CHL Notebook: Setback for Rasmussen, but Americans march on

Michael Rasmussen of the Tri-City Americans. (Marissa Baecker/Getty)

The domino effect with injuries has laid Michael Rasmussen low, leaving NHL talent appraisers to determine when the myriad of maladies started affecting the projected high draft pick.

The Tri-City Americans announced late last week that the 17-year-old Rasmussen, who had a team-high 32 goals in 50 games at the start of February, is out long-term with a fractured wrist. Rasmussen had actually been laid up for the entire month with a knee injury.

The best-case scenario is that Rasmussen, whom the Americans say will be re-evaluated around the second week of April, could make it back if Tri-City goes on a deep playoff run. That’s not completely out of the realm, but there is probably a better-than-average chance the scouts have had their last viewing of the 6-foot-5, 200-pound forward in a competitive game before the draft.

The upshot for Rasmussen is that whatever the effect on draft position, it’s doubtful anyone believes that getting injured as a junior is an automatic harbinger of being brittle as a pro. Arizona Coyotes defenceman Connor Murphy, for instance, was limited to only 77 games in his last three developmental seasons with the U.S. under-18 team and the OHL’s Sarnia Sting. So far Murphy has been a healthy NHLer.

In the meantime, with 18-year-old Morgan Geekie taking on an even greater load as the offensive linchpin, Tri-City (.598 point pct., third in the U.S. Division) is playing well without Rasmussen. The Americans are 7-5-0-0 since he went down.

Dogged perseverance

Recent Hamilton Bulldogs signing Jake Murray is more than a label, but ‘rookie who has beaten cancer’ is quite the label to carry.

Last year, Murray went through chemotherapy and radiation treatment for a tumour that was found behind his nose and above the back of his throat. The Bulldogs still took him No. 81 overall in the OHL priority selection and, after recovering, the Komoka, Ont., native has shown enough with the Junior B St. Thomas Stars to convince Hamilton that he’s in their plans.

“I can say I’m not scared of anything anymore,” Murray, who turns 17 in April, told Hamilton’s CHCH. “That’s a big part of it. Coming off of what I went through, that made me love hockey that much more.”

Sergachev, Vilardi come alive for Spits

Coming off of a benching on Feb. 26, Montreal Canadiens top prospect Mikhail Sergachev had a point in each game during the Windsor Spitfires’ perfect 3-0 week. No doubt that was something along the lines of what Spitfires coach Rocky Thompson wanted out of his team’s cornerstone defenceman.

Projected NHL first-rounder Gabriel Vilardi had his best week of the season, with nine points across three games. Windsor has scant margin for error if it wants to avoid being in the 4 vs. 5 first-round series in the OHL’s Western Conference, but last week should build confidence.

Storm’s Smith stays disciplined

Watching an 18-year-old drafted player whose team is playing out the string can be illuminating – is the motivation there? Guelph Storm right wing Givani Smith (Detroit), the OHL penalty leader with 128 minutes, has come under scrutiny in recent weeks. Storm coach Jarrod Skalde even told Guelph Today in mid-February that the robust 6-foot-2, 209-pound forward would have been healthy-scratched for undisciplined penalties if it hadn’t been for a depleted roster.

Smith has responded, if not overnight, with only one minor penalty in Guelph’s last five games. The 2016 Red Wings second-rounder also had a bookend hat trick last Saturday when the conference cellar-dwelling Storm extended the Owen Sound Attack to overtime. Smith toe-dragged through the slot to score on the first shot and first shift of the game. His hat-trick goal came with four seconds left in the third period. In keeping with the kind of year Guelph has had, the last-second dramatics were topped by another hat-trick goal in overtime, from the Attack’s Nick Suzuki.

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Sideroff with the walk-offs

With five games left for the Kamloops Blazers, Deven Sideroff (Anaheim) has a chance to set a WHL single-season record for overtime goals.

Sideroff got his record-tying fifth sudden-victory salvo 1:52 into the bonus hockey during the Blazers’ win against the Seattle Thunderbirds on March 1. It was the second time this year that Sideroff, 19, has scorched Seattle in overtime.

Long-time NHLer Eric Fehr also scored five OT goals for the 2004-05 Brandon Wheat Kings. That was back when the WHL played 5-on-5 regular-season overtime and games still ended in ties.

Canadian NHL team prospect of the week: Zack MacEwen, C-RW, Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)

MacEwen, who has signed with the Vancouver Canucks, certainly took the more unlikely route compared to the other 20-year-old free agent who signed on with a Canadian-based NHL franchise last week. The 6-foot-4, 212-pound Charlottetown native took until his age-18 season to stay in the Quebec League full time, but MacEwen has matured into a large-framed forward with soft hands and sufficiently good skating to warrant a shot at the next level.

MacEwen has broken out with 27 goals and 65 points across 60 games for Gatineau, who could be a first-round playoff spoiler now that they are rejuvenated under interim coach Eric Landry.

Niagara IceDogs defenceman Ryan Mantha signed with the Edmonton Oilers. Mantha was a one-time New York Rangers selection.

New name to know: Brett Hahkala, LW, North Bay Battalion (OHL)

Hahkala, a 17-year-old call-up from Junior A, scored his first OHL goal with a redirection on Sunday, helping North Bay eke out a vital point in the standings during an overtime loss against Hamilton. With five regulars ailing, the ninth-place Battalion need every little bit of help to sustain their OHL Eastern Conference playoff hopes.

Hahkala, a Fort Frances, Ont., native who plays full-time with the Powassan Voodoos, has been with North Bay for five games and has managed to register at least one shot on goal in four of them while filling a depth role. In between Battalion stints, he also had a hat trick during Powassan’s win which clinched first overall in the Northern Ontario league.

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