While we already discussed Montreal Canadiens prospect Michael Hage last weekend after another standout offensive performance with the Michigan Wolverines, Marco D’Amico published an article on Research Ground yesterday that is highly interesting. In an exclusive interview with the prospect, D'Amico was told in no uncertain terms that the Canadiens are grooming Hage to be a pivot in the NHL.

For those who had their doubts, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound center told RG that he has worked hard this offseason to build himself into a player who can cope with the strain of playing down the middle in the NHL. That’s not all he’s worked on, though. The way he speaks about the importance of playing a two-way game sounds like he’s already a member of the Canadiens.

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His outlook on the game and the fact that he needs to play defense at both ends of the ice when he doesn’t have the puck sounds like a page right out of Martin St-Louis’ book, a true testament to the fact that all parts of the organization Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are building are communicating with each other like a well-oiled machine.. While it’s not always easy to “reprogram” players to play that way, the bench boss will certainly be grateful if Hage joins the Canadiens and has already mastered the art of 200-foot defense.

The piece also mentions that former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty is now part of the Michigan coaching staff and is playing a mentoring role with the 19-year-old. While Pacioretty came up a bit short when it came to being the Canadiens’ captain, he never did as a hockey player. He was an excellent scorer, a hard worker, and had remarkable longevity, skating for 17 years in the NHL (939 games). Had it not been for the numerous injuries he had to deal with, especially at the later stage of his career, he would have played over a thousand games.

Pacioretty spent 10 years in Montreal, and in that sense, he can be an excellent resource for Hage, but the youngster doesn’t want to fast forward to the pros and playing for the Canadiens; he’s focused on winning a national championship for Michigan, an experience that would also be beneficial as he matures into a complete hockey player.

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The Vancouver Canucks will be making two roster moves ahead of their upcoming five-game road trip. Vancouver will be reassigning forward Braeden Cootes to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL while recalling forward Max Sasson from the Abbotsford Canucks. Head Coach Adam Foote also confirmed that forward Teddy Blueger and defenceman Pierre-Oliver Joseph, who are both injured, will join the team on the road.

"After practice, we had a discussion with the staff, and we're going to reassign Cootsy to Seattle today," said Foote. "So he will not be on the road trip with us, but we're proud of what he's done. It's not been his play at all. He's a smart hockey player. We just think it's the right thing for his development. You know, this is going to be condensed, long, heavy season. He's a guy that's really good with touch pucks, touches with the puck. We have a young team. So it's hard to have a lot of support around them for his age at this moment. So I think it's the right thing for his development."

This season, Cootes played in all three games for the Canucks. He went five for 13 in the faceoff dot while averaging 10:47 of ice time. For fans who want to watch Cootes live, the next time he will be playing close to Vancouver is when the Thunderbirds take on the Vancouver Giants at the Langley Events Centre on February 16, 2026. 

The Canucks kick off their five-game road trip on Thursday when they battle the Dallas Stars. During the road trip, Vancouver will face the Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators. Game time for Thursday is scheduled for 5:00 pm PT and will be broadcast on Sportsnet. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum.

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:

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The Wraparound is here with more NHL and hockey topics in rapid-fire segments.

Will The Bruins Or Penguins Defy Expectations? by The Wraparoundundefined

Here's what Emma Lingan, Michael Augello and Stephen Kerr discussed in this episode:

0:00: Was the Lane Hutson extension a huge win for the Montreal Canadiens?

4:25: Could Pavel Dorofeyev be one of the league’s next best goal-scorers?

8:29: Should the Colorado Avalanche be concerned about how much they might have to end up paying Martin Necas?

12:55: How will Aleksander Barkov’s LTIR placement impact the Florida Panthers’ season-long plans?

16:04: Do the Boston Bruins or Pittsburgh Penguins have a better chance of defying expectations this season?

18:55: Will the Washington Capitals end up keeping John Carlson beyond this season?

21:45: Has Juuse Saros shown early signs of a potential resurgence with the Nashville Predators?

27:15: Can the Ottawa Senators stay afloat without Brady Tkachuk in their lineup for at least the next four weeks?

See below for where to subscribe to the show for future episodes.

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New York Islanders' No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer stars in the NHL's "Welcome To The NHL' Part 2, which premieres this Friday on the league's YouTube channel.

This episode highlights Schaefer’s journey to the NHL, from draft day to development camp and his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Islanders fans also get a look at No. 17 pick Kashawn Aitcheson as well, as he's a character that fans are going to fall in love with, if they haven't already.

Enjoy the trailer and be sure to check out the episode in a few days. 

Tocchet wants Michkov to play through slow start, be ready for more minutes originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

VOORHEES, N.J. — Rick Tocchet, for a couple of reasons, isn’t too fixated on Matvei Michkov’s ice time just three games into the season.

His club has been in the penalty box way too often. The Flyers have committed five penalties in each game. Those 30 total penalty minutes have taken away from Michkov’s minutes because the young winger doesn’t play when the Flyers are shorthanded.

