New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 11/10/15

This post will recap the 6th week of Devils prospect action for the 2015-16 season. It's highlighted by Connor Chatham and his Flint teammates staging a successful protest, Josh Jacobs and Blake Speers continue to produce in the OHL, Mackenzie Blackwood continue to be very solid for Barrie, John Quenneville miss time due to injury, and the Albany Devils winning 2 games. Check out the stats and recap below!

OHL

Connor Chatham appeared in 2 out of the 3 games Flint played this weekend. He was held off the scoresheet in both games and has just 1 assist over his last 7 games. The highlight of his week was joining in a player protest after Sunday's game in response to owner Rolf Nilsen's firing of the coaching staff due to the lack of ice time they were giving his son, Hakon. You can read all about the details in this TSN article. Mr. Nilsen apologized on Monday and reinstated the coaching staff.

Pavel Zacha had a goal and 2 assists in 3 games for Sarnia last week. His goal came against Owen Sound on Wednesday in what was an 8 shot game for the young forward. Josh Jacobs also got on the scoreboard with an assist in back-to-back games against Owen Sound and Flint which extended his point streak to 4 games at the time. He managed 13 shots on goal over the course of the 3 games. Brendan Ross of TheScout.ca, Dobber Prospects, and McKeen's Hockey had this to say on Zacha and Jacobs after their game against Saginaw on Sunday:

Big guns for Sarnia are rolling too - Chychrun looks like a top NHL pick, Zacha's offensive confidence shining & Josh Jacobs looking poised

— Brendan Ross (@RossyYoungblood) November 9, 2015

Blake Speers had a fine week for Sault Ste. Marie with a goal and 4 assists over the course of 3 games. Speers currently leads the team in assists and points. Colton White continues to play in a more expanded role this season and had 2 assists against Mississauga on Friday.

Mackenzie Blackwood continues to show why he was so highly ranked heading into last year's draft by producing at a high level for Barrie. He picked up 2 more wins, 2 more quality starts, and stopped 70 of 73 shots (.959 SV%) in back-to-back games against Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. As of right now he leads the OHL in SV%, GA%-, and Goals Saved Above Average.

WHL

In unfortunate news, John Quenneville was sidelined this past week due to a "day-to-day, upper body injury" according to the voice of the Wheat Kings, Bruce Luebke. Quenneville will also miss the CHL Canada/Russia series this week. Hopefully this is minor and he's back soon. Injuries really derailed his season last year.

Ryan Rehill continues to be a minutes eater for Kamloops and even chipped in offensively this past weekend with a 2 assists game against Prince George on Saturday.

Brandon Baddock had a nice week for Edmonton, scoring 2 goals against Seattle on Wednesday and notching another goal against Calgary on Friday.

NCAA

Alex Kerfoot started his weekend off with a 3 shot performance against Yale but won just 7 of 22 faceoffs. The next night Harvard took on Brown and he had an assist to go along with 3 shots while winning 8 of 13 faceoffs.

Boston College played a 2 game set against Maine over the weekend. Steve Santini had a goal and an assist in the first game. Miles Wood had a goal in the second game and finished the series with 7 shots on goal along with 18 penalty minutes after being involved in a scrum in Sunday's game. Wood is second on the team in points and is enjoying a top line role. JD Dudek has cemented his spot on the 4th line and was an even rating with a shot over the 2 game set. Jeff Cox of SBN College Hockey praised Santini's mobility and defensive coverage and Wood's speed and strength in this post yesterday.

Brett Seney had 3 assists over the course of 2 games for Merrimack last week as they took on Bentley and Canisius. He had 2 shots in each game and won 15 of 22 faceoffs on the week.

KHL

Dinamo Minsk and the rest of the KHL is on a break from 11/2 to 11/10 so Gavrus hasn't missed any games as he recovers from his latest concussion. He gave this interview for the Dinamo website and according to the google translation, he should be back in the line up fairly soon. He makes it clear in the interview that his dream is still to play in the NHL eventually.

AHL

Albany won both of their games this past weekend and now sit in 2nd place in the North Division with 14 points after 11 games. According to CHL Stats, they have the 3rd best estimated Fenwick Close at 54.523% and a PDO of 102.339. Their PP is ranked 4th in the league at 23.7% while their PK is ranked 3rd at 90.2%.

Injury Update: Scott Wedgewood (ankle) and Paul Thompson (upper body) both remain sidelined.

Transactions: None!

Friday 11/6: Albany defeated Syracuse 4-3. Joseph Blandisi had 2 goals with Ben Thomson and Ryan Kujawinski adding the other goals. Mike Sislo and Matt Lorito had 2 assists each while Dan Kelly, Chris McKelvie, Vojtech Mozik, and Reece Scarlett had 1 each. Sislo, Reid Boucher, and Blake Coleman had 3 shots each as the Devils were outshot 30-25. Yann Danis made 27 saves on 30 shots. Albany went 2/5 on the PP and 7/8 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.



Line Up:
Boucher-Coleman-Tropp
Sislo-Blandisi-Lorito
Thomson-Pelley-Leblond
McKelvie-Kujawinski-Pietila

Gragnani-Hrabarenka
Kelly-Scarlett
Helgeson-Mozik

Saturday 11/7: Albany defeated Hartford 4-0. Blake Coleman and Corey Tropp had a goal and an assist each. Mike Sislo and Reid Boucher had the other goals. Blake Pietila and Dan Kelly and an assist each. Coleman and Rod Pelley had 4 shots each as the Devils outshot the Wolf Pack 26-24. Yann Danis picked up his first shutout of the year. Albany went 0/3 on the PP and 4/4 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.



Line Up:
Boucher-Coleman-Tropp
Lorito-Blandisi-Sislo
Leblond-Pelley-Thomson
Pietila-Kujawinski-McKelvie

Helgeson-Mozik
Burlon-Hrabarenka
Kelly-Scarlett

Coming Up: Albany plays a 3 in 3 this weekend with games against Providence, Lehigh Valley, and Springfield.

ECHL

Joe Faust was held off the scoresheet in all 3 of Adirondack's games last week. he did manage a -1 rating with 2 penalty minutes and 4 shots in that time. Ken Appleby started all 3 games and finished the week with 2 wins, 2 quality starts, and a shutout. He continues to have a strong start to his professional career.

Prospect of the Week

This week's honors go to Blake Speers after notching a goal and 4 assists along with 10 shots over the course of 3 games for Sault Ste. Marie. He leads the team in assists, points, and points per game. According to CHL Stats he leads the forwards in estimated Time on Ice and is 3rd in primary points per game. The Greyhounds have struggled due to poor goaltending this season but Speers is starting to do his part to shoulder the offensive workload in his expanded role this season. I'm expecting good things out of Speers this season, so hopefully he keeps it up.

ADevil of the Week

You could make the case that Mike Sislo should once against be ADevil of the week since all he does is produce in all situations. However I'm going to go back to Joseph Blandisi who had 2 power play goals this week. While he's riding an awfully high SH%, he's forcing the coaching staff to take notice of him and give him a lot of ice time. It's nice to see that he's brought the physical edge of his game along with him to the AHL and isn't intimidated.

Your Take

What are your thoughts on Blake Speers? How about the way Mackenzie Blackwood is performing? Are you concerned about John Quenneville's injury? How about the start Albany is off to right now? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!