After drafting top winger Porter Martone over center James Hagens at the top of the 2025 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers will have to wait a little longer to find the No. 1 center of their future.
In fact, the Flyers themselves even insisted they needed centers after electing to choose Martone over Hagens.
So, what compelled them to do that? The answer, according to Flyers GM Danny Briere, was as simple as Martone being the better, more impactful player.
"We said it all along, yeah, we would've preferred a center, but we felt we couldn't pass up on the chance to bring a difference-maker like Porter Martone to the team," Briere explained at the end of the first round of the NHL Draft.
The 18-year-old Martone, already a captain of Canada's U18s and his Brampton Steelheads, finished second only to Michael Misa in goals (37 to Misa's 62) and total scoring (98 points to Misa's 134) amongst draft-eligible forwards in the OHL this year.
Martone's future Flyers teammate and draft classmate, Jack Nesbitt, finished seventh in goals (25) amongst OHL draft-eligibles and sixth in points (64). That's to give an indication as to how good Martone really is at his age with his natural talents and leadership.
"If there's one thing I would say, it's, in this draft, in the first round, [Martone is] pretty close to being the most ready out of that group," Briere continued. "To be able to select him at six, I don't want to say steal, but we had him higher on our board.
"We felt if Porter was there at six, even though he wasn't a center, that it would be really tough to go by him. . . Porter, in that range, was the one guy we felt we just couldn't let go by."
So, that's the story of how Porter Martone overtook James Hagens and ended up on the Flyers by the end of Friday night.
Briere knows how many right wings the Flyers have just as much as you and I, which should illustrate just how highly this team and these scouts valued this player.
It should be noted that Martone is an Oct. 26 birthday, too, which means he'll be 19 years old fairly early into the 2025-26 season.
Martone aspires to make the team out of camp, while Briere, cautiously, wouldn't completely rule out the possibility of his newest top draft pick playing NHL games at some point.
After all, a barely 18-year-old Jett Luchanko played four NHL games at the start of last season.
So, by that logic, Martone is closer to the big leagues than we think both from a time perspective and from a skill perspective. Come this time next year, would there be any value in him playing nearly a full OHL season as a 20-year-old? Probably not.
This is a rare occasion where an early birthday and talent intersect to a team's advantage as the Flyers gear up to take the next step in their rebuild.
A Dodger Stadium scoreboard encourages fans to be loud as Shohei Ohtani prepares to bat against the San Diego Padres on June 16. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
As someone who has permanent ringing in the ears (tinnitus) as a result of hearing damage from concerts, I must take exception to how loud the music is played at sporting events these days. Despite quotes from Dodger players and executives stating how "great" the loudness at Dodger Stadium is, they are putting the paying customers and employees at risk for hearing loss with the excessive volume. Entertaining the fans is one thing, assaulting the delicate instrument that is our ears is quite another. I'm sure they could turn it down to safer decibel levels and everyone will still have a good time.
Mark Furcick San Pedro
Dodger Stadium hosts a Military Appreciation Night, a Salvadoran Heritage Night, and a Guatemalan Heritage Night. But we will never see an Autism Spectrum Night. The ear-shattering sound system would cause fans to run from the stadium screaming in pain and terror.
I suffer from a condition called hyperacusis, where loud noises can cause ear pain lasting for days or even weeks. It's rare in the general population, but more common among autistic people. I love baseball, and used to love going to Dodger Stadium from the year it opened until 20-something years ago. But now I'd have to wear industrial-strength ear protection.
Russell Stone Westchester
I used to like bleacher seats but won’t sit there again — way too loud right under the sound system.
Bob Wieting Simi Valley
Sure it’s “entertainment.” Sure the players like the enthusiasm. But there are seats located beneath or near speakers that are simply painful to the ears.
Richard Melniker Los Angeles
Pain at Pauley Pavilion
Thanks for the excellent article on loud music at Dodger Stadium, which reminded me of how annoying it was to watch UCLA basketball at Pauley Pavilion last season. Constant painfully loud rap and techno-music, measured at 90 decibels, which according to OSHA, can cause hearing damage from two hours of exposure. As an older alum, I would prefer to hear just the sound of the band playing and the cheers from the crowd.
