Not every prospect is created equal. Certainly not in skill, but also for the amount of time a team retains the player’s rights. A team will retain the rights of a CHL player for two years. A player drafted from Canadian Junior A and is committed to the NCAA however, could have his rights held for four years and in some cases five years. The same applies to players drafted out of the USHL.
It gets a little complicated for Europeans. A player like Peter Cehlarik or Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson who at one time had an NHL contract and have gone back to Europe – a team loses his rights on June 1 of their 27-year-old season. For players like Maxim Chudinov and Roman Bychkov who have never signed an NHL deal, the team retains their right indefinitely. There are some exemptions to the rule that don’t apply here.
Here’s a look at the Bruins reserve list, when their rights expire and their contract status at the end of the 2022-2023 season:
The week that was:
On Monday, Matthew Poitras and his Guelph Storm dropped their second game of the preseason, this time by a 4-2 score to the Kitchener Rangers. While Poitras did have an assist on the night, the Storm went one for eight on the powerplay where time and space should have been an advantage for Poitras and his teammates. Considering the Storm only gave up three powerplay opportunities of their own, it should have been an advantage.
On Wednesday, Locomotiv played it’s third game of the young KHL season and improved to a 3-0-0 record with a 4-3 victory over Neftekhimik. For the third consecutive game Locomotiv dressed seven defencemen and Bychkov was a healthy scratch.
On Thursday, EV Zug needed overtime to defeat Wolfsburg in Champions League play. EV Zug moved into top spot in Group B standings. Cehlarik was kept off the scoresheet and has one assist in the first 3 games.
Friday was the first busy day of the season with regular season and exhibition games taking place.
First up over in the KHL, Bychkov got into his first game of the season as Locomotiv dressed seven defencemen once again. He got just 8 shifts in the game for 5:54 TOI of which 4:05 was spent in the defensive zone. He managed one shot on net. My hope here is that since he was a late signing and missed training camp, that Locomotiv is taking their time with him.
Over in Champions Hockey League play, Matias Mantykivi and his Ilves Tampere squad lost a 2-0 decision to Fribourg-Gotteron dropping Ilves to last place in Group E with a 0-1-2-0 record (CHL uses a 3-2-1-point system). Mantykivi has yet to register a point through the first 3 contests. As I said last week, Mantykivi is a notoriously slow starter and I hope that’s the case here.
In the Ontario Hockey League, the exhibition schedule saw the four Bruins prospects sort of going head-to-head. Brett Harrison (Oshawa Generals) faced Poitras (Guelph Storm) for the first time in their careers. The Generals took a first period 3-0 lead but the Storm would come back to even it up. But Oshawa got the winner late in the third. Harrison had a goal in his effort with 2 shots on goal and went 2 for 5 on the dot. Poitras was held pointless, had 4 shots on goal and went 9 for 14 on faceoffs.
The other pair saw Ryan Mast (Sarnia Sting) face Jackson Edward (London Knights). These two, if they make it to the Bruins will be fan favorites: Mast with his size can skate and doesn’t shy away from physicality and Edward is a throwback defenceman who can deliver devastating open ice hits. The Knights took this one 3-1. Mast and Edward were both held off the score sheet. Mast got top pairing minutes for the Sting and regular PK and PP duties. In a surprising move, Coach Dale Hunter gave Edward regular PP duty, something we didn’t see a season ago.
In the Western Hockey League Goaltender Reid Dyck of the Swift Current Broncos, expected to take the number one spot in the crease, got the start in exhibition action against the Moose Jaw Warriors. He stopped 24 of 28 shots he faced with a couple in the difficult territory helping the Broncos to a 5-4 victory over Moose Jaw.
In the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Frederic Brunet continues to be a driving offensive force for the Rimouski Oceanic, especially on the PP. He had six shots on goal in a 3-2 victory over Blainville-Boisbriand Armada – more than any other two Oceanic players combined. Brunet had one helper in the game and displayed that his offensive production from a year ago was no fluke. Do not be surprised if this blueliner finishes over a point-per-game this season in the QMJHL. That is my expectation.
On Saturday, Dans Locmelis began his second J20 Nationell season with Lulea HF – a 6-5 shootout loss to Skelleftea AIK. Locmelis didn’t factor in any of his teams 5 goals and missed his shootout attempt. Coming off a very good showing at the World Junior Championships U20, this is a big step down for Locmelis.
