2022-23 Utica Comets and ECHL thread

[Guttersniped]

Post season thoughts
Part VII
The newbies

The following players have contracts for next season. Only Vilen played a game this season and that was game 3 of the Toronto series played in Utica.

1) Topias Vilen - 20-yr-old, 6'1"/194 lb LD from Finland. He was 2021 5th Rd selection (#129) of the NJ Devils.
He has played 127 games in the Liiga. Those games will be applied to his professional games played when the AHL determines a player's veteran status. It's no problem right now.
In his single game in Utica, which I observed, he had good straight ahead speed. Right off the bat his nerves showed as the 1st time he touched the puck he looked up ice and passed the puck directly to a Marlie just outside the blue line. He got it together and was adequate in the ice time he got. His most impressive moment was when he caught up to a Marlie breaking in on Nico Daws. That Marlie had the whole neutral zone head start and Vilen broke up the play from behind just before he took his shot. Thus, my comment on his straight ahead speed.

Would have to see him over the course of several games before making any kind of assessment of his game. The Comets as a whole were poor defensively that night

2) Santeri Hatakka - 22-yr-old, 6'1" 192 lb LD from Finland (will turn 23 on Jan/15/2024). He was a 2019 round 6 (#184) by the San Jose Sharks.

He has played 1 full season in the San Jose system, 9 NHL-2A/41 AHL- 3/9. This past season he played 8 games with AHL San Jose (2A) and was injured and didn't play another game.
He was acquired by NJ in the Meier trade. NJ assigned him to Utica and he has been on the roster listed as injured from that point.

Next season will, in reality, be his 2nd professional season. I would guess the 2022-23 season will slide as injury limited his season to 8 games. Either way the new season will still see him on an ELC.
We have nothing to assess anything. He is to us, a rookie.

3) Danill Misyul - 6'3"/176 lb LD from Belarus, who will turn 23 on 10/20. He was a 2019 round 3 (#70) of the NJ Devils. He has played 184 games in the KHL over 5 seasons. He is 77 games from being classified as Veteran Exempt. With the AHL paying 72 game seasons that will give him 2 seasons in which he is free of Veteran status. His KHL offensive numbers are poor to say the least 21 Pts in 184 GP. I have nothing to make an opinion on other than statistics and the opinions of those from the NJ site who have actually seen him play. My most trusted poster on this subject is @Guadana. He has been high on this kid so I'm of the opinion he will be a good player. That's where it ends. My own assessment will come from his play in Utica.

My biggest concern is whether or not he has the European escape clause that so many players from Europe have in their contract. If they don't make the AHL team, they escape the AHL and return to Europe. Hatakka has already moved past that and Vilen says he has no issues playing in the AHL.

These 3 defenders, all on the left side, will be in competition for top 6 status. Wotherspoon Vukojevic, Groleau, Hatakka, Vilen, and Misyul are in competition for the starting 3 left spots. They won't be the only defenders to get a look either. There are always free agents given a look and who knows what NJ will do in off season trades that might result in another D-man or 2 in the Utica camp.

There are 2 new forwards we know will be on hand.

4) Chase Stillman - 20-yr-old, 6'1"/185 lb RW fresh out of the OHL. He was a 2021 1st Round selection (#29) of the NJ Devils. He is not a favorite of the NJ fan base, particularly those on HF Boards. We know he is guy who plays with a lot of energy and in the AHL that will mean being a real pest. Utica could use a couple of those types. They had, and hopefully will retain, Jayce Hawryluk who is very good at that task. His 29 points in '21-22 and 48 in '22-23 are inferior to the kind of production #1 selections usually come with. All that can be hoped for is that his work ethic can lead to a very strong NHL bottom 6 player. He'll get to put that theory to work in Utica next season. If it doesn't happen, he will play out his ELC and be let go.

5) TJ Friedmann - An undrafted 25-yr-old, 6'2/181 lb 5-yr NCAA Quinnipiac graduate student. I keep reading postd that say he is a center. The Quinnipiac roster lists him as a forward. Eliteprospects lists him as a RW. HockeyDB lists him as a RW. The Comets announced they signed forward TJ Friedmann. The Hockey News Network in St. Louis lists him as a RW. I guess we'll wait to see where DiNeen pencils him in. I hope he learned his lesson and won't try to force the square peg into the round hole for game after game a fter game all season as he did with Brian Pinho. If thie kid shows center isn't it . get him out on the wing. Adirondack is also a possibility if he can't crack the Utica roster. It helped Xavier Parent as he went PPG with the Thunder and made his way onto the Utica roster over the course of the last 13 games and 5 of the 6 playoffs. Some time in the ECHL for those not guaranteed anything can sometimes be very valuable.

