CANTLON: (2/12) UCONN BEATS BC 6-4

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings CHESTNUT HILL, MA - UCONN earned two points in a wild 6-4 road win over Boston College at Kelley Rink. Carter Turnbull, Jachym Kondelik, and two goals from an unexpected scoring source defenseman, Jarrod Gourley, as UCONN won its sixth straight Hockey East contest and their second straight win at the Kelley Rink. UCONN is now tied with Boston University in points but also has two games in hand and one more win over the Terriers. The Huskies are winning games and looking to secure a home playoff date. Their record is now 16-11-2-1-2 overall and 12-6-0-2-1 in the conference. “We're certainly pleased with the three points tonight. That’s not how we wanted to play against BC. We know how strong they are up-front and on the rush. We didn’t want to trade chances back-and-forth, but we did. We were fortunate enough to score as well. Certainly, not the blueprint we drew up as a game plan. "Overall, I was happy with the win, but there is a lot we have to work on,“ said an exhausted UCONN head coach Mike Cavanaugh in his post-game remarks. The Eagles, uncharacteristically, find themselves in eighth place in Hockey East. Their record is 10-15-4 overall and 5-10-3-0-1 in Hockey East play. This loss ended a tough week for them, as they lost in the Beanpot, and then for a second time this season at home to UCONN. The Huskies are off until next weekend when they will play the conference’s first-place team and the defending national champion, the UMASS Minutemen in a home-and-home series. FIRST PERIOD FLURRY It was a blizzard of goals between the Huskies and Eagles who had a combined seven goals off 17 shots in the first period. The Huskies scored first as Ryan Tverberg (Toronto) tallied off a two-on-one break-in, feeding Artem Schlainen (New Jersey) who found the open net and buried his fourth goal of the season at 1:21. "Turnbull’s been playing some great hockey. Since Christmas he has been outstanding. The whole line has been doing a nice job for us," remarked Cavanaugh of the Turnbull-Jonny Evans and Marc Gatcomb (the Gunn School) trio. He liked the team's start. “It was a good way to start, but I didn’t like giving away that many chances,” He said. The Eagles responded with Jack Dempsey sending a cross-ice pass to Casey Carreau who was wide open on the right-wing side. He buried his fourth of the season at 4:49. Five minutes later, at 9:49, UCONN regained the lead as a BC turnover by Trevor Kuntar that was forced by Kondelik (Nashville) was found by Vladislav Firstov (Minnesota). He made a drop pass back to Kondelik, who had a team-best five shots, who then moved in alone on the right-wing. Kondelik registered his eleventh goal of the season from the face-off circle. Kondelik now has eight goals in his last 13 games. SCORING WAS NOT DONE YET BC’s Colby Ambrosio was in his zone and sent a head-man pass to speedy defenseman Mitchell Warren at center ice. Warren motored down the left-wing past UCONN’s Chase Bradley and circled the net and then threw the puck back at the net. Darin Hanson made the save but left a rebound. Liam Izyk got to the puck before John Spetz and poked his first goal of the season into the net at 13:20 putting deuces on the scoreboard. ”That’s not how we wanna play. We want to play with more structure in our own zone. We compromised ourselves defensively when pucks started going in. We were selling out to score goals and you can’t do that against Boston College because they have forwards who can hurt you on the rush.” Gourley had seven Division-I goals in three years with the Arizona State Sun Devils to his credit. He scored the next two goals. At 13:56, Turnbull was on the right wing with two BC Eagles, Justin Wells and Patrick Giles marking him. He zipped a cross-ice pass to Gourley as a third BC player - a mid-season Yale transfer from last year - Jack St. Ivany (Philadelphia) made a blocking attempt who deposited his second goal of the season behind Eric Gop. GOURLEY In the offensive zone at 14:12, Hudson Schandor won the draw clean from BC’s Gentry Shamburger (Avon Old Farms) in the left-wing face-off circle. Gourley stepped into a rolling puck off the left point and blasted it to the short side past Gop to make it 4-2. Gourley's only previous collegiate two-goal game was against Brown in his sophomore year on January 11, 2020, when he scored the game-winner. In his previous goals, they have all been against