win the lottery and pass them up. In 2017, it was again the Devils who stole their top pick. After swindling the Ottawa Senators, it seemed the Avs were destined to cash in, but instead end up with the worst-case scenario. The Los Angeles Kings also have to be unhappy with the results, as the team slides from their second-to-last finish to the fifth overall pick. The Kings desperately could have used an injection of elite young talent next season and may not end up with an immediate contributor at No. 5. While they didn’t have the best of odds, the Vancouver Canucks are undoubtedly still disappointed in missing out on an opportunity to pair Jack Hughes with older brother Quinn Hughes, the team’s first-round pick in 2018 who already made a splash in his first few pro games down the stretch, or to at least make a top-three selection in front of the home crowd.

The younger Hughes, who was actually in attendance at tonight’s lottery event, has of course long been considered the likely top pick this spring and should start getting used to the idea of playing in New Jersey. The U.S. National Team center is considered a high-end play-maker already and turned down a scholarship to the University of Michigan earlier this season, knowing that he could be an impact player immediately in the NHL. As for the fit with the Devils, Hischier has already climbed atop the depth chart at center, but New Jersey will soon be able to boast amazing youth and depth down the middle with the addition of Hughes. Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko has pressured Hughes to be the top pick this year, but many still see him as a close second. The Rangers won’t mind, as Kakko is an extraordinary offensive talent who will score goals and throw his body around right away in the NHL. Kakko could become a major star in the New York market with his flashy goal-scoring ability and will certainly have the opportunity to play a major role right away. At third overall, there are many options for the Blackhawks, but the early expectation based on organizational depth would be a skilled forward like Vasili Podkolzin or Alex Turcotte. Chicago already has several promising young defensemen in the pipeline and can now add an elite forward to their growing young core of Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome, and Brendan Perlini. Now relegated to the No. 4 pick, the Avalanche will still undoubtedly get a strong player, just as they did two years ago with Cale Makar, if not an immediate contributor in the top remaining prospect on their board. A player like big Canadian center Dylan Cozens would fit in nicely with what Colorado is building.

Now that the order is set, the next step is the draft itself. Everyone may have their projections, but only the day of will reveal the actual futures of these teams and players. This year’s draft is set to take place in Vancouver beginning on June 21st, a day that New Jersey, New York, and Chicago are now much more excited for. Stay tuned.

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