This Week's Junior Roundup will not only feature a roundup on some Devils prospects, but a look at some of the top Draft Eligible prospects, as well as a few interesting prospects.
|
QMJHL |
GP |
Goals |
Assists |
Points |
PIMS |
|
Stefan Matteau |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
Individual Notes
Stefan Matteau- Matteau is coming strong so far in November, with 7 points in 4 games. I mentioned this last week, but he's been taking a lot of shots on goal in the last few games. So far he's taken 14 shots in 4 November games and 6 shots in the two games he's played this week. I hope that he can continue his strong play through November.
|
OHL |
GP |
Goals |
Assists |
Points |
PIMS |
|
Reid Boucher |
2 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
|
Ben Johnson |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Ben Thomson |
3 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
Individual Notes
Reid Boucher- Boucher continues his hot play with 3 points this week, upping his goal total in November to 4. Considering that Sarnia is heavily leaning on Boucher, Charles Sarault and Habs prospect Alex Galchenyuk for their offense, Boucher might continue his strong play simply because he will be put in a position to succeed.
Ben Johnson- While Johnson continues to disappoint, I might have to be less harsh on him with my criticism. I looked at some of the team stats, and the Spitfire are one of the worst teams in the OHL when it comes to scoring goals. I wonder if Johnson would be doing better on a team that is capable of scoring goals.
Ben Thomson- Thomson had a goal and an assist in Kitchener's victory over the Soo Greyhounds.
|
WHL |
GP |
Goals |
Assists |
Points |
PIMS |
|
Graham Black |
2 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
|
Reece Scarlett |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Damon Severson |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
Individual Notes
Graham Black- Graham Black will be playing in both of the games in the Subway Series later this week. Other than that he's starting to round back into form, with 4 goals so far in November.
Reece Scarlett- I came across this post-game piece on the Broncos which brought up a reason for why Reece Scarlett isn't nearly as effective this year- as teams are keying in on him during power plays. While that probably isn't the biggest reason for why he's been struggling, it's definitely one of them.
Damon Severson- Severson hasn't recorded a point in seven straight games. Considering that he didn't record a point in an 8-1 stomp of the Red Deer Rebels, it's pretty bad. Of course, I haven't heard a lot of negative comments about his defense, which is very good considering that he's struggling offensively.
| WJAC |
GP |
Goals |
Assists |
Points |
PIMS |
|
Alexander Kerfoot |
4 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
Individual Notes
Alexander Kerfoot- Kerfoot's time with team Canada at the WJAC is finally over. Kerfoot put up 5 points in 4 games- he didn't dominate, but he did pretty well considering Canada West wasn't the best team there.
|
Season Totals |
GP |
Goals |
Assists |
Points |
PIMS |
|
Graham Black |
21 |
10 |
7 |
17 |
10 |
|
Reid Boucher |
20 |
10 |
10 |
20 |
20 |
|
Ben Johnson |
20 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
14 |
|
Alexander Kerfoot |
12 |
6 |
10 |
16 |
10 |
|
Stefan Matteau |
19 |
10 |
8 |
18 |
39 |
|
Reece Scarlett |
20 |
1 |
9 |
10 |
18 |
|
Damon Severson |
19 |
2 |
6 |
8 |
28 |
|
Ben Thomson |
19 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
25 |
Devils Junior Prospect of the Week- Stefan Matteau
Matteau's big weekend helped him rocket past the other two for the DJPotW honours this week.
2013 NHL Draft Prospect Profiles
A lot of sites dedicated to taking a look at some of the top prospects have recently started ranking some of their top 2013 prospects. I'll give some of my thoughts on Ten of the Top Prospects in the 2013 draft. Stats via Hockeydb.com
Nathan MacKinnon- Centre- Halifax (QMJHL)
H/W: 5'11/179 lbs
2012-13 stats: 20 GP 18G 14A 32 P
MacKinnon is considered the consensus #1 draft pick by a lot of people. The Hockey Writers has an excellent profile on MacKinnon over here which you should read. They bring up a lot of parallels between MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby, who was also born in Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia. While they're very similar, Crosby is able to dominate in all aspects of the offensive game. MacKinnon projects to be more of a goal scorer, similar to Steven Stamkos. He might not be as prolific as Stamkos, but he's got star potential. The only problem I can see with him is a lack of size, but with players with his skill level it's not going to Matter
Seth Jones- Defense- Portland (WHL)
H/W 6'4/206 lbs
2012-13 stats: 19 GP 6G 8A 14 P
Seth Jones is the elite defenseman who's the other favourite to go 1st overall. He's the Victor Hedman/Adam Larsson to MacKinnon's John Tavares/Ryan-Nugent Hopkins.Jones projects to be a top pairing defenseman who can eat minutes against top competition. However, his offensive game isn't anything to scoff about- he has 14 points so far this season and he can do this. Considering the biggest knock on a lot of big defensemen is that they tend to be weaker skaters, Jones' skating ability is the cherry on top of a very talented hockey player. I have heard few if not any negative comments about Jones.
