New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 1/6/15

This post will recap the fourteenth week of Devils prospect action for the 2014-15 season. It's highlighted by Miles Wood's WJC tournament coming to an end, Ryan Kujawinski being traded from Kingston to North Bay, and Joe Whitney leading the offensive charge for Albany while Paul Thompson and Reid Boucher continue to produce. 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	27	13	10	23	8	18	0.85
Height: 6'2	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 207	4	17	10	4	14	2	6	8	0	0	0
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Pts/GP
Connor Chatham	RW	19	Plymouth	OHL	25	7	12	19	-1	30	0.76
Height: 6'2	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 225	9	16	5	9	14	2	3	5	0	0	0
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Pts/GP
John Quenneville	C	18	Brandon	WHL	32	13	15	28	6	37	0.88
Height: 6'1	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 205	8	21	5	9	14	6	4	10	0	2	2
					GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Pts/GP
Ryan Rehill	D	19	Kamloops	WHL	39	4	7	11	-11	98	0.28
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	39	11	12	23	-4	71	0.59
Height: 6'4	A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 215	5	16	5	8	13	4	2	6	0	1	1

Name	Age (as of 2/1)	GP	GS	W	L	OTL	SOL	MIN	GAA	SV%	GA%-	GSAA
Anthony Brodeur	20	20	15	5	4	0	3	823:54	3.79	0.878	118	-7.80
Height: 5'11	Gatineau/Drummondville	SO	SO%	QS	QS%	RBS	RBS%	BO	BO%	EVG%	PPG%	SHG%
Weight: 194	QMJHL	0	0.00%	5	33.33%	5	33.33%	2	13.33%	67.31%	28.85%	3.85%

Ryan Kujawinski returned to action for the first time since 12/5 on New Year's Day against Belleville. The following day he made an impact against Barrie with a goal and an assist. The big news of the week is that he was traded to North Bay yesterday, thus going from the 7th place team in the Eastern Conference to the 3rd place team. Last year Ben Thomson was dealt during the season to North Bay and it helped accelerate his game. Let's see if this move helps Kujawinski's game. This will be his third OHL team, having started out with Sarnia before being traded to Kingston in 2012 and spending the bulk of his OHL career there.

Connor Chatham added a goal and two assists to his season totals across three games last week. He has four points in four games since returning from injury.

John Quenneville was held without a point in all three of his games last week and is now on a four game scoreless streak. He did have a spirited fight against Tomas Andrlik on Tuesday. Ryan Rehill had a goal and two penalty minutes across three games last week and is still the WHL leader in penalty minutes. Speaking of penalty minutes, Brandon Baddock is now tied for tenth in the WHL after picking up a goal and twelve penalty minutes in three games last week.

Anthony Brodeur finally made his debut for Drummondville on Saturday as he came in for 4:22 of relief where he did not face a shot on goal. The next day he made his first start but only lasted 44:57 as he made 34 saves on 38 shots.

NCAA

Name	Pos.	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	SH	SH%	SH/GP	Pts/GP	FO%
Blake Coleman	C	Miami	18	9	9	18	14	55	64	14.06%	3.56	1.00	68.03%
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	20	6	7	13	-1	30	38	15.79%	1.90	0.65	63.26%
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	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	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 had a goal and three shots across two games for Miami against RPI. He is now down to a point per game on the season but has a great 68.03 FO%.

Blake Pietila broke out against a bad Wisconsin team on Friday with two goals and an assist. These were his first goals after a twelve game drought. He's also having a strong year in the circle with a 63.26% FO%. Chris Dilks of SBN College Hockey has this in-depth recap of Michigan Tech's rout over Wisconsin with this to say about Pietila:

He's such a strong skater; a real physical force, and can make an offensive play if he needs to. Pietila centered Reid Sturos and Blake Hietala against Michigan at the GLI. Tonight, he centered David Johnstone and Tyler Heinonen, a pairing I like a lot more. Sturos and Hietala are more grinders. Playing with skill guys like Johnstone and Heinonen allows them to make plays, and Pietila to use his strength to clean things up, like he did on his first period rebound goal.

Alexander Kerfoot (upper body) and Steve Santini (wrist) were both out of action for their respective schools. Santini could be ready to return this week though. Joshua Jacobs and Michigan State had the week off.

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	26	5	3	8	-2	56	54	9.26%	2.08	0.31
Height: 5'11			A1	Pts1	EVG	EVA	EV Pts	PPG	PPA	PP Pts	SHG	SHA	SH Pts
Weight: 185	19	USHL	1	6	4	3	7	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	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 an undisclosed injury. Joey Dudek had an encouraging week with a goal and an assist with nine shots in three games. He had his first back-to-back point games since 10/24-10/25. Hopefully he can jump start his season now that the calendar has flipped.

Miles Wood and Team USA crashed out of the WJC due to penalty trouble against the Russians once again. Wood finishes the tournament with a +1 rating, six penalty minutes, and six shots in five games. While he was held without any points, he did have some decent chances over the course of the tournament and didn't appear out of place which was a great sign. He's still a wildcard due to his weird career path so far, but I am more intrigued by him now than I was before the season began.