ECACHL teams during his junior and sophomore years. He hasn’t had two goals in a game before that since his days at the Grant Fuhr Arena with the AJHL Spruce Grove Saints. “He’s been great all year long. He brings a great level of maturity to our team and a calming influence to our defensemen. He can really shoot the puck. It was really two big goals for us.” The Eagles cashed in with 39.9 seconds left in regulation as Izyk registered his second of the game. He redirected a pass from Ambrosio who was behind the net. The Eagles went to the locker room only trailing by one at  4-3. IN BETWEEN LOCKER ROOMS After seven goals, and in between periods, his players did the majority of talking, but the coaches were heard too. “It was a combination of both. We have a very experienced team. They knew this was not how we wanted to play this game. It was not the recipe for success against Boston College to keep trading chances with them. They drove the conversation more than I did.” The goal didn’t faze UCONN as they scored twice in the second period to expand their lead they never lost. “The second period was more in how we wanted to play.  I thought we controlled that period and we got a fortunate bounce (on the first goal we scored). Carter Turnbull made a nice move on his goal and I liked how we were playing," said Cavanaugh. They restored the two-goal lead as Aidan Hreschuk attempted to exit the BC end of the ice, but lost the puck to an unforced error by Turnbull who went off on a breakaway before making a nice backhand-to-forehand move for his eighth of the season at 7:16. Schandor (plus-3) made another good play and with solid puck protection on Hreschuk chasing him in the BC zone, sent a solid backhand pass to a wide-open Kevin O’Neil. He raced in and beat Kuntar to the loose biscuit and made a nice finishing move and swept in his fifth of the season at 10:01 through the five-hole. The goal gave UCONN a commanding 6-3 lead. BC’S Casey Carreau closed out the scoring with his second of the night and fifth of the season at 15:34 to make it closer than it was. NOTES Jack St. Ivany had a tough night for BC at minus-4, and Pat Giles had a pointless night, a minus-3, and went without a shot on goal. LINES  Gatcomb-Evans-Turnbull Firstov-Kondelik-O’Neil Schandor-Schlaine-Tverberg Capone-Veilleux-Bradley Berger-Spetz Wheeler-Rees Flynn-Kinal Gourley Hanson Terness SCRATCHES Metcale Puskar Pasquale Wojchiwchowski UCONN MEN'S HOCKEY HOME Read the full article

CANTLON: (2/5) UCONN GETS LATE WIN OVER PC

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Ryan Tverberg’s late breakaway goal with 4:17 left gave the UCONN Huskies a 2-1 win Friday night over the visiting Providence Friars at the XL Center. “Certaintly, we're very pleased with tonight’s win," remarked UCONN Head Coach Mike Cavanaugh. "I told the boys we were in the same position last week in the third period with a tied game. Tonight we found the right play to win the game.” The Huskies won their third-straight Hockey East game. Their record improves to 9-6-0 in league play and 13-11-0 overall.  The Friars record falls to 8-9-1 in the league and 17-11-2 overall. They remain in seventh place now one point behind Merrimack and Providence College. TVERBERG WITH THE WINNER The winning play started just before a shift change as John Spetz got the puck to Artem Schlaine who in turn carried it out of the zone and smartly put it off the right-wing boards. Tverberg did the rest. Tverberg got inside position on Max Crozier for the breakaway. He got Jaxson Stauber, in net for the Friars, to make the first move, which opened the five-hole. Tverberg slipped his backhander by Stauber's right pad. Tverberg ended a 12-game scoreless drought with his tenth goal on the season. He also had an assist on the first goal for a multi-point effort. UCONN who just came off of a close, tight, physical game against Quinnipiac, found themselves in another game just like it. BALANCED ATTACK The Huskies received offensive contributions from all parts of the lineup. Jonny Evans, Carter Turnbull, and Spetz each had five shots on goal. Harrison Rees put four on the net as did Tverberg. Nick Capone, Schandor, Vlad Firstov, and Jake Flynn each had three shots. The two teams scored both goals early in the second period. Providence opened up the scoring on the back end of a brief power play as Parker Ford made a cross-ice pass to Crozier who buried his third of the year at 47 seconds past Darion