Prospect Statistics: December

This is Troy Hesketh. A month ago he was a hockey player. Now? Well, we don’t exactly know what he is, other than an American teenager. December has seen a number of our prospects deviate negatively from their normal production values. It has also seen a number of them participate for their respective countries in the biggest tournament for junior-aged talent.

*EDIT* I've added in the totals for Davidson and Marincin.

Cameron Abney RW Edmonton/WHL

DEC: 2 GP 0-0-0 +1 0PIM 2 ZPG
YTD: 26GP 3-1-4 -3 26PIM

I didn’t see anything to suggest that Abney was injured, so we’ve got to assume that he just isn’t a good enough player to be in the line-up for Edmonton anymore as a regular player. If his December performance continues to the New Year, I’d be shocked if he was awarded a contract at the end of this year by the Oilers

Phil Cornet W Oklahoma/AHL

DEC: 8GP 0-2-2 0 2PIM 12SH 6ZPG
YTD: 23GP 0-4-4 -3 4PIM 24SH

Cornet’s games came at a time when Linus Omark was playing with the Oilers. He’s clearly not among the 12 best AHL forwards on most given nights. He’s shooting more which is a nice sign but sooner or later he’s going to have to force the coach to play him more.

Drew Czerwonka LW Kootenay/WHL

DEC: 11GP 3-8-11 +7 13PIM 3 ZPG
YTD: 34GP 10-13-23 +6 39PIM

Another great month for the 2010 6th rounder. Kootenay is one of the best teams in the WHL this year and Czerwonka is providing complimentary offense to the more well-known scorers. What really impresses me is his dedication to the defensive side of hockey in December, only in two of his 11 games was he a minus player. He’s getting some powerplay time as well (1-2-3 in December), and it stands to reason that he’s got the trust of his coaching staff.

Robby Dee C Maine/NCAA

DEC: 6GP 3-4-7 +2 6PIM 11SH 1ZPG
YTD: 19GP 8-11-19 +6 10PIM 47SH

Robby Dee has become my darkhorse candidate for prospect of the year. He’s a lot older than most, but he’s performing in a very tough league. For some reason, my usual source material didn’t have his faceoff percentages for any December games. He’s contributing on the powerplay (2 goals) and at even strength while scoring at a very consistent pace. The only downside is his schedule, which has been extremely light the past two months, playing in only 11 games.

Jordan Eberle RW Edmonton/NHL

DEC: 13GP 5-3-8 0 0PIM 35SH 8ZPG
YTD: 36GP 9-14-23 -4 4PIM 76SH

Eberle rebounded from a goalless November to put up a very respectable 8 points this month. He’s still got that defensive awareness that also eluded him in November and has rekindled his chemistry with Taylor Hall. He’ll be a treat to watch all season long.

Taylor Hall LW Edmonton/NHL

DEC: 13GP 6-4-10 -2 2PIM 45SH 6ZPG
YTD: 12-10-22 -7 8PIM 100SH

A very productive month for Edmonton’s youngest Oiler. He’s found his stroke and is burying goals from everywhere. His shot totals lead all of the Oilers rookies by a wide margin, and is contributing both on the powerplay (2 goals) and at even strength.

Curtis Hamilton LW Saskatoon/WHL

DEC: 5GP 0-5-5 +1 0PIM
YTD: 31GP 15-27-42 +27 6PIM

Hamilton’s December with Saskatoon was “interrupted” with a trip to Buffalo with Team Canada’s U-20 entry in the WJC. He made the team as a 3/4line player but ended up contributing much more than that. He impressed me with his ability to fit various roles for Coach Cameron, from PK specialist to top-line winger. While it wasn’t his most productive month in the Dub, his contributions to Team Canada more than make up for that.

Teemu Hartikainen RW Oklahoma/AHL

DEC: 11GP 3-4-7 +2 8PIM 13SH 6ZPG
YTD: 34GP 10-8-18 -9 25PIM 60SH

Hartikainen was the player elevated to Top-6 minutes with the departure of Linus Omark to Edmonton and the big Finn was more than capable of picking up the slack. Not only did he contribute at even-strength (1 PP assist in DEC) but he showed that he’s capable of keeping the opposition off the score sheet as well. It looks like Oklahoma won’t be missing Omark all that much with Hartikainen around.

Kellen Jones W Quinnipiac/NCAA

DEC: 6GP 0-5-5 -3 2PIM 14SH 2 ZPG
YTD: 21GP 4-9-13 -4 27PIM 44SH

After a November to forget, Jones is back finding the score sheet, but the majority of his points (3 assists) are coming with the man advantage. He’s struggling to keep opposing teams from scoring and the team is losing games. The Jones twins are basically the Quinnipiac offense, so as Jones goes, so do the Bobcats.

Milan Kytnar C Oklahoma/AHL

DEC: 11GP 1-2-3 0 2PIM 10SH 8ZPG
YTD: 33GP 2-6-8 -7 8PIM 27SH

Kytnar’s still putting up modest point totals, but he’s found his shut-down game again, which is good news for the Barons. Seen as more of a defensive specialist, Kytnar will need to continue this positive trend in his +/- if he’s to move up the organizational depth chart.

Anton Lander C Timra/SEL

DEC: 5GP 1-1-2 -3 4PIM 14SH 87.57 TOI 3 ZPG
YTD: 29GP 7-7-14 -1 22PIM 54SH 522.13 TOI

Lander’s December began with a promotion to the second-line for Timra and he delivered to mixed results. He scored his two points in games where he was on the 2-line, but he also contributed his -3 rating during those games. He also captained Team Sweden at the WJC tournament in Buffalo, where he is the top-line center and skating with talented players like the draft-eligible Gabriel Landeskog and Patrik Cehlin. A good month for Lander.

Ryan Martindale C Ottawa/OHL

DEC: 6GP 3-5-8 +2 0PIM 2 ZPG
YTD: 33GP 20-28-48 +23 18PIM

Martindale missed some time at the beginning of December due to injury, but it hasn’t slowed down his torrid offensive pace. He’s contributing both at even-strength and on the PP (1-2-3) but wasn’t invited to Team Canada’s tryout camp which is somewhat distressing to me. He’s obviously scoring well enough to be invited and he’s a large mammal capable of getting physical. Let’s hope Martindale takes this the right way and dedicates himself to making the cut next year, instead of sulking.

