New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 12/20/16

This post will recap the 11th week of Devils prospect action for the 2016-17 season. It's highlighted by Speers and McLeod making Canada's WJC team, Anderson (USA), and Rykov (Russia) continuing to fight for spots on their respective teams, and Albany having a solid week.

QMJHL

Brandon Gignac returned to Shawinigan's line up after a missing a game due to injury. He opened the week with an even rating, shot, and won 9/16 faceoffs against Chicoutimi on Friday. The next night against Quebec, he had a goal and 2 assists (all even strength), +4, 5 shots, and won 6/12 faceoffs to earn 2nd star.

OHL

In expected (but still big) news this week, Blake Speers and Michael McLeod were both named to Canada's roster for the upcoming World Junior Championships. Here is John's post on the news. Canada took on Finland in a pre-WJC match last night with Speers skating as the top line RW with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Dylan Strome. McLeod was the 13th forward and will look to make his mark in a utility role with his explosive speed. WJC action starts on 12/26.

Colton White played 3 games last week, adding a short handed goal, +2, 2 PIM, and 5 shots to his season totals.

Nathan Bastian was held off the scoresheet in a game against Hamilton on Friday. He did finish with an even rating and won 6/7 faceoffs. This snaps his 4 game point streak in which he had a goal and 5 assists. He had 8 goals over his first 18 games of the season but now has just a single goal over his last 10 games. His shots per game rate was 2.83 during that first stretch and is 2.30 during the second stretch. Unfortunately he suffered an injury which caused him to leave the Hamilton game early and miss the next 2. Iain Colpitts reported that Bastian underwent the concussion protocol after leaving the game. No further word on his condition as of this writing.

Evan Cormier had a mixed week starting with a strong performance against Flint on Wednesday in which he earned a win after stopping 30 of 31 shots, only surrending a goal on a Flint PP. He had a tough go of things on Saturday in a loss to Sarnia where he gave up 6 goals at even strength. That game snaps a 6 game run of Quality Starts in which he had a .941 SV%.

WHL

Colby Sissons was a +1 over the course of 3 games last week for Swift Current as he continues to be an important member of the Broncos blue line.

NCAA

Alexander Kerfoot, JD Dudek, and Brett Seney are off until next week.

Joey Anderson is currently competing to earn a place on the USA WJC team.

Jeremy Davies had an assist, +2, 2 PIM, and 2 blocks against Michigan State on Sunday.

Europe

Yegor Rykov and Mikhail Maltsev spent the past week competing for spots on Russia's WJC roster. Rykov is still in the mix but Maltsev has been cut from the team.

Jesper Bratt was a -1 with an average ice time of 6:21 across 2 games for AIK last week.

AHL

Albany won won 2 of their 3 games last week and currently sit 2nd in the North Division with 31 points after 28 games. Their all situation PDO is currently 99.52%. They currently have a Shots For% of 50.84%. The PP is currently operating at 15.15% which is 24th in the league, while the PK is at 81.68% which is 17th in the league.

Injury Update: Carter Camper (upper body), Ryan Kujawinski (lower body), and Scott Wedgewood (shoulder) remain sidelined.

Transactions: Yohann Auvitu was loaned to Albany by New Jersey on 12/14 with Luke Gazdic going the other way. Josh Jacobs was reassigned to Adirondack (ECHL) on 12/15 and then reassigned to Albany on 12/17.

Wednesday 12/14: Albany defeated Utica 3-2 (OT). Blake Pietila had 2 goals, including the game winner, while Ben Sexton had the other one. Brian Gibbons, Blake Coleman, John Quenneville, and Petr Straka had an assist each. Joe Blandisi, Max Novak, and Pietila had 4 shots each as the Devils outshot the Comets 33-21. Mackenzie Blackwood made 19 saves. Albany went 1/3 on the PP and 1/2 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

Saturday 12/17: Albany defeated Toronto 3-1. Brian Gibbons had 2 goals with Blake Coleman picking up the other. Joe Blandisi had 2 assists followed by Coleman, Blake Pietila, John Quenneville, and Gibbons with one each. Blandisi and Gibbons had 5 shots each as the Devils were outshot 35-25. Ken Appleby made 34 saves. Albany went 1/5 on the PP and 4/4 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

Sunday 12/18: Albany lost to Toronto 4-1. Jan Mandat had the Devils only goal. Brian Gibbons had 4 shots as the Devils outshot the Marlies 33-30. Mackenzie Blackwood made 29 saves. Albany went 0/4 on the PP and 2/4 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

Coming Up: Albany will take on Binghamton tomorrow night and Providence on Monday night.

ECHL

Josh Jacobs made his ECHL debut for Adirondack on Friday against Brampton. He finished the evening a +2 with 2 shots.

Prospect of the Week

Brandon Gignac earns this week's honors after his 3 point performance against Quebec. The speedy center now has a goal, 7 assists, and 13 shots over his last 5 games as he continues to be an integral part of Shawinigan's offense.

ADevil of the Week

Brian Gibbons earns this week's honors after posting 2 goals, 2 assists, and 9 shots over 3 games last week. The veteran forward has 6 points over his last 6 games and is currently 5th on the team in scoring with 13 points in 25 games.

Your Take

What are your expectations for the upcoming World Junior Championship? Which prospects stood out to you this week? What about the results Albany had? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!