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New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 1/24/17

Week 16 of the 2016-17 prospect update saw Brandon Gignac explode for Shawinigan, a handful of players return for Albany, and Ken Appleby take control of the #1 spot for the ADevils.

2016 NHL Draft - Portraits
Brandon Gignac had a very busy, yet productive week for Shawinigan in QMJHL play.
Photo by Jeffrey T. Barnes/Getty Images

This post will recap the 16th week of Devils prospect action for the 2016-17 season. It's highlighted by Brandon Gignac's strong play in QMJHL action, Albany continuing to find a way to get results, and Ken Appleby solidifying his #1 status.

QMJHL

Name Pos. Age Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO% DOB
Brandon Gignac C 19.22 Shawinigan 37 14 29 43 13 20 13.86% 2.73 1.16 56.16% 11/7/1997
Height: 5'11 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts NHLe
Weight: 179 18 32 5 20 25 8 9 17 0 0 0 25

Brandon Gignac had a very productive week for Shawinigan. He posted 4 assists, +4, 2 shots, and won 17/28 faceoffs against Drummondville on Wednesday. He would then add a goal and an assist along with a +2, 2 shots, and won 7/14 faceoffs against Blainville-Boisbriand on Friday. On Sunday he had a goal, +1, 4 shots, and won 8/15 faceoffs against Quebec.

OHL

Name Pos. Age Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO%
Blake Speers RW 20.07 Sault Ste. Marie 8 5 4 9 -2 0 16.13% 3.88 1.13 56.52%
Height: 5'11 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts NHLe
Weight: 183 3 8 4 2 6 0 2 2 1 0 1 28
Pos. Age Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH% SH/GP Pts/GP
Colton White D 19.74 Sault Ste. Marie 42 4 17 21 16 33 5.63% 1.69 0.50
Height: 6'1 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts NHLe
Weight: 193 8 12 3 15 18 0 2 2 1 0 1 12
Pos. Age Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO%
Michael McLeod C 18.98 Mississauga 33 8 26 34 2 33 7.34% 3.30 1.03 60.85%
Height: 6'2 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts NHLe
Weight: 195 17 25 5 18 23 2 7 9 1 1 2 25
Pos. Age GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO%
Nathan Bastian RW 19.15 Mississauga 39 12 26 38 11 30 11.88% 2.59 0.97 48.71%
Height: 6'4 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts NHLe
Weight: 219 16 28 8 19 27 2 6 8 2 0 2 24
Name Age GP GS W L OTL SOL GAA SV% GA%- GSAA GSAA/60
Evan Cormier 19.23 32 32 15 11 4 2 3.28 0.899 104 -3.77 -0.12
Height: 6'2 Saginaw SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 215 OHL 2 6.25% 19 59.38% 7 21.88% 2 6.25% 70.87% 28.16% 0.97%

Blake Speers had 3 goals, an assist, -3, 10 shots, and won 16/27 faceoffs over the course of 3 games for Sault Ste. Marie. Colton White played in all 3 of those games and had a goal, 2 assists, +3, 2 PIM, and 3 shots.

Michael McLeod had an assist, -3, 5 shots, and won 24/41 faceoffs in 2 games for Mississauga last week. Nathan Bastian was a -1 with 4 shots and won 17/38 faceoffs during that stretch.

Evan Cormier won both of his starts for Saginaw last week. He made 20 saves on 23 shots against Sudbury on Friday. He made 28 saves on 31 shots against North Bay on Sunday.

WHL

Name Pos. Age Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM Pts/GP NHLe
Colby Sissons D 19.04 Swift Current 45 6 16 22 3 18 0.49 10
Height: 6'2 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 190 12 18 4 10 14 2 6 8 0 0 0

Colby Sissons was a -1 across 3 games for Swift Current last week.

NCAA

Name Pos. Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO% NHLe
Alex Kerfoot C Harvard 19 8 18 26 8 8 16.00% 2.63 1.37 46.89% 29
Height: 5'10 Age League A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 175 22.47 ECAC 13 21 2 9 11 5 4 9 1 3 4
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO% NHLe
JD Dudek LW Boston College 26 9 4 13 8 14 13.04% 2.65 0.50 0.00% 14
Height: 5'11 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 185 21.00 Hockey East 3 12 7 3 10 1 1 2 1 0 1
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO% NHLe
Brett Seney C Merrimack 23 6 12 18 5 22 15.38% 1.70 0.78 43.18% 21
Height: 5'9 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 170 20.92 Hockey East 7 13 6 5 11 0 7 7 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO% NHLe
Joey Anderson RW Minnesota Duluth 21 6 13 19 6 2 12.00% 2.38 0.90 12.50% 22
Height: 6'0 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 195 18.61 Hockey East 8 14 6 11 17 0 2 2 0 0 0
GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH% SH/GP Pts/GP BLK NHLe
Jeremy Davies D Northeastern 24 5 6 11 -7 26 9.43% 2.21 0.46 43 12
Height: 5'11 A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts
Weight: 182 20.15 Hockey East 1 6 3 2 5 2 4 6 0 0 0

