London Knights 2022-23 Off-Season Thread (Part 1)

[Maxxim1]

Same with

Sebastian Bradshaw​

Bradshaw would be foolish not to come to London, unless he prefers to play in a town of 15,000 people in Alberta.

Castagna is going to Cornell and Minnetian to Boston College. The Knights should hire Jacob Golden to convince some of these kids that sometimes hockey is more important than an education.

We should try to land Haltunen next week.

My sleeper player for next season: Jared Woolley.

 

[WorkHardEveryShift]

Castagna is going to Cornell and Minnetian to Boston College. The Knights should hire Jacob Golden to convince some of these kids that sometimes hockey is more important than an education.

Quite possibly the dumbest comment ever. Both schools are elite academically and from a hockey perspective. Their facilities are light years ahead of any CHL team. Anyone who would choose London over these schools needs a head check

 

[Matt93]

Bradshaw would be foolish not to come to London, unless he prefers to play in a town of 15,000 people in Alberta.

Castagna is going to Cornell and Minnetian to Boston College. The Knights should hire Jacob Golden to convince some of these kids that sometimes hockey is more important than an education.

We should try to land Haltunen next week.

My sleeper player for next season: Jared Woolley.

Hockey is never more important than an education. What happens if someone choose hockey over education and then has a career ending injury in the first 1-2 years? What do you fall back on? You must not have children.

 

[KnightWatch]

Quite possibly the dumbest comment ever. Both schools are elite academically and from a hockey perspective. Their facilities are light years ahead of any CHL team. Anyone who would choose London over these schools needs a head check

One could argue that schools are nothing more than indoctrination establishments nowadays, but I digress....

 

[TheOrangePylon]

People do realize that if a player chooses London over NCAA, that does not mean they chose hockey over school, right? The OHL and it's teams offers a very competitive education package for players and London has some of the top rated post secondary institutions in Canada.

They may think London is giving them a better opportunity hockey wise then NCAA, or vice versa. But they are still receiving a great education option regardless of which route they go.

 

[Maxxim1]

Obviously some of the newer posters don’t get the Jacob Golden reference.
Sorry, I forget my sarcasm emoji. Next time.

 

[Savard18]

Hockey is never more important than an education. What happens if someone choose hockey over education and then has a career ending injury in the first 1-2 years? What do you fall back on? You must not have children.

There’s a bit to unpack here but first let me say I am a parent of an athlete. One who turned down her NCAA opportunities because she found a better education and fit at a D1 school she wasn’t ever gonna play for. I get your side. Now. If that kid makes it to the NHL and gets those games in? What’s a rookie contract nowadays? 3 years $800k per year? $2.4 mil total? My ex has a degree from Michigan. She won’t earn $2.4 mil in the next decade. Secondly, a lot of those NCAA kids never earn their degree before moving on to the Pro’s anyway. I also have two close friends that played NCAA D1 and actually DID suffer a career ending and what basically became a career ending injury during college. One in game and one in a car-accident. Guess what? Here’s the curb and goodbye scholarship. Schools will dump you in a second. Every situation is different. If the Hunter’s offer you a Gold package? I absolutely would consider steering my kid away from a lot of school options because THAT IS also a school option. As far as London vs Cornell vs BC facilities? I’m not sure on BC but I’m pretty confident London facilities produce more Pro career talent Cornell. Maybe even BC.

 

[LDN]

Who from last years roster got development camp invites?

 

[superdee]

Don’t know but there was a few. Last years team had a bunch of rookies as well.

 

[LDN]

Don’t know but there was a few. Last years team had a bunch of rookies as well.

I mean NHL dev camps? Like other than the drafted guys?

 

[Maxxim1]

 

[Maxxim1]

Bonk in Philly

 

[zman77]

London Knights GM Mark Hunter on critics suggesting the Leafs “reached” to pick Easton Cowan: “They must not see him play enough… He’s the real deal”​

On Sportsnet’s Real Kyper and Bourne, London Knights GM Mark Hunter discussed the Maple Leafs selection of Knights forward Easton Cowan at 28th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.


First and foremost, can you talk about the type of player that the Leafs just drafted in Easton Cowan?
Hunter: He is a high-energy player. He plays both ends of the ice. He can kill penalties. He can play the power play. He can make plays. He has real good skills.
He needs to get stronger yet. He is still a little bit light. But his dedication to the game is off the charts.
What was his progression like with the team over the course of the season?

