New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: Week 25

As the AHL postseason gets closer, the Albany Devils are doing what they can to stay in the race. The OHL and WHL playoffs are in full swing and a few prospects are doing everything they can to keep their teams going.

Albany Notes:

• In their first game of the weekend, the Albany devils dominated the Syracuse Crunch with a 6-2 win. Scott Wedgewood was in net for Albany's fourth straight win and got his 13^th win of the season (his fourth in a row) with 22 saves. Raman Hrabarenka and Adam Larsson each had a goal and an assist while Joe Whitney and Kelly Zajac had multi-point games, as well. Alexander Urbom, Reid Boucher, Kelly Zajac and Mike Sislo scored the other goals.
• In their second game, Albany fell to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3-2 in overtime. Adam Larsson and Darcy Zajac scored while Keith Kinkaid made 19 saves in the failed comeback effort. After coming back from a 1-0 deficit in the third period and earning the lead shortly after, the Penguins tied it up and forced overtime.
• Adam Larsson had a strong weekend in Albany. In the two games he had two goals and an assist, more points than any other Devil this week.
• Alexander Urbom scored his first goal of the season (for the Devils, anyway) over the weekend. He now has one goal and five assists in 26 games in Albany (remember, he was claimed by Washington, then claimed back).
• Darcy Zajac also scored his first goal of the season last weekend. He had a goal and an assist giving him one goal and two assists in just eight games this season. He was injured for much of the year and returned a week ago.
• With 11 games left in the regular season, the Devils have 79 points and are in second in the Northeast Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference.
• Albany has won four of their last five games and have earned points in each of their last five. They have seven points on the ninth place Hershey Bears and are five points behind the Springfield Falcons who hold first place in the division.
• While Keith Kinkaid has dropped out of the top 10 goalies in the AHL (he currently sits at 11), Scott Wedgewood has moved up in the ranking considerably. He is now 16^th, allowing the Devils to sport a very strong goalie tandem.

Other Notes:

• While Anthony Brodeur hasn't played in a game yet, the Gatineau Olympiques are up 3-0 on Cape Breton in the QMJHL playoffs.
• In three playoff games, Myles Bell has three goals and an assist as the Kelowna Rockets lead the Tri-City Americans two games to one.
• Ben Johnson has three goals and one assist in three playoff games for the Windsor Spitfires. He has two power play goals and one shorthanded. Even though Johnson has been very productive, the Spitfires are down 0-3 to the London Knights.
• Here is a look at the WHL Playoff bracket as of Tuesday night:

• Here is a look at the OHL Playoff bracket as of Tuesday night:

• We now know the sixteen teams that will be playing in the NCAA tournament this year. Of those teams, Boston College, Wisconsin, and North Dakota will have Devil prospects competing. Here is the full bracket:

• The Miami University Redhawks fell to Denver in the NCHC Tournament final. Blake Coleman had a goal and two assists on the weekend.
• Joe Faust and the University of Wisconsin Badgers defeated Penn State and Ohio State to win the Big Ten Championship. They move on to the NCAA Midwest Regional tournament this weekend as the number one seed.
• Steve Santini and Boston College will be facing Denver this weekend as they head to the NCAA Tournament.

Prospect of the Week:

The star this week is Adam Larsson. In another important week for the Albany Devils, they earned three out of four points and Adam Larsson helped with that a lot. He had more points than any other Devil this weekend with three - two goals and an assist. Since being sent to Albany, he has been solid and seems to be gaining more confidence each game.

Prospect Spotlight - Brandon Burlon:

With their second round pick of the 2008 NHL Draft (52^nd overall), the Devils selected the 6'0", 190 lbs defenseman, Brandon Burlon. He turned pro in 2011-2012 after three seasons at the University of Michigan. He has never been a big producer, with a career high of 17 points in the AHL (1g, 16a), but he does a lot of things well. He doesn't have any specific quality that wows, but he can do a bit of everything. He skates well and can pass accurately. He is almost always in position, so he is solid on both ends of the ice. In his third pro season, the 24-year-old has ten points, but a career high in goals with four. While this doesn't seem overly exciting, he has been compared to Andy Greene. I still wouldn't get overly excited about him, as the Devils have many defensive prospects with what I would consider a higher ceiling.

What do you think of Brandon Burlon? Would you like to see him as an NHL call-up? Do you agree that Adam Larsson was the star of the week? Who are you pulling for the NCAA Tournament? Does the Albany goalie tandem impress you? Please discuss your thoughts on the prospects below, and as always, thanks for reading.