The Vancouver Canucks acquired 2018 third-round draft pick, Linus Karlsson, back in 2019. He made his NHL debut on November 16, 2023, and scored his first NHL goal on January 29, 2025 against the Nashville Predators. Now, the forward has 26 total NHL games under his belt as well as two postseason NHL games. Despite finding a goal-scoring home with the Abbotsford Canucks as the franchise’s leading scorer, Karlsson looks to find his role with Vancouver. 

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Karlsson scored his third goal of the season Monday night against the San Jose Sharks — a tidy one that involved him crashing the net to tuck home a rebound. He scored his first NHL goal in a similar manner, keeping himself planted in front of the opposing goaltender to bat in any possible bounces. 

“If you want to score in this league, you have to have some natural presence. And I love to be that guy,” Karlsson commented on Monday about the style of his goal. “I just try to find a role that helps the team. And if I can help, it’s getting me a better chance to play up here.” 

“He’s a guy that can [do that],” Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet said of Karlsson wanting a netfront role. “He should embrace that role, because he can do it.”

Linus Karlsson scores his first career AHL goal, and it’s an overtime winner for Abbotsford! pic.twitter.com/wcU6VMBiMn

— 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀 Faber 🔥🎙️ (@ChrisFaber39) October 16, 2022

Tip-ins and netfront goals are something Karlsson has been practicing for awhile. In fact, Karlsson’s first goal with Abbotsford came from crashing the net and maintaining his presence in-tight. For Karlsson, carving out a full-time NHL role like this is definitely possible — he’ll just need to continue working at it.  

“I think there’s something there, [but] he’s got to get stronger,” Tocchet said. “That’s just part of the maturation.” 

pic.twitter.com/vyL6fuSlWp

— Izzy 🪿 (@izzycheung37) April 4, 2025

“I think it’s a lot of technique. I’m probably not the strongest guy, but I work a lot with this kind of stuff,” Karlsson added regarding his playstyle. “Most of the game is along the board. So really, that’s probably why I’m up here. That’s what I’m good at, like along the walls, and try to get the puck out of there.” 

Ultimately, Karlsson’s goal for next season should be cementing himself in Vancouver’s regular lineup and continuing to play the way he has since being called up this time around. If that means playing netfront and collecting as many tip-ins and rebounds as possible, then that’s what he’ll have to do. 

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have done it again. 

Last night, they beat the Philadelphia Flyers and put all the pressure on the Montreal Canadiens to win against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight. 

As of right now, the Blue Jackets sit just two points behind Montreal and have a game against the New York Islanders on Thursday night. 

If the Canadiens lose tonight against the Hurricanes, they need to lose in regulation. If they manage to get a point, it puts an end to the Blue Jackets' season. 

As it currently stands, the Hurricanes are slated to give their star players a night off as it is their final game. Based on what Hurricanes reporters are posting on social media, these are the players who aren't at the morning skate:

Here is who is NOT on the ice for the #Canes at morning skate in Montreal:

• Sebastian Aho
• Jackson Blake
• Jalen Chatfield
• Seth Jarvis
• Jordan Martinook
• Jaccob Slavin
• Jordan Staal

— Walt Ruff (@WaltRuff) April 16, 2025

It is worth noting, just because they aren't at morning skate doesn't mean they won’t be playing. However, if they don’t, it does give the advantage to the Canadiens. That said, they are winless in their last four games. Yes, they will be hungry, but with how they’ve played recently, the Hurricanes still have a good chance to win this game. 

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All eyes will be on this game tonight. There are a lot of Blue Jackets fans eager to find out what happens — and fans around the NHL as well. It’s a very exciting situation to witness: two teams fighting for the final playoff spot, and it all comes down to the wire. 

It doesn't get better than that.

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The Vegas Golden Knights will face the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the 2024-25 playoffs.

The Golden Knights have finished the season as the second seed in the Western Conference, giving them home-ice advantage against every team but the Winnipeg Jets. 

The Wild and the St. Louis Blues have been going back and forth, each team taking and losing the first wild card spot. Both teams played their final games of the season last night and after the Wild defeated the Anaheim Ducks in overtime, they clinched the higher seed.

The Golden Knights and the Wild have played one another three times this season, with the Golden Knights claiming victory each time. The first meeting, dating back to Dec. 15, saw the Golden Knights defeat the Wild 3-2 thanks to a third-period goal by Victor Olofsson.

The next two contests were won in a more dominant fashion. Without Kirill Kaprizov, the Wild couldn't generate enough offence to keep up with the Golden Knights, resulting in 4-1 and 5-1 wins. 

