Breaking News Archives - Boutique Hockey Agency

Nazar trying to stand out among crowded forward group with Blackhawks

Posted on September 17, 2024

CHICAGO, IL – Frank Nazar is aware of the challenge facing him.

The 20-year-old rookie center is looking to make the Chicago Blackhawks roster out of training camp, but that roster is now much more veteran-heavy after the Blackhawks signed eight players as free agents, including five forwards, on July 1. But Nazar, selected by Chicago with the No. 13 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, is taking the big-picture approach.

“I just view it as, we’re here to achieve one big goal as a team,” Nazar said Wednesday. “Obviously there are things they need to do and things that our team needs to do and steps we need to take, so if I’m going to be part of that group, I’ve got to work and I’ve got to earn that spot anyway.”

Nazar will start trying to do just that when he plays in the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase in Maryland Heights, Missouri, outside of St. Louis, this weekend. The Blackhawks face the St. Louis Blues prospects on Friday and the Minnesota Wild prospects on Saturday.

“Just getting used to the pace of play,” Nazar said of his focus this weekend. “I played college and everything, but just be able to go out there and get my legs back and get the feeling of playing hockey and all the small details. That’s the biggest thing of these games for me.”

Viktor Arvidsson addition further proof Oilers’ culture has flipped

Posted on September 17, 2024

EDMONTON, AB — After years of tormenting the Edmonton Oilers from afar, Viktor Arvidsson wormed his way into a pre-camp scrimmage and found himself skating against Connor McDavid.

What happened next? What do you think?

Arvidsson tried to slow down the Oilers’ captain, predictably got tangled up with him, and McDavid’s scrimmage ended on a sore and sour note. He stayed down a while, then held his hip as he skated off, visibly unhappy.

“I was just as at fault as he was, but, yeah, kind of funny how it worked out. Old habits, right?,” McDavid said the next day. “Sometimes you can’t shake it.”

Old habits?

“Yeah, maybe,” smiled Arvidsson, who wasn’t laughing the day before in a dead quiet practice rink when McDavid stayed down.

Pierre-Édouard Bellemare to captain French Olympic qualifying team

Posted on September 13, 2024

SEATTLE, WA – The French Ice Hockey Federation named its roster for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament on Monday. The list of 25 players includes seven from the domestic Ligue Magnus, five from Switzerland’s National League, four from the Czech Extraliga, two from the Finnish Liiga and one each from the NHL, AHL, KHL, German DEL, Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan, and Slovak Liga.

Captain Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, who played last season for the Seattle Kraken, is currently without a team. The NHLer is Alexandre Texier of the St. Louis Blues, while Washington Capitals prospects Pierrick Dubé, a forward, and Antoine Keller, a goalie, are also on the squad.

Bellemare is also the team’s oldest player at 39, followed by 36-year-old Sacha Treille. Treille’s older brother Yorick – a former French national team player himself – is the head coach, with assistants Cristobal Huet, Éric Blais and Ivano Zanatta. Alternate captains are veterans Yohann Auvitu and Stéphane Da Costa.

Healthy men, healthy families: Kevin Bieksa and Troy Stecher stand up for mental health

Posted on September 13, 2024

VANCOUVER, BC – The grin that flashed across Troy Stecher’s face Tuesday afternoon in the hallway of Richmond’s Minoru Arena when Kevin Bieksa, a star of Stecher’s youth, pointed out that the Richmond defenceman is definitely an NHL veteran, was vibrant.

“It’s a bit of a responsibility for us older guys: I’m obviously retired, Troy’s a veteran — a veteran! — now in the NHL,” Bieksa began.

“Crazy,” Stecher interjected, his smile wide as can be. Stecher has played 494 games in the NHL. He’s 30. He’s definitely turning into a wise old hand.

Bieksa said their role is to show young players that they have a platform to promote positive change.

“We play hockey, we make a living out of it. We have a big fan base. We have a platform to do good things. So we all have our own charities that we support,” Bieksa said.

Stars sign Magnus Hellberg to a one-year, two-way contract

Posted on August 13, 2024

DALLAS, TX – Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that the club has signed goaltender Magnus Hellberg to a one-year, two-way contract. The contract will begin in the 2024-25 season.

Hellberg, 33, has posted a 1-1-0 record with a 2.50 goals-against average and .922 save percentage in three appearances with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2023-24 season. Hellberg made 33 saves in a 4-3 overtime victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 9, 2023.

Shane Wright poised for full-time role with Kraken after whirlwind experience

Posted on August 13, 2024

SEATTLE, WA – Shane Wright’s time to shine in the NHL could be fast approaching.

The No. 4 pick by the Seattle Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft, with nothing left to prove at the American Hockey League level, appears ready for prime time and a role as full-time center with Seattle for opening night against the St. Louis Blues here Oct. 8.

After a chaotic 2022-23 season that saw Wright bounce between the Kraken, Coachella Valley of the AHL, Canada for the IIHF World Junior Championship and then a return to the Ontario Hockey League, where he was traded from Kingston to Windsor, the 20-year-old was happy to find some normalcy last season and is now enjoying some calmer summer months.

Last season, his first full one as a professional, was strong. He was fifth in scoring for Coachella Valley with 47 points (22 goals, 25 assists) in 59 games. He then had 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 12 games to help the Firebirds reach the Calder Cup Finals, a seven-game loss to Hershey. He also showed progression in his game with five points (four goals, one assist) during a five-game call-up with Seattle in April.

Rangers Captain Jacob Trouba Says ‘Greatest Times of the Summer’ Have Been ‘Hanging Out’ with Son Axel

Posted on August 13, 2024

NEW YORK, NY – Jacob Trouba is enjoying life as a new dad!

While speaking to PEOPLE at the opening of his first solo art exhibit at Harper’s Chelsea 512 in Manhattan, the New York Rangers captain — who welcomed a son with his wife, Kelly Tyson, in January — says fatherhood has changed his ideas about “what’s important.”

“It’s been great,” Trouba, 30, says. “There’s no real playbook that you can read — I mean, you can kind of prepare a little bit, but it’s very much learning on the fly.”

When Trouba and his wife welcomed baby Axel at the start of the year, the hockey star was in the middle of one of the Rangers’ best seasons in years. The team would later fall just shy of making the Stanley Cup Finals in June, giving Trouba a break from regular practices until training camp begins in September — and plenty of time to spend with his 8-month-old son, who has been an off-season highlight for the NHL star.

Ian Cole Sees High Potential in Young Utah Team

Posted on July 24, 2024

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – After 17 seasons in the NHL, two Stanley Cups, and playing for eight different teams, Ian Cole is reaching the twilight of his hockey career. He’s won big, scored some massive goals, and has had a long career in the NHL. At 35 years old, he could retire and no one would blame him. However, after a playoff run with the Vancouver Canucks, he’s decided to take his talents to the young Utah Hockey Club, citing the potential of the team as the main reason why he signed.

‘It’s going to be a great fit’: Sean Walker on Signing with Carolina

Posted on July 24, 2024

RALEIGH, NC – The Carolina Hurricanes signed defenseman Sean Walker to a five-year, $3.6 million AAV deal at the opening of free agency.

The 29-year-old blueliner is a smooth skater and is coming off of his best offensive season yet, having had 10 goals and 29 points last season split between the Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche.

After signing, Walker spoke with the Carolina media. Here’s what he had to say: