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One USHL Rookie who will set the League on Fire This Year
Photo Credit: Andy Devlin | Hockey Canada Images
With each passing season, it seems as though the United States Hockey League (better known as the USHL) is gaining more and more esteem.
That’s because although it has stayed true to its roots of being the top-feeder league, Division One NCAA teams have come to depend on to fill their rosters. Over the last couple of years, it has managed to evolve into one of the more elite Junior leagues in the world. So much so that if you include the United States National Team Development Program (which is now a full-time affiliate), it has now been known to annually produce dozens of players that are taken in the first couple rounds of the draft.
With all that being said, it should come as no surprise to hear that even foreign-born players who have NHL aspirations are starting to migrate over to try and prove that their game is one that will translate well to the North American style of play.
This is the case of one USHL rookie named Adam Benak, who hails from Czechia and is due to join the Youngstown Phantoms this season.
Now, if you are not familiar with Adam, let me fill you in. At first glance, you’ll notice that he is a diminutive center who only stands at 5’7. But let me assure you what he lacks in size; he more than makes up for in speed and skill.
This was made evident by his play in the last two Hlinka Gretzky Cup Tournaments. While getting the rare chance to represent his Country on the world stage at just sixteen years old, Benak managed to explode onto the scene in the 23-24 tournament when he opened a lot of eyes, scoring two goals and eight assists for 10 points in only five games played, which for his efforts his team received the Silver Medal.
But with him falling short (no pun intended) of achieving a Gold Medal last year. Adam came into this year’s tournament (that was held on Aug. 5th-10th up in Edmonton) with the mindset of win or die trying because he ended up breaking the tournament’s all-time point record by scoring another four goals and seven assists that, when combined with his totals from last year adds up to an incredible 21 points!
And, to try and put into perspective just how grand that accolade is, with him operating at an over a two points-per-game pace in this tournament, it puts him in the same company as players like Matvei Michkov, Jarome Iginla, Alexander Ovechkin, Nathan Mackinnon, Rick Nash, and Tyler Seguin whom all previously made quite the name for themselves in this tournament.
Now, as far as what you can expect from Adam this season with the Phantoms, I predict that given the fact that guys won’t be that familiar with this elusive offensive-minded center, we could see this young man put up point totals that rival Phantoms’ legendary alumni Kyle Connor’s 14-15 campaign when he netted 34 goals and 46 assists for 80 points.
Yes, I am dead serious! Benak is an exceptional player who should hear his name being called by a team in the first round of next summer’s draft. But, of course, don’t just take my word for it; find your way up to Youngstown this season and take in a game to see if my prognostications come true.
One Underrated Flyers Free Agent Signing that Could Prove to Pay Dividends this Year.
Photo Credit: RDS.CA
There is no doubt that most Flyers fans were left feeling a little underwhelmed with the team’s free agency haul (or lack thereof) this offseason. But you have to remember General Manager Danny Briere didn’t have a lot of cap space with which to play with. Especially, if you factor in the team having to shell out a combined $7,596,429 this season to buy the underperforming Cam Atkinson and having to trade away/retain part of the salary of both forward Kevin Hayes and defensemen Anthony DeAngelo.
But that’s not all. The Flyers recently had to take on the bad contracts of both goalie Cal Peterson and center Ryan Johansen in order to gain the draft pick compensation that will help the club in the future, which now makes them responsible for the pair’s combined $9 million cap hit that they will most likely be obligated to have to bury in the minors.
Then there are, of course, the players dealing with extended injuries to factor in, whose salaries can’t be moved to the Long Term I.R. list until the start of the regular season, which obviously includes defenseman Ryan Ellis and his $6,250,000 annual cap hit that the team is still on the hook for three more seasons. And potentially, Rasmus Ristolainen (who holds a $5,100,000 AAV) that may or may not be ready to go at the start of the season after having to undergo surgery last year to repair a torn triceps tendon.
If you think about it, in total, that’s $27,946,429 out of the NHL’s allotted $88,000,000 Cap ceiling that teams are allowed to spend this season, that is virtually a wash for the Flyers right now. So, even if Briere wanted to pull off a significant acquisition on July 1st, he couldn’t because he simply did not have the money with which to do so.
