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World Juniors

Snapshots: Oilers, Edvinsson, Merilainen, Fitzgerald

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It appears as if the Oilers will have two of their star performers available for training camp as head coach Jay Woodcroft told 630 CHED (audio link) that both defenseman Darnell Nurse and center Leon Draisaitl are expected to be ready when team activities open up next month.  Nurse played through the playoffs with a torn hip flexor and while it was speculated at the time that he would need surgery, that wound up not being the case.  As for Draisaitl, he suffered what appeared to be a leg injury in the final game of the first round but still managed to go on a tear offensively in their last two rounds, putting up 23 points in just nine games.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • After missing Monday’s preliminary round game at the World Juniors, Sweden head coach Tomas Monten told NHL.com’s Mike Morreale (Twitter link) that blueliner Simon Edvinsson is expected to play in Wednesday’s quarterfinal matchup against Latvia. The Red Wings prospect didn’t suit up last game due to an illness.  Edvinsson has a goal and an assist in three games so far while averaging a team-high 22:13 per contest.
  • Senators prospect Leevi Merilainen has decided to play in Finland this season over returning to Kingston of the OHL, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The 20-year-old was a third-round pick in 2020 and played in 53 games with the Frontenacs last season, posting a 3.29 GAA and a .891 SV%.  However, he’s expected to get an opportunity to compete for the starting job with Karpat in Finland’s top division and Ottawa is in agreement that the opportunity to battle for that spot is what’s best for his development.
  • After spending the last two seasons with Philadelphia on an NHL two-way deal, the Flyers have brought back forward Ryan Fitzgerald on a minor league contract, per a team release from their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley. The 27-year-old was limited to just four games last season after undergoing surgery on both hips back in September.  The year before, he picked up 21 points in 28 games and a return to that level of performance could help secure him another NHL deal next summer.

Minor Transactions: 08/11/22

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The hockey world has slowed to a standstill as we wade through the middle of summer, even if there is an international tournament going on. The World Juniors in Edmonton have so far barely registered as far as fan excitement, drawing only a few thousand attendees to Canada’s game yesterday (and fewer still to the other matches). It might not be prime hockey season but there are still moves being made by hard-working front office staff. We’ll keep track of the notable minor transactions right here.

  • The Tucson Roadrunners have re-signed Tyson Empey and Hudson Elynuik to one-year, AHL contracts for the upcoming season. Elynuik, some fans will remember, turned heads as a 6’5″ powerhouse in the WHL, earning him a third-round selection by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2016. He played 22 games with the Roadrunners last season, scoring nine points and registering 44 penalty minutes.
  • Julien Rod, younger brother of former San Jose Sharks forward Noah Rod, is headed back to Switzerland after one year in the QMJHL. The 17-year-old winger is eligible for the 2023 draft but scored just 14 points in 56 games with the Drummondville Voltigeurs last season after going 28th overall in the 2021 CHL Import Draft. His brother, who was picked 53rd overall by the Sharks in 2014, is back home as well, after terminating his deal with San Jose in 2018.
  • Nicolas Guay, the undrafted forward who played 16 games with the Abbotsford Canucks last season after leaving the powerhouse University of New Brunswick program, has settled for an ECHL deal with the Trois-Rivieres Lions. Guay, 23, captained both the Voltigeurs and the Saint John Sea Dogs during his time in the QMJHL but after going undrafted. His father, Francois Guay, played exactly one game in the NHL but was a legendary junior player in Quebec and starred overseas for many years.
  • Doyle Somerby is off to the KHL, signing with Kunlun Red Star for the next two years. The former Boston University captain split last season between the Iowa Wild and Tucson Roadrunners, scoring 11 points in 55 games.

This page will be updated throughout the day with any further notable transactions. 

Poll: Who Will Win The Gold At The World Juniors?

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The 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship is far from a usual one.  The tournament usually runs just after Christmas but it had to be rescheduled for August and runs from today through the 20th.

This is often a tournament where we get to see many of the NHL’s top prospects in the same setting.  That isn’t exactly the case this time around with many teams asking their top youngsters not to participate with rookie camps a little more than a month away.  However, there are still plenty of quality prospects throughout the lineups for this summer event which will help bridge the gap between a slow month of NHL activity and the start of camps next month.