Hanson. HUSKIES ANSWER BACK At 1:50 as Firstov was standing next to the Huskies bench before departing for his line change. He kept the puck in and got it to Spetz. A tightrope walk ensued for Spetz along the blue line as he went from the right point to dead center where he launched a high-rising shot. Traffic was going on in front of the Friars' net. Stauber was moving his feet and went against the grain shot for his goal. “It happened quickly. The puck came up between Vladdy’s legs and just went on my stick. I was thinking at the time to get to the middle. I just shifted it on net I don’t know who was in front (Tverberg). It was a great screen. It just floated in.” Spetz said of the goal. Cavanaugh was ebullient about Spetz's play. SPETZ “John Spetz might have had his best game of the year, tonight. Not only scoring a goal but playing well on both ends of the ice. In our defensive end, he did an excellent job.” Spetz complemented his coaches on his improved play. “The last couple of games I had slappers and one-timers that just missed the net. I did a little work with Coach (Todd) Helton this week keeping my head up when I shoot. That was the big reason for the goal, I kept my head up the whole time. Sometimes you bury your head and hope. That was brought to my attention to keep my head up and be calm out there.” The Huskies believed they had the goal ahead goal on a shorthanded play, which would have been their first shortie of the season. After an extensive and lengthy video review, the goal was nullified. The gamble in challenging the play paid off for Nate Leaman's team. Jachym Kondelik’s smart follow-up was between Nick Poisson and William Callahan on Chase Bradley’s breakaway at 14:11. It came just ten seconds into Turnbull’s penalty. FIRST PERIOD The first period was an extension of the Quinnipiac game with a dose of big hits as PC had the puck forcing UCONN to chase the game. Right off the bat, the Huskies took a penalty that negated an early power play. UCONN didn’t register a real shot on goal until the 12-minute mark off the stick of Shandor. UCONN tried to change the game with their ice breakers with some big hits on the Friars. The first came from Tverberg on the left-wing boards near the PC blue line on Ford of their first line. Then twin hits first from Jacob Gourley at center ice on Chase Yoder that sent him flying and then Capone suckered into a powerplay on Jamie Engelbert, but UCONN gave it right with a  penalty of their own shortly thereafter. LINES FIRSTOV-KONDELIK-O’NEIL GATCOMB-EVANS-TURNBULL SCHANDORE-SCHLAINE-TVERBERG BRADLEY-CAPONE-VEILLEUX WHEELER-REES BERGER-SPETZ KINAL-FLYNN GOURLEY HANSON TERNESS SCRATCHES Austin Metcalfe Cassidy Bowes Gavin Puskar John Wojciechowski Sasha Teleguine Ryan Keane UCONN MEN'S HOCKEY HOME Read the full article

CANTLON: UCONN 2021-22 SEASON PREVIEW

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings STORRS, CT - As if on cue, the first-morning dew on campus heralded a new hockey season for the UCONN Huskies and their head coach, Mike Cavanaugh. “I’m excited to be with the team and to make a deep push in Hockey East and maybe the NCAA tournament (both at the Boston Garden this year). We’ll have our fifth practice today, and I hope we’ll have 16 before next weekend’s first game with Sacred Heart (University) at the XL Center.” SHU is the Division I level team UCONN has had trouble with and has not beaten them at the D1 strata. “Not only have our freshmen, but none of our sophomores have played there, so we want to get them acclimated to the building,” remarked Cavanaugh. LAST YEAR The team, which posted a 10-11 record last year and lost to Providence College in the playoffs’ opening round, hasn’t advanced in Hockey East post-season action. They have a slew of grad transfers, and it’s different but not unique to future opponents. “It was like they were recruiting us in (goalie) Darion Hanson (Union College), Kevin O’Neil (Yale), and (Jarrod) Gourley (Arizona State). They didn’t play last year. They spoke to us, and I have spoken to their coaches, who would love to have had them back for a fifth year, and they spoke highly of them. “Boston University, our second opponent, has seven (transfers). We just have three, and they have been committed to us for a long time. They give us a different perspective and are a great for me and a great resource for our players,” remarked Cavanaugh. IN NET In net, Hanson will share duties with Logan Terness, who’s a highly