Tony DeRiggi Sacramento
Go to the bullpen
What genius decided to use position players to pitch in the ninth inning when the team was either way ahead or way behind in a game? It's embarrassing to see lousy pitching, bases loaded, and hitters scoring. Use a regular bullpen pitcher, and spare us, your fans, from flinching.
Deborah R. Ishida Beverly Hills
Ace in the hole
Considering his recent outings and record, you'd have to say Clayton Kershaw is now the Dodgers’ staff ace. Great story for him, maybe even worthy of comeback player of the year, if he keeps it up. Also more than a bit ironic, given the big money paid to the Dodgers’ underwhelming three free agent starters. Kershaw might be barely hitting 90 mph on the radar gun, but he’s pitching effectively, and more important, taking his turn in the rotation — which is a noteworthy achievement on this staff.
John Merryman Redondo Beach
Envision it
Ever since he got his vision corrected in April, Max Muncy has been on a hitting tear! Which has me wondering … when can we expect a bobblehead night for his ophthalmologist?
Nick Rose Newport Coast
Memo to the Los Angeles Dodgers:
Find out who Max Muncy’s eye doctor is and send the rest of the team to him.
Ira M. Friedman Beverly Hills
Thunderstruck
Congratulations to the Oklahoma City Thunder for winning the NBA title. One thing I noticed about this very young team is how mature and classy they are. They don’t make ridiculous gestures like some of the old veteran superstars i.e. "Night Night," "Ice in the Veins," etc. I hope you veterans can learn something from these young champions.
Paul Kawaguchi Rosemead
The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.
If someone told you a year ago today that the Boston Bruins were going to select Boston College center James Hagens in the 2025 NHL Draft, it would have been easy to assume that the B’s had the No. 1 pick.
But the Bruins were lucky enough to land the Eagles star with the No. 7 overall pick in the first round of Friday’s draft in Los Angeles.
Hagens tallied 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games for BC last season. Even though a point-per-game scoring rate as an 18-year-old in Hockey East is pretty impressive, Hagens didn’t dominate at the level of other recent high draft picks from college, including 2024 No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini. Hagens’ lack of size at 5-foot-11 also might have factored into his draft slide.
But there’s no doubting his offensive talents. Hagens is an elite playmaker, an excellent skater and an underrated goal scorer. He’s been a first-line player at every level he’s played, and he certainly has the potential to fill that role at the NHL level someday.
“You look back at James’ track record, he’s been a prolific point producer,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told reporters Friday night.
What did the experts think of the Bruins taking Hagens at No. 7 overall? Here’s a roundup of grades.
“The Bruins had a clear need for high-end talent in their farm system and a pressing need for top center talent. In Hagens, they address both. He’s an electric skater, puck handler and passer. He becomes the clear top young talent in their organization, and despite how he’s been picked apart at times for his size and physicality, he projects as a potential top-line forward.” — Corey Pronman
“It wasn’t that long ago when Hagens was considered the top prospect in this draft class. Despite his small size, Hagens has incredible skill and will likely end up as one of the better centers of this draft due to his creative and explosive play. This definitely feels like a steal for Boston, that’s for sure.” — Mary Clarke
“This is a huge win for the Boston Bruins who, let’s face it, have not done a great job drafting in recent years. The Bruins are also in the middle of a rebuild (retool, whatever you want to call it), and having a brilliant facilitator like Hagens as a piece of that is a big step forward. You can trust him anywhere on the ice. Boston needs that.
“Although Porter Martone’s potential and high ceiling got him our third spot over Hagens, I feel more confident that Hagens will reach his ceiling. He was the consensus No. 1 last summer, but being No. 4 on our board is not a slight on him, just commentary on how much impressive work we’ve seen from the three players ahead of him this season. He’s going to be an excellent player with development and time.” — Hannah Stuart
The Warriors made the expected move Saturday when they extended a $7.9 million qualifying offer to Jonathan Kuminga, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole confirmed.
