Prospect Report: Start of Monsters season delayed

When I talked to Cleveland Monsters head coach Mike Eaves on Wednesday, his trademark enthusiasm couldn't help but come through the Zoom call.
The AHL affiliate of the Blue Jackets were two days away from beginning their season with a pair of games at Rockford, and Eaves was discussing just how ready he and the team were to begin what was scheduled to be a 28-game season down on the farm.
Unfortunately, all that changed Thursday when the AHL announced that the Monsters would not be traveling to the Screw Capital of the World because of the league's COVID-19 protocols, delaying the start of the campaign for Cleveland.

Just as John Tortorella has spoken about how the Blue Jackets must be able to handle any bumps in the road that come their way in this weird, COVID year, Eaves did say Wednesday that the Monsters would have to do the same.
And now, before a puck has even been dropped, the first test has arrived.
"I think there is a philosophy of life where you take it one day at a time, one moment at a time and live in the present," Eaves said. "You truly are being tested in your ability to do that right now because things are changing so fast. We don't have all the answers. We're trying to solve riddles every day, and we just have to go with the flow. If we do that, we give ourselves a better chance of being successful in what we're trying to do."
The next scheduled games for Cleveland are the home opener Feb. 12 vs. Rochester and a home game the next day vs. Grand Rapids.
If the season does begin then, the team will have a young roster, one that has required Eaves and his staff to learn a number of new names and faces in preparation for the campaign. Returnees include forwards Zac Dalpe, Nathan Gerbe, Trey Fix-Wolansky, Justin Scott, Ryan MacInnis, Kole Sherwood and Brett Gallant as well as defenseman Dillon Simpson and goalies Veini Vehvilainen and Brad Thiessen. CBJ-affiliated players also dot the roster in forwards Tyler Angle and Cliff Pu as well as former Jackets draft pick and Powell native Carson Meyer, plus defensemen Gavin Bayreuther and Jake Christiansen.
Coming off a serious knee injury that cost him much of last season, Dalpe has been named the team's captain, while Simpson and Scott will serve as alternate captains this year.
"As a coaching staff, you count your blessings when you have leaders like that because our time in front of the boys is so little compared to the time they spend with each other," Eaves said. "If you have those older guys in the room carrying the charge with how they work, how they live, how they carry themselves, that rubs off on the younger guys. They see that. They probably learn more from watching than what they say. We are very fortunate to have those guys in that leadership role for us."
It could be an interesting year for player transfers back and forth to Columbus, as the Blue Jackets have a six-player taxi squad in Columbus created to ease in callups should COVID create havoc. That list of players currently includes Emil Bemstrom, Liam Foudy, Stefan Matteau, Andrew Peeke, Adam Clendening and Cam Johnson, all of whom would normally be skating in Cleveland in non-COVID times.
The past few days also have been notable for transactions, as MacInnis and Gerbe -- who has already played in a game this year for Columbus -- have recently been sent to Cleveland. Goalie Matiss Kivlenieks is expected to at least get a few games with the Monsters at some point this year, but he served as the Jackets' backup Thursday night after Elvis Merzlikins went on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.
In the end, the bulk of the roster will include those players mentioned above as well as veteran AHL signees like Adam Helewka, Nick Lappin and Tyler Sikura up front and Thomas Schemitsch on defense. The Monsters also have some young talent just out of college or juniors in forwards Zach Jordan (Nebraska-Omaha, NCAA), Luke Moncada (North Bay, OHL) and Matthew Struthers (North Bay/Owen Sound, OHL) plus defenseman Wyatt Newpower (UConn, NCAA).
How the new roster rules will impact Eaves and his team remains to be seen, as the proof will be in the pudding as the year goes on.
"I think we have to kind of knock on wood that there has been no necessity to use the taxi squad to a very high level yet like last year," Eaves said. "We were sending guys all the time, but when that gets tested, what if we have a guy who really played well here vs. a guy that's on the taxi squad that hasn't been playing? The upper management is going to have to make a decision on that.
"I think it's to be determined how that whole thing plays out. Obviously the guys on the taxi squad are there because they are older. They have NHL experience or they're ready to make that step in the NHL. Then you weigh that against a guy who is down here, what if it's an older guy who's playing well down here, does he get to jump over and get up there and play because he's been playing? Those are bridges we haven't crossed yet, and we'll have to do that."
When the team goes hit the ice, it will be a welcome opportunity to get back to doing what they love, with many of the players having not suited up for a competitive game since the pandemic started last March.
"I think everybody is just so glad to be able to do wat we're doing, to be around other people, to talk hockey, to play," Eaves said. "That piece has been really uplifting for everybody involved."

Tarasov stands out in KHL

It seems like each young Russian the Blue Jackets have in the KHL has had different times to shine this year, and right now the spotlight belongs to goaltender Daniil Tarasov.
The third-round pick in the 2017 draft had planned to come to North America to play with Cleveland this year but returned to his hometown team, Salavat Yulaev Ufa, in the KHL because of the virus. And recently he's been impressing in Bashkortostan, posting an 8-3-2 record this year with a 2.08 GAA and .924 save percentage.
Tarasov has been an integral part in Salavat Yulaev's clinching of a playoff spot, as the 21-year-old was in net Jan. 28 when the team iced its postseason berth with a win over Amur. Tarasov stopped 31 of 33 shots in the win, as he made three starts and earned three wins in January while giving up a total of six goals.
Meanwhile, some good news is the return to health of Kirill Marchenko, the high-scoring 2018 second-round pick for SKA St. Petersburg who is back on the ice after missing a month of the season due to injury.
The 20-year-old has 12 goals and 22 points in 34 games this year, four of them coming since his return Jan. 27. Marchenko has an assist and a plus-2 rating since his return and is back to skating top-line minutes for the Bobrov Division-leading team.
Fellow 20-year-old forward Dmitri Voronkov has continued to be a consistent presence for Ak Bars Kazan, which has raced to big lead in the Kharlamov Division of the KHL. Voronkov, a fourth-round pick in 2019, has a 7-11-18 line in 47 games.
Meanwhile, 2020 first-round pick Yegor Chinakhov has not played in the KHL for Chemyshev Division-leading Avangard Omsk since he suffered an injury playing for Russia in the World Junior Championship over the holidays. Chinakhov, who turned 20 on Feb. 1, has eight goals and 15 points in 27 games but has not seen KHL action since November.

Prospect Notes

• Forward Kale Howarth notched an empty-net goal for UConn last night in the Huskies' 4-1 upset of No. 14 Northeastern. In his third season at the college level, the 2017 fifth-round pick has a 4-2-6 line in 12 games for our friends over at #IceBus.
• Defenseman Eric Hjorth was the team's top pick in the 2019 draft, albeit in the fourth round, and after spending last year with Sarnia of the OHL has landed with KalPa in Finland. The 20-year-old has signed through next season with an option for 2022-23.
• Mikaehl Pyyhtia, the team's fourth-round pick in October's draft, has now played eight games at the highest level in his native Finland, notching his first two Liiga goals. Pyyhtia, a 19-year-old winger, played for Finland at the recently concluded World Juniors.