As promised, I said I’d let you know when the axe fell and on whom, and here you have it. A couple of mild surprises here in Kyle Beach and Igor Makarov, as the former had (likely outsized) hopes of making the roster, but made the staff’s decision a relatively easy one with his pooch-screwing last night. The latter, Makarov, started out camp impressing in intra-squad games, but failed to be noticed against other teams, and along side many linemates who were regulars. The rest that were sent down were Brian Connolly, Brandon Pirri, and Ben Smith, all in unsurprising fashion.
The bigger news is who remains, namely Nick Leddy and Jeremy Morin . Leddy is still quite raw and leaves a lot to be desired in his own zone, but has shown quite a bit of offensive upside. It’s Morin, however that’s been turning heads, and he’ll get another opportunity to do so tonight, skating with Patricks Kane and Sharp. What was initially thought of as a total longshot to make the team, with another strong showing and with Jack Skille being dinged up, Morin might be able to seal his spot with another solid outing. While he could just as easily be sent back down to the minors/junior should he underperform when the games count, if he makes this team it’s still a feat in and of itself, and he appears to have a very bright future ahead of him. Viktor Stalberg‘s absence on the travel itinerary to Rockford should also be noted after his relatively impressive performance last night. While it seems he’d have to go out of his way to not make the squad, another showing such as that could go a long way in keeping him seated with the adults as well.