Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Players

Snapshots: Ullmark, Tuomaala, Penguins

at CDT | by 4 Comments

The newest Ottawa Senators starter Linus Ullmark is reportedly getting comfortable in Ottawa. TSN’s Shawn Simpson shares that the former Vezina Trophy winner has purchased a home in the area and could begin discussing a contract extension soon. Ullmark is entering the final year of a four-year, $20MM contract signed with the Boston Bruins. He spent the deal emerging as one of the NHL’s premier goalies, posting a dazzling 88 wins and .924 save percentage across 130 games in Boston. But the emergence of Jeremy Swayman made Ullmark’s role expendable and the Bruins decided to sell high – sending him to Ottawa in exchange for a first-round pick, Joonas Korpisalo, and Mark Kastelic.

Ullmark now stands as the most promising Senators goalie in at least a few years. Korpisalo served as the team’s most recent starter and performed dismally, posting just 21 wins and an .890 save percentage in 55 games played. The performance was the peak of a string of struggling years for the Senators goaltending room, which has featured a different starter in every season since 2019-20. Ullmark will look to buck that trend this year by upholding his strong play under the scrutiny of the Canadian market.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Philadelphia Flyers prospect Samu Tuomaala shared in an interview with Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he almost retired from hockey two years ago – one year after his second-round selection in the 2021 NHL Draft. He had worked his way up to the Liiga, Finland’s top league, but struggled to find much of a role, or much scoring. Those woes continued into the 2022-23 season and through moves across four Finnish teams – but Tuomaala ultimately managed just three points in 40 Liiga games. His struggles continued into the Mestis, Finland’s second-tier league, until Tuomaala was finally moved to Kettera, where he resurged with 46 points in 29 games. He rode that momentum into a rookie AHL season this past year, tallying an impressive 43 points in 69 games – good for third on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in scoring. The wind is clearly back behind Tuomaala’s sails and, at just 21, there’s still plenty of time for him to become a true top prospect. He’ll have a chance to prove that worth, and maybe even fight for an NHL debut, next season.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t been shy about trades this offseason but they may still sit a few moves away from a compliant roster. Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now points out that the current lineup would force the Penguins to send multiple six-figure contracts down to the minor leagues. That’s a hefty investment – and is likely a prevalent thought as the team considers moving players like Lars Eller and Noel Acciari. Pittsburgh currently carries $874K in cap space, per PuckPedia.

Afternoon Snapshots: Couture, Chernyshov, Draft Location

at CDT | by 7 Comments

San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture has been ramping up his training in San Jose this summer, new head coach Ryan Warsofsky shared with Sirius XM. Warsofsky added, “He’s working extremely hard. He’s in San Jose. He’s been in San Jose. He’s training. He’s working out. I know he’s feeling good, and I know when Logan is feeling good, we will let him play.”

Warsofsky’s comments continue the sentiment laid out by his predecessor, David Quinn, who emphasized that the team had a plan for Couture’s path back to the ice. It seems the next big step hinges on when Couture feels ready to return to the lineup, though where he’ll slot in when he’s back will also be a big question. The Sharks recently signed star prospects Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith to their entry-level contracts. Both players project confidently as centerman at the top level, though they may need a bit of support as they find their footing. That could be where Couture comes in – playing on the rookie’s wing and supporting them on faceoffs or in the defensive end. It’d be a well-timed move to the flanks – after all, Couture hasn’t posted a faceoff percentage above 50 percent in a decade. A new role next to high-upside prospects should be enough to maintain Couture’s other stats, though, adding a player with 25-goal and 50-point upside into a Sharks lineup desperate for offense.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Sticking in San Jose – Sharks forward prospect Igor Chernyshov has undergone a shoulder repair surgery known as a Latarjet Procedure, per his agent Dan Milstein. Chernyshov is slated to join the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit for next season, though his debut in the league will likely be delayed by the one-to-two months it takes to recover from surgery. Chernyshov was the first pick of this year’s second round, after a confident season with Russia’s Dynamo Moscow – where he recorded 28 points in 22 juniors game and four points in 34 KHL games. He’s a hefty and responsible forechecker who’s strong both on and off of the puck. The Sharks will hope those traits hold strong through shoulder surgery. If they do, Chernyshov could be on a fast track to the pros, having signed his entry-level contract at the beginning of this month.
  • The NHL is looking to keep the excitement around the NHL Draft, eyeing Los Angeles as the frontrunner to host the 2025 Draft and NHL Awards ceremonies, shares David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. 2025 will mark the first time that the draft is decentralized, allowing team staff to stay in their local market rather than populating the draft floor. That will certainly change the back-end approach for teams, though the front-facing structure is likely to be largely maintained – with players greeting commissioner Gary Bettman on stage after their selection. That’s the format of both the NFL and NBA Drafts, which both succeed the NHL in annual viewership despite being decentralized for years.

