New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 1/2/18

The thirteenth week of the 2017-18 prospect update is here. It's highlighted by the 7 Devils prospects at the World Junior Championship complete group play, Jeremy Davies help Canada to a Spengler Cup title, and Brett Seney help Merrimack take out Denver in a big upset.

World Junior Championship

Joey Anderson's tournament didn't start off strong but has quickly turned around. The USA captain has been playing in all situations, finding ways to get pucks on net, competing hard in all three zones, and most recently scored 2 timely goals against Finland to close out group play. That 2 goal, +1, 5 shot performance in 21:37 against Finland even earned him Best Player for the US honors for that match. The US finished 2nd in Group A and will take on Russia (3rd in Group B) in the Quarterfinals, tonight at 8 on NHL Network.

Michael McLeod hasn't been playing top role for Canada like a lot of us expected, but has still found a way to make his presence felt. McLeod has put up 3 points in his limited role while contributing on the PK and in the faceoff circle (56.41%). Canada finished 1st in Group A and will take on Switzerland (4th in Group B) today at 4 PM on NHL Network.

Marian Studenic hasn't found his name on the scoresheet yet, but has had an intersting tournament. He's averaging 2 shots per game and about 15 minutes per contest as a key player for Slovakia. In the opening game of the WJC he was involved in a scary collision with Jake Bean of Canada, where Studenic's cheek was cut by Bean, as the Canadian fell awkwardly into the boards. Fortunately, both players would be ok to continue playing in the WJC. Plus, Studenic was a part of Slovakia's upset of the US on Thursday. Slovakia finished 4th in Group A and will take on Sweden (1st in Group B) this afternoon in the Quarterfinals.

Mikhail Maltsev hasn't found the back of the net for Russia but is still getting his shots on net and making his presence known when he's on the ice. The big center has no problem using his frame to win puck battles or punish the opposition, has shown his offensive vision, and been huge in the faceoff circle (68.97%) for Russia. Yegor Zaitsev has been a calm, steady two-way defender for Russia. The Russian captain is playing over 17.5 minutes per game on average and has now been named Russia's Best Player of the Game twice.

Jesper Boqvist has had a relatively quiet tournament thus far with a goal and average ice time of 12 minutes. He missed Sweden's final group play game against Russia to an undisclosed injury. Fabian Zetterlund has been playing his role well, chipping in a goal, playing a physical game, and trying to create havoc in front of the opposition net on the PP.

Spengler Cup

The 91st Spengler Cup featured two Devils prospects, Jeremy Davies for Canada and Gilles Senn for HC Davos. Canada would claim the title over Switzerland, for their third title in a row.

Jeremy Davies made his international debut for Canada, playing in all 4 games with an assist, -1, and 2 shots while averaging a strong 14+ minutes per game. I'd still be shocked to see him crack the Canadian Olympic roster but it's encouraging to see him get himself into the conversation at least. The progress of his two-way game over the past 2.5 years makes him an intriguing prospect.

Gilles Senn didn't enjoy the Spengler Cup as much as Davies. The HC Davos netminder rotated starts with Joren van Pottelberghe as they often do in league play. Senn made one start in group play, a 4-1 loss to Canada where he made 38 saves on 42 shots. Senn then started the Semifinal match against Switzerland, an 8-3 loss for Davos where Senn made 25 saves on 33 shots.

QMJHL

Jocktan Chainey had a PP assist, -2, and 9 shots across 3 games for Halifax last week.

OHL

Evan Cormier started all 3 games for Saginaw last week. He made 20 saves on 24 shots in a loss to Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday. There's no shame in that given that Sault Ste. Marie currently leads the OHL with 66 points with an impressive 32-3-2-0 record. Cormier rebounded with 29 saves on 31 shots in a victory over Flint on Saturday and 27 saves on 29 shots in a win against Windsor on Sunday.

WHL

Colby Sissons had a goal, 2 assists, -2, and 10 shots across 4 games for Swift Current last week.

NCAA

Brett Seney had 2 goals, +1, 4 shots, and won 5/13 faceoffs as he led Merrimack to an upset over #2 Denver on Friday. With the 2 goal performance, he reached 100 career NCAA points. Seney was held off the scoresheet the following night against Colorado College with a -1 and won 8/18 faceoffs.

JD Dudek had an even rating, 2 PIM, and 2 shots against UConn on Saturday.

Reilly Walsh had a PP assist, -3, and 2 shots in 2 games for Harvard last week.

Matt Hellickson and Notre Dame had the week off and return to action this Friday against Michigan.

KHL/VHL

KHL

VHL

Yegor Rykov had an assist, -1, 2 shots, and a block while averaging around 10:41 per game across 2 games for SKA last week.

Nikita Popugaev made his third MHL (junior) appearance of the season last Wednesday. He was a +1 with 12 PIM, 2 shots, in 8:24.

Europe

Aarne Talvitie had the week off.

Your Take

Which prospects stood out to at the WJC? Have these games changed your opinions on any of these players? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!