Official 2011-2012 CHL Prospects Thread

[seahawk]

Had seats on the glass for the Otters visit to Kitchener last night. McKegg was the only Leafs prospect playing. He scored a the opening goal and had an assist on the 3rd Otters goal. However, I can't say much about them as they were both very soft goals. Didn't really notice him much after that.

 

[cw]

Nice article on Brad Ross
http://www.tsn.ca/chl/story/?id=382179
With 17 goals through his first 30 games this season, Ross is the only player in the top 20 in the WHL in scoring (35 points) and penalty minutes (82).
...
But while he still spends a lot of time in the sin bin, he's become smarter about his decisions on the ice. The evolution of his game has earned him an invite to Canada's world junior camp, which starts Saturday.

"Brad has grown really grown and matured as a person," said fourth-year Winterhawks head coach and general manager Mike Johnston, who has coached Ross since coming to Portland.

Ross led the league in penalty minutes with 203 in 2009-10, but still found a way to rack up 27 goals and 68 points. Despite scoring 31 times last season, he still struggled with taking unnecessary penalties.

"I've been working on having a more complete game on both ends of the ice," said Ross. "I'm playing with more discipline, but I'm still going to stick up for my teammates."
...
"What makes him great is the emotion, intensity and passion he plays with," Johnston said. "You don't want to kill that in a player. Opponents are always looking over their shoulder when he's on the ice."

Ross hasn't lost his edge, but says he's being smarter about when to get in the middle of a scrum and when to leave it alone. He knows that opposing teams are looking to get under his skin and bait him into taking bad penalties.

"The game's changing where everyone is more concerned about hits resulting in concussions, and players like Brad are monitored more closely," said Johnston. "He's adapted and recognizes how to avoid those dangerous situations."
... (more)

 

[CarltonTheBear]

For the second time this season, Stuart Percy was knocked out of a game by being thrown into the boards. A video of the hit hasn't surfaced but here's a description courtesy of Yahoo sports:

Percy was hurt late in the second period of Kitchener's 6-1 victory over the Majors. He was attempting to get the puck in the neutral zone when a collision with Rangers forwards Andrew Crescenzi and Ben Thomson sent him head-first into the boards. From across the ice, it looked as though Thomson bumped Percy from the side and, as the Majors captain lost his footing, Crescenzi hit him from behind. Thomson, however, was the Ranger given the five-minute boarding major and the game misconduct.

He was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. According to the article he suffered a sprained wrist, whiplash and a cut on his cheek. All in all, it probably could have been much worse from the sounds of it.

 

[L K]

For the second time this season, Stuart Percy was knocked out of a game by being thrown into the boards. A video of the hit hasn't surfaced but here's a description courtesy of Yahoo sports:

Percy was hurt late in the second period of Kitchener's 6-1 victory over the Majors. He was attempting to get the puck in the neutral zone when a collision with Rangers forwards Andrew Crescenzi and Ben Thomson sent him head-first into the boards. From across the ice, it looked as though Thomson bumped Percy from the side and, as the Majors captain lost his footing, Crescenzi hit him from behind. Thomson, however, was the Ranger given the five-minute boarding major and the game misconduct.

He was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. According to the article he suffered a sprained wrist, whiplash and a cut on his cheek. All in all, it probably could have been much worse from the sounds of it.

And Crescenzi continues to be a useless signing...55 points in 143 OHL games and I think this is the second time he has injured another Leafs prospect.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

And Crescenzi continues to be a useless signing...55 points in 143 OHL games and I think this is the second time he has injured another Leafs prospect.

In his defence he's playing at a point-per-game rate this season. But yeah I don't really expect much of an NHL career for him. Don't remember if he's had any other incidents with other Leafs prospects. Mitchell Heard was the one who hit Percy the first time earlier in the season.

 

[Madferret]

And Crescenzi continues to be a useless signing...55 points in 143 OHL games and I think this is the second time he has injured another Leafs prospect.

