Columbus Blue Jackets News Clips April 10-13, 2020

Columbus Blue Jackets

PAGE 02 The Columbus Dispatch: Sweep memories | Sergei Bobrovsky’s save, Nick Foligno’s ignite Game 1 turnaround PAGE 06 The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets' upset of Lightning will resonate for a long time PAGE 08 The Columbus Dispatch: Sweep memories | Blue Jackets prove Game 1 stunner was no fluke

Cleveland Monsters/Prospects

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PAGE 11 The Athletic: LeBrun: NHL favours 2019-20 resumption format that includes regular season games PAGE 13 The Athletic: NHL Mock Draft: Beat writers preview the 2020 draft lottery PAGE 18 .ca: Colby Cave's dreams for hockey, life ended far too soon

The Columbus Dispatch: Sweep memories | Sergei Bobrovsky’s save, Nick Foligno’s goal ignite Game 1 turnaround

By Brian Hedger – April 10, 2020

They flew down after practicing in Columbus. It was two days before the Blue Jackets were to become a sacrificial lamb in last year’s playoffs, and they were met in Tampa, Florida, with a tidal wave of blue and white. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s logo was everywhere, on storefronts, T-shirts, hats and bumper stickers. The chatter about winning the Stanley Cup was incessant and exactly what you’d expect in a town with a record-setting powerhouse like the Lightning. The excitement only intensified as Game 1 approached, and the Blue Jackets couldn’t help but notice. The Lightning’s official Twitter account even turned it up a notch on the day of Game 1, sending a playoff-related tweet to the account for Bud Light, their official beer sponsor. Along with a 10-second video of a blue Bud Light can changing to "Bud Lightning" with the flash of a lightning bolt, the Lightning account asked: "Hey @budlight, how about a name change for the playoffs?" It took four minutes for a reply, which read: "Win it all and we’ll make #BudLightning a reality." A press release followed a few minutes later, sent out by Bud Light’s public-relations team, stating that if the Lightning "win it all," they would rebrand their 16-ounce cans as "Bud Lightning" in Tampa. It was a clever marketing idea but didn’t sit well with the Jackets. "I remember seeing that," said Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson, who’d set a career high with 41 goals last season. "We all saw it. We were just in awe of the stuff that was being said. It was crazy. But it was a great opportunity to shut them up … and sure enough, we did." If Atkinson felt déjà vu, there was a reason. Nine years earlier to the day, April 10, 2010, he’d won an NCAA national championship with Boston College after scoring two goals in the third period against Wisconsin in the title game. Atkinson’s team had several players who had been drafted by NHL teams, but the high-powered Badgers and their 10 NHL draftees were the favorite at that Frozen Four in Detroit. "I remember there was a banquet, a dinner with all four teams, and Wisconsin was picking up the trophy as if they’d already won before the tournament had even started," Atkinson said. "So, we saw that … and that’s probably the closest thing I could relate to (facing the Lightning)." A half second later, he added a tag line: "And we crushed ’em 5-0." Two of those Badgers, coach Mike Eaves and star forward Blake Geoffrion, are now on Atkinson’s side. Geoffrion is a pro scout for the Jackets and Eaves coaches the Cleveland Monsters. "Every time I see him," Atkinson said of Eaves, chuckling, "I have to rub it in his face a little bit." This is the second of The Dispatch’s six-part oral history on the Blue Jackets’ first-round sweep last season, which sent shockwaves through hockey and gave fans in Columbus their first victorious playoff series to celebrate. Today, with sports on pause for the COVID-19 pandemic, we take a look back at Game 1 on its one-year anniversary through the memories of Blue Jackets players, management, coach John Tortorella and others. What about Bob? In three matchups during the regular season, the Lightning obliterated the Blue Jackets. They won by scores of 8-2 and 4-0 at Amalie Arena, and then swept the season series with a 5-1 rout in Columbus. Each was a new nightmare for the Jackets, including the second meeting in Tampa. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who’d allowed all 12 goals in the first two games, exited straight to the showers after being pulled in the third period. He was suspended a game for it, but three months later "Bob" was one of the Jackets’ biggest keys and question marks in a playoff matchup against the Lightning. His spotty playoff history was also in the spotlight, and the first period against the Lightning did nothing to improve his standing. Alex Killorn, Anthony Cirelli and Yanni Gourde scored three unanswered goals for a 3-0 lead, and Tampa Bay could’ve led 5-0 had it not been for an early save by Bobrovsky off a turnover and defenseman Markus Nutivaara’s quick stick poking a loose rebound out of the crease with 5:24 left. Tortorella: "When it’s 3-0, everybody’s thinking just what they were talking about, some of the questions they asked me prior to the series." Riley Nash: "It really was kind of how the regular season went against them. It felt like we played some pretty good minutes. We just had nothing to show for it." What the Jackets did have was an intermission. As they regrouped in the locker room, silence filled the team’s executive suite occupied by general manager Jarmo Kekalainen, vice president of hockey operations Bill Zito, former president of hockey operations John Davidson and several others. What was it like in there? Davidson: "aasn’t good. That was a stomach-turner." Zito: "You’re down 3-0 quick, but I don’t think anyone was really emotional or angry. No one was real happy, though. I can tell you that." Elsewhere, a big question loomed as TV cameras turned their focus to the tunnel behind the Jackets’ bench. Would Tortorella consider a goalie change just one period into the series? Tortorella: "Absolutely not. I remember