New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 11/11/14

This post will recap the sixth week of Devils prospect action for the 2014-15 season. It's highlighted by strong starts to the collegiate season by Blake Pietila and Alexander Kerfoot as well as the Albany Devils recent slump. Check out the stats below!

CHL

In OHL action, Ryan Kujawinski played twice and found the back of the net once on what Corey Pronman of ESPN described as a "highlight reel" goal. It's been an inconsistent year for Kujawinski and thru 16 games he is still without a multi-point game. The other Devils prospect in the OHL, Connor Chatham, returned from injury to play twice and put up a goal and an assist against Kitchener on Saturday. Chatham has four multi-point games and is off to an encouraging start.

In WHL action, John Quenneville played twice for Brandon, scoring once. He also featured in last night's first Super Series game against Russia where he was a +1 and scored in the shootout. He centered a line with Greg Chase ('13 7/188 EDM) and Jayce Hawryluk ('14 2/32 FLA) on his wings and earned praise from Pronman. The final game for the WHL players is tonight in Brandon. 

The Devils other WHL prospects were also active. Ryan Rehill played twice for Kamloops and notched an assist. With 55 penalty minutes already, it's worth noting that he has committed a penalty in 15 of his 19 games played. Brandon Baddock was held scoreless in his two games this past week.

In the QMJHL, it was a rough week for Anthony Brodeur. He did not feature in any of their games this past week as Gatineau acquired a veteran #1 netminder in Brandon Whitney. Whitney is an overager who was drafted in the 7th round by Chicago in 2012 but unsigned. He has a .902 SV% in 150 QMJHL games and is now the undisputed starter for Gatineau. Brodeur will compete with Nicolas Lachance for the back up role.

NCAA

Blake Coleman missed both of Miami's games against Colorado College this past weekend with an undisclosed minor injury. I recommend checking out this report on him from Chris Dilks of the SBN College Hockey blog.

Blake Pietila helped Michigan Tech improve to 8-0 with an assist and winning 22 of 35 draws. He's off to another good year in the circle with a 67.5% FO%.

Alexander Kerfoot played his second and third games of the season this weekend for Harvard, adding two assists and six shots on goal. He's featured in this recent article on College Hockey News where he highlights his good health and chemistry with his teammates as reasons for optimism this season.

Steve Santini remained out following wrist surgery, but Joshua Jacobs added his second career assist for Michigan State as they split a weekend series with New Hampshire.

KHL, USHL, USHS

Artur Gavrus is still out with an injury after being boarded on the first of the month. Joey Dudek was held scoreless over the weekend. His scoreless streak is now up to four games. If you're wondering, Miles Wood doesn't begin his season until 11/29...we're slowly getting there.

AHL

Albany lost all three of their games this past week, though they did salvage a point on Sunday. This isn't a surprise as they had a hot offense to go along with great goaltending performances to start the season. Their PDO (all situations) is now down to 101.65% after being as high as 109.70%  five games ago. Their rolling three game average PDO is currently 90.0%. Albany's PP has cooled off but remains at a solid 20.34%. The PK struggled mightily this weekend and is now down to 74.19% on the year. Onto the transactions and game recaps below.

Transactions: Mike Sislo had a brief call up to the big club where he earned his first NHL assist and averaged 10:08 in ice time in two games. It's also worth noting that Joe Faust and Mark Fraser made their season debuts for Albany.

Wednesday 11/5: Albany lost to Hartford 3-1. Paul Thompson scored the lone Devils goal with the assists going to Dan Kelly and Raman Hrabarenka. Scott Clemmensen made his season debut for Albany and made 16 saves on 19 shots. Reid Boucher and Mike Sislo had a game high 5 shots each as the Devils outshot the Wolf Pack 31-19. Albany went 0/4 on the PP and 2/4 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

Saturday 11/8: Albany lost to Bridgeport 7-2. Peter Harrold scored a power play goal with the assists going to Raman Hrabarenka and Joe Whitney. The other Devils goal was scored by Chris McKelvie with Rod Pelley and Seth Helgeson picking up the assists. Scott Wedgewood started the game and gave up 4 goals on 12 shots in 28:13 before giving way to Scott Clemmensen who surrendered 3 goals on 18 shots in 31:34. Peter Harrold had a game high 6 shots as the Devils outshot the Sound Tigers 36-30. The Devils had an atrocious special teams night, going 1/8 on the PP and 2/8 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:

Sunday 11/9: Albany suffered a 4-3 shootout loss to Bridgeport. Graham Black led the offense with a goal and an assist. Mike Sislo and Tim Sestito scored the other goals. Stefan Matteau had 2 assists while Scott Timmins, Joe Whitney, and Raman Hrabarenka picked up an assist each. Scott Clemmensen made 31 saves on 34 shots and stopped 3 of 5 shootout attempts. Paul Thompson had the lone Devils shootout goal and a game high 7 shots as the Devils outshot the Sound Tigers 39-34. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:

ECHL

Myles Bell continued his strong start to his professional career with Evansville with 4 goals in 3 games, which included a hat trick against Wheeling on Friday.

Maxime Clermont made his season debut for the Orlando Solar Bears, the team he finished last season with. He managed just 25 saves on 30 shots in a loss.

Prospect of the Week

I want to highlight Harvard sophomore Alexander Kerfoot this week. He's a bit of a wildcard but has the offensive skillset that makes him a prospect worth paying a bit of extra attention to. The former 2012 5th round pick has had a tough time health wise since being drafted, suffering a season ending shoulder injury while with Coquitlam of the BCHL after just 16 games in 2012-13. Last season he progressed to Harvard as a 19 year old freshman (common in college hockey) where he split time between center and left wing and featured on the power play unit. However, he missed more time due to another shoulder injury. This season he is getting a chance to center the top line and as he told College Hockey News, he feels like he's finally healthy and was able to add weight this summer. It will be interesting to see how he progresses this season, he's already off to a nice start at a point per game, though it is just 3 games.

ADevil of the Week

This week's honors go to Raman Hrabarenka after posting an assist in all 3 games Albany played last week. He is currently 3rd in defensemen scoring in the AHL with 3 goals and 8 assists in 11 games. He has been a consistent threat offensively, going only 3 games without registering a point this season. An undrafted free agent out of the QMJHL a few seasons ago, the 6'5, 235 lbs. hulking player has shown steady improvement in his parts of 3 seasons with Albany and is still just 22 years old.

Your Take

How do you feel about Alexander Kerfoot and Raman Hrabarenka? Does Blake Pietila's faceoff skills impress you or do you doubt it transitions to the next level? What are your opinions on Albany's slump? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!