Speculation: Minor League Affiliates (Hershey Bears, SC Stingrays) - summer 2018 to summer 2019

[hb12xchamps]

Just got back from a cruise and was reading up on Shumakov. Apparently he refused to practice this week which ultimately led to the release. You could see flashes of his potential but ultimately he looked disinterested for 95% of the time I watched him. Maybe he was pissed he was sent to Hershey, which sometimes can be a boring place for European players. He ended up signing with Springfield (Florida’s affiliate) and got into their game last night. I’m assuming it’s an audition for a contract from Florida.

Ironically, it seems like it was a good move as Hershey won 6-3 last night. Maybe getting rid of some of the issues in the locker room will help the team

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

Ironically, it seems like it was a good move as Hershey won 6-3 last night. Maybe getting rid of some of the issues in the locker room will help the team

Very bad if this is true.

In two months we lost Shumakov and AFJ because of some 'neverwillbeannhlplayer/coach's who are better at winning the locker room issues than winning hockey games. I hope it is not true.

 

[Sam Spade]

Hey guys, FLA fan coming in peace...
Sounds like our AHL affiliate just signed Shumakov to a try-out; any ideas what happened with your team? Is it possible he wants to play in the NHL and there's no spot on the Capitals?
Has he been any decent in the AHL?

To be honest he hurt his wrist and didn't play enough to even evaluate him properly. I mean he had 3 goals in ten games, that is decent, but he is 26 years old so it's now or never for him.

No risk, decent reward if he pans out for the Panthers.

 

[Hivemind]

You have to have a players permission to be put on waivers? What if the player says no?
(I admit I don't know much about the waiver business.)

"Waivers" are typically used when assigning a player from your NHL club to the AHL or another league. The player has no say in this unless they have a full No Movement Clause.
"Unconditional waivers" are used for purposes of a buyout or a mutual termination of a contract. A player would have to consent to the mutual termination of a contract (as Shumakov did in this case, obviously).

Basically Shumakov agreed to terminate his guaranteed contract, forfeiting all the money remaining on it. The Capitals were required to place him on unconditional waivers to do so.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Very bad if this is true.

In two months we lost Shumakov and AFJ because of some 'neverwillbeannhlplayer/coach's who are better at winning the locker room issues than winning hockey games. I hope it is not true.

I don’t really get your point. If Shumakov was a gigantic prick in the locker room that outweighs his production on the ice. I’d much rather give a guy like Grant Besse a shot if he’s going to be good in the locker room and set the right tone.

Plus, AJF and Shumakov were given opportunities to succeed and both were completely different scenarios about why they left. Blaming the organization and coaching staff doesn’t seem to make sense.

 

[kicksavedave]

Just got back from a cruise and was reading up on Shumakov. Apparently he refused to practice this week which ultimately led to the release. You could see flashes of his potential but ultimately he looked disinterested for 95% of the time I watched him. Maybe he was pissed he was sent to Hershey, which sometimes can be a boring place for European players. He ended up signing with Springfield (Florida’s affiliate) and got into their game last night. I’m assuming it’s an audition for a contract from Florida.

Ironically, it seems like it was a good move as Hershey won 6-3 last night. Maybe getting rid of some of the issues in the locker room will help the team

Well him signing with Springfield rules out that he was homesick and wanted to go back to Russia. Plus he's 26, not 19. So rather than him asking to leave, he was sent packing. Oh well, no harm done, but would have been nice to find another top 6 winger for a song, just didn't pan out.

 

[Hivemind]

Well him signing with Springfield rules out that he was homesick and wanted to go back to Russia. Plus he's 26, not 19. So rather than him asking to leave, he was sent packing. Oh well, no harm done, but would have been nice to find another top 6 winger for a song, just didn't pan out.

