Tag: NHL draft

Michigan State hockey commit Jack Sparkes selected by Los Angeles Kings

Jack Sparkes, 2023 Michigan State hockey commit, has been selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2022 NHL Draft

Michigan State hockey is under new leadership with Adam Nightingale leading the charge and looking to rebuild the storied program. Nightingale is thought to be someone who is a strong recruiter and is already bringing in a lot of talent to East Lansing. Jack Sparkes is part of that talent influx that Nightingale plans to bring in, and it showed when Sparkes was selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings.

Sparkes is from Toronto, Ontario, where he plays in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. As a 6-foot-8, 235-pound defenseman, Sparkes provides a high upside and a unique skillset on the blue line. He is a 2023 commit for the Spartans and is expected to join the program in a year for the 2023-24 season.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

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Notre Dame’s Hunter Strand waits for name to be called in NHL draft

Will Strand be picked?

Notre Dame is ripe with NHL draftees. Going into the draft, which begins Thursday, the Irish have eight players who were selected in previous years. That includes incoming transfer defenseman [autotag]Ben Brinkman[/autotag]. One player is hoping to join that group in this year’s draft is forward [autotag]Hunter Strand[/autotag].

Strand is listed among the 2022 draft prospects on the NHL’s website, so he most definitely is in the running to have a team select him. In his lone season with the Irish so far, the Anchorage, Alaska native tallied 15 points over 40 games. Here’s how Elite Prospects sees him:

“Unlike off-puck players who engage defenders around the slot, Strand’s constantly standing between them. He perfectly manages the distance between defenders to maximize his shooting window, simultaneously adjusting his positioning to decrease the difficulty of the pass required to connect with him. He’s patient, waiting for lanes to open before connecting with a spin around or backhand pass through pressure.”

Best of luck to Strand over the next couple of days.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

2022 NHL Draft Tracker: Grading every pick in the first round

The 2022 NHL Draft is officially here!

Welcome to the 2022 NHL Draft!

The NHL offseason is officially in full swing now, with the Stanley Cup awarded to the Colorado Avalanche after one of the best playoffs we’ve had in years. And now that the summer has rolled around, hockey fans are beginning to have hope again for their favorite teams as the season slate resets back to 0-0-0 across the board.

As of Thursday afternoon before the 7 p.m. ET event begins, the biggest trade of note is the Avalanche acquiring goaltender Alexandar Georgiev from the Rangers. Considering the NHL Draft is a major time for trades and deals, however, expect the next few days to be a flurry of activity.

Plus, of course, there’s also the actual draft to think about! The Montreal Canadiens hold the No. 1 overall pick this year, with either Shane Wright or Juraj Slafkovsky the likely candidates to be selected first. For the rest of the draft, it seems to be anyone’s game, with picks likely to be changing hands often as NHL general managers scramble for ways to better their franchise’s position.

Keep an eye on this page as we update this tracker with analysis and grades once the 2022 NHL Draft begins!

Ranking the top 32 hockey prospects ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft

Notre Dame’s Jake Pivonka is finalist for Derek Hines Award

Congrats to the Irish captain.

An Achilles injury put Notre Dame forward Jake Pivonka’s senior season in jeopardy. He was able to return to game action in mid-December after sticking around as a team leader as he went through rehabilitation. Now, the captain and 2018 New York Islanders fourth-round pick is being recognized in a big way. He has been selected as the Big Ten finalist for the Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award.

The award, which is presented by the Hockey Commissioners Association, is given to the player who best “displays exemplary sportsmanship, is supremely competitive, intelligent and extraordinarily conditioned with an unmatched work ethic.” It is named after Derek Hines, a former Army player who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan in 2005.

In 126 career games with the Irish, Pivonka has 38 points, nine of which have come on goals. Of those nine, four have been game-winners. One of those came in the deciding game of the Irish’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal win over Wisconsin.

The winner of the award will be announced April 8 during Frozen Four weekend festivities in Boston.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

2021 NHL Draft Tracker: Grading every pick in the first round

Which player did your favorite NHL team pick?

The 2021 NHL Entry Draft is upon us! Just 48 hours after learning the initial roster for the NHL’s 32nd team — the Seattle Kraken — the hockey calendar continues to push on through July with two days of draft madness.

