Prospect Updates - Justin Krueger Next In The Fold?
by Bob Wage on Jun 10, 2010 10:30 AM EDT
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PrintYesterday, I had the opportunity to interview Tony MacDonald, Director of Amateur Scouting for the Carolina Hurricanes. MacDonald has been working for the organization for 16 years now, but this is the third year that he will be the club's point person for the NHL Entry Draft and the man primarily responsible for ensuring that the Hurricanes make the most of their draft picks.
Obviously, MacDonald travels extensively and he estimated that he watches over 200 hockey games a year located all over North America and Europe. In this exclusive Canes Country interview, we touched upon a variety of subjects starting off with an update about last season's draft picks and a couple of other prospects with unresolved status.
I did not ask MacDonald about the first two picks from last year because as we all know, first rounder Philippe Paradis was traded to Toronto for Jiri Tlusty, a Czech native who was just signed by Jim Rutherford to a one year, one-way contract.
Second rounder Brian Dumoulin had a tremendous freshman year for the NCAA Champion Boston College Eagles and he looks like a very promising prospect.
But what about the other selections from last year?
Third round pick Mattias Lindstrom was injured all last season and was only able to play in one game. MacDonald said that he developed a knee injury during a preseason workout and tried to make an early comeback, but pushed himself too soon and re-injured himself.
"Mattias was injured, it was fixed, he rehabbed, well he actually rehabbed twice. He tried to come back, but could not play. He has recovered now and we expect him to attend conditioning camp in July when we will get an update on his condition. As far as we know right now, he should be healthy and ready to play this season and he's looking forward to that."
(The Canes next pick, fifth rounder Matt Kennedy, was recently signed to a two-way deal and it is expected he will play in Charlotte this coming season.)
Next, I asked MacDonald about Carolina's final two selections, (who both happen to be from Finland), defensemen Rasmus Rissanen and Tommi Kivisto.
"Rasmus will be playing on the rookie team in the fall and will participate in the Traverse City Tournament. He had a very good year in Everett, although his team lost in their division finals. But he played very well and we are very happy with his progress. We're looking forward to seeing him in July at conditioning camp."
"Kivisto played 22 games in the Finnish Elite League with Jokerit last year and the rest of his games he played with the National Junior Team. He had a reasonably good year and we still think he is a pretty good prospect. He's a big strong kid and we also look forward to seeing him at conditioning camp in July, and possibly on the rookie team in September. He is currently under contract with Jokerit and we need to make sure there are no problems concerning that. If there are no conflicts, then we will have him on the rookie team this fall as well."
Samuel Morneau, a 2008 draft pick who had 30 goals and 32 assists in the QMJHL this past season, needs a contract to remain Hurricanes property, so I asked MacDonald if he would be signed.
"We're not going to sign Sam at this time. We wanted to take a look at him in Albany near the end of the season, but he was injured and did not make the trip, so our AHL coaches could not evaluate him. If he is not signed by July 1, he can re-enter the draft. We are going to allow him to do that at this point."
Justin Krueger, who played at Cornell for four years and was a participant in this summer's World Championships for Team Germany, was drafted by the Hurricanes in 2006. The Canes will lose their rights to him if he is not signed by August 1. I also asked MacDonald about his status.
"Justin Krueger had a very good year at Cornell and had a very strong tournament. He played extremely well for the German National Team. We like Justin Krueger and we'd like to bring him into the fold, so that is an ongoing negotiation at this point in time."
(Next up, MacDonald gives us an inside look at the draft combines and answers some general questions about the upcoming draft.)
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Jared Staal
Thanks for the excellent article.
Any impression of the Canes’ organization’s view of Jared Staal in terms of his potential? I wondered what you meant about Jared Staal and playing in Charlotte. I had assumed Jared Staal was slated for Charlotte unless he had an amazing camp and earned a spot. For example, Jared Staal is beastly strong and I could envision a situation in which he becomes a fierce hitter who takes a place on the fourth line. I am assuming Kostopoulos is generally viewed as a fourth line wing; so a player who comes in with more size than TK and a cheaper salary might make TK available for trade. I realize it’s speculation, but I wondered if you had any insights on the subject.
Doug, that’s an interesting take on the TKO/Jared Staal comparison. I’m not sure that I can see J Staal making the big league club this season, but you don’t point out a way it could be possible.
I just wish JR would have given up Ray Whitney for Lent.
I think Jared Staal is at least a year if not two years away. On the other hand, big, strong, power forwards with soft hands and good vision are hard to find; and it seems Jared Staal is reputed not to have worked as hard in the past as he should. I’ve seen it in other sports where a talented, big player decides he is ready to give 100% and he suddenly is unstoppable. Again, I am not predicting Jared Staal is going to beat own Kostopoulos in camp; but I am interested in what the Hurricanes organization is thinking or saying.
Great stuff, Bob. It’s so hard to follow the kids who are not in the limelight. Like the Finns.
I look forward to seeing these guys at prospects camp. And I’ll be following Krueger’s status. Seems like he might be a diamond in the rough.
