The Sound Of Hockey Podcast has a NEW BIT this week! We repeat, the Sound Of Hockey Podcast has a new bit. This is not a drill.
Yes, folks, HYPEotheticals will both get your mind in a pretzel and simultaneously get you hyped.
On this week’s episode, Andy gives a WHL update, Darren gives a NCAA Frozen Four preview, and John leads a raucous game of Buy, Sell, or Hold.
The guys also discuss what’s happening with the Vancouver Canucks before diving into segments, which this week include Bad Boys, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
The Sound Of Hockey Podcast has a NEW BIT this week! We repeat, the Sound Of Hockey Podcast has a new bit. This is not a drill.
Yes, folks, HYPEotheticals will both get your mind in a pretzel and simultaneously get you hyped.
On this week’s episode, Andy gives a WHL update, Darren gives a NCAA Frozen Four preview, and John leads a raucous game of Buy, Sell, or Hold.
The guys also discuss what’s happening with the Vancouver Canucks before diving into segments, which this week include Bad Boys, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
The NCAA Men’s Frozen Four is upon us, with the semifinals getting underway this Thursday and the championship game scheduled for Saturday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. We at Sound Of Hockey recognize that college hockey isn’t always the easiest thing to follow living in the Pacific Northwest, so we thought it would be helpful to bring you up to speed on the participants remaining in this incredible tournament and what to look for in what will surely be a riveting couple of days.
First, a few housekeeping items. The first semifinal will be played at 2PM Pacific on Thursday and will feature the Minnesota State Mavericks and the St. Cloud State Huskies. The second semifinal is scheduled for that same evening at 6PM Pacific with the UMass Minutemen facing the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. Those semifinal games will be aired on ESPN2. The winners will move on to the championship, scheduled for 4PM Pacific on Saturday. That one will be on ESPN.
Also, before digging into the individual teams themselves, we wanted to take a quick look at how the remaining squads are constructed based on age.
It’s interesting to note that none of the teams with the really elite young NHL prospects remain, as Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Boston College were all bounced in the regionals, while Michigan was forced to back out due to Covid protocols.
The above proves that experience at the college level can be even more important than having elite skill on your roster. The most exceptional players typically don’t last beyond their sophomore seasons, often opting to leave school early to accept pro contracts. So, while it can certainly benefit a school in the very short term to recruit elite talent, it doesn’t necessarily lead to postseason success.
Minnesota State Mavericks
Record: 22-4-1
Conference: WCHA
Coach: Mike Hastings
How they got here: The Mavericks overcame a two-goal deficit against Quinnipiac in the opening round, earning a 4-3 overtime victory. They followed that up with a convincing 4-0 win over Minnesota in the Loveland regional championship to earn their first Frozen Four berth in school history.
What to know: One trend you’ll notice amongst these four teams is that they all managed to fly under the national radar to varying degrees this season. Minnesota State probably deserved more attention, based on its exceptional record, but it was hampered a bit by playing in a relatively soft WCHA conference.
Plus, this is a team that entered the NCAA Tournament having never won even a regional game, let alone getting through to the Frozen Four.
The Mavericks have remarkable structure on defense and do a great job of managing the puck, as was evident when they pushed the favored Golden Gophers around for 60 minutes last week. On the rare occasion that things break down, Hobey Baker finalist Dryden McKay is there manning the goal crease at an elite level, stopping 93 percent of the shots he’s faced and allowing just 1.39 goals per game this season.
The Mavericks are very much a score-by-committee type of team with no obvious superstars, instead getting the job done with good structure through all three zones and a stifling combination of defense and goaltending. They also have the best power play of the teams remaining, clicking at 25% on the season.
Junior forward Julian Napravnik leads Minnesota State in scoring with 10 goals and 17 assists in 26 games.
NHL Draftees:
Player
NHL Team
Class
Position
Draft Year / Round
Todd Burgess
Ottawa Senators
Senior
F
2016 – fourth round
Nathan Smith
Winnipeg Jets
Sophomore
F
2018 – third round
St. Cloud State Huskies
Record: 19-10-0
Conference: NCHC
Coach: Brett Larson
How they got here: The Huskies knocked off two good teams from Boston—first Boston University, then Boston College—en route to the Frozen Four. Taking down BC and their many elite NHL prospects was especially impressive. The Huskies trailed after one period but came out flying in the second, potting three goals in the frame against Spencer Knight. SCSU ultimately skated to a 4-1 victory and a win of the Albany regional.
This is SCSU’s second Frozen Four appearance in school history. The previous appearance was in 2013—also in Pittsburgh—and ended with a semifinal loss to Quinnipiac.
What to know: St. Cloud’s record may not look that impressive when compared to that of its semifinal opponent from Mankato, but the Huskies come out of a much tougher conference in the NCHC, where they finished the regular season in second place behind North Dakota. The Huskies also made a bid to win the conference tournament, beating Minnesota Duluth before falling to UND in the championship game.
The Huskies bring a similar approach to the game as the Mavericks, getting production in relatively small doses from across their lineup. They do have a speedy and skilled forward in Veeti Miettinen, who leads the team in both goals (10) and points (22). They also have a strong puck mover on the backend in Nick Perbix, who has contributed 18 points from the blue line.
SCSU lost one of its top forwards in Easton Brodzinski when he cut across the middle and took a big hit in the regional championship against BC. Brodzinski was carried off the ice, and it was later revealed that he had broken his leg. To St. Cloud’s credit, the team rallied impressively and completed a surprising win to advance to the Frozen Four.
