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Snapshots: Laine, Sabres, Henriksson, Team USA

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With trade rumors surrounding the Winnipeg Jets and Patrik Laine, there are many wondering if a deal is coming any time soon. However, Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe writes that no matter what happens between the Jets and Laine, nothing will be happening any time soon.

With most teams already at the flatlined salary cap, Wiebe writes that general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will likely wait until next offseason when more teams might have the cap room to take on Laine and be able to send the assets that the Jets want back. That’s not to say that the Jets have given up on signing Laine to an extension. The scribe writes that while the two sides have had some issues, he doesn’t believe that it has reached a point of no return and believes an extension is just possible as a trade.

The problem with a contract is that Laine is a rare gem, who has 138 goals in 305 games and is tied for seventh in the league for goals scored since 2016. Throw in the fact that he’s still quite young at age 22 and is just starting to develop into a complete player and it isn’t easy coming up with the parameters of a deal.

  • The Buffalo Sabres could go in two different directions this season with a team having a solid chance to reach the playoffs. However, if the team goes its usual route lately and once again find themselves out of the playoffs near the trade deadline, NBC Sports James O’Brien writes that Buffalo would have a few assets that could net them a solid return. While newly signed forward Taylor Hall has a no movement clause, it still quite plausible that he would waive that if things go south in Buffalo to get a chance at the playoffs, while veteran Eric Staal might also proven to be a valuable asset if the team doesn’t make the playoffs. The 36-year-old has a affordable $3.25MM contract, which could make him attractive down the road. That doesn’t even include players like Rasmus Ristolainen, Carter Hutton and a few others who are already on the team. Needless to say, the hope is the team finally breaks its nine-year playoff drought, but it could turn into a different direction if things don’t go right in Buffalo.
  • Just yesterday, it was announced that Team Sweden would be without 2021 draft prospect William Eklund for the World Junior Championship this year after the 18-year-old tested positive for COVID-19. Now Sweden has taken another hit immediately after that news when Adam Johansson of Expressen.se reports (translation required) that the team’s No. 1 center Karl Henriksson will also have to miss the World Juniors after also testing positive for COVID-19. While the World Juniors don’t start in Edmonton until Dec. 26, the Swedish team is expected to leave for Canada on Dec. 13th, too late for the two young prospects to pass quarantine rules before having to enter the country. Henriksson, a second-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2019, has been centering top prospects Lucas Raymond and Alexander Holtz in international play and will be a big loss for Sweden.
  • Sticking with the World Juniors, Team USA has lost a few prospects as a Boston University trio will not be attending the World Juniors training camp due to COVID-19 protocols, according to New England Hockey Journal’s Jeff Cox. The U.S. team will have to do without forward Robert Mastrosimone, a second-round pick in 2019 by the Detroit Red Wings; defenseman Alex Vlasic, a second-round pick in 2019 by the Chicago Blackhawks; and goaltender Drew Commesso, a second-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks this year.

Jack Hughes, Alexis Lafreniere Will Not Be Released For WJC

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5:00pm: As if in response, Hockey Canada has announced that Alexis Lafreniere will also not be released to the tournament. Lafreniere will instead focus on training and preparing for the upcoming season with the New York Rangers, where he is expected to step right into a prominent role. After narrowly escaping major injury at the tournament last year, but still earning MVP honors and taking home the gold medal, it seems reasonable for the Rangers to want to keep Lafreniere at home,

3:37pm: Though it doesn’t come as much of a surprise, Jack Hughes will not be released to USA Hockey for the upcoming World Junior Championship. Though the program had interest, Darren Dreger of TSN reports that New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald has informed them the star forward will not go this year.

Hughes of course was the first-overall pick in 2019 by the Devils and missed the tournament last year as well thanks to his NHL commitments. Now 19, he is still eligible but doesn’t have a lot to gain from suiting up against the junior-aged players other than getting in some competitive action before the season begins. That’s what the Chicago Blackhawks are hoping for Kirby Dach for instance, who will go for Team Canada despite playing all last season in the NHL.

