Evan’s NHL Daily: Rantanen Academy, Byram/Ruff A Good Combo

Mikko Rantanen is one of the more high profile NHL players in Finland right now, and for the last five years, he has put together the Rantanen Academy, allowing youth players to get on the ice and grow their passion for the game. Each summer he brings in at least one NHL player to help him out, and this year, it’s one of his Avalanche teammates.

It’s not quite making a coaching change as late as they did last summer, but the Blue Jackets have finally got their man behind the bench less than two months before training camps are set to open.

Colorado Hockey Now

The free agent market dried up pretty quickly this summer, and there isn’t much out there. If the Avalanche make one more addition, I think Steven Lorentz makes sense.

His stance has changed over the last few years, and that’s why he’s continued to get better. Maybe coaching is a big reason that hype continues to grow around Ilya Nabokov (+)

News And Rumors

The 5th annual Rantanen Academy is underway over in Finland. Each summer, Mikko Rantanen puts it on for youth skaters in his home country with one goal: awakening passion for sports and especially hockey. The camp is mostly open to younger players born between 2011-2015. 2010 birth year kids are separated out and it’s their final year in the camp.

This year, the NHL player he found to help out is none other than his teammate on the Avalanche, Joel Kiviranta.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RantanenAcademy (@rantanenacademy)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RantanenAcademy (@rantanenacademy)

TSN: It’s not late August, so I guess that’s an improvement. The Blue Jackets have made their coaching hire, and it’s someone Avalanche fans should be pretty familiar with in Dean Evason.

Evason has a history of being a good coach at the AHL and NHL level, although never really a great one. His playoff record in both leagues is pretty rough, but if you’re the Blue Jackets, you’re just hoping to get there at this stage in their existence.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: I’m not sure how many NHL teams are looking for a starting goaltender, but there seems to be a lot of smoke around Tristan Jarry getting moved. Here’s Dan talking through some scenarios regarding Jarry.

Boston Hockey Now: In honor of longtime Bruins reporter Mike Loftus.

San Jose Hockey Now: Finally making it official, Joe Pavelski has called it quits.

Florida Hockey Now: The Avalanche know all about this. When you have good players and win the Stanley Cup, it gets harder and harder to keep that team together. More cap issues will be coming soon for the Florida Panthers. (+)

Philly Hockey Now: There’s a lot of hype around him, and for good reason. However, time to set some realistic expectations for Matvei Michkov.

Buffalo Hockey Now: Under Lindy Ruff, will Bowen Byram thrive?