people asking and there wasn’t a thought in my mind, as far as pulling Bob. It was Game 1 of a seven-game series. We got some jitters and I think Bob also had some jitters. It’s supposed to happen that way. There wasn’t a chance I was pulling Bob." It didn’t take long for that decision to pay off. Counter-punches The Jackets started the second killing off David Savard’s interference and nearly gave up a fourth goal right away. Ondrej Palat threaded a backhand pass between Seth Jones’ skates from the right corner and created a 2-on-0 in front of Bobrovsky. The two Lightning players? Only Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, who’d combined for 86 goals between them last season. Stamkos slid a rolling puck over to Kucherov for a one-timer from close range, but Bobrovsky sprawled in a flash and stopped it with his left pad. Jones: "Before I could even turn around, I knew it was going to be a scoring chance, because the puck was going in the direction where Stamkos usually sets up. And then, I kind of saw the 2-on-0 … obviously, that was a hell of a save from ‘Bob.’" It flipped everything around, for Bobrovsky and the Blue Jackets. Kucherov also rung a one-timer off the right post less than a minute later, but "Bob’s save" stood tallest. Nick Foligno: "I just remember the save. It’s funny how everything blurs together. I was on the ice, and at the time you’re just like, ‘Holy (bleep)!’ Then you’re like, ‘OK, just get this puck out of here.’ You don’t have time to think about anything, but in that moment ... if they score there, it’s probably a whole different story. That was a big turning point for us." Kekalainen: "It just settled him. He got confidence or whatever it was. It just changed him and he was great the rest of the series." Zito: "I mean, we needed something. Sometimes it’s a hit, sometimes it’s a fight. That was a big thing." It was also the beginning of a memorable comeback. As Bobrovsky slipped back into regular-season form, the Jackets’ new "stay above the puck" approach bogged down the Lightning. The game changed with every shift, and Foligno landed another stiff jab nine minutes later. Josh Anderson broke up a pass in the Jackets’ zone, the puck caromed off the boards to the Columbus and his breakaway goal cut it to 3-1. The building quieted instantly. Atkinson: "You could feel the momentum change. I would love to see what some of the reporters were writing at the end of the first period. I can only imagine." (Writer’s note: It wasn’t great) Foligno: "I was late coming back in the play and I don’t remember why, but that whole time I went down the ice I just said, ‘I’m going to rip this as hard as I can to the low blocker.’ That’s kind of my shot." Zito: "That wave of confidence … you could touch it. You could just feel the tension, one way and the other. One team is down, 3-0, and now they’re coming back. You could feel the wave." Knockout blows The Jackets still trailed 3-1 in the third, but they were riding a wave. Their 1-2-2 neutral-zone setup created turnovers and scoring chances until Savard finally made it 3-2 at 7:56 by scoring off a turnover. It was a gorgeous goal, scored after a slick outside-in move that turned star defenseman Victor Hedman inside-out. Hedman had a late-season injury, but it was still quite a feat for Savard, a defenseman with a linebacker’s build and lumberjack’s beard. Savard: "He was in a tough spot to come at me. He was so deep in the zone and I’m coming with speed. I don’t know how I did that move, but it just happened and it was a big goal for our team." Foligno: "It was such a great goal. My goal kind of got us going, but Savvy makes that outside-in move and picks the corner on him and now we’re all going nuts, because ... ‘Oh boy, here we come!’ " Savard tilted his head back and let out a primal scream. The Jackets were officially "standing right in there," as Tortorella had commanded in his pregame speech. The wave continued to surge 3:58 later, when Anderson tied it 3-3 on a shorthanded strike that was followed by Killorn taking a high-sticking penalty on the next shift. With time running out the ensuing power play, Jones took a great pass from Artemi Panarin and sent the puck into the net off crossbar, with a little help from Atkinson in front. The Jackets led, 4-3, and surrounded Jones with hugs and high-fives. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, exasperated, glanced toward the rafters and rolled his eyes. Atkinson: "I was in front of the net screening that. I was playing in front of the net for some reason and I was like, ‘What the hell is going on?’ " Jones: "(Panarin) can make that play any day, with his eyes closed, and the seam was wide open. I just tried to put myself in a good position to receive it … and it was Cam who screened it. Great screen by Cam in front of the net." Classic finish, too. ‘What just happened?’ After closing out the remaining 5:55 for a shocking 1-0 series lead, the Jackets no longer needed hope. They’d discovered a river of confidence and bathed in it. Atkinson: "We knew the way we played in the second and third periods, if we played like that every single period, every single shift, there wasn’t a chance they could keep up with our style. We took their time and space away." Nash: "That was probably one my favorite highlights of my hockey career. When we’re down 3-0, probably a lot of people were writing us off, but we banded together and did some pretty cool things." Atkinson: "I remember after that Game 1, just being in the locker room and on the bus thinking, ‘What just happened?’ And then I called my mom and dad right before I got on the bus and they were like, ‘Hope you had fun, because that was way more fun watching on TV!’ I was like, ‘Holy (bleep), what did we just do here?’ We understood that it was only one game, but still … we took the wind out of their sails and brought them back down to reality a little bit." Bud Lightning, it seemed, was off to a New Coke start. The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets' upset of Lightning will resonate for a long time