touted freshman from Trail (BCHL). They will also have one goalie coming off labrum (hip) surgery, Matt Pasquale. They will also have one having it, Ryan Keane (Coppell, Texas), who both had zero time behind the off to the NHL, Tomáš Vomáčka, who played every second last year. “It’s wide open; not a lot of them played last year. Darion has the most experience of the three goalies, so I expect he’ll get the most work early, but we have five or six practices to go before that decision is made.” Upfront, the Huskies have a solid returning cast led by last year’s Hockey East top scorer, senior Jonny Evans. They’ll also have senior Carter Turnbill, and after not being offered a contract, 6’6 center from the Czech Republic, Jachym Kondelik (Nashville). FIRSTOV Vladislav Firstov (Minnesota) is giving Cavanaugh a rare luxury they haven’t had. "This is the best depth we’ve had since I’ve been here. We really don’t have a fourth line. I can spread Jonny on one line, Vladdy Firstov on another, Carter Turnbull on one, Jachym (Kondelik) on another. This could be the strength of our team this year.” On defense, Yan Kuznetsov and Tomas Vomáčka went pro, Kuznetsov, though, was a surprise. “Tomas, a goalie, they offered him a contract, and they give out only five or six goalies. One, you gotta take it, and it shows they think he can play. So, you have to take the contract. Yan, by the same token, was a surprise. It wouldn’t have hurt him to come back,” remarked his now-former head coach. SOPHMORES His younger sophomore class with Hudson Schandor, Artem Schlaine, Cassidy Bowes, and Nick Capone (East Haven/Salisbury School) (Tampa Bay 6th round #157) got to know Hockey East last year, introduced themselves, and got quality minutes. He has high hopes for Capone. “He is really a good player. He can do a lot of things (well) that can translate to getting to the next level. I want him to be more of a factor night in and night out. I want him to play a power forward game like Tom Wilson without the suspensions, antics, and penalties. I want him averaging three or four shots a game, and he’s capable of that, and can bring that intimidation factor to the game too.” On the backline, Jake Flynn and Carter Berger, are a pair that have made early good impressions. CAPTAIN KINAL On his team’s new captain, Roman Kinal, Cavanaugh was philosophical. “He’s on a trajectory like (former defenseman) Wyatt Newpower was (now with Cleveland-AHL). He struggled on-and-off the ice in the classroom the first year and struggled with his play and injuries in his second year.” His freshmen class is a more traditional mix in net with a high-end goalie prospect in Terness, who’s in the mold like Adam Huska and Tomas Vomacka, who both came before him. There’s also a late defenseman to commit, Aidan Metcalfe, and in-state kid Jake Veilleux (South Windsor/Selects Academy at South Kent Prep), another BCHL grad from the Victoria Grizzlies, and Sasha Telguine. “Aidan was a surprise. He is a big kid, strong, skates well; Veilleux can play forward or defense. He’s pretty versatile, and Sasha has a lot of skill. We’re not going to have to rely on them because we’re a veteran team. Injuries in a season will happen, so it’s good to have some players to slide into those positions, on a veteran-laden team.” POSTSEASON HOPES The change in the post-season conference playoff system to the one-and-done structure from the three-game series that Cavanaugh has advocated for over the past several years. “I think you’ll see more conferences going toward it. It mirrors our national tournament. Shooting for Boston is a team goal.” The new captain Kinal replaces Adm Karascik (Ridgefield/Avon Old Farms) will play a post-grad year at ND. “The (Boston) Garden has been talking about all (offseason and all year) Hockey East is there, the Finals (Frozen Four) are there. We’ve been talking about it all year to get to the Garden; that’s our goal. That’s our long-term goal. We also, of course, have individual goals. That starts with winning October 2nd against Sacred Heart and goes from there.” DRAFT PICKS That some of his players and just five nationally (three in the first six picks) with more incoming players selected surprised Cavanaugh. “When you’re drafted, that means the work has just begun. When you’re drafted, you sign a million-dollar deal; you’re taking home $400,000 after taxes, escrow, and paying your agent, and we’re bringing in business people to educate the kids about the business