KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APRIL 01: Jonathan India #6 of the Kansas City Royals rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam home run during the 6th inning of the game against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium on April 01, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Fans have been wondering where Royals color commentator Rex Hudler is, he will be back, but maybe not as much as you would’ve hoped.
For the most part, the reviews for Major League Baseball’s production of Royals games have been positive. It’s a small sample size (three games), but the picture seems clearer, the graphics are sharper and even the commercials are a vast improvement. The Royals also made changes to their broadcast team. Bridget Howard is a new sideline reporter, and Eric Hosmer is one of the analysts who will be working with play-by-play broadcaster Ryan Lefebvre. Although the Royals never announced it, Hosmer, Jeremy Guthrie and Rex Hudler will each work roughly one-third of the broadcasts this season, with Jeff Montgomery filling that role at some points, too.
In case you missed it, Carlos Estevez is officially on the IL, Steven Cruz has been called up to fill his spot.
If you went to bed after the Royals got up 12-1 last night, the game got interesting, but Anne Rogers talked about how the bottom of the Royals order dominated.
Manager Matt Quatraro likes to say he’ll take the production wherever it comes in the lineup, and he’s not wrong about that. But Wednesday’s offense was fueled not by the star hitters, but by the bottom of the lineup — and the Royals will definitely take that.
The Nos. 6-9 hitters went 10-for-16 and drove in eight runs, including Jonathan India’s grand slam in the sixth inning and Kyle Isbel’s solo shot in the seventh.
But it’s what happened early that stood out. Jac Caglianone, hitting seventh, got it started in the second inning by hitting a two-out double. No. 8 hitter Isaac Collins followed with an RBI double, and Isbel, the No. 9 hitter, kept it going with an RBI single. Isbel then stole second, allowing him to score on Maikel Garcia’s single as the lineup turned over.
Kevin O’Brien of Royals Keep wrote about early takeaways of the Royals offense.
Michael Massey played in Omaha yesterday and had a solid day.
Michael Massey went 2-for-4 with a HR today in a rehab game with Triple-A Omaha. Sounds like he'll get tomorrow off, play another game or two and then be evaluated for a return. #Royals want to make sure he can be 100% running-wise on the bases, in the field, etc.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 01: Gavin Williams #32 of the Cleveland Guardians throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third inning at Dodger Stadium on April 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
With yesterday being April Fools’ Day, it is a bit difficult to trust any news posted. However, here is some good news from yesterday:
Chase DeLauter was still sore, but available as a pinch hitter last night. Yesterday’s game was a pre-scheduled day off and with the off day, today it is looking hopeful that CDL will be available for tomorrow’s home opener.
The Guards took the series against the Dodgers, nearly shutting out the reigning champs. Nick will have the Game Recap!
The Columbus Clippers were looking great last night with Kahlil Watson hitting a home run and Stuart Fairchild hitting two home runs.
Don’t forget, now that MiLB is getting into full swing this week, we have Minor League Recaps posted here at Covering the Corner. If you are interested in the affiliates, Brian Hemminger has season previews for the teams. Yesterday the Lake County Captains and Hill City Howlers were featured.
José Ramírez continues to climbs various franchise leader boards. He is closing in on the #1 spot for All-Time Games Played.
Quincy Wheeler and Mike Mahoney released an episode of Disgusting Baseball last night to be found here. (Deborah (Nicole) and I will be recording another episode tonight! – editor’s note).
Matthew Boyd started against Yusei Kikuchi . The Cubs went hitless until the third, when they batted around and scored five runs. Jeimer Candelario did not have his best day at first base. Nico Hoerner lined a couple of tw0-baggers, scored, stole a base, and singled to boot.
Boyd had it going on. Ten strikeouts in 5.2 innings. He faltered a bit late. Hunter Harvey gave up a couple of hard-hit balls that probably should have been caught, and the Angels had the chance to make a game of it. They didn’t — the bullpen had it together. The team is 3-3, back to .500. Onward and upward.
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Milwaukee Brewers infielder Cooper Pratt sits in the dugout during spring training workouts Saturday, February 15, 2025, at the American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
When Cooper Pratt reportedly agreed to an eight-year extension (with two additional option years) with the Brewers earlier this week, it came as quite a shock. These types of deals aren’t completely unheard of, even within the organization; when Jackson Chourio signed his big extension before the 2024 season, he’d played a grand total of six games above Double-A, which is three more than the number of games Pratt had played at Triple-A when news of the extension broke. Colt Emerson of the Mariners signed a Chourio-like extension this week: he has not debuted yet, and may not for some time.
But there’s a difference. When Chourio signed his extension, he was baseball’s No. 2 prospect. Emerson, via Baseball America, is No. 7. Pratt, on the other hand, is ranked No. 50 by Baseball America, No. 64 via MLB Pipeline, and he is not in the top 100 on Baseball Prospectus. Pratt is a good prospect, but he’s not exactly a great one, and as BA’s JJ Cooper points out, the expected outcomes for a player in Pratt’s range do not exactly suggest “this guy will definitely be a star.”
Based on Cooper’s chart, the most likely outcome for Pratt is that he’ll have a career WAR value between 3 and 10 WAR. The Brewers, a team without a ton of financial resources, just promised him a minimum of $50 million; I do not think that’s the outcome they’re looking for.
But not all prospects are the same. Pratt is an outstanding defensive player, so even if he never really learns to hit major league pitching, it’s not the same as if a corner outfielder never learns how to hit. Joey Ortiz earned 1.4 fWAR in 2025 while having an atrocious offensive season; that’s more WAR than Luis Arraez earned (via FanGraphs or Baseball Reference) in 2024 when he won a batting title.
Offensive Outlook
This deal probably signals that the Brewers think Pratt will figure it out at the plate. His track record is a little mixed; he looked great in Low-A and High-A in his first full pro season in 2024, but hit just .238/.343/.348 in 2025 at Double-A. There are a couple of caveats to that line, though: first, that wasn’t that bad for the pitcher-friendly Southern League, and translated to an above-average 107 wRC+. The other thing is that Pratt was very young; as a 20-year-old at Double-A, Pratt was nearly four years younger than the average player in that league, so the fact that he was above average offensively (while playing defense that won him a Minor League Gold Glove in 2024) is actually quite encouraging.