He could still have asked to leave. It was a mutual termination of contract, if he wanted to remain in Hershey he had the ability to do so. Without more inside information, this is all speculative. But it’s easy to speculate numerous reasons he may want to leave (didn’t like the town, didn’t feel he has an NHL opportunity here, was homesick but was willing to put in one more chance for an NHL gig on a short-term PTO, etc)

 

[kicksavedave]

He could still have asked to leave. It was a mutual termination of contract, if he wanted to remain in Hershey he had the ability to do so. Without more inside information, this is all speculative. But it’s easy to speculate numerous reasons he may want to leave (didn’t like the town, didn’t feel he has an NHL opportunity here, was homesick but was willing to put in one more chance for an NHL gig on a short-term PTO, etc)

Sigh, ok it just rules out him wanting to go back to Russia. Springfield isn't Russia.

 

[Hivemind]

Sigh, ok it just rules out him wanting to go back to Russia. Springfield isn't Russia.

It doesn't even really rule that out. He only went to Springfield on a PTO, which is a short term thing. He could very well end up back in Russia in after this weekend's games. This could just be one last hurrah at North American hockey before returning to the Motherland.

 

[SDBondra]

He probably just saw how well Boyd is playing and recognized there were too many forwards in front of him on the depth chart to compete for a roster spot in DC. Maybe he can crack the lineup in Florida. Either way I’m sure he didn’t leave the KHL to play middle 6 minutes in the AHL. He’s probably disappointed and frustrated - can’t blame him.

 

[Tomppav]

I hope Caps scouts are taking a close look at this young Finnish center who'll play his first pro game tonight in Finnish Liiga.

 

[Hivemind]

Do the Caps even employ Finnish scouts?

 

[kicksavedave]

He probably just saw how well Boyd is playing and recognized there were too many forwards in front of him on the depth chart to compete for a roster spot in DC. Maybe he can crack the lineup in Florida. Either way I’m sure he didn’t leave the KHL to play middle 6 minutes in the AHL. He’s probably disappointed and frustrated - can’t blame him.

I can/will blame him. There's nothing that says "competitor" like seeing a Travis Boyd ahead of you on the depth chart and thinking "yeah, I'm going to quit now after 10 games instead of try to beat him out".

Maybe he's disappointed and frustrated that he choose to join a good team, and instead should have joined a weak team where he had an easier path to the big show. Again guys like that aren't the types you win championships with.

Either way, good riddance.

 

[Hivemind]

Wow, you certainly like drawing conclusions from very little evidence.

 

[kicksavedave]

Wow, you certainly like drawing conclusions from very little evidence.

He refused to practice and asked to be released so he could join another AHL team. What more evidence do you need that he's not committed to winning with the Caps?

You sure like to defend useless players who contribute nothing as if they are doing everything right.

 

[Hivemind]

He refused to practice and asked to be released so he could join another AHL team. What more evidence do you need that he's not committed to winning with the Caps?

You sure like to defend useless players who contribute nothing as if they are doing everything right.

I haven't defended anyone. I've simply pointed the repeated leaps in logic you make. You jump straight from Point A to Point F without any evidence of points B-E along the way. Drawing conclusions without sufficient information is a poor habit.

 

[kicksavedave]

I haven't defended anyone. I've simply pointed the repeated leaps in logic you make. You jump straight from Point A to Point F without any evidence of points B-E along the way. Drawing conclusions without sufficient information is a poor habit.

We have all the evidence we need. He refused to practice. Therefore, points B-E are, he's useless to us.

This whole mess would have been more understandable and excusable if he actually just went back to Russia.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Was excited to watch Alexeyev at the WJC in a few weeks, but then this happened last night. Not a good sign. Better angle of the hit in this twitter thread.

 

[Langway]

I hope Caps scouts are taking a close look at this young Finnish center who'll play his first pro game tonight in Finnish Liiga.

Any thoughts on Nikkanen or the other Honka? Honka is probably too short for their liking but I've seen both near the end of the first round at times. Probably long shots for the Caps to take any of them. Maybe this is the year for a BPA forward but I keep seeing Spencer Knight as a first round ranked goaltender and wondering...

 

[Sam Spade]

Mother f’er!!!!! I too was looking forward to the WJC’s because of Alexeyev.