Kuminga officially becomes a restricted NBA free agent ahead of Monday’s negotiating period, which begins at 3 p.m. PT.
Kuminga and the Warriors were unable to agree to a long-term contract extension before the 2024-25 NBA season, and he played out the final guaranteed year of his rookie deal.
In 47 games, Kuminga averaged 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds on 45.4-percent shooting from the field and 30.5-percent shooting from 3-point range.
Kuminga’s fourth NBA season was hampered by an ankle injury sustained in early January, sidelining him for 31 games. When he returned to the lineup, Jimmy Butler had been acquired and the Warriors had a hard time fitting Kuminga into the rotation.
By the time the Warriors reached the NBA playoffs, Kuminga was out of the rotation and received four DNPs in their first-round series win over the Houston Rockets.
But Kuminga rejoined the mix against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round when Steph Curry sustained a hamstring injury. In the final four games, the forward averaged 24.3 points on 55.4-percent shooting, showing the Warriors and the rest of the NBA what he’s capable of.
Kuminga believes he can be a “great” NBA player in the right situation, and he understands that might mean leaving the Warriors, who drafted him No. 7 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.
But the Warriors still could retain a former lottery pick whom they have invested ample time and effort into.
The new Brad Pitt F1 movie offers a glossy exhilarating ride but its 1960s predecessor Grand Prix goes beneath the bonnet
‘Let’s try to get the season off to a good start, shall we? Drive the car. Don’t try to stand it on its bloody ear.”
Have you watched the movie? It’s about a rule-breaking American Formula One driver, the kind who blows past blue flags and crashes into his own teammate. You must have heard of it. They shot it in real race cars, across some of the most prestigious circuits in the world. It even had contemporary world championship drivers making notable cameos on the track.
A scrappy, smart defensive player in his formative years, a late growth spurt and shrewd coaching have honed the 23-year-old Briton into an opponent others now fear
Towards the end of 2018, a relatively unknown 16-year-old British tennis player took some of his first strides on the professional tennis circuit in a $15,000 (£11,000) tournament in Lagos, Nigeria on the ITF World Tennis Tour. Earlier that summer, Jack Draper had offered a glimpse into his considerable potential with a run to the Wimbledon boys’ final and his encouraging first tussles against adult opposition had earned him a modest ATP ranking of No 623. “I was very different then,” Draper says, smiling. “A bit of a maniac, to be honest.”
Those experiences were key in his development for various reasons. He ended that tournament by winning his third consecutive title, offering him more reason to believe he was on the right path. Along the way, he gained some essential perspective. “I’d have a wet [racket] grip, because it was so humid there. I’d put it in a bin and the kids were fighting over it. Just the energy from the people there, they were really passionate about tennis,” says Draper. “To go to those sorts of places was definitely … going from the UK and having a lot of, I guess, things given to me, it definitely helped the way I saw life.”
Angels right fielder LaMonte Wade Jr. makes a sliding catch during the eighth inning of a 15-9 loss to the Washington Nationals at Angel Stadium on Friday night. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)
Game 81. The halfway point of the 2025 season arrived at Angel Stadium — and the Angels, albeit squarely in contention at .500, were dealing with a bit of organizational uncertainty.
Bench coach Ray Montgomery took over the reins on June 20 as the acting — now interim — manager as the Angels entered Friday as winners in seven of their last 10 games.
The Angels are in a much better spot than 2024. This time last season, after game 81, they were 11 games under .500 — squarely out of the postseason hunt.
Friday, however, even after losing 15-9 in a three-hour, 11-minute slog of a series opener against the Washington Nationals (34-48), the Angels (40-41) still are just two games out of the third American League wild card spot.
In a game where the Angels and Nationals combined for 24 runs and 30 hits — with the 19 hits and 15 runs given up by the Angels’ pitching staff representing season-worst marks — what ultimately separated the teams was the Angels' inability to come through with runners on base.