Evening Notes: Acciari, Hamonic, Simpson

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Winger Noel Acciari has joined the list of Pittsburgh Penguins forwards on the trade market, as Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now shares that he and Lars Eller are among the likeliest to be moved. Kingeski adds that Eller could be the preferred option for the Penguins, though moving either player will only serve to open room for recent acquisitions Cody Glass, Blake Lizotte, and Anthony Beauvillier.

Acciari is the younger of the two by three years but could still prove the cheaper acquisition. He’s played for four teams over the last four seasons, scoring just 38 points in 152 games across that span. His per-game scoring decreased in each season, ending with a measly seven points in 55 games with the Penguins this year. Acciari’s aggression and physicality have kept him in the lineup –  though he was still subject to healthy scratches last year. Acciari is signed at a $2MM cap hit through the 2025-26 season – $450K cheaper than Eller, who expires next summer – a reasonable price for teams needing to bolster their bottom lines.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Defenseman Travis Hamonic has fully recovered from the knee injury that cut his 2023-24 campaign in half shares Steve Warne of The Hockey News. Hamonic recorded just six points in 48 games last season, though he also continued a track record of lacking poise with 40 penalty minutes. Hamonic is in the final year of a two-year, $2.2MM deal signed with the Senators last summer – though Warne mentions that he’ll have to fight for a lineup spot as players like Max Guenette and Jacob Bernard-Docker find their footing in the NHL.
  •  Longtime Montreal Canadiens scout and former pro Reid Simpson has stepped down from his role to pursue another opportunity in the NHL, confirms Le Journal de Montréal. The details of Simpson’s new role, including where he’s headed, haven’t yet been revealed, though it will mark his first move as an NHL staffer, after spending the last eight seasons in Montreal. Simpson’s playing career guided him through stints with nine NHL teams – including Philadelphia, Montreal, Nashville, and Pittsburgh. He carried those talents to Vityaz Chekhov of Russia’s top league in 2005, recording a daunting 531 penalty minutes across 77 games and two seasons with the team. Simpson is poised for new opportunity as an NHL staffer, now well past his career as a bruiser and his inaugural stint with the Canadiens.

Red Wings’ Goaltending Future Seems Clear

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Detroit Red Wings did little to solidify their goaltending room this summer, after a confusing 2023-24 campaign in net. Starter Ville Husso was besieged by injury and cold streaks last season. He was replaced by 31-year-old Alex Lyon, who performed admirably in what was the first full NHL season of his career. But both goalies are set for free agency in 2025 and, rather than committing to either party, the Red Wings instead signed 37-year-old Cam Talbot to a two-year, $5MM deal this summer. Detroit now carries a trio of fringe-starting-caliber goaltenders, all set to expire by 2026, making it clear that the team isn’t much worried about their current status in net – they’re already looking towards the future.

It’s hard to blame the Wings, who carry two of the world’s top goalie prospects in Trey Augustine and Sebastian Cossa. Both players have been revered prospects for years, with Cossa even earning rare first-round acclaim in 2021, while Augustine was taken in 2023’s second round.