Pratt’s power hasn’t shown up yet, and it may never be a major strength. He’s hit only 16 homers across nearly 1,000 plate appearances as a minor leaguer. But he’s not a small guy (listed on FanGraphs at 6’4” and 210 pounds) and the Brewers may be banking that he’ll grow into it a bit. He’s also shown good patience (a 12.7% walk rate in 2025), and he cut his strikeout rate drastically in 2025 (from 20% to 15.2%), another encouraging sign for a young player who moved up a level.
It won’t take a ton of offense for Pratt to live up to the value of this contract over its lifetime. The average annual value is only a little more than $6 million, which, by popular estimates, means he needs only about 0.75 WAR per season to justify that value (even if this isn’t a perfect one-to-one comparison). Based purely on defense, Pratt should outperform that, and if he hits even a little, he could outperform it by a lot.
Logjammin’
But the arguably bigger question that this deal raises has to do with fit. Ever since it was clear that the Brewers had several high-level middle-infield prospects, we knew this question would need to be addressed eventually, but this commitment to Pratt — the third- or fourth-best infield prospect in the system, with Andrew Fischer charging up from behind and two controlled, relatively young established players in the big leagues — makes that question a little more urgent.
Jesús Made is the obvious pearl of the organization, and is a more-or-less consensus top-three prospect. He has a good chance at being the No. 1 overall prospect league-wide heading into next season, as the two players ahead of him — shortstops Konnor Griffin and Kevin McGonigle — will likely both have graduated by mid-summer (McGonigle is already playing for the Tigers, while Griffin is expected in the big leagues as soon as the Pirates secure the extra year of service time they’ll gain by keeping him in the minors to start the season, or they agree to an extension not totally unlike Pratt’s, if more lucrative). Jett Williams has played a lot of middle infield and is a little further along than Pratt. Luis Peña sometimes almost feels like a forgotten man, but he actually outperformed Made in the Dominican Summer League when they were both 17 and had a 139 wRC+ at Single-A Carolina as an 18-year-old. Fischer, who looks like he’ll keep playing third base for now, looked ready for primetime this spring, when he posted a 1.429 OPS in five Cactus League games and hit .357/.438/.714 in four games with Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic.
Add Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz to the mix — both still have three years of team control remaining after this one — and you can see the problem, even if that problem is a good one: there are too many guys.
The first thought is that this is a big year for Ortiz. His offensive approach has been better early this season, but there are no questions about his defense. If he hits even a little, he’s a useful player; if he can get close to the league-average offensive player he was in 2024, he could produce at a borderline All-Star level. Maybe the ship has sailed on Ortiz as a good offensive player, but he was a consistently above-average minor league hitter, and as we’ve seen with Turang, we shouldn’t necessarily write these guys off after one or two tough years in the big leagues.
However, Ortiz’s spot is also probably the most precarious. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s on his way out with the Brewers, and he could become quite a luxury as a utility player. But he’ll also get a bit more expensive when he gets to arbitration next season, and his defense should hold value throughout the league. Whether he bounces back offensively or not, the Brewers are likely to check on Ortiz’s market after the season. If no deal that the front office likes comes to the fore and the Brewers are ready to move on from Ortiz as the everyday shortstop, I’m sure they’ll consider using him as a right-handed backup to all three infield positions.
It might be a little early to make this proclamation, but Turang is a star. He’s also likely to be very expensive in a few years; as a Super Two player, he’s already making over $4 million and has three more arbitration years after this one, and he’ll hit the market when the 2029 season ends as a soon-to-be-30-year-old free agent. While we don’t necessarily want to start thinking about the end of Turang’s tenure in Milwaukee, for the purposes of this exercise, we should at least acknowledge the possibility that Turang might play three more seasons in Milwaukee and then gets traded a year before he hits free agency.
Even still, that clogs up one of the Brewers’ three infield spots for the next three years, limiting opportunities for others. Third base is another question: it’s likely spoken for this season, with Luis Rengifo and David Hamilton (though a later-season opportunity for a younger player there, particularly if there are any injuries, does seem possible), but there’s a likely opening there beyond 2026.
So what are some options?
The first step is to build a defensive hierarchy. Turang is at the top of the heap at second base and should stay there as long as he’s on the team. Ortiz, Pratt, Made, Williams, and Peña all play shortstop, though the writing has been on the wall for Peña for a while, and basically as soon as Williams was traded to Milwaukee, people started speculating about where he’d move. Made’s defensive reputation is pretty good, but his added weight this season might precipitate a move to third base. Ortiz, as a proven defensive stud, is ahead of Pratt, but it doesn’t seem like the Brewers think there will be much of a step down defensively if and when Pratt takes over at the position. Fischer seems like a capable third baseman, but probably not as good as any of these other options, and first base may be in his future.
So even if we shift Made to third base and Fischer to first, we have to consider alternatives. Williams has played way more shortstop than anything else as a minor leaguer, but he also doesn’t have quite the same defensive reputation that these others do, and he did play a decent amount of center field last season. Peña has never played the outfield, but he’s a 70-grade runner, and probably could play the outfield. The Brewers don’t have the same organizational depth in the outfield as they do in the infield, and switches for Williams and Peña might benefit all parties. That’s something to keep an eye on moving forward.
Looking down the road, then, it requires a lot of projection (and here’s where I’ll remind you that it’s unlikely that all of these players work out as useful big leaguers, no matter how promising they are now), but you could see some sort of alignment in a couple years like this:
1B: Fischer 2B: Turang 3B: Made SS: Pratt/Ortiz OF: Jackson Chourio OF: Sal Frelick OF: Williams/Peña
That would get all of these prized prospects into the lineup — and who knows, the Brewers may not have to worry about squeezing all of these guys in at once, as Peña, for instance, will still only be 21 in two years, and he’d still be a young debutant if Milwaukee just waited three years, traded Turang, and then installed Peña as the starting second baseman heading into 2029.
These questions don’t all need to get answered today, but the guarantee of money to Pratt makes his arrival in the big leagues feel closer than ever. We know that Williams is already on the doorstep. We probably won’t see Made, Peña, or Fischer this season, but if Made really is on the Chourio track, that would line him up for the beginning of 2027.
