New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 1/17/17

This post will recap the 15th week of Devils prospect action for the 2016-17 season. It's highlighted by the Devils junior skaters produce, Evan Cormier have a rough week after a string of solid starts, and Albany continue to get results despite a depleted roster.

QMJHL

Brandon Gignac had himself a busy but productive week for Shawinigan. Over the course of 4 games he had 2 power play goals, -3, 4 PIM, 15 shots, and won 50.67% of his faceoffs.

OHL

Blake Speers had a fine week with a goal, 3 assists, +1, 13 shots, and won 50.00% of his faceoffs over the course of 3 games. His assist against London on Sunday was on the game winning goal in overtime. Colton White also assisted on that game winning goal, finishing the week with an assist, +1, and 3 shots.

Michael McLeod had 2 goals, an assist, +3, 5 shots, and won 71.43% of his faceoffs over the course of 3 games last week. Nathan Bastian had a goal, 2 assists, +2, 2 PIM, 5 shots, and won 50.00% of his faceoffs during that stretch.

Evan Cormier had a real tough week for Saginaw. Last Tuesday, he started against Flint and quickly surrendered 3 goals on 7 shots in 6:13 before being removed. Brendan Bonello came into the game and then gave up 4 goals on 12 shots in 24:46 which led to Cormier being reinstated. Cormier closed out that game by giving up 4 goals on 16 shots in 29:01. Both goalies will surely want a few of those goals back since some of them weren't great, but in fairness to them the defense in front of them did concede numerous odd man rushes throughout the game. Cormier would start against a stacked London team on Sunday and made 29 saves on 33 shots in a loss.

WHL

Colby Sissons played 4 games last week, adding a goal, assist, +4, and 4 PIM to his season totals.

NCAA

Alexander Kerfoot had a goal, -2, 2 PIM, 6 shots, and won 40.91% of his faceoffs across 2 games for Harvard last weekend.

JD Dudek was a -1 with 5 shots and won 1/2 faceoffs over the course of 2 games against Boston University last week.

Brett Seney had an assist, -1, 2 PIM, and won a faceoff over the course of 2 games against Notre Dame last weekend. His numbers may not pop out all that much, but he's still Merrimack's leading scorer with 17 points in 21 games.

Joey Anderson was a -1 with 3 shots and a lost faceoff over the course of 2 games against St. Cloud State.

Jeremy Davies had a goal, -4, and 6 shots over the course of 2 games against New Hampshire.

Europe

Yegor Rykov played in 3 games last week, but it looks like I missed one of his last games from the prior week so for our purposes here's how he did over his last 4 games. Rykov added 2 assists, +1, 2 shots, a block, and played roughly 12:30 per game over that stretch.

Mikhail Maltsev played in 2 VHL games, adding 2 assists, +3, 4 PIM, won 57.14% of his faceoffs, and had an average ice time of 13:26.

Jesper Bratt was a -1 with 9 shots and an average ice time of 13:26 over the course of 3 games for AIK last week. He has not recorded a point in 10 games or a goal in 21 games. In fairness to him, he is playing in a tough league for an 18 year old, and is currently 2nd among all U19 players in assists and 3rd in points.

AHL

Albany went 2-1 last week and currently sit 2nd in the North Division with 46 points after 39 games. Their all situation PDO is currently 100.55%. They currently have a Shots For% of 51.13%. The PP is currently operating at 17.44% which is 14th in the league, while the PK is at 82.95% which is 12th in the league.

Injury Update: Joe Blandisi (oblique), Petr Straka (upper body), Jan Mandat (leg), and Scott Wedgewood (shoulder) remain sidelined. John Quenneville missed the past 3 games due to illness.

Transactions: New Jersey recalled Karl Stollery and Blake Coleman on 1/10. Albany signed Tylor Spink and Ty Loney to PTO's on 1/11. New Jersey returned Nick Lappin on 1/13 and Albany signed Justin Agosta on 1/13. Spink was released from his PTO on 1/16.

Wednesday 1/11: Albany defeated Springfield 3-2 in OT. Carter Camper and Ryan Kujawinski had the goals in regulation while Ben Sexton had the game winning goal in overtime. Ben Thomson, Rod Pelley, Brian Ward, and Blake Pietila earned an assist each. Vojtech Mozik had 6 shots followed by Reece Scarlett with 4 as the Devils outshot the Thunderbirds 37-35. Ken Appleby made 33 saves. Albany went 0/5 on the PP and 4/4 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

Friday 1/13: Albany lost to Springfield 3-2 in OT. Jacob MacDonald scored a short handed goal from Max Novak for Albany's 1st goal. Ben Sexton had Albany's 2nd goal with Carter Camper and Brandon Gormley earning the assists on the power play. Camper, Ty Loney, and MacDonald had 3 shots as the Devils outshot the Thunderbirds 26-19. Mackenzie Blackwood made 16 saves. Albany went 1/3 on the PP and 3/3 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

Saturday 1/14: Albany defeated Binghamton 3-2. Ben Sexton had 2 goals while Brandon Gormley had a goal and an assist. Carter Camper had 2 assists while Ty Loney had 1 himself. Kevin Rooney and Ben Thomson had 4 shots each as the Devils outshot the Senators 34-23. Ken Appleby made 21 saves. Albany went 2/2 on the PP and 2/2 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

More PTO's: Due to injuries and call ups, Albany had to sign 3 more players to PTO's last week. Tylor Spink is a 24 year old center that has 36 points in 33 games with Toledo (ECHL) this season. He also appeared in a single AHL game for Milwaukee this season. He spent 4 seasons with Colgate from 2012-16, appearing in 133 games with 47 goals and 68 assists. Ty Loney is a 24 year old right wing that has 32 points in 30 games with Adirondack (ECHL) this season. He spent 4 seasons with the University of Denver from 2011-15, appearing in 152 games with 39 goals and 50 assists. He split last season between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) and Wheeling (ECHL). Justin Agosta is a 26 year old defensemen from New York. He even spent 10 games with the New Jersey Hitmen (EJHL) back in 2009-10 prior to his collegiate career. He played 3 seasons for the University of New Hampshire and transferred to Quinnipiac for his senior season. He finished his NCAA career with 12 goals and 55 assists in 155 games. He split last season between Charlotte (AHL) and Florida (ECHL). This season he had 21 points in 30 games for Manchester (ECHL) and also appeared in a single game for San Antonio (AHL).

Coming Up: Albany will take on Syracuse tomorrow followed by 2 against St. John's on Saturday and Sunday.

ECHL

Brandon Baddock has remained sidelined for Adirondack

Prospect of the Week

I'm going to give this week's honors to Colby Sissons after his goal, assist, and +4 performance over the course of 4 games. He's established himself as a pivotal member of the Swift Current blue line in his 2nd WHL season playing in increased role at even strength and on the power play. He's even equaled his point total from last season in 29 less games.

ADevil of the Week

Ben Sexton earns this week's honors after scoring 4 goals on 8 shots over the course of 3 games. He is tied with Blake Pietila and Blake Coleman for the team lead with 13 goals and is currently 4th in points with 21. The former Clarkson University product was a 7th round pick of the Boston Bruins in 2009 but was never able to progress past Providence (AHL) over the past 2 seasons. So far the 25 year old has been taking advantage of his increased role with Albany by posting his best AHL season to date.

Your Take

Which prospects stood out to you this week? What are your thoughts on these prospects as we enter the middle of January? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!