Rookie Watch Thread

[Ravin]

So with a massive influx of rookies this season, thought I'd make a thread for all the ones getting a shot in the NHL.

Alex Galchenyuk staying with Montreal

The Montreal Canadiens have given two rookies a chance to start the season in the National Hockey League.

On Friday, the club set their 23-man-roster that included 20-year-old right winger Brendan Gallagher and 18-year-old Alex Galchenyuk.

Both players can play up to five NHL games this season and still be sent back to junior without using up a year on their entry-level contracts.

In 36 games with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs this season, Gallagher has scored 10 goals and 10 assists.

Last season, the B.C. native scored 41 goals in 54 games with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL.

Galchenyuk was selected third overall in the 2012 NHL Draft, and was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the World Junior Hockey Championship earlier in the month.

He is currently the fifth leading scorer in the Ontario Hockey League, notching 27 goals and 34 assists in only 33 games with the Sarnia Sting.

Among the players the Canadiens sent down to get their roster to the limit were prospects Louis Leblanc and Jarred Tinordi as well as veteran defenceman Mike Commodore.

Poor Sarnia is going to miss him badly. Kiss that playoff run goodbye.

 

[Ravin]

Sven Baertschi

Rookie left winger Sven Baertschi will officially be a part of the Calgary Flames roster when they open their season on Sunday.

Flames head coach Bob Hartley let Baertschi know of the decision on Thursday.

“He was happy this morning when I told him ‘You're an NHL player.' There was a big smile on his face,” Hartley told the Calgary Sun. “It's a big accomplishment to start in the NHL. He's a great kid, and we're going to support him. He's our baby.”

Baertschi, the 13th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, appeared in five games with the Flames last season, scoring three goals on 10 shots.

“I will just ask Sven to be Sven. He's a kid,” Hartley told the Calgary Sun. “There are bumps in the road playing every second night. It will be a big challenge for Sven, but we're not going to leave him alone on an island. We will talk with him and support him. He's a kid. I love working with young players. This is a positive challenge for us.

“At the same time, we're not going to put the weight of the Scotiabank Saddledome on his back. We want him to feel good and give us the hockey he can bring us. I'm sure we will find ways to get him better. He's a good student of the game. He wants to learn.

“The sky is the limit for Sven.”

The 20-year-old native of Bern, Switzerland had 33 goals and 94 points in 47 regular season games with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL last season.

Calgary's seemingly only prospect getting to start with the big club.

 

[Ravin]

Ryan Strome and Griffin Reinhart back to juniors

Ryan Strome and Griffin Reinhart are part of the Islanders' future, but not the team's present. The team's last two first-round draft picks were returned to their junior clubs Thursday, getting just a small taste of this year's club after the four-month lockout curtailed any serious sort of training camp.
With just a week and one scrimmage to evaluate players, general manager Garth Snow and coach Jack Capuano had little choice but to send Strome, 19, and Reinhart, 18, back to juniors to continue their development.
"Everything is compressed, and it makes for a tough camp," said Strome, who, like Reinhart, played for Bridgeport against the Islanders in Wednesday night's scrimmage.
Strome had been working as the extra forward on the third and fourth lines during the few days of camp, not the role Snow and Capuano envision for the No. 5 overall pick of the 2011 draft.
"I just want to work hard every day," Strome said after Thursday's practice, just a few minutes before he was informed that he was headed back to Niagara of the Ontario League, where he still leads the team in scoring (22 goals, 40 assists) despite missing 12 games because of the World Junior tournament and the brief time in Islanders camp. "As soon as you stop developing, someone's going to pass you on the depth chart. The goal for me is to really challenge myself as a player no matter where you're playing."
Reinhart, the fourth overall pick in the 2012 draft, had a longer shot to stick around, given his youth and the difficulties a young defenseman faces in the NHL. But he played very steadily Wednesday night, and steadiness is what the Islanders hope he will bring next fall, when his first true pro camp starts.
"I won't be happy to be sent back," Reinhart said, also before he heard the news, "but I have to take this week as a positive. I'm going to go back to Edmonton [of the Western League] and use my time there as a way to keep improving and be better for next year. The goal is play at the highest level, and that never changes."
With the two teenagers departing and the arrival of veteran center Keith Aucoin off waivers from the Maple Leafs Thursday, the Islanders' roster is set at 23 in advance of Friday's 3 p.m. deadline. Josh Bailey (knee) and Jesse Joensuu (groin) will start the year on injured reserve and Lubomir Visnovsky still has not reported, so he does not count against the roster limit.

Not sure about this for Strome. I feel like he needs to be in the NHL. He is just killing juniors and I think is at the point where he can't learn anything from them anymore and needs NHL experience. If it was a long camp he probably makes the team.

 

[Ravin]

Morgan Rielly being sent back to juniors.

Morgan Rielly will not be starting the season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, as he and Matt Frattin were the team's final cuts on Friday.

Also, forward Tim Connolly cleared waivers and has been assigned to the Toronto Marlies.

The Leafs will begin the season with 13 forwards, eight defencemen and two goaltenders. Defenceman Jake Gardiner is not included as he is currently an injured non-roster player.

Rielly was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. The Vancouver, B.C. native had three goals and 18 points in 18 games with Moose Jaw in the WHL last season.

The 18-year-old Rielly also played for Team Canada in this year's World Junior Hockey Championship, posting a goal and two assists in six contests.

Frattin, 25, had eight goals and seven assists in 56 games with the Leafs last season.

He has spent his entire career in the Leafs' system, after being drafted in the fourth round of the 2007 NHL Draft.

Can't blame Toronto to much. Short season, they have a fairly good defence already, so adding a rookie now isn't a must. I'm sure he will crack the team next season. The other man, Frattin, well he just needs to wait his time and keep doing the AHL thing. But it may get to the point where he needs to move on from the Leafs if he wants to make the show.

 

[wingsfan77]

Not sure if Scott Laughton is going to stick around for the Flyers, some seem to think if he impresses he could stay like Couturier did last year. But others say that once Briere comes back Laughton will go back to juniors, guess we'll see in about a week.

 

[f16harm]

Grigorenko (18 years old) is staying up and playing with the big boys.

 

[Ravin]

Grigorenko (18 years old) is staying up and playing with the big boys.

He caused an interesting situation in juniors. In the CHL you can only have 2 import players, and because of the lockout, Grigorenko was returned back to Quebec. They had to trade away a top player because they had three amazing imports. Now he is gone, and they traded the other guy. NHL lockout hurts all.

Not sure if he stays up the full time. Will have to see.

In other news, Huberdeau is doing well in Florida.