clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 2/24/15

Week 21 of the 2014-15 prospect update saw Joseph Blandisi stay red hot for Barrie, Alexander Kerfoot continue to be an offensive threat for Harvard, and the Albany Devils get a win, but still struggle to stay in the playoff race.

Albany will need Scott Wedgewood to up his game if they want to make the playoffs.
Albany will need Scott Wedgewood to up his game if they want to make the playoffs.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

This post will recap the 21st week of Devils prospect action for the 2014-15 season. It's highlighted by Joseph Blandisi continuing to be a force in the OHL, Alexander Kerfoot excelling in college, and the Albany Devils continue to struggle as a whole. 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 /North Bay OHL 49 25 20 45 15 28 0.92
Height: 6'2 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 207 8 33 18 11 29 6 8 14 0 1 1
GP G A Pts +/- PIM Pts/GP
Connor Chatham RW 19 Plymouth OHL 44 16 19 35 0 47 0.80
Height: 6'2 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 225 14 30 11 15 26 5 4 9 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM Pts/GP
Joseph Blandisi C 20 Barrie OHL 57 46 52 98 19 98 1.72
Height: 6'0 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 192 29 75 20 22 42 10 28 38 9 2 11
GP G A Pts +/- PIM Pts/GP
John Quenneville C 18 Brandon WHL 47 16 23 39 10 47 0.83
Height: 6'1 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 205 13 29 7 16 23 7 5 12 0 2 2
GP G A Pts +/- PIM Pts/GP
Ryan Rehill D 19 Kamloops WHL 57 6 11 17 -16 113 0.30
Height: 6'3 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 225 5 11 6 10 16 0 1 1 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM Pts/GP
Brandon Baddock LW 19 Edmonton WHL 59 15 17 32 -11 113 0.54
Height: 6'4 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 215 9 24 7 11 18 6 4 10 0 1 1

Name Age (as of 2/1) GP GS W L OTL SOL MIN GAA SV% GA%- GSAA
Anthony Brodeur 20 26 21 7 7 0 4 1248:37 3.70 0.879 116 -10.54
Height: 5'11 Gatineau/Drummondville SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 194 QMJHL 1 4.76% 7 33.33% 7 33.33% 3 14.29% 64.94% 31.17% 3.90%

Ryan Kujawinski continues to produce in bunches in February, scoring 2 goals and adding 2 assists in a game against Niagara on Sunday, after being held off the scoresheet for 3 games. He has 22 points in 22 games with North Bay. Connor Chatham has 1 goal over his last 4 games since coming off a 6 game scoring streak. Joseph Blandisi continues to be an offensive threat for Barrie as he had 2 assists against Owen Sound, 2 goals against Niagara, and 4 goals and an assist against Sudbury.

John Quenneville picked up 2 assists in a game against Saskatoon on Saturday. He has 4 assists over his last 6 games. Ryan Rehill had an assist, 4 penalty minutes, and -3 rating over 3 games for Kamloops. Brandon Baddock had a goal against Medicine Hat on Sunday. I didn't get a chance to see this game but if you watched it on the NHL Network, I'd love to read your comments on his game.

Anthony Brodeur started on Friday against Shawinigan but only made 19 saves on 24 shots to pick up the loss.

NCAA

Name Pos. Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO%
Blake Coleman C Miami 28 12 12 24 16 63 101 11.88% 3.61 0.86 63.06%
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 6 18 7 9 16 3 2 5 1 0 1
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO%
Blake Pietila C Michigan Tech 32 11 15 26 5 50 73 15.07% 2.28 0.81 59.77%
Height: 5'11 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 200 21 NCAA 9 20 6 3 9 4 11 15 0 1 1
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO%
Alex Kerfoot C Harvard 18 7 15 22 13 6 41 17.07% 2.28 1.22 45.30%
Height: 5'10 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 175 20 NCAA 7 14 5 8 13 1 5 6 0 1 1
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP Blk
Steve Santini D Boston College 16 1 4 5 2 18 28 3.57% 1.75 0.31 23
Height: 6'2 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 208 19 NCAA 2 3 1 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP Blk
Joshua Jacobs D Michigan State 28 0 6 6 -9 22 51 0.00% 1.82 0.21 54
Height: 6'2 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 191 18 NCAA 3 3 0 2 2 0 4 4 0 0 0

Blake Coleman had goals in back to back games for Miami against Minnesota Duluth, including the overtime winner on Saturday. He still has just 3 goals over his last 15 games. He is 3rd on Miami in goals though.

