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2/28 Prospect Update: Wedgewood's First Pro Shutout

The update this week takes a deeper look into the goalie prospects along with Reid Boucher inching closer to the Sarnia Sting scoring record.

By Karen Meilands
Scott Wedgewood recorded his first professional shutout this week.
Scott Wedgewood recorded his first professional shutout this week.
Bruce Bennett

This week was more exciting for the prospects than last. Reid Boucher has found himself closer to breaking Sarnia Sting goal scoring record, there were some notable performances by goalies, and a few prospects helped their team's clinch playoff spots in the OHL and WHL. Keep reading to see how everyone performed this week and for a few individual updates.

NAME YOB League Team POS GP G A PTS +/- PPG PP SHG SOG SH%
Graham Black 1993 WHL Swift Current Broncos C 60 22 23 45 0 0.75 6 0
Reid Boucher 1993 OHL Sarnia Sting LW 61 57 28 85 11 1.39 20 1
Artur Gavrus 1994 OHL Owan Sound Attack RW 13 0 2 2 -4 0.15 0 0
Ben Johnson 1994 OHL Windsor Spitfires C 60 18 14 32 -21 0.53 4 0
Alexander Kerfoot 1994 BCHL Coquitlam Express C 16 8 11 19 1.19
Stefan Matteau (X) 1994 QMJHL Armada C 35 18 10 28 19 0.80 7 1 121 14.88%
Reece Scarlett 1993 WHL Swift Current Broncos D 59 7 35 42 7 0.71 1 0
Damon Severson 1994 WHL Kelowna Rockets D 62 8 38 46 36 0.74 5 0
Ben Thomson 1993 OHL Kitchener Rangers LW 59 12 15 27 -4 0.46 1 0
Jon Merrill 1992 NCAA University of Michigan D 13 1 6 7 -3 0.54 1 0 14 7.14%
Blake Coleman 1991 NCAA Miami University C 34 7 7 14 5 0.41 2 0 110 6.36%
Curtis Gedig 1991 NCAA Ohio State D 26 2 8 10 6 0.38 2 0 43 4.65%
Blake Pietila 1993 NCAA Michigan Tech LW 28 14 7 21 -3 0.75 3 0 81 17.28%
Derek Rodwell 1990 NCAA University of North Dakota LW 25 1 1 2 -1 0.08 0 0 36 2.78%
Seth Helgeson 1990 NCAA University of Minnesota D 32 0 3 3 -5 0.09 0 0 31 0.00%
Joe Faust 1991 NCAA University of Wisconsin D 32 1 0 1 1 0.03 0 1 23 4.35%
League Team POS GP Mins W L OTL/SOL SO GA GAA SVS SV%
Maxime Clermont 1991 ECHL Elmira G 32 1848 15 10 3/2 0 100 3.25 914 0.901
Jeff Frazee 1987 AHL Albany G 17 995 4 8 0/4 0 39 2.35 419 0.915
Keith Kinkaid (X) 1989 AHL Albany G 30 1799 16 10 0/4 2 79 2.63 777 0.908
Scott Wedgewood 1992 ECHL Titans G 42 2376 16 20 3/2 1 131 3.31 1124 0.896
Player League Team POS GP G A PTS +/- PPG PP SHG SOG SH%
Matt Anderson 1982 AHL Albany Devils RW 49 11 23 34 8 0.69 1 1 124 8.9
Joe Whitney 1988 AHL Albany Devils LW 41 16 15 31 15 0.76 3 0 133 12
Steve Zalewski 1986 AHL Albany Devils C 49 10 21 31 -2 0.63 1 0 101 9.9
Bobby Butler (X) 1987 AHL Albany Devils RW 37 16 11 27 10 0.73 5 1 105 15.2
Harri Pesonen 1988 AHL Albany Devils LW 48 10 13 23 2 0.48 3 0 93 10.8
Andrei Loktionov (total) (X) 1990 AHL Albany Devils C 40 7 15 22 3 0.55 1 2 84 8.3
Jacob Josefson 1991 AHL Albany Devils C 31 9 12 21 9 0.68 2 2 84 10.7
Tim Sestito 1984 AHL Albany Devils C 50 7 13 20 -2 0.40 0 0 76 9.2
Adam Larsson (X) 1992 AHL Albany Devils D 33 4 15 19 -1 0.58 2 0 46 8.7
Mattias Tedenby 1990 AHL Albany Devils LW 31 9 8 17 -5 0.55 2 0 57 15.8
Eric Gelinas 1991 AHL Albany Devils D 33 4 12 16 4 0.48 3 0 92 4.3
Mike Sislo 1988 AHL Albany Devils RW 36 6 8 14 2 0.39 1 1 64 9.4
Phil DeSimone 1987 AHL Albany Devils C 22 6 7 13 2 0.59 3 0 38 15.8
Brandon Burlon 1990 AHL Albany Devils D 35 0 12 12 8 0.34 0 0 34 0
Darcy Zajac 1986 AHL Albany Devils C 45 5 6 11 2 0.24 0 1 55 9.1
Chad Wiseman 1981 AHL Albany Devils LW 26 3 7 10 -9 0.38 0 0 48 6.3
Chris McKelvie 1985 AHL Albany Devils LW 31 2 8 10 -2 0.32 0 1 38 5.3
Adam Henrique (X) 1990 AHL Albany Devils C 16 5 3 8 1 0.50 1 0 40 12.5
Mike Hoeffel 1989 AHL Albany Devils LW 33 3 4 7 1 0.21 0 0 49 6.1
Jay Leach 1979 AHL Albany Devils D 39 2 4 6 9 0.15 0 0 33 6.1
Corbin McPherson 1999 AHL Albany Devils D 48 2 4 6 5 0.13 0 0 55 3.6
Dan Kelly 1989 AHL Albany Devils D 36 0 6 6 6 0.17 0 0 25 0
Alexander Urbom 1990 AHL Albany Devils D 46 0 6 6 3 0.13 0 0 41 0
Stephen Gionta (X) 1983 AHL Albany Devils C 11 2 3 5 -2 0.45 0 0 22 9.1
Raman Hrabarenka 1992 AHL Albany Devils D 26 1 4 5 -2 0.19 0 0 42 2.4
Kelly Zajac 1988 AHL Albany Devils C 6 2 1 3 2 0.50 0 0 7 28.6
Scott Parse 1984 AHL Albany Devils RW 13 1 2 3 -7 0.23 1 0 17 5.9
Matthew Corrente (X) 1988 AHL Albany Devils D 11 0 2 2 -1 0.18 0 0 7 0
David Wohlberg 1990 AHL Albany Devils C 19 0 2 2 2 0.11 0 0 25 0
Bryan Haczyk (X) 1987 ECHL Trenton Titans RW 35 11 10 21 -11 0.60 6 0 104 10.6
Harry Young 1989 AHL Albany Devils LW 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0
Cam Janssen 1984 AHL Albany Devils RW 11 0 0 0 -2 0.00 0 0 3 0

