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Hockey

Blues Prospect Continues To Stand Out; Making Quite The Impression In Second Season With Team

St. Louis Blues prospect Aleksanteri Kaskimaki took part in the opening pre-season game last night, continuing to make an impression on the coaching staff.

The 21-year-old had a positive rookie season in the AHL with the Springfield Thunderbirds, notching 11 goals and 34 points in 63 games, good enough for eighth in goals and sixth in points on the team.

Prior to the pre-season opening 2-1 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars, Kaskimaki was a force at the prospects tournament and continued to show off his high energy and skill in training camp. Against a Stars team which featured NHLers Mavrik Bourque, Alexander Petrovic, Nils Lundkvist, Sam Steel and Radek Faksa, Kaskimaki finished the game with a shot on goal and a hit in 16:55 of ice time.

The young centermen skated on a line with Nathan Walker and Alexey Toropchenko, fitting in perfectly and helping the line win plenty of small ice puck battles. Kaskimaki’s lone hiccup was on an ill-advised play in overtime that was intercepted in the middle of the ice on an outlet that led to Carbonneau’s penalty.

Kaskimaki was involved in the Blues’ only goal, moving the puck to Dylan Holloway behind the goal and then quickly getting to the front of the net. After Holloway sent the puck to Logan Mailloux, he fed it to Justin Carbonneau, who used Kaskimaki as a pass option to sneakily beat the Stars’ goaltender.

There is plenty to like from Kaskimaki’s overall game. He plays with a high pace, always looking to carry the puck through the neutral zone and initiate rush offense. Offensively, the 5-foot-11, 181-pound center uses deception and his hands to create shooting chances. He likes to use the defender’s legs to his advantage, sliding the puck through their legs with different release points in an attempt to change the angle and confuse the goaltenders.

Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (St. Louis Blues)

He found success with it in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league, before the jump to North American hockey, recording 10 goals and 17 points in 48 games as a 19-year-old.

The 2022 third-round pick (73rd overall) possesses several NHL-translatable skills. His skill set screams successful bottom-six player, and with some more time to refine his game in the AHL, Kaskimaki could be one of the many players who earn a call-up to the NHL sometime this season or next.

“Kaskimaki is one of my … I saw him at the World Junior in Sweden. There’s something about that player that attracts me to him,” said GM Doug Armstrong in the exit interviews following the Blues’ elimination from the playoffs. “His detail. He reminds me a lot of, I hate putting comparisons out because I get held to it, but not the offense of Alex Steen; he doesn’t have that offense yet, might never have that offense, but he has that understanding of the game, understanding the important times of the game, where important ice is, how to get to it. I saw that when he represents his national team. He’s a guy if does what he’s supposed to do, I see him getting games next year. If he does what he’s supposed to do and has a great training camp, he could start with us.”

Making the team is certainly a long shot, but Kaskimaki is off to a flying start in showing that he is more NHL-ready than some may believe.

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Hockey

Sandis Vilmanis Continues To Impress Panthers Organization

Sandis Vilmanis had a stellar pre-season prior to the 2024-25 season and followed it up with a strong AHL rookie campaign. And now the Florida Panthers prospect stood out at this year’s rookie camp.

Vilmanis played in three pre-season games last year, notching two goals and three points, which included an overtime winner against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Following his pre-season success, Vilmanis joined the Charlotte Checkers for his AHL rookie season.

On a strong Checkers team, the 21-year-old posted nine goals and 27 points in 61 games, including three goals and seven points in 11 playoff games. The youngster finished with the 11th most goals and 10th most points on the Checkers.

Standing 6-foot-1, 191 pounds, Vilmanis has an NHL-ready frame, but is currently working on adding pace to his game, which revolves around solid skating mechanics, nifty hands and a heavy shot. Drafted in the fifth round (157th overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft, the expectation would be that if Vilmanis did pan out, it would take some time, but the Latvian-born winger has progressed far faster than the team expected.

Sandis Vilmanis (Florida Panthers)

Vilmanis showed up to rookie camp determined, and the results followed quickly. The left-handed winger got the scoring started in the opening game against the Carolina Hurricanes and did so again against the Nashville Predators in the third and final game.

Unfortunately for Vilmanis, he collided with the boards in the opening frame after forcing a turnover and creating a breakaway chance. The collision forced Vilmanis to leave the game, and he did not return for the second period.

Vilmanis’ health status is unknown, and the current hope is that he was removed from the game as a precaution.

