With the NHL still in “will they even return?” limbo, it’s time to turn our focus to where hockey is being played.
The Hurricanes currently have a large amount of prospects playing in both North America and Europe and with the myriad of leagues they are in, I felt it might be easier to do a weekly roundup of all the ones in action.
I will be trying to keep this routine every week, with stats being pulled from the different leagues’ official websites for Monday to Sunday of that week.
I will provide comments on some players, but not all, and this can range from passing comments or trends to analysis if I end up catching a game live.
Stat Key - [TOI - Time on ice / G - Goal / A - Assist / SOG - Shots on Goal]
SHL
Brynas IF (Noel Gunler)
On his second week with his new team, Gunler has been getting steady time. He gets steady power-play time on the top unit, and while not the engine for it, he shows a lot of poise in his skating and stickhandling to create plays when the puck finds its way to him. Saturday saw his first goal with his new team.
- 11/19: 3-1 L
Third line; 16:59 TOI; 3 SOG
- 11/21: 7-1 W
Third line; 14:42 TOI; 1G; 5 SOG
Noel Gunler gör 5-1 till Brynäs. #SHL #BIFse #Canes #TakeWarning pic.twitter.com/UeMgwdUx21
— Anton (@antonj85) November 21, 2020
Djurgardens IF (Dominik Bokk)
Not too sure why Bokk hasn’t been getting time with Djurgardens, but hopefully we can see a turn around with the trend. Hopefully the goal on Saturday can help boost his stock a little.
- 11/16: 3-2 OTW
Didn’t Play
- 11/19: 3-1 L
Third line; 7:23 TOI; 1 Hit
- 11/21: 3-2 W
Fourth line; 9:34 TOI; 1G; 5 SOG
Dominik Bokk kvitterar för Djurgården. #SHL #DIFHockey #Canes #TakeWarning pic.twitter.com/JASvU9RG1k
— Anton (@antonj85) November 21, 2020
Frolunda HC (Jesper Sellgren)
Sellgren is one of the Hurricanes’ most developed prospects and it shows on the ice as he is one of Frolunda’s most relied on defenders as the team’s leader in average ice time on the top pair.
- 11/16: 4-0 L
First pair; 21:10 TOI; 1 SOG; 1 Hit; -2
- 11/19: 4-1 W
First pair; 22:30 TOI; 3 SOG; 1 Hit; +1
- 11/21: 7-1 L
First pair; 19:57 TOI; 1 SOG
Vaxjo Lakers (Jack Drury)
After leaving Harvard, Drury has made a smooth transition to the SHL, settling into a top role with the Lakers.
- 11/19: 3-1 W
Second line; 20:00 TOI; 3 SOG; 53.33% FO
- 11/21: 3-2 L
Second line; 19:27 TOI; 1G; 3 SOG; 56.5% FO
Armalis spelar fram till Jack Drury. #SHL #VLH #Canes #TakeWarning pic.twitter.com/5HqVEEJSk9
— Anton (@antonj85) November 21, 2020
HV71 (Zion Nybeck)
HV71 played its first game in weeks on Saturday and Nybeck was listed as unavailable for the match.
- 11/21: 3-2 L
Listed as unavailable for match
Liiga
Assat (Lenni Killinen)
Injured since preseason Sept. 10; estimated three months out
Ilves (Eetu Makiniemi)
Makiniemi has been struggling to find ice time with Ilves having an emerging young Czech star in Lukas Dostal, who won the Liiga Goaltender of the Year award last season at 19. Getting the two games in this week was good for him, though his second game was considerably weaker, granted he still came away with the win though.
