Colorado - The Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the team has signed forward Mikko Rantanen to a three-year, entry-level contract. Rantanen, 18, was Colorado’s first-round pick (10th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft held last month. The top-rated international player according to NHL Central Scouting, Rantanen tallied 28 points (9g/19a) in 56 games for TPS in the Finnish Elite League (Liiga) this past season while serving as an alternate captain. The Nousiainen, Finland, native also played for the TPS junior club during the 2014-15 playoffs, helping the squad win the league championship with 14 points (6g/8a) in seven contests. Rantanen was given Best Player honors by the league for his postseason success.
"I know he's a nice guy," said Dano, who has skated a couple of times with Hossa in Slovakia. "He [played] with my father back home when he was 18, so he started with my dad. It's pretty cool that I can play with him now on [the same] team. He's a great player. He's played so many years here, so there are a lot of things I can learn from him and also from the other guys."
Asked to describe his game, Dano used details that apply to Hossa.
"I'm a two-way player with good hockey sense. I can protect the puck in the corners and make those little plays in there. Every player is different, but I like to play a hard game and Marian Hossa plays kind of the [same] style of game as me, but he's a different level. I'm trying to catch him with that."
The Blackhawks are hoping Dano can close the gap quickly to help offset the loss of Saad, not to mention the departure of veteran left wing Patrick Sharp, who was traded Friday to the Dallas Stars. Veteran forwards Bryan Bickell and Kris Versteeg might also be on the trading block, so there likely will be some key roles up for grabs at training camp. That includes the left-wing positions on each of the top two lines. Dano and a host of other talented forward prospects will be vying to fill them. Dano has also played center, but not since junior in Slovakia a few years ago. He played right wing last season with the Blue Jackets but said playing left wing wouldn't be an issue.
"I feel more comfortable on the wing right now, because I was playing center like three years ago. It would be hard to get back into the center position."
Dano, selected by the Blue Jackets in the first round (No. 27) of the 2013 NHL Draft, played with Anisimov in Columbus and already has some chemistry with him. He also played with Alexander Wennberg, the Blue Jackets' highly touted young center. Wennberg plays a game similar to that of Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen, who has experience at center and right wing. Teravainen, 20, was impressive in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and could be a good match with Dano.
"I know he's a skill player and he's a good player. He had a good playoffs, and it would be fun to play with him. It's probably pretty much the same type of player as Alex Wennberg. I was playing with him back in Columbus, so it could be good chemistry."
Dano's stats with the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League weren't quite as good as his NHL numbers. Playing parts of the past two seasons for Springfield, he had 13 goals and 25 points in 49 games. Once he got to Columbus, Dano found the NHL's pace to be a better fit for his high-skill game.
"I learned a lot [in the NHL]. I got more consistent in my game and I [became] a better player. I got a little faster and I got a little better at the puck possession and protecting the puck. I was more comfortable playing in NHL."
Defenseman Johnny Oduya remains the primary target of Buffalo Sabres general manager Tim Murray in his attempt to add a left-handed shot on the blue line.
"He hasn't signed anywhere yet, so I haven't moved on," Murray told the Buffalo News on Sunday. "We've looked at everybody we feel are going to need waivers. We're still talking trades with teams. We're still talking about a couple guys that are still out there, but there's no hurry."
Oduya, an unrestricted free agent, is expected to make a decision on whether to stay with the Chicago Blackhawks this week, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The 33-year-old Swede won the Stanley Cup twice in four seasons in Chicago. He scored two goals and had 10 points and a plus-5 rating last season, and has 31 goals with 152 points in 664 NHL games with the New Jersey Devils, Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets and Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks acquired defenseman Trevor Daley and forward Ryan Garbutt from the Dallas Stars on Friday for forward Patrick Sharp and defenseman Stephen Johns, but general manager Stan Bowman hasn't necessarily closed the door on re-signing Oduya.
"I'm not going to rule anything out or rule it in. It's still sort of a fluid situation. … We're getting closer to a point where we can say that this is officially our team, but we're not there yet."
Minnesota - The Wild have signed 2015 NHL Entry Level Draft pick Joel Eriksson Ek to a three-year, entry-level contract.
"We're excited to officially have Joel under contract," said Assistant General Manager Brent Flahr. "He's a top young player with an exciting package of size, skill, hockey sense and character. We are committed to working with him in the development process and look forward to seeing him in a Wild uniform in the near future."