In the sixth and seventh innings — down one and two runs, respectively — the Angels had opportunities to take the lead or tie the game with runners in scoring position, but failed to capitalize. From there, the Nationals' lead would grow, with Hunter Strickland giving up four runs in the ninth as part of a 10-run barrage against the Angels' bullpen.
In the early innings, the Angels had plenty of opportunities against Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin, who struggled against the heart of the lineup.
Jo Adell struck a 92-mph fastball high and away to right field for a solo home run — his 18th overall and 11th in June — in the second. An inning later, Nolan Schanuel and Taylor Ward received hanging breaking balls — a high curveball and slider, respectively — and pulled the ball for short-porch home runs.
Three home runs across three innings helped the Angels build a three-run lead. Across 4 ⅓ innings of work against Irvin, the Angels' lineup continued to click. They tallied nine runs (eight earned to Irvin) on nine hits — just enough for an early lead as José Soriano tossed his worst outing of the season.
Soriano couldn’t exit the fifth against the Nationals. The shutdown pitching he had featured in his last three starts — giving up just two runs across 20 ⅔ innings — looked like a distant memory. The right-hander struck out four and walked two, while giving up eight earned runs and nine hits.
Angels shortstop Zach Neto (shoulder) returned to action, striking out in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter.
Before the game, Neto said that he’d likely be able to hit before throwing — something he’s yet to do — after jamming his shoulder on a stolen base attempt Tuesday.
Henry Brzustewicz, left, stands with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman after being selected by the Kings at No. 31 overall in the NHL draft at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Friday. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
For Ken Holland, the Kings’ decidedly old-school general manager, new isn’t necessarily better. Take the NHL draft, for example.
Holland presided over more than a quarter-century of drafts with the Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers, and they were generally held in one place, with everyone from the executives doing the drafting to the players being drafted on site.
On Friday, for the first time in a non-pandemic environment, the draft was conducted semi-remotely, with the top 93 draft-eligible players and their families filling some of the seats in the half-empty Peacock Theater in Los Angeles while team representatives made their selections from their home markets.
And whatever the league was attempting to accomplish with the decentralized format, other than saving on travel, it didn’t work.
After each pick was announced on a giant video board that took up two-thirds of the theater’s massive stage, players made their way up the aisle to be greeted by Commissioner Gary Bettman. They then pulled on a team jersey and hat before being led into the "Draft House" — a small virtual reality room in the center of the stage — for what amounted to a congratulatory Zoom call with the club’s brass.
The Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles hosts the NHL draft. (Juan Ocampo / NHLI via Getty Images)
The young men were celebrating the biggest moment of their lives yet they came off like Dorothy speaking to the Wizard of Oz. Much of it was awkward, especially when James Hagens, the eighth selection, was left waving at Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney after the audio in the Bruins’ war room in Boston went mute. That was just one of multiple technical glitches that included echoes and timing delays that left players and executives talking over one another.
When it became obvious the painfully slow-paced event would plod past 4½ hours, the Draft House was closed to some teams.
Brady Martin, the fifth pick, didn’t even bother to come to L.A. So when Nashville announced his selection — via a celebrity video taped at a golf course — the NHL showed a video of Martin working on his family’s farm. Russian goaltender Pyotr Andreyanov wouldn’t even get that treatment. When he was announced as the 20th overall pick, the NHL had nothing to show, making Andreyanov the first no-show of the no-show draft.
Matthew Schaefer, a 17-year-old defenseman from Hamilton, Canada,, who was taken with the No. 1 pick by the New York Islanders, said being part of video draft did not spoil his big day.
Matthew Schaefer stands between Michael Misa, left, and Anton Frondell after being selected 1-2-3, respectively, in the NHL draft at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Friday. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
“I'm just honored to be picked,” said Schaefer who cried, alongside his dad and brother, when his name was called. “I dreamt about it my whole life. It’s such an honor. Especially the first pick overall.”
For Holland, however, none of that counts as progress.