- 11/18: 6-1 W
31 Saves; 96.88%; 1 GA
- 11/20: 7-5 W
22 Saves; 81.48%; 5 GA
JYP (Patrik Puistola; Antonni Honka)
- 11/18: 2-1 SOL
Honka: First pair; 19:05 TOI; 1 Shots; +/-
Puistola: Third line; 9:17 TOI; 3 Shots
- 11/20: 7-5 L
Honka: First pair; 16:40 TOI; 5 Shots; -1
Puistola: Third line; 16:07 TOI; 3 Shots
- 11/21: 6-1 L
Honka: First pair; 19:39 TOI; 3 Shots; -3
Puistola: Third line; 15:34 TOI; 2 Shots
Mestis
JoKP (Villa Rasanen)
No Games Played
U20 SM-Sarja
Karpat (Tuukka Tieksola)
- 11/20: 4-1 W
Second line; 16:46 TOI; 2 Shots
- 11/21: 4-2 W
Third line; 14:43 TOI; 2A; 2 Shots
KHL
Avangard Omsk (Oliver Kaski)
Although it seems likely that Kaski may not return back to the Canes’ organization, it is still worth tracking him for the time being.
- 11/17: 3-2 W
14:37 TOI; 3 SOG; 1 Block; +/-
- 11/19: 5-2 W
13:22 TOI; 1A; 2 SOG; 2 Hits; +1
Jokerit (Saku Maenalanen)
It’s the same case as Kaski, except Maenalanen played overseas all last season too, making it seem even more likely that he won’t be returning, but oh well.
- 11/16: 3-1 L
12:04 TOI; 1 Hit; -2
- 11/19: 4-1 W
17:28 TOI; 1 Hit; 1 Block; 5/10 FO
- 11/21 TOI: 3-0 W
11:21 TOI; 4/4 FO
Spartak Moscow (Alexander Nikishin)
What has become apparent with Alexander “Boom” Nikishin, is that he is apparently a fan of the offensive zone. He has been playing top minutes in the KHL after being called up from the MHL and seems to be flourishing well.
- 11/16: 3-1 W
16:01 TOI; 1 SOG; 2 Hits; 1 Block; +1
- 11/18: 4-3 OTW
19:51 TOI; 2A; 3 SOG; 2 Blocks; +1
Шайба Сергея Широкова (1:0) pic.twitter.com/rRNhNoA4O1
— Spartak Moscow (@spartak_hc) November 18, 2020
- 11/20: 2-1 SOL
19:30 TOI; 1 SOG; 2 Hits; -1; 2 Blocks
- 11/22: 5-2 L
6:21 TOI; 1 SOG; 1 Hit; 1 Block
Vityaz Podolsk (Pyotr Kochetkov)
Another case of a Hurricanes netminder not getting playing time, Kochetkov hasn’t been able to find time in the KHL and in his few appearances, it hasn’t been grand. This week was another barren one for him.
- No Games Played
VHL
Buran Voronezh (Kirill Slepets)
Slepets is apparently injured as far as I can tell and hasn’t played in a game since Oct. 31.
No Games Played
MHL
Tulpar Ufa (Alexander Pashin)
Despite not receiving an invitation to Russia’s WJC camp, Pashin is proving to be a capable player as he currently sits at tenth overall in points for the MHL with 25.
- 11/17: 8-1 W
First line; 16:16 TOI; 3 SOG
- 11/18: 3-2 W
First line; 20:06 TOI; 3 SOG
- 11/21: 2-1 W
First line; 19:28 TOI; 2A; 2 SOG; 1 Hit; 1 Block
- 11/22: 4-2 W
First line; 15:14 TOI; 5 SOG; 1 Hit; 2 Blocks
NCAA
Penn State (Kevin Wall)
Penn State may have lost three straight games, but Wall scored in all three contests and it’s hard to argue with a goal-per-game pace. Wall seems to generate quite a few breakaways with his speed and it will be interesting to keep watch of that.