The United States come into the event as the defending Gold Medallists after beating Canada in the 2021 event.  They’ll have a whole new goalie tandem with Spencer Knight now in the NHL while Trevor Zegras was the leading scorer in that event and he is now in the NHL as well.  The Americans have four first-round picks on their roster while forward Thomas Bordeleau is someone with a bit of NHL experience after playing the last few weeks with San Jose last season.

Canada, the host team for the event, has seen quite a bit of turnover from the initial event in December as there are nine new faces on the roster.  However, they’ll be led by returnees Mason McTavish and Kent Johnson up front along with the expected first-overall pick in 2023, Connor Bedard.  In total, they have eight first-round picks on their roster.

Finland took home the bronze back in 2021 and they have seven returnees from that squad.  Topi Niemela leads the way defensively while Joakim Kemell and Brad Lambert, a pair of first-round picks last month, will help pace the attack.  While most of their team remains intact from December, one notable absentee is Penguins goalie prospect Joel Blomqvist who had a dominant year in Finland’s professional league and is getting ready for his next season with them.

Sweden is a team that could have plenty of firepower with five forwards picked in the first round headlined by Isak Rosen and Jonathan Lekkerimaki.  On the back end, Simon Edvinsson is poised to have a big tournament that could help propel him into a battle for a roster spot with the Red Wings in training camp while Jesper Wallstedt is a highly-touted goalie prospect.  Overall, all but three of their 25 players are NHL prospects.

Slovakia looked to have an opportunity to make an impression at this event but most of their NHL prospects, including Juraj Slafkovsky and Simon Nemec (the top two picks in the draft last month), are taking a pass on the recommendations of their NHL teams but they still have a trio of drafted players plus a projected top-ten 2023 pick in Dalibor Dvorsky.

Meanwhile, Czechia has a dozen NHL prospects on its roster headlined by the sixth pick last month in defenseman David Jiricek.  If their matchup today was any indication, both of those teams could be capable of pulling off an upset or two as the tournament progresses.

Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Latvia round out the field, one that will remain intact for the 2023 event that begins in December as there will be no relegation or promotions from this event.

Who do you think will take home the gold?  Will it be one of the favorites, or will one of the lesser-known teams pull off some upsets and go all the way?  Make your prediction in the poll below.

App users, click here to vote.

West Notes: McLeod, Jets, Lambert

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The Oilers have one remaining restricted free agent to re-sign in Ryan McLeod.  Speaking with 630 CHED (audio link), GM Ken Holland indicated that they expect to have the center signed by training camp on either a one-year or two-year deal.  The 22-year-old spent most of last season with Edmonton, picking up 21 points in 71 games plus four more in 16 playoff contests.  McLeod didn’t have salary arbitration rights so these talks could drag out closer to training camp.  With the Oilers being pretty tight to the cap even after factoring in their LTIR-eligible players, getting McLeod signed for cheap will be critical so it wouldn’t be surprising if he ultimately settles for a one-year pact to keep the AAV as low as possible next season.

More from the Western Conference:

  • The Jets showed interest in forward Calle Jarnkrok earlier this summer, even offering him more money than he ultimately accepted from Toronto, reports Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe. The 30-year-old is coming off a quiet finish to his season with Calgary but his track record of being a capable and versatile third-liner would have helped him fit in quite well with Winnipeg.  The Jets are one of the few teams that still have some money to spend this offseason – they have over $6MM in cap space per CapFriendly – so while they didn’t add Jarnkrok, they will certainly be adding a player or two in the coming weeks.
  • Still with the Jets, after missing pre-tournament games for Finland, prospect Brad Lambert will be available for the start of the World Juniors, reports Corey Pronman of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 18-year-old slipped to 30th overall in the draft last month after being touted as a likely top-ten selection not all that long ago.  Meanwhile, Lambert told Petteri Ikonen of Helsingin Sanomat that a decision on where he will play next season will be made next month during training camp.  His contract with Pelicans in Finland is now up although he could sign a new one there.  Alternatively, the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL hold his major junior rights while Lambert is eligible to play in the minors as well.

