New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 10/28/14

This post will recap the fourth week of Devils prospect action for the 2014-15 season. It is highlighted by Albany's blazing start thanks to a hot offense and solid goaltending by Keith Kinkaid and Scott Wedgewood. John Quenneville made an emphatic return from injury in WHL action while seniors Blake Coleman and Blake Pietila had strong performances for their respective collegiate teams. Check out the stats below!

CHL

Name	Pos.	Age (as of 2/1)	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Pts/GP
Ryan Kujawinski	C	19	Kingston	OHL	11	4	2	6	-3	8	0.55
	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
	1	5	2	1	3	1	1	2	0	0	0
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Pts/GP
Connor Chatham	RW	19	Plymouth	OHL	13	5	4	9	2	22	0.69
	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
	3	8	4	3	7	1	1	2	0	0	0
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Pts/GP
John Quenneville	C	18	Brandon	WHL	6	3	7	10	1	4	1.67
	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
	3	6	1	3	4	1	3	4	0	1	1
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Pts/GP
Ryan Rehill	D	19	Kamloops	WHL	14	2	3	5	4	40	0.36
	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
	2	4	2	2	4	0	1	1	0	0	0
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Pts/GP
Brandon Baddock	LW	19	Edmonton	WHL	12	1	5	6	6	21	0.50
	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
	2	3	0	3	3	1	0	1	0	1	1

Name	Age (as of 2/1)	Team	League	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	MIN	GAA	SV%	GA%-	GSAA
Anthony Brodeur	20	Gatineau	QMJHL	14	5	4	0	3	740:48	3.40	0.886	110	-3.62
	GS	SO	SO%	QS	QS%	RBS	RBS%	BO	BO%	EVG	PPG	SHG	PSG
	12	0	0.00%	5	41.67%	2	16.67%	2	16.67%	28	14	0	0

In OHL action, Ryan Kujawinski played 3 games last week, scoring twice to improve his overall numbers marginally. While 6 points in 11 games isn't bad, it's still not great for a player that we hope can break out this year. There is still a ton of hockey left and I wouldn't be shocked to see him get on a hot streak soon. Meanwhile, Connor Chatham put up an assist last week after appearing in 3 games. For a player that was drafted because of his size and physical play, he's put up a strong 9 points in 13 games to start the year.

In WHL action, John Quenneville returned from injury with a 4 point game against Kamloops on Friday. So far in limited action, he's put up some impressive numbers and is set to compete in the Super Series in November. Ryan Rehill had a goal and an assist in his 3 games from last week and has already racked up 40 penalty minutes on the year. Brandon Baddock played 3 games last week and tallied an assist.

Anthony Brodeur had a tumultuous week for Gatineau that included him relieving his teammate Nicolas Lachance, having the opposite happen to him, bouncing back with a quality start, and following that up with a tough start that saw his team bail him out. The positive for him is that Lachance has less experience and similar numbers so it's still Brodeur's job to lose. However, it wouldn't be a surprise if Gatineau was keeping tabs on the trade market for another goaltender.

NCAA

Name	Pos.	Age (as of 2/1)	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	Pts/GP	FO%
Blake Coleman	LW	23	Miami	NCAA	6	3	4	7	4	21	32	9.38%	5.33	1.17	67.31%
					A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
					2	5	1	3	4	1	1	2	1	0	1
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	Pts/GP	FO%
Blake Pietila	C	21	Michigan Tech	NCAA	4	3	1	4	2	4	11	27.27%	2.75	1.00	71.25%
					A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
					0	3	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	0	0
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	Pts/GP	FO%
Steve Santini	D	19	Boston College	NCAA	4	1	0	1	2	2	6	16.67%	1.50	0.25
					A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
					0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	Pts/GP	FO%
Joshua Jacobs	D	18	Michigan State	NCAA	4	0	0	0	-2	2	7	0.00%	1.75	0.00
					A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
					0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Both Blake Coleman and Blake Pietila enjoyed strong weekends. Coleman scored a power play and short handed goal against St. Lawrence to go along with an assist on Friday. He continues to be a shot machine for Miami with a 5.33 shots per game rate. Blake Pietila put up a goal and an assist against Ferris State this weekend for Michigan Tech. Most impressively on the year is his faceoff percentage of 71.25%.

Steve Santini played both games for Boston College this weekend but went for x-rays on his wrist on Monday. The results haven't been shared publicly yet.

Joshua Jacobs is still awaiting his first point for Michigan State but has played in all of their games and managed 7 shots.