NHL Draftees:
Player
NHL Team
Class
Position
Draft Year / Round
Sam Hentges
Minnesota Wild
Junior
F
2018 – seventh round
David Hrenak
Los Angeles Kings
Senior
G
2018 – fifth round
Veeti Miettinen
Toronto Maple Leafs
Freshman
F
2020 – sixth round
Nick Perbix
Tampa Bay Lightning
Junior
D
2017 – sixth round
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Record: 15-10-2
Conference: NCHC
Coach: Scott Sandelin
How they got here: When it was announced that Michigan had been forced out of the NCAA Tournament because of Covid, Minnesota Duluth was given a free pass to the second round, meaning it just had to win one game to advance to the Frozen Four. Easy, right?
The only problem was that one game would end up being against tournament favorite North Dakota.
The Bulldogs were up for a battle, but so too were the Fighting Hawks. Not only did a battle ensue, but it turned into a war of attrition that lasted the length of more than two games, going into five overtimes before the Bulldogs finally found the winner in the longest game in NCAA Tournament history.
What to know: Scott Sandelin is an absolute wizard. Since no tournament was held last year, the Bulldogs remain two-time defending champions, and this is their fourth consecutive Frozen Four appearance. UMD is the youngest team left, as this year was supposed to be a re-building year for this program.
One thing that was interesting about that UND/UMD marathon is that Zach Stejskal, a freshman netminder who had only started seven games all season, got the nod and played into the fifth overtime before having to leave with cramps. He was replaced by Ryan Fanti, the sophomore who had gotten the majority of starts during the season. After sitting on the bench for five hours, Fanti shut the door on North Dakota and got his team over the hump to victory. It will be interesting to see which direction Sandelin goes with his netminders.
UMD is led offensively by Nick Swaney and Jackson Cates, who each have 27 points on the season. Freshman defenseman Wyatt Kaiser played 59 minutes in the marathon game and was absolutely outstanding.
By the way, Scott Sandelin’s son, Ryan, is on Minnesota State, so if the Bulldogs and Mavericks both advance, we would have a father-son showdown in the NCAA Championship. That would be neat.
NHL Draftees:
Player
NHL Team
Class
Position
Draft Year / Round
Blake Biondi
Montreal Canadiens
Freshman
F
2020 – fourth round
Matt Cairns
Edmonton Oilers
Senior
D
2016 – third round
Noah Cates
Philadelphia Flyers
Junior
F
2017 – fifth round
Wyatt Kaiser
Chicago Blackhawks
Freshman
D
2020 – third round
Cole Koepke
Tampa Bay Lightning
Junior
F
2018 – sixth round
Luke Loheit
Ottawa Senators
Sophomore
F
2018 – seventh round
Quinn Olson
Boston Bruins
Sophomore
F
2019 – third round
Nick Swaney
Minnesota Wild
Senior
F
2017 – seventh round
UMass Minutemen
Record: 18-5-4
Conference: Hockey East
Coach: Greg Carvel
How they got here: The Minutemen got hot at exactly the right time, going 9-0-3 in their last 12 games, including a Hockey East Tournament championship and two relatively easy wins over Lake Superior State and Bemidji State in the Bridgeport regionals.
My math tells me UMass has given up just one goal per game in that 12-game stretch and just one total goal in the last three games combined.
What to know: The primary individual responsible for such low goals against is netminder Filip Lindberg, a 22-year-old Finnish netminder who had been playing out of his mind. However, in late breaking news, Lindberg will have to sit out due to Covid protocols and contact tracing, at least for Thursday.
UMass will be without it’s starting goaltender Filip Lindberg (MIN) and leading goal scorer Carson Gicewicz among others at the Men’s Frozen Four. https://t.co/xmM19kCovS
Lindberg will be replaced by Matt Murray (not that Matt Murray), who actually had more starts than Lindberg this season. The team’s third goalie, Henry Graham, is also among those sitting for Covid protocols, so best friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Chris Peters, reports that a student manager will be dressing as the third goalie.
In front of Murray, UMass has the best defensive pairing in the Frozen Four in Zac Jones and Matt Kessel, so that should help lighten the load a bit. Still, this is a huge loss for the Minutemen.
UMass may be morphing into a perennial powerhouse under Carvel. The fact that this team is back here for its second straight appearance is impressive in and of itself. But the Minutemen lost Cale Makar, John Leonard, and Mario Ferraro since being defeated by UMD in the 2019 NCAA Championship.
And yet, here they are, back in the Frozen Four.
This is a team that went 5-29-2 in 2016-2017. Yes, you read that right. UMass won FIVE GAMES in an entire season before Carvel arrived and quickly brought in elite talent to bring this program up to speed.
The question is, can they avenge their 2019 loss to UMD?
UMass is led offensively by Bobby Trivigno, who has the most points of any player left in the NCAA Tournament with 31. Kessel and Jones have combined for 45 points from the blue line. Carson Gicewicz leads the team with 17 goals, but will also have to sit due to contact tracing.
NHL Draftees:
Player
NHL Team
Class
Position
Draft Year / Round
Marc Del Gaizo
Nashville Predators
Junior
D
2019 – fourth round
Zac Jones
New York Rangers
Sophomore
D
2019 – third round
Matt Kessel
St. Louis Blues
Sophomore
D
2020 – fifth round
Filip Lindberg
Minnesota Wild
Junior
G
2019 – seventh round
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
After running through several forecasted protection lists and countless mock expansion drafts, I found that there are a few NHL teams that do not have much to offer the Kraken this July.
