Tag: irish in the nhl

Former Notre Dame forward signs contract extension with Blackhawks

Good job, Landon!

Earlier in this calendar year, [autotag]Landon Slaggert[/autotag] was finishing up his collegiate career with Notre Dame. Now, he has security for his professional career for the immediate future.

Slaggert has signed a two-year, one-way contract extension with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he made his NHL debut late last season. His initial NHL action consisted of four points in 16 games, including one goal.

Slaggert is beginning this season with the Rockford IceHogs, the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate. As he went straight to the Blackhawks after finishing with the Irish last season, this is his first time with that club. There’s no telling right now when and if he gets called up.

Slaggert has wasted no time in contributing to the IceHogs. He tallied one assist in a 4-1 season-opening win over the Grand Rapids Griffins, the only game they’ve played so far. He’ll get two chances to add to that assists this weekend when the IceHogs play a home-and-home against the Milwaukee Admirals:

Best of luck to Slaggert in his first full professional season.

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Former Notre Dame right wing Bryan Rust shows off delicious milkshake

Delicious.

Two years ago, my wife and I took a trip to Pittsburgh and got to experience the local institution known as the Milkshake Factory. During that time, the chain was offering a milkshake named after then-Penguins left wing Jake Guentzel. The milkshake went away when the Penguins dealt Guentzel during last season’s trade deadline.

But a new season means a chance at a new milkshake involving a Penguins player. The Milkshake Factory has taken advantage of that chance and teamed up with former Notre Dame right wing [autotag]Bryan Rust[/autotag].

Rust’s milkshake differs from Guentzel’s, but it’s my opinion that this one is better, and I wish I had the opportunity to travel to the Steel City right now just to try it. Yes, I would try it over the Campfire Milkshake that proved to be the only thing most people liked about the Chicago White Sox’s historically awful season they just had.

Rust will start this season on injured reserve, but at least this milkshake always will be available as long as it’s being offered.

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Former Notre Dame forward Landon Slaggert spent summer on campus

Hear some thoughts from him ahead of his first full professional season.

After Notre Dame’s 2023-24 season wrapped up, [autotag]Landon Slaggert[/autotag] made his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks. Over 16 games, he tallied four points, including his first NHL goal. Now, he’s hoping to build upon that.

The Blackhawks are conducting their annual prospect camp in anticipation of a prospect tournament to be held over the weekend. Like the other prospects, Slaggert hopes to make enough of an impact that he can start the season with the parent club.

Despite this, Slaggert hasn’t forgotten about Notre Dame. In fact, he spent most of this past summer training on campus with his now-former teammates. But coming back to Chicago has put things back into perspective for him since he’s no longer at the top of the totem pole.

Only time will tell whether that’s a sign regarding whether Slaggert will break training camp with the Blackhawks. For now though, he’s focused on being the best player he can be as he enters first full season of professional hockey.

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Former Notre Dame defenseman Dennis Gilbert signs with Buffalo Sabres

Who says you can’t go home?

They say you can’t go home again, but that no longer is the case for former Notre Dame defenseman [autotag]Dennis Gilbert[/autotag]. He grew up in Buffalo, New York, and now, he’ll get to play the game he loves there. Gilbert has signed a one-year contract with his hometown Sabres. He joins [autotag]Ian Cole[/autotag] among former Irish defensemen who found new homes via free agency on the same day.

The 2023-24 season was Gilbert’s most successful yet. In his first full NHL season, he scored seven points, six on assists, and had 16 penalty minutes with the Calgary Flames. He also recorded 23 shots on goal.

Over the 82 NHL games he has played with the Flames, Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks, he has gotten in 12 fights. At a time when fights in hockey are becoming more uncommon, it’s nice to see at least one player hold up that part of the game to some degree regardless of how one feels about it.

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Former Notre Dame defenseman signs with ninth different NHL team

Another year, another new team.

If a player is good enough to stick around in the NHL for a while, teams will come calling. That’s the case for former Notre Dame defenseman [autotag]Ian Cole[/autotag], who will be playing his 15th season in the league in 2024-25. He also will be on his ninth different team after the Utah Hockey Club signed him to a one-year contract.

Ever since Cole was traded early in the 2020-21 season, he hasn’t spent more than one season with any team he’s played for. Last season, he was a veteran presence for a Vancouver Canucks team that made it to the Western Conference semifinals, which resulted in a loss to eventual Conn Smythe Trophy winner Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.

For the Canucks, Cole scored 11 points, nine of them on assists, and recorded 61 penalty minutes. He added two assists and six penalty minutes during the playoffs. Let’s hope he’ll have an 11th straight playoff appearance with his new team.

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Former Notre Dame forward Anders Lee wins King Clancy Memorial Trophy

Congrats, Anders!

