TORONTO – Calle Rosen agreed to terms on a two-year, entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
Rosen has been making a name for himself playing for Vaxjo HC of the SHL, for whom he managed 33 points and a plus-21 rating in 96 games. Those numbers are solid, but the 23-year-old Swede could probably use a bit of seasoning at the …..
LAS VEGAS – The Vegas Golden Knights have agreed to a three-year, entry-level deal with 15th overall pick Erik Brannstrom.
The 17-year-old defenceman from Eksjo, Sweden played for HV 71 in the Swedish Hockey League last season and won a championship with the club.
He contributed six points in 35 games for HV 71 in 2016-17. Brannstrom was also a member of Team Sweden at the 2016 World Under-18 Championship and won a silver medal.
DETROIT — The Detroit Red Wings have signed defenseman Robbie Russo to a two-year contract.
It’s a two-way deal. Russo would earn an NHL salary of $650,000 when up with the Red Wings and $125,000 this season and $250,000 next season in the AHL.
LAS VEGAS — Erik Brannstrom of the Vegas Golden Knights is 5-foot-10, likes to join the rush and shoot the puck.
So why is the 17-year-old a defenseman and not a center?
“I like to play, and you play more as a ‘D’ than a forward,” Brannstrom said at Golden Knights development camp last month. “I like to play a lot and have the puck and take responsibility out there, so I think it fits me.”
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that San Antonio Rampage forward Rocco Grimaldi has been selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 29, 2017.
In three games last week, Grimaldi scored four goals – two of them game-winners – and added an assist for five points to go with a plus-4 rating.
Grimaldi recorded his first three-point night of the season on Wednesday, including scoring two third-period goals in a 6-2 win over Rockford. On Friday night he scored two more goals against Ontario, breaking a tie late in the third period and then netting the decisive goal in overtime for a 5-4 Rampage victory, and on Saturday he registered a game-high six shots on goal in a 4-3 setback vs. Ontario.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The American Hockey League announced on Thursday that Grand Rapids Griffins forward Matt Lorito and defenseman Robbie Russo have been selected to play for the Central Division All-Star Team at the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross, to be held Jan. 29-30 at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa.
Each of the AHL’s four divisions will be represented by 12 players. Rosters were determined by committees of AHL coaches, and all 30 AHL teams are represented by at least one All-Star.
Lorito and Russo will join head coach Todd Nelson at the event, as Nelson earned the honor to coach the Central Division by virtue of Grand Rapids owning the division’s best record as of Dec. 31.
Callan Foote of Kelowna of the Western Hockey League, one of the top defensemen eligible for the 2017 NHL Draft, stands out for a number of reasons.
But the No. 1 thing people seem to notice about him are his feet.
“He’s got something like size 16 or 17 feet, so he’s working into those,” Kelowna assistant general manager Lorne Frey said.
Said Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene, who lived with Foote and his family during his first two NHL seasons, “The kid’s had bigger feet than me from the time I’ve known him.”
When Duchene moved in, Foote was 10 years old.
Foote, who said his feet are size 16, has heard all manner of jokes about them, and even makes them himself.
As Lucas Johansen stepped onto the ice for his first NHL preseason game Monday, it didn’t feel all that different from the summers he spent training with his brother, Nashville Predators center Ryan Johansen. Skating with professional hockey players such as Brenden Dillon, Derek Grant and Jake Virtanen in Vancouver was a normal offseason for Lucas, so playing against NHLers in an exhibition for the first time didn’t spook him.
“For a first game, to have that kind of poise playing defense, you don’t see it very often,” associate coach Todd Reirden said. “So, it’s fun to watch, how he goes about the game. Certainly, I think it’s helped growing up in the family that he has and being around some of the players he’s practiced with. I think he has some special tools, in terms of his ability to slow down the play and see some things that other players don’t. He’s looking like an outstanding draft pick for us and a real great prospect moving forward.”
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Lucas Johansen was just 12 years old when his older brother was drafted. He remembers looking over at his parents and noticing how sweaty their palms were. As Ryan Johansen experienced just about every emotion as he waited for his name to be called, Lucas focused on the bright lights at Staples Center instead of the tension next to him.
Ryan’s stress was short-lived, the fourth overall pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2010 NHL draft. When that pick was about to be announced at this summer’s NHL draft in Buffalo, Lucas was the one anxiously waiting, and Ryan decided to remind Lucas what was at stake.
“I kept saying, ‘As long as you don’t go top three, I’m fine,’ ” Ryan said earlier this summer. “I need to be able to keep those bragging rights.”
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