New Jersey Devils Prospect Update Week 5

While Albany has been struggling for a few games, the prospects at the CHL and college level have been seeing a lot of success. A few names to look out for on the stat sheet are Damon Severson, Graham Black, and Joe Faust. Each had a great week and Severson and Faust were honored for their success.

Albany News:

• Albany is winless so far in November. This is especially tough to take after such a strong start for the team. They are now on a 4 game losing streak.
• The Devils lost 3-0 to the Norfolk Admirals on November 1^st. John Gibson had the shutout for Norfolk while Maxime Clermont replaced Scott Wedgewood after he allowed three goals in twelve shots.
• The following night, the Devils lost to the Adirondack Phantoms 3-1. Clermont made 27 saves and Mike Hoeffel had the lone goal of the weekend. After a frustrating game, coach Rick Kowalsky switched up the lines, which lead to Hoeffel's goal from Tim Sestito.
• Rostislav Olesz was sent down to Albany from New Jersey earlier this week. He has been playing on a line with Timmins and Whitney in practice.
• With Olesz being send down, good ole' Cam Janssen has been called up to New Jersey. He may be in the lineup for New Jersey in Philadelphia tonight.
• If you were hoping to see someone else called up, perhaps one of the leading scorers in Albany, check out Jerry's article from yesterday looking at if Joe Whitney could help the team if given the shot.
• Merrill made his NHL debut last week in Minnesota. It was tough to watch as he was injured playing just his second or third shift of the game. It seems Merrill can't catch a break after missing much of last season for the University of Michigan after getting hurt during an exhibition game. Lou Lamoriello stated yesterday that he doesn't have a concussion and should be back to skating in four or five days. That's great news after such a scary fall.
• Boucher, Whitney, and Timmins were held without a point in their last two games. Timmins impressive point-streak came to an end.
• Riley Boychuk was brought from Elmira to Albany for one game last weekend.
• While Kinkaid was brought to New Jersey, Clermont played for Albany. In two games he allowed 3 goals on 15 shots. He has a 2.71 GAA and .885 SV% as an Albany Devil in just over 90 minutes played.
• Before the tough weekend, a feature was written for AHL.com on Albany Devils' captain Rod Pelley. Pelley discusses the players who influenced his leadership role on and off the ice. Of Pelley, Coach Kowalsky said,

"When you have good leadership, the room should be left to those guys. We talked about it a little bit at the beginning of the year. I think there just is a respect and admiration for Rod Pelley just because of the way he plays and the person he is. It's tough not to like the guy. He's not just your friend in there. He holds guys accountable and he says some things on the bench and it comes from the heart. When you have a guy like that it's pretty easy for everyone else to follow."

• Before his call-up and disappointing injury, Alyssa Dombrowski of NHL.com wrote a piece on Jon Merrill. It's a good read which discusses his road to the AHL and the set-backs he faced that he feels made him a better player and professional.

Other News:

• Both Myles Bell and Damon Severson have been named assistant captains for the Kelowna Rockets.
• Damon Severson had a goal and six assists in three games for the Kelowna Rockets last week.
• Severson had another honor this week when he was named a member of Team WHL to face the Russian Junior Team in the 2013 Subway Super Series. The games will take place on November 27^th and 28^th.
• Graham Black scored three goals and five assists in three games last week. One of those goals was an overtime winner and the other was a short-handed tally. He is on a five-game point streak while the team in on a five-game winning streak. He also had seven points in two games.
• On Sunday, Ben Thomson left his game with the Kitchener Rangers due to a leg injury. He didn't return to the game.
• In another successful week, Blake Coleman had a goal and three assists in two games over the weekend.
• Blake Pietila got his first goal of the season for Michigan Tech on the powerplay. His goal lead to the comeback for Michigan Tech in what ended up being a 3-2 overtime loss.
• Joe Faust had four assists for the University of Wisconsin this weekend. He had a career-high three assists in one game. He was named the Big Ten's third star of the week.

Prospect of the Week:

Damon Severson had a great week. Not only did he have seven points in three games, but he was named an assistant captain for the Rockets and was named a member of Team WHL for the 2013 Subway Super Series. He has been huge for the Rockets as the team currently leads the B.C. Division and is in second in the Western Conference of the WHL. They have only lost two games in regulation this season. Severson is currently the 10^th in points for defenseman in the league and has played just 14 games when each other member of the top 20 has played 15-20 games. Congratulations to Severson on the strong week!

Who stood out to you this week? What are your thoughts on the Devils' transactions on the NHL, AHL, and ECHL levels? Who impressed you the most out of Severson, Black, and Faust? Feel free to discuss your thoughts on the prospects in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!