clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 12/16/14

Week 11 of the 2014-15 prospect update saw the Devils junior and collegiate prospects battle injury as well as their opponents, Albany split their two games but get a noteworthy win, and a number of ADevils put in solid performances.

The energy man himself, Tim Sestito, earned a call up to New Jersey after scoring twice, including an overtime goal, and assisting once for Albany on Sunday.
The energy man himself, Tim Sestito, earned a call up to New Jersey after scoring twice, including an overtime goal, and assisting once for Albany on Sunday.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

This post will recap the eleventh week of Devils prospect action for the 2014-15 season. It's highlighted by signs of John Quenneville and Reid Boucher coming around, injuries affecting the system at all levels, and Albany earning a noteworthy win in Atlantic City. Check out the stats and recap below!

CHL

Name Pos. Age (as of 2/1) Team League GP G A Pts +/- PIM Pts/GP
Ryan Kujawinski C 19 Kingston OHL 25 12 9 21 7 18 0.84
Height: 6'2 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 207 4 16 9 4 13 2 5 7 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM Pts/GP
Connor Chatham RW 19 Plymouth OHL 21 6 9 15 2 30 0.71
Height: 6'2 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 225 6 12 5 6 11 1 3 4 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM Pts/GP
John Quenneville C 18 Brandon WHL 26 11 15 26 4 24 1.00
Height: 6'1 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 205 8 19 4 9 13 6 4 10 0 2 2
GP G A Pts +/- PIM Pts/GP
Ryan Rehill D 19 Kamloops WHL 33 3 7 10 -4 94 0.30
Height: 6'3 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 225 4 7 3 6 9 0 1 1 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM Pts/GP
Brandon Baddock LW 19 Edmonton WHL 32 7 12 19 0 53 0.59
Height: 6'4 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 215 5 12 4 8 12 2 2 4 0 1 1
Name Age (as of 2/1) GP GS W L OTL SOL MIN GAA SV% GA%- GSAA
Anthony Brodeur 20 16 14 5 4 0 3 774:35 3.72 0.876 117 -7.37
Height: 5'11 Gatineau SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 194 QMJHL 0 0.00% 5 35.71% 5 35.71% 2 14.29% 66.67% 31.25% 2.08%

There isn't much to report on from the Devils OHL prospects. Both Ryan Kujawinski and Connor Chatham missed the entire week due to undisclosed injuries. Kujawinski left Kingston's game on 12/5 after a hit "near" the head area. The timing for the injury is unfortunate as Kujawinski was on a hot streak after putting up eight goals and seven assists in twelve November games. I haven't been able to track down what exactly happened to Chatham but he hasn't played since 11/26.

John Quenneville got off to a blazing start this season but an extended slump has his numbers down to a point per game. In seventeen games since 11/1 he has put up just six goals and five assists. He may be on the verge of getting back on a scoring streak though as he has two goals and two assists in over his last four games. Ideally, a player like him should be able to finish comfortably above the point per game mark by the end of the season so hopefully he gets going again.

Ryan Rehill was the busiest Devils prospect of the week, featuring in four games for Kamloops where he put up a goal, twelve penalty minutes, and a minus three rating. Brandon Baddock played in two games for Edmonton, notching a goal and an assist on Saturday against Kootenay.

Anthony Brodeur is firmly entrenched as Drummondville's third choice goaltender. He hasn't played since 11/14 when he was still with Gatineau and is yet to even dress as the backup for Drummondville.

NCAA

Name Pos. Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO%
Blake Coleman LW Miami 14 9 7 16 11 53 59 15.25% 4.21 1.14 67.91%
Height: 5'11 Age (as of 2/1) League A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 200 23 NCAA 3 12 5 5 10 3 1 4 1 0 1
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO%
Blake Pietila C Michigan Tech 16 4 5 9 -1 28 29 13.79% 1.81 0.56 62.62%
Height: 5'11 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 200 21 NCAA 4 8 2 1 3 1 4 5 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO%
Alex Kerfoot C Harvard 10 4 11 15 10 4 19 21.05% 1.90 1.50 49.68%
Height: 5'10 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 175 20 NCAA 6 10 2 6 8 1 3 4 0 1 1
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP
Steve Santini D Boston College 4 1 0 1 2 2 6 16.67% 1.50 0.25
Height: 6'2 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 208 19 NCAA 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP Blk
Joshua Jacobs D Michigan State 16 0 4 4 -7 12 28 0.00% 1.75 0.25 23
Height: 6'2 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 191 18 NCAA 2 2 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 0 0

