New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: Week 9

Believe it or not, there is still a team in Albany even with so many players being called up to New Jersey. Keep reading to see how those still in the Albany lineup have performed along with all other Devil prospects.

Albany Notes:

• The Albany Devils fell to the Adirondack Phantoms last Friday in overtime 3-4. After an exciting comeback from the Devils with goals from Harri Pesonen, Reece Scarlett, and Reid Boucher with just under 5:00 left in regulation, the Phantoms took it just two minutes into overtime. Keith Kinkaid made 16 saves on 20 shots in his third loss of the season. Here are the highlights:

• On Saturday, the Devils played an over-exciting game. There were fourteen (FOURTEEN) goals scored between the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the Albany Devils, and the Devils came out on the right side of things with an 8-6 win. It may be easier to type out who didn't score a goal, but the tallies were from Reece Scarlett, Reid Boucher, Chris McKelvie, Stefan Matteau (two goals), Tim Sestito, and Mike Sislo (two goals). Scoring eight goals in a game tied an Albany record set in 2008. Scott Wedgewood was in net and held on through the crazy game for the win. Albany went 3-6 on the power play and 2-3 on the penalty kill. Here are the highlights:

• The Devils got another win last night against the Springfield Falcons by a score of 6-4. Chris McKelvie registered a "Gordie Howe" hat trick with a goal, assist, and fight. Raman Hrabarenka, Rod Pelley, Stefan Matteau, Artem Demkov, and Mike Sislo scored the other five goals. Joe Whitney and Mike Hoeffel had a pair of assists. Keith Kinkaid was in net and made 30 saves for his eighth win of the season. They found themselves trailing twice in the game but found a way to get the win. This was a big win for Albany as the Falcons are the only team ahead of them in the Northeast division. They are now trailing the Falcons by just two points, although Springfield has two games at hand. Here are the highlights:

• Last season, the Albany Devils had a -32 goal differential. They allowed 225 goals and scored just 193 on the season. So far this season, the Devils have scored 69 goals with just 61 against. They have already scored close to half the amount from last season and have a positive differential.
• Tim Sestito was called up to New Jersey earlier in the week and played in both games against Montreal.
• Fan favorite Reid Boucher was called up to New Jersey late Tuesday night and made his NHL debut with the Devils last night. He had an assist and scored the Devils' first shootout goal of the season. He also saw a bit of power play time during the third period. He was a bit flighty in the beginning of the game, but picked it up and had a few great moments especially during the third. Here is a video of his pretty assist setting up Michael Ryder's goal in the third:

• As I just noted, Reid Boucher had a bit of power play time last night. There was a short time in which Boucher, Merrill, and Gelinas were on the ice with the man advantage.
• Stefan Matteau is on a hot streak for Albany. He had three goals and two assists this week, which has helped his point streak reach a total of six games. He has nine points in that span.
• Kelly Zajac had a strong week with five assists. That doubled his point total on the season to 10 (2g, 8a).
• With all of the call-ups, there was a new face added to the Albany roster yesterday. Artem Demkov was signed to a PTO and scored in his debut with the team. He was previously playing with the Elmira Jackals in the ECHL (the Devils affiliate), and had ten goals and two assists in seventeen games.

Other Notes:

• Graham Black had five more points this week (1g, 4a). He now has 41 points in 30 games this season.
• Damon Severson is having quite the season. Not only is he finding success with the Kelowna Rockets, but he just finished playing for team WHL in the Subway Series in which he was an assistant captain for one of the games. If that wasn't enough, he was just named to Canada's National Junior Team selection camp. It starts December 12^th and the final roster will be named by December 25^th. He is one of just eight defencemen named to the roster and seven are expected to make the final cut.
• Stefan Matteau and Steve Santini were named to the preliminary roster for the U.S. World Junior Championship camp roster. Matteau is one of two players invited who have played in the NHL. The U.S. will be looking to win gold for the second year in a row.
• Blake Coleman had three goals and assist in two games this week. He has 16 points in 16 games for Miami Ohio.

Prospect of the Week:

The honor this week goes to Stefan Matteau. While it took him a while to get going, he is on a six-game point streak with three goals and two assists in that span. He also has eleven points in his last nine games. He has been playing with better players in Albany due to injuries and call-ups, and has taken advantage of that. On top of that, he was invited to the U.S. WJC camp.

Who would you pick as the prospect of the week? Has any player been standing out to you - good or bad? Which player do you think deserves the next call up to New Jersey, if needed? Please discuss your thoughts on the prospects in the comments section below. Thanks for reading!