Cossa quickly vindicated his early selection, supporting the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings to a league title in 2022 with a .913 save percentage in 46 games. He turned pro in the following year, though he’d join a Grand Rapids Griffins team that utilized eight different goalies in the 2022-23 season. That crowd relegated Cossa to a starting role in the ECHL where he perfectly matched his stat line with the Oil Kings. A strong start to the pros and proud showing at 2023’s training camp earned Cossa the starting role in Grand Rapids in this past season. The position awarded Cossa 40 games and he – call it a trend – once again posted a .913 as part of a winning year.

Meanwhile, Augustine kicked off his college career in style, serving as the freshman starter for a Michigan State team that won a conference championship and the Frozen Four quarterfinals. Augustine tallied a .915 in 35 games along the way – enough to earn him a nomination for Big Ten Goalie of the Year, though the award ultimately went to Wisconsin senior Kyle MacLellan. Perhaps motivated by that snubbing, Augustine proceeded to work his way onto Team USA’s World Championship roster, becoming the youngest goalie ever to represent the States at the event. When Red Wings teammate Alex Lyon went down with injury, Augustine then went one step further and actually played games – setting an impressive .929 save percentage in four games. The gravity of Augustine’s appearance at Worlds can’t be understated. Only a handful of U21 goalies have played multiple games at the event, placing Augustine among company like John Gibson, Arturs Silovs, Ilya Sorokin, Jesper Wallstedt, and Jacob Markstrom.

Cossa ceded 34 games to Grand Rapids’ backups last season, and will now look to maintain his .913 save percentages in a larger share of starts, amid competition like Carter Gylander, Gage Alexander, and Jack Campbell. Augustine will be in a similar position in collegiate hockey – confidently set for a starting role but looking to maintain strong play behind a Spartans defense that replaced Artyom Levshunov, Viktor Hurtig, and Nash Nienhuis with Vladislav Lukashevich and Owen West. That setting certainly presents a challenge, but it’s hard to imagine Augustine crumbling under pressure after such an electric freshman year.

Continued strong play could put both goalies on the fast track to the NHL as Detroit’s current crease heads to free agency. The inevitable question seems to be which top prospect is headed for the lion’s share of games when they finally break into the Red Wings lineup. Cossa carries the upper-hand in early projections, thanks to his 6’6” frame and proud pro experience up to this point. But Augustine’s athleticism and agility seem second-to-none – and his ability to perform with the spotlight on was made clear at the World Championship. The duo have an exciting position battle ahead of them, set to form a tandem that could be hard to forget. With one goalie relying on frame and positioning, and one on athleticism and skill, the Red Wings will hope they’re headed for a tandem akin to Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark, or perhaps more accurately the emerging tandem of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi.

Frank Nazar Could Be An X-Factor In Chicago’s New Top-Six

at CDT | by 6 Comments

The Chicago Blackhawks have had the wind behind their sails since drafting Connor Bedard. They’ve continued to announce exciting upgrades to the roster, the staff, and even the United Center; pulling out plenty of storylines ahead of next season. But that excitement has cast a bit of a shadow over the genuine rookie challenge awaiting top prospect Frank Nazar, and the X-factor role he could earn as a result.

Nazar signed his entry-level contract following the end of the University of Michigan season in April. He was soon granted the first three NHL games of his career, as part of a cohort of Hawks prospects receiving their debuts. But Chicago used Nazar the most, awarding him an average of 16 minutes of ice time and coupling him with Bedard for a quarter of his ice time. He only managed one goal in the appearances but looked ready to play at NHL pace, and next to NHL stars.

The hefty ice time he received in his debuts was an early sign of the role that Chicago thinks Nazar could fill. They didn’t waste his ice time, and gave him a chance to earn roles alongside their best players – sentiment that’d now be much more valuable following the many upgrades to the Blackhawks offense this summer. Chicago now sits with significantly improved top lines, thanks to the additions of Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi, as well as the return of Taylor Hall. That trio will join Bedard and, likely, Andreas Athanasiou or Philipp Kurashev to form an excitingly high-tempo and high-skilled Blackhawks top-six. But that leaves one spot open – and while hardened veterans like Jason Dickinson, Nick Foligno, or Ilya Mikheyev are likely safer bets for the role, Nazar could be much better fit for the high-skill calling card.