“I’m old and I’m old fashioned. So I like the old way,” said the Kings general manager, whose view was shared by other GMs around the league. “You draft some player in the sixth round and all of a sudden you hear ‘yay!’ way up in the corner. It’s him, it’s his family, and they’re all excited to hear [his] name announced by an NHL team.
“This weekend, to me, is about the young players.”
Aside from the technical difficulties, the actual draft went largely to form. The Ducks, as expected, took Roger McQueen, an 18-year-old forward from Saskatchewan, with their top pick, the 10th overall selection. The Kings, meanwhile, traded their first pick, No. 24 overall, to the Pittsburgh Penguins. After moving down seven spots they took right-handed-shooting defenseman Henry Brzustewicz, 18, a Minnesota native, with the penultimate pick of the first day.
Round two through seven of the draft will be conducted Saturday.
Roger McQueen, second from right, poses for photos with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, right, and actors Joshua Jackson, left, and Marguerite Moreau, second from left, after being drafted by the Ducks at No. 10 overall. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
The Ducks, who had a top-10 pick for a seventh straight year, see the 6-foot-5 McQueen as a raw talent who can develop into a top-line center.
“He has a big body. But what goes along with that is his skill and skating ability,” said general manager Pat Verbeek, whose team has 10 picks this weekend.
For the Kings, this draft was the first public move in what could be an intense couple of weeks. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and winger Andrei Kuzmenko are unrestricted free agents and the team would like to re-sign both before they hit the open market Tuesday.
“If we re-sign Gavrikov, there’s not going to be a ton of change,” Holland said. “If we don’t, then there’s going to be change.”
Gavrikov, 29, emerged as a solid presence on the blue line, playing a career-high 82 games and posting the best goals-against average of the 17 defensemen to play at least 1,500 minutes. Former Kings GM Rob Blake made Gavrikov a contract offer last March, said Holland, who has since sweetened the deal twice. Replacing him, the GM said, could require a couple of signings.
Kuzmenko, 29, reenergized the offense after coming over from Philadelphia at the trade deadline, with the Kings going 17-5 and averaging nearly four goals a game down the stretch.
Kings fans cheer after Henry Brzustewicz is drafted by the team at No. 31 overall. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)
“We like Kuzmenko. Kuzmenko likes it here; he likes his role,” Holland said. “I’m talking to him. I talked two, three, four times this week with his agent. So we’ll see.”
Signing both players would put a big dent in the Kings’ $21.7 million in salary-cap space.
“We have a lot of cap space but it doesn’t take much and it’s gone,” Holland said. “We’ve got to figure out how we want to spend our money and they need to figure out how much money they can get.”
Aside from Gavrikov and Kuzmenko, the Kings don’t have many loose ends to tie up. The team is confident it can get forward Alex Laferriere, a restricted free agent, to agree to a short-term deal and it has to decide whether to re-sign David Rittich, an unrestricted free agent, as the backup to starting goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper.
Two players who could be moving on are forward Tanner Jeannot and defenseman Jordan Spence, both of whom are looking for more ice time and may have to leave to get it.
ST.
LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues were left out of the Friday trades in
the NHL but added what they hope is their next version of a pure goal
scorer.
The
Blues selected right wing Justin Carbonneau with the No. 19 pick of
the 2025 NHL Draft on Friday in Los Angeles, hoping they will one day
in the not-too-distant future have a quality franchise-grown player
become the next Blues great.
Carbonneau,
18, is 6-foot-2, 205 pounds who had 89 points (46 goals, 43 assists)
in 62 games for Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the Quebec Maritimes
Junior Hockey League. His 89 points were second in the league.
Carbonneau
scored 77 goals the past two seasons and had 148 points in 130 games.
“I’m
not a big crying guy, but all the emotions that went through my head
when I heard my name, I thought about my parents, my brother,
everybody that was here with me,” Carbonneau said. “My guys, my
teammates in Blainville. I’m grateful to have them here every
single day. They shoot me some texts about the draft and can’t wait
to just call them and meet my family too. I cried a bit thinking
about all that, but right now, it’s just pure happiness.