Linus Omark W Edmonton/NHL

DEC AHL: 3GP 1-2-3 +1 0PIM 5SH 2 ZPG
YTD AHL: 26GP 13-11-24 +6 28PIM 67SH
DEC NHL: 8GP 1-4-5 -1 4PIM 7SH 102.22 TOI 5ZPG

Damn Swede, making my life difficult trying to Excel two separate leagues. No matter, as Omark’s season has taken a turn for the better with his recall to Edmonton. He’s brought his crafty talents and dogged determination with him, but is still a very streaky scorer in both leagues. He should push for increased ice-time with Edmonton, and may not see the AHL again this year.

Magnus Paajarvi LW Edmonton/NHL

DEC: 13GP 2-6-8 +5 4PIM 26SH 192.03 TOI 7 ZPG
YTD: 35GP 4-10-14 +1 10PIM 67SH 500.16 TOI

Magnus rebounded from his November O-fer in dramatic fashion this month, putting up points and earning increased ice time. His +5 is a testament to his defensive acumen and speed, as he’s consistently the first forward back in the defensive zone to take care of his assignments. His shot totals are also improving, which should bring good things in the New Year.

Tyler Pitlick RW Medicine Hat/WHL

DEC: 11GP 4-9-13 -2 4PIM 2 ZPG
YTD: 33GP 15-21-36 +2 23PIM

That Pitlick didn’t earn an invitation to Team USA’s tryout camp is more an indication of USA’s increased depth than it is a factor of Pitlick’s season, as I discussed previously. Pitlick was without one of his team’s leading lights (Linden Vey or Emerson Etem) for the final six games of December’s schedule, but that didn’t stop him from amassing a 9-game scoring streak (broken the last game of December) during that stretch. He’s putting up good numbers at even-strength with only four powerplay assists in December, but I thought he’d have figured out the defensive side of the WHL by now.

Kristians Pelss RW Edmonton/WHL

DEC: 5GP 2-3-5 +6 5PIM 2ZPG
YTD: 30GP 4-9-13 +8 17PIM

Who saw this coming? Seriously. Pelss has become an every-day player for Edmonton and respresented his home country of Latvia in the Division-1 U-20 WJCs, helping them to a gold-medal finish. Upon his return to Edmonton he promptly put up a multi-point effort. He’s finally earning the trust of the coaching staff (well, at least he’s being trusted more than Cameron Abney, hah), and is making things happen. Not bad for a kid even the internet hadn’t heard of on draft-day.

Toni Rajala RW Ilves/SM-Liiga

DEC: 5GP 1-2-3 +2 2PIM 28SH 82.38 TOI 3ZPG
YTD: 22GP 6-6-12 -5 4PIM 105SH 336.03 TOI

Rajala’s season isn’t going as well as some might have hoped, but they fail to remember that the SM-Liiga is a very good league full of men and Jesse Niinimaki. Okay, the last part may not be exactly endearing, but the fact remains Rajala is keeping his head above water juggling professional hockey and Finland’s dated tradition of mandatory military service. Between those two things he’s also managing to moonlight for Team Finland in Buffalo. He’s a very busy man this year, so credit where it’s due. He’s shooting from everywhere this year to some success and is starting to be more defensively responsible.

Chris VandeVelde C Oklanoma/AHL

DEC: 11GP 1-1-2 -1 10PIM 16SH 9ZPG
YTD: 33GP 4-5-9 -7 24PIM 39SH

We didn’t expect VandeVelde to bring his much talked-about offense from the NCAA to the professional ranks, and December seems to follow that logic. He’s been put in a shut-down role on the Barons and is fairing adequately by indications of +/- this month. I don’t know what more to expect from one of the Oilers’ oldest prospects, but it’s not as if he’s putting up the numbers to warrant a call-up.

Jordan Bendfeld D Oklahoma/AHL

DEC: 6GP 0-0-0 +4 16PIM 5SH 6ZPG

Bendfeld is seeing his first AHL action of the season in December. That’s a bit of a tell as to how far down the organizational depth chart he is. For what it’s worth, he doesn’t appear to be in over his head this time. He’s playing the role of policeman well and isn’t getting killed in the defensive zone. To me, he seems to be earning more and more game action.

Jeremie Blain D Acadie-Bathurst/QMJHL

DEC: 8GP 1-7-8 +5 10PIM 0 HITS 1ZPG
YTD: 10GP 1-8-9 +5 12PIM 5 HITS

He’s finally back and healthy. I almost forgot he was capable of blueline offense, but I guess when we don’t hear from a prospect for a while we tend to forget about him. His return is a rejuvenating shot in the arm for the Titan as he is a leader on this team (assistant captain) and a valuable offensive weapon. Stay healthy kid.

Kyle Bigos D Merrimack/NCAA

DEC: 2GP 0-0-0 0 4PIM 10SH 2ZPG
YTD: 15GP 0-4-4 +2 42PIM 30SH

Merrimack played 3 games in December. Bigos didn’t do much in two of them. Moving on...

Taylor Chorney D Oklahoma/AHL

DEC: 11GP 2-3-5 +1 6PIM 14SH 8ZPG
YTD: 34GP 2-10-12 +5 16PIM 51SH

Chorney isn’t quite the offensive defenseman he was thought to be anymore, but appears to have morphed himself into a serviceable depth option for an NHL team. He’s still putting up a lot of his points on the powerplay (2 assists of 5 points this month), but it’s still a respectable total for a blueliner. He’s a bit streaky with his points though, as two of his games contributed four of his points.

Brandon Davidson D Regina/WHL

DEC: 10GP 1-4-5 +3 4PIM 5 ZPG
YTD: 37GP 5-25-30 -4 32PIM

Another month of solid offensive contribution for Davidson. What's more impressive is his +/- is starting to take a turn for the better. He's rounding into form and might be an option at the next level if he can prove adequate defensively.

