New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 11/3/15

This post will recap the 5th week of Devils prospect action for the 2015-16 season. It's highlighted Josh Jacobs getting on the board for Sarnia, John Quenneville continuing to produce for Brandon, and a trio of Devils NCAA prospects impressing. Albany also had a 3 in 3 at home this past weekend. Check out the stats and recap below!

OHL

Connor Chatham appeared in all 3 of Flint's games this past week. His assist on Saturday snapped a 4 game point drought. Chatham did manage to put up 12 shots over the course of those 3 games.

Josh Jacobs had a productive week for Sarnia with an assist in Friday's game against Niagara and a goal in Saturday's game against Erie. Overall he finished the weekend with an even rating and 5 shots. He is currently 3rd among defensemen on the team in scoring, just a point back of 2nd place. Pavel Zacha didn't have a strong week as he was held off the scoresheet in both games, snapping a 6 game point streak. Zacha was held without a shot against Niagara but rebounded the following night with 4 against Erie. His 2.89 shots per game is underwhelming but Sarnia doesn't seem like that strong of an offensive team thus far and 9 games is a small sample size. It's a long year and games like these happen.

Overall, Blake Speers was held to just an assist after 3 games of play last week. He did pick up that assist in the 1st game of the week which extended his point streak to 4 games at the time. He has been playing as a center this season and won 34/59 faceoffs (57.63%) last week and has a 57.64% this season. Colton White was held off the scoresheet and finished the week with a -2 rating and 3 shots after 3 games.

Mackenzie Blackwood had a tough start to his week. On Thursday he stopped 30 of 34 shots in a loss against Erie. On Saturday he recorded his 1st "really bad start" of the season when he allowed 6 goals on 31 shots in a loss against Hamilton. He rebounded the next night with a 27 save shutout performance against Mississauga. Blackwood now has 8 games of 30+ saves after 14 games played and is close to the top in most goaltending categories in the OHL.

WHL

John Quenneville played 4 games last week, scoring 2 goals, including a game winner against Kootenay on Friday, and adding 2 assists. He's currently 3rd in scoring on Brandon. According to CHL Stats, Quenneville is currently 2nd among forwards in Goals Created (6.48) and Goals Created per Game (0.463).

Ryan Rehill had a +5 rating and 4 penalty minutes after 2 games of play for Kamloops last week.

Brandon Baddock had an assist, -3 rating, and 10 penalty minutes after 3 games played last week.

NCAA

Alex Kerfoot enjoyed a strong start to his junior season this weekend. In Harvard's opening game against Dartmouth, he notched a goal and 2 assists. He followed that up the next night with an assist in another Harvard victory. He's once again centering the top line with Jimmy Vesey and Kyle Criscuolo on his wings.

Steve Santini was a +2 with 2 penalty minutes in Boston College's 4-3 win over Denver on Friday. Miles Wood continued his hot start by adding a goal, assist, +1 rating, and 4 shots in the victory against Denver. Wood currently leads BC in scoring and will be relied upon to keep producing for BC now that Jeremy Bracco has left the program. As SBN College Hockey reports, Coach Jerry York seems to like the partnership that Wood is forming with Austin Cangelosi.

"That mixture produces positive, positive results. They're all benefiting each other, but somehow that line is really creating some terrific opportunities," York said. "(Wood is) just a really good player, boy. ... His compete level was A+."

JD Dudek continues to play on the 4th line and had a shot against Denver.

Brett Seney opened up his weekend with a goal against Boston University on Friday and closed it out with an assist against New Hampshire on Saturday. He managed 5 shots over the course of both games and won 14/22 faceoffs.

KHL

Artur Gavrus remains sidelined with a concussion that he suffered on 10/19 against Metallurg Nk.