By Michael Arace – April 12, 2020

It was a tough week on earth. Mount Krakatoa (at a site now known as Anak Krakatau) erupted, thick swarms of locusts blackened the skies of East Africa and John Prine died of the coronavirus in Nashville, Tennessee. If you don't know who Prine was, check out “Angel from Montgomery” before the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse canters in next week. Escaping has not been a problem for some folks here in central Ohio. If you are a Blue Jackets fan, you are marking the first anniversary of the Jackets' historic sweep of the mighty Tampa Bay Lightning. And, as you shelter in place, you have help. Fox Sports Ohio aired four consecutive nights of playoff replays and finished with Game 4 on Saturday night. Stay tuned: Our Brian Hedger's oral history of the series — a fine read — is on the same pace as the games and will wrap later this week. It's worth remembering what a gargantuan upset it was, and will remain. Across the spectrum of modern American team sports there are but a few comparable events. In terms of one-shot deals, the first time a No. 16 seed in the NCAA tournament beat a No. 1 — Maryland- Baltimore County over Virginia in 2018 — looms large. In pro sports, the New York Giants' playoff victory over the one-loss Green Bay Packers in the 2011 season stands out. But if you're talking about playoff series and No. 8s versus No. 1s — the subject here — there are precious few times where the earth actually shook. When the Golden State Warriors (42 wins) outlasted the Dallas Mavericks (67 wins) in a first-round NBA playoff series in 2007, it made waves. Playoff hockey is more prone to upheaval. The 2006 and 2017 Nashville Predators were No. 8 seeds who made it to the Stanley Cup final. The 2012 LA Kings were a No. 8 who won it all. (Again, don't you just love Jeff Carter?) The 2010 were the only Eastern No. 8 to advance to a conference final. Those Habs in the first round became the first team to beat the Presidents' Trophy winner (the Washington Capitals) in a seven-game series. Your 2019 Jackets were the first team to sweep a Presidents' Trophy winner. Sweep! And not just any Presidents' Trophy winner. The 2019 Lightning tied a record with 62 victories, led the league in scoring, had the top-ranked power play and penalty kill units and the eventual Vezina winner in the net. The Jackets, who'd never before won a playoff series, had to win seven of their last eight regular-season games to grab the last seed in the playoffs. The Lightning was one of the greatest regular-season teams in the 100-plus years of the league. “They had swagger,” Jody Shelley, the color analyst for Fox Sports Ohio, said Saturday. “They were at the top of the mountain. They were going to roll the Blue Jackets. Just roll 'em.” Even when the Jackets jumped the Lightning and swiped games 1 and 2 out of Amalie Arena, the Tampa Bay players never had a thought of losing the series. That's Shelley's feeling. “The Blue Jackets go up 2-0 and then all of a sudden (the Lightning) have something to prove — but they still didn't think they had to prove anything,” Shelley said. “They still thought they were going to find their game — their cross-ice, fancy, high-octane game. It wasn't until after Game 3 that it began to dawn on them that they might not get it back. That it was being taken away from them. “When (Artemi) Panarin scored the first empty-net goal (to put the Jackets up 5-3 late in Game 4), it finally started to hit the Tampa players. 'Oh, my goodness. This really could happen.' And by then it was too late. It was over. And the building … Nationwide Arena was electric. Total elation. I'll never forget it.” What the Jackets did does not rate with the Miracle on Ice, but, as Shelley said, “Boy, it was something. Amazing.” If the measure of an upset is in the relative weights of the favorite and the underdog, the Jackets' sweep of the mighty Lightning ranks as the greatest upset in NHL playoff history. It will now be part of an annual rite: Every coach of ever future No. 8 seed will conjure it, for decades, or scores of decades, to define what is possible.

The Columbus Dispatch: Sweep memories | Blue Jackets prove Game 1 stunner was no fluke

