Apr 11, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Providence College Friars celebrate after defeating the Boston University Terriers 4-3 in the championship game of the Frozen Four college ice hockey tournament at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 11, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Providence College Friars celebrate after defeating the Boston University Terriers 4-3 in the championship game of the Frozen Four college ice hockey tournament at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports /
The Vancouver Canucks have many prospects playing the underdog position.
The prospects are certainly not modelling after the Vancouver Canucks who now hit eight games without a win. The prospects are having a delightful postseason, fighting back as underdogs, dominating as tournament favourites, and racking up impressive stats.
However, the stakes are high and the competition, too. Elimination has struck the first of the Canucks prospects. More to come for sure. But for now, here is the Prospects Watch, the Playoff Edition #3, with the ups and downs of what it is like to be a Canucks prospect!
The ECHL
Hold on. Since when did we bother ourselves with the East Coast Hockey League? Isn’t that where the failing projects are, the overage late-rounders who cannot make the Utica Comets even as bench warmers?
Sure, what you want to say about the ECHL, but two good news came on the Canucks prospects front from the East Coast and the Kalamazoo Wings, the Canucks affiliate team.
One of the few remaining prospects of the Mike Gillis era, left winger Ludwig Blomstrand was named the ECHL Player of the Week. Blomstrand is currently eighth in league scoring with 58 points in 65 games. The 23-year-old has recorded six goals and four assists in the past six games.
Though unlikely he gets a contract offer from GM Jim Benning after his current contract expires this summer, the lack of depth down the wing in the Utica Comets lineup may force the Comets to take Blomstrand in on an AHL contract.
He certainly does not sound like a “Benning” type of player according to this scouting report from Hockey’sFuture.com:
Blomstrand should have a good shot at making the Comets in 2015-16 as the Canucks likely wouldn’t have re-signed him just to play in the ECHL. The Canucks management must see something in this player but at this point it appears that Blomstrand’s career ceiling is that of a minor league scorer. If a major breakthrough doesn’t occur this season it is likely Blomstrand may head back to Europe for a more lucrative deal in the future.
Alright with the ECHL out-of-the-way, let us continue to the NCAA, where the Frozen Four is set to go in Tampa Bay!
Brock Boeser and Thatcher Demko have led their respective teams to a spot in the NCAA Championship, the Frozen Four. With NCAA graduates making waves in the NHL free agent market, the pool of prospects has become quite formidable now.
It used to be the Ben Hutton effect that got Vancouver interested in the NCAA. After living up to expectations, Boeser and Demko are now about to put together a fantastic ending to the season.
RW – Brock Boeser
After grabbing himself a goal in the postseason, Brock Boeser was held pointless in his team’s win over Michigan State that now advances North Dakota to the Frozen Four. Boeser will look to end his season on another point streak as his team faces Denver on April 7th.
Boeser now has one goal and 11 assists in his six first and only postseason games.
G Thatcher Demko
Thatcher Demko pushed his Boston College Eagles into the Frozen Four with a 28-save performance on Saturday against the Minnesota Duluth. After letting just two pucks past him, he will also play on April 7th in Tampa Bay. The Eagles are set to play against number one-ranked Quinnipeg.
The winner of the North Dakota-Denver matchup will play the winner of the Boston College-Minnesota Duluth series. Here’s my hoping that these two future Canucks meet in the finals!
C Adam Gaudette
Adam Gaudette was eliminated from action thanks to the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. He ends the season with 30 points (12G/18A) in 41 games.
Starting in the CHL, almost all the Canucks prospects are in the underdog seat.
D Tate Olson
Tate Olson has not been able to cause much damage against the Seattle Thunderbirds, who now have a 2-0 series advantage against Olson’s Prince George Cougars. After losing 4-1 in Seattle for the second game, the series will now shift to Prince George for games three and four.
Olson, despite having just one assist in the series, is playing a lot of minutes in big times for his club. His physical play seems formidable by all means for the former seventh-round pick.
C Kyle Pettit
After a two-goal effort in game one of the Erie Otters series against the Saginaw Spirit, Kyle Pettit got himself a third goal in the second game, one that the Otters took 7-3 to jump to a 2-0 series lead. The Otters will now play as the visitors for the next two games.
More amazing is Pettit’s faceoff stats. In game two alone, Pettit won 20 of the 27 faceoffs he took. Great to see that he is continuing in the right direction after winning 61.7 percent of his draws this season, one which he had 21 points.
After an inspiring win for the #15 underdogs Sherbrooke Phoenix, game two saw the Shawinigan Cataractes score three answered goals to win 3-2 coming back. Defenceman and captain Carl Neill still managed to assist on his team’s second goal while recording five hits.
That tells me that he is not afraid to use his 6-foot-3, 206-pound figure to use. Good for him. Neill now has a goal and two assists in the first two games of the series. Game three goes tonight, Tuesday, in Sherbrooke.
D Guillaume Brisebois (#14 Acadie-Bathurst vs. #3 Saint John)
Guillaume Brisebois’s team is in some trouble down 2-0 against the Saint John Sea Dogs. The defenceman and captain for the Acadie-Bathurst Titans was a minus-three in game two that saw the Titans lose 4-2.
Game three is currently underway in Acadie-Bathurst as I write. Update will be coming when the game is a final. Make sure to check back.
UPDATE: The Titans have lost 7-1, down 3-0 in the series now. Brisebois recorded one hit while falling to a minus-two.
C Dmitry Zhukenov (#10 Chicoutimi vs. #7 Cape Breton)
Russian centre Dmitry Zhukenov recorded an assist in his team’s game two win over the Cape Breton “Screaming Eagles”. Game three also goes tonight and Zhukenov will look to add to his totals.
Not-so-fun fact: Zhukenov had just two shots on net in the first two games of the series. Cause for concern, perhaps? Series goes to Chicoutimi tied 1-1.
The Utica Comets were able to get their five-game losing streak snapped with a massive win over the Binghamton Senators 5-1. The Comets are back in action tonight (Tuesday) against the Rochester Americans.
Now with forward Alex Grenier back with the Comets, perhaps a late playoff push is in the workings with just 10 games remaining in the season for Utica. The way things are shaping up, the Comets look to be headed to a first-round matchup against rivals Albany Devils.
Another ECHL note here — prospect Curtis Valk had his first professional goal this weekend. He is quite undersized though, at 5-feet-9. Maybe the Calgary Flames are listening?
Perhaps overlooked is the contribution of Carter Bancks. The forward, not signed to an NHL contract by the Vancouver Canucks yet, has 33 points in 66 games for the Comets this season. Do the Canucks have room for the 26-year-old winger?
And that is it for this third installment of the Canucks prospects playoffs watch. I will update the stats for the Titans game as soon as it is available.
