New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 1/13/15

This post will recap the fifteenth week of Devils prospect action for the 2014-15 season. It's highlighted by Ryan Kujawinski and Connor Chatham playing well in the OHL, John Quenneville snapping a scoring drought, Steve Santini returning to the ice for Boston College, and Paul Thompson continue to play well for the Albany Devils. 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/North Bay	OHL	30	16	11	27	9	18	0.90
Height: 6'2	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 207	4	20	12	4	16	3	6	9	0	1	1
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Pts/GP
Connor Chatham	RW	19	Plymouth	OHL	27	8	13	21	-1	32	0.78
Height: 6'2	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 225	9	17	6	10	16	2	3	5	0	0	0
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Pts/GP
John Quenneville	C	18	Brandon	WHL	35	14	15	29	6	39	0.83
Height: 6'1	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 205	8	22	6	9	15	6	4	10	0	2	2
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Pts/GP
Ryan Rehill	D	19	Kamloops	WHL	41	4	7	11	-13	98	0.27
Height: 6'3	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 225	4	8	4	6	10	0	1	1	0	0	0
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Pts/GP
Brandon Baddock	LW	19	Edmonton	WHL	42	12	14	26	-3	80	0.62
Height: 6'4	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 215	7	19	5	10	15	5	2	7	0	1	1

Name	Age (as of 2/1)	GP	GS	W	L	OTL	SOL	MIN	GAA	SV%	GA%-	GSAA
Anthony Brodeur	20	19	14	6	4	0	3	883:54	3.80	0.877	116	-7.56
Height: 5'11	Gatineau/Drummondville	SO	SO%	QS	QS%	RBS	RBS%	BO	BO%	EVG%	PPG%	SHG%
Weight: 194	QMJHL	0	0.00%	5	35.71%	5	35.71%	3	21.43%	67.86%	28.57%	3.57%

Ryan Kujawinski had a great first week with North Bay, scoring three goals and an assist in three games. He is currently on a four game scoring streak with four goals and two assists during that time and is inching closer to a point per game clip. Connor Chatham played two games for Plymouth last week, adding a goal and an assist in a win over Kujawinski's new team, the North Bay Battalion. Chatham has six points over his six games since returning from injury.

John Quenneville finally broke a six game scoring drought with a goal in a winning effort for Brandon on Sunday. As expected he played in all situations for the Wheat Kings but seems to have found himself as the third line LW. The WHL from Above blog has been keeping track of line ups and according to them Quenneville has been LW on a line with Nolan Patrick and Jayce Hawryluk for the past few games. Prior to that he was LW on the second line with Reid Duke and Peter Quenneville for eleven games.

Ryan Rehill added an assist over two games for Kamloops last week. According to the line ups at WHL from Above, he's been anchoring the top pair with sixteen year old Dawson Davidson. Prior to that he was on the top pair with Patrik Maier, an eighteen year old rookie, for a handful of games. Rehill certainly seems to be playing a lot of minutes for a bad team and is doing so as a veteran paired with less experienced players.

Brandon Baddock added a goal and two assists in three games for the Oil Kings last week. He is currently fifth on his team in scoring. According to the WHL from Above blog, he recently centered the second line with Luke Bertolucci and Edgars Kulda on his wings. Prior to that he had been centering a line with Bertolucci and Brandon Ralph.

Anthony Brodeur made his first start for Drummondville last Wednesday and picked up a win despite giving up four goals.

NCAA

Name	Pos.	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	Pts/GP	FO%
Blake Coleman	C	Miami	20	9	9	18	14	55	70	12.86%	3.50	0.90	65.70%
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	4	13	5	7	12	3	1	4	1	0	1
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	Pts/GP	FO%
Blake Pietila	C	Michigan Tech	22	6	7	13	0	40	43	13.95%	1.95	0.59	62.09%
Height: 5'11			A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 200	21	NCAA	5	11	3	1	4	2	5	7	0	1	1
			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	5	1	1	2	2	8	7	14.29%	1.40	0.40
Height: 6'2			A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 208	19	NCAA	1	2	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	Pts/GP	Blk
Joshua Jacobs	D	Michigan State	18	0	4	4	-7	12	30	0.00%	1.67	0.22	26
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 did not score or register any points in two games for Miami against St. Cloud State. He has now fallen to below a point per game pace as he does not have any goals in his last seven games. Over that time he has just two assists. Blake Pietila has also struggled to find points as he was held off the scoresheet in two games for Michigan Tech against Northern Michigan. He has gone three games without a point and has just two goals over his last sixteen games. At least both of the Blakes are still doing strong in the faceoff circle (Coleman 65.70%, Pietila 62.09%).

