New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 5/1/18

The thirtieth week of the 2017-18 prospect update is here. It’s highlighted by Marian Studenic winning the OHL Eastern Conference with Hamilton, Colby Sissons and Swift Current winning the WHL Eastern Conference, and Mikhail Maltsev and SKA-Neva falling in the VHL Finals. Just a side note but this will be the penultimate prospect update for the 2017-18 season before we switch over to draft coverage.

QMJHL

OHL

Marian Studenic became an OHL Eastern Conference Champion when the top seeded Hamilton Bulldogs knocked out the third seeded Kingston Frontenacs in 5 games. In the final 2 games of the series last week, Studenic was held off the scoresheet but had an even rating and 3 shots on goal. He has 2 goals, 10 assists, +14, 4 PIM, and 31 shots in 15 playoff games. Hamilton will play the OHL’s top team from the regular season, Sault Ste. Marie, in the OHL Championship which will start on Thursday. Despite cruising through the regular season and opening round of the playoffs, Sault Ste. Marie has had to battle through back-to-back 7 game series to reach the Championship.

WHL

Colby Sissons helped Swift Current to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship after they defeated Lethbridge in 6 games. Over the final 4 games of the series last week, Sissons had a goal, 3 assists, +3, 6 PIM, and 9 shots. He now has 3 goals, 15 assists, +3, 24 PIM, and 63 shots in 20 playoff games. Sissons is the top scoring defenseman on Swift Current this postseason and is 3rd in assists on the team. They will play the winner of the Everett and Tri-City series which as of this writing is tied 5-5 in overtime of Game 6. Everett leads the series 3-2.

NCAA

WDAZ 8 has this short clip of goaltender Cam Johnson talking about how playing hockey professionally is his dream job. It’s clear that he enjoyed getting his first taste of the pro game in Binghamton.

KHL/VHL

KHL

VHL

Mikhail Maltsev and SKA-Neva fell in the VHL Finals to Dynamo Saint Petersburg in 6 games. Maltsev had an assist, +1, 6 shots, and won 26/52 faceoffs while playing 44:36 in SKA’s Game 5 six overtime win. Ex-Devils prospect Yegor Rykov set a record with 61:19 played in the instant classic. SKA would drop Game 6 though with Maltsev being held off the scoresheet with an even rating, shot, and 19/40 faceoffs in 16:51 of action. He finished the playoffs with 3 goals, 5 assists, +6, 14 PIM, 5.8 SH%, 2.6 SH/GP, 57.2 FO%, with an average ice time of 17:48. I expect him to split time between the KHL and VHL again next season, but hopefully he can earn a more consistent role with the first team.

Maltsev also featured in international play as he helped the Russian B team to the 2018 ALROSA Cup with a 4-3 victory over Austria. You can check out his game winning goal in overtime from Saturday below:

Europe

Gilles Senn will be one of 3 goaltenders on Switzerland’s roster for the 2018 World Hockey Championship which starts this weekend in Copenhagen. He’ll compete with Reto Berra nad Leonardo Genoni for playing time.

Your Take

How do you feel about Maltsev’s season? Do you think Marian Studenic and Hamilton can overcome Sault Ste. Marie for the OHL Championship? Do you expect big things from Colby Sissons in the WHL Championship? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!