inside and outside of hockey. It’s sticker-shock when you go to places like Seattle and California,” said Cavanaugh. The brand new yet unnamed rink is taking shape. “It’s great,” said Cavanaugh. The new (UCONN) rink will be the second smallest rink in the conference to Matthews Arena (home to Northeastern built over 100 years ago and occupied in 1910.) We’re already getting benefits on the recruiting trail with inquiries from kids we wouldn’t have heard from before, say, three or four years ago. It’s exciting; once a week at the top of the hill, I can look in, and you can see the foundation of the building now.” CAPTAIN PUMPED His captain is equally enthused. “I pass it every day going to class. It’s awesome. You definitely see progress being made. Every year they would talk about. Now you see the stones being set in place. Now you see the work being done. It’s pretty cool were excited for sure,” said Kinal. The season looks to be a bright one for UCONN. COLLEGE NEWS Heading pro is Wisconsin-River Falls (WIAC) player from Division III in Christian Hausinger, with Wichita (ECHL) as the seventh D3 player. The Division-1 breakdown is: Hockey East 29, Big 10 has 23, NCHC 17, AHA 11, ECACHL with eight, CCHA, formerly the WCHA with four, and independent Arizona State with two. Division-I pro signees are 94, underclassmen who have left school early 36, and ALL college players signed from Division I and III in North America are now up to 132. Grad school transfers are at 51, and school transfers are 81 for 132 players who switched schools. In addition, 36 Division I and III have headed to Europe, including the latest Jaako Heikkinen (Denver University). Three went to Canadian college and university, and one went to Canadian major junior. COACHES A whole slew of volunteer coaches and assistant coaches were named. Jordy Murray at ND, Jack Riley heads to Division III independent Albertus Magnus College (New Haven), Ryan Zapolski, former Team USA goalie in the 2018 Pyeongchang, South Korea Games at Mercyhurst (AHA). Peter Ward is the new is senior advisor for coaches at MSU with Dylan Strom, the Spartans volunteer, Matthew Vanden Berg at Maine (HE). Minnesota State in the new CCHA and Colgate ECACHL are the preseason favorites to win their conferences. The brand new Ed Robson Arena at Colorado College ribbon is cutting is coming up shortly. UCONN HOCKEY HOME Read the full article

CANTLON: NHL DRAFT DAY 2 SUMMARY AND NEWS

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The bulk of the selections in the NHL Draft come on day two. Due to the pandemic, the sample size for current video and seeing players in-person is much smaller. Therefore, there were far fewer than normal games played. In some cases, no games were played at all. College players had a much shorter-than-usual schedule. Most schools had conference-only matchups, except for a few schools that managed to get in a few non-conference meetings. In Canadian junior hockey, only the QMJHL was able to play a division-only schedule, albeit an interrupted one. The WHL played just 25 divisional games while over in the OHL. They didn't play at all. Meanwhile, in the United States, the highest junior league, the tier-1 USHL, played a 54-game schedule, with many players that weren't selected, but that should have been. The breakdown of the final draft numbers is a bit surprising. In the major junior category, the WHL had 31 players selected. The QMJHL saw 24 drafted. The inactive OHL saw 22 of its players chosen, the same for the USHL. Finally, the tier-2 NAHL had one picked. Outside of the three studs from Michigan taken in the first five picks, two (2) other collegiate players were taken in the remainder of the draft. There were 91 players selected from Europe. ASSESSING WHO TO SELECT In terms of the ever-critical development picture, so many scouts were making assessments on year-old games or based their opinions on an incomplete '20-'21 season, with video as their only guide. Players have grown physically and mentally, but their in-game reps and in-person scouting assessments were critically lacking. Like New York Rangers first-round pick Brennan Othermann, who holds dual citizenship in Europe (Switzerland), and Chase Stillman, the grandson of former New Haven Nighthawk and Ranger, ninth round (154th overall) 1975 draft choice, Bud Stefanski, took a chance. Instead, they played in Denmark as they sought a less affected COVID country and giving themselves a heightened