Miners Make a Move...

Miners make a deal; send Saad cross-country to Victoria

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

It is normally a quiet time of the year in the CCHL following the Entry Draft, but that could not be further from the truth in the Nickel City. The Sudbury Miners and Victoria Ronin made a move early Friday morning, which ended days of hard discussions between the two organizations.

News of the trade broke late Thursday evening but wasn’t able to made official until the trade call was completed at the CCHL Headquarters in Dayton early Friday morning. The trade, which is now official, breaks down as follows:

Sudbury sends F Brandon Saad and $3 million in exchange for Victoria’s 1st round pick in 2019
and 4th round pick in 2020.

Victoria will take on Saad’s $6.25 million cap hit, which expires after the 2019-20 season. Sudbury,
which had acquired Saad in an earlier deal this summer with Fort Erie, had a small window to get a deal done as his no-trade clause was set to kick in on August 1 st.

The deal will mark the third time Saad has been traded this summer having gone from Springfield to Fort Erie, then to Sudbury and now Victoria. "I would have liked the opportunity to show the fans what I could have brought to the team," Saad said on a conference call. "But I understand that it is a business and I can see why Sudbury made the move. I’m excited to go to the West Coast and play in Victoria. I may be able to even unpack my suitcase this time and just think of the frequent flyer miles I have earned this summer.”

Seeing Saad traded was a bit of a shock to the fans, as his name had not been mentioned in the various media outlets as possible trade bait.

“It’s never easy to part with a player of Saad’s talent and character. He is a proven player and when we acquired him earlier in the summer, we had every intention of keeping him as a valuable part of our organization moving forward”, stated General Manager Terry James.

“But, in this business things can change quickly when an opportunity presents itself and that was the case with this trade. We wanted to do good for Brandon. We wanted to make sure that he went to a team that would give him the chance to win and help him find his form and rebound from a down year. But for us, at the end of the day, to secure another high pick in 2019, it was a deal that we felt comfortable in making” quoted James.

Digging for Prospects – Sudbury Miners 2018 CCHL Draft Review

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

With the 2018 CCHL Entry Draft now in the books, Sudbury Miners General Manager Terry
James offered up a quick summary to reporters on Wednesday morning and gave a quick review on how he felt his team did during this years’ draft.

“We’re very pleased and excited,” James said. “We drafted players we feel will take some
grooming and development, and they probably won’t be CCHL-ready for a year or two, but at the end of the day, I think we’ve added some skill at different positions.”

Armed with 25 picks in this years CCHL draft, the Miners were able to continue to stock the
cupboards with some talented young men and address some holes in their prospect pool, as they try
and build a team that will be in Kehler Cup contention for years to come.

The Miners draft philosophy has not changed. The organization strongly believes in letting these
prospects grow and find success at the various collegiate, European, and AHL levels, and with that
approach, it will pay big dividends down the road for a patient organization. James added that the team would not be giving up prospects or picks for short-term gains, instead opting for the long-term
approach to development.

Overall, this isn’t a draft that makes the Miners a better team in 2018-19 but it should be a draft
that pays dividends down the road if some of these players develop as projected.

Below are the picks that make up the 2018 Sudbury Miners Entry Draft Class:

Isac Lundstrom, C 1 st Round - 18th Overall
Grigori Denisenko, LW 1 st Round - 20th Overall
Serron Noel, RW 2 nd Round - 26th Overall
Rasmus Sandin, D 2 nd Round - 31st Overall
Jared MacIssac, D 2 nd Round - 39th Overall
Liam Foudy, C 2 nd Round - 40th Overall
Mattias Samuelsson, D 2 nd Round - 41st Overall
Lukas Dostal, G 2 nd Round - 42nd Overall
Jessie Ylonen, RW 3 rd Round - 50th Overall
Filip Hallander, LW 3 rd Round - 52nd Overall
Adam Ginning, D 3 rd Round - 54th Overall
Sampo Ranta, LW 3 rd Round - 60th Overall
Olof Lindblom, G 3 rd Round - 61st Overall
Jacob Olofsson, C 3 rd Round - 63rd Overall
Gabriel Fortier, LW 3 rd Round - 65th Overall

Sean Durzi, D 4 th Round - 78th Overall
Spencer Foo, RW 4 th Round - 88th Overall
Tyler Madden, C 5 th Round - 97th Overall
Jon Gruden, LW 5 th Round - 100th Overall
Ty Emberson, D 5 th Round - 107th Overall
Tyler Weiss, LW 6 th Round - 116th Overall
Alexis Gravel, G 7 th Round - 138th Overall
Giovanni Vallati, D 7 th Round - 146th Overall
Angus Crookshank, LW 8 th Round - 160th Overall
Riley Hughes, RW 8 th Round - 165th Overall

State of the Loons!

Well, it’s been a couple of months since we spoke with GM Czepiel. Luckily we were able to catch up with him here in Vegas; the site of the 2018 CCHL entry draft.

