Three Ukrainians selected in first round of 2016 NHL draft
The theme of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft held in Buffalo, N.Y., on June 24-25 was first-round Ukrainian bloodlines. Matthew Tkachuk, son of Keith Tkachuk, Jakob Chychrun, son of Jeff Chychrun, and Kieffer Bellows, son of Brian Bellows, were all selected in the first round – three famous Ukrainian sons drafted in the top 19 selections. Seeing a Ukrainian prospect go in the first round of the NHL draft is becoming an annual tradition.
(On a personal note, quite a thrill for this hockey fanatic to be writing about second-generation Ukrainian hockey stars-in-the-making after chronicling the careers of their dads. No way of getting around the fact yours truly has been around the rink a few hundred times in the past few decades.)
Tkachuk goes to preferred Flames
Heading into day No. 1 of the 2016 NHL Draft, Matthew Tkachuk had the Calgary Flames circled as his preferred team. Tkachuk had met with the Flames at the NHL scouting combine and was impressed with the organization. It was his hope the draft would break his way so he could land in Calgary.
When Columbus upset the draft projections by selecting Pierre-Luc Dubois over Jesse Puljujarvi at No. 3, the next three picks started to look different. The pathway for Tkachuk going to Calgary opened up, and an overjoyed Matthew began hugging his family members when the Flames announced his name as the No. 6 overall selection. Father Keith, a former NHL All-Star, received the final and longest hug.
“At the beginning of the day if you had told a lot of people the draft would be the order it is now, they would say definitely not. I was one of those guys, and it’s such a relief to go to a team you want to go to and it makes it that much better,” Tkachuk said in an interview. “Everybody says how special it is to play in the NHL, but if you really love the team that picked you, it makes it that much better. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
The younger Tkachuk has drawn comparisons to his famous father for his feistiness and goal-scoring ability. He amassed 107 points in 57 regular season games with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights, and another 40 points in 18 playoff games leading them to the Memorial Cup. In the World Junior Championship, Tkachuk notched 11 points in seven games.
“Tkachuk is unique in that he brings both skill and a physical package to game situations. He possesses elite hockey sense and vision, has a very good scoring touch and makes players around him better,” NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr said in his evaluation.
A strong puck possession player, difficult to check and willing to go to the tough areas to score goals, Tkachuk made no predictions on making the team as an 18-year-old rookie. He was humble and understated after being picked. He also realizes he’s heading into an area where hockey is very important with a hope for a rebirth of the Battle of Alberta the next several years between the Flames and the Edmonton Oilers.
Chychrun still learning
When one looks at Jakob Chychrun’s game, one doesn’t see many flaws. Arizona’s second pick in the first round (16th overall), the Sarnia Sting defenseman is a healthy 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, plays in all situations, brings a strong physical edge to the proceedings and can flat out skate.
So why was the young Ukrainian on the receiving end of much flak in his draft year? Nothing personal, as it happens every season.
Chychrun was never hyped to go first overall (he slipped out of the top 10) but NHL amateur scouts loved him and were not afraid to say it. Some referred to him as the best defenseman in the draft, others evaluated him as a big guy who will play in the league for a long time. Most agreed his game is still evolving and we have not yet seen the best he has to offer.
While 2016’s elite draft prospects Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Jesse Puljujarvi, Alex Nylander and Matthew Tkachuk all turned in great performances at the World Junior Championship, Chychrun was back in Sarnia, cut from Team Canada. No country in the world has as deep a talent pool, so claiming a roster spot on Team Canada is a challenge.
It further did not help his cause that a vine of Chychrun getting owned by London’s Max Jones on a Knights goal made the rounds on Twitter.
What to do? Relax and move on. The enormous pressure he felt during his draft year is gone. The Jones play will happen again, but that’s part of the game – a defenseman gets beat, learns from it and moves on.
The youngster is open to learning. He is the son of ex-NHL enforcer Jeff Chychrun, born in Florida, spending summers in the Ottawa area. Father Jeff coached him all the way up, and he coached him the right way.
Jakob attended the prestigious American Heritage high school, played multiple sports and was surrounded by elite athletes from other disciplines. Since age 12 he played in Michigan for the Little Caesars program while living in Florida, flying north on weekends. He then played a year for the Toronto Junior Canadiens before heading to the OHL, where he made quite an impact with Sarnia. In 2015-2016 he recorded 11 goals, 38 assists and 49 points in 62 games.
Chychrun’s professionalism and preparation are two of his top traits. In the video room he’s all business, focusing on correcting his negative clips while barely paying attention to his positives.