Blake Coleman and Alexander Kerfoot had the weekend off for their respective teams. Steve Santini remains out with a wrist injury but is nearing a potential return to action with the USA WJC team. Team USA's begins camp today in Boston ahead of the tournament that will run 12/26 to 1/5 in Montreal and Toronto. If you want to check out some of the action from the camp which will also feature Devils prospect, Miles Wood, you can check out the Team USA vs. Boston University exhibition online here, Friday at 7:30.

In on ice college action, Blake Pietila continues to slump, as he is now scoreless in six games and has just two assists in his last ten games. I'd like to see more production out a senior though to his credit he does have strong faceoff numbers with a 62.62% which ranks 9th in the nation. Joshua Jacobs and Michigan State only played once since the last update but he made it count by adding a powerplay assist in a win over Clarkson.

KHL, USHL, USHS

Name Pos. Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO% ATOI
Artur Gavrus LW Dinamo Minsk 33 5 4 9 -4 10 46 10.87% 1.39 0.27 37.50% 12:20
Height: 5'10 Age (as of 2/1) League A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 177 21 KHL 2 7 1 4 5 4 0 4 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP
Joey Dudek C Dubuque 20 4 1 5 -3 32 41 9.76% 2.05 0.25
Height: 5'11 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 185 19 USHL 0 4 3 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP
Miles Wood LW Noble & Greenough 4 3 5 8 2.00
Height: 6'1 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 165 19 USHS

Artur Gavrus continues to receive a steady 10-11:30 minutes a game for Dinamo Minsk. He added his fourth assist of the season against Avangard on Friday.

Joey Dudek didn't play for Dubuque this past week due to an undisclosed injury. This USHL forum mentions that he has a concussion but I would put that firmly in the rumor category since no official statement has been made.

Miles Wood played two games since the last update ahead of going to the USA WJC camp with Santini. He made those two games count by adding three goals and three assists to his stat line. As nice as that is, it is important to remember he's doing this as a 19 year old in prep hockey. Total domination of that league is what should be expected from him this year. I am interested in seeing what the USA coaching staff does with him in practice and possibly the exhibition against Boston University if he makes it that far. Wood is really a great unknown compared to the other prospects and I'd love to get a look at him.