Friday already saw a handful of major trades made between NHL teams jockeying for position for the evening’s draft, from the Philadelphia Flyers acquiring defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen from Buffalo to the Arizona Coyotes trading away Oliver Ekman-Larsson to Vancouver. Oh, and Seth Jones is heading to Chicago with an eight-year, $9.5 million AAV extension!

Even after all of that, there are sure to be more hockey trades to come over the course of the evening. Will Jack Eichel also be heading out of Buffalo? What about Vladimir Tarasenko and his situation with the St. Louis Blues?

The backdrop for all that chaos is the NHL draft, with night one featuring 30-plus picks across the league for up-and-coming hockey hopefuls. It’s a night of celebration, of intrigue, and of hope for hockey players and fans alike.

Keep an eye on this page as we update this tracker with analysis and grades throughout the evening as you enjoy the NHL draft!

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Landon Slaggert Wins Gold With Team USA at World Junior Championship

Landon Slaggert is in the middle of his first season at Notre Dame, and it’s already been memorable.

Landon Slaggert is in the middle of his first season at Notre Dame, and it’s already been memorable. As thrilling as skating for the Irish is, his greatest success this season has not come in South Bend. That’s come with Team USA, which won gold at this year’s World Junior Championship. The last Notre Dame player to medal in this event was Andrew Peeke, who helped the U.S. earn a bronze in 2018.

Slaggert, a South Bend native and recent Chicago Blackhawks draftee, did not score any points in seven games for the U.S., but he attained 12 penalty minutes. With the Irish, he has one goal and two assists through six games. That’s a far cry from the six goals apiece he scored in his last two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program. Perhaps his most recent experience will allow him to finish his freshman season in a big way.

Landon Slaggert, Ryder Rolston Taken on Second Day of NHL Draft

Without having played a single game for Notre Dame, Landon Slaggert and Ryder Rolston already are NHL products.

Without having played a single game for Notre Dame, Landon Slaggert and Ryder Rolston already are NHL products. The freshman forwards both were taken on the second day of the league’s draft Wednesday. Slaggert was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the third round as the 79th overall pick. Rolston went to the Colorado Avalanche as the 139th overall pick in the fifth round.

The Blackhawks wasted no time picking Slaggert’s brain:

Meanwhile, here’s how analysts viewed the Rolston pick on the NHL Network:

Slaggert has spent the past two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program. In 49 games, he scored 24 points with an equal number of goals and assists. Here’s part of his scouting report from the EliteProspects Draft Guide:

Slaggert played like a bulldozer in this game, he threw heavy hits, outmuscled opponents along the boards and seemingly always wanted to play the body to win the puck. He could outwork opponents in the slot as well. Showed some good speed and decent acceleration. Strong physically, dominates in board battles and in corners.

After two years with the U.S. National Team Development Program, Rolston played the 2019-20 season with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL. He had 33 points, including 16 goals, in 42 games. EliteProspects has this to say about him:

Stretched the zone and uses speed to beat defenders wide. Plays first unit PP. Great lateral mobility. Works hard to give good pressure on the backcheck. Good hands that work to protect the puck. Quick release on his shot, used edgework combined with puck protection handles to evade pressure in the offensive zone, even employed a kind-of “stationary spin” at one point.

Notre Dame Freshman Forwards Hoping for 2020 NHL Draft Selections

Tuesday and Wednesday will mark the achievement of a lifelong dream for many young hockey players. That dream is to be drafted by the NHL.

Tuesday and Wednesday will mark the achievement of a lifelong dream for many young hockey players. That dream is to be drafted by the NHL. This year’s draft could feature two Notre Dame freshman forwards. Landon Slaggert and Ryder Rolston are ranked 88th and 102nd, respectively, in the final North American Prospect Rankings.

Though neither player has appeared in a game for the Irish yet, hockey is rich in both of their families. Slaggert continues a Notre Dame tradition in his family, as his brother, Graham, is entering his junior season with the Irish, and his father, Andy, is an associate head coach who is in his 28th season with the program. Rolston’s father, Brian, began his 17-year NHL career by winning the Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, which came after winning the 1992 national championship with Lake Superior State under Jeff Jackson.

Six drafted players currently are on Notre Dame’s roster. The all-time drafted player total for the Irish is 85. At least one current or former Irish player has been selected in the draft every year since 2004.