Alexander Kerfoot had a goal and 2 assists over 3 games for Harvard. He's currently tied for 3rd on Harvard in scoring despite having missed 9 games due to injury. Steve Santini had an assist in a Boston College win over Harvard yesterday in the consolation game for the Beanpot.

Joshua Jacobs had an even rating, with 7 shots, 4 blocks, and 2 penalty minutes over two games for Michigan State against Wisconsin. Blake Pietila and Michigan Tech had the weekend 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 35 5 4 9 -6 12 48 10.42% 1.37 0.26 39.22% 12:05
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
Artur Gavrus Dinamo Molodechno 4 2 4 6 -3 2 10 20.00% 2.50 1.50
A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
BXL 2 4 0 1 1 2 3 5 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP
Joey Dudek C Dubuque 40 6 6 12 -6 64 78 7.69% 1.95 0.30
Height: 5'11 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 185 19 USHL 3 9 4 6 10 1 0 1 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP
Miles Wood LW Noble & Greenough 14 14 14 28 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 still hasn't played for Dinamo Minsk since his latest injury, but he did suit up in the Belarus league again for Dinamo Molodechno, where he was held scoreless on 2/21. He didn't play in yesterday's game for Dinamo Molodechno so maybe he will be ready to play in the regular season finale for Dinamo Minsk today. Hopefully he can suit up for their playoff run.

Joey Dudek continues to struggle offensively, now going 7 games without a point for Dubuque. Miles Wood is back up to a 2 points per game pace for Nobles.

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 49 17 24 41 13 30 -2 42 126 13.49% 2.57 0.84 10 12 22 7 12 19 0 0 0 0 0 0
Paul Thompson 6'1 205 26 RW 51 23 18 41 16 39 10 61 172 13.37% 3.37 0.80 14 11 25 7 6 13 1 1 2 1 0 1
Mike Sislo 5'11 195 27 RW 43 14 12 26 6 20 0 43 94 14.89% 2.19 0.60 7 5 12 5 7 12 1 0 1 1 0 1
Brandon Burlon 6'0 190 24 D 52 5 19 24 12 17 1 72 64 7.81% 1.23 0.46 3 8 11 1 11 12 0 0 0 1 0 1
Reid Boucher 5'10 190 21 LW 49 12 11 23 5 17 -6 28 124 9.68% 2.53 0.47 5 4 9 7 6 13 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
Reece Scarlett 6'1 185 21 D 37 2 17 19 10 12 1 10 62 3.23% 1.68 0.51 2 8 10 0 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0
Stefan Matteau 6'2 220 20 LW 48 5 13 18 8 13 2 33 77 6.49% 1.60 0.38 2 7 9 3 6 9 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tim Sestito 5'11 195 30 C 38 7 9 16 6 13 -5 65 77 9.09% 2.03 0.42 5 6 11 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 3
Raman Hrabarenka 6'5 235 22 D 26 5 10 15 5 10 -2 18 46 10.87% 1.77 0.58 2 7 9 3 3 6 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ben Thomson 6'3 215 22 LW 50 7 7 14 5 12 -2 71 57 12.28% 1.14 0.28 7 6 13 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Darcy Zajac 6'1 205 28 RW 51 4 9 13 7 11 -10 74 82 4.88% 1.61 0.25 2 7 9 1 1 2 1 1 2 0 0 0
Graham Black 6'0 190 22 C 33 7 5 12 3 10 6 14 62 11.29% 1.88 0.36 3 3 6 4 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kelly Zajac 5'10 180 26 C 21 2 8 10 5 7 -4 16 26 7.69% 1.24 0.48 0 4 4 2 3 5 0 1 1 0 0 0
Dan Kelly 6'1 210 25 D 43 1 8 9 4 5 -4 94 33 3.03% 0.77 0.21 1 7 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
David Wohlberg 6'1 200 24 LW 34 4 4 8 2 6 3 14 30 13.33% 0.88 0.24 4 3 7 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rod Pelley 6'0 205 30 C 48 5 2 7 1 6 -5 36 68 7.35% 1.42 0.15 3 2 5 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
Corbin McPherson 6'5 220 26 D 54 1 5 6 3 4 -5 60 60 1.67% 1.11 0.11 1 5 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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
Chris McKelvie 6'1 195 29 LW 40 2 2 4 0 2 -16 50 45 4.44% 1.13 0.10 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Seth Helgeson 6'5 215 24 D 28 0 4 4 2 2 2 36 28 0.00% 1.00 0.14 0 2 2 0 2 2 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
Joe Faust 6'0 205 23 D 22 0 3 3 1 1 -3 14 20 0.00% 0.91 0.00 0 3 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
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
Ben Johnson 6'0 195 20 LW 25 1 1 2 1 2 -4 8 21 4.76% 0.84 0.08 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
Cam Janssen 6'0 210 30 RW 20 1 1 2 0 1 -2 25 11 9.09% 0.55 0.10 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mike Keenan 6'0 190 25 D 20 0 1 1 1 1 -3 15 23 0.00% 1.15 0.05 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Alexandre Carrier 6'3 210 23 RW 12 0 0 0 0 0 -2 10 11 0.00% 0.92 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 26 24 1454 7 12 3 2 2.89 0.900 118 -10.76
Height: 6'2 SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 190 0 0.00% 12 50.00% 5 20.83% 1 4.17% 71.43% 27.14% 1.43%
GP GS Min W L OTL SOL GAA SV% GA%- GSAA
Scott Clemmensen 37 15 14 872 5 8 0 1 2.75 0.900 118 -6.09
Height: 6'2 SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 200 1 7.14% 5 35.71% 4 28.57% 1 7.14% 52.50% 42.50% 5.00%
GP GS Min W L OTL SOL GAA SV% GA%- GSAA
Maxime Clermont 23 4 4 247 4 0 0 0 1.94 0.921 93 0.58
Height: 6'0 SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 200 0 0.00% 2 50.00% 0 0.00% 2 50.00% 50.00% 50.00% 0.00%