chance of being scouted. Scouts were put to the test this draft to fill organizational needs with hidden gems that nobody else had found. As a result, the dice were tossed all over NHL Draft rooms. MORROW GOES IN ROUND TWO The town of Darien is becoming a CT hockey hotbed of late. First, goalie Spencer Knight was drafted. He now skates for the Florida Panthers. Then, when the Carolina Hurricanes made their second pick (40th overall), they chose the right-handed shooting defenseman, Scott Morrow. Steve Morrow, his father, was drafted by the Flyers as a tenth-round pick in the 1987 Draft (209th overall). He had a brief minor-league pro career with the Hershey Bears (AHL) and the Ft. Worth Texans (CHL). Recently, he coached in the Mid-Fairfield Rangers youth hockey program. He is named after his uncle, Scott, drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the fifth round (95th overall) in the 1988 NHL Draft. He never made it to Hartford but did play for their AHL farm team, the Springfield Indians. He had a ten-year minor league pro career. The younger Morrow has skated the last five years in the Shattuck’s St. Mary’s Sabres program (MNPREP), bypassing public and prep school hockey in the Nutmeg State. Instead, he's heading to play for the defending national champion UMASS-Amherst Minutemen (HE) program coached by Greg Carvel after de-committing from traditional hockey powerhouse, North Dakota (NCHC). Morrow sent a PowerPoint presentation to Shattuck’s-the modern-day version of the handwritten letter, which speaks about his commitment, use of modern technology, and maturity shown at a young age. Morrow was one of four Shattuck’s players drafted this weekend. He played with UCONN’s Artem Schlaine and will be his opponent this upcoming college season. He played two regular season USHL games with the Youngstown (OH) Phantoms, and he was traded twice. First, from Youngstown to the Sioux City (IA) Musketeers and had his rights dealt to the Fargo (ND) Force, he played six playoff games. He was also a 2018 QMJHL draftee of the Val d‘Or Foreurs. MORE SECOND ROUND The last pick of the second round, 64th overall, was Oliver Kapanen, nephew of Whaler favorite, Sami Kapanen, and the cousin of the Penguins' Kasperi. He played for the KalPa U-20 team and is slated to play for KalPa Kuopio (Finland-FEL) this season and is WJC eligible and played for Finland’s U-18 this spring. Sami, a fourth-round Whalers' draftee in 1988, is currently the head coach with HC Lugano (Switzerland-LNA). He played 831 NHL games with Hartford, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Philadelphia Flyers. His grandfather Hannu played for the 1976 Finnish Olympic team and their World Championship squad. Other notables included the Arizona Coyotes, who were penalized by the NHL for their indiscretion in the NHL Combine process under former GM Jeff Chayka. They lost their first-round pick as a penalty imposed by the NHL took forward Josh Doan from the formidable Chicago Steel (USHL) program. Doan’s father, Shane, is the Coyotes all-time top player in every category for the troubled franchise’s history. He was passed over last year in the 2020 Draft, but a big season paid off. He was a 2017 Kamloops Blazers (WHL) draftee on his father’s team. He will skate for the Arizona St. Sun Devils, an NCAA Division-I independent program with no conference at this time. OTHER PICKS Samuel Helenius, a 6’6 center, was taken by the LA Kings 59th overall. He played for JYP (Finland-FEL) and is WJC eligible and played in the tourney last year. His father Sami was a 6’5 defenseman with 155 NHL games with the Calgary Flames, the Dallas Stars, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. He also played 296 AHL games with Saint John's, Utah, and Hershey, plus 56 IHL games with Las Vegas and Chicago. ROUND THREE With the first pick in the third-round (65th overall), the Rangers chose 6'3, 190-pound center Jayden Grubbe. Last year, he played only five games and was captain of the Red Deer Rebels (WHL), coached by NHL’er Brent Sutter of the famous hockey-playing Sutter family. In his rookie WHL season, he played 59 games with six goals and 23 assists. He has a younger 15-year brother Jordan playing in Alberta bantam hockey. The Rangers' second pick in the third round was another center, Ryder Korczak of the Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL). He played 17 games with three goals and 13 assists but was a minus-11. In 62 games in the 