The Comets roster is unsettled at this time and after this season not many are guaranteed to be back particularly those on AHL contracts.


Coming up
My thoughts on who WILL be playing in Utica next season as well as those most likely.
Part VIII

My guess is European clause doesn’t matter Misyul, certainly not next year.

I assume he hit a bit of a wall in Russia and wants to try to develop over here. He’s only 22, I don’t see him expecting to play in the NHL right away.

Also, while I don’t know if he can do it in the pros, Friedman definitely played center at Quinnipiac. Here’s the top Face Off Wins stats on their team.

 

[Triumph]

According to capfriendly, Misyul does not have a European Assignment Clause. They sometimes don't have all the info but the deal was signed 10 days ago; I imagine it's accurate now.

 

[UticaHockey]

Games played in all European major leagues count against the vet rules. Liiga is Finland's major league, SHL is Sweden's, KHL is Russia's. I didn't realize Jr aged players were exempt?

My Bad?

Yes, it isn't mentioned on the AHL website but I read it in a longer article that explained the AHL development rules. It does make since because a 18-19 year old North American kid would likely be playing in juniors or college and not accruing games against the AHL vet rule. The same kid with the same talent level in Europe would likely be playing in one of the leagues that are considered high professional leagues. They just don't have the same junior or college options.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Yes, it isn't mentioned on the AHL website but I read it in a longer article that explained the AHL development rules. It does make since because a 18-19 year old North American kid would likely be playing in juniors or college and not accruing games against the AHL vet rule. The same kid with the same talent level in Europe would likely be playing in one of the leagues that are considered high professional leagues. They just don't have the same junior or college options.

Makes sense. Thanx for the input

 

[Bad Goalie]

My guess is European clause doesn’t matter Misyul, certainly not next year.

I assume he hit a bit of a wall in Russia and wants to try to develop over here. He’s only 22, I don’t see him expecting to play in the NHL right away.

Also, while I don’t know if he can do it in the pros, Friedman definitely played center at Quinnipiac. Here’s the top Face Off Wins stats on their team.

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Alls well and good, but he is definitely not a #1/2center. Maybe he's not even as good as Stevens whom I would label #3/4 in a battle with Schmelzer, who we know will be in the lineup. Stevens may not even get invited back and if they find someone better so be it.

Talvitie needs to be replaced by someone better. We'll have to see if this guy can play the rest of the game as hard and determined as Aarne did or if he starts out in the ECHL like Parent did for most of the season.

 

[Guttersniped]

Alls well and good, but he is definitely not a #1/2center. Maybe he's not even as good as Stevens whom I would label #3/4 in a battle with Schmelzer, who we know will be in the lineup. Stevens may not even get invited back and if they find someone better so be it.

Talvitie needs to be replaced by someone better. We'll have to see if this guy can play the rest of the game as hard and determined as Aarne did or if he starts out in the ECHL like Parent did for most of the season.

I have no idea how good Friedman is, but you were wondering about what position he played, so I gave you that information so you could know he did in fact play center.

 

[Bad Goalie]

I have no idea how good Friedman is, but you were wondering about what position he played, so I gave you that information so you could know he did in fact play center.

I never questioned the veracity of your post. I was just voicing my opinion of where he fits on day 1 on a team starved more than ever for quality centers. Unless he's a miracle worker, he is not an answer.

 

[Guttersniped]

I never questioned the veracity of your post. I was just voicing my opinion of where he fits on day 1 on a team starved more than ever for quality centers. Unless he's a miracle worker, he is not an answer.

Never thought he was.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Never thought he was.

Is there a reason why your responses get snarky unless I just give them a like and move on. I give my opinions and they rarely do they have anything to do with your posts unless I address them directly. I have never made any personal responses to any of your posts.

Maybe it's late and I need to go to bed. Perhaps I'm jousting with windmills. I don't feel that way now, but who knows where my thoughts will be tomorrow.

 

[UticaHockey]

I like this. Two guys that provide veteran leadership in Utica but do not use up a limited number of NHL contracts.

 

[Bad Goalie]

I like this. Two guys that provide veteran leadership in Utica but do not use up a limited number of NHL contracts.

That's 3 Vets and 1 VE already.
Wotherspoon and Russo, the 2 cornerstone Vet D-men.
Gambardella, a Vet forward.
Schmelzer, now a VE #3/4 C

Parent, Halonen, Ibragimov, Stillman are signed wings.