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	32	13	19	32	10	23	4	24	85	15.29%	2.66	1.00	8	9	17	5	10	15	0	0	0	0	0	0
Paul Thompson	6'1	205	26	RW	32	15	14	29	10	25	14	47	105	14.29%	3.28	0.91	9	10	19	4	3	7	1	1	2	1	0	1
Reid Boucher	5'10	190	21	LW	30	10	10	20	5	15	0	20	75	13.33%	2.50	0.67	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	32	3	12	15	8	11	7	48	47	6.38%	1.47	0.47	2	4	6	1	8	9	0	0	0	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	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
Mike Sislo	5'11	195	27	RW	23	8	4	12	4	12	3	11	58	13.79%	2.52	0.52	2	2	4	4	2	6	1	0	1	1	0	1
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	29	1	8	9	5	6	3	21	47	2.13%	1.62	0.31	1	4	5	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ben Thomson	6'3	215	22	LW	32	5	3	8	3	8	-2	52	42	11.90%	1.31	0.25	5	3	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Reece Scarlett	6'1	185	21	D	17	0	8	8	5	5	3	2	31	0.00%	1.82	0.47	0	4	4	0	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Darcy Zajac	6'1	205	28	RW	33	3	4	7	3	6	-6	63	52	5.77%	1.58	0.21	2	4	6	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
Dan Kelly	6'1	210	25	D	23	0	6	6	4	4	4	52	21	0.00%	0.91	0.26	0	5	5	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	30	3	1	4	1	4	-4	20	35	8.57%	1.17	0.13	2	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Corbin McPherson	6'5	220	26	D	34	1	3	4	1	2	-4	50	31	3.23%	0.91	0.12	1	3	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	11	1	2	3	2	3	-3	4	13	7.69%	1.18	0.27	1	1	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Chris McKelvie	6'1	195	29	LW	20	2	1	3	0	2	-10	22	27	7.41%	1.35	0.15	2	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
David Wohlberg	6'1	200	24	LW	18	2	1	3	0	2	1	10	15	13.33%	0.83	0.17	2	1	3	0	0	0	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
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
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	17	0	2	2	0	0	-3	10	17	0.00%	1.00	0.00	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ben Johnson	6'0	195	20	LW	14	1	1	2	1	2	-1	4	12	8.33%	0.86	0.14	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
Cam Janssen	6'0	210	30	RW	12	1	1	2	0	1	1	9	6	16.67%	0.50	0.17	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	8	0	1	1	1	1	-1	11	8	0.00%	1.00	0.13	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	91	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	17	15	909	5	7	1	2	3.1	0.891	128	-10.37
Height: 6'2		SO	SO%	QS	QS%	RBS	RBS%	BO	BO%	EVG%	PPG%	SHG%
Weight: 190		0	0.00%	7	46.67%	3	20.00%	1	6.67%	70.21%	29.79%	0.00%
		GP	GS	Min	W	L	OTL	SOL	GAA	SV%	GA%-	GSAA
Scott Clemmensen	37	7	6	395	2	3	0	1	2.28	0.916	99	0.22
Height: 6'2		SO	SO%	QS	QS%	RBS	RBS%	BO	BO%	EVG%	PPG%	SHG%
Weight: 200		1	16.67%	3	50.00%	1	16.67%	0	0.00%	40.00%	60.00%	0.00%
		GP	GS	Min	W	L	OTL	SOL	GAA	SV%	GA%-	GSAA
Maxime Clermont	23	1	1	60	1	0	0	0	4.01	0.875	147	-1.28
Height: 6'0		SO	SO%	QS	QS%	RBS	RBS%	BO	BO%	EVG%	PPG%	SHG%
Weight: 200		0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	1	100.00%	0.5	50.00%	0

Albany fell to 10th place in the conference after dropping two games in regulation and another in the shootout while winning once. Through 34 games, they have an all situation PDO of 100.12% and have been in the 99-101 range since game 15 of the season, fairly consistent. They went 3/20 on the PP this week and their overall success rate is now 17.50%. Albany's PK% is now 79.22%.

Transactions: Albany recalled Myles Bell on 12/30 as they were short on forwards due to injuries and call ups, one of which was Mike Sislo being recalled by New Jersey the same day. Stefan Matteau and Joe Whitney were returned from New Jersey on 1/2. The following day, New Jersey sent Mike Sislo back to Albany while recalling Mark Fraser.

Injury Update: Raman Hrabarenka (fractured cheek bone), Kelly Zajac, Scott Timmins, and Scott Clemmensen (mumps) all remain sidelined. Tom Gulitti had this interesting nugget in a recent post where Lou Lamoriello noted that Hrabarenka had been Albany's "best defenseman" before his injury. Hrabarenka's certainly gotten himself on the radar of the New Jersey brass this season.