Part of the task of Ron Francis and company is to identify any expansion candidates that are projected to either have future potential or are being underutilized with their current teams. While some of these players are buried on depth charts in the NHL behind other players, others might be stuck in the AHL.
Here is my projected list of five potential AHL candidates that could be selected in the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft this July.
Tyler Benson – LW – Edmonton Oilers
There are a lot of questions facing Edmonton’s approach to the Expansion Draft. Will they sign Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to a contract extension before the Expansion Draft? Does Edmonton protect four defensemen in the Expansion Draft to protect Caleb Jones? The former could answer the latter. If RNH is not re-signed, then they are more likely to protect four forwards and four defenseman which will expose Tyler Benson.
Benson is having quite the season in Bakersfield with 23 points in 19 games. He has consistently produced since turning pro but has failed to break into the NHL on a consistent basis with only one point in seven NHL games last season. Benson, a former Vancouver Giants star in the Western hockey Leauge, is a smart player but is not yet at the elite skill level of a lot of NHLers which will limit his ability to play at that level. His projection in the NHL is a solid third liner.
Ty Ronning – RW – New York Rangers
The Rangers do not have much to offer in the Expansion Draft which makes taking a chance on Ty Ronning not much of a risk. Ronning, another former Vancouver Giant, has been called up to the NHL taxi squad three times this season but has yet to crack the NHL lineup. He has only played in seven games for the Hartford Wolfpack this season but has nine points including six goals to show for it. This speedster is undersized and will be turning 24 in October.
Adam Mascherin – LW/C – Dallas Stars
Dallas is another team that does not have a whole lot to offer in the Expansion Draft. Mascherin has 12 goals in 20 games playing for the Texas Stars in the AHL. His weakness is his skating skills which he makes up for in the strength of his shot and scoring goals. He could pan out to be a solid middle-six forward in the NHL.
Jonah Gadjovich – LW – Vancouver Canucks
We have been zeroing in on Kole Lind in Vancouver for a while now, and for good reason; he is good. Lind has eight points in eight games with the Utica Comets of the AHL and was recently called up to the Taxi Squad. We have come to the realization that the Canucks will figure out a way to protect him which probably means exposing Tyler Motte or trading Jake Virtanen.
Meanwhile, Jonah Gadjovich has been having himself a pretty good season in the AHL. Gadjovich has eight goals in nine games for Utica. He’s a bit of a feisty throwback that plays a well-rounded game while getting under the skin of opponents.
Cam Dineen – D – Arizona Coyotes
Most of us at Sound Of Hockey believe the pick out of Arizona will be backup goalie Adin Hill. If the Coyotes end up trading starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper, then Arizona will protect Hill which does not leave much to select from on the Coyotes roster.
22-year-old defenseman Cam Dineen could be the best option for the Kraken. Dineen is an offensive-minded defenseman that should have a future in the NHL.
These dark horse AHL candidates will not excite any mainstream hockey fans come draft day, but they offer very little risk with lots of upside potential down the road. They could be shrewd moves that pay off in a few years.
We knew this Western Hockey League season was going to be different. There were several target start dates that came and went without a single puck being dropped. Slowly but surely the WHL worked with local government entities in each province and state to come up with a plan to salvage something resembling a season. When everything was said and done, all teams targeted a 24-game intra-divisional schedule with no fans and no playoffs. The phrase we heard over and over from teams leading up to this shortened season was “player development.” For this week’s Data Dump Saturday, I am going to dig into how WHL teams are approaching development based on age, specifically focusing on their usage of 16-year-old players.
WHL eligibility rules are a bit complicated, but for the purposes of this analysis, you can assume that 16-year-olds are the youngest players eligible to play in the WHL.
Number of 16-year-olds
Comparing this season to any prior season is challenging. Let us first focus on the actual number of 16-year-olds playing in the league. In a normal season, general managers and coaches will play 16-year-olds, but if they keep players that age on their roster, they are mandated to play them in at least 40 games. If the team feels a 16-year-old rookie is not developed enough for that number of games, the player will be sent down to a lower-level club prior to the start of the season.
Outside of the top prospects, most 16-year-olds that do stay end up with limited ice time during games as they get acclimated to the league, getting deployed in favorable matchups or playing on bottom lines. This season is unique due to the emphasis on development, so many teams chose not to carry a full complement of over-aged 20-year-olds or imports, opening up ice time for younger players. To come up with a fair comparison season over season I have identified the number of 16-year-olds that have played in over 50% of their team’s games.
As you can see already, this season has the most 16’s playing in the last 10 years of the WHL, with 58 players that have participated in over 50% of their team’s games.
Here is a look at it by WHL team.
It’s interesting to note the range of how these teams are using their 16-year-olds. Victoria seems to be playing a lot of 16’s with six in its lineup, while Red Deer only has one being used on a regular basis.
A proxy for time on ice
Counting the number of 16-year-old players getting into games only tells part of the story. Actual playing time is an important data point to determine how much experience they are getting. Unfortunately, the common time on ice statistic is not available on the WHL’s stats page.
As a proxy, I am going to use average shots on goal per game in lieu of time on ice. It is not perfect, but the logic is the more ice time you get, the more shots on goal you have. Spread over the whole league, this at least gives us an idea of how much 16-year-olds are playing compared to other seasons.