“It’s
cool to be drafted and it’s a great opportunity, but to be honest,
I didn’t really cry because of the rank or whatever. I think the
team first of all, it’s incredible to be in St. Louis. Second of
all, I talked about it, but to see my family like this, also proud
because they have done so much for me over the last few years. They
got early at the rink and sometimes you don’t listen to them when
you’re younger after a game and all that. They helped me a lot
along the way. Their thing is just my teammates in Blainville, it’s
cliché to say things about my teammates, but I would not be here
without them today. They help me every single day to be a better
teammate, a better player, a better scorer, better leader every
single day. There’s different guys being there that help me be the
player and the person I am today for the last three years. When I got
drafted, it made me think about that. Some good flashbacks. It was
emotional, but it was pretty good.”
Carbonneau
is a shooter and stick handler, and doesn’t shy away from doing the
things that have netted him 77 goals at the junior level the past two
seasons.
“I
destroyed my whole house when I was younger shooting pucks,”
Carbonneau said. “I was walking with some roller blades all day
since I was like five years old. My floors, I had to change it too.
It’s been something I’ve been working on since I was young, just
shooting the puck, walking around with some roller blades, all those
things. I think my skills came from a long time ago, but I still work
on them every single day.”
And
this is why the Blues had Carbonneau ranked high on their draft
board.
“He's
a goal scorer,” Blues
general manager Doug Armstrong said.
“He's someone that enjoys the fruits of his labors of scoring
goals, someone I think in a league that is going toward goal-scoring,
he brings us another element when you stack that on some of the guys
that we have right now. He's a good complement with [Jimmy]
Snuggerud,
[Jordan]
Kyrou
and [Zack]
Bolduc,
‘Buch’ and ‘Holly’ who can score goals. You add another
player to that.
“Our
goal is to be a three-line scoring team and this gives us an
opportunity. Now saying that, I don't expect him to be filling the
net with regularity for a few years, so guys will mature out and do
other things. It just gives us another option in another area that's
hard to do.”
Carbonneau
said he fits in the mold of an Adrian Kempe of the Los Angeles Kings
and Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers, guys that like to play
between the dots and play physical to get there. Carbonneau has some
football background in his profile.
“I
think his size, speed and shot,” Carbonneau said of Kempe. “I
think I bring that, and Konecny, his mindset. I’m not scared of
anyone. I score goals in the paint and dirty areas. He’s 5-8 or
5-10, and he shoots the puck and he goes to the net and doesn’t
care about getting hit or slashed or whatever. It’s always his
mentality, something I want to bring too.
“I
wouldn’t call it maybe a career, but I just play football. I used
to play running back. I stopped a few years ago, but I just like the
contact, like on the ice a little bit. I like to get hit, I like to
throw some hits. It’s a part of my game. I play inside (the) dots,
I don’t play outside. Yes, I score goals and I make plays
offensively, but I do it the right way. I do it strong on my stick
and I can relate to my running back when I played. I had some fun
playing football.”
Playing
strong-minded and a between-the-dots player has always been in
Carbonneau’s DNA.
“I
think that I always had it in me. I play with a lot of fire,” he
said. “I’m not really scared of anyone. I know that the 6-8 guys
are stronger probably than me and bigger, but I’m going to still
try, I think I always had that in me. Goals are scored in those
areas. Outside dots, yes, you can score some goals, but you’re not
going to score 50 goals from outside the dots, you’re going to
score inside the dots. You have to find ways to get there and I use
my body and my speed to get there. It’s important if you want to
score goals like a goal-scorer like me.”
Armstrong
said that the Blues considered moving up as well as moving back in
the draft, especially if Carbonneau was off the board as the last
player the Blues had in their block of players they had considered
where they picked.
“The
top 10 went, not in the exact order we had them, but the spray
started after 10,” Armstrong
said.
“I think the mock drafts had him somewhere (Nos.) 14-18, so we
thought that he would be a little bit of a stretch but he might get
to us.