Albany managed to win a game while dropping the other two this week. They now have two wins out of their last 10 games played and sit in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, 7 points behind 8th place Providence. Albany's PP on the week was 3/17 to raise the season success rate up to 17.34%. The PK was 13/16 and now sits at 80.89%. Albany has an all situation PDO of 99.34% for the season but over their last 10 games is just 93.88%. They are only shooting 5.17% during this time with a lot of guys in slumps but the goaltending woes should come as no surprise. HockeyStats.ca has Albany with a 100.50% PDO and 50.55% estimated Fenwick Close.

Injury Update: It appears that Scott Timmins (leg injury) is the only injured player for Albany at the moment.

Transactions: With plenty of healthy players available, Mike Keenan and Alexandre Carrier were both returned to Orlando of the ECHL on 2/20. Scott Clemmensen was called up by New Jersey yesterday due to Keith Kinkaid's minor injury.

Friday 2/20: Albany lost to Syracuse 3-1. Kelly Zajac had the only Devils goal with Paul Thompson and Brandon Burlon picking up the assists. Reid Boucher had 4 shots as the Devils were outshot 24-21 by the Crunch. Scott Wedgewood made 21 saves on 24 shots. Albany went 1/4 on the PP and 3/3 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet and highlights.

Line Up (via ADevils twitter):

Whitney-K. Zajac-Sislo

Matteau-Sestito-Thompson

Boucher-Black-McKelvie

D. Zajac-Pelley-Janssen

Kelly-Hrabarenka

Burlon-McPherson

Helgeson-Scarlett

Saturday 2/21: Albany defeated Utica 2-1. Ben Thomson led the way for the Devils with a goal and an assist. Reece Scarlett had the other Devils goal. Brandon Burlon, Chris McKelvie, and Seth Helgeson each picked up an assist. David Wohlberg led the Devils with 3 shots as the Devils got outshot 32-23 by the Comets. Scott Clemmensen made 31 saves on 32 shots. Albany went 0/3 on the PP and 6/6 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:

