New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 2/27/18

The twenty-first week of the 2017-18 prospect update is here. It’s highlighted by Yegor Rykov and JD Dudek both being traded, Michael McLeod putting up numerous assists, Fabian Zetterlund’s strong play, and the college prospects closing out regular season play ahead of conference tournaments.

QMJHL

Jocktan Chainey had 2 assists, -1, 4 PIM, and 5 shots in 3 games last week. Both of his assists came against Charlottetown on Wednesday and were well timed as the first one was on the game tying goal late in the 3rd period and the second one was on the game winning goal in overtime.

OHL

Michael McLeod turned in a strong weekend with 4 assists, +5, 4 PIM, 4 shots, and 51.85 FO% across 2 games.

Marian Studenic had a goal, assist, +2, and 3 shots in 3 games last weekend. He had a point in 2 consecutive games for the first time since late January.

Evan Cormier had an up and down and up week on a personal level though Saginaw dropped all 3 games. On Thursday he made 36 saves on 39 shots in a loss to Niagara. The following night he made 23 saves on 27 shots in a loss to Erie. On Sunday he made 37 saves on 38 shots as Saginaw was shutout by Oshawa.

WHL

Colby Sissons had a goal, 2 assists, even rating, 2 PIM, and 8 shots in 3 games last week.

NCAA

Brett Seney and Merrimack concluded their regular season play with a 2 game set against UMass Lowell. Seney finished with 2 goals, +1, 3 shots, and a 51.28 FO%. Both of his goals came on Senior Night on Friday. These two teams will square off in the Opening Round of the Hockey East Tournament this upcoming weekend. The series will be a best-of-three with 7th seeded UMass Lowell hosting 10th seeded Merrimack.

JD Dudek’s time with the Devils organization came to an end when he was dealt in the Patrick Maroon trade yesterday. Dudek was a 6th round pick in the 2014 draft out of prep school in New Hampshire. Regarded as a project player with some offensive upside, he was never really able to take that next step after struggling in his age 19 season in the USHL and the following 3 seasons with Boston College. I would’ve been shocked to see the Devils ever try to sign him since I view his upside as that as a fringe AHL player, most likely to succeed in the ECHL or European leagues. I was satisfied to see that he ended up being the NCAA player in the deal and I wish him the best of luck going forward.

Joey Anderson was a +2 with 2 PIM and 7 shots in 2 games against Western Michigan last weekend. Anderson only has a goal and an assist over his past 7 games but it’s encouraging to see he’s still getting his shots with an average of 3.71 per game during that stretch.

Jeremy Davies had a goal, +3, 4 PIM, and 5 shots as Northeastern concluded their regular season with a 2 game set against New Hampshire. As the 2nd seeded team in the Hockey East Tournament, they’ll automatically advance to the Quarterfinals and have this upcoming weekend off.

Reilly Walsh and Harvard closed out their regular season with games against Brown and Yale. Walsh had a PP goal, -3, and 5 shots across the 2 games. His goal on Friday extended his point streak to 3 games before it was snapped on Saturday. Harvard is the 4th seed in the ECAC Tournament and automatically advances to the Quarterfinals which start a week from Friday.

Matt Hellickson had an even rating, 2 PIM, and 2 shots in 2 games against Michigan State as Notre Dame concluded their regular season. Notre Dame is the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament and automatically advances to the Semifinals a week from Saturday.

KHL/VHL

KHL

VHL

Yegor Rykov’s time with the organization came to an end a few days ago when he was included in the Michael Grabner trade. The former 5th round pick from the 2016 draft has steadily progressed into a solid two-way defenseman the past few seasons, thus improving his trade value which Ray Shero decided to use to upgrade this year’s Devils team. While it’s tough to lose a prospect like Rykov, the play of Will Butcher at the NHL level and emergence of Jeremy Davies as a legitimate NHL prospect makes this easier to accept.

Mikhail Maltsev helped SKA-Neva win their first 2 playoff games with a goal, +1, 3 shots, and 53.1 FO% while averaging 16:54 per game.

Yegor Zaitsev and Nikita Popugaev had no game action last week.

Europe

Jesper Boqvist continued to play a big role for Brynas with 18:10 in ice time during his only game of the week.

Fabian Zetterlund had 2 goals, +1, and 8 shots while playing over 17 minutes per game across 2 games for Timra IK last week. It’s nice to see his loan move is off to a great start.

Aarne Talvitie had 2 goals, 2 assists, +3, 11 shots, and a 42.11 FO% while playing over 21 minutes per game over 2 games last week.

Gilles Senn had no game action last week.

Your Take

Which prospects stood out to you this week? How do you feel about trading Yegor Rykov and JD Dudek? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!