By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – There is a lot of news in professional, college, and junior hockey going on as the Hartford Wolf Pack and Providence Bruins playoffs are in full swing.
In a case of bad timing, just as the next round playoffs are set to begin, reports from Swedish media state right winger Lauri Pajuniemi might be on the verge of signing a deal with the Malmö IF Redhawks (Sweden-SHL) for next year.
MAXIM BARBASHEV
The New York Rangers assigned Maxim Barbashev (65 points in 67 games) to the Wolf Pack just before they left for Providence. They signed Barbashev to an ATO deal, and he will wear uniform #18. He won’t play this weekend.
Barbashev’s QMHL season ended in the quarterfinals of the QMJHL President Cup playoffs in seven games by the Halifax Mooseheads. The final game score was 7-3. Moncton is coached by one-time Ranger Daniel LacrOne-time Ranger Daniel Lacroix coaches the team with Moncton. Barbashev contributed eight points in 12 games in his playoff run.
Barbashev is a 2022 fifth-round draft pick (161st overall). He scored the game’s first goal on a right-wing shot. He checks in at 6’1, 185 lbs. at just 19, and has another year of junior eligibility.
He has two older brothers playing pro hockey. Ivan is with the Vegas Golden Knights, and the oldest 30-year-old Sergei is back in Russia with Dizel Penza (Russia-VHL) after starting the season with HK Tambov (Russia-VHL).
A prominent QMJHL scout with another NHL organization had this take on Barbashev. “Looks awkward. Plays a heavy game. Can make mistakes and be inconsistent, but has an edge and physicality. Loves going to the net.”
NOTES:
Matt Robertson will not play in games 1 or 2 of the second round of the playoffs against Providence, according to Knoblauch, he Wolf Pack, according to Knoblauch.
Jarrod Gourley, who played defense for UCONN in 2021, was sent from the Utica Comets to the Adirondack Thunder (ECHL).
It didn’t take for Springfield Thunderbird, Martin Frk, to find new digs. Two days after the Wolf Pack eliminated the Thunderbirds, he became one of four AHL’ers to sign to play in Europe next season. Frk inked a deal with SC Bern (Switzerland-LNA).
Providence gained Brandon Bussi but lost Oscar Steen to the big club. Expect them to receive help for Game 3 against the Pack on Wednesday after the Bruins were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Florida Panthers in Game 7 Sunday night.
LOTS OF ACTIVITY IN CALGARY
The Calgary Wranglers opened the playoffs with a 3-2 overtime victory as Jacob Pelletier scored halfway thru the overtime.
Former UCONN forward Marc Gatcomb scored a beautiful rebound goal to put the Abbotsford Canucks on the scoreboard. The game was attended by 5,654 and came on the heels of the announcement of a new building coming to replace the 40-year-old, 19,000-seat Scotiabank Saddledome. The deal was reached between the owners of the Calgary Flames, CSEC (Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation), and the city. The new building will be built in the east end of Calgary in the Rivers District.
The announcement was made in Victoria Pak on the site of the proposed arena. It will become the fifth brand-new state-of-the-art arena in the AHL.
The building will house four hockey teams that call Calgary home. They include the NHL Flames, AHL Wranglers, the junior-level (WHL) Hitmen, and the NLL Roughnecks,
The City Council approved a $800K new arena and a $1.2B project overall. Although this was a significant hurdle, the final step will outliAlthough, the expected timeline of the new Events Center and its specs.
The Saddledome was built in 1983. It is the second oldest building in the NHL behind MSG, renovated in 2013, replacing the Calgary Corral that housed the Flames, WHA Calgary Cowboys, and the WHL Wranglers (who moved to Lethbridge) in the mid-’70s.
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