Team USA Announces 2022 World Juniors Roster

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The World Juniors are a little under 48 hours away and slated to kick off their tournament Tuesday night at 10:00 pm ET, Team USA had to make its final round of cuts for the tournament. Today they did just that, USA Hockey announcing its final roster for the tournament, cutting two players to bring the group down to 25. Frank Nazar (CHI) and Aiden Hreschuk (CBJ) were the final two players cut from the USA roster. The final group is as follows:

Goaltenders

Remington Koepple (2023 draft eligible)

Kaidan Mbereko (2023 draft eligible)

Andrew Oke (2023 draft eligible)

Defensemen

Sean Behrens (COL)

Brock Faber (MIN)

Luke Hughes (NJD)

Wyatt Kaiser (CHI)

Tyler Kleven (OTT)

Ian Moore (ANA)

Jack Peart (MIN)

Jacob Truscott (VAN)

Forwards

Brett Berard (NYR)

Thomas Bordeleau (SJS)

Logan Cooley (ARZ)

Matt Coronato (CGY)

Riley Duran (BOS)

Dominic James (CHI)

Matt Knies (TOR)

Carter Mazur (DET)

Hunter McKown (2023 draft eligible)

Sasha Pastujov (ANA)

Mackie Samoskevich (FLA)

Red Savage (DET)

Landon Slaggert (CHI)

Charlie Stramel (2023 draft eligible)

Of note for this USA team, it features 17 of the 25 players who were on the roster for the original 2022 WJC before it was ultimately cancelled and postponed due to COVID-19. Four of these 25, including Berard, Faber, Kleven, and Slaggert, were also on the 2021 team that won Gold. Team USA General Manager John Vanbiesbrouck had this to say about the difficult selection process:

“We had a great week of camp followed by a pair of good pre-tournament games to help us finalize our roster. We had some spots to fill from December and we filled them in well. These are hard decisions, but we believe these are the 25 best players to achieve our goal.”

Team USA’s coaching staff is made up of Head Coach Nate Leaman, Assistant Coaches Grant Potulny, Kris Mayotte, and Steve Miller, as well as Video Coach Theresa Feaster. The team will be captained by Faber, along with alternate captains in Bordeleau and Slaggert. USA will open the tournament with a preliminary round game against Germany Tuesday evening at 10:00 pm ET at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, where the entire tournament is being held.

Ethan Del Mastro Replaces Daemon Hunt On Team Canada’s World Juniors Roster

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According to NHL.com’s Mike Morreale, Team Canada defenseman Daemon Hunt will not be able to join the team for the World Junior Championship due to injury, and has instead been replaced by fellow defenseman Ethan Del Mastro (link). The move comes just three days before Canada is set to kick off its 2022 World Juniors run, matching up against Latvia Wednesday evening. Both players are left-shot defensemen, so the impact on the rest of the lineup should be minimal at most, and though Hunt was Canada’s first choice among the two, Del Mastro represents high-quality talent that should help the country chase Gold once again.

By losing Hunt, Canada will be without a very talented two-way defenseman who even comes with a bit of pro experience as well. Hunt has played parts of five seasons as a member of the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors, his best season coming in 2021-22 where he had 17 goals and 22 assists in 46 games en route to a playoff berth and fourth-place finish in the league’s Eastern Conference. A third-round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2020, the defenseman made his professional debut during the 2020-21 season, getting into six games with the AHL’s Iowa Wild, scoring a goal. Missing the tournament is an especially tough break for Hunt, now age 20 and in what would have been his final year of eligibility for the tournament with a chance to represent his country in his home province of Alberta.

In Del Mastro, Hunt’s replacement, Canada will be bringing in a large, physical defenseman with some bite and playmaking ability, albeit with less experience. A fourth-round pick in 2021 by the Chicago Blackhawks, Del Mastro debuted for the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads in 2019-20, recording seven assists in 57 games. With the OHL cancelling the 2020-21 season amid COVID-19 concerns and restrictions, Del Mastro himself missed the entire season, but came back better than ever this year, scoring seven goals to go with 41 assists, a plus-34 rating and 91 penalty minutes in 68 games. Though losing Hunt is far from ideal, Del Mastro’s addition to the roster gives Canada another quality two-way defenseman, this one with a bit more size added to his game.