You better watch what you say about Crescenzi around Salvatore...

 

[Big Daddy]

LEAFS PROSPECTS STATS

TORONTO MARLIES (AHL)

                          GP G A P

Nazem Kadri, C 19 8 14 22

Mike Zigomanis, C 23 4 18 22

Marcel Mueller, F 23 6 16 22

Joe Colborne, C 15 10 11 21

Ryan Hamilton, LW 26 9 8 17

Greg Scott, RW 26 9 8 17

Jerry D?Amigo, F 26 6 9 15

Simon Gysbers, D 19 3 8 11

Darryl Boyce, C 19 4 5 9

Jesse Blacker, D 24 0 8 8

Jeff Finger, D 18 2 5 7

Kelsey Wilson, LW 26 2 5 7

Korbinian Holzer, D 23 1 6 7

Juraj Mikus, D 26 0 5 5

Josh Engel, D 18 3 1 4

Will Acton, LW 22 1 3 4

READING ROYALS (ECHL)

Denny Urban, D 25 3 10 13

Dale Mitchell, RW 8 6 1 7

Dave Cowan, D 22 0 2 2

JUNIOR

Bradley Ross 33 20 18 38

LW, 19, Portland (WHL)

Josh Nicholls 30 20 15 35

RW, 19, Saskatoon (WHL)

Greg McKegg 29 10 19 29

C, 19, Erie (OHL)

Sam Carrick 32 14 11 25

C, 19, Brampton (OHL)

Josh Leivo 26 10 15 25

LW, 18, Sudbury (OHL)

Stuart Percy 25 4 18 22

D, 18, St. Michael?s (OHL)

Andrew Crescenzi 20 9 11 20

F, 19, Kitchener (OHL)

Tony Cameranesi 19 8 10 18

C, 18, Waterloo (USHL)

David Broll 28 1 15 16

LW, 18, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

Sondre Olden 20 5 9 14

C, 19, Erie (OHL)

NCAA

Tyler Biggs 18 3 5 8

RW, 18, U. of Miami-Ohio

Eric Knodel 17 1 4 5

D, 21, U. of New Hampshire

Dennis Robertson 11 0 5 5

D, 20, Brown University

EUROPE

Leo Komarov 27 6 7 13

C, 24, Moscow Dynamo (KHL)

Tom Nilsson 25 2 5 7

D, 18, Mora (Swedish U20)

Daniel Brodin 21 0 4 4

LW, 21, Djurgardens (Sweden)

Petter Granberg 20 0 1 1

D, 18, Skelleftea (Swedish Elite)

GOALIES

                W-L-O GAA PCT

Ben Scrivens, 6-2-0 2.26 .920

Marlies (AHL), 25

Mark Owuya 2-1-2 2.96 .926

Reading (ECHL), 22

Garret Sparks 10-8-3 3.07 .906

Guelph (OHL), 18

Grant Rollheiser 2-0-0 3.34 .900

Boston U. (NCAA), 22

Jussi Rynnas 4-6-0 3.59 .879

Marlies (AHL), 24

 

[Chev-boyar-sky]

Biggs' numbers kinda suck  :-\

Hopefully it's a body development/learning the defensive aspect of the game type of year.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Biggs' numbers kinda suck  :-\

Hopefully it's a body development/learning the defensive aspect of the game type of year.

College numbers have to be viewed slightly differently from CHL numbers, too.

Here's a recent article from The Star about him, complete with high-definition photo:

?After two months of the season, he?s well on his way to becoming what we all think he can be,? says Miami head coach Enrico Blasi. ?He?s very physical, so he can possess the puck at great lengths and for a big man he?s got really good hands.?