And THAT hit on a dump in from the neutral zone, why do it? I would kill my son if he did something so unnecessary and reckless.

 

[Tomppav]

Do the Caps even employ Finnish scouts?

They had Ville Siren (1999-2002) and Petri Skriko (2006-2016), but at the moment I think they have only North American scouts + one Swedish and one Slovakian scout. That probably explains the huge amount of Finns Caps have drafted during last 1o years!

Actually I think Caps scouting staff hates Finns and that's thanks to Tiki missing the open net in 1998 finals! They drafted Lindlöf 2002, Lepistö 2004 and Osala (2006) who is the last Finn Caps have drafted. So they haven't drafted a Finn in last 12 years. And IMO that's quite interesting as there has been a Finnish scout in organisation almost all the time during that period!

 

[Hivemind]

They had Ville Siren (1999-2002) and Petri Skriko (2006-2016), but at the moment I think they have only North American scouts + one Swedish and one Slovakian scout. That probably explains the huge amount of Finns Caps have drafted during last 1o years!

Actually I think Caps scouting staff hates Finns and that's thanks to Tiki missing the open net in 1998 finals! They drafted Lindlöf 2002, Lepistö 2004 and Osala (2006) who is the last Finn Caps have drafted. So they haven't drafted a Finn in last 12 years. And IMO that's quite interesting as there has been a Finnish scout in organisation almost all the time during that period!

Well, they signed UDFA Juuso Ikonen this year to play in Hershey, so there's progress on the Finnish front at least!

 

[Tomppav]

Any thoughts on Nikkanen or the other Honka? Honka is probably too short for their liking but I've seen both near the end of the first round at times. Probably long shots for the Caps to take any of them. Maybe this is the year for a BPA forward but I keep seeing Spencer Knight as a first round ranked goaltender and wondering...

I have to admit that my knowledge about Finnish prospects aren't nearly as good as they may have been years ago, because these days I only watch games when "my team" SaiPa plays. It's same with NHL and its' prospects, nowadays I hardly know/follow players/prospects other than the ones Caps have.

Unfortunately I can't tell you much about Nikkanen. Should know him better as he plays in SaiPa's rivalry team Jukurit, but I have to confess that I haven't noticed him when SaiPa played vs Jukurit. It looks like he played 9 games (2 goals) in August-September, but hasn't got any games in top team since that. He has mostly played with U-20 team.

Honka started the season in top pair and played well, but falled down to 3rd pair guy/scratched. Since start of November he's been playing in Mestis, the 2nd highest league in Finland. From what I have read he has had problems playing good d at the top level and hasn't been able to create offensive plays as much as expected. Many still thinks he'll be better than his older bro, but at the moment it looks like it could be a surprise if he goes in 1st round.

Mikko Kokkonen (Jukurit) is the d-prospect to follow from Liiga at the moment. He's 11 points in 27 games so far. IMO he's not a flashy player, but on the other hand he doesn't have weaknesses. I think at the moment he's the Finnish d-prospect who could be drafted in the 1st round if he keeps playing the same way. Lassi Thomson is also opening some eyes in WHL I think.

Sorry that I couldnt' provide better info about the Finns. I'm sure we have Finnish members here who can do better job about our prospects, so correct if I've been all wrong!

 

[Tomppav]

Well, they signed UDFA Juuso Ikonen this year to play in Hershey, so there's progress on the Finnish front at least!

Yeah, that's true! Couldn't believe my eyes when read bout it!

 

[Langway]

Sorry that I couldnt' provide better info about the Finns. I'm sure we have Finnish members here who can do better job about our prospects, so correct if I've been all wrong!

Thanks for your input. There are threads on the prospects board on each of them I think, although Mantykivi's is pretty scant. Kallionkieli in the USHL is another I've read a bit about as an early round candidate. One of these years it'll happen...

Very very early on I think I'd hope for Kaliyev or Pelletier to slide to the Caps but Guskov, a Russian forward playing with London, also seems like a natural enough fit.