New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 3/27/18

The twenty-fifth week of the 2017-18 prospect update is here. It’s highlighted by the Devils signing goaltender Cam Johnson from the University of North Dakota, Joey Anderson and Matt Hellickson advance to the Frozen Four, and a handful of prospects feature heavily in playoff action.

QMJHL

Jocktan Chainey helped #4 Halifax get out to a 2-0 series lead over #13 Baie-Comeau in the First Round of the QMJHL Playoffs with a +1 and 2 shots.

OHL

Michael McLeod had a goal, assist, +1, 4 shots, and won 12/21 faceoffs as #7 Mississauga upset #2 Barrie in the opening game of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series on Thursday. Yesterday, he was a -2 with 3 shots and won 13/27 faceoffs as Barrie tied the series at one game a piece.

Marian Studenic was a +1 with a shot over the first 2 games of #1 Hamilton’s Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against #8 Ottawa which is currently tied 1-1. So far he’s been employed in a more defensive role on the 3rd line, with his fair share of zone starts coming in the Hamilton end as they controlled the match ups on home ice.

As expected the 2018 playoffs haven’t been kind to Evan Cormier and #8 Saginaw as they’ve been taking on #1 Sault Ste. Marie in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. In Game 1 on Friday he made 34 saves on 39 shots in a 5-2 loss. In Game 2 on Sunday he made 36 saves on 44 shots in a 8-0 loss. Yesterday, he made 29 saves on 36 shots in a 7-3 loss in Game 3. It appears that his final OHL game will come tomorrow in Game 4. Prior to this season, I thought it was unlikely that the Devils would sign Cormier to an ELC. While he’s had a solid year on a team where he doesn’t get a lot of help, I still think it’s unlikely he gets signed, especially now that the Devils inked North Dakota goaltender Cam Johnson.

WHL

Colby Sissons has helped #E2 Swift Current out to a 2-1 series lead over #E3 Regina in Eastern Conference Quarterfinal action. Sissons has a goal, assist, +2, 6 PIM, and 7 shots so far in the series. Below is his goal from last night’s victory:

NCAA

Brett Seney made his professional debut for Binghamton this past week with an assist, +1, 4 PIM, and 9 shots in 3 games. Keep an eye out for Jeff’s Binghamton posts to find out how the prospect is adjusting to his new level of competition.

Sophomore Joey Anderson and his Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs are heading back to the Frozen Four for a second straight season. He was a -1 with 3 shots in their overtime victory over Minnesota State on Friday. The following day he had a goal, +1, and 1 shot in their victory over Air Force to advance to the Frozen Four. On April 5 they will take on Ohio State at 6 PM ET on ESPN2. The winner advances to the National Championship game on April 7 at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN.

Jeremy Davies and Northeastern fell in their opening game of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to Michigan. Davies as usual logged a ton of ice time, had a sweet primary assist on the PP, and had a shot of his own. Overall, I liked his performance especially when it came to moving the puck out of his zone and his offensive instincts when in attack. I’d like to see the Devils try to sign him as he’s coming off of a strong sophomore season as a 21 year old, though this tweet from Julie Robenhymer makes it seem that he’s going back to Northeastern for his junior season. While I would like to see him challenged at the professional level, another season of college hockey shouldn’t be bad for his development.

Matt Hellickson was a -1 with 2 shots as Notre Dame advanced to the Frozen Four after knocking off Michigan Tech and Providence. On April 5 they will take on Michigan at 9:30 PM ET on ESPN 2, with the winner advancing to the National Championship game on April 7 at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN.

On Saturday the Devils announced the signing of goaltender Cam Johnson to a one-year entry level contract that begins with the 2018-19 season. He also signed an AHL amateur tryout contract so he could play in Binghamton the rest of this season. Johnson was a free agent who just completed his senior season at the University of North Dakota where he won a National Championship in 2016. Johnson is listed at 6’1, 205 lbs. and will turn 24 on July 11. With Evan Cormier’s rocky OHL career and Mackenzie Blackwood’s and Ken Appleby’s struggles at the AHL level this past season, it is no surprise to see the Devils ink a young netminder. I’m intrigued to see how he handles the professional level after some ups and downs over the past couple of years in college. I’ll have his Goals Saved Above Average and Quality Start stats in next week’s post.

KHL/VHL

KHL

VHL

Mikhail Maltsev had 3 shots and won 61.5% of his faceoffs while playing about 16 minutes per game over SKA-Neva’s final 2 games in their series against Toros. SKA-Neva won the series 4-2 to advance to VHL Semifinals. They are the #2 seed and are taking on the #3 seed Neftyanik.

Nikita Popugaev’s only game action was 1:27 in CSKA’s Game 4 victory over Jokerit last Tuesday. He didn’t play in the 5 overtime Game 5 unfortunately. CSKA won the series 4-2 and will take on SKA in the Conference Finals.

Europe

Jesper Boqvist had an assist, even rating, and 3 shots while playing about 19+ minutes per game over the final 4 games for Brynas IF last week as they ultimately lost their Quarterfinal series to Vaxjo 4-1. I really like the offensive potential Boqvist brings to the table. Hopefully he can stay healthy next year and put up a strong season in the SHL after he missed quite a bit of time this past season.

Fabian Zetterlund had an even rating and 2 PIM with 5 shots while playing around 13 minutes per game across 3 games last week for Farjestad. They are down 3-1 in their Quaterfinal series and could be eliminated today.

I didn’t realize it last week but Aarne Talvitie’s season came to an end on 3/18 when his team was eliminated in the playoffs. That was of course the game he missed after exiting the previous game with a possible head injury.

Gilles Senn made 28 saves on 32 shots in HC Davos’ Game 5 loss to EHC Biel-Bienne on Tuesday. He then made 24 saves on 29 shots in their Game 6 loss in Quarterfinal action which eliminated Davos from the competition. Senn split a fair amount of regular season action with Red Wings prospect Joren van Pottelberghe this season, but I thought it was interesting that he was the undisputed starter no matter what in the playoffs. I was hoping Senn would’ve been one of the standout goaltenders in NLA this season but that didn’t happen. He still has another season left on his Davos contract so hopefully he can put together a strong season and then perhaps think about coming to North America.

Your Take

Which prospects stood out to you this week? How do you feel about the signing of Cam Johnson? What about the position that Evan Cormier is now likely in? What are your expectations for the Frozen Four? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!