New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 10/20/15

This post will recap the 3rd week of Devils prospect action for the 2015-16 season. It's highlighted by the OHL prospects continuing to produce, John Quenneville making Team WHL, Miles Wood and Brett Seney getting off to hot starts in college, Albany splitting a series with Toronto, and Ken Appleby's strong professional debut. Check out the stats and recap below!

OHL

Connor Chatham and Flint only had 1 game last week but the winger made it count with a goal and an assist. While he's just under a point per game to start the season, he's putting up a solid average of 4 shots per game.

Josh Jacobs had a solid weekend for Sarnia with a 2 assists performance against Sault Ste. Marie. Overall, he was a +3 with 4 penalty minutes and 6 shots over both of Sarnia's games this weekend. Teammate and fellow Devils prospect, Pavel Zacha, also continued his production for Sarnia with a goal against Sault Ste. Marie on Friday and another on Sunday against Mississauga. He put up 9 shots over those 2 games and has points in 4 of his 5 games for Sarnia this season.

Blake Speers had his first goal of the season for Sault Ste. Marie against London on Saturday. Overall, he was a -2 with 6 penalty minutes and 5 shots across both games for the Soo. The team's official twitter account has been listing him as a center on the top line. Colton White was a -1 with a shot after 2 games for Sault Ste. Marie. He picked up his first fighting major of the season against Sarnia and has been listed by the team's twitter account as a top pairing defensemen.

Mackenzie Blackwood picked up his 6th quality start of the season with a 32 save performance against Owen Sound on Thursday. He followed that up with a 3 goals allowed, 21 save effort on Saturday. He continues to be among the best in all of the statistical categories for OHL goaltenders.

WHL

John Quenneville had a relatively quiet weekend for Brandon with a goal against Saskatoon on Saturday after being held off the scoresheet on Friday against Swift Current. Yesterday, he was named to Team WHL for the upcoming CHL Canada - Russia series in November.

Ryan Rehill had an assist to go along with 2 penalty minutes and an even rating over the course of 3 games for Kamloops last week. He did earn 3rd star honors against Red Deer a week ago.

Brandon Baddock was held off the scoresheet in all of Edmonton's 3 games last week. He finished the week with a -2 rating to go along with 4 penalty minutes (the WHL doesn't count 10 minute misconducts in their totals).

NCAA

Boston College only played a single game last weekend against a struggling Wisconsin program. Steve Santini had 2 penalty minutes, 2 shots, and 2 blocks. Miles Wood had another impressive showing, this time adding 2 assists to go along with a +2 rating and 4 penalty minutes and 3 shots. He currently leads BC in assists and points. JD Dudek grabbed some 4th line action and finished with 2 penalty minutes and a shot.

Brett Seney has enjoyed a strong start to his sophomore campaign with Merrimack. The speedster is seeing time at center and has a goal, 2 assists, +4 rating, and 5 shots after 2 games. More on him later.

Alexander Kerfoot and Harvard don't start their season until 10/31 at Darmouth. They will play an exhibition game against New Brunswick on 10/24.

KHL

Artur Gavrus returned from international duty with Belarus to play 2 games for Dinamo Minsk. He scored a goal against Sibir on Saturday which was Andrei Kovalev's debut as acting head coach after Lubomir Pokovic stepped down the day before. Gavrus played 16:55 minutes which is in-line with his season average. You can check out his goal on YouTube. Yesterday he was held off the scoresheet and only played 2 periods against Metallurg Nk for 11:04 in ice time. I haven't been able to find out if this was due to injury or something else. Whatever the case, hopefully he continues to get the same opportunities under Kovalev that he had under Pokovic to start the season.

AHL

Injury Update: Graham Black (lower body), Matt Lorito (upper body), and Vojtech Mozik (knee) have all returned to action. Scott Wedgewood (ankle) remains out but did travel with the team to Toronto.

Transactions: Yann Danis was recalled by New Jersey on 10/13 to serve as Kinkaid's backup. Danis was returned the following day. Reid Boucher was the player from the big club that got "sent down" for the day to make room. When Danis was returned to Albany, they sent Ken Appleby back to Adirondack.

Saturday 10/17: Albany lost to Toronto in overtime 3-2. Corey Tropp had a goal with Dan Kelly and Brandon Burlon picking up the assists. Mike Sislo had a power play goal with Matt Lorito getting the assist. Sislo had 5 shots followed by Seth Helgeson with 4 and Jim O'Brien with 3. Yann Danis made 34 saves on 37 shots as the Devils were outshot 37-21 for the game. The Devils were outshot 18-3 over the 3rd period and overtime. Albany went 1/5 on the PP and 3/3 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:


Lineup (via ADevils PR):
Lorito-O’Brien-Thompson
Kujawinski-Blandisi-Sislo
Pietila-Coleman-Tropp
McKelvie-Pelley-Thomson

Gragnani-Scarlett
Kelly-Burlon
Helgeson-McPherson

Sunday 10/18: Albany defeated Toronto 3-2. Jim O'Brien, Mike Sislo, and Blake Pietila had the goals. Dan Kelly, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Matt Lorito, Paul Thompson, and Graham Black had an assist each. Sislo had 7 shots followed by Thompson with 6 and O'Brien with 5. Yann Danis made 26 saves on 28 shots as the Devils outshot the Marlies 31-28. Albany went 1/5 on the PP and 6/6 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

Lineup (via ADevils PR):
Sislo-Blandisi-Tropp
Lorito-O’Brien-Thompson
Pietila-Black-Novak
Thomson-Pelley-McKelvie

Kelly-Burlon
Gragnani-Hrabarenka
Helgeson-Mozik

Coming Up: Albany takes on Portland in a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday and then has a game against Binghamton on Sunday.

ECHL

Joe Faust had a power play assist in Adirondack's opening game of the season. Ken Appleby impressed in his first professional career start by making 29 saves on 30 shots to earn the victory and quality start.

Prospect of the Week

Brett Seney earns this week's honors after scoring a goal to go along with 2 assists after 2 games of play for Merrimack. You can check out his speed, elusiveness, and shot in the video of his goal below at the 1:48 mark. Seney is small but his superior skating and solid vision on the ice makes him and intriguing prospect. I really like seeing that he's been moved to center to start the season. The ability to play on the wing or in the middle can add to his value as a prospect for the Devils. It will be interesting to see if he can stay healthy and consistent throughout the entire season. So far, he's off to a great start.

ADevil of the Week

Yann Danis had a solid week for Albany, stopping 60 of 65 shots, but I'm going to give this week's honors to Mike Sislo. The RW had 2 goals on 12 shots over the 2 game set against the Marlies. While he's not a prospect at age 27, Sislo is someone that could force a callup should he produce at Albany. His best asset is his speed which would fit into what the Devils are trying to do at the NHL level. He is also capable of contributing on the penalty kill.

Your Take

Who stands out to you in the early weeks of the season? Have any of the prospects surprised you? What are your expectations for Albany this season? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!