If we assume shots on goal as a proxy for ice time, it appears that the average shots on goal is flat over the last four WHL seasons and therefore there is no change in ice time for players this age. This surprised me a bit since the Seattle Thunderbirds have three 16-year-olds that appear to be getting a lot of playing time.
To prove (or disprove) that gut feeling, I isolated the Seattle Thunderbirds to see if this is correct.
In this case, the data confirms what I believed based on the eyeball test.
Of course, there could be various reasons for this increase in Seattle, but they all bode well for the future if this group of 16’s is being given plenty of opportunities and generating this type of production.
Here is a look at how this group compares with 16-year-olds in previous seasons:
How this group of 16-year-olds develops based on this deployment will be interesting to monitor. With more usage of players at this this age, will we see faster development in the WHL?
If you have any thoughts or questions, feel free to drop me a line in the comments section or on twitter.
If hockey is what you seek, then the past week should have been quite fulfilling for you, because there was a LOT of it to be found. What’s more, much of the hockey that was played was quite entertaining, with each game across the various elite leagues seemingly more exciting than the previous. If this past week of hockey were a GIF, it would certainly be the Vince McMahon GIF seen below.
Yes, it has been a fun week, and we at Sound Of Hockey endeavor to continue satiating your appetite for hockey enjoyment with this latest installment of Weekly One-Timers.
Is Ron Francis wheeling and dealing?
It makes sense that Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis would be talking to his counterparts across the NHL to gauge their varying levels of interest in consummating side deals in the lead-up to the Expansion Draft this summer. But we’ve never officially seen or heard it reported that this was happening. Well, until now, that is.
The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun wrote this week that Francis has been fielding calls from fellow general managers in advance of the April 12 trade deadline, as they try to get a better feel for what it will cost to keep the Kraken’s tentacles off of any newly acquired players. Lebrun also reported that according to his source, Francis is asking for “a first-round pick and a prospect and maybe another piece.”
Lebrun also discusses this starting at the 3:04 mark of the below video.
So, that’s fun.
THE KRAKEN ARE WHEELIN’ AND DEALIN’! LET’S GO!
The real March Madness
Marathon game
You saw the marathon game between North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth, right? Or at least part of it? Because it went on for six hours and 12 minutes, so you had to have at least stumbled upon it while scrolling through channels at some point in your Saturday evening. In the end, it was UMD — for the fourth consecutive time — punching its ticket to the Frozen Four, while UND players looked sad.
It was just an incredible contest in every aspect with bizarre things happening throughout. Case in point, UMD’s starting goalie, Zach Stejskal, was forced out in the fifth overtime due to cramps. He was replaced by Ryan Fanti, who came in and made several huge saves after sitting on the bench for five hours. In total, 119 shots were taken, 142 minutes and 13 seconds ticked off the clock, and one record was set for the longest game in NCAA history on either the men’s or women’s side.
UMD now has a shot at its third straight NCAA title in a year that was supposed to be transitional for the Bulldogs.
Frozen Four field set
UMD will be joined in Pittsburgh by UMass, St. Cloud State, and Minnesota State.
UMass reached the final in 2019, but at that time, they had the likes of Cale Makar, John Leonard, and Mario Ferraro, all of whom are now well on their way to successful NHL careers. This is another team that largely flew under the radar this season, but got hot at the right time, earning a Hockey East postseason championship along the way. Zac Jones, a New York Rangers draft pick, and Matt Kessel, a St. Louis Blues draft pick, make up the top defense pairing, and together they are quite exceptional.
St. Cloud lost one of its best offensive players in Easton Brodzinski in the team’s regional championship against Boston College. Brodzinski broke his leg on a nasty (but clean) hit when he cut to the middle of the offensive zone. The Huskies really aren’t built around their stars, though, as they’re an experienced team that has been through the wringer.
Minnesota State may be the most intriguing story of the Frozen Four field. The Mavericks hadn’t won a single NCAA Tournament game in their history before defeating Quinnipiac in the opening round, then following that up with a convincing victory over a favored Minnesota Gophers team.
Ryan Sandelin, son of UMD head coach Scott Sandelin, scored the overtime game-winner against Quinnipiac to keep hopes alive for a father-son showdown in the NCAA title game. Goaltender Dryden McKay has had dizzying numbers over three collegiate seasons and earned a 22-save shutout over the Gophers to send his team through. He was named a Hobey Baker finalist, along with Wisconsin’s Cole Caufield and North Dakota’s Shane Pinto. Shockingly, McKay is undrafted.
The NCAA semifinals will take place on Thursday, April 8, and the final will be on Saturday, April 10.
Signing frenzy
With so many NCAA teams seeing their seasons come to crashing halts, there was a flurry of signings of high-end NHL prospects this week.
Player
Age
Old Team
New Team
Cole Caufield
19
University of Wisconsin
Montreal Canadiens
David Farrance
21
Boston University
Nashville Predators
Alex Steeves
21
Notre Dame
Toronto Maple Leafs
Matthew Boldy
19
Boston College
Minnesota Wild
Alex Newhook
19
Boston College
Colorado Avalanche
Spencer Knight
19
Boston College
Florida Panthers
Shane Pinto
19
University of North Dakota
Ottawa Senators
Cam York
19
University of Michigan
Philadelphia Flyers
Most of these players will need some seasoning in the AHL, but there’s some serious talent in the aforementioned group, so you should see at least some of them at the top level soon.