By Brian Hedger – April 12, 2020

The telecast started with a shot of the Stanley Cup, spinning in front of a black backdrop with its silver faade glimmering. The background music was The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” which seemed like a fitting choice as an introduction for Fox Sports Sun’s broadcast of Game 2 between the Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning last April. That game, played one year ago today, set up perfectly to go with the song title. The unheralded Blue Jackets, who had clawed into the NHL postseason as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, had overcome a 3-0 deficit two days earlier to stun the heavily favored Lightning 4-3 in the series opener in Tampa. Most NHL observers brushed aside the result. It was seen as merely a blip, something that happens to a lot of teams that go on to win championships. Some referred to it as a wake-up call for the Lightning, which led the league with an eye-popping 128 points and would be out for revenge in Game 2 at Amalie Arena. The Blue Jackets, however, proved something else. After shellacking Tampa Bay 5-1 for a 2-0 series lead, they showed that nobody was “fooled” in the first game. The mighty Lightning was simply defeated, plain and simple. “We wanted to win the game, but we wanted to come out and play a solid hockey game again to show them this wasn’t a fluke,” captain Nick Foligno told The Dispatch recently. “I’m sure everybody, like always, was like, ‘Oh, we’ll just wait for the Blue Jackets to crack here … it was a fluke.’ So, we wanted to come into the second game and hit it right from the start.” This is the third of a six-part oral history on the Blue Jackets’ first-round sweep last season, the first victorious playoff series in franchise history. Today, we take another look at Game 2 through memories shared by Blue Jackets players, management, coach John Tortorella and others. Total buy-in Before the series, Tortorella and his staff tweaked the Jackets’ style of play. Despite boasting high- caliber offensive players such as Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, Cam Atkinson, Zach Werenski and others, the focus shifted to the other side of the ice. The Blue Jackets would play defense first, making sure to keep a numbers advantage in the neutral zone — staying “above the puck,” as Tortorella likes to say — and they installed a 1-2-2 forechecking setup in the process. Had even one or two players balked at the idea, it wouldn’t have worked. They needed total agreement from everybody, especially the top performers. Seth Jones, defenseman: “You don’t win the first two games on the road by accident, and then, once you win them, buy-in after that because you think it might work. It had to be everyone together, before the series started. And I think that really happened.” It took a period for the system to take hold in Game 1, but once it did the Blue Jackets gave the Lightning fits — especially the top line of Steven Stamkos (45 goals), Brayden Point (41 goals) and Nikita Kucherov (41 goals, 128 points). They were stifled again in Game 2, failing to register a single point among them. Tortorella: “Our whole situation was just not giving them odd-man rushes. They had some dangerous people who would hang out in the neutral zone and look for quick breaks. We were trying to be above the puck all the time.” Foligno: “The turnovers that we were getting — that we were creating because of the way we were playing — that’s what we’d anticipated happening, and it started to happen in Game 1. Then belief sets in, and now you’re seeing it. That’s when the belief really starts to climb and everyone jumps onboard.” Tortorella: “I thought the frustration level by them, as far as still trying to create offense instead of getting some pucks in deep, worked to our favor. We got a lot of our offense off transition.” Quick strike It didn’t take nearly as long for the Blue Jackets’ style to work in Game 2. The Jackets picked right up where they left off in scoring the final four goals two nights before, frustrating the Lightning right off the hop. They took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Atkinson at 5:15, giving Duchene his first of three primary assists in a four-point game. Werenski made it 2-0 on a power play just 6:29 later. The Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy suddenly was the goalie on the hot seat, not Sergei Bobrovsky, when Duchene made it 3-0 with another power-play goal 1:28 into the second period. The Blue Jackets were rolling, again, and the Lightning didn’t know how to react. Point even sparked a fight with Werenski late in the first, an anomaly for both. Jarmo Kekalainen, general manager: “We just gained so much confidence from Game 1, the way we came back and beat them in regulation. No overtime. Going into Game 2 ... we just got 2 inches taller from the confidence we got. I think that really showed in Game 2. And I think (the Lightning) tightened up a little bit, too.” John Davidson, former president of hockey operations: “The idea was to get a lead, and sure enough we got the lead. Duchene had a big game, if I remember. There are certain things that bring a smile to your face when you think back on it. Werenski having the scrap, getting involved physically … did he have a Gordie Howe hat trick in that game?” Good memory. Werenski did get the coveted “Gordie Howe” with a goal and assist to go with his first and only fighting major. Foligno: “They were starting to do some things that were uncharacteristic for them, trying to be way more physical than they normally were. When that happens, you kind of know you have them. It’s just like when you’re the ones getting played and you’re trying to do things outside of your own norms. So, we felt that.” They also felt a roar after Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev cut the Jackets’ lead to 3-1 just five minutes into the third period. There was plenty of time left to match what Columbus had done in Game 1, but it didn’t happen. In fact, the opposite happened. The Blue Jackets did what the Lighting couldn’t do with a 3-1 lead, scoring the final two goals to blow the game open. Impressive finish One of the biggest goals in the series was scored by Riley Nash at 9:06 of the third, putting the Jackets up 4-1 less than two minutes after killing off Foligno’s tripping penalty. It stole the momentum right back, silenced the arena and rewarded Boone Jenner with an assist for his hustle play to win a puck battle against Sergachev. Foligno: “That’s a huge goal. That’s the goal they were looking for against us in Game 1 to get that 4-1 lead.” Nash: “I just remember Booner going inside the far blue line and kind of whacking it to the middle of the ice, right where I was. One or two shifts before, I’d had a similar pass and I took an extra half second, tried to shoot glove and Vasilevskiy was there. That one, I tried to get it off as quick as possible, going across the grain. Fortunately, it went in.” Panarin added another goal just 3:09 later, and the Blue Jackets had officially flipped the script on the Lightning from three blowout losses in the regular season. Tampa Bay then started showing further cracks, including Kucherov leveling Markus Nutivaara with an illegal hit along the boards late in the game while the Blue Jackets defenseman was down. Kucherov drew a one-game suspension for it, along with an immediate response by Josh Anderson in the aftermath. John Forslund, TV broadcaster: “A star player who is used to winning games and being the difference- maker and now, for whatever reason, he wasn’t finding the ice, he wasn’t getting the puck where he wanted it. He comes off his discipline. It becomes a huge distraction. It becomes another story. It becomes something (Lightning coach Jon Cooper) doesn’t want to deal with. It was almost like a perfect storm at that point, when that happened.” Cooper had another term for it, which put the entire series into perspective after two games. “This,” he told reporters afterward, “is a five-alarm fire.”

The Athletic: LeBrun: NHL favours 2019-20 resumption format that includes regular season games