Notes:

  • Reid Boucher played three games last week and scored six goals. Boucher is now just two goals away from breaking the single season goal scoring record set by Steven Stamkos. Sarnia head coach Jacques Beaulieu had nothing but praise for Boucher, saying he has never worked with a player like him. You can listen to his full opinion here. So far this season, Boucher has scored multiple goals in 14 games - he has had two hat tricks and two four-goal games. Last week, he had a six-point night (4 goals, 2 assists) in a 13-3 win over the Eerie Otters. Boucher is playing again tonight, so follow along on twitter or through the Sting website to perhaps see Boucher make Sarnia history! If he doesn't tie or break the record this evening, he will have six more games to get there.
  • A few OHL and WHL teams clinched playoff spots last week including Artur Gavrus and the Owen Sound Attack, Damon Severson and the Kelowna Rockets, and Ben Thomson and the Kitchener Rangers.
  • The University of North Dakota had two games last weekend, but Derek Rodwell didn't play in either of them. He was scratched from both games. He has yet to have a standout performance this season, and I imagine the coaching staff felt they gave him enough chances.
  • Seth Helegeson is the only senior playing for the University of Minnesota this season. In a short article about the team, Helgeson is named "Mr. Durable" having played in 112 consecutive games. His 140 career games for the Gophers are the most of any active player. Although he only has 25 career points for the team, he has been counted on throughout his career to shut down the Gopher's top opponents.
  • Gedig was out with a lower body injury for a few weeks and returned this past weekend. He got a single assist in two games played.
  • Jon Merrill had a career high three-assist game for the Wolverines in a tough weekend.

Goalie Battle Alert:

  • This week saw the battle of the Devils' goalie prospects: Scott Wedgewood and Maxime Clermont went head to head in two games. Clermont took both in a 4-1 win and 5-4 shootout victory for the Jackals.
  • Although Wedgewood was unsuccessful against the Jackals, he got his first professional shutout last week. I will have more on Wedgewood later in the post.

Albany Notes:

  • After a disappointing previous week, the Albany Devils were looking to rebound well and they did just that with two convincing wins.
  • On February 23, the A-Devs beat Binghamton 5-3 with multi-point games from Joe Whitney (2 goals), Phil DeSimone (1 goal, 1 assist), Mike Sislo (1 goal, 1 assist), and Steve Zalewski (1 goal, 1 assist).
  • The following day, the Devils were successful again against Hershey with a 6-4 win in Atlantic City. Matt Anderson had a goal and two assists, Phil DeSimone had three assists, and Mike Sislo and Joe Whitney each scored twice.
  • With Brodeur going on IR due to a sore back, Keith Kinkaid was called up to back-up Hedberg. He is hoping to get a chance in his first NHL game.
  • Tim Sestito was also called up from Albany to make the trip to Winnipeg. He may get some playing time if Carter cannot play.

Prospect Spotlight:

This week's honor goes to Scott Wedgewood. He leads all rookie goaltenders in the ECHL with 2,133 minutes played. Although his numbers are not as strong as some would like, Wedgewood is not playing behind the strongest team by any means. In an article by nj.com, writer Anthony Coleman highlights just how important Wedgewood has been to the Titans. Coleman wrote,

"In his 41st start this season, workhorse rookie phenom goalie Scott Wedgewood landed his first shutout — mostly because it’s taken this long for the Titans to possess the puck in the offensive zone and defended in front of him with any competence."

It is a relief to see that his efforts have not gone unnoticed and he has been doing all he can to help the Titans succeed. He may be called-up to Albany since Kinkaid was brought to New Jersey.

That's it for the update this week. What do you think of Kinkaid and Sestito being brought up to New Jersey? How do you feel about Scott Wedgewood's performance in Trenton? Do you think Boucher will break the scoring record tonight or this week? What prospects are standing out to you the most? Please feel free to discuss anything prospect related below. Thanks for reading!

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