Troy Hesketh D Chicago/USHL

DEC: 2GP 0-0-0 -2 2PIM 1SH
YTD: 23GP 0-0-0 -11 30PIM 8SH

More of the same from Hesketh here. What’s more is that he appears to have had a falling-out with his team. There are rumours he’s been dealt, but nothing official as of yet. Deal or no deal, I think his hockey scholarship to Wisconsin might be in jeopardy.

Martin Marincin D Prince George/WHL

DEC: 7GP 1-4-5 +1 2PIM
YTD: 33GP 10-25-35 +6 37PIM

Marincin continues his impressive season and earned a place on the Slovak Junior squad for the second straight year. There's really not much to say here that hasn't been said before, Marincin is a WHL stud.

Johan Motin D Oklahoma/AHL

DEC: 10GP 0-1-1 -7 8PIM 9SH 9ZPG
YTD: 29GP 1-3-4 -9 26PIM 23SH

Motin’s a tough nut to crack this year, as he’s been wildly inconsistent from month to month. This was not one of his good periods as he didn’t score and his ability to play defence went in the tank. HS’d once in December he may be losing playing time to Bendfeld or a veteran AHLer sometime soon.

Jeff Petry D Oklahoma/AHL

DEC AHL: 8GP 3-5-8 +1 4PIM 24SH 3ZPG
YTD AHL: 31GP 7-15-22 -8 16PIM 72SH
DEC NHL: 2GP 0-1-1 -2 0PIM 4SH 1ZPG

The development of Jeff Petry took a strong upward spike this month, and may not plateau out for a while. He’s fixed his defensive shortcomings, as evidenced by his much improved +/-, while still putting up above-average point totals. He’s earned his way to the NHL club and didn’t look out of place in his two-game stint. Edmonton needs a player of Petry’s skill-set dearly at this point with Ryan Whitney’s injury troubles. The former Michigan State Spartan may have earned his way into an NHL job for the next decade.

Alex Plante D Oklahoma/AHL

DEC: 10GP 0-0-0 +2 10PIM 8SH 10ZPG
YTD: 32GP 1-5-6 +4 66PIM 30SH

Plante continues to improve towards mastering AHL offenses, but it came at the expense of his ability to produce his own offence this month. No matter though, as Plante fits a niche market attractive to many NHL minds. He’s a big body, he likes to hurt people, and is improving his mobility. A very real option for recall at any time and might not be in the AHL for much longer.

Tyler Bunz G Medicine Hat/WHL

DEC: 9GP 6W3L .923SV% 2.28GAA 1SO
YTD: 26GP 17W7L .916SV% 2.47GAA 2SO

Bunz continues to improve on his stats and has taken control of the #1goalie duties for MH. In his one relief appearance this month, he stonewalled the opposing team for the last 37 minutes of the game, allowing his team to come from behind to win. I’m starting to become a fan of Bunz’s and think he was well worth the investment of a 5th round pick. When he loses he tends to lose in spectacular fashion, we’re not talking a 2-1 loss here, he’ll need to cut down on that to be taken seriously.

Bryan Pitton G Oklahoma/AHL

Pitton did not play a game in December, even with Jeff Deslauriers on loan to Team Canada’s Spengler Cup entry.

Olivier Roy G Acadie-Bathurst/QMJHL

DEC: 3GP 2W1L 0.883SV% 3.38GAA
YTD: 21GP 0.904SV% 2.95GAA 1SO

Regardless of his inconsistent play, Roy was named to Team Canada’s squad in Buffalo. He’s been going downhill since November now, and hasn’t exactly been stellar for Team Canada thusfar. Is he cracking under pressure, or are holes in his game starting to show through at the highest level? I think we should be concerned about our #1 goalie prospect, he’s close to being passed by Tyler Bunz in my opinion.

Beware the Latvians

I’m almost done with the December prospect statistics. Seriously I am. It just so happens that I got distracted on something peculiar.

I noticed when compiling the stats for our WHL prospects that something was amiss. There was a long stretch of games where both of our Edmonton Oil Kings prospects were not playing in any games. I can understand one of the two missing a game here and there, because Cameron Abney really has lost his way as a hockey player, but for both Abney and Pelss to be out indefinitely? Something’s up here.

And sure enough, there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for both of them missing time. Abney for the aforementioned horrendous play, and Pelss for a much better reason.

He was helping his home country of Latvia win their way back to the spotlight of International Junior Hockey. Team Latvia, along with the Danes will be back in their place as Canada’s doormat next year in Calgary/Edmonton, both having won their way back as champions of the 2010 U-20 Division 1 Championship.

Our own Kristians Pelss was a leading light on his team, coming in tied for 4th in team scoring as an 18-year old. His final totals of 5GP 2-2-4 aren’t anything flashy but his PIM total of 31 is easily the highest on his team. He must have a bit of agitator in him to garner that kind of statistic. The team lead in points went to a 19-year old player, and fittingly so as this is primarily a tournament for upperclassmen, but Pelss’ respectable showing bodes well for his country’s team and his club team back in Canada. If he can step up his scoring prowess for Edmonton it’ll go a long way in raising his stock within the Oilers’ organization.

As the story unfortunately goes in the promotion/relegation of countries on a year-to-year basis as is the way in the IIHF’s current format, Latvia (and Denmark) will go from champions one year to likely cannon-fodder in 2011. It isn’t the greatest format, and one I’d certainly like to see changed (relegated top-tier teams and promoted Div1 teams should square off pre-tournament to determine who plays in which division, in my humble opinion), but that’s not for the here and now. Coming to Latvia’s aid next year is the fact that Pelss will be one year older and still eligible for the tournament, as will some kid by the name of Zemgus Girgensons, who played in this year’s tourney as a 17-year old and put up 4-3-7 over the five games. He’ll likely be the go-to guy next year, with Pelss riding shotgun as all the other top-10 scorers from this year will not be eligible in 2011.

So congratulations to Kristians Pelss and the rest of Team Latvia. Next year? Get ready for the pain.