Sunday 2/22: Albany lost to Springfield 4-2. Raman Hrabarenka and Kelly Zajac each had power play goals for the Devils. Seth Helgeson, Stefan Matteau, Joe Whitney, and Mike Sislo each had an assist. Tim Sestito led the Devils with 5 shots as they outshot the Falcons 41-21. Scott Clemmensen made 17 saves on 21 shots. Albany went 2/9 on the PP and 4/7 on the PK. An incident between Paul Thompson and the Falcons goaltender at the final whistle resulted in Helgeson picking up a fighting major, Sestito and Sislo getting game misconducts, and someone on Albany's bench getting a game misconduct. Here is the gamesheet and highlights:

Still Struggling: Stefan Matteau had an assist on Sunday to go along with his first 2+ shot game since mid-Janaury but that still just broke a 10 game scoring drought. According to Quant Hockey he is at the AHL median in points per game and below it in goals per game. Reid Boucher is currently on a 7 game scoring drought and has just 2 goals and 4 assists over his last 22 games. He has a 3.77 SH% and 2.41 SH/GP during that time so hopefully he can start converting on some of these shots. According to Quant Hockey, Boucher is in-between the median and 75th percentile in points per game and is about at the 75th percentile in goals per game.

Coming Up: Albany has another three in three. They take on Syracuse on Friday, Hershey on Saturday, and Binghamton 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 33 9 9 18 5 14 -12 25 91 9.89% 2.76 0.55 8 4 12 1 5 6 0 0 0 0 0 0
Alexandre Carrier 6'3 210 23 RW 7 0 1 1 0 0 -2 2 7 0.00% 1.00 0.14 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Eric Baier 6'2 210 26 D 32 5 8 13 4 9 6 11 82 6.10% 2.56 0.41 4 6 10 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 0
Mike Keenan 6'0 190 25 D 23 0 6 6 2 2 0 16 33 0.00% 1.43 0.26 0 5 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0

Name Age (as of 2/1) GP GS Min W L OTL SOL GAA SV% GA%- GSAA
Maxime Clermont 23 12 10 694 6 4 0 1 3.63 0.877 143 -12.67
Height: 6'0 SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 200 0 0.00% 2 20.00% 3 30.00% 1 10.00% 80.95% 14.29% 4.76%

Myles Bell remained sidelined with an undisclosed injury.

Alexandre Carrier played in his first ECHL game since December, picking up an assist for Orlando on Saturday. Eric Baier was a -2 with 14 shots over 4 games for Orlando. Mike Keenan played in his first ECHL action since November, going a -1 with 4 shots over 2 games for Orlando. Maxime Clermont started twice for Orlando, picking up a quality start and a really bad start. On Friday he made 32 saves on 34 shots to get his first ECHL win since November. He followed that up the next night by making just 24 saves on 29 shots and losing in a shootout.

Prospect of the Week

Joseph Blandisi is the clear cut prospect of the week after notching 6 goals and 3 assists over 3 games. He's currently on a 8 game scoring streak in which he has 12 goals and 8 assists. He currently leads the OHL in goals, is 10th in assists, and is 4th in scoring. According to CHL Stats, he has an age adjusted points per game of 0.84, a NHLe of 42 which ranks 6th among OHL forwards (min. 45 GP), is second with a goals created per game of 0.702, has the highest estimated time on ice at 32.13, and an estimated points per 60 of 3.24.

ADevil of the Week

Honestly, it's hard to pick an ADevil of the week with the team struggling this much. I'll give this week's honors to Kelly Zajac as he had 2 power play goals. It's been a tough year for the center due to injuries causing him to miss most of the season. I was looking forward to how he would do after a strong rookie campaign saw him put up 44 points in 67 games. I hope he can stay healthy and productive the rest of the way since he could provide Albany with a nice offensive boost.

Prospects on TV

-- Thursday 2/26: Michigan State (Jacobs) vs. Minnesota on the Big Ten Network at 9 PM ET.

-- Friday 2/27: Boston College (Santini) vs. Notre Dame on NBCSN at 7:30 PM ET.

-- Friday 2/27: Michigan State (Jacobs) vs. Minnesota on the Big Ten Network at 9 PM ET.

-- Saturday 2/28: Boston College (Santini) vs. Notre Dame on NBCSN at 6 PM ET.

Your Take

Are you excited about Blandisi's play or are you tempering your enthusiasm? Did you get a chance to watch Baddock last week, and if so, what are your thoughts on his game? Does Kerfoot intrigue you as a prospect? What do you think about the struggling ADevils. Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!