Steve Moses – McKeen's Hockey

2015 Training Camp Round-up – Oct 1st

Ryan Dadoun — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 18:00:23 +0000

A lot of teams choose to make further training camp cuts on Wednesday and that involved the release of several noteworthy veterans from their professional tryouts.

We've already touched on how the evolving reality of the cap era has left some otherwise NHL-worthy players out in the cold this year, but not every player that resorts to accepting a PTO comfortably falls into that camp. In the case of David Booth, a different picture could be painted.

Although there's still time for Booth to prove this wrong, he's looking like a player that peaked early in his career before - partially due to injuries - declining early and steeply. He had 31 goals and 60 points in 72 games in 2008-09 when he was 24 years old (as of Nov. 24 of that campaign), but at the age of 30 he's already fallen to the point where he's a fringe player.

He struggled with the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs over the last two campaigns and his attempt to return to Florida - the origin of his success - finished with the Panthers releasing him from his PTO. Booth believes he's "still a great player," per the Miami Herald, but the unfortunate reality is that his results have been contrary to that statement. We'll see if he can change that.

If nothing else, he can take comfort in knowing he's far from the only noteworthy player to get released from a PTO recently. We've brought up a number of examples this week and you can add another to the pile as Andrej Meszaros was unable to make the Colorado Avalanche.

Meszaros is 29 years old and a veteran of 645 games. He's never played in the AHL, having made the leap to the NHL straight from the junior level, but he might end up spending some time in the minors this season.

There were noteworthy names outside of the PTO group to be cut Wednesday though. One in particular that stands out is Steve Moses.

Moses inked a one-year, $1 million deal with the Nashville Predators, but he will start the season with AHL Milwaukee. Moses is 26 years old and has never played in the NHL, but he was superb with the KHL's Jokerit Helsinki in 2014-15, scoring 36 goals and 57 points in 60 games.

The question is if Moses' game can translate to the NHL and his size (he's listed as 5-foot-9, 175-pounds) is a consideration as well. That being said, the Predators do believe he will be an asset for them after an adjustment period.

“He’s still a player that we’re counting on to be somebody who can produce for us, but I think that there’s a learning curve in coming back [to North America],” Predators coach Peter Laviolette told the team's website. “The best way to get to that is probably to get to Milwaukee and try to figure that out. Being the extra guy or an extra guy here, I don’t think is going to help, so going there and playing some games is probably the quickest way to try and make it back here.”

Moses didn't have to be exposed to waivers though and one has to wonder if the Predators would have made that decision if that weren't the case. The vast majority of players waived during training camp clear, but that doesn't mean it's automatic. The Philadelphia Flyers have lost Chris Porter to the Minnesota Wild after exposing him to waivers on Wednesday.

Interestingly, Porter was put in Philadelphia's preseason game Wednesday night after being waived and he went on to score a goal.

“He’s done a good job and spent a lot of time up and down. Chris is a pro,” Flyers GM Ron Hextall said, per CSN Philly.. “I told him he was going on waivers and he was fine. Goes out and plays a good game. He’s a pro.”

Of course, Minnesota likely didn't claim him just because he performed under trying circumstances. Porter was someone that was already on their radar this season. He's also good friends with Wild captain Zach Parise, to the extent that Parise was the best man at Porter's wedding. This changes Porter from being a player who might have been one of the first injury replacements in Philadelphia to someone that might spend the entire season at the NHL level.

Moving from a focus on individuals, the Arizona Coyotes have been noteworthy as a whole for an unfortunate reason. Through five preseason games, they have scored just four goals, with only one of them coming at even strength.

Of course, exhibition contests need to be taken with a grain of salt.

“We’ve got young players in key roles that are supposed to help provide that offense," coach Dave Tippett noted, per the Arizona Republic.. "That doesn’t exclude any veterans but really the way our schedule has set up, we’ve had one game with our whole lineup in and I like how many chances we created in that game."

The game he's referring with the whole lineup to was a 1-0 loss to Vancouver on Monday.

Even with all that in mind, the Coyotes showing is still troubling because Arizona's was the second worst offensive team last season and with the upgrades Buffalo made, it's entirely possible that the Coyotes will score fewer goals than any other team this season.

As touched on earlier in the week, the Coyotes have a lot of promising forward prospects, but the returns on that might not begin in 2015-16. In other words, this might be a season of pain for the Coyotes, which is unfortunately nothing new for this franchise.

Top Ten European Players Coming to the NHL in 2015

McKeen's Hockey — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 21:09:10 +0000

Last summer I wrote a piece called the Top Ten European Players Coming to the NHL and other than ranking Jiri Sekac to low and Petri Kontiola to high it worked out pretty well. In an attempt to improve on the first installment of this annual piece and help you identify some potential sleeper fantasy hockey players to target in upcoming drafts, here is my top ten list for the 2015-2016 season

1. Artemi Panarin, LW - Chicago Blackhawks

Age 23 5’11, 170 lbs Contract:$812,500Panarin is the clear number one player on this list after having a great season in the KHL and at the World championship where he scored ten points in ten games. He is a sure-fire top six option in Chicago this upcoming season and the trade of Patrick Sharp only cements that tremendous fantasy option. Panarin is only 23 years old and has signed a two year contract with a cap hit of $812,500 according to General Fanager which makes him extremely attractive in keeper leagues with a salary cap.