AHL

Name Height Weight Age (as of 2/1) Pos GP G A PTS A1 Pts1 +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts ENG ENA EN Pts
Joe Whitney 5'6 170 26 LW 26 10 12 22 5 15 1 18 70 14.29% 2.69 0.85 6 6 12 4 6 10 0 0 0 0 0 0
Paul Thompson 6'1 205 26 RW 24 11 9 20 8 19 10 41 68 16.18% 2.83 0.83 7 7 14 3 1 4 1 1 2 0 0 0
Scott Timmins 6'0 200 25 C 23 6 13 19 5 11 3 4 52 11.54% 2.26 0.83 5 7 12 1 5 6 0 1 1 0 0 0
Raman Hrabarenka 6'5 235 22 D 20 4 10 14 5 9 1 18 36 11.11% 1.80 0.70 2 7 9 2 3 5 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tim Sestito 5'11 195 30 C 26 6 7 13 5 11 -1 8 51 11.76% 1.96 0.50 4 5 9 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 2
Reid Boucher 5'10 190 21 LW 22 5 7 12 3 8 -2 4 57 8.77% 2.59 0.55 3 1 4 2 5 7 0 0 0 0 1 1
Mike Sislo 5'11 195 27 RW 20 6 4 10 4 10 3 9 51 11.76% 2.55 0.50 1 2 3 3 2 5 1 0 1 1 0 1
Brandon Burlon 6'0 190 24 D 24 1 8 9 5 6 -2 36 34 2.94% 1.42 0.38 1 2 3 0 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0
Stefan Matteau 6'2 220 20 LW 22 1 7 8 5 6 2 17 31 3.23% 1.41 0.36 1 4 5 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
Graham Black 6'0 190 22 C 20 5 3 8 2 7 3 10 36 13.89% 1.80 0.40 2 2 4 3 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ben Thomson 6'3 215 22 LW 24 3 3 6 3 6 -3 40 33 9.09% 1.38 0.25 3 3 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dan Kelly 6'1 210 25 D 15 0 5 5 3 3 7 41 14 0.00% 0.93 0.33 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Darcy Zajac 6'1 205 28 RW 25 3 2 5 1 4 -4 53 41 7.32% 1.64 0.20 2 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
Steve Bernier 6'3 215 29 RW 9 1 4 5 3 4 -1 17 16 6.25% 1.78 0.56 1 2 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Reece Scarlett 6'1 185 21 D 9 0 3 3 2 2 0 2 20 0.00% 2.22 0.33 0 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mark Fraser 6'4 220 28 D 12 1 2 3 1 2 -2 23 13 7.69% 1.08 0.25 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Eric Baier 6'2 210 26 D 8 1 2 3 2 3 -2 4 9 11.11% 1.13 0.38 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Peter Harrold 5'11 180 31 D 13 1 1 2 0 1 3 10 21 4.76% 1.62 0.15 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rod Pelley 6'0 205 30 C 22 2 0 2 0 2 -5 16 22 9.09% 1.00 0.09 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
Kelly Zajac 5'10 180 26 C 5 0 2 2 2 2 -1 4 2 0.00% 0.40 0.40 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
Chris McKelvie 6'1 195 29 LW 15 1 1 2 0 1 -7 20 20 5.00% 1.33 0.13 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Corbin McPherson 6'5 220 26 D 26 0 2 2 1 1 -6 39 26 0.00% 1.00 0.08 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Seth Helgeson 6'5 215 24 D 12 0 1 1 1 1 3 11 7 0.00% 0.58 0.08 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ben Johnson 6'0 195 20 LW 9 1 0 1 0 1 -2 4 8 12.50% 0.89 0.11 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
Cam Janssen 6'0 210 30 RW 7 1 0 1 0 1 0 7 2 50.00% 0.29 0.14 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Joe Faust 6'0 205 23 D 12 0 1 1 0 0 -2 6 12 0.00% 1.00 0.00 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Keenan 6'0 190 25 D 4 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 6 0.00% 1.50 0.25 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
David Wohlberg 6'1 200 24 LW 11 0 0 0 0 0 -2 6 7 0.00% 0.64 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Alexandre Carrier 6'3 210 23 RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0.00% 1.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Myles Bell 6'1 216 21 RW 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.00% 1.00 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 GAA SV% GA%- GSAA
Keith Kinkaid 25 13 12 713 7 2 1 2 2.19 0.923 89 3.49
Height: 6'2 SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 195 1 8.33% 8 66.67% 1 8.33% 1 8.33% 69.23% 23.08% 7.69%
GP GS Min W L OTL SOL GAA SV% GA%- GSAA
Scott Wedgewood 22 11 9 539 4 4 0 1 3.34 0.876 143 -9.03
Height: 6'2 SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 190 0 0.00% 4 44.44% 3 33.33% 1 11.11% 80.00% 20.00% 0.00%
GP GS Min W L OTL SOL GAA SV% GA%- GSAA
Scott Clemmensen 37 6 5 335 1 3 0 1 2.33 0.918 95 0.75
Height: 6'2 SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 200 1 20.00% 2 40.00% 1 20.00% 0 0.00% 38.46% 61.54% 0.00%

Albany split their 2 games over the week, though they did notch their first overtime win since 1/6/12 in Atlantic City infront of 4,212 fans. At the moment, Albany sits in 8th place in the Eastern Conference with 29 points after 26 games. Their all situation PDO is at a normal 99.76% while their PP% is 16.26% and the PK% is 81.74%.

Transactions: Their were a handful of transactions to keep up with over the week so let's recap. Scott Clemmensen went down for the awesome Keith Kinkaid on 12/9. Boucher also made his way up to the big club with Kinkaid that same day before being sent back down the next day. Due to injuries, Albany had to call up their forwards currently in the ECHL, Alexandre Carrier and Myles Bell, on 12/10. Yesterday, the Devils returned Mike Sislo to Albany in favor of Tim Sestito.

