New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 10/14/14

The second week of 2014-15 New Jersey Devils prospect action saw strong performances in both the junior and professional ranks. Check out the stats below!

CHL

Ryan Kujawinski has just 1 assist in his 3 games since the last update as he looks to really get his season going. Fellow Devils OHL prospect, Connor Chatham, put up his first career hat trick on Saturday against Peterborough, after scoring a goal the night before against Oshawa.

The most recent Devils 1st round pick, John Quenneville is still "week-to-week" with an upper body injury, but Bruce Luebke, the voice of the Wheat Kings, tweeted that he is close to signing his entry level contract with the Devils.

The other WHL prospects for the Devils, Ryan Rehill and Brandon Baddock, each added an assist since the last update.

Anthony Brodeur played 2 games this past week, making 41 saves in a loss on Saturday and then followed it up with a 21 save victory on Sunday. He's been around league average for the QMJHL and still holds the #1 spot for Gatineau.

NCAA

Blake Coleman played his first 2 games of the season for Miami, putting up 2 assists at even strength with an impressive 7 shots and 13 out of 20 faceoffs wins. He's listed as a LW but figures to still get some playing time in the middle this season. Steve Santini and Boston College also opened their season where the defenseman was held off the scoresheet. Blake Pietila's Michigan Tech team was off this past weekend while Alexander Kerfoot and Joshua Jacobs are yet to get the season started with Harvard and Michigan State respectively.

KHL, USHL, USHS

Artur Gavrus and Dinamo Minsk only played once since last week's update. The forward was held off the scoresheet but did register 15:19 in ice time and won 3 out of 5 faceoffs. Joey Dudek and Dubuque also only played just once since the last update but the center got his first USHL goal and assist against Sioux City.

AHL

The Albany Devils opened up their 2014-15 campaign with a convincing 5-1 win over the Adirondack Flames (gamesheet). Paul Thompson scored 4 goals in his debut, becoming the 6th player to score 4 goals in a game for the AHL Devils. Stefan Matteau had a goal and an assist while Joe Whitney contributed 3 assists. Keith Kinkaid had a strong start to the year by stopping 34 of 35 Adirondack shots. The Adirondack Flames put up a highlight video with some random song choices:

Other Albany related news and notes include Alexander Carrier, Tom Hartnett, and Renat Mamashev being released from their tryouts and Kelly Zajac and Chris McKelvie missing the opener with lower body injuries. (Times Union) Myles Bell will be signed to a minor league deal..eventually. (Tom Gulitti) The Devils will send players out to various ECHL teams this season. (Tom Gulitti)

Prospect of the Week

Hat trick for Chatham (NJD), first of OHL career. One a breakaway deke, one a long distance snipe, other a high percentage area battle goal.

— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) October 12, 2014

Connor Chatham was the Devils 3rd round selection from the 2014 draft. The 6'2, 225 lbs. right wing is in his second season with the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL. In 2013-14 he put up 31 points in 54 games with a strong 81.5% EV Point Share, which seemed to indicate that when his team scored when he was on the ice, he was usually a part of it. His 4 goal week helps fuel a strong start of 6 points in 7 games. He has the NHL size that teams love, the question remains does he have the skill to keep advancing to the next level. At this point, his potential still seems to be a bottom 6 forward, which is fine for a 3rd round selection.

ADevil of the Week

Paul Thompson is a 6'1, 205 lbs. right wing that the Devils signed to an AHL deal this summer. The 25 year old played parts of 4 seasons for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before a trade last season to the Springfield Falcons. He is only a 0.38 points-per-game player in the AHL in 201 games so I wouldn't expect him to put up many other spectacular performances like this, but he should be able to serve his role as a complimentary player nicely. It's interesting that he was a teammate of Mike Sislo at the University of New Hampshire from 2007-2011.

Your Take

Do the strong offensive showings change your opinion of either Connor Chatham or Paul Thompson? Does Keith Kinkaid's first start of the year affect your thoughts on him? Do you feel that Albany has a nice balance of prospects and veterans this season? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!