To reiterate, this is not a bad problem. But at some point, decisions will need to be made, both by those closer to the field and those further away from it. Will positional changes provide the necessary relief, and will those changes go smoothly? Could a blockbuster trade be in the cards? (A related question: Does the eight-to-ten-year extension the Brewers just gave Pratt increase his trade value?) There are a lot of different ways that things could still be addressed, but the Pratt extension makes the future of this team feel just a little bit closer.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JANUARY 15: Newly acquired Chicago Cubs player Alex Bregman speaks to the media during a press conference at Wrigley Field on January 15, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
On the night of February 13th, 2025, John Henry lit up a victory cigar to celebrate what would ultimately turn into one year of Alex Bregman’s services. Today, nearly 14 months later, Alex Bregman is gone, but the ashes from that cigar continue to catch fire and create new destructive flames on a seemingly daily basis.
Here’s where it all started:
Fast-forward to today and the 2026 Red Sox are out of a gate with an abysmal 1-5 record. Worse yet, the fingerprints of the failed Bregman negotiations can be found plastered all over it. Now, of course, there are many, many reasons for the Sox’ shameful start, but at least two of them are a pair of players who are on this roster specifically because the club didn’t want to commit to Bregman long-term at anything other than their price this past winter. And that’s really the point I want to get at here: The Red Sox need Ranger Suarez and Caleb Durbin to have solid seasons to have any chance of putting the Bregman fire out. They don’t need them to be MVP or Cy Young candidates, but they do (at minimum) need them to come close to replicating their 2025 campaigns.
To cement why this is the case, let’s take a look at the timeline since the start of the new year. At noon on January 14, less than 100 hours after the news broke on social media, the Chicago Cubs officially announced the signing of Bregman, which he also personally retweeted.
Less than three hours later, the Red Sox made their push to shift the narrative. Jeff Passan broke the story of how Boston decided to spend the money originally allocated for Bregman:
The Red Sox's first signing of the winter is a big one — $130 million for Ranger Suárez — and gives them a ton of rotation depth with Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello and others. Boston now will turn to adding another bat to its lineup, but that rotation is excellent.
So now the money was spent, but not on the hitter they desperately needed. And the reason for all of this is of course because they decided play footsie with Bregman for so long that by the time mid January rolled around, all of the other big, right-handed, infield bats that might have been worth a damn to sign like — Pete Alonso and Bo Bichette — were already off the board. (For comparison, Alonso got five years at $155 million, and Bichette got three years at $126 million.)
So, instead, the Red Sox decided to use the money that was supposed to go to one of those bats on Ranger Suarez, and the whole thing just became this perfect encapsulation of what happens when you try to work it backwards and make the roster fit the budget instead of bending the budget to fit the roster’s needs.
But we still weren’t done, because despite most of the money being spent, there was still a gigantic hole left at third base. This meant the Red Sox had to trade from their new found “excess” of starting pitching to get the right-handed infield bat they still lacked. Not surprisingly, they probably couldn’t get through a conversation for any of the bats they really wanted without Connelly Early, Payton Tolle or Marcelo Mayer’s name coming up, so they eventually had to set their sights lower on Caleb Durbin as part of a perplexing trade that went down like this on February 9:
And of course the cherry on top of it all is that Harrison is both one of the guys who came over in the Devers trade and the arm the front office deemed expendable after they used the Alex Bregman money to sign another starting pitcher. That’s the guy they used to acquire a young third baseman after they managed to fumble away both Devers and Bregman.
So make no mistake, these transactions are all connected, and this entire season is going to be a referendum on the radical reconstruction of the irregular roster left behind when the Bregman negotiations fell apart. Oh, and in almost poetic fashion, Alex Bregman and the Cubs will visit Fenway for the very last series of the season on September 25th through the 27th. The atmosphere for that three game set going to feel like a jury releasing their verdict at a murder trial.
But let’s get back to Suarez and Durbin specifically. They have to be good to prevent this Bregman thing from becoming radioactive. Not just because their presence here is so obviously connected to Bregman’s departure in 2026, but because literally everything else connected to Bregman’s arrival in 2025 has already turned into a flaming trainwreck.
There’s losing the second round pick of the 2025 draft for just one year of Bregman’s services. There’s Rafael Devers throwing himself a pity party after Bregman took over at third base. And then, of course, there’s the ensuing salary dump trade that’s left the Red Sox lineup with a noticeable lack of thump ever since.
But you know what’s crazy? Even at that point in the proceedings, this whole odyssey was still very salvageable. All they had to do was pay Bregman a fraction of the money they dumped in the Devers deal and hang onto the young guys they got back. Instead, they never met the moment when it came to a long-term Bregman contract, and have since traded away both James Tibbs and Kyle Harrison in highly questionable moves.
So far in the very early output of the 2026 season, James Tibbs has an 1.827 OPS in Triple-A, and Kyle Harrison looked great in his one start with the Brewers, which included eight strike outs in five innings of work.
And just to be complete here, the Red Sox are also paying $4 million for each of the next two years for Jordan Hicks, who was so bad in Boston after coming back as part of the Devers trade last year that they had to move him to Chicago over the winter in a deal where the White Sox will only pay for part of his salary.
So once again, as far as this front office is concerned, Ranger Suarez and Caleb Durbin have to be good! Because so far, literally everything else connected to Alex Bregman’s tenure here has turned toxic, and with both Suarez and Durbin being under team control for at least the next five years, the only way this story has a happy ending for the folks who set the wheels in motion is if these two guys end up being useful contributors to a winning baseball team. (No pressure though!)
And to be clear, these guys just have to be good, not great. The Red Sox don’t need Suarez to be a Cy Young candidate, they have Garrett Crochet for that. They just need him to be the guy that posted a 3.25 ERA over the last five years before he got his big payday. The Red Sox don’t need Caleb Durbin to fully replace Alex Bregman, they just need him to look like the guy who finished third in rookie of the year voting last season.
But so far out of the gate, Suarez and Durbin look a lot more like guys turning to stone in the continued curse of everything that touches the Alex Bregman web as opposed to guys who are ready to make a meaningful contribution to the 2026 Red Sox.
Now the flip side of this is Suarez has made just one bad start in a Red Sox uniform so far, Durbin is only 18 at-bats into his Red Sox tenure, and baseball has a habit of making anybody who says anything about the first week of any season look like a fool. But man, something about this feels ominous. Suarez was also terrible in his outing for Team Venezuela against Japan in the World Baseball Classic in which he gave up five runs in just 2.2 innings of work. And worse yet, this is a guy who is known for pitching well in big games and carries a 1.48 ERA in 42.2 innings of postseason work. When you consider how bad he was against Japan and that he was facing off against Yoshinobu Yamamoto, it’s minor miracle Venezuela got through that game and winning the tournament. Suarez was one of the big headline names on the team, and he played almost no role in helping them win.
