New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: 2/9/21

Welcome to the 18th week of the 2020-21 New Jersey Devils prospect update! This week’s action was highlighted by Tyce Thompson and Patrick Moynihan putting in productive performances for Providence, Artem Shlaine scoring his first NCAA goal for UConn, and Nico Daws earning his first shutout in the DEL. Let’s take a look at how each prospect performed over the past week.

QMJHL

Dawson Mercer and Chicoutimi last played on 1/31 against Victoriaville. Unfortunately, Victoriaville had a few COVID-19 positive tests after that game which means that Chicoutimi had to enter a 2 week quarantine. The good news is that Chicoutimi hasn’t had any positive cases so this is all a part of the QMJHL’s protocol. It now appears that Chicoutimi will resume their season on 2/17 against Rouyn-Noranda.

NCAA

Matt Hellickson was a +3 with 2 shots as Notre Dame had 2 convincing victories against Ohio State last week.

Aarne Talvitie and Penn State had last week off as both of their games against Michigan were postponed. They are back in action this weekend against Ohio State.

Tyce Thompson had 5 assists (3 EV, 1 PP, 1 EN), +2, 5 shots, and won 46.67% of his faceoffs as Providence split a pair of games against Merrimack last weekend. All 5 of his assists came in Saturday’s 5-1 victory. Watch #27 earn 5 assists in the tweet below:

Patrick Moynihan had a PP goal, 2 assists, +1, and 2 shots across 2 games last weekend. He now has a 5 game point streak with 3 goals and 4 assists during that stretch. Check out his latest PP goal below:

Case McCarthy had an assist, -1, 2 PIM, and 7 shots as Boston University split a pair of games against Boston College last week.

Artem Shlaine scored his first NCAA goal in UConn’s 4-1 victory over Northeastern on Friday. He finished the game a +1 with 5 shots and won 13/15 faceoffs (86.67%). He extends his point streak to 6 games with a goal and 6 assists during that stretch. Shlaine has been effective in the faceoff circle this season with a 58.1 FO% which ranks 3rd among freshman so far this season. Check out his goal below:

Cole Brady returned from his illness that caused him to miss 6 games. Last weekend he played in both exhibition games against the USNTDP U18 team. On Thursday he made 19 saves on 25 shots in a 6-3 loss. This was his first game action since 1/4/21 and just second game since 12/17/20. On Friday he was much sharper, making 31 saves on 32 shots in a 2-1 victory.

USHL

Ethan Edwards was a -2 with 3 shots across 2 games last week.

Akira Schmid made 24 saves on 27 shots in a 3-2 loss to Omaha on Friday. 2 of the 3 goals he surrendered came when his team was shorthanded. He then made 19 saves on 21 shots in a 3-1 loss to Des Moines on Saturday. 1 of those 2 goals he gave up came when his team was shorthanded.

Russia

KHL

VHL & MHL

Yegor Zaitsev had an EN goal, +2, 2 PIM, 3 shots, and averaged 17:06 across 3 KHL games last week.

Daniil Misyul had an even rating and played 3:55 in his only KHL game last week. He’ll represent Russia with Shakir Mukhamadullin this week in the Euro Hockey Tour.

Arseni Gritsyuk remains sidelined with an injury from the WJC.

Nikita Popugayev was a -1 with 2 PIM and 3 shots while averaging 10:23 across 2 KHL games last week.

Shakir Mukhamadullin was a +1 with a shot while averaging 12:36 across 2 KHL games last week. His offense hasn’t been as productive as early in the season when he was receiving more PP time. He had 6 points over his first 12 games and now has 4 points over his last 27 games. I’m happy that he’s playing nearly 13 minutes per game as a 19 year old defenseman in the KHL. Among the U20 defensemen in the KHL this season that have played 20+ games, his 0.26 points per game rate is double that of the 2nd most productive defender, Vladislav Kolyachonok (0.13). His points per game rate also ranks 5th among U20 KHL defensemen that have played 35+ games going back to the league’s founding in 2008.

Finland

Liiga

Eetu Pakkila was a -1 with 7 shots and averaged 13:22 across 3 games last week. So far in 2021 he has 2 assists in 10 games.

Sweden

SHL & Allsvenskan

Nikola Pasic had a goal, assist, +1, 4 shots, and averaged 16:10 across 3 games last week. Check out his goal below:

Alexander Holtz was a -1 with a shot and averaged 12:14 across 2 games last week. He’s in a bit of a slump right now with no points over his last 6 games and no goals over his last 12 games. Mattias Ek of Hockey News SE reports that Djurgarden has removed Holtz from the PP unit, as they look to shake up the SHL’s worst PP. Here’s a rough translation of his coach’s comments about his play recently:

I think that Alexander has pondered for a while and actually struggled with maybe self-confidence since after JVM. I think it’s just about scoring goals and gaining confidence that way, then I think it will be a bit wrong. If you can contribute with hard work and be strong on the puck and get energy and play a little more time in the attack zone, I think a lot will come together with the obvious goal scorer, says Djurgården’s head coach Robert Ohlsson.

But if you tie everything with the goal scorer then I get a little worried. I wish that, a bit like at the end of the last period when he had to jump in again, then he started to let go and skate in earnest. Then I think that his arrow points in the right direction as well, if he starts moving his feet, says Robert Ohlsson.

The Rest of Europe

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

Benjamin Baumgartner had a goal, even rating, 6 PIM, and averaged 12:54 across 2 games last week.

Nico Daws made his 3rd appearance of the season for ERC Ingolstadt with a 25 save shutout victory last Tuesday. It was ERC Ingolstadt’s only game of the week and Daws’ first game since 1/15.

Your Take

Which prospects stood out to you this week? What do you think about Tyce Thompson’s 5 assist performance? What about the productive seasons that Patrick Moynihan and Artem Shlaine are having? Are you concerned about Alexander Holtz’s slump? Leave your comments below and thank you for reading!