Sasha Barkov- Centre- Tappara (SM-Liiga)
H/W 6'2/200 lbs
2012-13 Stats: 20 GP 10G 10A 20 P
Barkov is the big "Enigmatic Russian" in this year's draft. Of course, there haven't been a lot of comments about how enigmatic he is. All jokes aside, I like what i've seen from Barkov. Comparing Barkov to another elite prospect who played in the SM-Liiga in his draft year, Mikael Granlund, Barkov is on pace to post similar point totals to what Granlund put up in his draft year. I've seen a lot of comparisons to Pavel Datsyuk as well, which piques my interest about what Barkov can do. So far the only knock on him is his skating ability.
Sean Monahan- Centre- Ottawa (OHL)
H/W 6'2/193 lbs
2012-13 Stats: 19 GP 10G 22A 32 P
Monahan is a dark horse to go 1st overall this year. While MacKinnon is the best player on the best team on the QMJHL, Monahan is the best player on a weak Ottawa 67's team. A good comparable would probably be Mark Schiefele, who put up good stats on a weak Barrie team in his draft year. He's not going to generate as much hype as MacKinnon, but he'll be a very solid player. Like Barkov, there are some concerns about his skating ability and speed.
Elias Lindholm- Centre- Brynas (SEL)
H/W 5'11/183 lbs
2012-13 Stats: 20 GP 5G 8A 13 P
I've read a lot about how Lindholm has a lot of potential to be an offensive star. He can skate and he has excellent hockey sense. Some scouts have drawn comparisons to Caps star Nicklas Backstrom. The only issue scouts have with him is his physical game, but he makes up for it by being excellent at everything else.
Hunter Shinkaruk- Left Wing- Medicine Hat (WHL)
H/W 5'11/175
2012-13 Stats: 22 GP 15 G 18 A 33 P
Shinkaruk is a goal scorer- potting 49 goals last season. He's also an excellent skater with great hockey sense. While he hasn't taken off like he did last year, he's still exceptionally talented. He could be a sleeper in the draft, as a lot of teams will overlook him simply because of his size.
Jonathan Drouin- Left Wing- Halifax (QMJHL)
H/W 5'11/176 lbs
2012-13 Stats: 14GP 13 G 16A 29 P
Drouin has the enviable position of riding shotgun with MacKinnon, forming a strong 1-2 punch similar to that of last year's top two forwards, Nail Yakupov and Alex Galchenyuk. MacKinnon is the goalscorer, and Drouin is the playmaker. Drouin has a lot of tools- namely his highly regarded skating ability. He might be overlooked simply because he's not the one scoring the goals. Like some of the other small forward prospects, size isn't going to matter with Drouin.
Rasmus Ristolainen- Defense- TPS Turku (SM Liiga)
H/W 6'2/189 lbs
2012-13 Stats: 17 GP 0G 5A 5P
While I have been talking about a lot of forwards (Which the 2012-13 class seems to be full of), Rasmus Ristolainen looks to be a very interesting prospect. Some scouts have raved about his excellent two-way ability, namely his puck moving and play making ability. He's also got a big frame which he has yet to fill out, so he's definitely someone to watch.
Ryan Pulock- Defense- Brandon (WHL)
H/W 6'1/211 lbs
2012-13 Stats: 21 GP 8G 15A 23 P
Pulock's an offensive defenseman- he had 19 goals and 60 points last season and has continued to put up points. From what i've heard about him he's about average defensively, although a few scouts say he's improving defensively.
Max Domi- Left Wing, London (OHL)
H/W 5'10/184 lbs
2012-13 Stats: 20 GP 10G 16A 26 P
Domi's probably one of my favourite prospects for this year's draft. While he lacks size, he doesn't play like he's 5'10. Domi plays a much different game than his father does. He can skate and he's developed a reputation as a playmaker. On a related note- if the Devils were willing to draft Stephane Matteau's son, do you really think that being Tie Domi's son would stop the Devils from drafting Domi? Probably not.
Feel free to discuss your thoughts on the prospects and feel free to discuss other 2013 draft eligible prospects that I didn't mention. Thanks for reading.