By Pierre LeBrun – April 9, 2020

Before anyone gets too attached to any of the varied scenarios and formats being bandied about in the event the NHL does find a way to resume the 2019-20 season, understand a rather important fact: the NHL would much rather play some regular season games before heading to the playoffs, if time permits. “We understand that with what will obviously be a lengthy break between games, players are going to want to have an ability to re-acclimatize themselves to NHL competition before having to play games that could end their seasons quickly,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic via email Thursday. “I’m sure our managers feel the same way. We get it and we will certainly go to great lengths to accommodate those concerns.” And while I know it’s a confusing time for hockey fans with all the different ideas being thrown out there, that’s really the only thing to retain as far as where the NHL decision-makers are right now while the sports world remains frozen by COVID-19. Well, that and the fact the NHL and NHL Players’ Association want to play a full season next year, even if delayed. So if we have hockey in July-August (and maybe September), some regular season games would be part of it if possible. In fact, according to a few team sources, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also reiterated to governors on Monday’s conference call that the league’s preference, above all the other scenarios and formats being discussed, is to play regular season games before the playoffs if time allows. And if 82 games isn’t possible, then 78, 76 and 74 games would all be options. Why is it important to play regular season games? Many players, some of whom have been quoted in media video calls over the past few weeks, are in favour of playing some regular season games in order to be able to ramp up their game shape before the playoffs, easing concerns of injuries; It would help even out games played among bubble teams and democratically decide the 16-team playoff field in a more normal fashion rather than decide between points percentage or rolled back games played in the current frozen standings; It would line up the draft lottery more normally without the league having to make any hotly debated decisions; There are also some teams whose regional TV deals have financial implications and/or thresholds in which a few more regular season games could be impactful that way. Now, there’s also a downside to playing regular season games: Players on clear, non-playoff teams coming back after a four-month layoff, playing six or so games, then shutting it down again? That’s far from ideal. I mean, where’s the motivation at that point? In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if some of those teams with nothing to play for keep some of their top players from returning. Of course, those players would have to be on board with that. But why risk injury? The focus for those teams would to be to be ready and healthy for next season. (Although as someone pointed out to me, the motivation for those players is that it’s their job to play). Not ideal for players on some bubble teams, either. One NHL player who requested anonymity made an excellent point to me Thursday: “For bubble teams those small amount of (regular season) games would essentially be do-or-die, it’d be hard to just jump right back into a playoff race, all momentum you had before the break is moot. It would be easy for teams in a little more comfortable position, I would like that, too, if I was Tampa or Boston.” In other words, if the season jumped right to the playoffs, at least everyone was playing under duress right from the outset, not just the bubble teams. And in the end, that’s the tough part in all of this whether you’re a coach, GM, owner or player: your team’s place in the standings will probably influence your desire on playing regular season games or not. “We’re still too early in this process to speculate and make concrete assertions, and we are trying to keep an open mind to all options,” NHLPA executive Mathieu Schneider said Thursday. “We are now working together with the league to come up with viable solutions to address a wide array of issues we will be dealing with. The health and safety of our players, families and fans are No. 1 on our list in any scenario we would consider.” All things being equal, it would appear the majority on both sides are in favour of playing some regular season games. Here’s another potential wrinkle: another source suggested to me Thursday that what is beginning to be brought up in his conversations is whether there’s time for any exhibition games to help players ramp things up. That’s a whole other debate. But you understand after four months off the ice why some players might desire that. The idea of sprinkling in some exhibition games instead of maximizing the number of regular season games might make more sense, the source said, a blend of both, especially if the season doesn’t begin until mid-July or so. Again, who knows if there’s actually hockey again this season (I’m not convinced there will be). Or for that matter if next season can start on time. We are still in the early stages of understanding the impact of this COVID-19 nightmare. But for now, the clear mandate from the NHL is on hopefully resuming the season and playing games before the playoffs.