That’s certainly the moniker he built for himself at the U.S. NTDP, where Nazar fought with Logan Cooley and Cutter Gauthier for top-line minutes. He scored above a point-per-game pace in the role, and built up a knack for elevating talented wingers like Rutger McGroarty and Jimmy Snuggerud. He became a bit easy to forget during his absentee 2022-23 season – but rebounded with purpose last season, showing that he still had the ability to sway games with his flashy offense. He worked with McGroarty to carry Michigan to the Big Ten championship game and Frozen Four semi-finals – and carried the high-energy into his first taste with Chicago.

Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson has said that all players stand an “equal chance” at making the Blackhawks lineup out of training camp, perhaps casting some doubt on Nazar’s undisputed role. But with a healthy summer and a sense of what he’s preparing for, it’s hard to imagine Nazar not taking a step up next season. He sits amid tough competition with Chicago’s hardened veterans and other top youngsters, like Lukas Reichel and Landon Slaggert. With one collegiate season to his name, Nazar also has the least experience of the bunch. But the Blackhawks will need a special offensive talent to round out their newly-constructed top-six – and Nazar’s skill seems like an early best fit. He may need to first prove himself in the minor leagues, or wait for others to struggle, but the sky will be the limit when Nazar earns a spot among Chicago’s now-high-scoring top-end.

Snapshots: NCAA Recruitment, Colorado, Lekkerimäki

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The NCAA commitment window opened to the 2008 birth year on August 1st, bringing another wave of top young players to the collegiate level. International recruits have so far headlined this year’s class, with five Europeans and 13 Canadians already announcing their commitments. Among the notable international commits is hefty centerman Caleb Malhotra, who went eighth overall to Kingston in this year’s OHL Draft, but solidified his plans to play outside of the OHL with a commitment to Boston University. Malhotra is emerging as a top Canadian in the 2008 birth year – even despite battles with injury this season. He played in just 48 games, though he still did enough to score at a point-per-game pace and earn a five-star rating from PuckPreps, who praised his mobility and puck skills.

Malhotra – the son of longtime Vancouver Canucks center Manny Malhotra – is a cerebral playmaker, who knows how to use his frame and stickhandling to create space. With a college commitment out of the way, he’s now set for the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL. Malhotra is undeniably one of the BCHL’s top recruits and will now look to vindicate the expectations around him, and quickly bounce back from injury, by finding scoring quickly at the juniors level. If all goes well, he’ll enter BU with the same lofty expectations.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The AHL’s Colorado Eagles have announced they’ve hired Kim Weiss as a video coach and Matt Zaba as a goalie coach. Weiss moves to the pro level after becoming the first female coach in D-III history this season, serving behind the bench of her alma mater Trinity College. Trinity won their conference championship under Weiss’ guard – earning her a ring after losing in the NAHL’s 2023 Robertson Cup semifinals with the Maryland Black Bears. Zaba is also moving from American juniors, having spent the last seven seasons as the goalie coach for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. He’s built up multiple NHL prospects over that span, including Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Filip Larson, Calgary Flames prospect Arseni Sergeyev, and Vegas Golden Knights prospect Isaiah Saville. He’ll now join that trio at the AHL level – coaching in familiar territory after starting his career at Colorado College. Zaba is also an alum of one NHL game, 66 AHL games, and 31 ECHL games – though much of his personal playing career was spent in Austria and Italy.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are facing a list of lineup questions as training camp approaches, shares Thomas Drance of The Athletic, who highlighted the right-wing role next to Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson as the team’s most glaring hole. Drance mentioned Nils Hoglander as an early favorite for the role, though he’ll face pressure from new signee Daniel Sprong. However, Drance also noted that star prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki could be a dark horse to round out what should be Vancouver’s scoring line. Lekkerimäki won the SHL’s ’Rookie of the Year’ award last season, after posting 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games with Örebro HK. He signed his entry-level contract and moved to the AHL after Örebro’s early playoff exit – adding two points in six more games with the Abbotsford Canucks. Lekkerimäki is an effective scorer, with an eye for the offensive zone and hard snapshot – though his size has some worried about how he’ll adjust to the next step. It seems he’ll have a chance to answer that bell at training camp, as he fights for a significant role out of the gates.