“I
think it was a difficult year to move up because we didn't have a
second, third or fourth. We don't have a second next year because we
had to trade it to get a second this year, so the game plays on. If
we were going to move up, we were going to have to use our pick, plus
someone that we've drafted that we've already put money into develop
and it would've had to take us to a different block. We didn't see
that. We did talk to a couple of teams that if a player in our block
wasn't there, and ‘Carbo’ was the last player in our block, if he
wasn't there, we would've considered moving back, but only a couple
of slots. When you're looking at 19, we wouldn't
have gone to 27 or 28. We might've been able to go to 22 or 23, and
acquire a late second or a third and cross your fingers that you
don't lose three guys in five picks. We didn't have to do that
because at 19, there was a player that we were excited about in our
block.”
Carbonneau
had met with the Blues prior to the draft at the combine, feeling it
would be a good spot for him to land but also open to wherever he
went and whoever took him.
“I
spoke with the Blues this year,” he
said.
“I spoke with the mental coach a few hours this year to kind of get
with my mindset and all that, and at the combine, I had a good
meeting with them too. Some good talks and good people in St. Louis.
It’s going to be fun to meet them the next few days.”
Carbonneau
will be in St. Louis beginning Monday for a four-day developmental
camp, then the two sides will decide on where he will play next
season. His choices are Boston College or back in junior.
“We've
always tried to listen to the player and tell him that we're in this
for the marathon and what does he think is best for him -- how is he
going to mature,” Armstrong
said.
“I've never in my experience as a manager asked a team to trade a
player or told a player where to go because if it doesn't work out,
he puts it on your plate. These guys, they're young men, 18-19 years
old. They have to do what they think is right for them. We know that
he wants to be an NHL hockey player, there are different avenues to
do it, and we're going to support whatever he does. Like we did with
‘Snuggy,’ we wanted ‘Snuggy’ to turn pro -- he knew that, we
knew that. He wanted to go back and as soon as he said he was going
back, our attention turned to him having the best year he could have
at Minnesota and I think it worked out. We gained his trust by not
trying to strong-arm him and he rewarded us with a great season at
Minnesota, turning pro and being ready. So what we try and do is work
with them, but allow them to make their own decisions.”
Carbonneau
said he’s open-minded.
“That’s
one of the topics to talk with the Blues,” he said. “It’s
Boston College, great option for me next year to develop with older
guys and all that. Or Blainville. But my goal is to bring a Stanley
Cup. Maybe not next year, but I’ll get there. When you have the
mindset and you’re willing to do it, I’m not worried about it. If
I play in Blainville, same thing. Winning a Cup with a championship
team. Two good options, but some talks that I’m going to do with
St. Louis and decide in the next few days.”
Jonah Tong continues to rise up the ranks of Mets prospects with his performance in Double-A this season, and Friday was another quality outing for the right-hander.
Tong struck out eight batters across six innings while allowing one run on three hits and three walks. While Tong didn't come away with the win, the Rumble Ponies pulled out the 3-1 win on Friday against Portland.
After Friday's start, Tong lowered his ERA slightly to a season-low 1.73 and has pitched to a minuscule 0.93 ERA in the month of June (five starts). In those five June starts, Tong has struck out at least eight batters in four of them.
Behind Tong, the offense was solid, accumulating eight hit,s including one from Jett Williams and two from Carson Benge. Benge made his fourth start with Double-A Binghamton on Friday and after going hitless in his first two games, he's now had at least one knock in back-to-back games. It's also notable that Benge, despite his two hitless games, has reached back in all four games with Binghamton as he's picked up five walks in that span.
Jonah Tong struck out 8 in 6 innings of one-run ball for Binghamton tonight
Checking in with Triple-A Syracuse, Nolan McLean continues his rise up the Mets' farm system with another solid start on Friday.
Although he took the loss, McLean was sharp, allowing just two runs on four hits and three walks across six innings of work. He also struck out four batters.
In nine appearances (seven starts) with Syracuse, McLean has pitched to a 2.72 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. While he has not been a strikeout machine (45 strikeouts across 49.2 innings) in Triple-A, he has the potential to be better. Before being promoted, McLean struck out 30 batters in 26.1 innings with Binghamton.