KHL, USHL, USHS

Name	Pos.	Age (as of 2/1)	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	Pts/GP	FO%	ATOI
Artur Gavrus	LW	21	Dinamo Minsk	KHL	20	4	1	5	-3	6	36	11.11%	1.80	0.25	40.00%	12:48
	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
	0	4	0	1	1	4	0	4	0	0	0
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	Pts/GP
Joey Dudek	C	19	Dubuque	USHL	8	3	1	4	-1	14	23	13.04%	2.88	0.50
	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
	0	3	2	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0

Artur Gavrus played 3 games this past week, notching his first assist of the season to give him 5 points in 20 games, surpassing his 4 points in 30 games from last year. His average ice time is up by 1:27 this season and he's played more than 16 minutes in 3 of his last 4 games.

Joey Dudek appears to be adjusting to the USHL, scoring 2 goals this past week to give him 4 points in 8 games. Thanks to an 8 shot effort against Madison, he is now averaging 2.88 shots per game. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.

AHL

Name	Age (as of 2/1)	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	A1	Pts1	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	G/GP	A/GP	Pts/GP	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts	ENG	ENA	EN Pts
Seth Helgeson	24	D	6	0	0	0	1	1	5	2	1	0.00%	0.17	0.00	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Peter Harrold	31	D	6	0	0	0	0	0	5	4	6	0.00%	1.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Brandon Burlon	24	D	5	0	5	5	3	3	E	7	4	0.00%	0.80	0.00	1.00	1.00	0	1	1	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dan Kelly	25	D	6	0	3	3	2	2	6	27	10	0.00%	1.67	0.00	0.50	0.50	0	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Joe Whitney	26	LW	6	2	6	8	3	5	3	2	11	18.18%	1.83	0.33	1.00	1.33	1	4	5	1	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rod Pelley	30	C	5	1	0	1	0	1	4	6	8	12.50%	1.60	0.20	0.00	0.20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Kelly Zajac	26	C	5	0	2	2	2	2	-1	4	2	0.00%	0.40	0.00	0.40	0.40	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	0
Tim Sestito	30	C	6	1	3	4	3	4	1	0	10	10.00%	1.67	0.17	0.50	0.67	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	2
Reid Boucher	21	LW	6	1	3	4	1	2	E	2	15	6.67%	2.50	0.17	0.50	0.67	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	1
Paul Thompson	26	RW	6	7	1	8	1	8	7	6	19	36.84%	3.17	1.17	0.17	1.33	5	1	6	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0
Chris McKelvie	29	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	E	2	2	0.00%	2.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Scott Timmins	25	C	6	3	5	8	2	5	6	0	16	18.75%	2.67	0.50	0.83	1.33	3	2	5	0	2	2	0	1	1	0	0	0
Stefan Matteau	20	LW	2	1	1	2	1	2	3	2	2	50.00%	1.00	0.50	0.50	1.00	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mike Sislo	27	RW	6	4	0	4	0	4	2	2	17	23.53%	2.83	0.67	0.00	0.67	0	0	0	2	0	2	1	0	1	1	0	1
Ben Johnson	20	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Graham Black	22	C	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cam Janssen	30	RW	4	1	0	1	0	1	1	2	1	100.00%	0.25	0.25	0.00	0.25	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Darcy Zajac	28	RW	5	1	2	3	1	2	3	19	8	12.50%	1.60	0.20	0.40	0.60	0	2	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
Reece Scarlett	21	D	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	0.00%	3.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
David Wohlberg	24	LW	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	0		0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ben Thomson	22	LW	5	2	2	4	2	4	4	11	10	20.00%	2.00	0.40	0.40	0.80	2	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Steve Bernier	29	RW	6	1	2	3	2	3	1	7	11	9.09%	1.83	0.17	0.33	0.50	1	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Raman Hrabarenka	22	D	6	3	3	6	1	4	8	7	16	18.75%	2.67	0.50	0.50	1.00	1	3	4	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Joe Faust	23	D	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0						0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Corbin McPherson	26	D	6	0	0	0	0	0	2	25	5	0.00%	0.83	0.00	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Name	Age (as of 2/1)	GP	GS	Min	W	L	OTL	SOL	GA	SH	SVS	GAA	SV%
Keith Kinkaid	25	4	4	246:47	3	0	0	1	8	120	112	1.95	0.933
			SO	SO%	GA%-	GSAA	QS	QS%	RBS	RBS%	BO	BO%
			1	25.00%	75	2.68	2	50.00%	0	0	0	0
Scott Wedgewood	22	GP	GS	Min	W	L	OTL	SOL	GA	SH	SVS	GAA	SV%
		2	2	120:00	2	0	0	0	4	54	50	2.00	0.926
			SO	SO%	GA%-	GSAA	QS	QS%	RBS	RBS%	BO	BO%
			0	0	83	0.81	2	100.00%	0	0	0	0