The worries ended when Arizona called his name mid-way through the first round after trading up from the 20th pick. Now Chychrun could begin concentrating on being a beastly blueliner who combines the size and strength of the old NHL with the speed and movement of the new NHL.
It won’t be long before the kid with something to learn right now starts teaching lessons to players on the other 29 teams.
Bellows a scorer
Kieffer Bellows got off the phone with John Tavares, and the message relayed from the Islanders captain to the franchise’s newest addition was clear.
“He told me to enjoy the moment and enjoy the day with my family,” Bellows said in an interview after the Islanders took him with the No. 19 pick in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. “And then be ready.”
Bellows, 18, is from Minnesota, and is planning to attend Boston University next fall. Six feet tall and weighing just under 200 pounds, he’s tabbed as a pure goal scorer on the left wing, scoring 16 goals in 23 games for the U.S. National Development Team last season. He shows some grit, too, accumulating 119 penalty minutes during his 81 games in the United States Hockey League (USHL).
The son of former North Star Brian Bellows, Kieffer won a state championship with Edina (Minnesota) as a sophomore in 2014. The next year in Sioux Falls, S.D., he was named the USHL’s Rookie of the Year, helping the Stampede capture the Clark Cup with nine playoff goals. Kieffer tallied 33 goals in the regular season, the most for a 16-year-old in the USHL Tier 1 since 2002.
This past season with the U.S. National Team Development Program he scored 50 goals, including 12 power play markers and nine game-winners. Only first overall pick Auston Matthews, Phil Kessel and Patrick Kane scored more.
It is no stretch to say Kieffer has many of the same traits as his dad, who forged a 16-year NHL career with 485 goals and 1,022 points. He has his father’s quick release, high to the net and the ability to locate open space.
The younger Bellows learned from his father at a very young age. Brian Bellows scored at least 30 goals seven times for the North Stars, topping out with a team-record 55 in 1989-1990. He led Minnesota to the Stanley Cup Final in 1991 and captured the Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1993.
Kieffer’s father prepped him for this exciting time in his life. After all, Brian Bellows has been in Kieffer Bellows’ shoes.
“What I’ve taught him is you want to mitigate the highs and lows of the roller coaster, whether it’s physically or emotionally,” the elder Bellows said in a June interview with The Star Tribune. “Don’t get too down and don’t get too high, and just realize that when the draft comes, it’s going to be one day where you enjoy it and the next day you bus to university and get back to work.”
Hurricanes pick Elynuik in third round
Carolina went a bit off the board with its third-round pick in the 2016 NHL draft, selecting Spokane Chiefs center Hudson Elynuik with the 74th overall pick. Elynuik played for the Western Hockey League club once coached by current Hurricanes bench boss Bill Peters. He becomes one of the tallest players in the Canes system at 6-foot-5, 205 pounds. Elyniuk posted 44 points in 55 games with Spokane in 2015-2016, his third season with the Chiefs.
His scouting report: played in a remote market with no other draft eligible players, meaning scouts didn’t get out to see him often. Flashed surprising skills for such a huge man-child and has NHL bloodlines.
The last remark refers to his father, former NHL forward Pat Elynuik, the eighth overall pick in the 1986 NHL draft by the Winnipeg Jets, who went on to play 506 games in the NHL with Winnipeg, Washington, Tampa Bay and Ottawa.
Panthers acquire Pysyk from Sabres
Florida acquired puck-moving defenseman Mark Pysyk and two draft picks from Buffalo in exchange for defenseman Dmitry Kulikov and a pick. Pysyk, 24, played 55 games for the Sabres last season and projects as a potential top-four defenseman.
“It’s not an easy decision when you’re trading a guy like ‘Kuli’ away,” new Florida GM Tom Rowe said in a press release. “Part of it was cap management going into next year. And then we really wanted to get a right-shot defenseman, and Mark Pysyk was a guy we targeted a long time ago. We watched him quite a bit through the last couple of seasons. He might not be a top-four ‘D’ this year, but we think he can be in a couple of years. And the fact he’s a right shot, he’s a very composed player, very smart player, we thought he was a real good fit for the guys we have on the back end.”
Pysyk is viewed favorably by advanced stats, but never seemed to mesh with Buffalo’s management. He led the Sabres in relative Corsi percentage last season, meaning the team averaged a better ratio of shot attempts for than shot attempts against with him on the ice than any other player.
The Ukrainian was a fan favorite in Buffalo, thanks to his goofy smile, smooth passes and good possession numbers. He did not meet the club’s expectations offensively in terms of point production and physicality. Pysyk’s career high in points was in 2015-2016, when he scored 11 goals – not impressive for a former first-round pick
Stempniak signs with Hurricanes
Forward Lee Stempniak parlayed an offensively productive 2015-2016 into a two-year, $5 million deal with the Carolina Hurricanes.
