New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 11/28/17

The eighth week of the 2017-18 prospect update is here. It's highlighted by the returns of Joey Anderson and Jesper Boqvist, Jocktan Chainey and Evan Cormier turning in strong displays in junior action, and Yegor Zaitsev suffering an injury that could likely keep him out of the WJC.

QMJHL

Jocktan Chainey shined this week with a 2 assists game against Moncton on Tuesday and a 3 assists game against Saint John on Saturday. Overall, across 4 games last week he had 5 assists, +3, 8 PIM, and 5 shots. Chainey is currently tied for 5th in assists by defensemen in the league with 17 and leads the Halifax defensemen in scoring with 19 points.

OHL

Michael McLeod had a goal and an assist against Sarnia on Friday before being held scoreless against Niagara and Oshawa the following two nights. Overall in 3 games last week, McLeod had a goal, assist, -1, 2 PIM, 7 shots, and a 64.29 FO%.

Marian Studenic continues to be an all-around threat for Hamilton, adding a goal, 2 assists, +3, 2 PIM, and 11 shots over 3 games for Hamilton last weekend. The Bulldogs are on a great run of form lately and have moved up to 1st place in the Eastern Conference. They further bolstered their forward group with the additions of Nicholas Caamano and Ryan Moore this past week. Competition will be intense for top 6 spots, but it should bring out the best in Studenic.

Evan Cormier had a strong week for Saginaw. He made 27 saves on 28 shots in a victory over Flint on Wednesday. He would repeat that performance with 35 saves on 36 shots in a victory against Flint on Friday. Both of the goals he gave up came while Saginaw was shorthanded. Cormier has a .969 SV% and 3 Quality Starts in his last 3 games.Evan Cormier

WHL

Colby Sissons had an assist, -1, 2 PIM, and 13 shots over 3 games for Swift Current last week. Justin Froese, Head of Western Canadian scouting for Future Considerations, noted last week on twitter that Sissons has become a "Mr. Everything for the Broncos."

NCAA

Brett Seney and Merrimack had the week off. They will be back in action on Friday against Northeastern.

JD Dudek was a -1 with 2 PIM, 3 shots, and won 1/3 faceoffs in a tie against Harvard on Friday.

Joey Anderson made his return to the Minnesota Duluth top line on Saturday, after missing 6 games due to an upper body injury, and had an assist, even rating, and 2 shots.

Jeremy Davies and Northeastern had the week off. They will return to action tonight against UConn.

Reilly Walsh was a +1 with 2 PIM and 3 shots in Harvard's tie against Boston College on Friday. Chris Dilks of SBN College Hockey posted this in-depth report on Walsh yesterday. Dilks notes that Walsh is essentially playing 2nd pairing minutes at even strength and top PP minutes. He breaks down Walsh's skating and offensive game, while also noting areas that will need improvement, namely his defensive game. Here's what Dilks had to say on Walsh's future:

As I said earlier, Walsh is likely 2-3 years from being ready for the pros. He’s sort of apprenticing under Adam Fox this year, and should evolve into Harvard’s go-to defenseman in a year or two when Fox signs with Calgary. When Walsh signs with New Jersey, he’ll likely need some time in the minors, but shows promising signs as a guy that can be a second pairing defenseman at the NHL level and play on their power play some day.

Matt Hellickson was a +2 with 2 PIM and a shot over 2 games for Notre Dame last week against Minnesota.

KHL/VHL

KHL

VHL

Yegor Rykov had a productive week for SKA. He played 12:41 and had a block on Tuesday in a victory over Ugra. He then put up 2 assists, +3, 2 PIM, and played 14:22 in a victory over Barys Astana yesterday.

In KHL action, Mikhail Maltsev had 2 shots and won 6/8 faceoffs in 8:35 against Ugra last Tuesday. In VHL play, Maltsev had an assist, 2 PIM, a 74.42 FO%, and averaged around 18 minutes per game across 2 games.

Yegor Zaitsev had a shot in the 38 seconds he played against Ugra on Thursday. Unfortunately, he suffered an upper body injury that will keep him out at least 3 weeks and likely cause him to miss the World Junior Championship in about a month.

Nikita Popugaev made his KHL debut for CSKA Moscow. On Wednesday he had an assist, +1, 2 PIM, and 2 shots in 13:35 against HC Sochi. On Sunday he was a -1 with a shot in 6:00 against Admiral Vladivostok.

Europe

Jesper Boqvist made his long awaited return to game action, playing in 2 SuperElit matches for Bryans IF J20, with 2 assists. Hopefully he can reclaim a place in the first team and showcase that he's fully prepared for the WJC in a month.

Fabian Zetterlund made one appearance in SHL play for Farjestad last week, going a -1 with 2 PIM and a shot in 12:08 against Vaxjo Lakers. He ended up being suspended for 2 games for a kneeing incident in that match. He has already served both of those games.

Aarne Talvitie had 4 goals, 3 assists, and 2 PIM in 3 games last week.

Gilles Senn made 26 saves on 29 shots in a victory over EV Zug on Saturday.

Your Take

What prospects stood out to you this week? What are your thoughts on Reilly Walsh as a prospect? What are your expectations of Jesper Boqvist now that he's healthy? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!