New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 1/30/18

The seventeenth week of the 2017-18 prospect update is here. It’s highlighted by the play of Jesper Boqvist and Fabian Zetterlund in the SHL, Aarne Talvitie’s quick hat trick in junior play in Finland, and Gilles Senn’s strong start in NLA action.

QMJHL

Jocktan Chainey had 4 PIM and a shot across 2 games against Saint John this past weekend.

OHL

Michael McLeod had a quiet week by his standards. On Friday against Peterborough he had an assist on his brother’s game winning goal in overtime and finished a -1 with a shot and won 11/18 faceoffs. The assist extended his point streak to 11 games. That streak was snapped on Sunday when he finished with a shot and won 20/22 faceoffs against Sudbury.

Marian Studenic had a goal, +1, and 10 shots across 3 games last week for Hamilton. Lately, he’s mostly played with his early season linemates of Mackenzie Entwistle and Brandon Saigeon for the Bulldogs.

Evan Cormier’s rough January continued but he did finish the week strong. He made 25 saves on 31 shots in a loss to Kitchener on Friday. The following night he made 19 saves on 24 shots in a victory over Windsor. On Sunday he played 53:10 in relief and made 18 saves on 19 shots against Sault Ste. Marie. In 9 games in January he has put up a .855 SV%. Jeanna Trotman has this local news report on Cormier’s time in Saginaw.

WHL

Colby Sissons had an assist, +1, and 13 shots across 3 games for Swift Current last week.

NCAA

Brett Seney remained a threat on the PP for Merrimack with a goal and an assist with the advantage across 2 games against Vermont. He finished a -2 with 2 PIM, 8 shots, and won half of his faceoffs as Merrimack fell twice to Vermont on the weekend. Seney continues to lead Merrimack in goals (9), assists (15), and points (24).

JD Dudek had a goal, assist, 2 PIM, 5 shots, and won 16/39 faceoffs across 3 games for Boston College last week.

Joey Anderson had a goal, assist, +1, 4 PIM, and 7 shots over 3 games for Minnesota Duluth. He is currently 4th in scoring for Minnesota Duluth with 18 points in 20 games, with those ahead of him having played 6-8 extra games. He is 6 points back of the leader Scott Perunovich.

Jeremy Davies had a goal, 2 PIM, and 2 shots in 2 games against Providence last weekend. He is currently 4th in scoring on Northeastern with 20 points in 24 games which leads the defensemen.

Reilly Walsh was a -2 with 2 PIM and 3 shots over the course of 2 games against Cornell and Colgate last weekend for Harvard. He started the season with 10 points in his first 13 games but has just 2 points over his last 8 games. The good news is he’s still getting his shots on goal as he had 2.36 per game over those first 13 games compared to 2.25 over the last 8 games.

Matt Hellickson had an even rating and a shot as Notre Dame split a weekend series against Minnesota.

KHL/VHL

KHL

VHL

Yegor Rykov and SKA are currently on an Olympic break until resuming their season with their final regular season games on February 27 and March 1. SKA has already clinched 1st place in the Western Conference.

Mikhail Maltsev appeared in 2 VHL games last week with a goal, assist, +4, 6 shots, and a 61.11 FO% while averaging about 15:35 in ice time per game.

Yegor Zaitsev appeared in 2 MHL games last week with a -2 rating and 4 PIM, and 4 shots while playing over 20 minutes per game.

Nikita Popugaev played 43 seconds in a KHL game last Tuesday.

Europe

Jesper Boqvist had 2 assists, +1, and 2 shots while playing around 15 minutes per game across 2 matches for Brynas IF last weekend.

Fabian Zetterlund had 2 goals and 7 shots while averaging about 13:25 across 3 games for Farjestads BK last week.

Aarne Talvitie had an assist, +1, 2 shots, and a 56.52 FO% in 18:36 against KalPa on Friday. He followed that up with 3 goals, an assist, +5, 5 shots, and a 72.73 FO% in 13:52 against Lukko on Saturday. He accomplished the hat trick in the 2nd period in an under 8 minute stretch. He’s currently tied for the lead league in goals with 26.

Gilles Senn put together his strongest outing in weeks with 39 saves on 40 shots against ZSC Lions on Sunday as he guided HC Davos to victory.

Your Take

Which prospects caught your eye this week? How do you feel about the production by the European based prospects? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!