Then there’s Durbin, who feels like he got the absolute most out of his ability in 2025. If he can replicate that, fantastic! But he also might be one of those guys who turns into a pumpkin as quickly as he showed signs of promise and can never replicate that near-3.0 WAR season again.
Either way, these are the stakes for Suarez, Durbin, the front office, and this entire 2026 Red Sox season. Both the team and most of its main characters have gotten off to about as bad of a start imaginable, but I don’t want to start shoveling dirt on them quite yet. Baseball has a funny way of sometimes making the first week nothing more than a mirage and dealing out the exact opposite hand for the rest of the summer. For instance, just last season the Brewers (Durbin’s old team), gave up 46 runs in their first four games en route to an 0-4 start. They then of course went on to win 97 games and had the lowest ERA of any team in the National League.
This is classic baseball! It will scare you with fake monsters while hiding the real ones for later in the proceedings. Who knows, two weeks from now we might be singing the praises of both Suarez and Durbin and talking about how bad Bregman looks in Chicago. But until or unless that happens, we’re going to be left to confront the fallout from those fateful winter nights when Alex Bregman came into and left the Red Sox organization.
BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 25: Andrew Kittredge #39 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches during a baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 25, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Tides dropped their third straight game on Wednesday afternoon in Memphis. The pitching staff coughed up two different leads, the offense left 10 runners on base, and it was a mixed bag of results for the Orioles’ pair of rehabbing big leaguers.
Jackson Holliday led off, played second base, and went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a strikeout. The former first overall pick is now 4-for-13 with an .862 OPS during his rehab. Creed Willems drove in two of Norfolk’s runs with a seventh-inning home run as part of his 1-for-4 game. Their other run came in on a Memphis error in the fourth frame. There was plenty of traffic on the bases for the Tides. They collected eight hits, four walks, and a pair of errors from the home team. But they wasted most of those chances, going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Brandon Young made his first start of the year. He was good, holding Memphis to one run on five hits, no walks, and four strikeouts over five innings. The short-term performances of Young and Cade Povich now hold added importance due to the injury to Zach Eflin, so it’s good to see a strong 2026 debut for Young.
The results from the bullpen were not as favorable. Andrew Kittredge made his first rehab appearance as he works through right shoulder inflammation. The veteran recorded just two outs, threw 19 pitches (nine strikes), struck out one, walked one, and gave up two hits. Cameron Foster impressed, striking out two over 1.1 perfect frames. Jackson Kowar allowed a run in his lone inning. And Enoli Paredes was handed the loss by allowing the extra-inning “ghost runner” to score after he walked the bases loaded, and then hit the next batter with a pitch to drive in the winning run.
Thursday’s Scheduled Games
Norfolk: at Memphis, 7:45 p.m. Starter: TBD
Chesapeake: at Hartford (Rockies), 7:10 p.m. Starter: Trace Bright (first start of the year)
Delmarva: at Salem (Red Sox), 6:35 p.m. Starter: Kiefer Lord (first start of the year)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 29: Yaxel Lendeborg #23 of the Michigan Wolverines looks on against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 29, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The 2026 NBA championship race is shaping up to be a thrilling, wide open chase between emergent young teams and established juggernauts, yet somehow it feels like the bottom of the league is getting more attention. The 2026 NBA Draft class is so strong that commissioner Adam Silver is in the process of rushing through lottery reform in an attempt to solve a purported tanking crisis. The fact that teams like the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons quickly went from worst-to-first after landing the No. 1 pick in the draft in recent years makes the stakes even higher when the ping-pong balls bounce on May 10.
The NBA’s decision to flatten the lottery odds ahead of the 2019 draft has opened up the tank race to even more teams and resulted in some surprising winners in recent years. It happened again in our latest mock draft.
We simulated the lottery with one spin of Tankathon to get the first-round order, and there were some major surprises. Three teams moved up at least six spots in the order. Seven teams fell at least two spots from their starting lottery position. Imagine the chaos if this is how the draft actually breaks.
After the lottery results shook up the order, the picks in this mock draft were based on how I think things will actually go, not necessarily what I would do. Let’s hit on some key themes after the jump.
Pick
Team
Player
Position
School
Age
1
Atlanta Hawks (via Pelicans)
AJ Dybantsa
Wing
BYU
Freshman
2
Brooklyn Nets
Darryn Peterson
Guard
Kansas
Freshman
3
Milwaukee Bucks
Cameron Boozer
Forward
Duke
Freshman
4
Golden State Warriors
Caleb Wilson
Forward
North Carolina
Freshman
5
Washington Wizards
Keaton Wagler
Guard
Illinois
Freshman
6
Los Angeles Clippers (via Pacers)
Yaxel Lendeborg
Forward
Michigan
Senior
7
Sacramento Kings
Kingston Flemings
Guard
Houston
Freshman
8
Utah Jazz
Brayden Burries
Guard
Arizona
Freshman
9
Dallas Mavericks
Darius Acuff
Guard
Arkansas
Freshman
10
Memphis Grizzlies
Jayden Quaintance
Center/Forward
Kentucky
Sophomore
11
Chicago Bulls
Mikel Brown Jr.
Guard
Louisville
Freshman
12
Portland Trail Blazers
Nate Ament
Wing
Tennessee
Freshman
13
Charlotte Hornets
Koa Peat
Forward
Arizona
Freshman
14
Miami Heat
Karim Lopez
Forward
NZ Breakers
Born 2007
15
Oklahoma City Thunder (via Clippers)
Aday Mara
Center
Michigan
Junior
16
Memphis Grizzlies (via Magic)
Bennett Stirtz
Guard
Iowa
Senior
17
Oklahoma City Thunder (via 76ers)
Hannes Steinbach
Forward/Center
Washington
Freshman
18
Charlotte Hornets (via Suns)
Cameron Carr
Wing
Baylor
Junior
19
San Antonio Spurs (via Hawks)
Thomas Haugh
Forward
Florida
Junior
20
Toronto Raptors
Labaron Philon
Guard
Alabama
Sophomore
21
Philadelphia 76ers (via Rockets)
Dailyn Swain
Forward
Texas
Junior
22
Detroit Pistons (via Wolves)
Braylon Mullins
Guard
UConn
Freshman
23
Atlanta Hawks (via Cavs)
Morez Johnson
Center/Forward
Michigan
Sophomore
24
Denver Nuggets
Patrick Ngongba
Center
Duke
Sophomore
25
New York Knicks
Joshua Jefferson
Forward
Iowa State
Senior
26
Los Angeles Lakers
Motiejus Krivas
Center
Arizona
Junior
27
Boston Celtics
Juke Harris
Guard
Wake Forest
Sophomore
28
Minnesota Timberwolves (via Pistons)
Christian Anderson
Guard
Texas Tech
Sophomore
29
Cleveland Cavaliers (via Spurs)
Isaiah Evans
Guard
Duke
Sophomore
30
Dallas Mavericks (via Thunder)
Amari Allen
Forward
Alabama
Freshman
Yes, I’m shocked, too. Let’s dive into some of the biggest themes in this class.