Eriksson Ek, 18 (1/29/97), recorded six points (4-2=6) in 34 games with Farjestad in the Swedish Hockey League and tallied 32 points (21-11=32) in 25 games with Farjestad's Junior team in 2014-15. His six points were the most by any under-18 eligible player and his 21 goals led the Under-20 league. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound native of Karlstad, Sweden, notched six points (5-1=6) in five games for Sweden at the 2015 Under-18 World Championship. He led his country in goals and ranked tied for first in scoring. Eriksson Ek also represented Sweden at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. He tallied 40 points (22-18=40) in 33 games with Farjestad's Under-18 Team and four points (2-2=4) in 13 games with Farjestad's Junior Team in 2013-14.
Nashville - The Predators traded the rights to Taylor Beck to the Toronto Maple Leafs for forward Jamie Devane. Beck, 24, who is a restricted free agent, has 11 goals, 12 assists and a minus-6 rating in 85 NHL games; he had 16 points (eight goals) in 62 games last season. The Predators selected Beck (6-foot-2, 203 pounds) in the third round (No. 70) at the 2009 NHL Draft. Devane, 24, played in two NHL games for the Maple Leafs in 2013-14 but has spent the rest of his professional career in the American Hockey League and ECHL. Selected by Toronto two spots ahead of Beck at the 2009 draft, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound left wing had four goals, six assists and 208 penalty minutes in 94 games over the past two seasons with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.
St Louis - Center Robby Fabbri was arguably the St. Louis Blues' most pleasant surprise at training camp last season. But he sustained an upper-body injury when Minnesota Wild defenseman Christian Folin inadvertently fell on him in a preseason game, and Fabbri's improbable journey did not have a storybook ending. The goal hasn't changed this summer for the 19-year-old Mississauga, Ontario, native, who participated in Blues development camp last week.
"I like to set my goals high. Getting there as soon as possible is one of my goals. I've been here working hard with [Blues strength and conditioning coach] Nelson [Ayotte] and the trainers to make sure I'm ready and to make that possible. Obviously I'd like to (make the team), but it's a big step. You always want to get better and improve. When there's room for improvement, that's when you work your hardest."
Fabbri's season was supposed to get better after returning from the injury. He won a gold medal with Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship but had to watch in street clothes and a walking boot after he sustained a high-ankle sprain in a victory against Denmark. Fabbri had two goals, four assists and a plus-7 rating in Canada's first four games of the tournament.
"It's something that every kid dreams of playing in. I got a little taste of it. Hopefully I can play the whole tournament next year."
Fabbri, who was listed at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds for 2014-15, spent an abbreviated season with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League. He had 25 goals and 51 points before joining the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League for the stretch run and Calder Cup Playoffs. He had a goal and three assists in three regular-season games.
"It was a stepping-stone. He goes from the OHL playoffs and then he goes to Chicago and he gets introduced to the last week of the season and then he gets to another level," Blues director of player development Tim Taylor said. "He saw that at the AHL level in the playoffs, that extra level. Obviously the NHL's a little higher than that. You keep going up that ladder and hopefully be at a pace that the rest of the players are at the NHL level."
Fabbri has grown and added muscle; he said he's 185 pounds. The Blues have placed higher expectations on their top investment of 2014, and putting on muscle mass was a necessity.
"I'm getting there," Fabbri said. "I've still got a couple months this summer to get a little stronger and bigger. I've got my mind set on that. So I think the rest of the summer I can get to work on that. Nutrition is huge, and the way you have to work on the ice and off the ice … just the mentality of the way an NHL player thinks is huge."
If Fabbri duplicates a second training camp or performs at a higher level than last season, the Blues are inclined to give him a nine-game tryout at the start of the regular season before deciding whether he stays in the NHL or goes back to the OHL.
"Your first camp, expectations aren't there, but we all saw last year what he did in training camp," Taylor said. "Now our expectations are a little bit higher. Now it's put back on him too that he has to get to that level of work ethic off the ice to produce the on ice results. He's put on some real good strides here in the early summer and there's a long way to go. We're hoping that he's going to make more strides throughout the summer."
With the Blues' forward situation somewhat fluid, including a trade of T.J. Oshie to the Washington Capitals, Fabbri could give coach Ken Hitchcock another an unexpected option.
"I try not to look into that stuff too much and just worry about myself and get myself ready," Fabbri said. "… I thought I did pretty well (last season), but not well enough to stay, so that gives me something to work for. I just want to day by day try and earn another day. I'm going to do the exact same thing this year."
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