Anaheim Ducks selected with their #98 pick in the 2021 draft, UMass Minutemen center Josh Lopina(10), who won a 2021 NCAA Division 1 Championship and scored a tidy 9 goals and 14 assists for 23 points in 29 Hockey East games with a +21 rating.
He was also a strong scorer in 2 years of USHL with Lincoln Stars, twice scoring 12 goals and grabbing 23 assists in his 2nd campaign.
The 6’2″ 194 lbs. forward from Minooka, IL played all his youth hockey in the Chicago Mission 13U – 16U programs.
At just 20-years old, it wouldn’t be even odd to see him finish up school before he signs an entry level contract.
11-year veteran defenseman Matt Smaby(32) played 122 NHL games, all for draft club (2nd round, 2003, #41 overall) Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring no goals and 6 assists.
He also skated 212 AHL games with 7 goals and 36 assists, the super-large 6’6″ 229 lbs. blue liner was a mostly stay-at-home style with good shot blocking capabilities.
The former University Of North Dakota Fighting Hawks‘ junior captain finished his pro career, playing four seasons for EHC Munchen and leaving the game on back-to-back 2016 & 2017 DEL Championships.
He would immediately take up as Team Manager for his old college team, before moving back to Germany for a year to be the assistant coach of EC Salzburg.
In his next move, it was likely best for him to stick close to home as a pandemic raged around the globe, so he took up as Youth Hockey Director with Grand Forks and coached their 14U Bantam AA.
This set him up perfectly for the next opportunity that would come knocking: USHL head coach Waterloo Blackhawks.
The 36-year old is moving on nicely.
8th year defenseman Kevin Gravel(25) was no stranger to an AHL contract, having signed his first pro deal with Manchester Monarchs in 2014/2015 that led to a 2015 Calder Cup trophy before agreeing to 2-year entry deal with parent club Los Angeles Kings.
He inked another last season with a club, Bakersfield Condors, he spent 5 games with on loan from Edmonton Oilers and appeared in 37 games, getting a goal and 7 assists, then adding another pair of helpers in 6 playoff contests.
The former, 4 year, senior captain at St. Cloud State University Huskies has caught the eye of Calgary Flames, who put him under contract for 2021/2022, and the veteran could see significant time in the show on a team that has some needs to fill.
6th year defenseman Reece Wilcox(44) leaves after spending most of 2020/2021 on loan from contract club Florida Everblades of the ECHL to Hershey Bears.
The big 6’4″ 205 lbs. blue liner has played 259 AHL games, recording 12 goals and 59 assists, 3 times having 10+ helper seasons.
Originally a Philadelphia Flyers‘ 5th round pick in the 2012 draft (#141 overall), the Surrey, BC native played his junior hockey in the BCHL, spending two years with Merritt Centennials before committing to Cornell University Big Red.
He was team captain as a senior and upon graduation took up with affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms, skating his first 6 pro games, scoring a first goal and 2 assists.
The 27-year old will next embark on a new adventure, signing with HC Pustertal of IceHL and could do exceedingly well in this Austrian league.
10th year veteran defenseman Jamie Oleksiak(2) gets picked up by Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft, as he was scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency after the 3-year deal, originally signed with Pittsburgh Penguins, but had him return to his draft club of 8 seasons, Dallas Stars (round 1, 2011, #14 overall) was set to expire.
At 6’7″ 255 lbs. he may be a couple inches short of the tallest player in the league, but at 255 lbs. is the heaviest,
As he gets an official transfer, the 28-year old immediately signs a 5-year deal worth some $23M to stick with his new team long-term.
Not exactly the biggest point scorer, he has 24 goals and 48 assists in 369 NHL games.
He has also appeared in 171 AHL contests and helped Texas Stars win the 2014 Calder Cup Championship.
The former 1-year Northeastern University Huskies‘ blue liner was set to spend some time in school before signing his entry level deal but after one and a half campaigns in the USHL, splitting time with a couple of clubs, decided to head to the OHL for a single stint before turning pro.
Carolina Hurricanes‘ 2nd round pick in the 2018 draft (#42 overall) center Jack Drury(72) arrives back from his first pro experience, a 2021 SHL Championship with Vaxjo Lakers.
The 21-year old good goal scoring forward picks up a nice three year NHL entry level deal to start in the system and there’s little doubt he’s big league bound.
Former 3-year Lake Superior State University Lakers‘ defenseman Zach Trotman(4) decides 267 AHL, 91 NHL and 114 NCAA Division 1 hockey games was plenty enough to retire on.
The one-time Boston Bruins‘ 7th round draft pick in 2010 (#210 overall; dead last) scored 3 goals and 10 assists with a +1 rating in the big league.
He skated for 5 different clubs throughout his 9-year playing career.
The 30-year old always had a major contract, 6 deals, so was decently taken care of throughout.
Buffalo Sabres‘ Swedish-born 7th round pick in the 2017 draft (#192 overall) left wing Linus Weissbach(9) scores himself a two-year NHL entry level deal, which won’t start up until 2021/2022, instead of having him report to their affiliate immediately, which could be a bit space jeopardized.
The small-is 5’9″ 175 lbs. forward left four years at University Of Wisconsin with a college career high 12 goals, 29 assists for 41 points and a +7 rating and some say he got off to the best start ever for school with a two-goal effort, including a game-winner.
He played virtually all of his youth hockey and the beginning of juniors with Frolunda HC before coming across for a session with Tri City Storm of the USHL, where he was basically a point-per-game player prior to committing to college.
The 23-year old may not have size but he’s got shiftiness and enough speed to go.
He’ll be a great watch.
Pittsburgh Penguins signed undrafted, two year Arizona State University Sun Devils‘ defenseman Josh Maniscalco(24) to a 3-year entry level deal after his most impressive frame, scoring 11 goals and 21 assists in 36 NCAA WCHA appearances, then the playoffs got scrapped and his upcoming season was potentially going to be put on pause.
The fairly large 6’2″ 205 lbs. blue liner was assigned to affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, but has found it difficult to grab space to play.
He has been mostly out of the lineup in 31 AHL games, appearing only in 8 with no points but is a +1 rating for his efforts.
The PA native skated a pair of campaigns for the USNTDP team before moving along to a nicely impressive run as Dubuque Fighting Saints team captain, which got him 9 goals and 23 assists in 59 USHL games.
Once the 22-year old finds his opening, it’s likely he’ll start connecting.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins‘ left wing Luke McInnis(21) received his AHL contract right after draft club Carolina Hurricanes let his rights to sign expire.
He was selected in the 5th round of 2015 (#126 overall).
The massive 6’5″ 207 lbs. forward has yet to record a point in 12 games.
He left 4 years at Yale University Bulldogs with a college career high 7 goals and 5 assists for 12 points in a playoff cut short 2019/2020, and was definitely a decent scorer at prep school, especially in his final year, where he popped the sheet with 24 goals and 31 assists in only 28 games.
That’s great math.
It seems a little odd that the huge frame pivot and son of Kevin Stevens (874 NHL games, 329 goals, 397 assists) wouldn’t just sit in front of the net to pop in tallies, but it’s possible the 24-year old is still working on that in his game.