On the topic of signings, Thatcher Demko agreed to a five-year extension with the Vancouver Canucks worth $25 million, so apparently he isn’t a future Seattle Kraken after all. Bummer!
The #Canucks signed 25 y/o G Demko to 5 yr $5M Cap Hit extension:
Yr 1: $2.5M Base Yr 2: $3.5M Base, $1M Signing Bonus Yr 3: $6M Base, $1M Signing Bonus Yr 4: $6M Base Yr 5: $5M Base
The fine system is absurd. $5,000 is the most the NHL can fine a player based on the collective bargaining agreement with the NHLPA. McDavid makes $12.5 million per year. Do you know what $5,000 is to somebody who makes $12.5 million? Well, the median salary for all Americans is $31,133 according to the US Census Bureau. Fining somebody $5,000 when they have a $12.5 million salary is the same—in terms of percentage of income—as fining somebody who makes the median American salary exactly $12.44.
That oughta show ’em!
Around the boards
USA Hockey named Chicago general manager Stan Bowman and Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin as its GM and AGM respectively for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The appointments come with a caveat that if NHL players do not end up participating, Bowman and Guerin will not lead the brain trust.
The “Fox Sports [insert your region here]” network of… networks… is no more, instead replaced by something called Bally Sports. Bally’s owns and operates casinos across the nation, so you can bet your bottom dollar (get it?) that there will be some sort of wagering-related programming and promotions coming soon to a Bally network near you. The scorebug on the newly re-branded Bally networks is obnoxiously large, so there is already plenty of space for live betting odds in regions where sports gambling is legal.
Shayne Gostisbehere was put on waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers this week. All 30 other teams passed on claiming the puck-moving defenseman, so he was assigned to the taxi squad. There was a time when we at Sound Of Hockey thought Gostisbehere could be a good fit for the Kraken. We still kind of think that, but we’re a tad more apprehensive now.
The University of St. Thomas has hired Rico Blasi as its head coach to lead the team’s transition from Division III to Division I next season, when the Tommies will join the newly re-formed CCHA. Blasi previously coached Miami University (Ohio), where he spent twenty seasons behind the bench and posted an overall record of 398–311–76.
The Canucks have Covid, and it sounds like this could be a lengthy shutdown for the team. It is not a good situation, as at least eight players have tested positive as well as at least one member of Vancouver’s staff. Here’s hoping for quick recoveries for all involved in this latest outbreak.
Yes, the 18-game winless streak is finally over after a 6-1 drubbing of the Gostisbehere-less Flyers on Wednesday.
The very next night, Jeff Skinner had a stickless breakaway. The Rangers scored shortly after the below fiasco and ultimately won this one 3-2 in overtime to sum up Buffalo’s season quite nicely.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
After a different type of show for Episode 130, the Sound Of Hockey Podcast is back to its regular format, with bits, segments, and plenty of good times along the way.
On this week’s episode, Re: Torts makes a triumphant return to open the proceedings. Then, the guys discuss some of the content that has been on SoundOfHockey.com lately, before diving into Peelgate and all that goes along with the controversial firing of NHL referee Tim Peel.
Next, John, Andy, and Darren give a full rundown of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Hockey Tournaments, including the five-overtime marathon game between UMD and North Dakota that captivated the hockey world, as well as the NWHL’s Isobel Cup.
Bits include Sound Of Hockey’s Three Stars. Segments include You Don’t See That Every Day, Weekly One-Timers, and Tweets of the Week.
Taran Kozun led the Wheeling Nailers onto the ice at Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida, last weekend and took his familiar place in net. That’s where a goalie feels most at home. The Nailers were battling the Florida Everblades, and Kozun kicked away 26 of the 28 shots he faced to pick up a 6-2 win.
It was the second start Kozun made for the Nailers and his first win, backing up teammates he is still getting to know after being signed two weeks prior. Back in Wheeling, he’s barely unpacked his bags, just relying on a few necessities.
Outside of the goal crease, “home” has become a novelty for the 26-year-old former Seattle Thunderbird this season.
Since the ECHL season started in January, he has been with six different teams. The Nailers are the latest stop for Kozun and he’s hoping he can stay a while; hoping he can finally unpack his belongings. Life in the minor leagues offers no guarantees, especially for goalies, but this year has been uniquely topsy-turvy as Kozun has learned firsthand.
“Honestly, it’s been a whirlwind,” he says.
Taran Kozun’s journey to the Nailers began in Kansas City
After signing an ECHL contract to play for the Mavericks in Kansas City, Kozun traveled from his home in Nipawin, Saskatchewan to start training camp in December.
Things started rough as he tested positive for Covid and was put on the inactive list just prior to the start of the ECHL season. The Mavericks brought in other goalies and Kozun was on the move after playing in one game.
He had hoped he’d stay longer but also was aware the possibility of ending up with a different team was always in the cards.
“With ECHL you never know what’s going to happen with the goalie situation,” Kozun says. “When other teams sign a guy and guys get sent down there’s never a guarantee that you’re going to stay. I kind of knew there’s always the possibility of changing teams and that you’re never really set in stone to play for one team.”
Taran Kozun has played two games so far with the Wheeling Nailers. (photo Zach Rawson courtesy Wheeling Nailers)
As an ECHL goalie he was at the mercy of the NHL organization’s goalie movement. When the big club sends down a guy on an AHL or NHL contract, a player like Kozun is the odd man out.