And when you beat the two-time defending champion Panthers, it’s tough to complain about Michkov not playing the final seven and a half minutes. He still finished with a comprehensible 14:56 minutes and he wasn’t the only player to lose ice time down the stretch of the Flyers’ 5-2 home-opening win Monday night.

“I’ve got to get people on the ice, so I get it,” Tocchet said Tuesday. “But he’s playing 15 minutes and we won the hockey game, so we’ve got to kind of move past that.

“We’re killing five penalties a game, so the game shrinks to 50 minutes. You’ve got to get people out there, I get it, but we’re a balanced type of team, we’re not a one-line team, we’re not a team that plays guys 25 minutes if we’re going to win.”

Michkov doesn’t have a point through the Flyers’ 1-1-1 start. After Monday’s morning skate, Tocchet divulged that Michkov dealt with an ankle issue at some point this offseason, which limited some of his training.

But the 20-year-old still looked like his dynamic self in training camp and the preseason.

“He had some stuff in the summer that he couldn’t really train and he’s behind the eight ball,” Tocchet said, “so we’ve got to get him skating.”

The head coach liked the way Michkov skated Monday night and Tuesday in practice.

“There’s two good days together,” Tocchet said. “We’ve just got to stack some days for him.”

Matvei Michkov sets up Bobby Brink goal in 2-on-1 drill. pic.twitter.com/QsLGHNX567

— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) October 14, 2025

Last season, Michkov played 80 of 82 games and was one of the NHL’s top rookies. The Flyers wanted to be careful with a teenager from Russia making the jump to the NHL. As part of the process, former head coach John Tortorella sat Michkov for two games in November and cut his minutes at different times of the season.

Tocchet was asked about the thought of healthy scratching players to give them a mental or physical reset. It doesn’t sound like he’ll go that route with Michkov, especially this early in the season.

“No,” Tocchet said. “For a guy like him, he has got to play through it.”

The Carolina Hurricanes look to be in line to see an NHL debut tonight as goaltender Brandon Bussi is slated to make his first career start in San Jose after being the first to leave the ice at Tuesday's morning skate.

The 27-year-old goalie has bided his time, even dressing as the backup for a handful of games over his three year professional career, but the ultimate opportunity is now before him.

"He's been great," Hurricanes goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder told The Hockey News. "Good in practice, he has a great attitude, good work ethic. Obviously I didn't know him personally before he got here, but he's been great and has fit in real well. He's worked hard and I think if he shows what he does in practice in a game, then he'll be fine."

It's been quite a month for Bussi, who has gone all the way from an AHL reassignment to the Charlotte Checkers to now playing in the NHL, all in the span of nine days.

Bussi signed this summer with the Florida Panthers after three seasons with the Boston Bruins organization, but he was among the final cuts from the defending Stanley Cup champs, and so he and his fiancée packed the car and headed up north to join the Cats' AHL affiliate. 

One phone call from Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky, though, changed everything. 

And luckily for him, it wasn't too hard to make a slight adjustment east to Raleigh.

"The hockey world can be crazy at times and that call was a special moment for me, my fiancée and my family, everyone involved," Bussi told The Hockey News. "Any day you're in the NHL is a privilege so I'm pretty pumped to be here."

The next day, the Hurricanes' assumed third-string goalie Cayden Primeau was claimed off of waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs and then another day later, Hurricanes netminder Pyotr Kochetkov was sidelined with a lower-body injury.

Life has a funny way of working out like that sometimes.

New Guy Bussi pic.twitter.com/XYOGx89GcT

— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) October 9, 2025

Bussi hasn't had a ton of time to get acclimated with his new team, but he said that everyone has welcomed him with open arms so far.

"It's a great locker room," Bussi said. "And everything from the top down, management, coach, players, staff, everyone has made me feel super welcome and just like another one of the guys."

But another aspect of the game that he hasn't had too much time to get used to either, though, is getting familiar with how the team in front of him plays.

That's where Schonfelder comes in.

"As far as the team goes, we talk a little bit about systems and what he can expect, stuff on the PK," Schonfelder said. "But mostly, it's been about me getting to know him on an individual level. Sometimes it happens quick and obviously Brandon got here pretty quick, so just trying to get an idea of what makes him tick and how he likes to play certain things, so when it's game time, he can just go out there and play. The process isn't over yet, to be honest with you, but you just do your best to get caught up and see how it goes."

However, the Hurricanes have historically done pretty well when bringing in a third or even a fourth goaltender throughout a season.

With injuries to Kochetkov and the Hurricanes wanting to avoid wearing out starting netminder Frederik Andersen this early into the year, the team really has no choice but to give Bussi his shot, but it's one they feel he is ready for.

"He was somebody I identified in the summertime," Schonfelder said. "He obviously ended up signing in Florida, but he was somebody who was on my list of people to go after. I had him down as somebody who, he obviously played down in the American league for three years, but is ready to make that jump to the NHL. I feel that's where his game is at right now."

Bussi has 111 games of AHL experience under his belt with the Providence Bruins, where he posted a 63-31-13 record along with a 0.915 save percentage and eight shutouts.

"He looks good," Brind'Amour said. "Big guy. Hopefully we're not going to be relying on that too much, but if we do, we have a lot of confidence in him."

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