“Lee is a veteran, skilled forward who will provide offense for our team, as well as leadership on and off the ice,” said Carolina’s Executive Vice-President and GM Ron Francis in an official team press release.
Stempniak, 33, netted 19 goals and added 31 assists (51 points) and was plus-three in 82 games with the New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins last season. A fifth-round selection by St. Louis in the 2003 NHL draft, Stempniak has scored 184 goals, 236 assists for 420 points in 790 career NHL contests. He has skated for nine NHL clubs: St. Louis, Toronto, Phoenix, Calgary, Pittsburgh, N.Y. Rangers, Winnipeg, New Jersey and Boston. In 28 career playoff games he has totaled 14 points (six goals).
Sharks sign defenseman Schlemko
Free-agent frenzy saw unrestricted Ukrainian defenseman Dave Schlemko ink a four-year contract with the San Jose Sharks.
“David is a solid puck-moving defenseman with good speed who can play the game at both ends,” said San Jose GM Doug Wilson in a team press announcement. “He is coming off a very productive season in New Jersey, and we think he will fit well with our group.”
Proving it takes a little longer for a defenseman to hone his all-around game, the 29-year-old really came into his own with career-highs in goals (six), assists (13), points (19), power-play points (12), game-winning goals (three) and shots on goal (104) in a career-best 67 games played for the Devils last season. He led all Devils blueliners in goals, ranked tied for second in points, was third on the team in blocked shots (88) and tied for third in power-play points. Schlemko averaged the eighth-most minutes per game of any Devils skater (18:38).
In 298 career NHL games with Arizona, Dallas, Calgary and New Jersey, the defenseman has 69 points (15 goals), 10 penalty minutes and an overall plus-three rating. In 20 NHL playoff contests he has tallied one goal and two points.
Brodziak stays with Blues
Third-line center and penalty-killer extraordinaire Kyle Brodziak agreed to terms on a two-year contract to remain with the St. Louis Blues. Brodziak joined the Blues as a free agent in the summer of 2015 and played in 76 games for St. Louis in 2015-2016, notching seven goals and four assists for 11 points. Three of his goals were scored while short-handed, while four of his seven goals were game-winners.
In 20 career playoff games last season, Brodziak scored two goals: one was short-handed and one was a game-winner. Consistently clutch would be an apt phrase to describe this ultimate role player.
The 32-year-old native of St. Paul, Alberta, would have become a free agent if not signed by July 1 of this year.
In 11 NHL seasons and 697 career regular season games with Edmonton, Minnesota and St. Louis, Brodziak has 105 goals and 239 points.
Blackhawks target Tootoo for physicality
The Chicago Blackhawks felt the need to replace the enforcer on their front line with the trade of Andrew Shaw to the Montreal Canadiens. Their signing of Ukrainian Jordin Tootoo should accomplish that objective. The Hawks inked the veteran to a one-year deal worth $750,000.
Tootoo spent the past two years with the New Jersey Devils and has a reputation for physical play since entering the league in 2003. Jordin has amassed 982 penalty minutes in 673 career games and is well-known for his fights during his tenure with Nashville (2003-2012), Detroit (2012-2014) and New Jersey.
Last season Tootoo scored four goals and five assists in 66 games with the Devils, a year after recording 10 goals in 68 games (second-best in career).
Ukrainian Utterings: Dallas signed depth-defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk to a two-year contract on July 1. The 27-year-old split the 2015-2016 campaign between Columbus and Colorado. In 37 NHL games, Bodnarchuk registered four assists and eight penalty minutes. He posted eight points (two goals) in 14 games for Lake Erie of the American Hockey League. An eight-year professional, Bodnarchuk has appeared in 42 NHL games with Boston, Columbus and Colorado. He has tallied 142 points (32 goals) in 487 career AHL games with Providence, Manchester and Lake Erie. He helped Manchester win the 2015 Calder Cup…Both Johnny Boychuk (Islanders) and Devan Dubnyk (Wild) are expected to have big bounce-back seasons in 2016-2017…Travis Zajac should be greatly aided by the Devils’ acquisition of center Taylor Hall who will assume first line center duties, allowing Zajac to slide down to the second line…Look for continued development and more production from Curtis Lazar in Ottawa…Dallas gave Jamie Oleksiak another year in hopes of him finally blossoming on their blue line…Joffrey Lupul’s time in Toronto may come to an end due to injuries…
Ihor Stelmach may be reached at iman@sfgsports.com.