Alexander Kerfoot had an assist, -2, 2 PIM, 8 shots, and won 56.76% of his faceoffs over the course of 3 games for Harvard last week.

JD Dudek had a goal, +1, and 5 shots in BC's win over UMass on Friday.

Merrimack and Northeastern faced off in a home and home last weekend. Brett Seney was a -1 with 2 PIM and 4 shots for Merrimack. Jeremy Davies had a goal, assist, even rating, 2 PIM, and 2 shots for Northeastern.

Joey Anderson had an assist, -1, 4 shots, and won 1/4 faceoffs over the course of 2 games against North Dakota last weekend.

Europe

Name Pos. Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP BLK ATOI
Yegor Rykov D SKA St. Petersburg 39 0 7 7 11 4 32 0.00% 0.82 0.18 34 12:27
Height: 6'2 Age League A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts NHLe
Weight: 216 19.79 KHL 5 5 0 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 11
Name Pos. Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO% ATOI
Mikhail Maltsev C SKA-Neva 26 0 11 11 7 19 46 0.00% 1.77 0.42 58.53% 11:41
Height: 6'3 Age League A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts NHLe
Weight: 205 18.88 VHL 8 8 0 10 10 0 1 1 0 0 0 13
Name Pos. Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO% ATOI
Mikhail Maltsev C SKA-1946 14 5 9 14 11 2 36 13.89% 2.57 1.00 63.29% N/A
Height: 6'3 Age League A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts NHLe
Weight: 205 18.88 MHL 4 9 4 7 11 1 1 2 0 1 1 15
Name Pos. Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP FO% ATOI
Jesper Bratt LW AIK 33 4 13 17 -3 6 45 8.89% 1.36 0.52 0.00% 13:33
Height: 5'10 Age League A1 Pts1 EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts NHLe
Weight: 174 18.50 Allsvenskan 9 13 4 12 16 0 1 1 0 0 0 33

Yegor Rykov had an even rating, 2 shots, and played about 12:45 in both of SKA's 2 games last week.

Mikhail Maltsev played in 3 VHL games last week, adding a -1, 4 shots, 12/28 faceoffs, with an average ice time of 11:22.

Jesper Bratt had a goal, 2 assists, +2, and 3 shots with an average ice time of 13:04 across 2 games for AIK last week.

