New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 11/17/20

The 6th week of the 2020-21 New Jersey Devils prospect update is here. It features two prospects on the move with Jesper Boqvist seeing his loan come to an end while Nico Daws makes a move to play in Germany. It’s also higlighted by the season debut of Akira Schmid in the USHL as well as strong performances by Cole Brady, Yegor Zaitsev, Yegor Sharangovich, Nikola Pasic, and Alexander Holtz. Let’s take a look at what each prospect did last week.

QMJHL

Dawson Mercer is currently participating in Canada’s WJC selection camp which runs until December 13 in Red Deer, Alberta.

OHL

Graeme Clarke is also participating in Canada’s WJC selection camp. He’s a longshot to make the team but at least he gets to practice and scrimmage with some of the best players in his peer group. It’s worth noting that Graeme’s brother, Brandt Clarke, is rumored to be heading to Sweden, on loan to Väsby of the Allsvenskan. Brandt, a defenseman, is a potential top 5 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. Perhaps Graeme will look for a loan move after he’s done with Canada’s camp.

NCAA

Matt Hellickson had an assist, +1, 2 PIM, and 3 shots as Notre Dame dropped their opening 2 games to Wisconsin. They are scheduled to play again on November 27 against Michigan.

Aarne Talvitie and Penn State will open their season on Thursday against Minnesota. It looks like the Big Ten Network will be broadcasting Thursday’s game at 8:30 PM ET, Friday’s game at 4:00 PM ET, and Monday’s game (at Wisconsin) at 6:00 PM ET. Penn State recently had a media day and I thought these two answers stood out:

Tyce Thompson and Patrick Moynihan will get their season underway when Providence takes on Boston College on November 27.

Case McCarthy and Boston University are scheduled to start their season on December 11 against UMass. They were supposed to start on December 4 against Vermont but that series has been postponed.

Artem Shlaine and UConn are scheduled to start their season on November 27 against Maine. They were supposed to start on November 20 against Vermont but that series has been postponed.

Cole Brady made his NCAA debut for Arizona State last weekend. He played the 3rd period in their 8-1 loss to a powerhouse Michigan team on Saturday. In those 20 minutes he made 10 saves on 12 shots. On Sunday he made his first start in a 3-0 loss. He impressed with 44 saves on 47 shots in 60 minutes. It looks like their next game, on Thursday against Michigan State at 6:00 PM ET, will be broadcasted on Big Ten Network.

USHL

Ethan Edwards was a -2 with 2 PIM and a shot in 2 games last week. He’s been listed as the RD on the top pair so far this season.

Akira Schmid made his season debut against Waterloo on Friday. He made 23 saves on 26 shots in a 4-2 loss.

Russia

KHL

VHL & MHL

Yegor Zaitsev had 2 assists (1 EV, 1 PP), -1, 2 PIM, and 6 shots while averaging 15:09 across 4 KHL games last week. Below you can see him make a goal line clearance from his first game of the week:

Daniil Misyul had an even rating and 2 shots while averaging 6:37 across 2 KHL games last week.

Arseni Gritsyuk had 2 assists, +3, and 4 shots while averaging 13:45 across 3 VHL games last week.

Nikita Popugayev made his first KHL appearance yesterday since October 4. He had an even rating and played just 5:42 against Neftekhimik.

Shakir Mukhamadullin had a PP assist, -1, 2 PIM, and 4 shots while averaging 13:11 across 3 KHL games last week. According to Elite Prospects, Mukhamadullin now has the most points for any defenseman in the KHL in their draft+1 season with 8 points in 27 games. Dmitri Orlov used to have the most with 7 points in 41 games during the 2009-10 season.

Yegor Sharangovich had 2 goals (1 EV, 1 PP), +3, 2 PIM, 7 shots, and won 44.64% of his faceoffs while averaging 20:54 across 3 KHL games last week. He is currently 5th in the KHL in goals with 12. That total leads all U23 players in the league so far. You can check out his most recent goals below:

Mikhail Maltsev didn’t play for SKA last week.

Finland

Liiga

Eetu Pakkila had 2 assists, +2, and 3 shots while averaging 11:27 across 2 games last week. He has a goal and 4 assists over his last 6 games so it seems like he’s been heating up.

Nick Merkley had an assist, -3, and 7 shots while averaging 14:48 across 3 games last week.

Janne Kuokkanen had a PP goal, even rating, and 10 shots while averaging 14:03 across 3 games last week.

Sweden

SHL & Allsvenskan

Nikola Pasic had 2 goals, +1, and 5 shots while averaging 11:22 across 3 games last week. You can see his most recent goal below:

Alexander Holtz had 3 assists, +2, 2 PIM, and 15 shots while averaging 17:09 across 4 games last week. Below you can see him assisting on Jacob Josefson’s game winning goal in overtime. Below that you can see him nearly win the game prior to that assist with his own effort that hit the post.

Jesper Boqvist was a +1 with a shot in 13:03 in Timra’s game against Vasby on Friday. That would turn out to be his final game with the team as they announced after the game that Boqvist was recalled by the Devils. This should be a sign that the Devils are expecting to have a training camp at some point in December. I would say that it was a successful loan stint as he had 3 goals and 7 assists in 13 games and was able to stay sharp by averaging 14:28 per game. It will be interesting to see if the Devils other players on loan start to get recalled. It will also be worth seeing if some prospects like the Devils OHL prospects look to Europe for playing time now that some roster spots may open up.

Fabian Zetterlund and AIK had their season paused after a positive COVID-19 test by a player as well as other players showing symptoms.

Switzerland & Slovakia

NL & Slovak Extraliga

Benjamin Baumgartner had 2 assists, -1, 2 shots, and won 8/14 faceoffs while averaging 14:18 across 2 games last week. He did miss their 3rd game of the week which was on Saturday but I haven’t found the reason for that yet.

Marian Studenic had 2 goals, an assist, +2, 2 PIM, and 8 shots while averaging 15:01 across 3 games last week. You can check out his two most recent goals from the video below. His speed and skill is on display for the first goal in the video (his 5th of the season) and his ability to score a dirty goal in front of the net is on display in the 2nd goal in the video (his 4th of the year).

Germany

DEL

With the OHL still months away from a possible return to play, goaltender Nico Daws has decided to make a move to ERC Ingolstadt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). This move makes sense for a number of reasons. Daws was born in Munich and carries dual citizenship. In some ways this is a homecoming of sorts for him. This also allows him to get into competitive games earlier than the proposed February start that the OHL is aiming for. As Corey Pronman reported, the DEL is expected to have a mid-December start to their season. I also like this move since it allows Daws a chance to challenge himself at the pro level without it being a top league. The DEL isn’t one of the top European leagues like the KHL, SHL, or Liiga but it has seen a definitive improvement in the quality of play in recent seasons. This should be a positive experience in his development.

Your Take

What are your expectations for Jesper Boqvist after his successful loan stint? What do you think about Nico Daws moving to Germany? Which prospects stood out to you the most this week? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!