The first change came quick and on Dec. 30 he was loaned to the Pensacola Ice Flyers of the SPHL. He played in one game and two weeks later was headed back to the ECHL to suit up for the Indy Fuel. After making 41 saves and picking up a win for the Fuel he was packed up and sent to the Rapid City Rush.
Again, he played one game before heading to the Orlando Solar Bears.
He was becoming the fill-in goalie. If a team had an injury, or another goalie ended up on the Covid list, Kozun would be brought in. Sometimes he’d hole up in an apartment with teammates who were strangers with little time to get to know them.
Others, he’d arrive with a team and go on a road trip, living in hotels and on Door Dash.
The constant moving was starting to drag on the normally easy-going Kozun.
“There were some tough days, I didn’t really want to go to the rink some days,” he says. “I didn’t know if I’d be coming home to pack my stuff. It was a really stressful time but I got my mind right and went to the rink and worked as hard as I could and worked out off the ice to help my cause to make sure I was ready to practice hard. It was definitely a hard couple of months. It took a lot of days of getting to know myself and getting through it.”
After a tough outing with the Solar Bears, he was able to turn to a friendly face. Kozun’s older brother, Tad, plays for Orlando and the two were able to spend some time together.
“I was getting to the breaking point to be honest,” Kozun said. “Just getting to hang out with him on the off days, if I wasn’t there, I was probably real close to saying I’ll just go home and call it a year. I didn’t know what to do or what to say to stick in a spot.
“Every time I brought it up with my brother he just said, ‘If you make it through, you’ll be good because you’ll know how to do it the next time.’ Not something that you like going through your head especially when you love showing up to the rink with the guys, hanging out with your teammates every day.”
Thanks to brotherly advice and a passion for hockey, Kozun has stuck with it. After Orlando he would move to the Allen Americans on Feb. 24 and eventually to the Wheeling Nailers on March 8.
Taran Kozun has played for six different ECHL teams this season. (photo Zack Rawson courtesy Wheeling Nailers)
Hockey is still fun for Taran Kozun
Off the ice, Kozun is quick to smile and is a hit with his teammates everywhere he’s played.
He’s performed well in his stops prior to this year’s ECHL merry-go-round. The Seattle Thunderbirds picked him up via a trade with the Kamloops Blazers in 2014. The following season, his last in the WHL he was spectacular and would end up winning the WHL Goalie of the Year award.
After the WHL he played college hockey for the University of Saskatchewan where he turned in his best season of hockey. Kozun led the Huskies last season to a Canada West title. He was named Canada West Male Athlete of the Year after posting a 17-3-2 record and 1.87 goals-against with a .931 save-percentage.
“We had a really great coach in Dave Adolph,” Kozun says of playing in college. “Once he got the guys on the same page and got us playing the Husky way, it was a lot of fun. Those guys I’ll have great memories with, they’re like best friends. I have to give the coaching staff a lot of compliments. They did everything for me.”
Not only did he win a title with Saskatchewan, he fulfilled something that every goalie dreams of.
“That was pretty wild and something I’ve tried in the past and never been able to hit the net,” Kozun says. “For that moment, didn’t really know what was going through my head. I was lucky enough to hit the net. I think I was more excited to see the guys’ faces and how excited they were for me, that made the moment even better.”
After a goal and a college championship, Kozun has described this season as a ‘180’ from last year. But that doesn’t mean it’s been all bad. He’s been reunited with a former Seattle teammate in Evan Wardley in Wheeling and once the puck drops, he’s had fun.
“Once you get to skate around and play the game, you forget about what’s happened,” Kozun says. “If you’re having troubles off the ice when you get to the rink and hang out, once you get on the ice everything else you forget. It’s the highlight of the day to get on the ice and not worry about anything else.
“You’re just stopping the puck and making sure your movements are right…making sure my game’s always good. Playing games, you forget about everything, you’re worried about your compete level and being positive.”
Taran Kozun played a season and a half with the Seattle Thunderbirds. (Brian Liesse)
Can Taran Kozun stay with the Wheeling Nailers?
Kozun’s love of hockey has helped him persevere through what has been an extreme season.
He’s learned how to deal with the unpredictability of minor pro hockey and done whatever he can to put his best skate forward when given the opportunity.
The plan is to keep pushing and to see how far he can take his hockey dreams, even if it means not fully unpacking his bags. For now, he’s a Wheeling Nailer and he’s going to compete every time he’s on the ice in practice or games.
“Whenever I get a chance to play, I want to win,” Kozun says. “If I don’t win, I’m not very happy with myself. Being able to have that compete really drives me and helps me mentally prepare for games and do my best. I’ve enjoyed it here in Wheeling and hopefully I can stay for a while.”
What the people need and what they want are two very different things. At Sound Of Hockey, we typically focus on producing the content that we believe hockey fans in the Pacific Northwest and beyond need in preparation for the inaugural Seattle Kraken season. But sometimes, we have to give the people the content they want, and we have learned that more often than not, what they want is goalie content. Three months have passed since our last twirl on the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft goalie carousel, and a lot has changed in that time. Let’s take another spin, shall we?
Still riding after all this time
This is actually our third ride on the Seattle Kraken goalie carousel, with the first dating all the way back to our NHLtoSeattle days. A few backstops have been on our radar since that first post in June, 2020, and it’s time we check in on those individuals to make sure they are still upright on their respective mechanical horses and are not in need of any motion sickness remedies or bags.