AHL

After 9 games, Albany currently sits tied for 7th in the Eastern Conference with 10 points. According to CHL Stats, they have the 4th best Estimated Fenwick Close at 54.43% and a normal PDO at 100.64%. Albany has enjoyed the league's 4th most effective PP of 23.5% as they have scored a PPG in all but 1 game this season. Albany's PK currently ranks 2nd in the league at 89.7%.

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

Transactions: None!

Friday 10/30: Albany lost to Bridgeport 3-2. Vojtech Mozik scored his first AHL goal with Lorito and Helgeson picking up the assists. Mike Sislo added a power play goal with Gragnani and Blandisi earning the assists. Mozik and Sislo led the way with 3 shots each for Albany as the Devils were outshot 20-17. Doug Carr made 17 saves on 20 shots in his second start of the season. Albany went 1/4 on the PP and 4/4 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.



Saturday 10/31: Albany defeated Utica 6-1. Offensive leaders for Albany included Mike Sislo with 2 goals and an assist, Matt Lorito with a goal and 2 assists, Ben Thomson with a goal and an assist, and Joseph Blandisi with 4 assists. Blake Coleman and Ryan Kujawinski also earned their first professional goals. Thomson led Albany with 4 shots followed by Sislo with 3 as the Devils outshot the Comets 24-21. Danis made 20 saves on 21 shots. Albany went 1/5 on the PP and 3/4 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.



Line Up:
Pietila-O'Brien-Tropp
Lorito-Blandisi-Sislo
Novak-Coleman-McKelvie
Kujawinski-Pelley-Thomson

Scarlett-Gragnani
Helgeson-Mozik
Burlon-Kelly

Sunday 11/1: Albany lost to Toronto 3-2 (OT). Reid Boucher made his return to the line up after battling an illness and notched a goal and an assist. Mike Sislo scored the other Devils goal. Brandon Burlon, Corey Tropp, and Marc-Andre Gragnani earned an assist each. Sislo had 7 shots followed by Boucher with 6 as the Devils outshot the Marlies 22-21. Danis made 18 saves on 21 shots. Albany went 2/5 on the PP and 3/3 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.



Line Up:
Boucher-Coleman-Tropp
Lorito-Blandisi-Sislo
Novak-Black-Pietila
Thomson-Pelley-Kujawinski

Kelly-Gragnani
Burlon-McPherson
Helgeson-Mozik

Picking Up Where He Left Off: Last season, Matt Lorito joined the team towards the end of the season after completing his collegiate career at Brown University. He impressed by putting up 3 goals and 9 assists in 11 games. So far this season he's been productive with 2 goals and 6 assists in 8 games. He's already 25 and small (5'9, 170) but I'm interested in seeing if he can keep up this production throughout his first full AHL season.

Coming Up: Albany will take on Syracuse on the road this Friday at 7 PM. On Saturday they play a game in Hartford at 7:30 PM.

ECHL

Joe Faust appeared in both of Adirondack's games last week and added an assist, 3 shots, and 2 penalty minutes to his season totals. Ken Appleby continued his strong start to the season with another victory and quality start, stopping 31 of 32 shots in a game against Wheeling on Friday.

Prospect of the Week

Alex Kerfoot gets this week's honors after starting his season with a goal and 3 assists after 2 games. He will look to build upon a successful sophomore campaign from last season that saw him put up 8 goals and 22 assists in 27 games as Harvard's top center. There is no doubting his skill, but his ability to stay healthy for a full season is a concern after he missed parts of the last 3 seasons between Coquitlam and Harvard with injuries. I'm hoping for big things out of Kerfoot this season.

ADevil of the Week

Mike Sislo is the clear selection for ADevil of the Week after putting up 4 goals, an assist, and 13 shots in 3 games for Albany. He currently leads Albany in goals, points, shots, and goals created. The speedy winger has a point in all but 2 games so far this season. Here are his goals from the weekend:

Your Take

How do you feel about the way the Devils CHL prospects are performing so far? What are your thoughts on the Devils NCAA prospects? What are your expectations for players like Sislo and Lorito in Albany? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!