Kotkov, Villeneuve appear in AHL games

Michael Hawkins/Saint John Sea Dogs

Two members of the Saint John Sea Dogs' 2020-21 squad skated in the American Hockey League this week.

With their junior hockey seasons (or in Kotkov's case, junior hockey career) over, forward Vladislav Kotkov and defenseman William Villeneuve have joined their respective NHL club's AHL affiliate.

Villeneuve made his AHL debut with the Toronto Marlies on Monday, recording one shot in a 2-0 victory over the Laval Rocket at the Bell Centre. It was far from an ordinary AHL game with the Rocket lineup featuring Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher who joined the club on a conditioning stint ahead of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Villeneuve did not play in Toronto's 6-4 loss to the Belleville Senators in Ottawa on Wednesday. He returned to the lineup on Thursday but did not record any points or shots in the Marlies 6-3 win over the Sens at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Thursday's Marlies game was the final regular season contest in the AHL this year.

Villeneuve, who turned 19 in March, is not eligible to play in the AHL next season. He must be returned to junior unless he surprisingly cracks the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup.

Kotkov recorded two shots in the San Jose Barracuda's 2-1 victory over the Tucson Roadrunners in the first play-in game of the Pacific Division playoffs on Tuesday. It was Kotkov's second career AHL contest after playing in one match with the Barracuda at the end of the 2018-19 season.

Kotkov did not play in San Jose's second play-in game, which was a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Eagles. The win advances the Barracuda into a best-of-three semifinal series against the top-seeded Henderson Silver Knights.

The other semifinal series has the San Diego Gulls taking on Ostap Safin's Bakersfield Condors. 

The Pacific Division is the only AHL division holding a playoff tournament. The playoff is, however, controversial.