Hunter: He started in Jr. B the year before. We always kind of take our time with our players. He skated with us. He was in our gym with us. There was lots of development with him the year before.
We want these young men to earn their ice time. We didn’t give it to him. Every day, he came, practiced hard, and played hard. By the end, by halfway through the season, he just took off. He out-played some of our 18 and 19-year-olds. He deserved to play.
He had a heck of a run in the playoffs. The playoffs were fantastic for him. He brought his game to another level.
Did the Leafs really gamble on this pick late in the first round when some teams are saying they didn’t have him in their top 50?
Hunter: I disagree. They must not see him play enough.
You have the eye test. You have the video. You have the analytics. We have a company that does work for us, and his numbers in the second half were off the charts.
If you come to watch him play, he stood out — against tough competition, too. We were playing [Ethan] Del Mastro, who plays for Sarnia and is a Team Canada defenseman. He did a fantastic job against stiff competition.
If you watched him, he is the real deal.
How does the opportunity change for him next year in London?
Hunter: One thing is that he needs to get stronger. He will do the work to get stronger. He is going to be put in a position to be a go-to guy. He was a go-to guy in the last half of the season and especially in the playoffs.
We have a real good team here. He will be a part of a formula here for winning.
Does the lack of trade movement speak to how deep the draft was or how tight money is across the league?
Hunter: I think it is a little bit of both. The money is tight, and there were some good players that teams felt they could get in the 28th hole, the 27th hole, etc. In years past, it wasn’t there.
In this year’s draft, everybody was hungry for these young kids. A guy like Cowan — he has tons of upside. Some day, he will be a Leaf and he will play for the Leafs.
All it took was Kyle Dubas going to Pittsburgh for the Leafs to start drafting Knights again, right?
Hunter: [laughs] Yeah, that’s right!

London Knights GM Mark Hunter on critics suggesting the Leafs "reached" to pick Easton Cowan: "They must not see him play enough... He's the real deal"

On Sportsnet’s Real Kyper and Bourne, London Knights GM Mark Hunter discussed the Maple Leafs selection of Knights forward Easton Cowan at 28th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft. First and foremost, can you talk about the type of player that the Leafs just drafted in Easton Cowan? Hunter: He is a...

mapleleafshotstove.com

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[ArielNederland]

Sean mcgurn is attending blue jackets development camp

 

[Maxxim1]

Logan Mailloux wasn’t made available to media today at Canadiens development camp. #Habs said decision was made with NHL that he won’t do interviews until after having a meeting with NHL, which still needs to rule on his eligibility to play in league #HabsIO

 

[ArielNederland]

Anyone heard anything on halttunen? I think he goes back to finland

 

[tjziel]

Anyone heard anything on halttunen? I think he goes back to finland

Like I have said before, he is “interested” in coming over to NA. Contracts make it a bit harder but I do see him coming in September. By the way, you will find out in 4 days if we do have an inside track on having him come over because if we select in the Import draft, means we have likely released Halttunen’s rights thus signifying he will not come over.

 

[zman77]

Londoner's 'surreal' ride from university student to NHL draft pick​

Jacob Julien is one of the more unassuming draft picks in Knights – and NHL – history.
The big forward was playing Euchre at home in London with his family when the Winnipeg Jets called his name in the fifth round (146th overall) at the NHL draft Thursday in Nashville.
“We had the draft on but we were playing cards so weren’t really paying attention to it,” the 18-year-old said. “I checked my phone and I got a text from (Maple Leafs first-rounder) Easton Cowan saying ‘Congrats.’
“I texted back, ‘for what’? That’s how I kind of figured it out.”

Londoner's 'surreal' ride from university student to NHL draft pick

Julien top Londoner and among four Knights picked in this week's NHL draft

lfpress.com

 

[pgfan66]

Like I have said before, he is “interested” in coming over to NA. Contracts make it a bit harder but I do see him coming in September. By the way, you will find out in 4 days if we do have an inside track on having him come over because if we select in the Import draft, means we have likely released Halttunen’s rights thus signifying he will not come over.

For what it’s worth, I’ve also heard he’s coming.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

For what it’s worth, I’ve also heard he’s coming.

Any trustful sources on that?
So long when Halttunen is not under NHL entry level contract
with San Jose Sharks HIFK decides where Halttunen plays because Halttunen is HIFK's player.

Anyone heard anything on halttunen? I think he goes back to finland

SM liiga players like Halttunen who are under SM liiga contract won't come / report to CHL so often.

 

[Knightsfan90]

Obviously some of the newer posters don’t get the Jacob Golden reference.
Sorry, I forget my sarcasm emoji. Next time.

I got what you ment lol was shocked others didn't the sarcasm was thick

 

[pgfan66]

By the way, you will find out in 4 days if we do have an inside track on having him come over because if we select in the Import draft, means we have likely released Halttunen’s rights thus signifying he will not come over.

London will make a pick but they're able to keep Halttunen's rights anyway.

 

[rve24]

Gotta think the Knights add a vet F come late Aug/Sept.
It's usually a name that has flown under the radar based in the past......

 

[tjziel]

London will make a pick but they're able to keep Halttunen's rights anyway.

“CHL teams are allowed to keep two Import players on the roster. If the club expects to keep these two players for the upcoming season, they can pass in the Import Draft. If a CHL club has an import player that is currently signed by an NHL team out of their program, they can select a third import player.”

I don’t think they can, because Halttunen wasn’t drafted as a London Knight and hasn’t even signed with the with the SJ Sharks. So expect no CHL draft picks or if they do they have released Halttunen’s rights as I don’t think we are dropping Gazizov’s.

 

[tjziel]

“Each CHL team is allotted two import picks, so the draft is only two rounds. CHL teams are only allowed two import players on their rosters, though there is a separate “frozen list” for imports taken in the first round of the NHL draft. Clubs can only dress a maximum of two imports per game.

If an import on a frozen list is returned to a CHL club that already has two imports, that team has a small window (like two weeks) in which to move an import.”

This is why I really wanted Halttunen to be drafted in the 1st round of the NHL Draft. Makes it a harder decision now….