I'm not dead yet

To those wondering when I'm going to get off my ass and get December's stats up, sorry.

I just got my laptop back from it's tour of hell (AKA the techie) for the second goddamned time in two months. Stats should be up in a day or two.

On Tyler Pitlick and the World Juniors

Word reached us earlier in the week that Tyler Pitlick will not be attending Team USA’s “tryout camp”, and was met with a lot of hand-wringing among Oilerdom. A couple of explainations were put forth, with many of them nicking Pitlick because he spurned NCAA hockey in favour of the CHL this past offseason. The hole in this theory rests with Jack Campbell’s selection to the team. Gone are the days where the American team was as close-minded as the Ruskies, they’re pulling the best talent from wherever they can find it.

While it’s hard to take initially, there are a lot of factors at play here that may benefit Pitlick and Team USA in the long run.

Pitlick is off to a decent start with Medicine Hat, but results have been a tad underwhelming. We had been led to believe that young Pitlick would immediately get to work dominating WHL competition. A slow October gave way to a better November yet he was passed over by a couple of curious selections, filling out Team USA’s 29 man camp roster. With as many as six returning forwards from last year’s Gold medal winning team, Pitlick was in tough to crack this roster to begin with. The newcomers to the selection camp are of similar stature to Pitlick and will bring the tenacity and speed that was a hallmark of last year’s entry. Also along for the ride in what may be a case similar to Jordan Schroeder is 5’6” Rocco Grimaldi who is eligible for the 2011 entry draft.

If Team USA had used the same style of selection camp that the Canadians are fond of, there is little doubt in my mind that Pitlick would have been among the names called. I have to say I’m a fan of the Americans’ camp (minus the lack of goaltending competition) because the coaching staff have fewer players they have to focus on before making a decision. However Pitlick is not on this roster, which leaves him in Medicine Hat for a lenghy duration, possibly minus two of his star teammates.

Unlike Pitlick who did not make the selection camp roster, Anaheim’s 2010 first rounder Emerson Etem is vying for a spot. Selected two spots before Pitlick, Etem possesses that effortless speed that the American brass has been fond of in recent years. While speed isn’t exactly a weakness of Pitlick’s game, it can’t be called a strength either. A flashy scorer with some grit to his game, Etem could fill multiple roles for the American squad. This leaves a hole in the Hat’s top-2 lines, especially if Etem is suiting up for Team USA come boxing day.

Another traning camp invite went to Canadian Linden Vey, the leading scorer for the Tigers. Vey has been on fire early this year and would be considered a huge loss to Medicine Hat over the Christmas break. I don’t know much about Vey other than he’s been around the Dub for what seems like forever. He’s bounced around quite a bit but has found a home on Medicine Hat’s top line. He’s a year older than both Pitlick and Etem and has the offensive game to crack the Canadians’ final roster if he has a good camp and catches some instant chemistry with similarly skilled players.

All this means that Tyler Pitlick could be missing two key teammates in Medicine Hat and might be looked upon to fill the void. This is a great chance for us to get a better idea of what Pitlick can bring in the WHL. If he’s able to step up in the absence of Etem and Vey it’ll mean that Pitlick is on track at becoming a Top-6 guy at the NHL level. If the Tigers falter without their two stars it’ll be on Pitlick that most of that blame falls. Time to see if the move from NCAA hockey was worth it.

Prospects Live!

The night of Friday, December 3rd 2010 will not soon be forgotten. The AHL’s newest franchise, Edmonton’s affiliate the Oklahoma City Barons made what will be an annual pilgrimage to Manitoba to battle the Moose. It’s a match-up of future members of Northwest Division rivals, and both franchises have some nice things to look forward to if today’s game was any indication.

Attending tonight’s game was a gathering of Winnipeg’s Oilogosphere community. Along with myself, the Junior Vice-President of Bubbling Under, were two superb commenters who I happened to first come to know from visiting Lowetide’s fine site. Providing witty insight, and scamming free beer off the fine-featured waitresses of our pre-game boozenglug was the irreverent Showerhead. He is a man I’ve come to know on a more personal level ever since we discovered we share a passion for the field of Environmental Sciences, and have since taken two University classes together. I also had the pleasure of meeting another wise commenter in Icecastles, a man who has likely seen more snow in his life than most 70-year olds have, and still manages to remain loyal to the Oilers. As quick with his humour as he is with his adept hockey commentary, it was a pleasure meet the man and share a couple hours of drinking and hockey. There was also a friend of Showerhead, whose moniker will be Chris, because he lacks a handle around the Oilogosphere that I know of. Chris was indispensible, providing more colourful commentary and, well, shelled out the money up-front for the tickets.

Said tickets, it should be noted, were primo. First row between the blueline and faceoff circle, Barons attacking zone for two of three periods. We were so close to the action that Shawn Belle was actually able to look like he was ignoring me when I yelled “TAKE A SLAPSHOT” at him before a faceoff. While it did make for a bit of a trying time identifying things like breakout structure and defensive posture of the Oilers prospects, Showerhead always had to be on his game to avoid a glass-rattling hit from Johan Motin up-ending his overpriced alcoholic beverage.

My initial thoughts on the size of these fine upstanding gentlemen as the game was in its infancy is that these are some large mammals we’re dealing with. Alex Giroux stood out in my eyes as being much larger than advertised. Alex Plante also remains one of the largest defensemen I’ve seen. But the player that stood out more than the rest was Manitoba’s starting goaltender, a rookie by the name of Eddie Lack. He’s Dubnyk-sized and then some.

The Moose have a lot of things going for them this year, but have been treading water in the middle of the pack in the North Division. They found an adequate replacement for first round draft pick Cory Schneider between the pipes in the aforementioned Lack, who interestingly enough is the son of the goaltending coach previously employed by Florida’s goalie of the future, Jakob Markstrom. The Canucks took a flyer on him this off-season, betting on his bloodlines and look to have another NHL-calibre goaltender in the fold. He impressed me with his positioning and puck-moving abilities. The Moose are a veteran-laden team up front for the most part, but also feature a tandem of young first rounders in Jordan Schroeder, who scored, and Cody Hodgson, who did not. Both had relatively unspectacular nights and had gone somewhat unnoticed by my counterparts. A conversation with Showerhead went as such:

Showerhead: Hodgson was a fairly highly touted draft pick, wasn’t he? He seems to have lost a lot of his career already.

