Ron Hextall is impressed with Nolan Patrick's work ethic and tolerance for pain.

The Philadelphia Flyers general manager was aware the young forward underwent sports hernia surgery days prior to the June 23 NHL Entry Draft, and chose to select Patrick second overall nonetheless.

Patrick is unable to skate at the team's development camp, which began Friday, but - much to Hextall's satisfaction - has pledged to stay in the area in hopes of getting up to speed for training camp in September.

"He's committed himself to staying down here (for most of the summer), which I think is terrific," Hextall said, per Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post. "Obviously the doctors here, (Flyers director of sports medicine) Jimmy McCrossin's got a lot of experience in terms of rehabbing, so we’re happy he's in good hands and under our umbrella."

Patrick was dealing with the hernia and was also hit with a leg injury late last season, but still managed to register 46 points in 33 games for the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings.

Based on his description of the affliction, he clearly wasn't playing at peak form.

"It’s mostly a sharp pain in skating," he said. "That was the main thing that bothered me. My skating couldn’t get to where it needed to be and you get tired quickly. It’s tough to explain but it’s a sharp shooting pain in your lower stomach. I had it on both sides for a while there. I got one side fixed and then was having issues on that side again."

Patrick is expected to be back to 100 percent later in the summer, and should challenge for an opening night roster spot with the NHL club.

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Jussi Jokinen is set to provide the Edmonton Oilers with great value both on and off the ice.

The Finnish forward signed a one-year, $1.1-million contract with the club Friday, and will be expected to contribute at both ends of the ice, as he has over the course of his career.

More than that, Jokinen will be called upon to mentor Jesse Puljujarvi, Edmonton's fourth overall pick in 2016, who played for Finnish Elite League club Karpat - a team Jokinen owns in part - before coming to North America.

It's a role he's already embracing.

"I'm there any time (Puljujarvi) needs something," Jokinen said, per Chris Wescott on the team's website. "I think he'll be a great player for the Oilers for a long time. He's a young guy and it's not easy to come into the League but I'll do everything I can to help him grow as a player and person."

It's the kind of relationship Jokinen benefited from when he broke into the NHL.

"I remember when I was a young guy I came to the Dallas Stars and Jere Lehtinen was my roommate my first year I was able to learn from him what you have to do to be an NHL player," he said. "I learned how you have to train, how you have to play and carry yourself and stuff like that so I learned a lot from him."

Jokinen is averaging 0.61 points per game since 2005, and consistently boasts positive possession numbers, making him a tremendous low-risk, high-reward signing for the Oilers.

Even if he remains for only one season, his impact could be lasting should he indeed impart some important lessons on young Puljujarvi, who registered one goal and seven assists in 28 games for the Oilers last season.

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Minnesota Wild fans will have to wait at least three more years to see budding young prospect Kirill Kaprizov take the ice in the NHL.

The Russian forward has agreed to stay in the KHL for three more seasons, the president of CSKA Moscow announced.

Kaprizov, 20, was only a fifth-round pick by the Wild in the 2015 draft, but he is coming off an impressive season, potting 20 goals and adding 22 assists in 49 games with Ufa Salavat Yulayev of the KHL.

In fact, at 19, Kaprizov set a KHL record for most points in a season by a teenager, surpassing the old mark set by Evgeny Kuznetsov.

It was quite a year for Kaprizov. Not only did he set a KHL record, but he was also Russia's captain at the 2017 World Junior Hockey Championship, leading the tournament with nine goals and tying for the tournament lead with 12 points while taking home Forward of the Tournament honors. Here's a look at some of his handiwork:

They say good things come to those who wait, and it appears the Wild have a good thing coming, as long as they're willing to be patient.

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Todd Nelson likely won't be the next head coach of the Arizona Coyotes, but he might just know who will be.

The former Edmonton Oilers bench boss and current head coach of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins told reporters Friday that he interviewed with the Coyotes last week but believes they're going with someone else who has ties to Arizona, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

The Coyotes reportedly got permission from the Detroit Red Wings (the Griffins' parent club) to interview Nelson last week.