Three Questions Ahead Of The 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup is set to kick off in Edmonton on August 5th. The event will feature the top U18 players from eight countries – Canada, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. It’s the first chance for many of the top names in the 2025 NHL Draft to earn their keep, sparking plenty of storylines worth following closely. We’ll break down three top storylines entering the unofficial start of the NHL scouting season.

The Top Storylines At The 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup

Can Team Canada Achieve Yet Another Three-Peat?

Team Canada sits unrivaled atop the Hlinka leaderboards, having medaled in 28 of the 32 tournaments since 1991 – including a seven-year Gold streak from 1994 to 2002 and an eight-year streak from 2008 to 2015. Moreover, Canada has won Gold at every Hlinka hosted in Canada – and they seem poised to uphold that prophecy this year. The Canadian roster is full of top-end NHL Draft talent, including the perennial Gavin McKenna – who recently broke Alex Ovechkin’s U17 scoring record at the World U18 Championship with 10 goals and 20 points in just seven games. McKenna is among the best prospects in hockey right now – and isn’t draft-eligible until 2026. He’ll be well flanked by defenseman Matthew Schaefer – potentially this year’s top defenseman – and backed on the depth chart by Jake O’Brien – a flashy, two-way centerman vying for his own first round love.

And while Canada’s top-end offense extends well beyond the trio – it’s their depth that pushes them to the top once again. The competition for the team’s fourth line could feature some mix of Emile Guite, Ethan Czata, Braeden Cootes, and Liam Kilfoil  – a quartet of easy picks for this year’s top breakout candidate: Guite for his shot, Czata for his grit, and Cootes and Kilfoil for their high-speed playmaking. The whole group is backed by Jack Ivankovic, who proved his worth with a .915 save percentage in 25 OHL games last year, though some still remain skeptical about his 5’11” frame. Still, his athleticism should be the perfect flashy backdrop to a Team Canada team gearing up for another big tournament.

Who Will Emerge As Team USA’s Star?

Team USA is intentionally pigeon-holed at every Hlinka, opting not to roster any members of their U.S. National Team Development and instead picking the top options out of the USHL, NAHL, and youth hockey. That decision inspires the reoccurring question of who will emerge as the leaders of a hodgepodge group. It’s a prestigious role, previously held by top prospects like Trevor Connelly, Quentin Musty, and Arthur Kaliyev – who each went on to be picked in their respective draft’s top 35.

This year’s top option seems to be Benjamin Kevan – who led all U17 skaters in the USHL in scoring last season with 57 points in 59 games, over 20 points more than Lev Katzin, who ranked second. In fact, Kevan joined Macklin Celebrini as the league’s only U17 skaters to break 50 points since 2018. That’s lofty company, and while Kevan isn’t on Celebrini’s tier of generational prospect, the power and drive behind his all-offense style could be enough to command first round attention this year. Jesse Orlowsky and Sam Kappell seem like strong secondary candidates – both boasting similar heft and playmaking to Kevan – though the undersized Sam Spehar could end up the one to stand out after a fantastic U17 Selects camp to earn a roster spot.

Whichever forward emerges on top will have to bring the drive to make up for a defense and goalie group a bit weaker than Team USA typically brings – adding to the challenge of the top spot.

Does Team Sweden Have Enough Firepower?