Thursday 12/11: Albany lost to Hartford 3-2. Reid Boucher and Rod Pelley scored the goals for the Devils while Eric Baier, Mark Fraser, and Ben Thomson picked up an assist each. Joe Whitney had a game high 8 shots as the Devils outshot the Wolf Pack 35-33. Scott Clemmensen made 30 of 33 saves in goal. The Devils went 0/4 on the PP and 4/6 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:

Sunday 12/14: Albany defeated Lehigh Valley 4-3 in overtime for their first extra time win in nearly three years. Tim Sestito led the Devils with 2 goals (including the winner) and an assist. Joe Whitney added the other 2 goals to go along with his 7 shots. Reid Boucher and Paul Thompson had 2 assists each while Mark Fraser and Reece Scarlett each added one. This was Reece Scarlett's and Dan Kelly's return to the line up after missing 8 straight games. Albany outshot Lehigh Valley 37-32. Scott Wedgewood got the start and made 29 saves on 32 shots. Albany went 1/5 on the PP and 3/3 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet, highlights, and line up (courtesy of the ADevils twitter):

Whitney-Sestito-Thompson

Matteau-Black-Boucher

Thomson-Pelley-Bell

Wohlberg-D. Zajac-Carrier

McPherson-Burlon

Kelly-Scarlett

Fraser-Faust

Injury Situation: With Dan Kelly and Reece Scarlett returning, the only Devils defenseman out is Raman Hrabarenka. Kelly Zajac, Cam Janssen, and Scott Timmins all remain out upfront.

Due for a Breakout?: Stefan Matteau is having a rough year with just 8 points in 22 games. He has a single goal on the season but is shooting a remarkably low 3.23% while averaging 1.41 shots per game. Hopefully he gets some puck luck and his SH% regresses towards something more normal.

ECHL

Name Height Weight Age (as of 2/1) Pos GP G A PTS A1 Pts1 +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts ENG ENA EN Pts
Myles Bell 6'1 216 21 RW 18 8 6 14 3 11 -2 7 62 12.90% 3.44 0.78 7 2 9 1 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 0
Alexandre Carrier 6'3 210 23 RW 6 0 0 0 0 0 -3 2 7 0.00% 1.17 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 GAA SV% GA%- GSAA
Maxime Clermont 23 9 7 511 5 3 0 0 3.76 0.873 132 -7.90
Height: 6'0 SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 200 0 0.00% 1 14.29% 2 28.57% 1 14.29% 75.00% 18.75% 6.25%

As mentioned above, Myles Bell and Alexandre Carrier were called up on 12/10 to Albany. Bell didn't play for Evansville last week but Carrier did get one game in with Orlando were he was held off the scoresheet with two shots. Maxime Clermont is the backup in Orlando and didn't play at all last week.

Prospect of the Week

It's a bit hard to single out one prospect from the past week as being exceptional due to injuries and mediocre play. John Quenneville and Brandon Baddock had a goal and an assist game each but two points in as many games over the week is hardly outstanding. I suppose you could argue that Gavrus getting an assist over two games in a men's league could warrant it but scoring is up in the KHL this year. Miles Wood had an outstanding week but he is playing against players younger, smaller, and less skilled than him. Overall, I just hope the injured players return and some of the prospects can string together better performances next week.

ADevil of the Week

On the other hand, you could make a strong argument for a number of players in Albany to get this week's honors. Joe Whitney leads the team in scoring and put up 2 goals and 15 shots over two games. Tim Sestito had an overtime winner to along with his 2 goals and an assist on 6 shots in two games. Reid Boucher seems to be finding his groove with a goal and two assists to go along with 4 shots over two games. Over his last 4 games he has 2 goals and 2 assists to go with 11 shots. I'd be comfortable saying any of those three players deserve recognition for their performances for Albany as of late.

Your Take

Who would you name prospect of the week? What about ADevil of the week? How concerned are you about the injuries and performances among the Devils prospects in junior and collegiate hockey? Do you feel that I am being too harsh on Miles Wood? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!