Nelson, who led Grand Rapids to the 2016-17 Calder Cup championship, last worked in the NHL as the Oilers' interim head coach following the firing of Dallas Eakins in 2014-15.

Arizona and longtime head coach Dave Tippett agreed to part ways in late June, citing philosophical differences.

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Going from the Presidents' Trophy winner to the last-place team in the Metropolitan Division might not be easy for some players, but Marcus Johansson is making the best of it.

"I don't mind being an underdog," the former Washington Capitals forward said Friday in his first media availability as a member of the New Jersey Devils. "We can surprise some people."

Washington traded Johansson to New Jersey last week for second- and third-round selections in 2018, a move that freed up more than $4.5 million for the cap-crunched Capitals.

The Devils' offensive firepower pales in comparison to that of the Capitals, but Johansson believes New Jersey has a talented group.

"The depth we have is good," he said. "Once we put it together as a team, it’s going to be a real strength."

New Jersey is building around the likes of Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri, as well as 20-year-old center Pavel Zacha and Nico Hischier, the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft.

The team's core also includes longer-tenured players such as Adam Henrique and Travis Zajac.

Additionally, the Devils signed veteran forward Brian Boyle to a two-year deal on July 1.

It's unclear where Johansson will slot in, given that he's capable of playing all three forward spots, but he's flexible.

“I’m open for whatever comes my way when I get there," he said.

The Devils' youth movement, including Zacha and Hischier, wasn't lost on Johansson either.

"It's awesome," Johansson said. "There's going to be a lot of hunger. We're going to be a strong and fast team."

He'll be looking to prove that his career-high 24 goals and 58 points with the Capitals this past season can be duplicated elsewhere.

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The Edmonton Oilers have signed unrestricted free-agent forward Jussi Jokinen to a one-year contract, the team announced.

Jokinen is coming off a rough year in which he tallied just 28 points in 69 games with the Florida Panthers, which led the team to buy him out after season's end. However, the veteran forward is just one season removed from a 60-point campaign.

Assuming the Oilers allow Leon Draisaitl to play his natural position of center full time this season, Jokinen will likely be blessed with some skilled linemates.

It's unlikely he'd get an initial chance to play alongside Connor McDavid, but lining up beside either Draisaitl or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins seems like a real possibility. He is capable of playing both left wing and right wing, giving Todd McLellan some flexibility in his lineup.

The Oilers will be the sixth team of the Finnish forward's NHL career.

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Kevin Klein is calling it a career.

The New York Rangers announced the defenseman's retirement Friday morning.

A prepared statement from the longtime blue-liner followed shortly thereafter.

Klein was limited to 60 regular-season games and one playoff contest this spring due to back problems.

The 32-year-old spent parts of four campaigns with the Rangers after being traded to New York by the Nashville Predators for Michael Del Zotto in January 2014.

He was entering the final season of a five-year, $14.5-million contract he signed with Nashville in 2012.

Klein was a second-round pick of the Predators in 2003.

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Former highly touted prospect Mikhail Grigorenko is headed overseas to play at home in the KHL, the league announced.

Grigorenko, who's just 23 years old, was chosen 12th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. At the time, he was considered a steal. NHL.com ranked him as the second-best forward heading in, and few mock drafts had him landing outside the top five.

Here's what The Athletic's James Mirtle, who at the time was working for the Globe and Mail, wrote about Grigorenko pre-draft:

Where oh where will Grigorenko go? One of the real wild cards in this draft, he has been ranked as high as second behind Yakupov and fallen sharply on many other lists. Incredibly skilled but criticized late this season for his work ethic, he had 40 goals and 85 points in 59 games in his first season in North America. Our scout calls him the biggest enigma of the draft as he makes some hockey people nervous with his Kovalev-ian lapses.

Grigorenko was largely a disappointment in his first three seasons in Western New York, but his upside was still tempting enough for the Colorado Avalanche to trade Ryan O'Reilly to the Sabres in exchange for a package led by the then-21-year-old.

Even with a chance to play full time in Colorado, the 6-foot-3 center failed to produce offensively, totaling just 16 goals and 50 points in 149 games with the Avs.

A chance to head home and play in Russia will serve as another opportunity for Grigorenko to discover his untapped potential.

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