The Devils have high hopes for the upcoming season and a step forward from Hughes is imperative to any playoff run they may chase. It’s hard to call him anything but a disappointment in year one, with just seven goals and 21 points. That’s not what you hope for from a first-overall pick, but Hughes was always expected to take a little longer because of his slight frame. Off-ice training and practice with the Devils is likely more important to his development than dominating prospects at the World Juniors.

Team USA could potentially lose another talented youngster that has already made his NHL debut, as Dreger also notes that if the league starts up soon Nick Robertson would stay with the Toronto Maple Leafs instead of traveling to Edmonton. Robertson was listed on the preliminary roster and is currently training in Toronto with some Maple Leafs teammates.

USA Hockey Announces 2020 Summer Showcase Roster

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USA Hockey is moving forward with their annual World Junior Summer Showcase, announcing a 43-man roster for the upcoming event at their home in Plymouth, Michigan from July 24 to August 1. The camp will be used to select the roster for the 2021 World Junior Champions, which is also proceeding as scheduled in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta from December 26 to January 5.

Of course, the Coronavirus threat will have an impact on this year’s showcase and not only in increased focus on health and safety procedures. Team USA will be competing alone this year, as regular participants Canada, Finland, and Sweden have all declined the invitation due to health risks and logistical issues. The camp will have much more of an inter-squad scrimmage feel than most years, but USA Hockey hopes that it will still produce good competition and valuable data for selecting their WJC roster.

Of the 43 participants, most are new faces. Just nine players will take part in camp who played for the 2020 WJC team. This could work in USA Hockey’s favor, as their most recent entry snapped a four-year medal streak with a disappointing sixth-place finish. However, they are surely happy to have Florida Panthers prospect goaltender Spencer Knight back for a third year in a row to lead the squad. The 2019 No. 13 overall pick remains one of the top prospects in hockey after a stellar freshman season at Boston College and can win games single-handedly for the U.S. at the 2021 tournament.

Unsurprisingly, Knight is not the only college player who will be in attendance at the Summer Showcase, as the NCAA has a heavy presence with 38 of 43 participants are active or committed collegiate competitors. While 14 different schools will be represented, there is a strong Boston presence with Boston University sending a whopping eight players and prospects, while Boston College, Harvard, and Northeastern each send at least three. Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin also will have at least three in attendance.

At the NHL level, things are more balanced. A total of 16 clubs will have a draft pick in Plymouth, but only the Anaheim Ducks will have more than two. With a large number of 2020-eligible names and a top 2021 prospect in attendance, all 31 (32?) teams are sure to be interested in the event.

Here is the roster for the 2020 Summer Showcase, USA-only edition:

Goaltenders

Spencer Knight, Boston College (FLA)
Drew Commesso, USNTDP/Boston Univ. (2020)
Logan Stein, Waterloo Blackhawks/Ferris State Univ. (2020)
Dustin Wolf, Everett Silvertips (CGY)

Defensemen

Brock Faber, USNTDP/Univ. of Minnesota (2020)
Domenick Fensore, Boston Univ. (CAR)
Drew Helleson, Boston College (COL)
Ryan Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota (BUF)
Tyler Kleven, USNTDP/Univ. of North Dakota (2020)
Jackson Lacombe, Univ. of Minnesota (ANA)
Case McCarthy, Boston Univ. (NJD)
Jake Sanderson, USNTDP/Univ. of North Dakota (2020)
Hunter Skinner, London Knights (NYR)
Jayden Struble, Northeastern Univ. (MTL)
Henry Thrun, Harvard Univ. (ANA)
Alex Vlasic, Boston Univ. (CHI)
Marshall Warren, Boston College (MIN)
Cam York, Univ. of Michigan (PHI)