Going into Friday night action, Biggs had three goals and five assists in 14 games, ranking fourth on the RedHawks in scoring. He?s plus-1 with 14 penalty minutes and has one short-handed goal, one game-winner and five blocked shots. Earlier this month, he was named rookie of the week in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

After two seasons with the U.S. National Development Team, Biggs says his biggest adjustment has been with the size, strength and speed of opposing players. He?s trying to improve his game along the boards and create space.

?I?ve really had to work on moving my feet more in the offensive zone and not allow myself to get trapped,? he says. ?Guys are a lot stronger, so if they get a hold of you in the corner you?re really not going to move anywhere.?

link

 

[Corn Flake]

And Crescenzi continues to be a useless signing...55 points in 143 OHL games and I think this is the second time he has injured another Leafs prospect.

You better watch what you say about Crescenzi around Salvatore...

If nothing else, I'm sure he will get himself into some Cheetah Power Surge commercials soon enough.

 

[Corn Flake]

Biggs' numbers kinda suck  :-\

Hopefully it's a body development/learning the defensive aspect of the game type of year.

College numbers have to be viewed slightly differently from CHL numbers, too.

Absolutely agree.  Especially as a freshman, his ice time is going to be relatively low and his stats will suffer as a result. You simply cannot gauge College players progress by the 5 stat columns, certainly not early in their careers.  Little things, like him winning rookie of the week, are tells about how he is doing.

Jake Gardiner's college stats are a great example.  His final year was amazing but the first two look pretty sub-par and you would surmise from his 2nd year that he had horribly regressed.  Not so. 

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

I have no way of telling how much ice-time he gets - can't find any kind of NCAA info like that.

 

[Chev-boyar-sky]

Biggs' numbers kinda suck  :-\

Hopefully it's a body development/learning the defensive aspect of the game type of year.

College numbers have to be viewed slightly differently from CHL numbers, too.

Absolutely agree.  Especially as a freshman, his ice time is going to be relatively low and his stats will suffer as a result. You simply cannot gauge College players progress by the 5 stat columns, certainly not early in their careers.  Little things, like him winning rookie of the week, are tells about how he is doing.

Jake Gardiner's college stats are a great example.  His final year was amazing but the first two look pretty sub-par and you would surmise from his 2nd year that he had horribly regressed.  Not so.

Well ok, happy to be wrong.

I noticed however that he didn't make the U.S. under 20 team. I know he's young but others such as Saad, and some 17 year old kid made it. Thoughts?

I have hopes for this guy and Percy (who's playing very well) so I'd like to see them succeeding.

 

[cw]

Here's an article that tries to assess the level of difficulty to score in the various leagues vs the NHL
http://www.behindthenet.ca/projecting_to_nhl.html

In short, NCAA scoring stats cannot be compared 1:1 with CHL stats. The NCAA is a tougher league to score in.

 

[Madferret]

And Crescenzi continues to be a useless signing...55 points in 143 OHL games and I think this is the second time he has injured another Leafs prospect.

You better watch what you say about Crescenzi around Salvatore...

If nothing else, I'm sure he will get himself into some Cheetah Power Surge commercials soon enough.

Or an appearance on "Being Frank"...

 

[Bender]

Tony Cameranesi seems to be putting together a decent season in the USHL. His cohort Mario Lucia hasn't been quite as good and has played only 6 games so far.

 

[Rebel_1812]

Biggs' numbers kinda suck  :-\

Hopefully it's a body development/learning the defensive aspect of the game type of year.

College numbers have to be viewed slightly differently from CHL numbers, too.

Here's a recent article from The Star about him, complete with high-definition photo:

?After two months of the season, he?s well on his way to becoming what we all think he can be,? says Miami head coach Enrico Blasi. ?He?s very physical, so he can possess the puck at great lengths and for a big man he?s got really good hands.?

Going into Friday night action, Biggs had three goals and five assists in 14 games, ranking fourth on the RedHawks in scoring. He?s plus-1 with 14 penalty minutes and has one short-handed goal, one game-winner and five blocked shots. Earlier this month, he was named rookie of the week in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

After two seasons with the U.S. National Development Team, Biggs says his biggest adjustment has been with the size, strength and speed of opposing players. He?s trying to improve his game along the boards and create space.