Projection: 50 points

2. Steve Moses, RW - Nashville Predators

Age 25 5’9” 172 lbs Contract:$1 million

The American born Moses was undrafted into the NHL but at age 25 has plenty of international experience and finished seventh overall in KHL scoring last season while producing two points in seven games for USA at the World Championship. Moses is another small player who has great sped and is a pure sniper. Moses will have his work cut out for himself if he is to earn a top six role with the Predators over proven NHL talent such as James Neal, Craig Smith and Taylor Beck on the right wing. Moses signed a one year one million dollar contract with the Predators and will become a UFA next summer so he represents a gamble as a boom or bust player. If he fails to crack the roster you will have wasted a draft pick, a roster spot and some cap room unless you can send him to waivers. If he produces he could see a significant jump in pay as a UFA next summer.

Projection: 30 points

3. Sergei Plotnikov, LW/RW – Pittsburgh Penguins

Age 25 6’2” 205 lbs Contract: $925,000

Plotnikov plays a very physical game which should help ease his transition to North American hockey, but his skating is a concern. He is not as prolific a scorer as Panarin but should find a home on the Penguins top nine making a career in front of the net and digging pucks out of the corners. His contract is only for one year but he is a RFA after that and at 25 represents a very good fantasy option in keeper leagues. In a league that scores peripheral stats like hits and penalty minutes I would bump him up over Moses.

Projection: 30 points

Re Plotnikov from 30 Thoughts .... I like That stop/start comment is important. pic.twitter.com/gkaoKXjTZK

— Gus Katsaros (@KatsHockey) July 9, 2015

4. Alex Burmistrov, RW Winnipeg Jets

Age 23 6’1” 180 lbs Contract: $1,550,000

Burmistrov was a first round (eighth overall) selection of the team from the Atlanta era. Burmistrov is a highly talented winger, a typical Russian sniper. The knock on him is his lack of any form of a physical element and poor defensive responsibility. In terms of fantasy hockey as long as he is scoring points he has value. The question is will he earn the Coaches confidence enough to see playing time relevant enough to produce?

Projection 30 points

5. Viktor Tikhonov, C Chicago Blackhawks

Age 27 6’2” 189 lbs Contract: $1,040,000

The Grandson of Legendary Russian star of the same namesake, this will be Tikhonovs’ second attempt in the NHL. The former first round pick of the Coyotes from 2008 should fit in on the Hawks third line behind countryman Artem Anisimov. Tikhonov is a versatile forward who is responsible defensively but there is some question to how high his offensive upside is.

Projection: 25 points

6. Sergei Kalinin, C/RW New Jersey Devils

Age 24 6’2” 190 lbs Contract: $925, 000

Kalinin perhaps has less offensive upside than his Russian counterparts ahead of him on this list but the Devils are desperate for some youth up front and despite suffering a scary head injury earlier in the season the Devils signed the Russian forward. He has NHL size and is a versatile player that represents a good depth two-way option for the Devils. His fantasy upside is questionable but he is worthy of a late round gamble for sure.

Projection: 25 points

7. Joonas Kamppainen C Boston Bruins

Age 27 6’2” 209 lbs Contract: $792,500

Kemppainen is already 27 years old and as such a veteran to pro hockey and should be NHL ready to assume a role on the Bruins bottom six as a role player. He has the size and all-around game to succeed in the NHL and has some offensive upside as well as evident in his nine point performance in eight games at the World Championship for Finland. His contract is a one year deal that sees him as a UFA at terms end.

Projection: 20 points

8. Evgeni Medvedev, D Philadelphia Flyers

Age 32 6’3” 187 lbs Contract: $3,000,000

Medvedev will join a very crowded Flyers blue line that consists of six under contract NHL defenders and top prospects such as Ivan Provorov, Samuel Morin, Robert Hagg, Travis Sanheim and Shane Gostisbehere who are all going to challenge for playing time. Medvedev will have no time to adjust to the smaller ice and North American game. He is a tall but slight defender who is very experienced and smooth skating two-way defender with a nice long active stick. Could be an excellent mentor for Provorov.

9. Markus Hannikainen, LW Columbus Blue Jackets

Age 22 6’1” 189 lbs Contract: $717,500

In the short term, Hannikainen projects to play on Lake Erie in the AHL as he adjusts to the smaller ice and North American game. In the long term, he has top six potential in the NHL. At this point, he is an investment in deep keeper leagues and any NHL action he sees this season should be considered a bonus.

Projection: 5 points

10. Andreas Martinsen, C/W Colorado Avalanche

Age 25 6’3” 220 lbs Contract: $742,500

Martinsen is a big physical forward who loves to drop the gloves and crash the net, old time hockey style. He should adjust to the North American style quickly and his skating skills are not a liability as well. While his fantasy value is primarily going to come from hits and penalty minute contributions, his five points in 12 playoff games in Germany offer some hope his skill set can pass at the NHL level. Expect Martinsen to play the majority of his games with San Antonio this season and hope he can fight his way onto the Avalanche roster.

Projection: 1 point

Honorable Mention: Derek Ryan (Carolina Hurricanes) led the SHL in scoring last season with 60 points and was named the league MVP. At 28 years old his potential is limited and he is what he is, a 5’10 170 lbs winger. Vojtech Mozik (New Jersey Devils)has some time to spend in Albany before he will pass several promising young defenders on the Devils defense depth chart, but the potential is there. Eetu Laurikainen (Edmonton Oilers) played junior hockey in the WHL but went undrafted in the NHL. Given the Oilers lack of depth in goal he is worth mentioning, but is a long term project.