Doritogrande: He’s coming back from a pretty serious back injury that limited his playing time last year. Think of him like JF Jacques, with talent.

--------------

The Barons are a nice mix of veteran forwards and green blueliners this year, and tonight was no exception. They iced the following line-up:

Giroux-Moran-Macdonald
Omark-O’Marra-Reddox
Stewart-VandeVelde-Ondrus
Cornet-Kytnar-Hartikainen

Chorney-Plante
Bendfeld-Motin
Belle-Petry

Gerber

I’ll start with those I’ve identified as Bubbling Under’s prospects, and then talk a little about the team as a whole.

Linus Omark is one slick fucker. He’s got a reputation as a turnover machine and tonight was no exception. But as is the common refrain when Hemsky’s turnovers are mentioned, players that control the puck more are bound to turn over the puck more often. Omark’s linemates went out of their way to get Omark the puck, because he can do things with it. Created offense all night long by stick-handling through traffic, spotting the open man and outhustling his opponent to loose pucks. Did a lot of great work on the boards battling with men much larger than he, and showed off some impressive speed in a couple instances. Drew two penalties due to his hard work and constant motor. Clearly at the top of the AHL calibre players and wouldn’t look out of place on the Oilers. Oh, and he tried to pull his lob-shot out in the shootout. He started his attempt off with a spin-o-rama to pick up the puck and carry it in across the blue line. It made the four of us giggle with delight and want to have his babies. Okay, maybe just me. He’s an entertainer.

Chris VandeVelde was pegged as the de-facto checking center tonight, and was given the linemates befitting a player that the coaching staff wants in a defined role. He was able to saw-off the Moose top line of Hodgson-Volpatti-Shirokov with a little help from his friends. He showed good hustle, average speed and good skills in the faceoff dot. Although he appeared to defer to Milan Kytnar once in the third period when both young centers were on the ice together (a draw that Kytnar did win). Wasn’t shy in throwing his weight around in the corners either. Was the last Barons shooter in the SO and wasn’t able to impress, attempting to out-deke Lack only to run out of both time and space rather quickly. Wasn’t a good effort, especially with Reddox and Moran left on the bench.

Phil Cornet showed some hustle and a lot of try, but wasn’t much of a factor. He also didn’t get much ice-time so it wasn’t like much else could be expected about him.

Milan Kytnar was effective in the time he was given. Good positioning and faceoff skills. His speed is somewhat lacking at the AHL level and will hold him back from going any farther in his career.

To see Teemu Hartikainen on the fourth line was, to be honest, a shock. He got some extra time on the PP but didn’t put it to good use tonight. He was faster than I thought given most of the scouting reports knock his top speed. He’s also a battler along the boards and is willing to go into traffic with the puck. Drew a penalty by keeping his feet moving. A so-so effort in the shootout. He’s got a long way to go apparently, but he’s on track.

Taylor Chorney....The four of us had a nice comment on him when we noticed his jersey number. #4...check. Taylor...check. Chorney...damn. So close. To be truthful though, he was rushing the puck in a style similar to Edmonton’s current #4 tonight. It didn’t really work that well unfortunately. He was in good position most of the time tonight, but was caught flat-footed a couple times and took a careless tripping penalty in his zone. If my eyes were good tonight, he and Plante were facing the top two lines of Manitoba for a good chunk of the night.

Alex Plante is, as mentioned, a large mammal. He was good positionally except for a twenty-second stretch late in overtime where he made two successive mistakes. He was able to use his speed and physical prowess to make up for the first, throwing the Moose attacker to the ice in a rather impressive forearm shiver. He was taken wide about 15 seconds later and wasn’t able to recover, and was forced to take a hooking penalty to negate a dangerous scoring chance. Made up the second PP unit with Chorney but seemed tentative to unleash his shot from the point, preferring to pass to the sideboards time and time again.

Johan Motin knows how to finish checks, but doesn’t know how to stay out of the sin-bin. Took two penalties tonight for hooking/tripping infractions that could have been avoided through better positioning and speed. He’s regressing as a prospect in my opinion, not only due to the influx of new prospects to the system, but his own mental mistakes.

Jordan Bendfeld drew into tonight’s game, and holy hell did he make an impact. I’ll assume something’s up with Richard Petiot because a veteran presence would have helped tonight. Bendfeld’s shining moment came when he popped a moose forward center-ice just as he was receiving a pass. He came high and brought an elbow to the player’s head which resulted in an immediate whistle. That still didn’t stop former first round pick Ryan Parent from attempting to blind-side the forgotten prospect. Even though he didn’t seem prepared for the act of goonery, Bendfeld emphatically dropped Parent with a couple of quick haymakers. Two minutes for elbowing, two for roughing and a pat on the back from the entire Barons team.

Jeff Petry was an impressive physical specimen, both in his size and his skating ability. What surprised me was that he and Shawn Belle were kept away from the Moose’s top players at even strength. I had thought that Petry was taking on tough opposition but this wasn’t the case tonight. It is important to note however that the Petry-Belle tandem was the first over the boards on both SH and PP chances, and that’s a good sign for the young prospect. Maybe they’re taking the lessons learned from Chorney (throwing the kid into the deep end and hope he knows how to swim), and are bringing Petry along slower at EV but with added special teams responsibilities. Was relatively high-event tonight, on the ice for both Barons goals and one goal against.

A note on Gerber. He’s exactly what this team needs in net, especially with a blue-line as bereft of veteran presence as this one. He was solid tonight and came within a perfect Sergei Shirokov shot over his glove-hand from extending the SO. He’s also got a great mental attitude, as was demonstrated perfectly during the second period. The rowdies near us decided this was the best time to start the ever popular let’s-try-and-say-the-goalie’s-name-in-a-mocking-fashion trick. Hilarity ensued.