The tournament begins this Tuesday, August 9th at 2:00 pm ET, as Czechia plays Slovakia (link for full schedule). The United States will see its first game action Tuesday night at 10:00 pm ET, with Canada and Latvia hitting the ice Wednesday at 6:00 pm ET. The Bronze and Gold medal games will take place on Saturday, August 20th.

Metropolitan Notes: Hurricanes, Zucker, Jiricek

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Hurricanes GM Don Waddell indicated to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer that he expects to reach a settlement with defenseman Maxime Lajoie in advance of Tuesday’s arbitration hearing.  The 24-year-old spent most of the season in the minors so a new agreement shouldn’t be hard to come to.  What’s notable is that once that new deal is reached, Carolina will get their second buyout window soon after and Waddell didn’t rule out the possibility of using it but noted that they could make things work without going that route.  A player must make $4MM to be eligible to be bought out in this window and blueliner Jake Gardiner – who missed all of last season with back and hip issues – makes $4.05MM.  He has been cleared to return which does make him eligible to be bought out.  Once Lajoie’s deal is signed, the buyout window will open up three days later and lasts 48 hours.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Penguins winger Jason Zucker has recovered from the series of lower-body injuries that plagued him in the second half of last season, notes NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. It has been a tough go for the 30-year-old who has recorded just 47 points in 94 games since being acquired by Pittsburgh just before the 2020 trade deadline.  Next season will be a contract year for Zucker and unless he can get back to the form he had with Minnesota, he’ll be looking at a considerably cheaper deal next summer compared to his current $5.5MM AAV.
  • Blue Jackets prospect David Jiricek has been cleared to join the Czechs for the upcoming World Juniors, their hockey federation announced (Twitter link). The 18-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 late last month and wasn’t able to travel with the rest of the team to begin tournament preparations.  Jiricek, the sixth-overall pick last month, will be Czechia’s top defenseman in this event and a strong performance could help get him in the mix for a roster spot with Columbus for the upcoming season.

West Notes: Kaprizov, Klingberg, Cooley, Kawaguchi

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While there was some concern expressed last month about Kirill Kaprizov’s ability to return to North America after being denied entry, the winger has successfully returned to the United States, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription link).  It’s unknown at this time whether or not the Wild managed to secure a U.S. work visa for the 25-year-old or if he was able to secure another deferment to his mandatory Russian military service.  Meanwhile, Russo adds that Kaprizov recently underwent surgery but has been cleared to resume skating and his full workout routine so while it has been an adventurous few weeks, Minnesota should have their star available to them on opening night in October.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Anaheim defenseman John Klingberg met the media, including Matt Weller of the Ducks’ team site, for the first time since signing with the team last week. He indicated that he had similar one-year offers from other teams that he was considering while reiterating his desire to secure a long-term agreement next summer.  Klingberg had 47 points in 74 games with Dallas last season and will have a chance to play a big role with Anaheim next season.  His full trade protection expires in January so if the Ducks are out of the mix near the trade deadline, he could be on the move in late February as well.
  • Coyotes prospect Logan Cooley is expected to return to practice tomorrow as he looks to ensure he’ll have a spot on Team USA’s entry for the World Juniors, relays NHL.com’s Mike Morreale (Twitter link). The third-overall pick was listed on their 27-player roster earlier today but there are two cuts that still need to be made.  The fact that Cooley will be able to return to practice bodes well for his availability for the tournament which gets underway next week.
  • After non-tendering him last month, the Stars have brought back Jordan Kawaguchi on a minor-league deal, their AHL team announced. Dallas signed the 25-year-old winger as an undrafted college free agent in March of 2021 and he had a decent season, collecting 23 points in 49 games.  While that wasn’t enough to garner a qualifying offer, Kawaguchi will stick around with Texas for another year.