Forwards

John Beecher, Univ. of Michigan (BOS)
Matthew Beniers, USNTDP/Harvard Univ. (2021)
Brett Berard, USNTDP/Providence College (2020)
Matthew Boldy, Boston College (MIN)
Thomas Bordeleau, USNTDP/Univ. of Michigan (2020)
Bobby Brink, Univ. of Denver (PHI)
Brendan Brisson, Chicago Steel/Univ. of Michigan (2020)
Cole Caufield, Univ. of Wisconsin (MTL)
Sam Colangelo, Lawrence Academy/Northeastern Univ. (2020)
John Farinacci, Harvard Univ. (ARI)
Sean Farrell, Chicago Steel/Harvard Univ. (2020)
Michael Gildon, Ohio State Univ. (2020)
Cross Hanas, Portland Winterhawks (2020)
Arthur Kaliyev, Hamilton Bulldogs (LAK)
Owen Lindmark, Univ. of Wisconsin (FLA)
Robert Mastrosimone, Boston Univ. (DET)
Patrick Moynihan, Providence College (NJD)
Josh Nodler, Michigan State Univ. (CGY)
Dylan Peterson, USNTDP/Boston Univ. (2020)
Landon Slaggert, USNTDP/Univ. of Notre Dame (2020)
Sam Stange, Sioux Falls Stampede/Univ. of Wisconsin (2020)
Lukas Svejkovsky, Medicine Hat Tigers (2020)
Luke Tuch, USNTDP/Boston Univ. (2020)
Alex Turcotte, Univ. of Wisconsin (LAK)
Trevor Zegras, Boston Univ. (ANA)

U.S. National Junior Team Coaching Staff Announced

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You won’t be able to blame a lack of coaching experience if Team USA experiences another disappointment at the 2021 World Junior Championship. After failing to advance past the quarterfinal in this year’s tournament, the team is looking for some revenge in a few months. Today the team announced the rest of the coaching staff that will surround Providence College head coach Nate Leaman behind the bench. Ted Donato, head coach at Harvard, Kris Mayotte, assistant coach at Michigan and Steve Miller, associate coach at Ohio State will all be assistants for the tournament. The team will also bring in Theresa Feaster as a video coach, making her the first female to ever serve on the coaching staff of a U.S. National Junior team.

Almost the entire group has experience together at Providence and brings a huge amount of experience to the tournament. The question now becomes how exactly the team will be constructed, given the Summer Showcase will not be happening this year. The event is usually used to gather the top prospects for the WJC and test them against each other, seeing which mix will provide the most success.

Of course, all of this is assuming that a 2021 tournament actually happens, which is not at all certain at this point. Recently, Bob McKenzie of TSN explained that Hockey Canada is still discussing the feasibility of hosting the event in Edmonton or potentially even holding it without any fans.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Tanner Laczynski

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The run on college players continues. The Philadelphia Flyers have signed Tanner Laczynski to a two-year entry-level contract, getting him into the organization and avoiding a potential free agent situation this summer. Laczynski recently finished his senior season at Ohio State and could have become an unrestricted free agent in August.

Instead, the 22-year old forward will join a Flyers organization that originally selected him 169th overall in 2016. Since then, when he was a late-round pick out of the USHL, Laczynski has become one of the most consistent offensive in all of college hockey, recording 143 points in 138 games for the Buckeyes while also representing Team USA at the 2017 World Junior Championship, winning gold.

Flyers’ assistant GM Brent Flahr released a short statement about his new forward:

Tanner has completed an excellent college career at Ohio State University and we are very excited to have him under contract. He plays a mature two-way game, he’s a proven leader, and we see him as a versatile forward for the Flyers organization going forward.

Even getting an NHL contract after being selected so late is an accomplishment, but Laczynski will obviously be hoping for more than just an entry-level deal. He’ll be in training camp (whenever that happens to be) competing for a role in the organziation.

Patrick Harper Signs With Nashville Predators

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The Nashville Predators have jumped into the fray of college signings, inking Patrick Harper to a two-year entry-level contract. The young forward recently completed his senior season at Boston University and could have become an unrestricted free agent this summer, had he waited until August. Predators director of player development Scott Nichol had this to say about his newest prospect:

Patrick is a dynamic player and with his size excels in the way today’s game is played. He’s a fun player to watch – he likes having the puck on his stick, he likes to make plays and wants to score goals every game. He fits in well on the power play and uses his biggest on-ice attribute – his hockey sense – to his advantage.

