A 2024 second-round pick, Gardner has been nominated for the WHL's Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy for a third consecutive season. The award is given annually to the WHL’s Humanitarian of the Year. Gardner posted a .907 save percentage in 11 playoff games with Saskatoon before being assigned to Cleveland at the end of the Blades' postseason run.
Ivanov, a 2022 fifth-round pick, made two playoff starts for SKA in its playoff series vs. CSKA Moskva before St. Petersburg lost the series 4-1. He made 22 saves in a 1-0 shutout win Friday, then stopped 23 of 26 shots in a 4-2 setback Saturday. Ivanov finished the year with a 13-11-2 record in 29 games while posting a 2.50 GAA and .928 save percentage.
A 2023 seventh-round pick, Keskinen finished the regular season with a 20-17-37 line in 49 games, including 14 goals and 27 points in his last 26 games. Tappara is the top seed in the Liiga playoffs and downed HPK in five games in its opening-round series, with Keskinen posting a pair of assists in four games, but the team now trails 2-0 to rival Ilves.
Dylan Tyrer introduces you to the next generation of Columbus Blue Jackets on the Pipeline Podcast. This podcast features interviews with upcoming prospects, their coaches, and more.
The AHL affiliate of the Blue Jackets has reached playoff time! The Monsters secured a first-round bye by finishing third in the AHL North and will take on Syracuse in a best-of-five series, with Game 1 (Friday, 7 p.m.) and Game 2 (Sunday, 4 p.m.) in Cleveland.
The Monsters clinched the first-round bye with wins over the weekend, winning 2-1 at Rochester on Friday and then posting a 6-4 victory at home Sunday vs. Grand Rapids. Jack Williams had the third-period winner at the Amerks, his sixth GWG of the year, while Charlie Elick had an assist in his pro debut.
Sunday, 15,340 fans packed Rocket Arena to see Cleveland rally with three third-period goals to beat the Griffins. Mikael Pyyhtiä tallied twice while Luca Pinella tied the game in the third, Zach Aston-Reese put Cleveland ahead and Brendan Gaunce tallied the empty-net goal for his 58th as a Monster, tying him for fourth in franchise history.
Pyyhtiä now has seven goals in the last six games and has 16 multipoint games on the year. Pinelli is seventh among all AHL rookies with 46 points, while Williams leads the AHL with four OT goals.