Kaprizov's return to the lineup will pose a difficult challenge for the Golden Knights. In the 3-2 win, Kaprizov scored both of the Wild's goals, and he finished the season with 25 goals and 56 points in 41 games, ranking fifth in points per game. Slowing him down will be challenging but vital to their success. 

The playoff schedule has not been released the beginning of the playoffs are expected to start on Saturday, Apr. 19 or Sunday, Apr. 20.

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Montreal Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov made his NHL debut, potentially the most highly anticipated debut in 2024-25, on Monday in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. He scored a goal and notched an assist in his first period of NHL hockey, causing many to question how he slipped to the Habs at five, similar to questions many had in June of 2024.

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Demidov (19) was selected fifth overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft despite consensus suggesting he was the number two prospect behind San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini. Demidov scored 60 points (23-37=60) in 30 MHL (Russia’s top junior league) regular season games in the 2023-24 season and added 28 points (11-17=28) in 17 playoff games.

Demidov’s draft profile radiated talent but came with significant question marks, as did every draft-eligible player outside of Celebrini. He had creativity dripping from his pores while displaying elite puck skills, manipulation skills, and hockey IQ.

The downside was the perceived questionable translatability of his skating and production, as he had only ever played before Russian eyes, in Russia, and had played all but six games in the MHL, a league he was clearly too advanced for.

Following Celebrini’s selection at first overall and ahead of Demidov’s fifth, the Chicago Blackhawks selected Artyom Levshunov second, the Ducks selected Beckett Sennecke third, and the Blue Jackets selected Cayden Lindstrom fourth.

In 2024-25, Demidov played 65 regular season games for SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL, scoring 49 points (19-30=49) in limited minutes. He added five points (3-2=5) in six playoff games. His season quelled practically all concerns regarding his translatability as he was now producing and positively impacting games in one of the world’s top professional leagues.

Demidov’s NHL debut on Monday captured the attention of the hockey world. He instantly met and exceeded expectations, electrifying fans with a couple of highlight-reel plays, resulting in his two-point night.

He made one critical error on Chicago’s game-tying goal in the third period with a pitiful backchecking effort that ended up costing Montreal the extra point.

The good far outweighed the bad and the conversation within the Ducks sphere centered again around why and how the Ducks passed on who most considered the second-best prospect in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Ducks director of amateur scouting and assistant general manager Martin Madden met with local media ahead of the 2024 Draft to discuss his team’s approach.

“It’s not about what they look like today, it’s what they’re going to look like five years from now and the impact they’re going to have on our team five years from now,” Madden said when asked about his approach at the draft.

“We’re going to go with the old boring way and say that we’re going to go with the best player available according to our opinion and projection,” he continued.

It’s clear that translatability is a considerable factor for Madden and the Ducks at the draft. There’s also always the perceived “Russian Factor” when it comes to players under contract with KHL clubs. Teams don’t have access to the development of those players as they do with prospects in other leagues around the world.

Madden stated the Ducks did meet with Demidov at the Gold Star pre-draft combine, a camp put on by Demidov’s agency.

“Five years ago, I would have said not at all,” Madden said when asked if he was comfortable drafting a Russian player at the top of the draft. “By now, we are comfortable with the process (of assessing players strictly on video). We’ve had enough live viewings of these players through Konstantin Krylov, our Russian scout.

“For me, it’s nice to have been able to get a live look in terms of Ivan Demidov. He’s still hurt, so he didn’t get on the ice. But to talk to him and so on and so forth. To answer your question, we are comfortable. It’s not a big deal.”

The Ducks ended up selecting exceptionally skilled winger Beckett Sennecke with the third overall pick. He was the draft’s “late riser,” solidifying his draft profile with a spectacular final string of regular season and playoff games.

If Madden is to be taken at his word, at the time of the draft, the Ducks viewed Sennecke as the highest projectable player available to them with the number three pick.

Sennecke (19) has dazzled in the 2024-25 season, scoring 86 points (36-50=86) in 56 regular season games for the Oshawa Generals of the OHL, and has added 10 points (4-6=10) in six playoff games.

Sennecke remains a justifiable selection by Anaheim regardless of how Demidov arrived in the NHL. Like Madden had said nearly a year ago, “It’s not about what they look like today, it’s about what they’re going to look like five years from now.”

The Ducks' decisions at the 2024 draft shouldn’t be evaluated less than a year from conclusion, but several years down the road.

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