The Athletic: NHL Mock Draft: Beat writers preview the 2020 draft lottery

By Corey Pronman – April 9, 2020

The NHL Draft lottery was supposed to be held on April 9, and while that is no longer the case, that won’t stop the staff at The Athletic from looking ahead to the draft. We are awarding the top three picks to the clubs with the best chances to get them, and having the beat writer for each team make a pick for their respective club. We based the lottery teams on points percentage at the time of the pause and the standard rules for the draft lottery, with the caveat that what is a “lottery team” this year is still up in the air as the NHL mulls potential significant changes in these unique times. 1. Detroit Red Wings: Alexis Lafreniere, LW, Rimouski-QMJHL Max Bultman: Not too much suspense here. The Red Wings need help at every position on the ice, so they’ll take the consensus No. 1 player in the draft and be on their way. Adding a talent of Lafreniere’s caliber is a massive building block for the Red Wings’ rebuild, which is far from over, but gets one of the hardest-to-attain pieces in a potential star. Pronman’s take: I applaud Bultman for his courage and his analysis is on point. Lafreniere provides one of the hardest pieces to acquire in a rebuild: a projected young star. But this rebuild is not near the end as Detroit needs a lot of great players before this starts to turn around. He would slot right into the top half of its lineup right away. 2. : Quinton Byfield, C, Sudbury-OHL Hailey Salvian: Byfield has the potential to become a No.1 center in the NHL and adding him to the fold could help the Senators truly become a contender. They have a number of center prospects, but nobody with the without-a-doubt skill to be a top-line centerman. He’d look pretty good with Brady Tkachuk. Pronman’s take: A No. 1 center is arguably the hardest thing to find and Byfield has all the potential to become that. He is exactly what Ottawa needs to complement everything else it has acquired during its rebuild and becomes a foundational part of its rebuild. Byfield should contend for a roster spot out of camp. 3. Ottawa Senators: Tim Stutzle, LW, Mannheim-DEL Salvian: I was really tempted to go off the cuff here and select Jamie Drysdale third overall. The Senators really need more depth on right defense, but GM Pierre Dorion has said the team would select the best players on the board rather than drafting by position, and Stutzle would probably be that player in the third slot. The Senators have lacked high-end skill, and Stutzle would bring that to the table at forward. Pronman’s take: Stutzle excelled versus men this season and at the world juniors. Within the industry he is solidifying his position in the top three. He can play center or wing, so it gives Ottawa options on how it wants to use him, and like Byfield, he could contend for a roster spot out of camp, giving Ottawa one of the most exciting draft classes by any team in recent memory. 4. Los Angeles Kings: Jamie Drysdale, D, Erie-OHL Lisa Dillman: Much like the Senators, the Kings could use some high-end talent on right defense in support of Drew Doughty. They’ve done an excellent job of restocking the pipeline up front, so it’s time to turn attention to this particular area. You’ll remember last year that defenseman Bowen Byram was my mock draft pick for the Kings on several occasions, so the choice to go with the top-rated defenseman shouldn’t come as a surprise. Pronman’s take: After the top three, the draft starts to open up and a wide range of players become reasonable. Drysdale is in that group, and as the consensus top defenseman (although Jake Sanderson was beginning to challenge that assertion late into the season), he should go early to an organization such as L.A., which needs a top young defenseman. Drysdale might only need one more year of junior and then he could contend for a roster spot, where he would be an upper half of the lineup player for a while. 5. : Marco Rossi, C, Ottawa-OHL Eric Stephens: Since my good friend and teammate, Dillman, snapped up the consensus best defenseman in the draft – a young RHD power-play performer that fills a critical need within the Anaheim organization – it makes sense to grab the top scorer in all of Canadian major junior hockey, especially with Lafreniere, Byfield and Stutzle off the board. You can never be too deep at center and Rossi, who had 120 points in 56 games for the Ottawa 67s, offers dynamic puckhandling, playmaking and vision; while also possessing an accurate NHL-level shot that can beat goalies. Just imagine Rossi and the imaginative Trevor Zegras as linemates or possibly slotted as Anaheim’s top two centers. Rossi’s small size doesn’t scare me, especially when you need more pure talent. Pronman’s take: I concur with a lot of the points Stephens made. I would add that, while Rossi has great skill, like Zegras albeit not as much, Rossi’s game has a bit more bite and is more well-rounded, giving the Ducks two great options down the middle who can play different roles. 6. New Jersey Devils: Alexander Holtz, RW, Djurgarden-SHL Corey Masisak: The Devils need more impact talent at nearly every position. Drysdale would have been tempting, and it’s hard to imagine any team other than the Senators having a better read on Rossi considering New Jersey has four prospects on the Ottawa 67s. But taking those two off the board makes this a little easier. It comes down to Holtz or his world juniors teammate Lucas Raymond. That’s a tough call (I said easier, not easy). I’m going with Holtz because he profiles as more of a goal scorer and is a little bit bigger. He seems like a natural fit next to Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier in the very near future. Pronman’s take: I like the logic that Masisak went with of taking a goal-scorer to go with the play driving first-overall picks. Hughes had a lot of success with Cole Caufield, and Holtz’s shot is arguably as good. Given Holtz’s success already versus men, it’s very possible he only needs one or two years before he’s ready to make the Devils. 7. Buffalo Sabres: Lucas Raymond, LW, Frolunda-SHL Joe Yerdon: It’s probably easy to say the Sabres will default to taking Swedes at this point, but there aren’t a lot of players that can do what Raymond does. He finds teammates with ease, he’s able to find areas in the offensive zone left unguarded, and he uses that time to create chances and score goals. Holtz would’ve been an ideal fit as a winger with size and a shot to match, but size can go both ways. Small and skilled works well with players that have Raymond’s ability. Buffalo needs offense in the system in the worst way and he can provide it. Pronman’s take: Buffalo has a lot of very good young players in the organization, and Raymond would be yet another addition to a potentially elite young core group of players. He will need time to develop speed and strength before he gets to the NHL. It remains to be seen when all these young pieces in Buffalo will move the organization forward, but it’s a lot of talent, especially when you add a player like Raymond with his elite skill and hockey sense. 