New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 3/6/18

The twenty-second week of the 2017-18 prospect update is here. It’s highlighted by Michael McLeod and Colby Sissons producing in CHL action, Brett Seney and Joey Anderson coming on strong in NCAA play, Nikita Popugaev’s first KHL goal, and Evan Cormier and Gilles Senn play a lot of minutes in goal for their respective clubs.

QMJHL

Jocktan Chainey had a PP assist, -2, 4 PIM, and 3 shots in 3 games last week.

OHL

Michael McLeod had a goal, 2 assists, +2, 15 shots, and a 61.54 FO% in 3 games last week. He proved to be a threat on the penalty kill with the goal and one of those assists coming short handed.

Marian Studenic had an assist, even rating, and 4 shots over the course of 3 games. Hamilton has settled into consistent lines for their top 9 with Studenic playing alongside early season linemates Brandon Saigeon and Arthur Kaliyev.

Evan Cormier made 28 saves on 31 shots in a loss to Sault Ste. Marie on Wednesday. He made 20 saves on 24 shots in a loss to Windsor on Saturday. The following day he made 30 saves on 32 shots in a victory over Sudbury.

WHL

Colby Sissons had 3 assists, +3, 2 PIM, and 3 shots in 3 games last week.

NCAA

Brett Seney played a key role in keeping Merrimack’s season alive with a pair of strong performances against UMass Lowell in the Opening Round of the Hockey East Tournament. Seney had an assist, +1, 3 shots, and won 4/15 faceoffs in Merrimack’s 2-1 overtime win on Friday. He then had 2 assists, +2, 2 PIM, 2 shots, and won 10/16 faceoffs in Merrimack’s 3-2 overtime win. His second assist in that game came on the game winning goal to advance Merrimack to a Quarterfinal matchup with top seeded Boston College this upcoming weekend.

Joey Anderson finished his regular season strong with 3 goals, +2, 2 PIM, and 9 shots in 2 games against Omaha. 3rd seeded Minnesota Duluth will take on 6th seeded Western Michigan in the Opening Round of the NCHC Playoffs this weekend.

Jeremy Davies and Northeastern had a bye to the Quarterfinals of the Hockey East Tournament. They are the 2nd seed and will take on 8th seeded UMass. Davies was featured in John Connolly’s College Hockey Notebook over at the Boston Herald. Here is some of what Northeastern coach Jim Madigan had to say about Davies and fellow defenseman Ryan Shea:

“These two have obviously been immense for our program ever since they came in,” NU coach Jim Madigan said. “As freshmen, they played 23-25 minutes a game. . . . Jeremy is certainly highly skilled offensively.

“They’ve elevated their game. They’re now playing 25-28 minutes per game. They have quick recoveries. They can skate 40- or 45-second shifts and by the time they come back to the bench they’re ready to go — and they’re only going to get better.”

Reilly Walsh and Harvard had a bye to the ECAC Quarterfinals. They are the 4th seed and will take on 5th seeded Dartmouth.

Matt Hellickson and Notre Dame are the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament and had a bye to the Semifinal round. They’ll take on 4th seeded Penn State this Saturday to decide who moves on to the Championship.

KHL/VHL

KHL

VHL

Mikhail Maltsev was a -1 and won 3/6 faceoffs in 6:53 in his only KHL action of the week last Tuesday. The following day he had 2 PIM, a shot, and won 10/19 faceoffs in 14:31 of VHL playoff action as SKA-Neva swept their opening series.

Yegor Zaitsev had a goal, +2, and 6 shots in 24:15 in MHL action yesterday.

Nikita Popugaev was a -1 with a shot in 9:48 of KHL regular season action last Tuesday. On Sunday he scored his first KHL goal, in the opening match of CSKA’s series against Spartak. He finished that game with the goal, +1, and a shot in 4:35.

Europe

Jesper Boqvist had 2 assists, an even rating, and 8 shots while playing over 16 minutes per game on average over 3 games last week.

Fabian Zetterlund had an assist, +1, and 3 shots while playing over 17 minutes per game in 3 games last week.

Aarne Talvitie had 2 goals, an assist, +4, 12 shots, and 56.82 FO% while playing 19-21 minutes per game over 2 games last week.

Gilles Senn made 27 saves on 29 shots in a loss to SC Bern on Wednesday. He followed that up with 27 saves on 30 shots as well as 5 shootout stops in a victory over HC Lugano on Saturday. He picked up a loss against Lugano on Monday by making 28 saves on 32 shots in 40 minutes.

Your Take

Which prospects stood out to you this week? Are you impressed by the way that Seney keeps leading Merrimack? How about Anderson’s strong weekend? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!