Showerhead: Stupid people. Gerber’s unbreakable!

Doritogrande: Uh...didn’t he break his neck last year?

Showerhead: ....so?

The Barons veteran forwards, to finish off my synopsis didn’t show up ready to play tonight, with the exception of Liam Reddox. The ginger was everywhere and was gifted the game’s first goal courtesy the best pass Marco Rosa has ever made. Note: Rosa plays for the Moose. Reddox had a full five seconds in front of Lack to deke seven different ways, finally and mercifully putting the puck five-hole. Giroux managed an assist on a nice pass to Belle coming into the zone late, but didn’t create much more offense than that. Moran was even more invisible. These two, along with Ryan O’Marra have to be better if they hope to take the second game of the back-to-back tomorrow night.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the game as much as I did.

Prospect Statistics - November

Apologies for my lack of posting during the month of November. Turns out my laptop isn’t as bulletproof as the price-tag suggested it should be. Nor is the extended warranty.

But I digress. November saw a couple of prospects pull away from the pack, while others came crashing back down to Earth after putting up successful showings in October. 2010 is turning out to be a banner year for Stu MacGregor, our resident talent finder, but it appears that the lustre is quickly dulling on 2009.

On a formatting note, I can’t stand the way I tried to organize the October stats, so I’ll be tweaking them yet again. Please comment if you’ve got suggestions on how this can be improved.

*Edit: I’ve not yet completed the icetime totals for our NHL prospects (Eberle, Hall, Paajarvi) and would like to get this thing up ASAP. I’ll have a second post up later on with their respective icetimes and comments.

Cameron Abney RW Edmonton/WHL
NOV 9GP 0-0-0 -2 9PIM 9ZPG
YTD 24GP 3-1-4 -4 26 PIM

Best use of a 3rd round pick ever? He’s a tough guy who appears unwilling to goon it up anymore. What good is he now that his burgeoning offensive talent has dried up? Didn’t dress for the last two games of November.

Phil Cornet Wing Oklahoma/AHL
NOV 5GP 0-0-0 -2 2PIM 2SH 5ZPG
YTD 15GP 0-2-2 -3 2PIM 12SH

Not sure what to expect here, as I didn’t peg him as an every-day player in OKC this year. Missed 6 games in a row in early November, likely due to JF Jacques’ conditioning stint. He’s not on a feature line, so the points aren’t likely to come. He’s also not pushing for additional ice time with his performances, so he’s likely in “next year territory” already.

Drew Czerwonka LW Kootenay/WHL
NOV 8GP 2-1-3 +3 13PIM 5ZPG
YTD 23GP 7-5-12 -1 26PIM

He’s come back down from his soaring heights of October, but he’s still producing at a respectable level for what he is (a 6th round pick). He’s seeing powerplay time (one PP goal this month) so his point totals should be taken with a grain of salt. Interesting player steadily earning the trust of his coaches.

Robby Dee C Maine/NCAA
NOV 5GP 0-1-1 +1 2PIM 15SH 4ZPG
YTD 13GP 5-7-12 +4 4PIM 36SH

As well as the month of October was to our long-lost 2005 draft pick, November was the polar opposite. His Maine squad had a very infrequent schedule which might have had some effect on his consistency, but that’s a poor excuse for a collegiate athlete who at 23 should be dominating the league. On a positive note, his faceoff percentages are hovering around 60% on the year (62% in November in just under 200 attempts). He, like VandeVelde, might garner a contract due to his toolbox meshing nicely with what the Oilers organization needs (big bodied C with faceoff skill).

Jordan Eberle RW Edmonton/NHL
NOV 14GP 0-7-7 -6 2PIM 22SH 7ZPG
YTD 23GP 4-11-15 -4 4PIM 41SH

Eberle continues to impress me at the NHL level with his consistency and work ethic. He’s the best of the kids and the coaches are rewarding his growth with special teams time (one powerplay assist). His lack of goal scoring is of little concern to me because he’s still creating offense. Some will point out that he’s been a premier goal scorer wherever he’s played in the past, but then again Liam Reddox was pegged as a top-6 guy or nothing at all coming out of junior, most kids will be different players once they mature. Hoping for more good things to come.

Taylor Hall LW Edmonton/NHL
NOV 14GP 4-3-7 -1 2PIM 36SH 8ZPG
YTD 23GP 6-6-12 -5 6PIM 55SH

Hall is improving over the last two months, and that’s a great sign for Oilers fans. He’s shooting, he’s more involved in the overall game, and he’s got confidence playing with Eberle and old man Horcoff. It’s great to see chemistry developing with our youngest player and our most responsible two-way forward and it’ll bode well for Hall’s future if he can be relied upon in all three zones. He’s scoring at even strength (3-2-5) as well as the PP (1-1-2) and his production has been consistent (only one multi-point game in November). The only question I have left is whether he can sustain this positive growth throughout the months to come.

Curtis Hamilton Wing Saskatoon/WHL
NOV 11GP 7-11-18 +13 0PIM 2ZPG
YTD 26GP 15-22-37 +26 6PIM

An outstanding month for our Dub stud has seen his stock rise on a National level, with an invite to Team Canada’s U-20 tryout camp. Hamilton has shown the ability to score at will and, perhaps more importantly, remain healthy. A big body who knows how to create offense on the PK (scored a SH goal this month) is a welcome commodity to any team. He might not be the kind of guy TC is looking at using in a Top-6 role for this year’s team, but I doubt they’ll find a better energy/role player who has a 6’3” frame. I’ll be surprised if he isn’t playing key minutes in Buffalo over Christmas.

Teemu Hartikainen RW Oklahoma/AHL
NOV 11GP 3-3-6 -3 10PIM 22SH 6ZPG
YTD 23GP 7-4-11 -11 17PIM 47SH

Hartikainen is doing what we thought he’d be doing in a Pro North-American league; score goals. He’s been very effective on the powerplay, all his goals this month came courtesy the man-advantage, but he’s still giving a lot back in terms of scoring chances the other way. He’s improving in this regard, his +/- is nowhere near as bad as his October statistic, but there’s lots of room to improve still.