AHL

Name Height Weight Age Pos GP G A PTS A1 Pts1 +/- PIM SH SH% SH/GP Pts/GP GC GC/GP NHLe EVG EVA EV Pts PPG PPA PP Pts SHG SHA SH Pts ENG ENA EN Pts
John Quenneville 6'1 205 20.79 C 35 10 18 28 9 19 -8 25 95 10.53% 2.71 0.80 10.70 0.31 29 5 8 13 5 10 15 0 0 0 0 0 0
Blake Pietila 5'11 200 23.94 LW 37 13 12 25 7 20 1 29 82 15.85% 2.22 0.68 10.70 0.29 24 7 10 17 4 2 6 0 0 0 2 0 2
Blake Coleman 5'11 200 25.17 C 34 13 10 23 5 18 15 32 74 17.57% 2.18 0.68 10.13 0.30 24 11 9 20 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 0
Ben Sexton 5'11 195 25.65 C 42 13 10 23 2 15 1 41 78 16.67% 1.86 0.55 10.13 0.24 20 6 5 11 7 5 12 0 0 0 0 0 0
Joe Blandisi 6'0 200 22.53 C 26 7 14 21 8 15 -3 44 52 13.46% 2.00 0.81 7.88 0.30 29 5 6 11 2 8 10 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brian Gibbons 5'8 175 28.93 LW 39 9 10 19 5 14 -5 22 57 15.79% 1.46 0.49 7.88 0.20 18 5 8 13 4 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0
Reece Scarlett 6'1 185 23.83 D 40 2 14 16 6 8 -6 34 66 3.03% 1.65 0.40 5.07 0.13 14 1 6 7 1 8 9 0 0 0 0 0 0
Carter Camper 5'9 175 28.57 C 17 2 13 15 8 10 4 6 30 6.67% 1.76 0.88 4.79 0.28 32 2 6 8 0 7 7 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rod Pelley 6'0 205 32.42 LW 42 6 5 11 5 11 0 12 41 14.63% 0.98 0.26 4.79 0.11 9 5 5 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
Kevin Rooney 6'2 190 23.69 C 42 8 3 11 3 11 2 31 63 12.70% 1.50 0.26 5.35 0.13 9 6 1 7 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 1 2
Jan Mandat 6'0 205 21.20 C 23 4 6 10 6 10 5 2 25 16.00% 1.09 0.43 3.94 0.17 16 4 6 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Vojtech Mozik 6'3 200 24.09 D 36 5 5 10 4 9 12 34 81 6.17% 2.25 0.28 4.22 0.12 10 1 4 5 4 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 0
Karl Stollery 5'11 180 29.19 D 33 0 9 9 4 4 11 22 33 0.00% 1.00 0.27 2.53 0.08 10 0 6 6 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
Max Novak 5'11 180 25.79 C 35 4 5 9 3 7 -5 15 48 8.33% 1.37 0.26 3.66 0.10 9 1 1 2 1 2 3 1 1 2 1 1 2
Brandon Gormley 6'2 195 24.95 D 26 2 6 8 3 5 -10 22 36 5.56% 1.38 0.31 2.81 0.11 11 1 2 3 1 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 0
Petr Straka 6'0 185 24.62 LW 18 2 6 8 3 5 -4 10 29 6.90% 1.61 0.44 2.81 0.16 16 2 3 5 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ryan Kujawinski 6'2 200 21.84 C 17 3 4 7 3 6 5 16 20 15.00% 1.18 0.41 2.81 0.17 15 3 2 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1
Miles Wood 6'2 215 21.38 LW 14 3 3 6 3 6 -2 32 41 7.32% 2.93 0.43 2.53 0.18 15 2 2 4 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Seth Helgeson 6'4 215 26.31 D 30 2 3 5 2 4 11 37 29 6.90% 0.97 0.17 1.97 0.07 6 2 3 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nick Lappin 6'1 175 24.24 RW 9 1 4 5 4 5 -2 2 10 10.00% 1.11 0.56 1.69 0.19 20 1 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ben Thomson 6'3 205 24.04 LW 42 3 2 5 2 5 -7 61 63 4.76% 1.50 0.12 2.25 0.05 4 3 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Josh Jacobs 6'2 200 20.95 D 24 0 4 4 2 2 -2 28 25 0.00% 1.04 0.17 1.13 0.05 6 0 3 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jacob MacDonald 6'0 208 23.92 D 8 2 2 4 1 3 2 0 17 11.76% 2.13 0.50 1.69 0.21 18 0 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Yohann Auvitu 5'11 190 27.51 D 7 0 3 3 1 1 0 0 19 0.00% 2.71 0.43 0.84 0.12 15 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Andrew MacWilliam 6'2 230 26.85 D 36 0 2 2 1 1 -12 65 39 0.00% 1.08 0.06 0.56 0.02 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Luke Gadzic 6'4 225 27.52 LW 13 0 2 2 1 1 -2 19 9 0.00% 0.69 0.15 0.56 0.04 6 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brian Ward 6'1 205 24.96 LW 8 0 1 1 0 0 -2 0 4 0.00% 0.50 0.13 0.28 0.04 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ty Loney 6'3 205 24.92 RW 4 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 5 0.00% 1.25 0.25 0.28 0.07 9 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Steve Santini 6'2 210 21.90 D 15 0 0 0 0 0 4 25 16 0.00% 1.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Justin Agosta 6'3 205 26.31 D 2 0 0 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0.00% 0.50 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tylor Spink 5'10 180 24.08 C 4 0 0 0 0 0 -4 4 4 0.00% 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Name Age GP GS W L OTL SOL GAA SV% GA%- GSAA GSAA/60
Mackenzie Blackwood 20.14 17 16 7 7 1 1 3.20 0.888 124 -9.48 -0.63
Height: 6'4 MIN SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 215 899.02 0 0.00% 3 18.75% 3 18.75% 4 25.00% 60.42% 37.50% 2.08%
Age GP GS W L OTL SOL GAA SV% GA%- GSAA GSAA/60
Scott Wedgewood 24.46 10 8 5 3 0 0 2.18 0.912 98 0.43 0.05
Height: 6'2 MIN SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 190 549.87 0 0.00% 2 25.00% 1 12.50% 3 37.50% 60.00% 30.00% 10.00%
Age GP GS W L OTL SOL GAA SV% GA%- GSAA GSAA/60
Ken Appleby 21.81 18 18 12 6 0 0 1.89 0.927 81 7.94 0.44
Height: 6'4 MIN SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 210 1079.033333 0 0.00% 11 61.11% 1 5.56% 2 11.11% 76.47% 17.65% 5.88%