Canada Names Roster For The 2022 World Juniors

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With the tournament now a little more than a week away, Hockey Canada is the latest to reveal its roster for the upcoming World Juniors.  Their team is as follows:

Goalies

Brett Brochu
Sebastian Cossa (DET)
Dylan Garand (NYR)

Defense

Lukas Cormier (VGK)
Daemon Hunt (MIN)
Carson Lambos (MIN)
Ryan O’Rourke (MIN)
Donovan Sebrango (DET)
Ronan Seeley (CAR)
Jack Thompson (TB)
Olen Zellweger (ANA)

Forwards

Connor Bedard
Will Cuylle (NYR)
Elliot Desnoyers (PHI)
William Dufour (NYI)
Tyson Foerster (PHI)
Nathan Gaucher (ANA)
Ridly Greig (OTT)
Kent Johnson (CBJ)
Riley Kidney (MTL)
Mason McTavish (ANA)
Zack Ostapchuk (OTT)
Brennan Othmann (NYR)
Joshua Roy (MTL)
Logan Stankoven (DAL)

As is the case with other countries, there are some notable absentees from Canada’s squad.  On the back end, Owen Power and Kaiden Guhle aren’t returning while up front, Cole Perfetti, Jake Neighbours, and Shane Wright are among the seven forwards that won’t be back after playing briefly in the original tournament last December.

However, there are still some notable players to watch for.  Johnson and McTavish both got their feet wet in the NHL last season while Bedard is widely expected to be the first-overall selection in 2023.  He had four goals in two games before the tournament was canceled.  On the back end, there are six returnees while Canada’s goalie tandem from the December tourney remains intact.

The tournament will run from August 9th through the 20th with pre-tournament games getting underway later this week.

USA Hockey Trims World Junior Roster

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With the 2022 World Juniors now less than two weeks away, hockey federations are in the process of trimming down or setting their rosters for the tournament.  USA Hockey is the latest to do so, officially announcing that their current roster for the upcoming tournament is as follows:

Goaltenders

Remington Koepple (2023 draft eligible)

Kaidan Mbereko (2023 draft eligible)

Andrew Oke (2023 draft eligible)

Defensemen

Sean Behrens (COL)

Brock Faber (MIN)

Aidan Hreschuk (CBJ)

Luke Hughes (NJD)

Wyatt Kaiser (CHI)

Tyler Kleven (OTT)

Ian Moore (ANA)

Jack Peart (MIN)

Jacob Truscott (VAN)

Forwards

Brett Berard (NYR)

Thomas Bordeleau (SJS)

Logan Cooley (ARZ)

Matt Coronato (CGY)

Riley Duran (BOS)

Dominic James (CHI)

Matt Knies (TOR)

Carter Mazur (DET)

Hunter McKown (2023 draft eligible)

Frank Nazar (CHI)

Sasha Pastujov (ANA)

Mackie Samoskevich (FLA)

Red Savage (DET)

Landon Slaggert (CHI)

Charlie Stramel (2023 draft eligible)

With this trimmed roster, there are a few notable cuts, quality prospects for NHL organizations who didn’t quite make it for this tournament. One thing to note is that many national hockey bodies are prioritizing older players in this rescheduled WJC, as this tournament is the final chance for quite a few players to represent their country at the junior level.

A few notable names among the players who were cut from the evaluation camp roster include recent second-round defensemen Ryan Chesley (WSH), Seamus Casey (NJD), and Lane Hutson (MTL). Among forwards, a few quality prospects missed the cut, including a 2021 top-ten pick in Tyler Boucher (OTT), a few 2022 top picks in Cutter Gauthier (PHI), Issac Howard (TBL), Rutger McGroarty (WPG), and Jimmy Snuggerud (STL). Second-rounders Jack Hughes (LAK), Josh Doan (ARZ), and Cam Lund (SJS) also missed the cut.

There are quite a few top prospects remaining on this team, though, including Nazar, the 2022 13th overall pick, Hughes, the 2021 fourth-overall pick, and Cooley, the 2022 third-overall pick. The Americans still have some outstanding cuts to make, but the bulk of their roster-trimming business is now done.

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