Puljujarvi - what happened? “I’ve always been the first to admit that I have a lot to learn about running a hockey team. The opportunity to take over a CCHL team came out of nowhere and honestly, I was unprepared. It continues to be a learning process with some bumps in the road. After free agency, I brought in our team of scouts in order to put a strategy together for our inaugural draft. The common sentiment was that this was a very deep draft and it would make more sense for us to have quantity over quality. Siberia is in a position to win now, had a ton of picks and was looking for quality instead of quantity. In other words, we matched up perfectly. Siberia paid what we felt was a fair price and acquired Puljujarvi to play next to McDavid. We understand that we once again upset our fan base and will continue to offer full refunds and exchanges at the pro shop for all Puljujarvi merchandise. However, we are thrilled with the six quality players we were able to draft thanks to that trade.”

Draft recap - “This being our first draft, it was definitely a learning experience. Not only were we focused on selecting the right players for the future of our franchise but we were also learning about the other CCHL general managers and their drafting strategies. We hope that will help us in future drafts. It will take a few years to know how we did, but we are extremely optimistic.”

Czepiel on the draft - “One of the worst kept secrets was that Wahlstrom was our main target. We see him as a future first line wing with 40 plus goal potential. He was a no-brainer for us at pick number 4. Bode Wilde was the first player that we scouted back in February once we took over the franchise. Back then he was projected to be a top 10 pick, we were absolutely thrilled to get him at pick 30. Given my reputation, it should be of no surprise that I was able to swing a few deals during the draft. We added a current CCHL defenseman that should help our power play and projects to be a top 4 defenseman, along with a two highly touted goaltending prospects. Those deals will become official once the draft is complete and the trade freeze is lifted. As a rebuilding franchise, we didn’t have one specific need so we're looking to take the best available player with every pick. I believe we finished with a well-rounded draft class. Forwards: Wahlstrom, O’Brien, Eriksson, Karlsson, Lauko, Jenkins and Hutsko. Defensemen: Wilde, Tychonick, Utunen, Barteaux, and Demin. Goaltender: Vehvilainen. We are thrilled with every pick and have high expectations for each player. We truly believe that our draft was a success, and are just as excited by our picks at the end of our draft as our early selections. I really feel that we got some steals at the end with Toni Utunen and Dawson Barteaux.

Summer League play - “Summer league play is more than halfway through and I’ll be the first to admit that the team is performing much better then I thought possible. The entire roster is playing well but the play of Zibanejad and Halak has been unbelievable. Barring injuries, there is growing optimism around a possible run at a playoff berth.”

The Loons currently sit at 8-6-2 and head coach Craig Janney has the team playing with confidence. Yes, it is only the summer league but with each victory, the fan base is growing and becoming more invested in the team. Let’s just hope Czepiel doesn’t screw it up the way he has screwed up the Pirates - but we will leave that alone for now.

Miners Making Moves!!!

Miners busy making deals as they prepare for upcoming CCHL Entry Draft.

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON)

In what has been a quiet couple of months across the CCHL, the Sudbury Miners made a couple of
moves on Thursday afternoon as they continue to prepare for the upcoming 2018 CCHL Entry Draft.

The first trade of the day saw the Miners send their 2018 2nd round pick (#28 overall) to Minnesota, in exchange for forward Charlie Coyle and Portland’s 2018 3 rd round pick (#54 overall), which Minnesota had acquired in a previous transaction.

It is believed that Sudbury plans to use Coyle as their second line center until some of their prospects
such as Casey Mittlestadt, Martin Necas and Colin White develop into more prominent roles. Also with the ability to play all three forward positions, and at reasonable $2.6 million cap hit for the next 2 years, Miners General Manager Terry James was comfortable making this move.

“Charlie is a good player who was playing down the line-up a bit in Minnesota, which may explain why he has never really reached the lofty expectations that were placed on him. It puts lot of pressure on a young player and sometimes they do not always perform”, quoted Miners GM Terry James.

“But having said that, we think a change of scenery and having a bit more responsibility will help
enhance his game. He is just now at the point where he should be hitting his prime. We think he has
excellent offensive instincts and a nice set of mitts. We also like the flexibility he provides by being able to play both wing and center, and he can help us in the face-off department”.

Coyle is currently on vacation, fishing on Lake Michigan and could not be reached for comment.
According to James, who was able to speak with Coyle, he is very excited about becoming a Miner.
But the dealing for the Miners on this day did not stop there. Their second trade of the afternoon saw
them deal depth forward Joonas Donskoi to Fonthill, in exchange for Fonthill’s 3rd round pick in the 2019 CCHL Entry Draft. Donskoi was slated to become an RFA after the 2018/19 season, but with the influx of youth expected in Sudbury in the next couple years, Donskoi was deemed expendable. Rather than lose him for nothing, the Miners were able to turn Donskoi into a future asset.

State of the Loons - post free agency edition

It was thought that Czepiel would look to keep his payroll down and avoid getting involved in the free agency bidding, but we were wrong. We asked Czepiel why he changed his mind and raised his payroll by roughly $25 million for next year alone.