8. Montreal Canadiens: Cole Perfetti, LW, Saginaw-OHL Marc Antoine Godin: Le Canadien d’Athlétique Montréal est fier de sélectionner – we are proud to select – Cole Perfetti. Unlike Paul Simon, it won’t take Perfetti four days to hitchhike from Saginaw. I think that within a year or two, he will provide more of the finishing ability this team has been lacking for years. Yes, he’s another undersized forward – and we can expect some pushback from the fanbase – but this pick, in a way, doubles down on the Cole Caufield selection last year. Between the two Coles, chances are at least one will become an impact player who can put pucks in the net. Perfetti was once considered one of the better goal scorers in this class; his significant increase in assists this season is a testament to his playmaking ability. Montreal is all in on players who process the game fast and that’s what Perfetti does, even if he’s not necessarily the best skater. Pronman’s take: Adding Perfetti is bringing in an exceptionally skilled and intelligent player and one of the best passers in junior who had full-season 40-goal paces the past two seasons. I understand if some Habs fans are hesitant to pick a small winger at this pick given their depth chart, especially since he’s not all that quick, but the talent is too much value at No. 8 to pass up. 9. Chicago Blackhawks: Anton Lundell, C, HIFK- Scott Powers: Lundell is one of the more NHL-ready players in this draft. He may not make the jump next season, but he certainly fits in the time frame if the Blackhawks are looking to add another high- end, responsible forward to play around Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane in the near future. If you add Lundell to Kane, Toews, Kirby Dach, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome, Dominik Kubalik and Brandon Saad, the Blackhawks have to like how their top nine would be shaping up in the short- and long-term. Lundell’s skating is a bit of a concern, but what he’s done in Liiga at his age is undeniably impressive. Only Jesse Puljujarvi was a better possession player this past season in Finland. Lundell plays the type of two-way game the Blackhawks can use more of in their lineup. Pronman’s take: I hate to do this to my longtime friend, but I am not a big fan of going after Lundell at No. 9. He’s a good player, but the upside is not that of a top-line caliber player. Powers is right about his NHL projectability given what he’s shown versus men already, but I think you can get more talent at this spot. I am aware that my opinion is not the opinion of a good chunk of the industry, although the more NHL scouts I’ve talked to in the second half, the more pessimistic I get Lundell is going to be a top 10 pick. 10. New Jersey Devils: Yaroslav Askarov, G, SKA St. Petersburg-VHL Masisak: This is all about the board. I’m sure the Devils will hope that one of the other top-nine guys slips to them at this spot to pair with Holtz. If not, Askarov has been one of the best players in this draft class for two years. Mackenzie Blackwood has established himself as the No. 1 guy this season, but few goalies can match Askarov’s upside. It feels like taking one of the defensemen would be a reach here, so maybe a trade back is an option. If not, take the best player available and figure it out later. Having three picks in the top 17 mitigates some of the risk of taking a goaltender this high. Pronman’s take: I like Blackwood, but I’m not convinced he’s a no-doubt, long-term, top-10 goalie in the NHL to justify not taking Askarov. If you think Askarov is a projected high-end talent at the position, as Masisak says, you have to get him if he’s available at this slot. I did think that way about Askarov in January, but the last few months of his season didn’t inspire as much confidence, so I continue to evaluate where I stand on him. 11. Minnesota Wild: Jack Quinn, RW, Ottawa-OHL Michael Russo: The Wild suddenly have a number of forwards coming down the pipeline like Kirill Kaprizov, Alex Khovanov, Adam Beckman and Matt Boldy. They are probably weakest up the middle and on the blue line when it comes to prospects, and there are some intriguing names still on the board. But it drives me crazy how historically the Wild pass over goal scorers in the first round, and Quinn is a pure one at the junior level. The 5-foot-11¾ right wing (he’s 6-foot on a good day) finished second in the OHL with 52 goals. The Ottawa 67 is just the 10th Canadian Hockey Leaguer in the past 20 years to hit the 50- goal mark during his NHL draft year. Some others: Sidney Crosby, Kane, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Jeff Skinner, Anthony Mantha and DeBrincat. Enough said. Pronman’s take: Quinn was on fire in the second half of the season. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s gone before No. 11 based on discussions I’m having with teams. Given how much Minnesota needs goal- scoring in its organization, this seems like an appropriate fit as Russo has mentioned. I don’t view Quinn as an elite sniper, but someone who scored a lot through his skill and sense – traits that scouts think will translate to the higher levels. 12. : Jake Sanderson, D, USNTDP-USHL Murat Ates: There are highly touted centers like Connor Zary and Dawson Mercer still on the board, and Winnipeg’s prospect pool is puddle deep up front. So why choose Jake Sanderson, a 17-year-old defenceman committed to UND this fall? He’s a great skater (like his dad Geoff, a 1,104 game NHLer), gaps well, and knows when to break up a play with his stick and when to lay the body. His wheels and intelligence make him a great player in transition, and his coaches rave about his leadership and work ethic. Put this all together, add a stand-out performance at USA Hockey’s BioSteel All-American Game, and the 6-foot-2 USNDTP D-man has become one of the 2020 draft’s fastest rising commodities. Pronman’s take: Sanderson came on very well in the second half, emerging as the likely second defenseman off the board, and it is not a lock he will even be available at the No. 12 spot for Winnipeg. That would be back-to-back defenseman picks in the top round for the Jets, helping create depth at a position the organization lacks with hope that Sanderson, Ville Heinola and Dylan Samberg all become quality NHL players. 13. New York Rangers: Dylan Holloway, C, Wisconsin-Big 10 Rick Carpinello: The Rangers have stocked up on goalies and defensemen, and are still in need of forwards (even with recent first-rounders Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil and Vitali Kravtsov) in the system. Holloway, a 6-foot01, 203-pound center, would be a pick for the future, having just completed his freshman year at Wisconsin, where he was teammates with 2018 Rangers first-rounder K’Andre Miller (who turned pro last month). A lefty shot with good hands and compete level, per Central Scouting, Holloway was 8-9-17 in 35 games this season. Pronman’s take: After using a top 10 pick on Lias Andersson as a highly competitive player with skill that hasn’t worked out, Holloway would be a similar kind of bet – although he’s a far superior skater to Andersson with more size and a lot of skill too. The Rangers have had a lot of high picks recently, but center is a spot the organization could use more depth at, especially if Andersson is on the trade block. 14. : Braden Schneider, D, Brandon-WHL George Richards: The Panthers have added defensive depth throughout their system through trades and signing college free agents. Since taking Aaron Ekblad first overall in 2014, Florida has not taken a D- man in the first round. Brandon’s Braden Schneider, a solid two-way defenseman with a little offensive touch, would add more depth. In the past three seasons with the Wheat Kings, he has played in at least 58 games, so he has been durable as well as productive. Pronman’s take: I agree with Richards that, if there was a position Florida needs to add to in their organization, it’s a top young defenseman after going heavy after forwards and goaltender in recent drafts. Schneider would be fine value at this slot, as a great two-way defenseman all season and a first team All-Star in the WHL this week. 15. Columbus Blue Jackets: Connor Zary, C, Kamloops-WHL Aaron Portzline: The Jackets have a sure-fire top-six center in Pierre-Luc Dubois, and they expect Alexandre Texier to move to the middle when he’s no longer wet behind the ears. So this is very much a “best player available” pick, not a need pick. They’d love to be able to take a defenseman at this spot – the pipeline is pretty thin – but the two they’d consider at this spot (Drysdale, Schneider) are already off the board. Zary has tons of skill and an impressive motor; Kekalainen values the latter almost as much as the former. After years of patching center ice together, a depth chart of Dubois – Texier – Zary (in some order) by 2022 is quite appealing. Pronman’s take: I really like Zary’s game and think he would be fine value at No. 15. He’s got the potential to become a top two line center, and I think he’s talented enough to pass Texier on the depth chart if he gets a little quicker and hits his high side.