Friedman is a rookie center/wing. Not a #1 or 2 C.

With Gamby and Schmelz that's 7 forwards.
I see Thompson and Clarke back here making it 9. Foote is a 50-50.
Need to sign 2 centers to serve as #s 1 and 2. 11 forwards. Room for more but only 2 vets fit into the 5 Vs + 1 VE formula without someone being a mandatory scratch.
Hawryluk, another winger, would be a VE if re-signed. I liked his game and he's not going to be a scratch.

Hatakka, Vilen, Misyul are 3 more D added to Spooner and Russo. Vukojevic will be back.
Groleau would have to be re-signed, if NJ feels he's worth it.
Hayes is in the same situation. Wouldn't be missed.
Walsh is also an RFA and he will be a discussion in NJ.
Nemec is a wild card at the moment. Would like NJ to sign a vet D for their roster and give Nemec another round of every day all situation AHL play.

 

[Billdo]

Talvitie going overseas... do we keep his rights? Not that he really has much of a future at this point.

 

[Zippy316]

That's 3 Vets and 1 VE already.
Wotherspoon and Russo, the 2 cornerstone Vet D-men.
Gambardella, a Vet forward.
Schmelzer, now a VE #3/4 C

Parent, Halonen, Ibragimov, Stillman are signed wings.

Friedman is a rookie center/wing. Not a #1 or 2 C.

With Gamby and Schmelz that's 7 forwards.
I see Thompson and Clarke back here making it 9. Foote is a 50-50.
Need to sign 2 centers to serve as #s 1 and 2. 11 forwards. Room for more but only 2 vets fit into the 5 Vs + 1 VE formula without someone being a mandatory scratch.
Hawryluk, another winger, would be a VE if re-signed. I liked his game and he's not going to be a scratch.

Hatakka, Vilen, Misyul are 3 more D added to Spooner and Russo. Vukojevic will be back.
Groleau would have to be re-signed, if NJ feels he's worth it.
Hayes is in the same situation. Wouldn't be missed.
Walsh is also an RFA and he will be a discussion in NJ.
Nemec is a wild card at the moment. Would like NJ to sign a vet D for their roster and give Nemec another round of every day all situation AHL play.

Is Stevens considered a VE or Veteran if he’s resigned?

 

[Bad Goalie]

Is Stevens considered a VE or Veteran if he’s resigned?

No, but he is really a #3 C at best. He nad Schmelzer would need to sort the #3 and 4 out. I'm not looking for Friedmann to be better than a 3/4 either. More like a depth center while starting out on the wing. Fact is Stevens, Schmelzer, and unseen Friedmann are bottom 6 in the real AHL world. Comets need 2 experienced proven 1/2 centers. Last year's middle was not good to say the least.

 

[Dreamer]

No, but he is really a #3 C at best. He nad Schmelzer would need to sort the #3 and 4 out. I'm not looking for Friedmann to be better than a 3/4 either. More like a depth center while starting out on the wing. Fact is Stevens, Schmelzer, and unseen Friedmann are bottom 6 in the real AHL world. Comets need 2 experienced proven 1/2 centers. Last year's middle was not good to say the least.

Having good centers on the first and second line is like having a good QB in football as it makes a HUGE difference.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Having good centers on the first and second line is like having a good QB in football as it makes a HUGE difference.

Correctamundo.

Those 2 missing cogs were the reason the Comets just couldn't keep anything going last season.

It also cost them a good run in 2021-22. A great team, but their centers corps was decimated by playoff time.
DeLeo was forced off the wing to play the part of #1C.
Schmelzer, much like this season, was #2.
Flynn, who had mostly been used as a RW, became #3.
Talvitie, who spent a lot of time on RW was #4.

Schnarr was traded on 3/21 in the Hammond trade for NJ.
Gauthier who had been a key #2/3 was out with an injury sustained on 4/1.
The Comets finished the season trying to fill the holes with Tyler Irvine, Garrett VanWyhe, and Thompson. They were losing on a steady basis towards the end backing into the North Division and Conference championships while losing, but teams that could have caught them lost as well.

They lost to Rochester in 5 with their top guns Zetterlund (2), Holtz (1), and Foote not close to matching the goal output of Greer (6), who desperately put the team on his back and tried to will them to the next round, DeLeo at center couldn't produce the offense he delivered throughout the season on the wing. He got his 1st assist in game 4 and scored his lone goal and added a 2nd assist in game 5.

Centers make an offense run. Without them the best wings just can't carry the load alone when the play gets much tighter as seasons come down to the last 20 games or so and the playoffs are do or die.

