News Roundup 4/11/24
Another week has passed, and it’s time for your News Roundup. The Women’s World Championships have been going on throughout the week and there are updates on that. European hockey leagues are getting ever closer to finishing off their seasons, as many are in their semifinals or finals, and you’ll be updated on all of that as well. There is a lot more in this article too, so let’s dig in.
European Hockey Playoffs Update
It was a quieter week as most of the series from last week ground on through this week. So, not as much to report, but there are a few. The first is that the finals have begun in the Alps Hockey League and the Rittner Buam have a 3-0 lead and can clinch a championship win tonight (as of publishing). If they do so, it will be their second AHL title. Over in the UK, the EIHL playoffs are set to begin tomorrow and will start with the top-seeded Sheffield Steelers taking on the eighth-seeded Fife Flyers. On Saturday the other three series will begin with second-seed Cardiff Devils playing the Dundee Stars, third-seed Belfast Giants facing the Coventry Blaze, and finally, the fourth-seed Manchester Storm against the Guildford Flames. Then finally, in the KHL, Lokomotiv clinched a spot in the Gagarin Cup final, sweeping Traktor. This is the first time Lokomotiv has made the final since 2009. The other semifinal series, Avtomobilist vs. Metallurg, is tied at 2 games each.
Women’s World Championships
The Women’s World Championships for Division 1 Group B wrapped up over the weekend while the top division Group A and B are heading into the playoffs. In Division 1 Group B, Slovakia earned a promotion to Division 1 Group A after winning all four games. Latvia placed second with 10 points, Italy got 9, Great Britain got 7, Slovenia got 5, and Poland ended with 2. Poland will be demoted to Division 2 Group A.
Meanwhile, in the top division, China and Denmark will be demoted to Division 1. Meanwhile, these teams will be facing off each other in the playoffs: Finland vs. Switzerland, Czechia vs. Germany, Canada vs. Sweden, and USA vs. Japan. The USA is the top seed, getting 11 points while Canada placed second with 10 points. To round off Group A, Czechia had six points, Finland had 3, and Switzerland had 0. In Group B, Germany got the maximum of 12 points, Sweden got 9, Japan got 4, China got 3, and Denmark got 2.
Arizona Coyotes Might be Moving to Utah This Month
According to reports by Elliotte Friedman, the Arizona Coyotes could be relocated as soon as next week, April 18. Meanwhile, Frank Seravalli reported that the NHL is drafting two separate schedules for next season. One is if the Coyotes remain in Arizona, and the other is if the Coyotes move to Salt Lake City. Frank would later go on to report that Coyotes players were informed of a verbal agreement in place to have the team rebranded and relocated to Utah. If the franchise does end up relocated, current Coyotes owner Meruelo would be first in line to purchase an expansion team if the league decides to return to Arizona (and it’s believed that they do).
Quick Bites
Yesterday (as of publishing), Jack Hughes had season-ending shoulder surgery. He is expected to be back in time for training camp.
The Columbus Blue Jackets made history as the second team in NHL history to have six goals scored by defenders in their 6-2 victory over Philadelphia. The only other time it happened was in 1992 by the Washington Capitals. Zach Werenski and Damon Severson each scored twice, while both Erik Gudbranson and Nick Blankenburg each scored once.
Auston Matthews continues scoring at an unreal pace as on Monday he tied Alexander Ovechkin for most goals in a season by an active player, scoring his 65th. Since then, he has scored one more for a total of 66.
Top college prospect, forward Collin Graf from Quinnipiac, has signed with the San Jose Sharks. Since then, he has played in three games and got one assist.
Andrei Svechnikov scored his third Michigan goal on Tuesday. He has tied Trevor Zegras for the most in the NHL.
There’s been turmoil in Rungsted this past week. First, their director, Thomas Friberg who had been leading the club for 11 years, stepped down. It cannot be understated how big this is. He is one of the largest and most important figures in Danish hockey and Rungsted has been wildly successful under his control, including four gold medal wins, four silver medals, and a bronze medal, along with getting his club into the Champions Hockey League and Continental Cup.
Friberg wasn’t the only figure to leave Rungsted, though. Head of Sports Morten Hagen also left. He has already been replaced by Joachim Holten Møller.
The last bit of news from Rungsted was star winger Matthias Asperup leaving the club to join rival club Herlev. Mind you, he did for Herlev in the past, for three seasons, but left in the past off-season for Rungsted and is now returning to his previous home.
That’s not the last bit of news for Herlev, though. Forward Oliver True signed a two-year contract extension and defender Tim Daly signed a two-year contract with the club.
In the final bit of news from Denmark, the Odense Bulldogs signed two players this past week, one of them being defender Jeppe Urup Mogensen and the other being forward Sebastian Maddock Rasmussen. Mogensen is on a one-year contract while Rasmussen signed for two years.
Over in Sweden, HV71 has gone through some changes as they have two new coaches: Anton Blomqvist will take over as head coach and Fredrik Stillman will come on as an assistant coach. Meanwhile, center Nick Shore left the club and signed with Linköping.
They’re not the only club with big changes, though, as Luleå parted with General Manager Stefan Nilsson. That’s not all for the club as Niklas Olausson and Jack Connolly both announced retirements while David Rautio, Olli Nikupeteri, Joel Kant, and Adam Brodecki left the club.
The final club with big changes was Färjestad, who lost these eight players: Oscar Lawner, Mikael Wikstrand, Marcus Nilsson, Victor Ejdsell, Mattias Göransson, Carl Dahlström, Carl Lindbom, and Liam Öhgren.
Meanwhile, Malmö signed two forwards: Joona Ikonen and Robin Hanzl. Both are signed for two seasons.
MoDo made a more long-term signing, getting forward Jesper Olofsson for five seasons.
In women’s hockey news, Jim Scanlan is stepping down as head coach of Bemidji State University after a decade. He is the only coach in the school’s history to get 100 wins as head coach, amassing a record of 122-202-23. He will be replaced by Amber Fryklund, who has served as an assistant coach for the last four seasons.
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