The lottery will decide who goes No. 1, but it feels like A.J. Dybantsa has the edge
Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, Duke’s Cameron Boozer, and BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa have been battling for the No. 1 pick all season. I’ve been consistent in ranking Boozer at No. 1, but Duke’s unfathomable Elite Eight loss to UConn on Braylon Mullins’ 35-foot buzzer-beater puts a dent in Boozer’s greatest argument. I’ve heard (but can’t confirm) that this is the first time Boozer has failed to win the last game of the season since sixth grade! It took a miracle to beat Boozer while his starting center and starting point guard were both playing hurt, but I feel like he was only going to go No. 1 overall if Duke won the national championship, and that’s over now.
Dybantsa is the only member of the ’big three’ who didn’t win a game in March Madness this year, but he has a built in excuse with his best teammate, Richie Saunders, suffering a torn ACL just before the dance. Given Peterson’s bizarre cramping issues and the strange skepticism about Boozer’s top-end upside, I think Dybantsa is the safest bet to go No. 1. The Hawks winning our lottery sim makes it an even more natural fit.
I have a hard time believing Atlanta would take Boozer given that he’s positionally locked at the four, which is Jalen Johnson’s position. Peterson vs. Dybantsa would be a tremendous debate, but ultimately it’s easier to find guards than big wings with the scoring upside of the BYU freshman.
Dybantsa is an elite scoring prospect. He’s huge for a wing at 6’9 with a strong frame, but he’s also extremely flexible in how he attacks the paint. His long, coordinated strides are a thing of beauty to watch, and his mid-range game is going to be unstoppable in high-leverage situations like the playoffs. The players who are big enough to guard Dybantsa on an island usually aren’t fast enough to keep up with him. The players fast enough to guard him usually aren’t long or strong enough to match his tools.
Am I worried about his lack of defensive engagement? About his low-volume three-point shooting? About how he looks outside of a brilliant BYU system tailored to opening up the paint for attacks? Yes, yes, and yes. But he’s an awesome prospect regardless of whether I have him ranked No. 1 or No. 3. The Hawks would be super lucky to get him.
The Warriors and Bucks rise in the lottery for pure mayhem
The Warriors are 10th in the Western Conference standings as I write this. Jimmy Butler is out for the year with a torn ACL, and Steph Curry hasn’t played since January. Curry is reportedly nearing a return, and that means Golden State could absolutely win two play-in games to make the playoffs. If they fall short, though, there’s some chance they could move up in the lottery, which is exactly what happened in our simulation.
The Warriors jumping from No. 11 to No. 1 would be incredible, and it’s important to remember that’s what the Dallas Mavericks did last year to win the rights to Cooper Flagg. Suddenly Golden State would have a massive trade chip to look for veteran help around Curry, or it could just take the best player available — in this case, Caleb Wilson — to give them a new potential star once Steph retires.
The Bucks jumping up is just as seismic. Milwaukee will be cheering for Atlanta come lottery day, because the Hawks own the most favorable pick between the Pelicans and the Bucks. This essentially means that Milwaukee can choose as high as No. 2 overall in the draft if Atlanta lands at No. 1. The stakes would be massive given the lingering Giannis Antetokounmpo trade situation that figures to become a storyline again this offseason.
Boozer in Milwaukee and Caleb Wilson in Golden State would both be fascinating picks — and the clear best players available in our projection. Watch those Wilson highlights above and let me know who he reminds you of in the comments. I really think he has the best highlight reel of any prospect in this class, and there are days when I’m tempted to slide him all the way up to No. 2.
The Bucks won it all behind Giannis in 2021. The Warriors won the championship for the fourth time with Curry in 2022. Getting this type of luck in the 2026 lottery would give these teams a new lease on life around their historic superstars.
Of course, Lendeborg’s March Madness production and his hypothetical NBA translation are two different subjects. If you’ve been following the discourse around the tournament, you have probably seen opposing fans bemoan that the Michigan star is TwEnTy SeVeN years old or whatever age they decide to choose on that day.
Lendeborg is 23 years old, and he turns 24 before his rookie year in the NBA begins. Yes, this is his sixth season in college. He’s a month older than Josh Giddey, who is in his fifth NBA season. His age absolutely matters in projecting him the league — by the time he starts his second contract, he’ll already be 28.
Where the Michigan star goes in the draft all comes down to fit. In this projection, the Los Angeles Clippers get the Indiana Pacers pick from the Ivica Zubac trade because it slides out of the top four. After also landing Darius Garland at the deadline, are the Clippers really going to take Kingston Flemings or Darius Acuff or Mikel Brown? I don’t think so. Arizona guard Brayden Burries would make some sense, and Tennessee wing Nate Ament will also probably get consideration. I just like Lendeborg a lot more intriguing than both even if he’s super old for a rookie.
Lendeborg has a rare combination of size, skill, and two-way versatility. Listed at 6’9, 240 pounds, with a 7’4 wingspan, he has the length and weight of an NBA center. This season at Michigan has proven he can play off the ball next to other bigs while using his skill set to maximize everyone else on the floor. His shooting indictors are encouraging by making 37.2 percent of his threes on 8.2 attempts per 100 possessions with an 81 percent stroke from the free throw line. He’s a serious defensive playmaker with a 4.6 percent block rate and 2.1 percent steal rate and tons of chasedown blocks all over his super-super-senior season tape. He’s a willing passer and a capable driver, he doesn’t turn the ball over, and he hits the glass hard on both ends. What’s not to like?
Derrick White was 23 years old as a rookie and he turned out pretty well. Age matters, but it’s not everything. Yaxel is good enough to overcome it.
Which first-rounders will go back to college for big NIL deals?
