THW Daily - Blue Line Replacements for Ottawa & Early Top-16 NHL Mock Draft
Also, more on the Oilers' tough start, trade destinations for Sabres' Olofsson & more
Welcome to The Hockey Writers Daily
In today’s edition, we have blue line replacements after injuries strike in Ottawa, an early top-16 mock draft, trade destinations for Sabres’ Victor Olofsson, and much more.
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Here’s the good stuff…
Yesterday’s NHL Scores…
Blackhawks Bytes: Bedard, Foligno, Soderblom & Hockey Is Fun!
November 3, 2023 by Gail Kauchak
Welcome to the November edition of Blackhawks Bytes, a series featuring quotes and comments from players, coaches, management, journalists and fans alike concerning everything Chicago Blackhawks. The purpose of this ongoing column is to capture a slice of the existing outlook, attitudes and culture surrounding the team. Please join me as we have some fun with the everyday, albeit fascinating aspect of human nature; the power of words.
5 Senators Who Can Replace Chabot & Brannstrom
November 3, 2023 by Dayton Reimer
In less than a week, the Ottawa Senators lost three of their top six defensemen. First, it was Artem Zub, who got hit in the ear with a puck on Oct. 20, then just six days later, Erik Brannstrom and Thomas Chabot exited the game against the New York Islanders. Although Zub is expected to return soon from his upper-body injury, he won’t be ready for Thursday’s game. Meanwhile, Chabot will be out 4-6 weeks with a broken hand, and Brannstrom is out indefinitely dealing with a concussion.
The situation is far from ideal, but there is a silver lining. Several of the Senators’ top prospects looked closer to snagging an NHL job in training camp but were sent down due to cap constraints. Now that Chabot is on the injured reserve, the team finally has some space to bring them back and give them the shot they deserve. For some, this may be their best chance to make an impression on Ottawa’s coaching staff and management. Here are five players who have either been called up or will be soon and how likely they are to stick around.
Oilers’ Tough Start Not Entirely Consumed by Bad Luck
November 3, 2023 by Rob Couch
Puck luck is a real thing. While playing a good game should provide better chances and see the puck end up in the back of the net more often, the puck bounces and deflects in odd ways all the time. Sometimes, teams can blame the refs for giving one team more opportunities to score. It is also a game of inches when one team hits the post multiple times without a goal.
A good example is Evan Bouchard hitting three posts in the second period against the Dallas Stars and not scoring. The Edmonton Oilers have had a tough start to the 2023-24 season, and it wasn’t at all expected. Yes, the defense and goaltending weren’t expected to be amazing, but that has been manageable in the past. The offense hasn’t been on par with what is expected of the Oilers either, as very few pucks that should find the back of the net do.
Bruins’ Lohrei Makes Dynamite NHL Debut
November 3, 2023 by Brandon Share-Cohen
Living up to hype is a hard thing for any professional athlete to achieve. While there are undoubtedly talented prospects who seamlessly transition from their previous level of play to the big leagues, many others grapple with the pressure, struggle to adapt, or, in some cases, never even get the opportunity to showcase their skills on the grand stage. This pressure is intensified when coupled with the actual demands of competing in a faster, more physically taxing version of the game. Mason Lohrei’s NHL debut, however, defied the typical narrative.
The 22-year-old Lohrei burst onto the scene, seizing a top-four role in his inaugural game due to a perfect storm of circumstances. Charlie McAvoy’s suspension coincided with injuries to Matt Grzelcyk and Derek Forbort, paving the way for Lohrei to debut in a major role early in his career. Lohrei was being thrown right into the fire where he was entrusted with significant ice time, including special teams responsibilities. The result? Lohrei recorded an assist while playing for an impressive 21:23 of ice time, with 17:34 coming at even strength and 1:43 on the penalty kill.
2024 NHL Entry Draft: Horn’s Early Top-16 Mock Draft
November 2, 2023 by Logan Horn
We’re a few weeks into the 2023-24 NHL season and now is the time that many hockey fans turn to the upcoming draft, especially fans of NHL teams who are outside of the playoff race. If your team isn’t going to be much fun to watch this year, the least you can do is have some fun dreaming of the great prospects they could land in the 2024 Draft.
The biggest thing I looked at while drafting for each team was which remaining prospect is the best player, although I did take into account some teams’ existing strengths within their prospect pools. With that out of the way, let’s get into the meat of the mock draft, beginning with the team who earned the right to select Connor Bedard first overall and finishing with the 16th overall pick.
Sabres: Trade Destinations for Victor Olofsson
November 3, 2023 by JP Gambatese
Between his recent benching, being lined up in the bottom-six, and Matthew Savoie’s conditioning stint soon to be over, all signs point toward Victor Olofsson being the odd-man out in the Buffalo Sabres’ lineup. It’s been previously reported that the Sabres were looking to move Olofsson prior to the start of the 2023-24 season, though no trade came to fruition.
There are legitimate reasons to move on from Olofsson; between his goal-scoring acumen, his (mostly) reasonable cap hit, the Sabres’ logjam at forward – specifically on the wing – and Olofsson himself probably needing a reset, there should be no shortage of suitors should the Sabes aggressively pursue a trade. His shot is his greatest asset, and it’s most prevalent on the power play – something that several teams are in dire need of.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
Vancouver Canucks - Coach Rick Tocchet Successfully Reshaping Canucks Culture
Columbus Blue Jackets - Blue Jackets’ Young Russians Could Be Their Key to Success
Toronto Maple Leafs - Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Liljegren, Matthews & Samsonov
NHL News & Rumors - Canadiens, Rangers, Oilers, Maple Leafs
From TSN - Ducks head coach Cronin fined $25K after Monday's ejection
From Sportsnet - Healthy Monahan feeling good, making huge contribution to Canadiens
From ESPN - Rangers put defenseman Adam Fox on long-term injured reserve
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Cronin must be channeling his inner Marchand!