With the competitiveness of the Panthers’ current bottom-six, it’s unlikely that Vilmanis is even in the conversation to make the team, but if he continues to improve and impresses in the AHL, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Vilmanis earn his first call-up to the NHL this season and be a real contender to earn a spot out of camp next year.

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Basketball

Kawhi controversy continues, Warriors-Kuminga standoff & EuroBasket recap with Mo Dakhil

Subscribe to The Kevin O’Connor Show

Kevin Oâ€Connor is joined by Mo Dakhil for a deep dive into the latest twists around the Kawhi Leonard-Aspiration scandal and its potential impact on the LA Clippers.

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The pair also unpacks the Warriors†contract stalemate with Jonathan Kuminga, debating whether or not he should continue to pass on Golden Stateâ€s offers.

KOC & Mo recap Franz Wagnerâ€s performance for Germany in EuroBasket and what it means for the Orlando Magic next season, plus can Alperen Åžengün carry his dominance for Türkiye into a winning season with KD & the Rockets?

(1:10) Latest Kawhi Leonard update

(19:20) Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors stalemate

(27:26) Should Kuminga focus on next offseason?

(31:54) Germany wins Gold at EuroBasket 2025

(39:45)Türkiye didnâ€t have enough to outlast Germany

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(42:12) Giannis calls Bronze medal his greatest accomplishment

(46:31) Will Lauri Markkanenâ€s EuroBasket performance aid him in NBA?

Dennis Schroder, Germany defeat Turkiye 88-83 to win EuroBasket 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Dennis Schroder, Germany defeat Turkiye 88-83 to win EuroBasket 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

(AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

🖥ï¸Watch this full episode on YouTube

Check out the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at or atyahoosports.tv

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Basketball

Warriors reportedly increased offer to Jonathan Kuminga, but staring contest continues as deadline approaches

Deadlines have a tendency to spark activity, and with the start of NBA training camps now just two weeks away — and with the October 1 deadline for restricted free agents to accept their teams†qualifying offers just one week beyond that — weâ€re starting to get rumblings of some movement in the long-stagnant stalemate between the Golden State Warriors and forward Jonathan Kuminga.

Over a quiet summer, both team and player remained dug into their respective positions. Kuminga has sought either a lucrative long-term extension in Golden State that signals a pathway to a starting job and a starring role, or a sign-and-trade to an interested suitor willing to provide him with such an extension and path. According to multiple reports, both the Suns and Kings had designs on giving Kuminga a multi-year deal to slot into their starting lineups; Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., however, reportedly wasnâ€t interested in the trade proposals that Phoenix and Sacramento had pitched the Warriors for Kumingaâ€s services.

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The Warriors, in turn, have wanted to bring Kuminga back on a shorter, less lucrative pact: a reported two-year, $45 million standing offer with a team option on the second year that would require Kuminga to waive the de facto no-trade clause heâ€d receive as a player signing for one guaranteed season with a team that holds his Bird rights. That structure would allow Warriors brass to trade the 22-year-old forward at whatever time they deem most convenient and to the destination of their choosing — even if itâ€s not one that Kuminga would prefer to spend the next phase of his career.

A new week brings renewed hope, though. Jake Fischer reported last week that Kuminga was “strongly considering … accepting the $7.9 million qualifying offer†that would allow him to hit unrestricted free agency next summer — taking the same tack that fellow RFA Cam Thomas took in Brooklyn and introducing the threat of the Warriors losing him without receiving any players or draft compensation in return — and that “we could finally see some movement on the Kuminga front next week.†Sure enough: Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of ESPN reported Monday that Dunleavy and Co. have upped their offer to Kuminga — albeit in a context that still allows Golden State to retain as much control as possible over when and where to move the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft:

Late last week, Dunleavy offered Kuminga a three-year, $75.2 million deal with a team option in the third season, sources told ESPN. That’s $48.3 million guaranteed in the first two seasons and basically the same per-year salary as fellow restricted free agent Josh Giddey, who re-signed with the Chicago Bulls for four years and $100 million. The difference: Half the length and a team-controlled third season and a subliminal understanding that the contract is more trade asset than commitment to a partnership.

Dunleavy and the Warriors are requesting the same structure as their previous proposal on the two-year, $45 million framework — a team option on the second season and a waiving of the inherent no-trade clause, sources said.

