THW Daily - Canucks Prospect Will Be Key for Sweden at 2024 WJC & What Jets Could Do at Trade Deadline
Also, Oilers GM Holland with plans for two potential trade pieces, why Leafs' Woll deserves Calder Trophy attention & more
Welcome to The Hockey Writers Daily
In today’s edition, we have why Swedish Canucks prospects will be key at the 2024 World Junior Championships, what the Winnipeg Jets could do at the deadline, why Leafs goaltender Woll deserves Calder attention, and much more.
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Now, here’s the good stuff…
Yesterday’s NHL Scores…
Oilers’ Holland Has Plans Laid Out for Campbell & Broberg
December 8, 2023 by Rob Couch
Recently, the Edmonton Oilers demoted two significant players to the American Hockey League (AHL). The first was Jack Campbell who kickstarted the change in Edmonton after a horrible start to the season. More recently (Dec. 7), the Oilers finally sent Philip Broberg to the AHL to play more minutes and reduce his time in the press box. One move has worked out, as the Oilers have had great goaltending from Stuart Skinner, and Campbell has started to find his game a bit, while the hope is that only good things can come from being patient with Broberg until he can get a legitimate opportunity.
Both Campbell and Broberg are in the team’s plans and, hopefully, can contribute to the future success of the team. General manager Ken Holland joined Bob Stauffer on Oilers Now to give more details on the two players, including timetables for their return to the NHL and more.
Canucks Prospects Will Be Key to Gold for Team Sweden at WJC
December 8, 2023 by Matthew Zator
For the first time in a long time, the Vancouver Canucks will have more than one blue-chip prospect playing in the World Junior Championship (WJC). Luckily for Canucks fans, they will be playing for the same team as Jonathan Lekkerimäki, Elias Pettersson and Tom Willander were named to Team Sweden’s final roster for the 2024 WJC on Dec. 6.
All three of them are having excellent seasons in their respective leagues so far, so it’s no surprise that Sweden’s brass tapped them on the shoulder to represent their country. They should be prominent pieces of the team and might be one of the reasons why Sweden walks away with the gold medal as the host country.
Maple Leafs’ Woll Deserves Calder Trophy Attention
December 8, 2023 by Peter Baracchini
There isn’t any doubt that the race for the Calder Trophy this season is going to be an exciting one. With Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard leading the way, there are plenty of other names that are standing out. New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes, Arizona Coyotes centre Logan Cooley and Minnesota Wild centre Marco Rossi are all standing out in a big way early on.
While the Maple Leafs have rookie forward Matthew Knies who is playing well, they now have another rookie who is starting to overshadow him and gain more attention. That player, is Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll. Starting the season as the backup behind Ilya Samsonov, Woll has taken advantage of Samsonov’s struggles and is slowly starting to run away with the starter role. As a result, with his strong play to start the season, Woll is definitely emerging as a rookie to watch. While he may not win the award considering how deep of a class it is, he’s definitely throwing his name into the race.
Rangers’ Defensive Woes Are Cause for Alarm
December 8, 2023 by Brendan Azoff
On the surface, the New York Rangers‘ 18-5-1 record paints a happy picture. Despite key players missing time due to injuries and below-expectation starts from some prominent names, the Blueshirts have still managed to rake in 37 of a possible 48 points this season. However, when you dive deeper, especially into this recent stretch of games against statistically inferior opponents, the Rangers’ defense, or lack thereof, is quite alarming. Head coach Peter Laviolette’s focal point from the get-go was to play each game like a playoff game and stay structured, and early on in the season, the Rangers did just that.
The style of game the team has been playing over the past two weeks will oust them from the postseason, not carry them to the pinnacle of hockey. Laviolette and company need to make those corrections and regain their early season form before the bad habits seep too far into the team’s DNA.
Jets Mailbag: Trade Deadline Moves, Heinola, & Line Combinations
December 8, 2023 by Connor Hrabchak
The Winnipeg Jets are fresh off of a huge 4-2 win on the road over the Central Division-leading Colorado Avalanche, which saw Kyle Connor score twice and Josh Morrissey net the game-winner in what was one of Winnipeg’s most complete performances of the 2023-24 campaign.
At 15-8-2, and exactly 25 games through the season, now is a perfect time to answer some hard-hitting questions from Jets fans on Twitter. You asked the questions, and I will answer them in this edition of the Jets monthly mailbag.
Bruins’ DeBrusk Turning it around after Slow Start to 2023-24
December 8, 2023 by Hannah Garfield
The 2023-24 season did not have the strongest start for Jake DeBrusk. But luckily for him and the Boston Bruins, the second half of November saw him beginning to turn it around. He’s been looking more and more like the player people have come to know and expect him to be since getting his game back on track during the 2021-22 season.
Coming into the league, DeBrusk was noted for his scoring abilities, and he’s delivered on that. He has scored over 20 goals in three out of his six seasons (and in 2019-20, he scored 19, just missing that mark). He was a major contributing factor to the Bruins’ success last season, and if it weren’t for his foot injury at the winter classic, he would have most likely surpassed the 30-goal mark for the first time. With last season’s success along with the fact that he is in a contract year, expectations were high for DeBrusk entering into 2023-24. While his play wasn’t necessarily bad, he struggled to find the back of the net. Luckily, his luck seems to be turning.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
Calgary Flames - Brad Treliving’s 5 Best & Worst Trades as Flames GM
Toronto Maple Leafs - Maple Leafs Need to Call Hildeby’s Number in the Crease
Edmonton Oilers - Oilers’ Lavoie Can Grow Game With Expanded Role in AHL
NHL News & Rumors - Maple Leafs, Hurricanes, Predators, Canadiens
From TSN - Islanders acquire Bortuzzo from Blues for late draft pick
From Sportsnet - With Oilers finally playing proper defensive hockey, the wins have followed
From ESPN - Patrick Kane debuts for Red Wings, just misses on goal in OT loss
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