Oh, so you can get suspended in the playoffs, oh, wait...

Only after you're eliminated. Got it.

There was a report today that the Oilers are looking to interview Bruce Cassidy, and it is said that Vegas said no.

The Vegas news is supposed to be today and Hamilton on Thursday.

Interesting rules lawyering here:

This was interesting in light of the defenders ranked high in the draft and the pointz talk that just won't stop!

What Chayka is talking about here is doing the things that lead to goals, which if you have a method to count them are far superior to assists. If we had publicly available shot-assist or shot-pass data we'd have a fuller understanding of playmaking for defenders and forwards. The numbers she gives mean nothing since we cannot contextualize them.

But pointz are dependent on the random process affecting the shooter, as well as the shooter's talent, the goalie's talent and a host of other things beyond the passer's control. Enough passing data of all kinds and our understanding of hockey would explode. Just what's hand tracked is some of the most interesting information to understand players there is.

In Team Canada news, Sidney Crosby has joined the team along with Porter Martone and Dawson Mercer. Mat Barzal has had to drop out to rehab an injury.

Some schedule changes, potentially:

Buffalo beat Montréal to tie the series, and someone is up 3-2 in the Vegas-Ducks matchup.

They open against Ottawa on Monday. It's an all red team matchup and no Minnesota Frost winning anything this year.

Meanwhile the list of those declared for the draft is out:

2026 PWHL DRAFT ELIGIBILITY LIST FEATURES RECORD NUMBER OF PLAYER DECLARATIONS
NEW YORK AND TORONTO (May 12, 2026) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) today announced that 235 eligible players have declared for the 2026 PWHL Draft presented by Upper Deck, representing the largest talent pool of prospective players sin…
Professional Women's Hockey League

There are over 20 players with national team experience on various countries, including some from the most recent powerhouse Team USA, long-time Canadian player Meghan Agosta, Swiss goalie Andrea Braendli and some stars of the recently ascendent Italian team including Laura Fortino.

But the name that stood out to me? Jade Iginla. I recall seeing her on the ice with Tij and Joe as kids when Jarome was awarded something (likely his silver stick). When that ceremony happened, only Tij and Joe knew they'd have a chance to play pro hockey someday. Joe is a draft eligible prospect this year as well. They all got a chance.

Draft results by position

I said I'd post some information on the top of the draft split out by position. This is all skaters drafted since 2000:

Average Career Regular Season TOI per Game

Pick D C W
1 25 21 17
2 20 13 17
3 25 18 17
4 22 17 18
5 13 11 15
6 15 14 17
7 15 15 16
8 17 13 14
9 17 11 16
10 18 15 14

Average Career Regular Season NHL Games Played

Pick D C W
1 744 919 867
2 772 880 808
3 902 704 771
4 658 873 562
5 676 674 726
6 561 652 596
7 657 584 687
8 444 430 466
9 670 503 511
10 370 478 644

There doesn't seem to be any really obvious split by position here but there sure is a drop in defenders from pick four and on down in terms of ice time. I would speculate that says GMs are really sure that when they draft a defender very high they have a top pairing guy of some description.

There is robust analysis (this is very much not that) that says drafting hits most on centres, then wingers, then defence, then goalies. But it would require digging into older draft years to see if that is true at the very top where most picks are hits. And then you have to ask, what does some draft from 1985 have to do with next month's choices?

Anyway, the next time you think you know something, check it! I did this today because of my Chase Reid skepticism. Which I'm not cured of entirely, but we'll see what happens in the fullness of time.

I saw this today:

Which tells you what I already told you, there's very few misses the higher you go. But it also shows how many chances a "first-rounder" gets. Since it doesn't say, Nolan Patrick retired due to injuries including concussions and a migraine condition. Marek Zagrapan came back after a year off and played this season at 39, busting the right edge of that chart.

That's it, everyone, have a good day.

From The Branches