Kellen Jones Wing Quinnipiac/NCAA
NOV 8GP 1-0-1 -1 6PIM 12SH 7ZPG
YTD 15GP 4-4-8 -1 25PIM 30SH

Not a lot of promising performances to write about for the wundertwins at Quinnipiac this month. Both brothers have been relatively ineffective. What’s more concerning is that their struggles appear to be affecting the team, who have been in a tailspin since the Jones’ offense dried up. As Kellen and Connor go, so too does their team. They’ve got to get back to their scoring ways or risk losing their team, and themselves back to relative obscurity.

Milan Kytnar C Oklahoma/AHL
NOV 11GP 0-2-2 -5 4PIM 8SH 9ZPG
YTD 22GP 1-4-5 -7 6PIM 17SH

A mediocre month for Kytnar. His offense is about where we should expect is, but the minus-5 isn’t what I was led to believe was par for the course. He’s not likely to be handling hard minutes as the Barons are a veteran-laden team, which makes his +/- a very disappointing stat.

Anton Lander C Timra/SEL
NOV 8GP 2-3-5 +1 4PIM 14SH 142.07TOI 4ZPG
YTD 24GP 6-6-12 +2 18PIM 40SH 434.16TOI

The 19-year old Lander is handling 3rd line duty in a professional league very well. He’s seeing on average 18 minutes of all-purpose ice time per game and is using it to score goals and keep opponents from scoring. He should be expecting a call from the Swedish junior National team where he could be the team’s top center and captain. He’s proving that his decision to stay another year in Sweden was sage advice. Continued play like this and Lander should be in line to make a direct jump to the NHL next year as a bottom-6 C.

Ryan Martindale C Ottawa/OHL
NOV 12GP 8-12-20 +12 8PIM 3ZPG
YTD 27GP 17-23-40 +21 18PIM

Okay. I’m starting to come around on the supposed “lazy oaf”. He’s kicking down the doors of the OHL along with fellow 2010 draftee Tyler Toffoli and 2011-eligible Shane Prince, and he’s doing it at even strength (5-12-17 EV scoring). It’d be interesting to see how the kids did if they were split apart, but if I’m coaching the 67’s I don’t fix what ain’t broke. Should be attending the Team Canada camp (who wouldn’t want a 6’2” center with offensive skill at least around for the tryouts?), but I’ll get over it. Keep it coming kid.

Linus Omark Wing Oklahoma/AHL
NOV 11GP 8-4-12 +4 6PIM 36SH 4ZPG
YTD 23GP 12-9-21 +5 28PIM 62SH

Linus has had a great start to the season in the AHL, but appearances are somewhat deceiving in November as his stat-line was the beneficiary of an un-repeatable performance against the Baby-Leaves. While 5 goals in a game is an impressive feat, that accounted for more than half his goal totals for the entire month. I might be nit-picking but if he’s to be garnering interest from the NHL team, he’s got to be a consistent scorer at even strength, which wasn’t the case in November (4-3-7 on the man advantage). The creativity is there and it’s being noticed, but he won’t get by on offense in Edmonton.

Magnus Paajarvi LW Edmonton/NHL
NOV 13GP 0-0-0 -8 0PIM 17SH 13ZPG
YTD 22GP 2-4-6 -4 6PIM 41SH

Ouch. An O-fer month should spell the end of Paajarvi’s season in the NHL on any team other than the Oilers. The kid’s clearly in over his head and needs more time developing at a level where he can succeed. If he’s not going to get the linemates or ice-time (he trails Hall and Eberle in both categories)in Edmonton, get him the hell outta dodge.

Tyler Pitlick RW Medicine Hat/WHL
NOV 13GP 8-5-13 +5 12PIM 5ZPG
YTD 22GP 11-12-23 +4 19PIM

Pitlick is still adjusting to life off-campus, and he’s also adjusting to a new position. He’s been moved off center, a move he’s made before. The offense is coming through in bursts (one 4 point game, one 3 point game) and he’s also contributing on the PP (1-2-3). He’s in the range of expectations I had at the start of the year, but he’s not dominating like his teammates (Linden Vey is on fire right now, Emerson Etem is no longer shooting blanks). Continued growth is important for Pitlick in all areas of the game, and we’re seeing baby steps from the 2010 2nd rounder.

Kristians Pelss RW Edmonton/WHL
NOV 11GP 1-5-6 +3 4PIM 8ZPG
YTD 25GP 2-6-8 +2 12PIM

The Latvian import seems to be getting better accustomed to the WHL, and it’s starting to show in his offensive totals. It’s coming in the form of multi-point games (3 of them for his 6 points), but we’ll take progress wherever it comes from with the 7th rounder I had no expectations of. He’s lapping Cam Abney right now, with the next goal being a guy the coach can count on for top-6 minutes.

William Quist

I don’t have anything nice to say.

Toni Rajala Wing Ilves/SM-Liiga
NOV 4GP 2-0-2 -1 2PIM 24SH 59.27 TOI 2ZPG
YTD 17GP 5-4-9 -7 2PIM 77SH 253.25 TOI

Rajala had a string of six missed games during the month of November. It could be military services, it could be a re-aggrivation of the October injury, but I don’t speak Flemish. He showed well in the games he participated in and appears to be getting a regular shift in the Top-6 when healthy. He’s been really trigger-happy this year, which I like to see. Hopefully he can find his way into more games as the season progresses and get his ass back to North America next year.

Chris VandeVelde C Oklahoma/AHL
NOV 11GP 3-2-5 +2 8PIM 14SH 7ZPG
YTD 22GP 4-3-7 -6 14PIM 23SH

The biggest area of improvement for VandeVelde is his +/-. He’s starting to understand where he has to be on the ice and is helping his team win hockey games. Point totals are nice to see, but isn’t what’ll get him to the NHL. Another month of numbers in the black and he’ll be pushing for a call-up.