Kuminga, as you might expect, remains reluctant to assent to any resolution that grants Golden State that kind of control, given his well-publicized frustrations over what he sees as years of inconsistent opportunities and stunted growth under head coach Steve Kerr. Slater and Charania report that Kuminga and his agent, Aaron Turner, have responded to the Dubs†latest pitch with one of their own, but that Dunleavy and owner Joe Lacob still havenâ€t taken their bats off their shoulders:

One of the latest counters, sources said, came in the past week: One year on a negotiable number, presented as a souped-up version of the qualifying offer, getting Kuminga a financial bump (up from $8 million) and unrestricted free agency next summer while wiping away the inherent no-trade clause and allowing the Warriors to use him as an expiring contract at the deadline. It would serve as a bridge deal that gives both sides the ability to examine another year together, but also a much more trade-friendly salary number as opposed to the qualifying offer, which has an Oct. 1 deadline. It is similar to a concept the Brooklyn Nets proposed to Cam Thomas.

Dunleavy declined the concept, sources said, and it is Lacob who is apparently against the balloon one-year offer, leaving the Warriors too vulnerable to losing Kuminga next summer for nothing.

Kuminga has proven capable of putting up numbers, averaging 15.8 points on 49.9% shooting and 4.7 rebounds in 25.6 minutes per game over the last two seasons. That production has increased when heâ€s gotten the opportunity to start: 17.1 points on 51.4% shooting to go with 5.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 combined steals-and-blocks in 28.8 minutes per game over 56 starts.

Only a handful of players Kumingaâ€s age have produced like that over the past couple of seasons: Alperen Åžengün, Jalen Williams, Evan Mobley, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Johnson. All five of those guys have already secured monster bags; all five, though, have also shown themselves to be high-level defensive players, high-level playmakers, or both. Kuminga, on the other hand, owns a 1.3-to-1 career assist-to-turnover ratio and hasnâ€t developed into the kind of on-ball stopper that youâ€d hope for from a 6-foot-8, 210-pound über-athlete with a 6-foot-11 wingspan.

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Thatâ€s a problem in Golden State, where the ecosystem that Kerr has built around Stephen Curry requires everybody else to move the ball and their bodies, knock down 3s off the catch, defend like demons, and generally fit into a defined role. The need to get in where you fit in became even more acute once the Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler: a high-efficiency, low-turnover defensive ace who plays Kumingaâ€s position. Warriors lineups featuring all three of Butler, Kuminga and Draymond Green got outscored by 36 points in 105 minutes last season, according to PBP Stats, scoring at a rate that wouldâ€ve ranked dead last in the NBA; lineups featuring Butler and Green without Kuminga, however, were +180 in 940 minutes, and scored at a top-five-caliber clip.

Time and again down the stretch last season, Kerr limited or eliminated Kumingaâ€s minutes, leaning into what worked best for Golden State in pursuit of playoff positioning and postseason success. Kerr only dusted Kuminga off when forced to after Curry injured his hamstring in Game 1 of the Warriors†second-round series against the Rockets. Over the next four games, Kuminga averaged 31 minutes a night, averaging 24.3 points per game on 55/39/72 shooting splits; he also had five assists against eight turnovers over those four games; the Warriors lost his minutes by 28 points, lost all four games, and lost the series.

Itâ€s the dilemma in a nutshell. The Warriors†only chance of playing meaningful basketball come springtime lies in doing everything possible to optimize the roster around Curry. Kerr clearly feels that, for all Kumingaâ€s athleticism and gifts as a scorer, his specific shortcomings as a connective playmaker and defender make him an awkward fit next to Steph. That athleticism and those gifts are clear, though, and clearly have value; with Curry, Butler and Green all on the wrong side of 35, Dunleavy and Co. know that Kuminga, and whatever contract he winds up signing, likely represents the Warriors†best trade chip to play in search of new sources of talent.

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Kuminga and his reps know that, too, and want the deal to reflect that, in both length and dollars. But committing to a deal that pays Kuminga more money up front (potentially foiling the Warriors†plans of filling out the roster with reportedly waiting vets like Al Horford, Deâ€Anthony Melton, Gary Payton II and Seth Curry) and that stretches beyond the summer of 2027 (when Curry, Butler and Green are all slated to be off the books, giving the Warriors all the financial flexibility in the world if they want it) would complicate matters significantly for Golden State, now and in the future.

The staring contest, then, continues, for both the Warriors — who have effectively sat out the NBAâ€s offseason, standing as the only team in the league to make no signings, still featuring six open roster spots on the verge of camp, and seeing options like once-rumored target Malcolm Brogdon come off the board — and Kuminga, who enters his fifth pro season still looking to definitively carve out his niche. With camp a mere fortnight away and the Oct. 1 qualifying offer deadline just three weeks out, itâ€ll be awfully interesting to see who blinks first.

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