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Beniers of US among top 2021 NHL Draft prospects to watch at WJC – NHL.com

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Matthew Beniers of the United States National Junior Team will be one of several draft-eligible players looking to play a key role for his country at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.

“[Beniers] is an accelerated player for sure; his motor is always going,” United States general manager John Vanbiesbrouck said. “I think that he can play center and can play the wing and when you’re that usable, you’re going to play a lot of minutes. I think that he really cares about every detail of the game, and he’s going to be a high draft pick in 2021. Most importantly, he really fits this tournament well because it’s a speed tournament and he’s got a lot of speed to his game.”

[RELATED: Group A preview | Group B previewUnited States all-time WJC starting lineup]

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The 18-year-old, an A-rated skater on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary players to watch list for the 2021 NHL Draft, has scored six points (three goals, three assists) in eight games as a freshman at the University of Michigan this season. In 2019-20, Beniers (6-foot-1, 174 pounds) scored 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists), including seven power-play goals, in 44 games for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team.

“I’m trying to get better at finishing my chances and my shot, but I think a lot of my game has remained the same (since last season) with the way I think the game, the way I move, the way I can create space, and win battles,” Beniers said. “I’m just trying to keep that on track.”

Beniers is expected to play a top-six role at 5-on-5 and also receive time on the penalty kill during the tournament.

“He’s got a really good work ethic and can also win battles,” United States coach Nate Leaman said. “He can get to pucks, but he makes the guys around him better and that’s a pretty good attribute. I just think he’s got the ability to drive a line, and that’s what we’re going to need from him.”

The United States will play in Group B along with Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Austria. Canada, which won the tournament in 2020, will play in Group A along with Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia and Germany.

The top four teams in each group will play in the quarterfinals on Jan. 2. The semifinals are Jan. 4, and the championship and third-place game is scheduled to be held on Jan. 5. Games will be broadcast in the United States on NHL Network.

Here are eight other draft-eligible players to keep an eye on in the 2021 WJC (players listed alphabetically):

Daniil Chayka, D, Russia

Chayka (6-3, 187) scored 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 56 games for Guelph of the Ontario Hockey League last season. The 18-year-old, who is an A-rated skater and could be selected in the first round of the 2021 draft, is currently on loan with CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League.

“He’s a very smooth-skating defenseman with excellent mobility,” said Joey Tenute of NHL Central Scouting. “He’s extremely calm and poised with the puck and is a puck-moving defenseman who pushes the pace of play up ice. His size gives him excellent range to defend and his long reach and stick on puck makes him hard to beat.”

Taylor Gauthier, G, Canada

Gauthier, who was passed over in the NHL Draft the past two seasons, is hoping an impressive performance at the 2021 WJC will earn him a look in his final year of draft eligibility. The 19-year-old (6-1, 193) was 16-26-7 with a 2.93 goals-against average and .917 save percentage in 50 games for Prince George of the Western Hockey League last season and had a 1.11 GAA and .943 save percentage in two games to help Canada finish first at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

“Gauthier is very quick and athletic,” said Al Jensen of NHL Central Scouting. “He’s a very durable goaltender that keeps getting better. He’s quick in recovery and capable of making that big save. He has really good upside.”

Samuel Helenius, F, Finland

The 18-year-old has scored eight points (five goals, three assists) while averaging 13:26 of ice time in 18 games as a rookie for JYP in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league. Helenius (6-6, 201), a B-rated skater, is a potential second- or third-round draft pick.

“He’s a surprisingly mobile center with great size, excellent reach and a good set of tools, including skating, passing, shooting,” said NHL director of European Scouting Goran Stubb. “He uses his size well, inside the rules.”

Kirill Kirsanov, D, Russia

Kirsanov (6-1, 194), a left-shot defenseman, has no points in 14 games with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL this season. The 18-year-old, a C-rated skater and potential late-round selection, had 13 points (four goals, nine assist) in 40 games with SKA-1946 St. Petersburg in Russia’s minor hockey league in 2019-20.

“Kirsanov is solid all-round defenseman,” Stubb said. “He’s not flashy, but a player with a lot of hockey in him. (He has) a good reach and understanding of the game, he works hard for his team, and is strong.”

Nick Malik, G, Czech Republic

Malik (6-0, 180), who was not selected in the 2020 NHL Draft, will get the first start in the tournament for the Czech Republic over Jan Bednar (Detroit Red Wings) and Lukas Parik (Los Angeles Kings). The C rated goalie on NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary players to watch list, who plays for Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League, played in one game for seventh-place Czech Republic at the 2020 WJC. His father, defenseman Marek Malik, played in 691 NHL games for the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks and Tampa Bay Lightning. 

“Malik has great instincts; he’s quick and athletic,” Jensen said. “He also handles the puck very well and has great balance. He’s a very good skater who gets around his crease well.”

 
Oskar Olausson, F, Sweden

Olausson (6-1, 177) has scored four points (three goals, one assist) for HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League this season. The 18-year-old, a B-rated skater, will begin the tournament in a third- or fourth-line role and contribute either on the power play or penalty kill.

“He has good size, a good shot and speed in his offensive game and could be a force creating off the rush and on the power play,” Sweden coaching advisor Tomas Monten said. “I like Oskar. He’s a humble kid. I would like him to play with more of an edge, be a force.”

Stanislav Svozil, D, Czech Republic

Svozil (6-1, 172), who turns 18 on Jan. 17, is a B-rated skater heading into the WJC. He doesn’t have a point in 10 games for Brno in the Czech Extraliga, and he had one assist in one game while on loan with Prerov in Czech Republic’s minor league.

“He’s gained a lot of experience playing with or against older players in the Czech and is one of the best defensemen of his age group in the world,” Stubb said. “He’s a potential top-15 pick. He’s got excellent vision, skating, mobility and also is an excellent playmaker and passer.”

Jesper Wallstedt, G, Sweden

Wallstedt, an A-rated player, could become the first Sweden-born goaltender to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft. The 18-year-old is 6-3-0 with a 2.06 GAA, .920 save percentage and one shutout in nine games for Lulea of the Swedish Hockey League.

“He’s got good size, excellent net coverage, plays with confidence, and was the difference-maker in many games 2019-20,” Stubb said. “He reads the game well, has very good quickness and plays an athletic style. He’s considered one of the best goalie prospects from Sweden in the last five or six years.”

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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