?I?ve really had to work on moving my feet more in the offensive zone and not allow myself to get trapped,? he says. ?Guys are a lot stronger, so if they get a hold of you in the corner you?re really not going to move anywhere.?

link

Yeah in college he might be playing on the 3rd line since he is a freshman.  It depends on the programs depth and how many senior players they have.  I would take his first years numbers with a grain of salt.

 

[seahawk]

Biggs is one of 7 freshmen on Miami's 26 man roster. He's 8th on the team in scoring, and the team is 9-9-2 so far. The Redhawks have not exactly been an offensive powerhouse, scoring 33 goals in 20 games while giving up 37. I wouldn't read too much into his numbers at this point.

 

[seahawk]

Garret Sparks played for Guelph against Kitchener on Sunday. He saved 35 of 39 shots he faced as Kitchener won 4-3. I was able to watch most of the 1st 2 periods and thought he looked good. So far this year, he's 12-10-3 with a 2.98 GAA and .911 save % and seems to have taken over as the Storm's #1 goalie.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Quick update to catch everybody up on how our CHL prospects have done since January 1st:

Greg McKegg                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Since January 1st 22 16 18 34 +6 20 Year-to-date 58 30 42 72 -32 52 -Recorded at least 2 points in 9 of his first 11 games after being traded to London -Ranked 14th in the OHL in points -+/- in Erie this season: -39, +/- in London this season: +7

Stuart Percy                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Since January 1st 2 0 0 0 +1 0 Year-to-date 27 4 18 22 +13 35 -Recently returned to the lineup after missing 26 games with a concussion

Josh Leivo                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Since January 1st 26 13 22 35 -1 29 Year-to-date 58 28 38 66 +1 57 -Doubled his stats from last season (13 goals, 30 points in 66 games) -Second on his team in goals and points -Between Jan. 8-21 played 6 games where he recorded 5 goals and 13 points

David Broll                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Since January 1st 20 3 6 9 -1 26 Year-to-date 55 5 22 27 +3 77 -Only 2 fighting majors in January and February -Recorded 8 points in 12 games in February, his best statistical season since October

Sondre Olden                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Since January 1st 23 4 5 9 -18 10 Year-to-date 44 9 16 25 -40 18 -Erie GM at the trade deadline: Olden isn't being traded unless "we got a knockout deal for him" -Patiently awaiting for Erie to acquire some players that don't suck

Jamie Devane                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Since January 1st 21 8 7 15 +1 40 Year-to-date 52 19 20 39 +17 82 -Broke his previous career high of 38 points in 11 less games

Sam Carrick                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Since January 1st 24 16 10 26 10 33 Year-to-date 62 33 26 59 12 94 -Recorded a point in all but 2 games in the month of February -Leads his team in goals, assists, and points

Andrew Crescenzi                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Since January 1 24 11 11 22 -2 44 Year-to-date 50 23 23 46 -3 74 -Tied for 3rd on the team in goals

Brad Ross                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Since January 1st 23 12 13 25 +12 50 Year-to-date 61 38 37 75 +12 148 -10 in the WHL in goals -2nd on his team in goals, 3rd in points -Set career highs in goals and points

Josh Nicholls                                 Games  Goals  Assists  Points  +/-  PIM  Since January 1st 17 5 15 20 +5 10 Year-to-date 48 26 31 57 +8 24 -Missed 16 games after straining his MCL on Dec. 3 -Talks about hoping to sign a contract with the Leafs here

Garret Sparks                                 Record  GA  SA%  SO  Since January 1st 10-13-1 3.24 .903 3 Year-to-date 23-22-1 3.08 .907 4 -Good news: has without question taken over the starting goalie job in Guelph -Bad news: Guelph isn't a very good team