Jordan Bendfeld D Stockton/ECHL

When last we chatted, I mentioned that Bendfeld had surfaced in Stockton for a game in October. Since then I’ve noticed he’s played in a couple more with middling results. I wasn’t able to get the game-by-game statistics due to an issue with the ECHL’s website. Suffice to say he’s not a threat to any of the young blueliners in Oklahoma.

Jeremie Blain D Bathurst/QMJHL

Didn’t play a game in November. He’s still injured with no timetable for his return to action.

Kyle Bigos D Merrimack/NCAA
NOV 8GP 0-2-2 -1 22PIM 11SH 6ZPG
YTD 13GP 0-4-4 +2 38PIM 20SH

Bigos is playing big on the Merrimack blueline, as his PIM totals seem to indicate. He’s not messing around and putting up the occasional assist. He’s still seeing powerplay time (1 PP assist) but the points aren’t coming as readily as last year. Still a longshot to have an NHL career but he’s having a decent enough season thusfar.

Taylor Chorney D Oklahoma/AHL
NOV 11GP 0-4-4 +3 2PIM 19SH 8ZPG
YTD 23GP 0-7-7 +4 10PIM 37SH

He was billed as an offensive defenseman, a puck-mover, when he signed out of UND three seasons ago. He’s putting up points on the PP (all four points this month) but isn’t doing much else. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing mind, as he was known for being too “high-event” with the big club last year. If he can keep his game steady and mistake-free he might make his way back to the NHL one day.

Brandon Davidson D Regina/WHL
NOV 12GP 3-12-15 +1 17PIM 2ZPG
YTD 27GP 4-21-25 -7 28PIM

I’ll be the first to admit that when tallying the November totals for each player, I was outright surprised by Davidson’s, more than anyone else. Those single point games night in and night out really did add up for Davidson in November. He’s even improving his +/- from a month to month perspective. Has he turned the corner to the point where we can discuss a career in hockey once he graduates from junior? He’ll certainly be relying on the PP at the next level (2-4-6 in November).

Troy Hesketh D Chicago/USHL
NOV 10GP 0-0-0 -9 4PIM 5SH 10ZPG
YTD 21GP 0-0-0 -9 28PIM 7SH

Hesketh is getting schooled in a league where Jeff Petry was an All-Star. Troy is not even close. Offensively, defensively, everywhere.

Martin Marincin D Prince George/WHL
NOV 10GP 2-10-12 -4 14PIM 4ZPG
YTD 26GP 9-21-30 +5 35PIM

Marincin’s offense is continuing to hum along at a level most players can’t even dream about, but he’s starting to show holes in his all-around game. He’s still got blue-chipper written all over him, but he should be concerned about that minus-4 he’s got looming over his November. Also, he was a PP-dynamo this month, going 2-7-9.

Johan Motin D Oklahoma/AHL
NOV 10GP 1-2-3 -2 11PIM 10SH 8ZPG
YTD 19GP 1-2-3 -2 18PIM 14SH

Motin had a couple of good games in November, but it was one step forward, two steps back for the young Swedish defender. His -2 actually looks flattering, especially when noticing he had one game where he went +3. He was HS’d once in early-November and is the first defender to draw out of the line-up in favour of a more veteran presence. I wouldn’t be too surprised if he saw more of the pressbox as the season progresses.

Jeff Petry D Oklahoma/AHL
NOV 11GP 2-5-7 -1 8PIM 22SH 6ZPG
YTD 23GP 4-10-14 -9 12PIM 48SH

Petry had a much better month when judged by the metric that the first job of a defenseman is to defend. Reports are suggesting that Petry is playing fairly tough competition in the AHL, and it looks like he’s becoming better suited to his role. Offensively, Petry continues to hum along at a high level, particularly on the powerplay (1-3-4 in November). He also has a SH goal to his credit. Consistency is key for Petry if he wants to see NHL hockey this year.

Alex Plante D Oklahoma/AHL
NOV 10GP 1-3-4 +4 24PIM 14SH 6ZPG
YTD 22GP 1-5-6 +2 56PIM 22SH

Plante continues to gain momentum as a professional defenseman. He’s putting up a bit of offense, preventing the opponents to score, and laying a beatdown on anyone who so much as looks at him the wrong way. He’s exactly the type of defenseman the Oilers need right now. Could see NHL action in the new year.

Tyler Bunz G Medicine Hat/WHL
NOV 10GP 8W 0.923 SV% 2.27GAA 1SO
YTD 17GP 11W 0.913 SV% 2.57GAA 1SO

Tyler Bunz is trending up. He’s finally getting a starting goaltender’s workload and he’s proving that the faith in him is well deserved. He had a great November from a statistic viewpoint where he outplayed the front-runner for the U-20 starting goalie (also an Edmonton prospect). Nice things for a late-round pick.

Bryan Pitton G Oklahoma/AHL

Pitton didn’t play in November with the arrival of Jeff Deslauriers to OKC. Even with the recall of Martin Gerber to Edmonton, Pitton didn’t see a minute of action even though Deslauriers had a couple of off nights. I suspect he’s played his last game for the Oilers organization.

Olivier Roy G Bathurst/QMJHL
NOV 7GP 0.890 SV% 3.54GAA
YTD 18GP 0.907 SV% 2.88GAA 1SO

Olivier Roy is being touted as the odds-on favourite to be Team Canada’s starting goaltender in Buffalo this year. Let’s hope they didn’t look at his November stats, because they aren’t very pretty. He’s playing on a weak and undermanned team in Acadie-Bathurst, he’s being counted on to be the Titan’s best player night in and night out and he’s delivering mediocre results. I wasn’t convinced he had true #1 potential, and he hasn’t done anything in November to sway me.

A Jordan Bendfeld sighting

I've found him. He played a game October 16th with the Stockton Thunder. He had one shot.

Then he disappeared into the mist again. He was apparently assigned to Stockton by Edmonton on October 16th and then was re-called to OKC on the 21st. Presumably to provide a Jason Strudwick-type press-box presence.

He's still technically a prospect, and I'll try and follow him, but it apparently won't be easy.