That size Nichol mentions is perhaps one of the reasons that Harper wasn’t selected higher than 138th in 2016, given he stands at just 5’7″ 150-lbs.  Size wasn’t the only obstacle that the 21-year old has faced to this point however. In 2018, just after helping Team USA to a bronze medal at the World Juniors (his second appearance at the tournament, after winning gold a year prior), Harper was sidelined due to illness and missed the second half of his sophomore season with BU.

Nothing seems able to hold him back however, as the diminutive forward climbed his way back into elite company in the NCAA and was even nominated for the 2020 Hobey Baker. His 37 points in 32 games put him 14th in the country in per-game production, something he’ll try to carry over to the Predators minor league system whenever hockey resumes.

2020 NHL All-Star Skills Participants Announced

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Before Saturday’s All-Star Game three-on-three tournament, the NHL’s best will take the ice on Friday night in the annual All-Star Skills event. There has been considerable hype around this year’s competition, given both the new “Shooting Stars” event, in which players will fire the puck at targets on the ice from platforms in the stands, and the participation of stars from the women’s game, including their own three-on-three scrimmage. Now, the league has announced who specifically will be taking part in each event, both new and classic. Below is the lineup for each event:

Fastest Skater

Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

Save Streak

David Rittich, Calgary Flames
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

Accuracy Shooting

Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils
Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets

Hardest Shot

Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
John Carlson, Washington Capitals

Shooting Stars

David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
David Perron, St. Louis Blues
Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
American Women’s Elite All-Star (TBD)
Canadian Women’s Elite All-Star (TBD)

Women’s Three-On-Three

Team Canada: Meghan Agosta, Mélodie Daoust, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Renata Fast, Laura Fortino, Rebecca Johnston, Sarah Nurse, Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner, Blayre Turnbull

Team USA: Kacey Bellamy, Alex Carpenter, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Brianna Decker, Amanda Kessel, Hilary Knight, Jocelyn Lamoureux-Davidson, Annie Pankowski, Alex Rigsby Cavallini, Lee Stecklein

All the action kicks off at 7:00pm local time in St. Louis, with coverage from NBCSN in the U.S and CBC, SN, and TVAS in Canada.

WJC Notes: Groulx, Thomson, Ford

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Team Canada has finalized its roster for the upcoming U-20 World Junior Championship, hosted this year by the Czech Republic. The team has made one last cut, and TSN’s Mark Masters reports that it is Anaheim Ducks prospect Benoit-Olivier Groulx. Groulx, a 2018 second-round pick, has been having yet another strong season in the QMJHL and doing so on a poor Halifax Mooseheads team. The two-way pivot is likely a victim of a roster chock full of centers, with many already slated to line up on the wing. With “Bo” heading home, Masters has also shared Team Canada’s practice lines with their roster finalized, which is likely the way that they will line up to begin the tournament.

  • Team Finland, looking to defend their championship performance from last year, has announced their leadership group for the WJC. Ottawa Senators 2019 first-round pick Lassi Thomson has been named captain, leading the team as their top defenseman. Thomson brings an array of experience to the squad, having played professionally in Finland this year, recording ten points in 23 games on loan with Ilves of the Liiga, as well as the junior level with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets last season. Given the Senators’ issues on the blue line, Thomson is a strong candidate to join the NHL ranks next season and his WJC performance could be telling of where he stands versus other elite prospects. Los Angeles Kings forward prospect Rasmus Kupari and Vancouver Canucks defensive prospect Toni Utunen will sere as alternates.
  • Even after making a trio of cuts on Wednesday, Team USA still has a few tough decisions to make. For now, a few surprises remain on the roster, hopeful that they will get a chance to shine on the international stage. Overage prospect Parker Ford headlines that group, looking to make a name for himself after getting passed over in the NHL Draft. The Providence College freshman forward was a good if unspectacular player in the USHL, but has gotten off to a strong start in his NCAA career with 14 points in 17 games. Ford would be an intriguing name to watch for the Americans if he does in fact make the final roster. Other potential surprise inclusions on the roster include New York Islanders seventh-round defenseman Christian Krygier of Michigan State, Boston Bruins fourth-round center Curtis Hall of Yale, and Notre Dame teammates Jacob Pivonka and Trevor Janicke, late picks of the Islanders and Anaheim Ducks respectively.