Behind McLean, the offense was quiet. Syracuse picked up just one run on six hits and the litany of hitters with major league experience all went hitless. Luisangel Acuña finished 0-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout, while Francisco Alvarez went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. The former Mets backstop is hitless in five games (0-for-14).
Take another name off the potential free agent board.
Naz Reid and the Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to a five-year, $125 million contract extension, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. This keeps a key part of Minnesota's roster in place, a group that has advanced to back-to-back Western Conference Finals.
Ried will decline his $15 million player option as part of this contract extension. That was expected, and other teams were eyeing the 2024 Sixth Man of the Year, with Chrania describing a "vibrant market developing" willing to pay in the neighborhood of what the Timberwolves paid to keep him, but with some teams offering a starting role. Detroit, a team looking for a stretch big, was one team consistently mentioned as interested in Reid. (As of this writing, only Brooklyn would have the cap space to make that kind of offer, but other teams could get there if they wanted.)
Reid, 25, averaged 14.2 points and six rebounds a game for the Timberwolves last season. He shot 37.9% from beyond the arc, providing a change of pace from starting center Rudy Gobert. Reid also stepped up with some big games in Minnesota's playoff runs.
Minnesota is not done with questions about re-signing big men. They need to decide on Julius Randle, who has a $30.9 million player option that must be picked up by Sunday. He is also seeking an extension.
Take another name off the potential free agent board.
Naz Reid and the Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to a five-year, $125 million contract extension, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. This keeps a key part of Minnesota's roster in place, a group that has advanced to back-to-back Western Conference Finals.
Ried will decline his $15 million player option as part of this contract extension. That was expected, and other teams were eyeing the 2024 Sixth Man of the Year, with Chrania describing a "vibrant market developing" willing to pay in the neighborhood of what the Timberwolves paid to keep him, but with some teams offering a starting role. Detroit, a team looking for a stretch big, was one team consistently mentioned as interested in Reid. (As of this writing, only Brooklyn would have the cap space to make that kind of offer, but other teams could get there if they wanted.)
Reid, 25, averaged 14.2 points and six rebounds a game for the Timberwolves last season. He shot 37.9% from beyond the arc, providing a change of pace from starting center Rudy Gobert. Reid also stepped up with some big games in Minnesota's playoff runs.
Minnesota is not done with questions about re-signing big men. They need to decide on Julius Randle, who has a $30.9 million player option that must be picked up by Sunday. He is also seeking an extension.
After a long night of anticipation, the Pittsburgh Penguins made what is presumed to be their final draft selection in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft.
With the 24th overall pick, the Penguins selected center Will Horcoff out of the University of Michigan.
Horcoff, 18, recorded four goals and 10 points in 18 games with Michigan last season. The 6-foot-5, 203-pound centerman may not be known for his footspeed, but he plays a physical, straightforward game, and he has a shot that could play at the NHL level.
Horcoff's father, Shawn, played parts of 15 seasons in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, and Anaheim Ducks from 2000-16. Drafted in the fourth round (99th overall) by the Oilers in 1998, Shawn registered 186 goals and 511 points in 1,008 NHL games.
Dubas and the Penguins - after their trade earlier in the draft that sent the 12th overall pick from the New York Rangers to the Philadelphia Flyers for picks 22 and 31 - traded up to 24 for Horcoff. While he wasn't rated super high on draft boards, the Penguins clearly valued center depth.
Overall, I like this selection. The Penguins got size and upside with this pick, which never hurts.
Flyers Draft Porter Martone: Pick Grade, Instant ReactionThe Philadelphia Flyers hit a home run Friday night, picking winger Porter Martone sixth overall atop the 2025 NHL Draft.
Latest Philadelphia Flyers Depth Chart Following Trevor Zegras TradeAfter Monday's Trevor Zegras trade, the Philadelphia Flyers are going to be looking a lot different at the forward position in the 2025-26 season.