 “ One of my main goals when bringing the former Barracudas to New England was to lower our payroll by cutting the fat. We worked hard to rid ourselves of the contracts of players like Spezza, Moulson and Stastny whose production was not matching their high salaries. We also made difficult decisions to move on from productive players like our former captain Chara or younger players like Wennberg, Barrie and Toffoli. Those moves helped us rebuild our depleted prospect pool while giving us financial flexibility. We are still left with some bad contracts in Ryan, Bieksa, Cammalleri, Gaborik and Gorges that we are still trying desperately to rid ourselves of. However, the bright side is they all expire after the 2018-19 season.”

 “As a new franchise in a new market we still need to put a product on the ice that our new fan base will pay to come see. With no previous experience in UFA, I didn’t think that there would be as many talented players available as there were. So plans changed. We were able to sign a number one defenseman in Niskanen, a second line center in Kreici, and a starting goalie in Halak. We also brought in young players like Morrow, Yakupov and Pulkkinen that have a lot of talent. We are hoping that a change of scenery can help them whether it be in New England or Russia.”

“ I do realize that $25 million is a lot, but being a new franchise and having the reputation of a GM with an itchy trigger finger, we were in a position of having to overpay in order to have free agents choose New England. We didn’t have the luxury of Happy Jacks to seal the deal. But our payroll is currently about $77 million ($942,000 a game) which when u add in our advertising on twitter and in Around the CCHL, we are in a position to make a little money this year. Next year even with the likely resigning of Matt Niskanen we are going to lower our payroll by over $40 million just by shedding bad contracts. The Loons are in a much better shape now then when a fish was on the sweater.”

With free agency over, Czepiel and his scouts have turned their attention completely to the upcoming entry draft. It’s no secret who Czepiel is obsessed with and has made many controversial moves in order to put himself in a great position to grab the local phenom. There are rumors of Czepiel trying to trade up from the 23rd spot in order to grab one of the second tier defenseman that are available. To the disgust of many of the Loon fans, Dahlen and Puljujarvi’s names have been rumored as possible trade bait in his attempts. I guess that is why Czepiel has the reputation that he does.

Miners shift focus from free agency and make two trades.

Miners shift focus from free agency and make two trades.

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

General Manager Terry James, fresh off his two free agent signings in Antoine Vermette and Mike Fisher, was again working the phones late Monday night, and as a result was able to announce two separate trades on Tuesday evening.

The first deal was made late Monday night, as the Sudbury Miners and Siberia IceCats made a move with an eye for the future. The Miners sent prospects Merrick Madsen and Jonathan Ang to Siberia, in exchange for prospects Dan O’Regan and Spencer Martin.

“O’Regan is a skilled player who plays a strong two-way game and is a good playmaker," said James. "We have had our eye on him for a while and he will give us some good depth at center while we wait for other prospects to develop. Martin is a big goalie, almost 6’ 4” I think. He is technically sound and has that never quit attitude and battles adversity to try and make every save. We are happy with the deal and we look forward to watching both players progress and work towards carving out good pro careers here in Sudbury."

The second deal was made late Tuesday afternoon and involved a swapping of draft picks with the New England Loons.

The deal breaks down as follows: to New England, Sudbury sends Las Vegas’ 1^st round pick in 2019 along with Fort Erie’s 3^rd round pick in 2019. In return, Sudbury receives Reyjkavik’s 1^st round pick, Springfield’s 1^st round pick and Victoria’s 2^nd round pick – all 2019 – from New England.

With this latest transaction, Sudbury will pick 14 times in the first two rounds of the 2019 CCHL Entry Draft, including 8 in the first round alone. As it stands right now, Sudbury is slated to pick 29 times in the 2019 Entry Draft.

Isotopes whiff in first round of UFA Bidding...

It’s oh so quiet….shhh shhh shhh in Springfield.

Things have been quiet in Springfield lately.  The feeling around the Isotopes is that the team is fairly set and that is why there have been no UFA signings yet.  Apparently, that is far from the truth.  The Isotopes have tried to entice free agents to sign with the team but it has not worked out yet.

“It was a SWING and a MISS, a SWING and a MISS, a SWING and a MISS, a SWING and a MISS, and finally a SWING and a MISS in the first round of UFA”, joked GM Stacey, “If baseball even allowed for 5 strikes we would still be out!”

Springfield was thought to have targeted J. Pavelski but that has not been confirmed, either way, they were outbid by multiple teams before he landed with (ugh) the Falcons.

“You have to try to get players that can improve our team, there are not many out there that we believe can help but we tried and missed a few already.  I am obviously not going to give names of those we targeted or those we are targeting in the future but rest assured we are still trying to round out the team roster”, said Stacey.

Currently, the team has plenty of roster space to add players and with the recently bought-out Kruger, there is a bit more money as well.  The team is looking pretty full up on high-end talent with the much-expected breakout of MacKinnon, however, with a new sim on the horizon it is not known how injuries will play out and the team is hoping to find some players to either warm the bench or take some injury minutes where needed.


Springfield Times