So, they had to be not only tactful but frugal with their spending this off-season so as not to land themselves right back into cap purgatory. However, this does not mean that the team did not have needs. As their GM a louted to at the draft this franchise needs help down the middle of the ice. The reason? Well, the men that the team currently employs to patrol the faceoff dots here in Philadelphia are a group whose focus has become more about preventing goals than scoring them, which probably had a lot to do with the fact that the team ranked among the league’s worst in Goals Scored Per Game, and found themselves finishing dead last in the league in terms of powerplay goals scored over the previous two seasons.
But even though management is aware of this issue and has taken action to try and combat it, like when they drafted centers Denver Barkey, Jett Luchanko, Jack Berglund, and Heikki Ruohonen, not to mention trading for Massimo Rizzo the sad reality is that none of these players may be ready next season to join the Flyers; which is why I thought one of the most underrated moves made by management this year was the signing of 27-year-old center Anthony Richard.
Anthony Richard
Anthony, who was originally drafted back in the 4th round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators, has developed into quite the offensive threat at the AHL level over the last two seasons. For example, Anthony finished the 22-23 campaign with 30 goals and 37 assists for 67 points in 60 games played (An average of 1.12 points per game). He followed that up this last season by scoring 25 goals and 30 assists for 55 points in only 59 games played, which equates to him scoring at a rate of 0.93 points per game.
Now, while Richard may be far from the star center we were all hoping to somehow magically obtain this offseason, his immense speed and superior puck-handling skills will make him an excellent call-up option if those players above him on the depth chart continue to struggle offensively or sustain injuries.
For, I believe all this late-blooming prospect really needs now is a legitimate chance to prove himself at the NHL level. Because this team, more so than any other he had the privilege of spending NHL time with prior to this year, has the options at wing to help him succeed. Think about it: Our top nine (first three lines) projected wingers for next season are Konecny, Michkov, Tippett, Foerster, Farabee, and Brink. So, if Anthony, who is offensively minded is called upon at some point this season to come in and play with any combination of those guys previously mentioned. I don’t think it would be that far out of the realm of possibilities that he could easily surpass the 7.75 Million Dollar Man’s (Sean Couturier) 11 goals from last season.
Remember, the Flyers have three 1st round draft picks and potentially three second-round draft picks in next summer’s draft, so, again, while Anthony may not be the long-term solution that we all were hoping for this off-season, he and his nominal contract of just $775,000 could prove to be just the kind of stopgap this club needs until the newly drafted or not yet drafted reinforcements begin to show up.
Prospect Watch: Elijah Neuenschwander
Photo Credit: Alain Favre
As this old goalie starts to take a look at the crop of netminders that will be available in the 2025 NHL Draft, a few names obviously stand out. With those being Canadian-born Joshua Ravensbergen and Jack Ivankovic who both play in the CHL. But there is an outlier who I think will be making a name for himself this season. And that is Swiss-born goalie Elijah Neuenschwander.
What I like about Elijah, who stands at 6’4 and 183 pounds, is that he is not just another flopping butterfly goalie that everyone who plays this position now has seemed to turn into. He is more of a traditional stand-up goalie who will go down to stop a puck when he has to but will quickly recover to a standing position afterward.
This style breeds patience as Neuenschwander often elects to utilize his immense size to his advantage by leaving the crease to challenge the shooter that is barring down on him in an effort to eliminate any sight of twine for them to aim at. By doing this, Elijah forces his opponent into a game of chicken, where both wait for the other to make the first move. It’s a duel of sorts where Neuenschwander’s athleticism and quick reactionary times usually end in him coming out victorious.
Now, let’s talk some numbers. This past season, when Elijah was loaned out to the EHC Chur of the MyHL, he was able to record two wins in two starts while maintaining a goals-against average of just 0.97—so, being that his talents appear to far surpass that of his fellow peers. He spent most of his time playing up in the Swiss Elite Junior League in the U20 Division, where he was able to attain some more challenging competition. But, with every prospect from overseas, the real test for NHL scouts is seeing how these prospects will perform on an international level. I believe Elijah passes that test as well, seeing that while playing in two games for Team Switzerland’s U19 Team this past season, Neuenschwander was able to win both games again (with one being a shutout) and post a 0.50 goals against average and maintain a .985 save percentage.
So, with all this being said, look for this young netminder to be taken somewhere in the second round next summer. Because not only do I think Neuenschwander’s style of play will transition well to the North American game, but I believe in time, Elijah could find himself becoming the best Swiss born goalie to ever play in the NHL. And yes, that includes him surpassing the likes of both David Aebischer and Martin Gerber, who both, mind you, possess Stanley Cup Rings.