Tuesday 12/30: Albany lost to Providence 3-2 on a goal with 4.9 seconds left in regulation. Reid Boucher had the Devils first goal which was set up by Darcy Zajac. Rod Pelley had the other goal with the assists going to Ben Johnson and Cam Janssen. Boucher also had a team high four shots as the Devils were outshot 45-26. Scott Wedgewood had a career high 42 saves on 45 shots. Albany went 0/5 on the PP and 2/3 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:

Lines and pairings from the Albany Devils twitter:

Boucher-Black-Thompson

McKelvie-Pelley-Thomson

Johnson-D. Zajac-Carrier

Janssen-Keenan-Faust

Fraser-Scarlett

Kelly-Baier

Burlon-McPherson

Note that Keenan and Faust were listed as forwards as the Devils had to dress 8 defensemen due to only having 10 forwards available.

Friday 1/2: Albany suffered a 2-1 loss to Syracuse after going scoreless in a 10 round shootout. Ben Thomson had the lone Devils goal in regulation with the assists going to Brandon Burlon and Paul Thompson. Burlon and Thompson also had a team high four shots each as the Devils outshot the Crunch 36-25. Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves on 25 shots and followed it up with stopping 9 of 10 shootout attempts. Albany went 0/2 on the PP and 2/2 on the PK. The game also saw Reid Boucher's 7 game point streak come to an end. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:

Lines and pairings from the Albany Devils twitter:

Thomson-Black-Thompson

Boucher-Wohlberg-Matteau

McKelvie-Pelley-Carrier

Johnson-D. Zajac-Janssen

Fraser-Scarlett

Kelly-Burlon

McPherson-Keenan

Saturday 1/3: Albany erupted for a 7-4 win over Bridgeport. Joe Whitney led the way with a goal and two assists, followed by Paul Thompson, David Wohlberg, and Corbin McPherson with a goal and an assist each, and Reid Boucher with three assists. Other goal scorers for Albany included Chris McKelvie, Graham Black, and Ben Thomson. Brandon Burlon, Darcy Zajac, and Reece Scarlett each had an assist. Whitney and Black each had a team high five shots as the Devils were outshot 32-30. Maxime Clermont made 28 saves on 32 shots in his first AHL action since 11/2/13. Albany went 2/6 on the PP and 4/6 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:

Lines and pairings from the Albany Devils twitter:

Whitney-Black-Thompson

Boucher-Wohlberg-Sislo

Matteau-Pelley-McKelvie

Thomson-D. Zajac-Janssen

Kelly-Scarlett

Faust-Burlon

McPherson-Keenan

Sunday 1/4: Albany lost to Bridgeport 4-3. Paul Thompson led the offensive effort with a goal and two assists followed by Whitney with a goal and an assist. Mike Sislo had the other goal for Albany. Rod Pelley and Reece Scarlett each picked up an assist. Paul Thompson had a game high five shots as each team put up 27 shots. Scott Wedgewood made 23 saves on 27 shots. Albany went 1/7 on the PP and 7/9 on the PK in a penalty filled game. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:

Odds and Ends: Paul Thompson has two goals, four assists, and twelve shots over his last three games. In his first 18 games, Reid Boucher had three goals and five assists. Over his last 12 games he has seven goals and five assists. Graham Black has been seeing top line ice time and has 12 points in 28 games while now averaging two shots per game. Stefan Matteau is now down to an incredibly low 2.13 SH% - though I would like to see him up his shots per game rate which is just at 1.62 at the moment.

Another 3 in 3: Albany will have another busy weekend coming up, taking on Hershey on Friday, Bridgeport on Saturday, and Springfield on Sunday.

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	147	-10.16
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%

All of the Devils ECHL players are currently with Albany.

Prospect of the Week

I'm going to give Connor Chatham the slight edge over Blake Pietila for prospect of the week. Mainly because Pietila had a monster game against a horrible team. Chatham has returned in fine form from injury and has put up a goal and three assists over his four games back. I'm encouraged to see that 16 of his 19 points are primary which suggests that he is very active in the offense when he's on the ice. Last year he had a strong 81.5 point share percentage (aka IPP) which backs up the claim that he's active offensively. While he doesn't project to bring much offense to the pro game down the road, it's still nice to see that he is finding a way to contribute at the OHL level.  According to CHL Stats, he has the 2nd highest on-ice even strength GF% (63%) and 4th highest estimated points per 60 (2.86) on his team.

ADevil of the Week

It seems fitting to name the AHL Player of the Week as our ADevil of the Week. Joe Whitney, the ADevils leading scorer with 32 points in 32 games, had two goals and three assists in two games for Albany last week. He even notched his first career NHL goal on Wednesday before being sent back to Albany. Whitney currently has a five game scoring streak in the AHL with three goals and seven assists during that time.

Prospects on TV

-- Saturday 1/10: Harvard (Alexander Kerfoot if healthy) vs. Yale in NCAA action on NBCSN at 8:15 PM ET.

-- Sunday 1/11: Brandon (John Quenneville) vs. Calgary in WHL action on the NHL Network at 3:00 PM ET.

Your Take

Are you happy that Kujawinski is moving to a better team or are you concerned that his ice time may dip? Are you satisfied with Chatham's year so far? How concerned are you about Quenneville's slump? Would you like to see more out Coleman and Pietila given that they are seniors? What are your thoughts on the ADevils? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!