2019-20 season for the Warriors, Korczak had 18 goals and 67 points but was a startling minus-40. His older Kaedan is a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, a second-round draftee who split last year with Kelowna Rockets (WHL) and the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL). His father, Chad, is the general manager of their hometown Yorkton Maulers (SMAAAHL) team. With the 71st pick, the St. Louis Blues took Simon Robertsson, former Wolf Pack/Ranger Bert Robertsson's son. He played with three teams last year Skellefteå AIK (Sweden-SHL), Skellefteå AIK J-20 and Piteå HC (Hockey Ettan). He was sent home from the WJC Finland with a positive COVID test but did play for the WJC U-18 team. He is expected to play for the Skellefteå AIK (SHL and J-20) squads in the fall and remains WJC eligible. ROUND FOUR In the fourth round, the Rangers had three selections. Brody Lamb, taken 104th overall, is a University Minnesota Golden Gophers (Big 10) commit in the fall. He skated for three teams last season.  The Dodge County High School team in Kasson, MN, where, in 24 games, he had 52 goals and 87 points. The second team was a travel team TDS Construction (USSEHL). In 19 games, Lamb had 12 goals and 23 points. He also had ten games with the USHL Green Bay Gamblers, where he had two assists playing for former Beast of New Haven's Pat Miskesch, who is the head coach and GM of the Gamblers. In 53 games total, he had 64 goals and 111 points. He played three playoff games between TDS and Green Bay with one assist. His father, Jeff, played collegiately for the University of Denver Pioneers then in the WCHA and had a brief three-year minor pro career two with the original Maine Mariners (AHL) and his last season with the Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL). FINAL FOURTH-ROUNDER Then three picks later, at 107th, they selected their first European pick of this draft, 6’4 185 lb. 18-year-old LW Kalle Väisänen from TPS Turku U-20 team where he skated in 27 games with nine goals, 21 assists for 30 points and played one game with the U-18 team. He is slated to play for TPS Turku (Finland-FEL) this year and is WJC eligible. His father Markku played in the Finnish league professionally for eight years and coached at various times in four years in the lower levels of Finnish hockey. Then five slots later, at 112th overall, the Rangers' third pick in the round, the team went for a tall goalie and the biggest player in the draft. At 6’8, they chose Talyn Boyko from the Tri-City (WA) Americans (WHL). In his third season, he played 14 games with a 3.02 GAA, .901 save percentage, and had a record of 7-7-0. He turns 19 in October, so he will likely return for the fourth season of junior hockey. Then forward, Ethan Cardwell was taken 121st overall by the San Jose Sharks. He is the nephew of former New Haven Knights (UHL) player Matt Cardwell. He plays with the Barrie Colts (OHL),  but last year laced them up for Surahammers IF (Sweden HockeyEtttan Division-1 third tier) and had 27 points in 18 games and had a team-best plus-10. ROUND FIVE With the 144th overall pick, the Rangers chose forward Jaroslav Chmelar, an 18-year native of the Czech Republic. He played in Finland for the Jokerit U-18/U-20 teams and played for the Czech national J-18 team in the J-18 tournament held in Canada. He stands at 6’4 and weighs 198-pounds. He shoots right-handed. Detroit took Oscar Plandowski, a Selects Academy at South Kent team member, in 2018-19. He played last season for the Charlottetown (PEI) Islanders. His father, Darryl, is the Director of Amateur Scouting for Arizona. From the Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), Cameron MacDonald was selected with the last pick in the round (160th) by the  Standley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.  