[autotag]Anders Lee[/autotag] surely learned about giving back to the community during his time at Notre Dame. He certainly has demonstrated that while serving as captain of the New York Islanders. Now, he’s being honored for it.

Lee has been named the winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the player determined to best show leadership on and off the ice and has made an outstanding humanitarian contribution to his community. He particularly has been helpful with the Jam Kancer in the Kan Foundation, raising over $2.5 million for it since 2017.

In honor of Lee receiving this award, $25,000 will be donated to the charity or charities of his choosing. The aforementioned foundation surely will get much if not all of that donation.

Every team nominates a player for this award, and this was Lee’s sixth time as one over the past seven years. Finally, that humanitarian work in his community has paid off handsomely.

[autotag]Dave Poulin[/autotag] also won this award in 1993, making Notre Dame the only program to have had multiple winners.

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Former Notre Dame players score for Islanders in Stanley Cup playoffs

Sadly, they weren’t enough for a win.

The Stanley Cup playoffs have been underway for a few days now. One team competing for the grandest trophy in sports is the New York Islanders, who happen to have two former Notre Dame players on their roster. Both scored in Game 2 of their best-of-7 first-round series with the Carolina Hurricanes.

[autotag]Kyle Palmieri[/autotag] drew first blood in the game on a four-on-four late in the first period:

Early in the second period, [autotag]Anders Lee[/autotag] extended the Islanders’ lead further by scoring on a power play:

As nice as it would be to say they made the difference in this game, it proved to be the high mark for the Islanders. The Carolina Hurricanes proceeded to score five unanswered goals to win, 5-3, and take a 2-0 lead in the series.

The good news for the Islanders is that they’re going home for two straight games. However, they surely didn’t want to be in this hole, and a loss like this can be devastating to a team. Stranger things have happened in the playoffs though, so the chance always is there.

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Watch: Jake Evans’ game-winning goal in 2018 Frozen Four

Remember this?

Not long ago, Notre Dame was a regular contender for national championships. Perhaps that’s why quite a few NHL players today once played in South Bend. Among those is [autotag]Jake Evans[/autotag], who has done pretty well for himself with the Montreal Canadiens. But whatever he does the rest of his career, few feelings will compare to the game-winning goal in the 2018 Frozen Four against Michigan:

As of this writing, it’s been six years and one day since Evans etched himself into Irish lore forever. The Irish ended up losing to Minnesota-Duluth in the national championship game, but Evans contributed to the Irish’s cause in that game with the secondary assist on their lone goal by [autotag]Andrew Oglevie[/autotag].

Perhaps someday, there will be a moment that surpasses this one and ends with the Irish as the last team standing. For the moment though, there is an established precedent that they can get as close as possible without actually winning it all. Most programs would take that in a heartbeat.

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Chicago Blackhawks sign Notre Dame captain Landon Slaggert to contract

Good luck, Landon!

With Notre Dame’s season officially over, captain [autotag]Landon Slaggert[/autotag] finally can turn professional. He wasted no time as one day after the Irish’s season ended, he signed a two-year entry-level deal with the Chicago Blackhawks, who drafted him in the third round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

This past season, Slaggert set collegiate career highs of 31 points and 20 goals as he played 36 games. Over 136 games with the Irish, he scored 92 points, including 47 goals.

[autotag]Carter Slaggert[/autotag], Landon’s brother, just finished his first season with the Irish, scoring seven points over 32 games. He’ll be the second of his brothers to turn pro after former Irish captain [autotag]Graham Slaggert[/autotag], who has played this season with the Rochester Americans of the AHL.

Thanks to Landon for his years of service to the Irish, and it’s great that the Slaggert family will continue to be part of the program for a little longer. In the meantime, good luck to Landon in the pros.

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Watch: Former Notre Dame forward Jake Evans scores on breakaway

Nothing was going to stop him on this.

Former Notre Dame forward [autotag]Jake Evans[/autotag] had a rough 2022-23 season, missing over two months with an injury. He didn’t score after coming back, meaning his last goal of the season came Jan. 12. The new season already appears promising though.

Evans’ Montreal Canadiens played their first game of the year against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Early in the first period, he pounced on a turnover by TJ Brodie and had an easy breakaway. Despite the Leafs’ attempts to stop him, it was too little too late as he finished in front of the crease:

As exciting as the moment was for Evans, it proved to be a footnote in the game. Auston Matthews scored a hat trick, which included his 300th career goal to make him the fastest U.S.-born player to achieve that milestone. However, it took a shootout for the Leafs to defeat the Habs, 6-5.

While surely a disappointing outcome for Evans and his teammates, he at least has to be encouraged by this particular play. Here’s hoping he has many more of those over the next several months.

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