The money in college basketball is so good right now that it’s only natural this draft will be thinned by a few returners who can’t pass up a big NIL offer. It happened last year with Labaron Philon and Lendeborg as likely first-round picks who returned to school, and guess what, both improved their stock big time this year.
Which possible first-rounders could return next season? We took four players out of our last mock draft just because there has been some speculation they could potentially return to college:
Allen Graves, F, Santa Clara: I’d expect Graves to be one of the most sough-after players in the transfer portal if returns to college, and that probably means a multi-million dollar salary. Graves only played 57 percent of the available minutes this year and couldn’t help himself from fouling constantly despite incredible protection in a sixth-man role. I’d take him in the first if he enters, but spending a year at Kentucky or Arizona or North Carolina or Kansas sounds pretty cool, too.
Tyler Tanner, G, Vanderbilt: What if North Carolina went after Mark Byington and Tyler Tanner this offseason? Hey, raiding Drake for its head coach and star point guard took Iowa to the Elite Eight this year. I’d likely consider Tanner a top-20 pick if he enters this draft, but if he goes back to school he might be the best player in college basketball next season. I’m still mad his half-court heave rimmed out in the round of 32.
Ebuka Okorie, G, Stanford: Okorie went from the No. 119 recruit to a possible first-round pick during his freshman season at Stanford. This draft is deep with so many point guards that it may benefit Okorie to stick around an extra year and try to play himself into a lottery pick. He may cause an even bigger bidding war in the portal than Tanner and Graves do.
Who are the Final Four’s other NBA prospects?
It’s pretty incredible that there are eight projected first-round picks in this mock draft playing in the Final Four. That’s 26.6 percent of the entire first-round!
Michigan (3): We went over Lendeborg already. Aday Mara — a 7’3 center who can protect the rim in drop coverage, crush the glass at both ends, and throw some fantastic outlet passes — should be a first-round pick lock despite his scoring touch concerns. Morez Johnson is another obvious first-round talent in my book as the draft’s most versatile defender, and maybe also its best. Trey McKenney will probably be an NBA player eventually, but not this year.
Arizona (3): Brayden Burries is a likely lottery pick as a well-rounded shooting guard who fits somewhere in the Quentin Grimes-to-Derrick White spectrum (admittedly a super wide spectrum there). Koa Peat is probably (?) a first-rounder for his defense, play-finishing, and beefy playmaking, but his total lack of shooting makes him another player who could potentially return. Most outlets don’t have Motiejus Krivas as a first-rounder, but he’s so good protecting the paint, hitting the glass, and even making his free throws. He would be a huge second-round steal if he falls, and he’s another player who could potentially return to school.
UConn (1): Braylon Mullins will go down in history for the shot that beat Duke. He battled a couple injuries as a freshman and never really popped until his Elite Eight moment, but I think he’ll be a solid pro as a volume three-point shooter off-the-ball who can also score in transition and add some point-of-attack defense. Tarris Reed has been UConn’s best player on this run, and could be an early second-round pick. Alex Karaban is another possible second-rounder this year.
Illinois (1): Keaton Wagler feels like a lock for the top-10 as a 6’6 point guard with elite off-the-dribble shooting despite athleticism concerns. I really think there could be as many as six players on this Illini team who get at least a cup of coffee in the NBA. 7’1 twins Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic are stretch bigs whose size and shooting touch will draw some interest at the next level. I love David Mirkovic, a high-IQ, high-motor brawler on the glass who can handle the rock and shoot it off the dribble a little bit. Andrej Stojakovic — Peja’s kid! — doesn’t have his dad’s shooting, but he’s a good slasher and a fierce on-ball defender. Kylan Boswell is also a feisty defender who hits shots and moves the ball. Wagler is the only likely first-rounder, but the rest of these guys could play in the NBA eventually.
Do you like your team’s pick?
Wanted someone else? Let me know in the comments. It’s going to be an amazing Final Four. The draft lottery awaits on May 10.
During the 2024 NHL off-season, the Chicago Blackhawks signed forward Tyler Bertuzzi to a four-year, $22 million contract. The move was easy to understand, as the Blackhawks needed a top-six winger to boost their forward group.
Bertuzzi's first season with the Blackhawks proved to be solid, as he had 23 goals and 46 points in 82 games. However, the 31-year-old winger has put together a fantastic season for the Blackhawks in 2025-26 and is making it clear that Chicago made the right call signing him in the process.
After scoring two goals in the Blackhawks' most recent contest against the Winnipeg Jets, Bertuzzi now has a career-high 31 goals in 72 games this season. He also has 55 points on the year, which is the second-most of his career. With this, the 10-year veteran has been shining for the Blackhawks this season and has been worth every penny.
While the Blackhawks still have more work to do to take that next step and be a playoff team, it is excellent that they have a high-impact veteran like Bertuzzi in their lineup. He has been exactly what the Blackhawks needed this season, and it will be fascinating to see how he finishes off the campaign from here.
J. Cole is trading the mic for the hardwood again. The Grammy-winning, multi-platinum rapper, born Jermaine Cole, has signed to play in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), ESPN reported.
Cole will suit up for the Nanjing Monkey Kings in Jiangsu, China, though the number of games he has committed to remains unclear. It is not his first foray into professional basketball.
In 2021, he played for the Rwanda Patriots in the Basketball Africa League, recording 5 points, 3 assists, and 5 rebounds across three games. He also suited up for the Canadian Elite Basketball League in 2022, averaging 2.4 points and 0.6 rebounds per game.
Off the court, Cole is riding the momentum of his latest album, “The Fall-Off,” released in February 2026. He is set to embark on a sweeping 73-show tour beginning July 11 in his home state of North Carolina.
Jack Wenninger made the first Triple-A start of his career, and things went very well, as he didn’t lalow any runs, struck out five, walked one, and gave up five hits in four-and-two-thirds innings. Joey Gerber was the only Syracuse pitcher to give up any runs in the win, as Anderson Severino, Jonathan Pintaro, and Austin Warren all made scoreless appearances.
At the plate, Christian Arroyo had the best day with a couple of hits and a pair of runs batted in. The majority of Syracuse’s hitters had at least one hit on the day, as well.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 03: Trevor Story #10 of the Boston Red Sox heads back to the dugout after he struck out swinging in the second inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park on June 03, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning! I have some positive news: The Red Sox will not lose today. That’s of course because they don’t play again until tomorrow’s home opener, but hey, they can’t get any worse after a reset … right?