When Braden Holtby was with the Capitals, Seattle fans clamored for him to be the first Kraken netminder. That tune has changed a bit now that he is with the Canucks. Now, the question is no longer if he will be made available in the Expansion Draft—he certainly will—but if Seattle would want him anymore.
Vancouver stinks, but Holtby has done little to help right the ship. Instead, he has gone 4-6-2 in the backseat behind Thatcher Demko and has posted a dreadful 3.57 goals against average and .894 save percentage. His contract is also structured to make his selection by Seattle less palatable, so we think it is now unlikely that Holtby will be moving his tortoises to the Emerald City prior to next season.
While Holtby is lying on the floor of this merry-go-round, being dragged by the stirrup of the oscillating horse from which he fell long ago, Adin Hill is still riding upright and proud in the saddle of his noble steed.
In fact, we at Sound Of Hockey believe Hill’s position as a future Kraken netminder has been solidified over the past few months, with Arizona’s protection list now clearer. Frankly, there won’t be much to choose from for the Kraken at either forward or defense, so they might as well take a look at the Coyotes’ goal crease.
Hill has once again been thrust into NHL action with both Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper somehow simultaneously injured for the umpteenth time. Hill, 24, has performed admirably behind a mediocre team, going 4-3-1 with a 2.44 GAA and .920 save percentage. He also just notched a shutout against San Jose and recently defeated a Colorado team that was absolutely rolling. He won’t necessarily be the bona fide starter for Seattle, but Hill makes a lot of sense in a tandem or even as a third option.
Settled in on the merry-go-round
There were a few other netminders that became Seattle Kraken goalie candidates on our second twirl back in December.
Jordan Binnington signed a long-term deal with St. Louis, so he has calmly and respectfully exited after just one revolution.
Anton Khudobin is still on the ride, but he’s making a bit of a ruckus, and the ride operators are considering asking him to depart in the near future. After carrying the Stars in stunning fashion all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last season, Khudobin has fallen back down to Earth with a thud.
He’s had every opportunity to secure his spot as Seattle’s first goalie, but Khudobin has struggled to the point that Jake Oettinger has nabbed the lion’s share of starts lately for Dallas. Oettinger, 22, is exempt from the Expansion Draft, while still-injured Ben Bishop is expected to return this season and has a no-movement clause. So, it will still be Khudobin that gets exposed, but like Holtby, we’re questioning if any interest remains from Seattle.
Cam Talbot and Jake Allen each appear content to continue riding.
Talbot has been a huge bright spot for Minnesota this season and is probably the second-biggest reason behind Kirill Kaprizov that the Wild are solidly in a playoff position. We still have him tabbed as the netminder to get exposed there, however, as Kaapo Kahkonen has also been excellent, and at just 24 years old, we expect the younger netminder to get protected. Still, Minnesota has a big protection issue with its skaters, so a forward or defenseman remains the more likely selection for Seattle.
Allen, meanwhile, hasn’t played quite as large of a role for Montreal, but he has solidified himself as an obvious option for the Kraken to consider. The former St. Louis Blue is 4-3-4 with a 2.34 GAA and .920 save percentage playing behind Carey Price. Allen has all the talent in the world, but his streakiness requires him to be part of a platoon to be successful.
Just climbing aboard
Of course, it wouldn’t be a carousel if there weren’t newcomers with every turn.
One such newcomer is Dan Vladar, who has gotten a couple chances in Boston this season and has not disappointed, allowing just three total goals and winning both contests. He’s had good AHL numbers over the past few years as well, so one could make a case for taking Vladar as a pick for the future, especially if the Kraken can snag him in a side deal. The Bruins also have Jeremy Swayman in their system, so perhaps they will view Vladar as expendable.
The rub with Vladar, though, is that both Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak are on expiring deals. In theory, the Bruins could wait to re-sign those guys, protect Vladar from the Expansion Draft, and then get their veteran goalies back in the fold, assuming there’s still mutual interest. So there’s a chance Vladar is not available to the Kraken in the end.
Moving down the coast a bit, Vitek Vanecek was not on our radar entering this season for Washington. With Holtby moved onto smaller and poorer (is that the opposite of bigger and better?) things in Vancouver, it was expected that Ilya Samsonov would seize the Capitals net, with Henrik Lundqvist affording him the occasional break. Instead, Lundqvist had offseason heart surgery, and Vanecek emerged as the number one netminder. Samsonov is still getting a good share of the starts, though, and both are playing relatively well behind an excellent team. Both require protection so whichever of Vanecek or Samsonov is left exposed will be a good pick for the Kraken.
Even farther down the coast, Chris Driedger has also emerged as an unexpected breakout star for the Florida Panthers. He’s been good enough to take 15 of 35 starts from Sergei Bobrovsky, who is on a $70 million contract. Driedger tops our wish list, but the problem is that he will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. To get Dreidger, the Kraken will have to get him to agree to terms on a contract during the team’s 48-hour exclusive negotiating window, then select him in the Expansion Draft. With the allure of the open market, Driedger spinning off the carousel and into the Climate Pledge Arena goal crease feels like a longshot.