Team Sweden enters this year’s Hlinka with a significantly improved roster, after managing a measly 2-1-0 record and fifth place finish last year. Their lineup is bolstered by top-of-the-draft prospects in Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, Filip Ekberg, and Ivar Stenberg. The trio led Sweden in a much more fruitful 2023 World U17 Challenge, largely thanks to Stenberg’s seven goals and 10 points in seven games. Players like Viktor Klingsell and Eric Nilsson stretch the high-impact offense down Sweden’s lineup, though it’s premiere defenseman Sascha Boumedienne that could be the X-factor. Boumedienne is the dark horse candidate for the 2025 draft’s top defenseman, after scoring 27 points in 49 USHL games and 11 points in 18 games with Sweden’s U17 team last year. He boasts a hefty, built-out frame and all of the strength that comes with it – showing a strong ability to carry the puck downhill with power and awareness. To what extent he’s able to again blend with Sweden’s high-scoring forwards could prove one of this year’s most exciting storylines to follow.

Kings’ Defensive Success Sits With High-Scoring Prospects

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Los Angeles Kings will be entering the 2024-25 season with a glaring absence on defense after Matt Roy opted to sign with the Washington Capitals. Roy was a pillar of the Kings’ lineup, averaging 20 minutes a night over the last three seasons and serving as the consistent, well-rounded impact that allowed riskier players like Drew Doughty to thrive. But despite losing a paramount right-handed defender, Los Angeles has yet to make any notable blue-line additions – save for a surprisingly expensive, four-year deal for left-shot Joel Edmundson.  They’re now left with just $1.4MM in remaining cap space, leaving the job of filling Roy’s role up to top young Kings Jordan Spence and Brandt Clarke.

Spence is the more seasoned of the two, having appeared in 101 NHL games over the last three seasons. He broke out in a major way during his first professional season in 2021-22, earning an NHL call-up after posting 42 points through his first 46 AHL games. The scoring translated to the top level, with Spence posting eight points through his first 24 NHL games – the fifth-highest point-per-game scoring of any Kings defender that season. He settled in for a full AHL season in the following year, playing in six NHL games and scoring just one point, though Spence did post an impressive 45 points in 56 AHL games. That production was, again, enough to earn him a consistent NHL role this season – something he managed to good effect, netting 24 points in 71 games despite averaging just 14:26 in ice time.

Meanwhile, Clarke stands as Los Angeles’ unrivaled top prospect and looked stellar in his first professional season this year. He fought for the scoring lead on the AHL’s Ontario Reign for much of the year, ultimately recording 46 points in 50 games – the highest scoring rate of an AHL rookie defender since Jack Rathbone in 2020-21, and Justin Schultz in 2012-13 before him. While Rathbone and Schultz have each seen their scoring stall at the NHL level, Clarke seems to be poised to buck the trend after netting six points in his first 16 games with the Kings. Even more exciting – Clarke stood up to a variety of roles in his first NHL stint, playing as little as seven minutes, or as much as 18 minutes, on any given night.

Both Spence and Clarke have fought their way towards more-and-more opportunity in the Kings organization on the back of strong offense, but also carry reasons to hesitate before they’re thrust into the spotlight. Spence has looked admittedly lanky and easy to knock around at times, shying him away from driving too deep into either zone. Clarke shares that hesitancy, as someone still finding his pro footing, and has also yet to show the breakaway speed of a top NHL offensive-defenseman. But the pair still offers tantalizing scoring upside for a Kings defense that’s only supported one 50-point defender since 2000 – Doughty, who’s achieved the feat five times.

Roy was never much of a scorer, even in top minutes, with a career-high of just 26 points. His departure, juxtaposed by the scoring upside of former top-10 pick Clarke, and point-per-game minor leaguer Spence, matched with the defensive safety net of Gavrikov, could be enough to finally give the Kings another high-scoring defender. But one of the two top young defenders will need to take a major step forward if they want to embrace the lofty, top-four vacancy in the L.A. lineup.