It's gonna be a long summer.
by Carolyn Christians on Jun 10, 2010 10:40 AM EDT reply actions
Krueger
Krueger looked as big as a mountain on the ice in the WCs. He also seemed to have a big, wide mean streak from what I could tell. I wonder whether Jim Rutherford and the front office had decided with players like Dumoulin and possibly Krueger as defensive prospects that the Hurricanes could hold back on grabbing a top 4 defense man. In any event, Krueger could be a sleeper player for the Hurricanes as HMof2 has stated.
It will be interesting to see Krueger in Raleigh – to see his skating ability and size compared to others. Would he be at prospects’ camp – or is he past that? Has he been there before? would he (or Kennedy) be eligible for the Traverse City tourney?
It's gonna be a long summer.
by Carolyn Christians on Jun 10, 2010 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions
I could be mistaken, but I believe both Kennedy is eligible for the prospects games and that Krueger would be if he signs. I couldn’t tell that much about Krueger’s skating, but his father is an NHL scout (for the Canes, I believe), it’s hard for me to think he hasn’t gotten excellent training in fundamentals. It will be interesting to see how his size compares with the others at the conditioning camp. I believe both will come to the conditioning camp. There are going to be some very motivated young players at the conditioning camp, the training camp, and the prospects games.
He was a scout. More importantly, Krueger’s father was coach of the Swiss national team for years. I’ll dig up the IIHF.com story from last month on the family.
It's gonna be a long summer.
by Carolyn Christians on Jun 10, 2010 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Here’s that story on the Krueger family.
It's gonna be a long summer.
by Carolyn Christians on Jun 10, 2010 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Nice story, Cornell seems to do a good job of developing players. There’s another 8th rounder that went to Cornell who’s had a decent NHL career – F. Pisani.
The Sharks’ Doug Murray went to Cornell too. Not an 8th rounder, but got the same Dman Conference Award that Krueger got. While those expectations (Murray) are probably too lofty, it’s nice to put them in the same sentence.
It's gonna be a long summer.
by Carolyn Christians on Jun 10, 2010 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Here’s the announcement of the ECAC Top Defensive Defenseman award.
Krueger is the first Cornell blueliner to win the top defenseman award since Brian McMeekin and Douglas Murray claimed the honor in back-to-back years in 2002 and 2003. He finished third on the Big Red and tops among Cornell defensemen in +/- with 15, and is one of the team leaders in blocked shots while also serving a critical role on the Big Red’s penalty-killing unit, the best in the league at 87.3 percent. Krueger also matches up against the opposition’s top offensive line on a nightly basis and anchors the defense that has only surrendered 61 goals in 31 games this season.
It's gonna be a long summer.
by Carolyn Christians on Jun 10, 2010 2:11 PM EDT up reply actions
I should add that I’ve been told that the ECAC is not the top tier League in NCAA hockey.
It's gonna be a long summer.
by Carolyn Christians on Jun 10, 2010 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions
When is the conditioning camp this summer?
Are there any dates set yet for the other camps?
I’ve been listening but haven’t heard anything. Mid-July last year.
Traverse City schedule was announced this week. It’s the 2nd week of Sept, I believe. (It was right before official training camp last year). Not sure how that will work with the Russia/Finland travel.
It's gonna be a long summer.
by Carolyn Christians on Jun 10, 2010 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Matthias Lindstrom
Lindstrom has tons of potential. The knee injury was really unfortunate for him; but he could challenge for a position with the Canes in another year or two. I haven’t found hockey videos of him; and it would be great if Bob would figure out a way to see if the Canes PR department might post some.
Bob? Why don’t you put in a request? Isn’t @MikeSundheim responding to your tweets these days? (i keed i keed)
It's gonna be a long summer.
by Carolyn Christians on Jun 10, 2010 12:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Thanks Bob
and HM2 too. while the season is NOW offically over,there is still much to do from the players & the front office ends…We fans aside from our own personal lives & tasks we do or need to do really do have alot to look forward to. Thanks again everybody…I really appreciate the efforts all around.
And if it Aint Hockey,It Aint Nothin !!
Nino is The One !
What team is the “rookie team” mentioned in the article?
"The increase in pain is way beyond what you would expect a person to play with," said coach Paul Maurice. "Unfortunately it’s even beyond what Tim Gleason can play with, because he can play with just about anything."
Bob can correct me if I’m wrong, but I took that to mean the Traverse City tourney team.
It's gonna be a long summer.
by Carolyn Christians on Jun 10, 2010 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions
correct. He’s referring to the group that will go to Traverse City as the “rookie team”.
Editing Manager of CanesCountry.com
Rookie Team
Do you think players like Boychuk, Tlusty, Bowman, Carson, and Carson will also be included in the “rookie team?”
Thinking Carson has too many NHL games. Probably Tlusty too? Same criteria as the Calder Trophy? (just guessing)
It's gonna be a long summer.
by Carolyn Christians on Jun 10, 2010 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions
FYI, here’s last year’s roster.
Phoblographer and Finn Aficionado
SISU
by Jamie Kellner on Jun 10, 2010 2:52 PM EDT up reply actions
This is from the article that the Canes posted last year about the tournament.
Teams will be comprised of drafted players and signees from each NHL club, as well as amateur tryout invitees. A limited number of players with prior minor-league experience, but in no case more than one full season, are eligible to compete.
Also a nice article Luke posted last year about the event.
Phoblographer and Finn Aficionado
SISU
by Jamie Kellner on Jun 10, 2010 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions
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