In the meantime, we’ve gotten a good whiff of the stink emanating from this lineup over the first six games of the season, and I’m completely underwhelmed by how weak the right handed bats look. So this got me wondering, if you were to compile a list of the best right-handed hitters in baseball, how far down it would you need to go to find the find the first Red Sox right-handed bat? 50 guys? 75 guys? It’s really quite depressing if you dive into the exercise.
The first step we need to figure out to get there though is identify which right-handed bat is Boston’s best. Trevor Story has been handed the keys to the No. 2 slot, so it should be him if he’s there on merit, but Willson Contreras probably has the better case as the best right-handed stick right now. Either way, that’s an incredibly weak headliner for the category.
Talk about this and whatever else you’d like, and as always, be good to one another!
Carolina Hurricanes - 47-21-6 - 100 Points - 6-4-0 in the last 10 - Won 1- 1st in the Metro
Columbus Blue Jackets - 38-25-12 - 88 Points - 5-4-1 in the last 10 - Lost 1 - 4th in the Metro
Team Notes Per CBJ PR
The Blue Jackets closed out a three-game homestand with a 5-2 loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday. Thursday's game at Carolina begins a stretch of three-of-four played away from Nationwide Arena through Apr. 11.
The Jackets are 9-3-1 in their last 13 road contests and rank second in the NHL in goals-against per game (2.15) and penalty kill pct. (87.9), fifth in shots against (24.8) and sixth in power play pct. (29.2) since Jan. 11.
CBJ have earned points in 25 of the last 31 contests overall (20-6-5, 45 pts) since Jan. 11. The club leads the NHL in goals-against per game (2.55) and ranks third in the NHL in points pct. (.726) and ninth-T in goals-for per game (3.39) since Jan. 11.
The Jackets also lead the NHL with a franchise-record 55 goals scored by defensemen in 2025-26 (55-133-188, 75 GP).
CBJ have collected points 10 of last 12 games against Metropolitan Division opponents since Jan. 4 (8-2-2).
Player Notes Per CBJ PR
Adam Fantilli, who led the club in goals and points (tied) in March with 7-9-16 in 17 games after scoring on Tuesday, has set a single-season career high in assists and points with 21-34-55 in 75 contests.
Jet Greaves has earned points in 15 of his last 18 starts since Jan. 11 (12-3-3, 2.36 GAA, .913 SV% in 19 GP), ranking fifth among NHL goaltenders in GAA and eighth in SV% (min. 6 GP).
Kirill Marchenko notched 1-1-2 on Tuesday for his second-straight multi-point performance (1-3-4). He leads the club in goals and ranks second in points with 26-37-63 in 69 outings in 2025-26.
Mason Marchment has posted multiple points in back-to-back games (1-3-4) after collecting two assists on Tuesday. He ranks second on the team in goals since making his CBJ debut on Dec. 20, 2025 (14-13-27 in 33 GP).
Elvis Merzlikins has recorded points in 10 of his past 13 starts since Jan. 11 (8-3-2, 2.54 GAA in 14 GP).
Zach Werenski, with 21-57-78 in 68 games in 2025-26, sits two assists shy of tying the franchise's record for assists in a single season set by Artemi Panarin (79 GP in 2018-19) and matched by the defenseman in 2024-25 (81 GP).
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 19.9% - 18th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 76.4% - 26th in the NHL
Goals For - 233 - 14th in the NHL
Goals Against - 229 - 20th in the NHL
HurricanesStats
Power Play - 24.6% - 5th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 80.5% - 12th in the NHL
Goals For - 258 - 7th in the NHL
Goals Against - 215 - 7th in the NHL
Series History vs. TheHurricanes
Columbus is 30-32-0-5 all-time, and 13-17-0-3 on the road vs. Carolina.
Carolina's victory on Tuesday snapped a streak of eight-straight wins for the home team in the series. The home team has now won 12-of-15 meetings dating back to Feb. 25, 2022.
The Hurricanes have won the last seven meetings at Lenovo Center since a 6-0 CBJ victory on Jan. 13, 2022.
The winning team has scored four-plus goals in each of the past eight contests (including SO goals) and 16 of the past 18 since Oct. 23, 2021.
The winning team has won by three-plus goals in seven of the past nine meetings overall with Columbus earning two shootout victories in the other two.
Seven of the last eight played at Carolina have been decided by three or more goals.
The Blue Jackets have registered four shutouts and hat tricks in the all-time series.
The teams have combined to record less than 60 shots on goal in six of the past 10 meetings (60.0 avg.).
Who To Watch For TheHurricanes
Seth Jarvis leads the Canes with 30 goals.
Sebastian Aho leads the team with 50 assists and 75 points.
Goalie Brandon Bussi is 28-6-1 with a SV% of .897.
Frederik Andersen is 13-13-5 with a SV% of .871.
CBJ Player Notes vsHurricanes
Boone Jenner has 13 points in 26 career games against Carolina.
Zach Werenski has 17 points against the Hurricanes.
Mason Marchment has 10 points in 11 games vs. Carolina.
Injured Reserve & Other Injuries
Brendan Smith - Lower Body - Missed 37 Games IR - Out for the rest of the regular season.
Damon Severson - Missed 3 Games - Upper Body - OUT FOR THE SEASON
Dmitri Voronkov - Missed 2 Games - Upper Body - Week-to-week
Mathieu Olivier - Missed 1 Game - Upper Body - OUT FOR THE SEASON
Isac Lundeström - Left early against Carolina on Tuesday
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 189
How to Watch & Listen: Tonight's game will be on FanDuel Sports Network. The radio broadcast will be on 97.1 The Fan, with Bob McElligott behind the mic doing the play-by-play.
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On this day 43 years ago, Aurelio Rodríguez’s first stint with the White Sox began.
1900 The White Sox played their first-ever game, an exhibition win over the University of Illinois baseball team in Champaign, 10-9. Roy Patterson got the win.
That season, the American League wasn’t considered a major league (the AL would band together with the National League to form MLB in 1901). However, the White Sox would win the AL’s first pennant on September 12, when they beat the Cleveland Blues. 12-4 and 9-1.
1907 The best player in White Sox history (at least per his 77.5 career WAR), Luke Appling, was born in High Point, N.C. Exactly 20 years later, in Detroit, Billy Pierce was born. With their combined 127.3 WAR for the White Sox and universally beloved status, it’s safe to say there is no more important birthday on the franchise calendar than April 2.