Penguins Sign Brayden Yager To Entry-Level Contract

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed 2023 first-round pick Brayden Yager to his entry-level contract. Contract details have not yet been released. This move will likely turn Yager pro after a successful four-year career with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors. He was one of many offensive stars on the Warriors lineup, flanked by players like Jagger Firkus, Denton Mateychyuk, and, this season, Matthew Savoie. Moose Jaw vindicated such a talented lineup with a WHL championship this year, though they fell to third place in the 2024 Memorial Cup. Yager was a crucial piece all year long, tallying 35 goals and 95 points across 57 regular season games, and 27 points in 20 playoff games.

The season was a fantastic encore to Yager’s draft-year performance in 2022-23, when he managed 78 points in 67 games on a, relatively, weaker Moose Jaw lineup. He showed all of the makings of a top prospect, and even earned top-10 and top-five hype from some public sources. He earned the attention with some fantastic playmaking abilities, showing a special ability to orchestrate play even at top speeds. But a lanky six-foot, 170-pound frame had some teams apprehensive come draft day, ultimately pushing Yager to 14th overall.

Only four players selected above Yager have made their NHL debuts – Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, Adam Fantilli, and Zach Benson – and they’ve each quickly carved out lineup roles. Yager will have the chance to do the same in Pittsburgh’s training camp, and could even wind up an X-factor for an aging Penguins core. But he seems more likely set for a trip to the AHL first, where he could join Moose Jaw teammate Atley Calvert, as well as Tristan Broz and Owen Pickering, as a top prospect fighting for minutes.

AHL Notes: Weissbach, Penguins, Wolf Pack

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Free agent forward Linus Weissbach has signed with Frölunda HC of the SHL. Weissbach was a Group-VI UFA with the Sabres, effectively moving to unrestricted free agency after not receiving a qualifying offer from the team before July 1st.

This move returns Weissbach to his hometown of Göteborg, Sweden, where Weissbach grew up through the Frölunda pipeline. He made his debut with the organization’s top club in 2016, though he only played in one game before moving to North America and pursuing a four-year career with the University of Wisconsin. He graduated college in 2021 and has since spent the last three seasons with the Rochester Americans, accumulating 117 points across 191 games in the minor leagues. But despite consistent production and a stout role in Rochester’s top-six, Weissbach was never the top option for a call-up, losing standing to more robust minor leaguers like Lukas Rousek and Brett Murray, and more recently bumped out by prospects like Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen.

With that logjam only increasing after Buffalo’s successful 2024 NHL Draft, Weissbach will change his focus to pursuing a career with his hometown club. Frölunda’s sporting director Fredrik Sjöström shared his excitement for the move, saying, “We have lost two offensively skilled players in [Malte Strömwall] and [Jere Innala]. We wanted to bring in offensive skill and “Weiss” is just that. He is a skilled forward with good speed and plays like a pattern breaker. He fits what we wanted. We’ve been on him for a while and knew we needed to wait for some other parameters before he could choose us (Linus has been a free agent in North America). But he did and we are happy about that, says Fredrik Sjöström, sports director.”

Other notes out of the minor leagues:

  • The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have added Nick Luukko as an assistant coach. Luukko, 32, has spent the last three seasons as the head coach and Director of Hockey Operations for the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen, leading the team to the postseason in each year, though they never made it past the second round. He earned the role with Jacksonville just two seasons after ending his own playing career – which spanned 274 ECHL games – after just one season as an ECHL assistant coach. He’ll now fast-track to the next level, joining a Penguins organization in the midst of cycling out much of their org chart.
  • The Hartford Wolf Pack have hired Brendan Burke as a goaltending coach. Burke has spent the last two seasons as a goaltending coach for his former youth and junior hockey teams – the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes and Portland Winterhawks. He earned an NHL Draft selection with Portland in 2012-13, hearing his name called in the sixth round by his hometown Phoenix Coyotes. Burke is the son of legendary NHL goaltender Sean Burke, who is now serving as Vegas’ Director of Goaltending.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top