He also played for the Selects Academy at South Kent Prep program in 2018-19 and out in a game with the CT Jr, Rangers (NCDC) that season. Other interesting players of note who were taken in the round include the Carolina Hurricanes selection of Robert Orr, no relation to the great Robert Gordon Orr, aka Bobby Orr. This Orr playing for former Hartford Wolf Pack assistant coach J.J. Daigneault with the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL). The Hurricanes also took Justin Robidas, born in Plano, Texas, and is the son of former NHL’er Stéphane Robidas (937 games). Arizona took Manix Landry, the son of long-time AHL and European player Éric Landry, who had a brief NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens. ROUND SIX Selecting 186th overall, the Edmonton Oilers took Shane LaChance, the son of Bristol-born Scott LaChance. His father was drafted out of BU in the 1st round (4th overall) by the New York Islanders in the 1991 Draft. His uncle Bob LaChance skated for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) and Danbury Trashers (UHL). His grandfather is legendary long-time Boston University head coach Jack Parker. LaChance played last year for the Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC) and is enrolled and has played for Tabor Academy (MAPREP). He is a 2022-23 commit to the Boston University Terriers (HE), to no one's surprise. ROUND SEVEN The Rangers' last draft selection was a defenseman—Hank Kempf from the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL), who was taken 208th overall. In 26 games, the 6’2 190-pound rearguard had four goals and 10 points and was a plus-5. He is a Cornell Big Red (ECACHL) commit in the fall. Early in the last round Ryan McCleary, the son of former New Haven Senators and NHL’er Trent McCLeary, was selected 194th by Pittsburgh. McLeary was the fifth-youngest taken at age 17 and the fifth lightest at 154 lbs. TRADES After nine seasons in Columbus with the Blue Jackets, right-wing Cam Arkinson (Riverside/Avon Old Farms) was moved to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Jakub Voracek. NOTES The Rangers announced that defenseman Tony DeAngelo had cleared waivers. His buyout is now complete and his turbulent Rangers career is finished. He is now a free agent. The 6’8 240-pound goalie, Hugo Ollas, a draft pick last year from Sweden, commits to Merrimack College (HE) in the fall. He is WJC eligible. The AHL Henderson Silver Knights will have 61 games next season at their present temporary home of Orleans Arena. They will play their final home games and post-season hockey in their brand-new Dollar Loan Center starting April 2, 2022. The Springfield Thunderbirds had two big signings from the parent St. Louis Blues. First, Australian veteran winger Nathan Walker signed a two-year two-way deal at $750K-NHL/$300K-AHL. The other is a one-year, two-way for winger Nolan Stevens. The deal pays him $700K for play in the NHL and $100K in the AHL. Stevens comes to Springfield, where his AHL Hall of Fame father, John Walker, played for the Springfield Indians. He won a Cader Cup in 1990-91 and is currently an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars. The parent clubs of the Ontario Reign and Tucson Roadrunners conducted an AHL trade. Los Angeles (Reign) sent Cole Hults and Bokondji Imama to the Arizona Coyotes (Roadrunners) for Brayden Burke and Tyler Steenbergen. The Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning signed Gemel Smith to a two-way, two-year deal paying $750K-NHL/$250K-AHL. NHL HOME Read the full article

CANTLON: QUESTIONS & TALENT SURROUND '20-'21 UCONN HOCKEY

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - For UCONN hockey, COVID-19 has been a major headache. In shortening its 2019-20 season, COVID-19 took away UCONN's post season aspirations. Now in 2020-21, the invisible menace is continuing to wreck havoc and cause major structural changes to their schedule and consequently their potential lineup. The latest COVID curveball came in a late day NCAA announcement on Saturday for the upcoming season that will allow players in the fall to play Junior-A hockey and still preserve their NCAA eligibility, but only if they are enrolled in school. The players will be able to play again for their respective school once the conference season commences, which looks more likely to be in the second semester in January 2021. The ruling is stated as such: Current student-athletes whose institutions will not be playing hockey during the fall semester will be permitted to participate in non-collegiate, amateur competition i.e. junior hockey on an outside team during the fall 2020 term (subject to school and conference approval). These student-athletes may compete on an outside team while remaining enrolled in their NCAA institution, which typically would not be allowed. An institution or conference may not provide expenses for such competition and the student-athlete must be in good academic standing. A student-athlete who remains enrolled at the institution may not miss class to participate in outside competition. Read the full article