Sportsnet.ca: Colby Cave's dreams for hockey, life ended far too soon

By Mark Spector – April 11, 2020

EDMONTON — It’s easy to be a great guy on the way up. When you’re walking into a palatial dressing room, your American League hockey bag slung over your shoulder and a few sticks in your other hand, everyone has a big smile for the Leon Draisaitls and Connor McDavids waiting for them in The Show. It’s different when you’re returning to the minors in Bakersfield, and the same guys you left behind less than a week ago are still there. The way Colby Cave did, time after time, after time. “By my count it had to have been five or six times where he got sent back down to us,” said captain Keegan Lowe, whose experience spans seven AHL seasons. “It’s no secret, sometimes guys in his shoes think they don’t belong with players in the AHL. “But he would walk into the room with that ear-to-ear smile on his face every time, just happy to be back with the boys. To do what he could do to get back up there and get another shot again.” We'll never forget Colby's last @NHL goal as he displayed some tremendous skill to help the #Oilers capture a big road victory in Pittsburgh this season. pic.twitter.com/A5uZNmPZMl — Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) April 11, 2020 Cave, a 25-year-old Edmonton Oiler, died Saturday morning after being placed in a medically induced coma on Tuesday. Married less than a year ago to his wife Emily, Cave failed to wake up Tuesday morning at the Barrie, Ont., home of Emily’s parents. The young couple was quarantining there after making the trip up from Bakersfield, Calif. Cave was rushed to hospital in Barrie, then airlifted to Sunnybrook Hospital in where doctors removed a colloid cyst that was causing pressure on his brain. As concern mounted over brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, on her Instagram account Emily Cave pleaded for her husband to “wake up.” “We need a miracle. Please pray for my husband and best friend,” she posted. “You just prayed for a miracle,” said , who coached Cave for four years with the of the . “He’s just a good ol’ farm boy from Saskatchewan. We used to laugh about how hockey was a way we could get out of work on the farm. I saw a lot in him of what I went through growing up. “It just breaks my heart. You go through a lot in life, but when I heard this… It just tears at your heart.” Nicknamed “The Caveman” by teammates, he was an undrafted free agent who grew up on Al and Jennifer Cave’s cattle farm outside Battleford, Sask., who found his way to the rookie camp. After three AHL seasons, his NHL debut came on a line with former Broncos junior teammate Jake DeBrusk in a 2–1 shootout victory over Winnipeg. Cave was returned to the AHL following the game, a trend that would repeat itself throughout his young career. “It’s hard to be that player — you’re spending a lot of time away from your wife,” said Oilers teammate Matt Benning. “You can play a really good game, then get sent down because a player gets healthy. It’s tough to keep a good attitude, but Colby always did. “We were drafted to (WHL) Kootenay together — he was the first-rounder, I was the second-rounder. We were in Boston together, and then here,” said Benning. “He was always crackin’ jokes, chirpin’ everyone who’s not from Saskatchewan. Just a solid, solid human.” Typically, players of Cave’s ilk — who have to scratch and claw for each of the 67 NHL games he played — find time to enjoy the little things in the game more. Where many of today’s players quickly retire to the many areas of the dressing room that are off limits to media, Cave was that player who would tape a stick in his dressing room stall, lingering to kibitz with reporters or whomever visited the Oilers room. He drank in the entire NHL experience, perhaps because it was for him so fleeting. On the ice, Cave was busy trying to replicate in the NHL the route he had taken to WHL success, where he was twice named the Broncos MVP and captained the team. “He started out on the fourth line with a great attitude, and he was a good player. Then he turned into a checker. Then he got really good at faceoffs,” remembered Lamb. “Then he just turned into the best player. At the end (of his WHL career) he was probably the best two-way player in the league.” In Edmonton, Cave was the opposite of so many high draft picks who have walked right into the NHL. He was patiently grooming his game as a trusty fourth-line centre, that support player every good team seems to have one of, from Craig MacTavish, to Manny Malhotra, to Guy Carbonneau, to John Madden. He wasn’t quite there yet, but Cave was making his way. “As a coach, you look down the bench, and you’re looking for people who are just going to give you everything they have. He was one of those guys,” said Oilers head coach Dave Tippett, a fellow Saskatchewan native. “He’s a Saskatchewan boy, living his dream as a professional hockey player, that he had to will and work himself into. Nobody gave him anything. “He had a beautiful, young wife… You’re livin’ the dream that he’d worked so hard for. That’s what makes it so sad, that it ended too early.” It was Lowe who pointed to a tweet on Saturday of Cave’s first goal, when he was a rookie with the Bruins. The video shows pure joy, the elation of a kid who’d just realized a dream, snapping one past Carey Price at the hallowed Centre Bell. Colby Cave's first NHL goal. That's the smile of a kid who was never drafted, putting one past Carey Price, no less. https://t.co/L3bzyyO7n5 — Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) April 11, 2020 “You see that massive smile and excitement, as anyone would feel with their first NHL goal,” Lowe said. “But, anytime anybody scored a goal, it was that exact same face, that exact same excitement. He was just a teammate who was genuinely happy for anyone’s success, not just his own. That’s not something people are just noticing now — it’s something we’ve always noticed about him.” Lowe, whose first-born is due in a couple of months, is only a couple of years older than Cave. He spoke of Emily, kids and family, all the things they talked about as the miles passed on those AHL highways. “Down in the American League you spend a lot of time on the bus, just chattin’ about whatever,” Lowe said. “They had plans for the rest of their lives, just like anyone at that stage in their lives. Just thinking about all those things you never get to experience… There are no words to express that. “I can’t imagine how Emily, and his parents Al and Jennifer are feeling. I just hope they know that the thoughts of the whole hockey world — the Oilers and Condors organizations — are with them.”