- 11/19: 4-1 L
Second line; 1G; 3 Shots
Sophomore @kevinwall24 has now scored all three goals of his career against the Gophers!! #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/zj4VbMQrpG
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) November 20, 2020
- 11/20: 3-2 L
Second line; 1G; 8 Shots
END TO END
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@HeresYourReplay) November 20, 2020
Kevin Wall (CAR)
3-2 Minnesota pic.twitter.com/CDAGeUzZmb
University of Minnesota (Jack LaFontaine)
LaFontaine followed up a productive end to last season with a great start to this one, putting up two strong performances against Penn State.
- 11/19: 4-1 W
26 saves; 1 GA; 0.963%
- 11/20: 3-2 W
34 saves; 2 GA; 0.944%
.@GopherHockey & @PennStateMHKY trade chances, and Jack LaFontaine (#Canes) makes two big saves to preserve the Gophers 2-1 lead.
— J.D. Burke (@JDylanBurke) November 20, 2020
Sampo Ranta (#Avs) makes an appearance at the other end of the ice. pic.twitter.com/R2aa2VDPXq
Boston University (Domenick Fensore; Cade Webber)
- No Games Played
American International College (Jacob Kucharski)
- No Games Played
USHL
Des Moines Buccaneers (Lucas Mercuri)
- 11/21: 4-3 W
Second line; 2A
DM @logananderson_9 With a !!! He makes it 2-1 at 8:16 in the 2nd! @ialottery pic.twitter.com/mB0YDiJdSb
— Des Moines Buccaneers (@bucshockey) November 22, 2020
DM @mattchoups9 ties us up again 3-3 at 26 seconds into the 3rd! @ialottery pic.twitter.com/y9PxRWDqx0
— Des Moines Buccaneers (@bucshockey) November 22, 2020
QMJHL
Shawinigan Cataractes (Vasiliy Ponomarev)
At his current rate, Ponomarev is proving to be a stellar pick as he is steadily producing at both ends of the ice in the Q. He was invited to Russia’s WJC camp, which he will attend in December.
- 11/17: 4-2 L
2 Shots; 2 Hits; 11/22 FO
- 11/20: 3-2 OTL
1G; 1A; 3 Shots; 3 Hits; 16/29 FO
- 11/21: 5-4 L
1G; 2 Shots; 15/25 FO
Canada- WJC Selection Camp
Team Red (Jamieson Rees; Ryan Suzuki)
The Canes had three prospects invited to Canada’s WJC selection camp and it’s been promising so far to see all three getting on the scoresheet in the first two scrimmages despite being on the bottom half of the lines.
- 11/21: 4-2 L
Rees: Second line
Jamieson Rees take out 2 pic.twitter.com/OfF7ktU2bJ
— Here's Your Replay ⬇️ (@HeresYourReplay) November 22, 2020
Suzuki: Third line; 1A
- 11/22: 6-3 L
Rees: Third line; 2G
A big first goal for #TeamRed
— Sarnia Sting (@StingHockey) November 23, 2020
@HockeyCanada @_jamiesonrees pic.twitter.com/olsRuet1Zm
A great feed from Bowen Byram gives @_jamiesonrees his second of the night.
— Sarnia Sting (@StingHockey) November 23, 2020
️ Full highlights: https://t.co/xzNiYCwJbH pic.twitter.com/YicxcJ5fwb
Suzuki: Third line; 1A
36 seconds later, Canada Red makes it 4-3.
— Steven Ellis (@StevenEllisTHN) November 23, 2020
Jack Quinn finishes off the play after Bowen Byram found Ryan Suzuki, with Suzuki setting up Quinn for the goal. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/hJYTuof7A7
Team White (Seth Jarvis)
- 11/21: 4-2 W
Third line
- 11/22: 6-3 W
Third line; 1G
Seth Jarvis makes it 4-1 for Canada. Three goals in quick succession between the two teams. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/gnoSVsT6Fh
— Steven Ellis (@StevenEllisTHN) November 23, 2020
OHL
Sudbury Wolves (Blake Murray)
No Games Played
WHL
Everett Silvertips (Ronan Seeley)
No Games Played
BCHL
Coquitlam Express (Massimo Rizzo)
No Games Played