Alexander Kerfoot remained out of action for Harvard with an upper body injury but Steve Santini did make his return to the ice for Boston College following wrist surgery. In his first game since 10/25, Santini added an assist, a shot, and six penalty minutes as Boston College extended their unbeaten streak to seven games.

Joshua Jacobs played in Michigan State's exhibition match against the USNTDP U18 squad. MSU won the match 4-1 and Jacobs had a +1, with a shot, and three blocks.

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	28	5	4	9	-1	56	60	8.33%	2.14	0.32
Height: 5'11			A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 185	19	USHL	1	6	4	4	8	0	0	0	0	0	0
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	Pts/GP
Miles Wood	LW	Noble & Greenough	6	4	8	12						2.00
Height: 6'1	19		GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	Pts/GP
Weight: 165		USA	5	0	0	0	1	6	6	0.00%	1.20	0.00

Artur Gavrus remains out with some sort of injury for Dinamo Minsk. He hasn't played for them since 12/14.

Joey Dudek added an assist to his totals over two games last week for Dubuque. He now has three points over his last four games. Miles Wood continues to dominate his league, as he should, and is now up to four goals and eight assists in six games.

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	35	14	19	33	10	24	3	24	91	15.38%	2.60	0.94	8	9	17	6	10	16	0	0	0	0	0	0
Paul Thompson	6'1	205	26	RW	35	17	14	31	12	29	14	47	122	13.93%	3.49	0.89	11	9	20	4	4	8	1	1	2	1	0	1
Reid Boucher	5'10	190	21	LW	33	10	10	20	5	15	0	24	81	12.35%	2.45	0.61	5	3	8	5	6	11	0	0	0	0	1	1
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
Brandon Burlon	6'0	190	24	D	35	3	12	15	7	10	5	54	50	6.00%	1.43	0.43	2	4	6	1	8	9	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mike Sislo	5'11	195	27	RW	26	8	7	15	5	13	3	11	67	11.94%	2.58	0.58	2	4	6	4	3	7	1	0	1	1	0	1
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	27	6	7	13	5	11	0	10	57	10.53%	2.11	0.48	4	5	9	1	1	2	0	0	0	1	1	2
Graham Black	6'0	190	22	C	28	7	5	12	3	10	7	12	56	12.50%	2.00	0.43	3	3	6	4	2	6	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stefan Matteau	6'2	220	20	LW	32	2	8	10	5	7	4	23	52	3.85%	1.63	0.31	2	4	6	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ben Thomson	6'3	215	22	LW	34	4	4	8	4	8	-4	52	41	9.76%	1.21	0.24	4	4	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Reece Scarlett	6'1	185	21	D	20	0	8	8	5	5	3	2	33	0.00%	1.65	0.40	0	4	4	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Darcy Zajac	6'1	205	28	RW	36	3	5	8	4	7	-8	65	59	5.08%	1.64	0.22	2	5	7	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
Dan Kelly	6'1	210	25	D	26	0	7	7	4	4	4	52	21	0.00%	0.81	0.27	0	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
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
Rod Pelley	6'0	205	30	C	33	3	2	5	1	4	-5	22	39	7.69%	1.18	0.15	2	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Corbin McPherson	6'5	220	26	D	37	1	3	4	1	2	-4	50	33	3.03%	0.89	0.11	1	3	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
David Wohlberg	6'1	200	24	LW	21	3	1	4	0	3	2	10	18	16.67%	0.86	0.19	3	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mark Fraser	6'4	220	28	D	18	1	2	3	1	2	-1	45	19	5.26%	1.06	0.17	1	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Eric Baier	6'2	210	26	D	12	1	2	3	2	3	-3	4	19	5.26%	1.58	0.25	1	1	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Chris McKelvie	6'1	195	29	LW	23	2	1	3	0	2	-10	22	29	6.90%	1.26	0.13	2	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kelly Zajac	5'10	180	26	C	8	0	3	3	2	2	-2	6	3	0.00%	0.38	0.38	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	1	1	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
Adam Larsson	6'3	200	22	D	1	0	2	2	1	1	1	0	1	0.00%	1.00	2.00	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Joe Faust	6'0	205	23	D	19	0	2	2	0	0	-4	10	18	0.00%	0.95	0.00	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ben Johnson	6'0	195	20	LW	15	1	1	2	1	2	-2	4	12	8.33%	0.80	0.13	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
Cam Janssen	6'0	210	30	RW	15	1	1	2	0	1	-2	23	10	10.00%	0.67	0.13	1	1	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
Mike Keenan	6'0	190	25	D	11	0	1	1	1	1	-2	11	12	0.00%	1.09	0.09	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Alexandre Carrier	6'3	210	23	RW	7	0	0	0	0	0	-1	10	4	0.00%	0.57	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	90	2.82
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	18	16	968	5	8	1	2	3.04	0.892	127	-10.33
Height: 6'2		SO	SO%	QS	QS%	RBS	RBS%	BO	BO%	EVG%	PPG%	SHG%
Weight: 190		0	0.00%	8	50.00%	3	18.75%	1	6.25%	71.43%	28.57%	0.00%
		GP	GS	Min	W	L	OTL	SOL	GAA	SV%	GA%-	GSAA
Scott Clemmensen	37	8	7	455	2	4	0	1	2.51	0.907	109	-1.58
Height: 6'2		SO	SO%	QS	QS%	RBS	RBS%	BO	BO%	EVG%	PPG%	SHG%
Weight: 200		1	14.29%	3	42.86%	2	28.57%	0	0.00%	47.37%	52.63%	0.00%
		GP	GS	Min	W	L	OTL	SOL	GAA	SV%	GA%-	GSAA
Maxime Clermont	23	2	2	120	2	0	0	0	2.50	0.912	103	-0.16
Height: 6'0		SO	SO%	QS	QS%	RBS	RBS%	BO	BO%	EVG%	PPG%	SHG%
Weight: 200		0	0.00%	1	50.00%	0	0.00%	1	50.00%	60.00%	40.00%	0.00%