Finally, folks in the Seattle area got pumped about Joey Daccord when he won his first NHL game for the Ottawa Senators and gave a really great post-game interview. The former Arizona State Sun Devil has a 1-3-1 record with a 3.27 GAA and .897 save percentage. He only has one season of AHL hockey under his belt with decent (but not exceptional) statistics. Daccord also injured his leg a couple weeks ago, and there is a chance he misses the remainder of the season, so we do not expect to see him land in Seattle.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
Halfway through the first period of the Everett Silvertips’ game against the Tri-City Americans on Wednesday, Olen Zellweger walked the offensive blue line, dragging the puck with him. With power play traffic gathered in front of Tri’s goal crease, he snapped a low shot that found its way through the mass of humanity and made netminder Talyn Boyko reach to his right. Boyko was out of position after the first save and never stood a chance on the rebound, as Jacob Wright tapped it home for the first goal of the game and the eventual game winner.
Walking the line and getting the puck through traffic is an artform, and one at which Zellweger excels. If you watch him closely, you will get a sense that almost every time he puts the puck toward the net, some level of chaos ensues shortly after.
Zellweger, a shifty 17-year-old draft-eligible defenseman who hails from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, is off to a great start offensively with a goal and four assists in five games on Everett’s blue line this season. He has picked up nicely after a solid 16-year-old campaign, in which he registered two goals and 10 assists in 58 games.
Zellweger has been playing with Gianni Fairbrother, a veteran in the WHL and a 2019 draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens. Zellweger credits his defensive partner with “making it easy” on him by really talking on the ice. The two are building chemistry as the season goes along, and Zellweger fits naturally alongside the older, more developed Fairbrother.
Playing on the top pairing, on the power play, and even occasionally on the penalty kill as a 17-year-old shows the level of trust that the Silvertips coaching staff has in Zellweger. He’s even playing the right side, despite being a left-shot defenseman. Zellweger doesn’t think it’s a big deal to play the offside, noting, “There’s pros and cons, but there’s pros and cons to playing on your strongside too.”
Silvertips head coach Dennis Williams put a little more thought into playing Zellweger on the right, though. “This is what we think of Olen as a player is we move him to his offside, which is not easy for a defenseman to do, especially in the Western League at that age.” The Silvertips have a glut of left-shot defensemen in Fairbrother, Zellweger, Ronan Seeley, and Aidan Sutter. “On the right side we needed to move one of those guys over, and we thought Olen, with his feet and his hockey sense and his ability to retrieve pucks and escape pressure because of his skating that he would be the best, so we were able to put him with a guy like Gianni Fairbrother and use them as shutdown D as well.”
Olen Zellweger makes a pass against the Tri-City Americans. (Chris Mast, Everett Silvertips)
For a young player like Zellweger to accept such a huge role—particularly playing the right side—and to shine is a credit to his abilities and his drive as a player. “It’s been working so far, I think he’s done a really good job with [Fairbrother], but again, it’s not easy,” Williams says. “Our forwards sometimes will fling a puck up the wall and forget he’s on his offhand. That’s tough to collect on your backhand as a guy’s coming out at you on the point, you know, to not bobble it, try to get it back deep. But, he’s done a really good job of trying to get his feet around it, have composure, absorb a hit, and get it back behind the goaltender.”
While his ability to create offense from the blue line is apparent, Zellweger’s skating is undoubtedly his greatest strength. He’s slick and deceptive and appears to move effortlessly on the ice. Despite being on the small side at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, Zellweger never seems to get squared up for big hits. Instead, he lets his feet deliver him out of trouble in his own end, often spinning away from attacking forwards and even jumping up to lead the rush offensively.
He’s the true modern-day defenseman, who Williams calls a “relentless worker” who “lives and breathes the game of hockey.”
“There’s nobody on our team that works harder than Zell,” Williams adds. “And if you were to ask all 25 guys, they’d all give you the same answer. He wants to do everything in his power to be a hockey player and he gives himself the best opportunity, whether it’s eating properly, resting properly, his preparation for practice and games. He’s just a pleasure to coach, and to see him from last year to this year, you know, the strides… He’s definitely going to have an opportunity, I believe, to be a pro hockey player and an opportunity to be drafted in the upcoming draft.”
Williams is not the only one who believes that Zellweger will hear his name called by an NHL franchise in July. In fact, Zellweger landed on NHL Central Scouting’s “Players to Watch” list with a ‘C’ rating, making him likely to be selected in the fourth through sixth rounds. “It was pretty cool to be named to that list,” Zellweger says. “Obviously, I want to move up to whatever I can, so I think I just gotta go up from here.”
Zellweger isn’t embarking on this journey alone, though. “We have quite a few signed players on our team so they kind of know what it takes and they know what you gotta do. You gotta be focused and be prepared every day to play because somebody’s always watching.”
The Everett Silvertips are in the early stages of a shortened 24-game WHL season. There has been plenty of concern expressed around the hockey world for how young players could continue their development, especially when play was halted due to the pandemic. Zellweger took everything in stride, though, and saw it as a chance to augment his already impressive skillset. “It’s unfortunate that we don’t get the full season, but this will be a good opportunity for us, and I look at the shortened season and extra training time as a really good opportunity to improve upon weaknesses and stuff like that. So for me, it was good time and used well, so I think it was good for me.”
That extra training time shows, as Zellweger looks like the real deal. If he keeps scoring, he could hear his name called at the NHL Draft a lot earlier than his ‘C’ rating suggests.
Olen Zellweger and the Everett Silvertips are a perfect 5-0-0 this season and lead the U.S. Division with 10 points.
Featured image taken by Chris Mast, courtesy of the Everett Silvertips.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