The Albany Devils are off to an amazing start to their 2014-15 campaign. How amazing? Well, they've taken 11 of a possible 12 points and are 1 of 2 teams to have not suffered a regulation loss, the other being the Milwaukee Admirals. In his latest for the Times Union, Pete Dougherty mentions that this is the hottest start for an Albany team in history. It is worth noting that the Albany Devils have a 108.92 PDO in all situations and lead the league with 28 goals scored, thanks to top goal scorer, Paul Thompson, who has 7 goals in 6 games. Let's enjoy this run while it last.

Before I recap their games from this past week, there is a handful personnel news to pass along. Reid Boucher has been recalled by New Jersey with Mike Cammalleri potentially missing time due to a sore jaw. According to Dougherty, Kelly Zajac left Saturday's game and will miss Wednesday's game with an upper body injury. These transactions break up the Boucher-K. Zajac-Sislo line. The Devils are expecting Stefan Matteau to return to the line up on Wednesday and Graham Black will have an opportunity to play for the first time since the opener.

Albany defeated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4-0 on Tuesday (gamesheet). Leading the offensive charge for the Devils was Mike Sislo with 2 goals and Reid Boucher with a goal and an assist. Tim Sestito added an empty net goal. Keith Kinkaid stopped all 21 shots he faced for his 10th career shutout, tying the franchise record. The Devils special teams stepped up going 2/5 on the PP and 4/4 on the PK. Cam Janssen left the game with a shoulder injury and the fight filled game had a late altercation that earned Darcy Zajac an automatic 1 game suspension for instigating in the final 5 minutes. Here are the highlights:

Albany defeated Hartford 7-3 on Friday (gamesheet). Mike Sislo and Ben Thomson each posted 2 goals while Joe Whitney, Paul Thompson, and Scott Timmins added one apiece. Keith Kinkaid made 27 saves on 30 shots to tie Jeff Frazee's franchise record of 65 wins. Albany's penalty kill remained strong going 6/7 in the game. Here are the highlights:

Albany defeated Hartford 5-2 on Saturday (gamesheet). Joe Whitney, Rod Pelley, Scott Timmins, Darcy Zajac, and Raman Hrabarenka all scored for the Devils. Brandon Burlon added 2 assists and already has 5 on the season, after only posting 6 last year. Scott Wedgewood made 26 saves on 28 shots for his second win of the year. Albany's penalty kill went a perfect 5/5 on the night. Here are the highlights:

ECHL

Name	Age (as of 2/1)	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	A1	Pts1	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	G/GP	A/GP	Pts/GP	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts	ENG	ENA	EN Pts
Myles Bell	21	RW	1	0	0	0	0	0	-1	0	5	0.00%	5.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Myles Bell was loaned to Evansville of the ECHL on 10/24. The Devils do not have an ECHL affiliate and will send their players out to various teams during the year. Bell is the first Devil to go out on loan and will surely not be the last.

In his first and only game he put up a -1 rating to go with a game high 5 shots. It is encouraging him to see that involved in his first game and hopefully he can earn some powerplay time on the point like he had in Kelowna last year.

Prospect of the Week

Prospect of the Week honors go to John Quenneville for showing no signs of rust after a nearly 3 week long layoff. The most recent 1st round pick of the Devils put up 4 points in his first game back and has 10 points in 6 games to start his season. After being nearly a point per game player during the 2013-14 season, I'm interested in seeing if he can eclipse that mark by a decent margin this season. Perhaps a goal of roughly 1.25 points per game this season would be fair.

ADevil of the Week

ADevil of the Week honors go to Scott Timmins who put up 2 goals and 3 assists in 3 games last week. The 25 year old center is looking to build upon a solid 2013-14 campaign with Albany that saw him put up 39 points in 61 games, thanks in large part to playing a more offensive role than he did with San Antonio before coming over in the Krys Barch trade. With the forward depth the Devils have, it's unlikely he appears in any games for New Jersey this year, but he's an important player to have around just in-case an injury crisis happens. Also, as a veteran of over 250 AHL games in his career, he can serve as a leader and important contributor for Albany once again this season.

Your Take

What do you make of Albany's hot start? Will they be a playoff team this year in your opinion? Do you feel this a sign of Kinkaid and/or Wedgewood taking a step forward? Does John Quenneville excite you as a prospect? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!