Oliver Wahlstrom Loaned To Team USA

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USA Hockey will be getting their own professional reinforcement for the upcoming World Junior tournament, as Oliver Wahlstrom has been loaned from the New York Islanders. Wahlstrom has played in nine games with the Islanders but also has 20 AHL contests under his belt this season. GM Lou Lamoriello announced today that Noah Dobson will not be loaned to Team Canada.

Wahlstrom, 19, gets another chance to take home gold at the event after winning a silver medal last season with Team USA. The talented winger has been a top prospect in the country for years now, armed with an incredible shot and nose for the net. That ability hasn’t landed him a point at the NHL level so far, but just the experience of playing with the best in the world should help him when he’s matched up against junior competition.

Selection camp is underway in Plymouth for the squad, with Wahlstrom joining several other returning players from the silver medal squad.

WJC Notes: Gustafsson, Switzerland, USA

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With December underway, it is officially U-20 World Junior Championship season and teams have begun to announce their preliminary camp rosters for the tournament beginning later this month. When Sweden made its reveal on Wednesday, the roster was incomplete, as the team was hoping to add some other players to the list once they were granted permission to compete by their NHL clubs. Among those players the Swedes are hopeful to bring in is Winnipeg Jets forward David Gustafsson. Gustafsson, 19, played on the highly-hyped Swedish entry last year that faltered in the quarterfinal round of the tournament and the team would like to bring him back for another try. However, the 2018 second-round pick has surprisingly emerged as a regular in his rookie season with Winnipeg, already skating in 22 games. That’s not to say that Gustaffson is excelling in the NHL – he has just one point to date – but he is a piece that the Jets have relied upon. For that reason, The Athletic’s Murat Ates relays from head coach Paul Maurice that the team will put their own needs this season ahead of Gustafsson’s individual developmental needs when it comes to deciding whether or not to loan him to Team Sweden. If the Jets feel that they would be short-handed by losing the rookie for several weeks over the course of the WJC, the team will likely opt to keep him, despite his lack of production. However, Ates does not believe that this will be the case. Citing the recent waiver claim of Nick Shore and the improving health of several sidelined forwards, Ates feels that Winnipeg will wind up sending Gustafsson to the WJC, where they hope he can re-discover his scoring touch against more equal competition. After the tournament, the Jets could bring him back, but Ates would also not be surprised if he finishes the year out in Sweden, for the same developmental reasons. The decision will be made, one way or another, in short time.

  • Switzerland has announced their preliminary roster for the upcoming World Junior tournament, which includes a number of NHL prospects. The Swiss made a surprise run to the semifinals last year with a young, unheralded roster. This year, they will bring much of that core group back in hopes of taking another step forward. Goaltenders Akira Schmid (NJD) and Luca Hollenstein will be back, as will top defensemen Nico Gross (NYR) and Tim Berni (CLB) and talented forward Valentin Nussbaumer (ARI). However, youth could be the x-factor again for the Swiss in the form of two highly-regarded draft prospects. Forward Simon Knak of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks is expected to be a mid-round pick in 2020 and could play a key scoring role at the WJC. Potentially even more exciting is the inclusion of 17-year-old defenseman Giancarlo Chanton of the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs, already being talked about as a first-round pick in 2021. The Swiss will again be an intriguing dark horse in this year’s tournament.
  • With Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, and Canada having already announced their preliminary rosters, attention now turns to the Americans. Team USA suffered a heart-breaking loss in the final last year to a Finland team that they had beaten earlier in the tournament and are out to get what narrowly eluded them this year. Following a historic 2019 draft class, this year’s entry could be an embarrassment of riches for the U.S. and the team is certainly making the most of their official roster announcement. USA Hockey will reveal their  WJC squad on the NHL Network in a 4:00pm ET segement on Monday featuring head coach Scott Sandelin. The excitement will likely only continue to build after that until the puck drops on this year’s tournament.

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