 

[Bad Goalie]

In post #1336 above I listed players already coming back with contracts and 7 are forwards.

On May 23, the Comets re-signed Samuel Laberge to a 1-yr AHL contract. Samuel makes 8 forwards now under contract.

On D Wotherspoon and Russo are signed.
Vukojevic won't be a Devil and is still on an ELC.
Hatakka, Vilen, and Misyul are on ELC contracts and will not be Devils.

That's 6 D-men.

Holtz and Clarke are still on ELCs and are still waiver exempt.

Foote is still on an ELC, but needs to clear waivers making me think he is the guy the Devils keep.

Thompson also has to clear waivers, but his numbers from last season won't make him a real desirable claim. Having to put him on the NHL roster make him a real low % waiver claim.

With Foot getting the 1st break in NJ Holtz and Clarke have an opportunity to really light up the AHL. If they don't, chances are their NHL careers may never come to be. On the other hand given a top 6 shot , Holtz might just light the lamp. Clarke, IMO, is not NHL ready.

3 of these 4 will once again end up in Utica. Making the list of forwards 11.

The

The centers needed to fill the middle for these forwards are yet to be acquired. The only bona fide center is Schmelzer and ideally the captain is a #3 C.

 

[My3Sons]

ideally the captain is a #3 C.

That’s what I keep telling people.

 

[Forge]

2) Santeri Hatakka - 22-yr-old, 6'1" 192 lb LD from Finland (will turn 23 on Jan/15/2024). He was a 2019 round 6 (#184) by the San Jose Sharks.

He has played 1 full season in the San Jose system, 9 NHL-2A/41 AHL- 3/9. This past season he played 8 games with AHL San Jose (2A) and was injured and didn't play another game.
He was acquired by NJ in the Meier trade. NJ assigned him to Utica and he has been on the roster listed as injured from that point.

Next season will, in reality, be his 2nd professional season. I would guess the 2022-23 season will slide as injury limited his season to 8 games. Either way the new season will still see him on an ELC.
We have nothing to assess anything. He is to us, a rookie.

When we made the trade for Timo, I thought he was a pretty interesting addition in the deal. Looking forward to seeing him play some next year

In all he played 14 regular season games recording 6G/5A/11Pts. n 6 playoff games he had 5 Pts, all assists. That's 6G/11A/17Pts in 20 GP. Considering he would eventually be diagnosed with Mono we know he must have been playing while coming down with it. He then returned while still not having fully recovered to the player we know he is.

I have no idea how I missed that Holtz had mono

 

[Guttersniped]

I have no idea how I missed that Holtz had mono

Was this made public? I don’t think you missed anything.

That was always a reasonable guess when Holtz was out from 3/25 (last regular season AHL game) to 4/19 (1st Calder Cup playoff game) with an undisclosed non-hockey related illness, but I don’t remember the team saying what he had. (Utica says less than NJ about this stuff.)

 

[UticaHockey]

Some Comets off season news. Nico Daws will miss the first few months of next season after hip surgery.

 

[My3Sons]

Some Comets off season news. Nico Daws will miss the first few months of next season after hip surgery.

thanks for sharing that. If there is a silver lining he is young and should have time to bounce back from this. Hip surgery is becoming all too common in goalies. I don't recall so many suffering this sort of problem even 10 years ago.

 

[nugg]

thanks for sharing that. If there is a silver lining he is young and should have time to bounce back from this. Hip surgery is becoming all too common in goalies. I don't recall so many suffering this sort of problem even 10 years ago.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Some Comets off season news. Nico Daws will miss the first few months of next season after hip surgery.

Before this news, the Comets netminding would have had Daws as #1 and Brennan as his backup.

Brennan will be just a few days (9/27 birthday) at 20-yrs-old when he starts the season. It was earlier speculated that the Devils might consider a veteran keeper to work with Daws and let Brennan get his pro feet wet as #1 in Adirondack.

With this recent Daws development that vet is mandatory. Brennan and Poulter is more than iffy, it would be nuts.

 

[UticaHockey]

Before this news, the Comets netminding would have had Daws as #1 and Brennan as his backup.

Brennan will be just a few days (9/27 birthday) at 20-yrs-old when he starts the season. It was earlier speculated that the Devils might consider a veteran keeper to work with Daws and let Brennan get his pro feet wet as #1 in Adirondack.

With this recent Daws development that vet is mandatory. Brennan and Poulter is more than iffy, it would be nuts.

Other Comets related news that Ben Birnell posted on Twitter is that assistant coach Andrew Brewer has parted ways with the organization and he is being replaced by David Cunniff.