New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 12/15/20

The 10th week of the 2020-21 New Jersey Devils prospect update is here! It’s highlighted by 6 Devils prospects officially being named to rosters for the World Junior Championship. This group includes Dawson Mercer, Patrick Moynihan, Arseni Gritsyuk, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Alexander Holtz, and Jaromir Pytlik. The week’s action also saw Tyce Thompson have a 3 point game for Providence, Artem Shlaine assist for his first point for UConn, and Yegor Sharangovich add 3 assists in KHL action. Let’s take a look at how each prospect performed over the past week.

2021 World Junior Championship

The 2021 World Junior Championship is taking place from 12/25/20 to 1/5/21 in Edmonton. The New Jersey Devils will have 6 prospects playing in the tournament. Pool B will be of particular interest to Devils fans as 5 of the 6 prospects will compete in that group.

Dawson Mercer will represent Canada. They are in Pool A with Finland, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Germany. They’ll open their tournament on 12/26 against Germany.

Patrick Moynihan will represent the United States. They are in Pool B with Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Austria. They’ll open their tournament on 12/25 against Russia. The head coach of the US team is Nate Leaman who also happens to be Moynihan’s coach at Providence. Leaman noted that Moynihan’s competitiveness, ability to get to pucks first, and willingness to go to the hard areas of the ice as factors into his selection to the team.

Arseni Gritsyuk and Shakir Mukhamadullin will represent Russia. That game against the United States is also the start of their tournament.

Alexander Holtz will represent Sweden. They’ll open their tournament against the Czech Republic on 12/26. Lucas Aykroyd has this interview with Holtz for the IIHF website ahead of the tournament. Holtz talks about the COVID-19 situation that has impacted the team, the positive things Jacob Josefson has told him about New Jersey, the interactions he’s had with current Devils, and his hopes for the tournament. I thought his thoughts on the smaller ice in North America stood out:

“I like the smaller ice,” Holtz said. “You can shoot from everywhere in the offensive zone. I think it’s perfect for my game. It’s a high-speed game when you play in the smaller rink.”

Jaromir Pytlik will represent the Czech Republic. That game against Sweden is also the start of their tournament.

QMJHL

OHL

Graeme Clarke was among the final cuts for Canada’s WJC camp.

NCAA

Matt Hellickson was a +3 with a shot as Notre Dame split a weekend series against Ohio State.

Aarne Talvitie had a goal, even rating, 10 shots, and won 68.29% of his faceoffs as Penn State had 2 overtime wins over Arizona State last week. Check out his goal below:

Tyce Thompson helped Providence earn their first victory of the season on Sunday when they defeated UMass Lowell 4-2. He had a PP goal, 2 assists (1 EV, 1 PP), +1, 2 PIM, 2 shots, and won 3/11 faceoffs. Check out his first goal of the season below:

Case McCarthy and Boston University are now scheduled to open their season on New Year’s Day against Northeastern.

Artem Shlaine and UConn were back in action for the first time in a few weeks. Shlaine had an assist, +1, 4 PIM, 7 shots, and won 54.55% of his faceoffs across 2 games against Boston College. The assist was his first collegiate point and came in UConn’s first victory of the season on Saturday. Check out that assist below:

Cole Brady didn’t play in either of Arizona State’s losses to Penn State last week. The team opted to go with junior Evan Debrouwer instead. Debrouwer made 47 saves on 50 shots in Friday’s game and 40 saves on 45 shots in Sunday’s game. Brady has a .906 SV% in 5 games while Debrouwer has a .910 SV% in 6 games.

USHL

Ethan Edwards had a PP goal, 2 assists (1 EV, 1 PP), +2, 2 PIM, and 7 shots across 3 games last week.

Akira Schmid made 16 saves on 19 shots in a 5-3 victory over Waterloo on Saturday. This was his first game in about a month.

Russia

KHL

VHL & MHL

Yegor Zaitsev had an even rating and 5 shots while averaging 18:00 across 3 KHL games last week.

Daniil Misyul had an even rating and 2 shots while averaging 15:42 across 2 KHL games last week. It is good to see his increased ice time continue as he is now averaging 14:49 over his last 7 games.

Nikita Popugayev had a goal, assist, even rating, and 3 shots while averaging 11:51 across 3 KHL games last week.

Yegor Sharangovich had 3 assists (2 EV, 1 SH - all primary), -1, 6 shots, and won 56.82% of his faceoffs while averaging 21:58 across 3 KHL games last week. Check out his most recent assist below:

Finland

Liiga

Liiga is currently paused until late December.

Sweden

SHL & Allsvenskan

Nikola Pasic had an assist, -1, and a shot while averaging 17:19 across 2 games last week.

Fabian Zetterlund had an even rating and 3 shots while playing 19:38 in AIK’s only game of the week. He’s one of the last remaining players out on loan so you have to imagine that his loan stint may be coming to an end sooner than later.

The Rest of Europe

Swiss National League, Slovak Extraliga, Czech 1.liga, Deutsche Eishockey Liga

Benjamin Baumgartner had an assist, even rating, 2 PIM, 6 shots, and won 2/4 faceoffs while averaging 10:18 across 3 games last week. His TOI in those 3 games went from 14:34 to 10:17 to 6:05. He’s also been spending most of his time at LW. It will be interesting to see if he moves back to center and gains more ice time now that Joe Thornton’s loan has ended.

Marian Studenic had an assist and +1 while averaging 12:42 across 2 games last week.

Nico Daws and ERC Ingolstadt have concluded their 4 game pre-season. They start the regular season on Sunday against the Schwenninger Wild Wings.

Your Take

Which prospects stood out to you this week? What are your expectations for the prospects competing in the WJC? Which prospect are you most excited to follow in the WJC? Leave your comments below and thanks for reading!