New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 12/4/18

The 9th week of the 2018-19 prospect update is here. It’s highlighted by Ty Smith and Aarne Talvitie earn call-ups to their countries’ pre-WJC camps, Fabian Zetterlund return from a knee injury to score a goal in a strong performance, and Jesper Boqvist earn a call-up to a mid-season international competition for Sweden.

QMJHL

Jocktan Chainey was a -1 with 2 shots across 3 games for Halifax last week.

Xavier Bernard had a PP assist, +3, 4 PIM, and one shot in 2 games for Drummondville last week.

Jeremy Groleau enjoyed a very productive weekend for Chicoutimi. On Friday against Quebec, he had an assist, +1, and 2 shots. He followed that up with a PP goal, SH assist, even rating, and 2 shots against Baie-Comeau on Sunday.

OHL

Mitchell Hoelscher was a +1 with 3 shots and won 6/12 faceoffs against Kingston on Wednesday. His offensive game came to life on Sunday as he had a goal, 2 assists, even rating, 2 shots, and won 6/14 faceoffs against North Bay in a 6-3 victory. That goal snapped a 9 game streak without scoring.

WHL

Ty Smith had a busy week with 3 games for Spokane. On Wednesday against Prince George he had 2 assists, +3, 2 PIM, and 6 shots. On Friday against Everett he put up 2 assists, -1, 2 PIM, and 3 shots. He struggled against Portland on Saturday finishing with a -4 rating. Yesterday, as expected, he was named to the Hockey Canada selection camp roster for the World Juniors. Look for him to play a huge role for Canada at the WJC in a few weeks. Also, check out this highlight package the WHL tweeted about Smith:

NCAA

Jeremy Davies had a PP assist, even rating, and 4 shots in Northeastern’s 9-1 victory over Merrimack on Friday. According to College Hockey Inc, Davies has the 6th highest assists per game rate at 0.83 among the defensemen. His 1.08 points per game rate among defenders ranks 7th, while fellow Devils prospect Reilly Walsh ranks 6th at 1.10.

Reilly Walsh had a PP goal, 2 assists, +3, and 5 shots in a 6-1 victory over Colgate on Friday. You can check out his goal in the tweet below. He finished with an even rating and a shot in a loss to Cornell on Saturday. Expect Walsh to be named to the USA WJC preliminary roster whenever they release it.

Matt Hellickson had an assist, +4, and 5 shots in 3 games for Notre Dame last week.

Aarne Talvitie was a -3 with 2 shots in 2 games against Wisconsin over the weekend. This marked the first time he has gone 2 straight games without a point in his collegiate career. Yesterday, he was named to the Finland’s World Junior preliminary roster and he should be a contributor for that team in a few weeks.

USHL/NAHL

Akira Schmid made 8 saves on 8 shots in 30:35 of relief for Omaha in a loss to Lincoln on Friday in USHL action.

Russia

KHL

VHL

MHL

Mikhail Maltsev scored the game winning goal in overtime and had an assist, +1, 3 shots, and won 9/18 faceoffs in 18:08 in the his only game of VHL action this past week. Maltsev currently ranks 5th in scoring among U21 players in the VHL with 13 points in 22 games.

Yegor Zaitsev had an even rating, 2 shots, a block, and averaged 9:24 per game across 2 KHL games last week.

Nikita Popugaev had a PP assist, even rating, 7 shots, and averaged 16:33 per game across 2 MHL games last week. Yesterday, he played 6:45 in a KHL game.

Sweden & Finland

Jesper Boqvist had an even rating and 6 shots while averaging 18:49 in ice time across 2 games last week. According to the Brynas website, Boqvist was called up to represent Sweden at the Channel One Cup in Russia from 12/13 to 12/16 where they will take on Russia, Finland, and the Czech Republic.

Fabian Zetterlund returned from a knee injury to play his first game since 10/20 this past Saturday. He returned in style with a goal, +1, and 5 shots with 11:22 in ice time. It’s great to see him return to the ice and even better that he made an immediate impact. He really needs to show that he is fully fit and can contribute for Sweden’s upcoming WJC team. Expect him to be named to the preliminary roster any day now. You can check out his goal below:

Eetu Pakkila had a PP goal, -2, 18 shots, and averaged 20:25 per game across 2 games last week.

Switzerland

Gilles Senn started for HC Davos last Tuesday as they lost 4-3 to SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers in Swiss Ice Hockey Cup action. Senn made 19 saves on 23 shots as HC Davos was eliminated from the competition.

Your Take

Which prospects stood out to you this week? What are your expectations for the prospects that could be involved in the WJC (Smith, Walsh, Talvitie, Zetterlund)? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!