Albany is currently in 10th place in the Eastern Conference with 39 points from 37 games played. Their all situation PDO has remained consistent at 99.77% but this week's struggle brought their 3 game average down to 95.54%. Albany's PP went 1/9 on the week and is now down to 17.16% on the season. The PK was better, going 11/12 on the week and is now 80.12% on the season.

Transactions: None!

Injury Update: Kelly Zajac (upper body) and Scott Clemmensen (mumps) returned to action. This was Kelly Zajac's first action since 10/25. Raman Hrabarenka (fractured cheek bone) and Scott Timmins (leg injury) remain out of action indefinitely. Graham Black missed the past weekend with an undisclosed injury.

Friday 1/9: Albany lost to Hershey 4-0. Paul Thompson led the Devils with 5 shots followed by Mike Sislo with 4 as the Devils were outshot by the Bears 26-24. Scott Clemmensen made his return to the ice since suffering from mumps and made 22 saves on 26 shots. Albany went 0/3 on the PP and 2/3 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:

Line Up (via ADevils twitter):

Whitney-K. Zajac-Thompson

Boucher-Wohlberg-Sislo

Matteau-Pelley-McKelvie

Thomson-D. Zajac-Janssen

Kelly-Scarlett

Burlon-Faust

Keenan-McPherson

Saturday 1/10: Albany defeated Bridgeport 3-1. David Wohlberg, Joe Whitney, and Stefan Matteau scored for the Devils. Matteau's goal was his first since 10/11 (29 games without a goal). Paul Thompson and Mike Sislo had 2 assists each while Rod Pelley and Kelly Zajac had 1 each. Paul Thompson had 5 shots followed by Darcy Zajac with 4 as the Devils outshot the Sound Tigers 27-25. Maxime Clermont made 24 saves on 25 shots to pick up the win. Albany went 1/3 on the PP and 4/4 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:

Line Up (via ADevils twitter):

Whitney-K. Zajac-Thompson

Boucher-D. Zajac-Sislo

Matteau-Wohlberg-Thomson

McKelvie-Pelley-Janssen

Kelly-Scarlett

Burlon-Faust

Keenan-McPherson

Sunday 1/11: Albany lost to Springfield 2-1. Mike Sislo had the only goal for Albany with Darcy Zajac picking up the assist. Eric Baier led the way with 6 shots followed by Paul Thompson with 5 and Reid Boucher with 4 as the Devils outshot the Falcons 31-24. Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves on 24 shots. Albany went 0/3 on the PP and 5/5 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:

Coming Up: Albany has three games this week, starting with a match against Springfield on Wednesday. During the weekend they'll take on Lehigh Valley on Friday and Hershey on Saturday.

ADevils Coming to Newark: Albany will take on Bridgeport at The Rock on Wednesday 1/21 at 7:30 PM.

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	24	8	7	15	3	11	-8	9	73	10.96%	3.04	0.63	7	2	9	1	5	6	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	150	-10.67
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%

Bell, Carrier, and Clermont have all remained in Albany over the past week.

Prospect of the Week

The resurgance of Ryan Kujawinski has been one of the bright spots in Devils prospect action this season. With three goals and an assist for his new club, he's the clear choice for this week's honors. I wrote before this season that I wanted to see him finish comfortably above a point per game clip as a 19 year old and now it seems possible after a slow start. Kujawinski had just 5 goals and 2 assists over his first 15 games. In his most recent 15 games he has 11 goals and 9 assists. His move to a better team should help him get more chances to contribute offensively. According to CHL Stats, his estimated TOI is around 27.27 - which seems like it may be a bit high, but the point remains he will have a lot of time to showcase his skill over the rest of the season.

ADevil of the Week

This week's honors go to Paul Thompson as he had 2 assists and 15 shots over three games. He is currently third in the AHL in both goals (17) and shots (122). He's been having such a great year he's even scoring goals when he's not playing. According to Quant Hockey his points per game rate of .886 is above the 95th percentile while his goals per game rate of .486 is above the 99th percentile. He's having a career year and it is well deserved as he has put up a 3.49 shots per game rate but his 13.93 SH% is inflating things a bit. I'm curious to see how he does the rest of the year as he only shot at 8.90% in his AHL career prior to this year while averaging 2.19 shots per game. Below is a table which shows how this season compares to his previous ones

Season	Team	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	SOG	PIM	SH%	SH/GP
2014-15 Regular Season	Albany	35	17	14	31	14	122	47	13.93%	3.49
2013-14 Regular Season	Springfield	30	4	4	8	1	43	50	9.30%	1.43
2013-14 Regular Season	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	39	4	3	7	-8	86	50	4.65%	2.21
2012-13 Regular Season	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	58	20	9	29	1	157	84	12.74%	2.71
2011-12 Regular Season	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	67	10	15	25	-1	143	37	6.99%	2.13
2010-11 Regular Season	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton	6	1	2	3	4	9	2	11.11%	1.50
	Full AHL Career	235	56	47	103	11	560	270	10.00%	2.38
	AHL Career w/o Devils	200	39	33	72	-3	438	223	8.90%	2.19

It seems that he is really benefiting from playing in a larger role and getting some puck luck. With that said, if he keeps contributing, you have to wonder if he'd get a shot with NJ if they opened up a spot (both on the roster and reserve list) if they trade someone like Michael Ryder around the deadline.

Prospects on TV

-- Michigan State (Jacobs) will take on Penn State on Saturday 1/17 at 5:00 PM ET on ESPNU. I'm interested in seeing how he's deployed as a young defender on a struggling team.

Your Take

What are your expectations for Kujawinski the rest of the way? Do you expect Quenneville to start scoring again now that he finally got a goal to end his drought? Does Rehill's usage change your outlook on him? Do you think Thompson will continue to stay hot for Albany or are you worried he may have a rough second half? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!