Over in the Champions Hockey League, Cehlarik had a goal and an assist as EV Zug thumped TPS Turku 6-1. It was Cehlarik’s first goal of the tournament through 4 games to go along with his second assist. EV Zug continues to lead Group B in the standings with a 3-1-0-0 record.
In the WHL, Swift Current Broncos beat the Moose Jaw Warriors for the second time in two nights by a score of 3-1. Dyck backed up rookie Joey Rocha as he got the start Friday night.
Over in the QMJHL, Brunet assisted on yet another powerplay goal as Rimouski defeated Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, this time by a 3-2 score in a shootout. Brunet’s game ended midway through the third period as he got a major and misconduct for fighting Alexey Kulikov. Brunet finished his exhibition schedule with 4 assists in 4 games. Rimouski has one exhibition game remaining, but Brunet will be at the prospects challenge with the Bruins.
In the OHL, Mast and Edward went head-to-head as well on consecutive nights. Edward’s London Knights came out on top once again, this time by a 4-3 shootout win. Mast had two helpers in the game while Edward was held off the scoresheet. Both players will be heading to Buffalo for the Prospect Challenge with the Bruins and it is unlikely they will get any more pre-season games in junior before their regular seasons begin.
On Sunday, Bychkov was once again a healthy scratch for Locomotiv who dropped a 3-2 decision to CSKA.
In the Champions Hockey League, Ilves Tampere dropped a 2-1 decision in the shootout to Salzburg. Mantykivi didn’t register a point in regulation or overtime but had an absolute beauty in the shootout to put Ilves on top but they couldn’t hold onto the lead. Ilves remains in last place in Group E with an 0-1-2-1 record.
Oshawa and Guelph met again in the OHL with Harrison sitting this one out for Oshawa who won 4-3 in a shootout. Poitras however did play for Guelph and he notched a goal and an assist while going 8 for 20 on faceoffs. He had the game on his stick in the shootout and missed on his attempt.
Coming up this week:
The Prospect Challenge begins this week in Buffalo and the Bruins will play the Ottawa Senators in Friday at 3:30 pm and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday at 3:30 pm. Their third and final game will take place a week from today against the New Jersey Devils at 10:00 am.
The Finnish Liiga and Swiss National League begin their regular seasons this week. The KHL and J20 Nationell began their seasons last week. The QMJHL, WHL and OHL continue their exhibition schedules. Their regular seasons begin on September 22, 23 and 29 respectively. The NCAA begins on October 1 with exhibition and regular season games.
| PLAYER | MON -12 | TUE-13 | WED-14 | THU-15 | FRI-16 | SAT-17 | SUN-18 |
| CEHLARIK | Vs Bern | Vs SCL | |||||
| BYCHKOV | At SKA | At VIT | |||||
| MANTYKIVI | At ASS | **vs OTT | **vs PIT | ||||
| LOCMELIS | **vs OTT | **vs PIT | |||||
| JELLVIK | |||||||
| GASSEAU | |||||||
| KUNTAR | |||||||
| LOHREI | |||||||
| LANGENBRUNNER | |||||||
| SPICER | |||||||
| OLSON | |||||||
| SCHMALTZ | |||||||
| DURAN | |||||||
| GALLAGHER | |||||||
| MCFAUL | |||||||
| POITRAS | **vs OTT | **vs PIT | |||||
| HARRISON | **vs OTT | **vs PIT | |||||
| MAST | **vs OTT | **vs PIT | |||||
| EDWARD | **vs OTT | **vs PIT | |||||
| BRUNET | **vs OTT | **vs PIT | |||||
| SVEDEBACK | |||||||
| DYCK | Vs REG | **vs OTT | **vs PIT |
Click on scheduled game for television/streaming options.
**Prospect Challenge games from Buffalo.
Your Boston Bruins have once again decided not to stream any of their games at the Prospect Challenge. Luckily, the Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils (next Monday’s game) have decided to stream theirs. Final details to be released this week.
CHL TV has updated their pricing for the 2022-2023 season:
CHL TV Package Pricing
2022-23 CHL all Access: $279.99
2022-2023 CHL Regular Season All Access: $179.99
2022-23 WHL, QMJHL or OHL All Access: $119.99
2022-23 WHL, QMJHL or OHL Monthly Access: $29.99
2022-23 WH, QMJHL or OHL 24-hour Access: $7.99
Plus, applicable taxes and fees. All prices in Canadian Dollars. Visit CHL TV.
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Dom - Hockey 