The Vancouver Canucks made further cuts to their roster on Thursday afternoon, including prospect forward Adam Gaudette, last year's Hobey Baker Award winner in the NCAA. Gaudette made an appearance last season with the Canucks, after his college season had concluded, when injuries had taken their toll on the roster, but with a training camp under his belt, the team's management has decided to give some more time for seasoning down in the AHL to start the year. Joining Gaudette on the way down is top prospect defenseman Olli Juolevi, who had a hard time cracking the top seven that was already in place, but some time in the minors to adapt to the North American game will likely do him some good.
The Washington Capitals made a couple of key cuts of their own on Thursday afternoon, giving the backup job to Pheonix Copley and demoting both Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek to the AHL and then also sending free agent forward signing Sergei Shumakov down.Copley will assume Samsonov's 15-point projection for the season after a good preseason, while Shumakov's spot will be occupied by Nic Dowd, who will likely be used down the middle in the bottom six, at least to start the year. Shumakov was a dark horse long shot for the hockey pool conversation, but if he made the roster, it would have made for a good argument. Dowd's depth play should work well for the Capitals in the short-term.
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