Albany went 2-1 last week and currently sit 2nd in the North Division with 50 points after 42 games. Their all situation PDO is currently 100.48%. They currently have a Shots For% of 51.36%. The PP is currently operating at 17.58% which is 14th in the league, while the PK is at 83.87% which is 9th in the league.

Injury Update: Joe Blandisi (oblique), Jan Mandat (leg), and John Quenneville (illness) returned to action. Petr Straka (upper body) and Scott Wedgewood (shoulder) remain sidelined.

Transactions: Brian Ward and Justin Agosta were released from their PTO's on 1/17. Agosta was signed to another one on 1/19 after getting a chance to play in the ECHL All-Star game. Blake Coleman was returned by New Jersey on 1/21.

Wednesday 1/18: Albany defeated Syracuse 3-2 in OT. Ryan Kujawinski and Vojtech Mozik had the goals in regulation with Kevin Rooney picking up the game winner in overtime. Ben Sexton had 2 assists followed by Brian Gibbons, Carter Camper, Reece Scarlett, and Jacob MacDonald with an assist each. Andrew MacWilliam, Max Novak, Sexton, and Mozik had 3 shots each as the Devils were outshot 26 to 31. Ken Appleby made 29 saves. Albany went 1/3 on the PP and 4/4 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

Saturday 1/21: Albany lost to St. John's 4-2. Vojtech Mozik and Ryan Kujawinski had the goals while Nick Lappin and Josh Jacobs had the assists. Ben Thomson had 4 shots as the Devils outshot the IceCaps 28-19. Ken Appleby made 15 saves. Albany went 0/2 on the PP and 4/4 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

Sunday 1/22: Albany defeated St. John's 2-1 in OT. Jacob MacDonald had the goal in regulation with Carter Camper and John Quenneville earning the assists. Joe Blandisi had the game winner in overtime with Nick Lappin assisting on the goal. Quenneville had 4 shots as the Devils outshot the IceCaps 32-22. Ken Appleby made 21 saves. Albany went 1/5 on the PP and 2/2 on the PK. Here is the gamesheet.

Another All-Star: Vojtech Mozik was added to the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic on Friday. The event will take place on Monday 1/30 in Allentown, PA. Mozik has 5 goals, 5 assists, 34 PIM, a +12 rating, and 81 shots in 36 games this season.

Coming Up: Albany will take on Rochester on Friday and Saturday.

ECHL

Name Height Weight Age 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
Brandon Baddock 6'4 215 21.84 F 11 0 2 2 2 2 1 7 8 0.00% 0.73 0.18 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Josh Jacobs 6'2 200 20.95 D 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0.00% 2.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Name Age GP GS W L OTL SOL GAA SV% GA%- GSAA GSAA/60
Ken Appleby 21.81 6 6 4 1 0 1 1.98 0.915 89 1.49 0.25
Height: 6'4 MIN SO SO% QS QS% RBS RBS% BO BO% EVG% PPG% SHG%
Weight: 205 363.23 1 16.67% 4 66.67% 0 0.00% 1 16.67% 50.00% 41.67% 8.33%

Brandon Baddock made his return to the Adirondack line up last week, appearing in 2 games with an assist, +1, and 7 PIM.

Prospect of the Week

Brandon Gignac earned this week's honors after posting 2 goals, 5 assists, +7, 8 shots, and a 56.14 FO% over the course of 3 games for Shawinigan. He's in a 3 way tie for 3rd in points on his team with 43 in 37 games and is 2nd in assists with 29. Hopefully he can keep up this play throughout the 2nd half of the season.

ADevil of the Week

This week's honors go to Ryan Kujawinski after he had 2 goals, +1, and 4 shots over the course of 3 games last week. The young forward was sidelined from mid-November to January due to injury but appears to be getting his season back on track. He's had an up and down career from juniors to the pro game, but will have a great oppurtunity to finish the 2nd half of the season strong for Albany. Hopefully he can take advantage of it.

Your Take

What are your thoughts on Gignac as a prospect? How do you feel about Appleby becoming Albany's undisputed #1? What else stood out to you this week? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!