New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: Week 22

After an incredibly successful 3-in-3 last weekend, the Devils dropped off a bit this weekend but remained in the playoff race. The prospects in the juniors and college level were much more successful.

Albany Notes:

• In their first of two games last weekend, the Albany Devils fell 2-1 to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. It was a frustrating loss at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall as the Devils had the lead with a Mike Sislo goal until the Penguins tied the game with just seven minutes left in regulation and got the winning goal on the power play with just under four minutes left in play. This was the first game the Devils lost in regulation after leading through two periods. Keith Kinkaid was in net and made 12 saves.
• In their second game of the back-to-back, the Devils fell in the shootout to the Providence Bruins 3-2. The goals were scored by Tim Sestito on the power play and David Wohlberg. Kinkaid was in net again and made 36 saves. The Devils had the lead going into the third period and ended up losing for the second night in a row.
• After a disappointing weekend, the Devils dropped two places in the standings and are in seventh in the east. They are tied with the Penguins with 67 points, have just two points over the ninth place Hershey Bears, and are two points behind the Providence Bruins.
• The Albany Devils weren't affected by the trade deadline at all. While Jon Merrill and Eric Gelinas were both briefly sent down to the AHL yesterday, it was just so they would be eligible to play in the AHL playoffs if needed. They were both called back up to New Jersey immediately.
• A quick update on the prospects who are playing for the Elmira Jackals (all have appeared in both Albany and Elmira - their Albany stats are listed above:

  Player	Team	League	Position	GP	G	A	PTS	PPG	+/-	PIM	PP	SHG	SOG	SH%
  Harry Young	Elmira Jackals	ECHL	D	26	2	1	3	0.115384615	-5	47	0	0	24	8.33%
  Artem Demkov	Elmira Jackals	ECHL	F	33	14	9	23	0.696969697	2	22	4	1	106	13.21%
  Riley Boychuk	Elmira Jackals	ECHL	F	13	0	1	1	0.076923077	-1	37	0	0	14	0.00%

Other Notes:

• Artur Gavrus was injured last week and is done for the season. He had just one goal and two assists in 29 games for Dinamo Minsk in the KHL this season. The Dinamo Minsk regular season is done, anyway and the team is headed to the Nadezhda Cup - a tournament for KHL teams who don't make the playoffs, and are expected to be a quick exit.
• Vladmir Zharkov will be heading to the playoffs with the seventh seed CSKA Moskva. They start on March 7^th.
• Graham Black had eight points in four games last week. He had one goal and seven assists.
• Damon Severson moved up to second in Kelowna Rockets scoring last week with three assists in four games. Ahead of him is Myles Bell; so two Devils prospects are the top scorers for the top team in the WHL.
• Ryan Kujawinski had two goals and two assists in his first three games back from injury.
• Miles Wood backed out of his commitment to Brown University last month and decided to commit to Boston College yesterday. While he is a junior at Noble and Greenough, he could accelerate a year and be part of next year's class (thought to be the best class in head Coach Jerry York's tenure). He was considered the top prospect according to OverTheBoards.net. Brian Day, head coach at Nobles said,

"Miles successfully has worked very hard this season to become a more savvy player with the puck who will take any open ice that is available to him but will move the puck when that is the play to be made. Through the course of this season we have seen a growing level of creativity in his game and a better understanding of how to create more time and space for he and his teammates. An incredibly dynamic player who will attack when he has the puck, he is developing into a more dynamic player who not only has the ability to finish but who has the ability to make those around him better. He is a great kid and a joy to coach."

• Blake Coleman had two more goals this week giving him four since returning from injury. They have two regular season games left before the NCHC Tournament followed by the NCAA Tournament.

Prospect of the Week:

Graham Black is this week's Prospect of the Week. He had ten points in a four game point-streak that ended on Saturday. He is having a blast in his last season with the Swift Current Broncos and is hoping to lead his team to a deep playoff run. He is one of the top 10 scorers in the WHL and is looking for an ELC with the Devils after this season. I did a detailed write-up on Black last week including a look at his struggle with Graves' Disease and how he overcame it if you'd like to check that out.

Prospect Spotlight - Reid Boucher:

He seems to be one of everyone's favorite prospects, and for good reason. Reid Boucher is one of the most exciting Devils' prospects to follow after a record-breaking season in the OHL last year and a successful start to his pro career.

The 20-year-old 5'10" 195 lbs right wing was drafted 99^th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. In 2012-2013, Boucher broke the Sarnia Sting goal scoring record set by Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lighting by scoring 62 goals in 68 games. After that season in Sarnia ended, he signed his ELC and a PTO to play in Albany for the rest of their season and scored three goals and two assists in 11 games in the AHL.

This season, Boucher has seen more success in the AHL and even got some time in the NHL. He's played 23 games in New Jersey so far this season and has seven points (two goals and five assists). In his 37 games with Albany he has 14 goals and 13 assists. His 31 points are good for second on the team.

In an interview with Randy Miller of the Star Ledger, Brad Fast, Boucher's offseason trainer said,

"I'd never met Reid, but living in this area, everyone would talk about him because he was such a prolific scorer at all levels, so we hopped on the ice, and when I first saw his shot I thought, 'I've played all over and never played with anyone who can shoot like that.' When he took it, I was like, 'Holy smokes! OK, well, we'll see if he can do it again.' I put him in the same spot again and he did the same exact thing.

"I saw real quick what everybody was talking about. There hasn't been anybody who's come in here who can shoot harder than Reid, that's for sure."

Since they started working together, Fast has helped Boucher with his skating, which helped lead him to his record breaking season in 2012. Part of his quick move to the NHL can also be attributed to his work with Fast during the offseason. Fast told Miller that Boucher was feeling down due to his lack of scoring in both the NHL and AHL. He can be hard on himself to a fault,

"Skating is probably the weakest part of my game. We've actually made a lot of progress. It may not look like it."

If you'd like to read the rest of the article, it's a great one. It gives an awesome insight to one of the Devils most promising prospects. Here is the link.

Reid is one of the few forward prospects fans can get excited about. While he isn't a guarantee to be a top scorer in the league, he showed he can hold his own when given the opportunity and will hopefully only get better with his time in the AHL. Albany coach Rick Kowlasky is impressed by Boucher's game and said,

"There's no question Bouch has an NHL shot,. He knows where he's going to put it. What I like about him, and what I see about guys who don't last in the American League long, is his ability to find that quiet ice off the rush. He's got just enough ice, then he's got that quick release. If he gets that puck, it's on and off his stick before anybody knows the play's made."

Do you think Reid Boucher has what it takes to be a regular NHL player? When do you think he'll be ready? Are you excited about Graham Black? Do you think he'll get an ELC after this season? Please discuss your thoughts on the prospects below. Thanks for reading!