1982 The White Sox traded outfielder Wayne Nordhagen to Toronto for third baseman Aurelio Rodríguez. Over six years with the White Sox, Nordhagen was the epitome of a replacement player, earning just 0.4 WAR over 406 career games.
Still, the White Sox got the better end of this trade: Rodríguez spent all of 1982 with the White Sox, then signed with Baltimore for the 1983 season before returning to the White Sox after his release from Baltimore in August. The defensive whiz put up 0.5 WAR over the course of essentially one entire season (140 games) in 1982-83.
1997 For the first time ever in Major League Baseball, one player’s salary is more than an entireteam’s salary.
OK, cool factoid. Why is that a part of White Sox History?
The reason — you may want to sit down for this — is that the player was on the Chicago White Sox. Yes, Albert Belle made $10 million in the first year of his free-agent deal with the South Siders, while the entire Pittsburgh Pirates payroll totaled just $9,071,667.
The 1997 season represented the last time the White Sox fielded the highest-paid player in baseball on their roster.
2006 On Opening Night, the White Sox unfurled their 2005 World Champion banner at Sox Park. The night game was a concession for an ESPN national broadcast, and the South Siders set down their division rivals, 10-4. Jim Thome hit his first White Sox home run, through a driving rain in the fourth inning, putting the home team ahead to stay.
Overall, the game was delayed for three hours by rain.
2021 Now THIS is how you make a debut!
White Sox DH Yermín Mercedes had more than 2,000 minor league at-bats before finally making an Opening Day roster in the majors. On this night in Anaheim, he had a sensational start, going 5-for-5, with four RBIs in a 12-8 win. Mercedeshad four singles and a double in the game. Chrystal O’Keefe had the next-day South Side Sox feature about Yermín’s 5-for-5 outing.
The last time a rookie had five hits in his first game in the big leagues was 1933, when Cecil Travis of the Senators did it. Before Travis, Fred Clarke had gotten five hits in his first game as well — but Mercedes became the only player in history to go a perfect 5-for-5 in his debut.
Mercedeswould go on to have 12 hits in his first four games — setting a modern major league record — and be named American League Player of the Week.
On this day just three years later, with a nod to how difficult it is to maintain a foothold in the majors, Mercedes signed a free agent contract … with the Kansas City Monarchs, an independent minor league team.
2024 White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet wrote his name in the team record book after throwing seven innings allowing one run and striking out eight in beating Atlanta, 3-2, on a raw night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
This came off his start against Detroit on Opening Day where he allowed a single run in six innings, striking out eight. It was his first two major league starts, and the 16 total strikeouts were the most ever for a Sox pitcher in the first two starts of his career.
He also joined Jack McDowell (1991) and Juan Pizarro (1963) as throwing at least six innings with one or fewer runs and at least six strikeouts in their first two starts of the season.
There’s no denying that Joe Veleno didn’t live up to his potential. When the Detroit Red Wings drafted him 30th overall at the 2018 draft, they expected more than a career-best season of 28 points in 80 games, which is why they eventually decided to move on. So did Veleno, though; he realized he would never be the dominant force he was in the QMJHL, and he decided to adapt.
When he signed a one-year, $900,000 cap hit contract with the Montreal Canadiens, it raised a few eyebrows, but with just eight games to go in the season, it seems obvious that it was an astute move by GM Kent Hughes.
Not that the Montreal native has produced more than he did in Detroit, or in Chicago, for that matter, but when the Canadiens called upon him (he has played 55 of the 74 games Montreal played so far), he was ready to go.
While Veleno embraced his bottom-of-the-lineup support role and only contributed two goals and two assists, he has been throwing his body around and committing to forecheck as if there was no tomorrow, which there almost isn’t when you’re a player on the bubble, playing for your spot in the lineup every night.
Through his 55 games, the winger/center has landed 139 hits, the third-highest total on the team, behind Zachary Bolduc and Arber Xhekaj, who have 155 hits in 72 games for the former and in 57 games for the latter.
The fact that he has converted into a player who’s throwing his weight around can only help him get more games with the Canadiens, especially with the playoffs fast approaching. On top of being willing to play a physical game, he also has the hockey IQ necessary to thrive in Martin St-Louis’ system, and when the Habs are healthy, the coach may face quite a predicament when he has to decide who to scratch. He brings an energy and physical presence that some veterans just can’t bring anymore, on top of being able to take faceoffs.
The Philadelphia Flyers have a knack for making shrewd, under-the-radar trades, and one of their latest is already paying off in a big way.
Throughout the season, the Flyers have made a number of (relatively) insignificant player swaps, like trading Dennis Gilbert for Max Guenette, Ethan Samson for Roman Schmidt, and Samu Tuomaala for Christian Kyrou.
The Samson move was a bit controversial, given that the former sixth-round pick had a breakout 2024-25 season with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms and looked solid in Flyers training camp before going down with a broken hand.
After four assists in 10 games, the Flyers swapped him for Schmidt, and later swapped Schmidt with veteran forward Boris Katchouk.
That move has been, by far, the most impactful for the Flyers' organization, injecting some life back into a Phantoms team that has had to deal with a significant amount of player turnover, including losing the likes of Alex Bump and Denver Barkey to the NHL on a permanent basis.
Having been acquired by the Flyers from the Minnesota Wild on March 1, shortly before the March 6 NHL trade deadline, Katchouk, 27, has already established himself as a top-line player for the Phantoms, featuring on the power play and playing both center and wing.
In just 11 games with Lehigh Valley, the 2016 No. 44 overall pick has erupted for five goals, four assists, and nine points, matching the five goals he had in 29 games between the Iowa Wild and Syracuse Crunch earlier this season.
It helps for the Flyers, too, that Katchouk has 179 games of NHL experience and 15 goals; that experience matters in a locker room that also has David Jiricek, Devin Kaplan, Riley Thompson, Carson Bjarnason, Aleksei Kolosov, Cole Knuble, and Oliver Bonk in it.
If post-NHL trade deadline call-up limitations weren't a factor, it's easy to imagine a world where the Flyers bring Katchouk into the fold as a depth forward, especially with Rodrigo Abols (ankle) still out of commission.
In the meantime, Rick Tocchet and Co. are managing with a fourth line of Sean Couturier, waiver wire pickup Luke Glendening, and Garnet Hathaway.
The journeyman Katchouk, however, is making his case to find a new home in pro hockey.
