Dayton Musicmen Top Ten Prospects (NOV 2019)...

We're past the 1/4 milepost of the 2019-20 season and it's a good time to see who cracks the top ten prospects for the Musicmen.

1. Drake Batherson - RW - OTT- Batherson is having a solid season for Belleville in the AHL with 16 points in 14 games so far this season. It's not a question of if, but when Batherson heads to Ottawa for good.

2. Owen Tippett - W - FLA - Arguably, the best goal scoring draftee in the 2017 entry draft. Playing for Springfield in the AHL, Tippett has 12 points in 17 games. With the Panthers 2nd in the NHL in scoring, patience may be a virtue for Dave Tippett's son.

3) Sam Poulin - W - PIT - Son of former Flyer Dave Poulin, this Pittsburgh draftee is off to a scorching start for Sherbrooke in the Q. 37 points in just 19 games. 16 goals in just 19 games. This high-energy, talented 2-way winger should force his way into the Pens lineup by 2020-21.

4) Dmitry Zavgorodniy - LW - CGY - The highest scoring forward in Dayton's prospect system. 16 goals, 27 assists and 43 points, good for 3rd in the QMJHL. He should be skating on an NHL rink in 2-3 years.

5) Patrick Harper - C - NAS - Boston University top pivot has 15 in just 8 games. Gets better each year, not sure how his game translates to the Pro game, but we will get to find out in a year or two.

6) Daniel Sprong - W - ANA - A very, very talented offensive player who has trouble finding his game in the NHL. Pittsburgh grew tired of his uneven performance and sent this former second-rounder away for defenseman Marcus Petterson, which appears to be a steal for the Pens at this point. The Ducks waived Spring at the start of the 19-20 season and no one claimed Sprong. Still, his toolset is impressive and at 22, he's still very, very young.

7) Alex Nedeljkovic - G - CAR - Two strong years for the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL with a combined W/L record of 65-21-8 and a Turner Cup championship last season has built up the young goalie's resume. Petr Mrazek and James Reimer have played well so far this NHL season, which will force Neds to bide his time in the AHL.

8) Semyon Der-Arguchintsev - C - TOR - As much of a bummer the 2019-20 season has been so far for the NHL Leafs, there is help on the way. Semyon is producing at a high level on the OHL's Peterborough Petes.  31 points in just 18 games so far this campaign.

9) Shawn Boudrias - RW - MIN - Cape Breton's Boudrias has been a force so far this season in the QMJHL, totaling 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points in 21 games.

10) Dustin Wolf - G - CGY - Not the biggest netminder, but one of the best in the WHL. 10 wins in 14 starts and a sterling .936 save percentage. Wolf just keeps winning and will be climbing up the Flames depth chart in the next few years.

A Weekly Look at the 2019-20 Sudbury Miners: Volume 5 (Games 20-22)

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

Miners Record: 1 wins, 2 losses, 0 OT loss.
Miners League Standing: 11 wins, 9 losses, 2 OT Loss = 24 points total. Currently sit in 5th place in
the Canosa Conference, 11th overall in the CCHL.
Miners Special Teams: Power Play – 20.7% (10th); Penalty Kill – 81.5% (8th)
Miners Scoring Leader: Center Tyler Seguin (10G – 14A = 24 pts; 16th Overall in the CCHL)

If the first quarter of this years’ CCHL season has told us anything, is that the Miners will struggle
with consistency.

The Miners have fallen into a pattern of having a bad week, followed by a good week. This
pattern has seen them gain no ground in their chase for a playoff spot and has them dangerously close to that “mushy” middle – good enough to win some games, but no bad enough to get that early draft pick.

“We’ve got to dig in. Plain and simple”, stated Miner's defenseman Jake Muzzin. “I know we
have had some injuries, but every team goes through that. It’s no excuse and we need to be better.”
Despite their struggles through the first quarter, the Miners dressing room appears solid and
committed to playing with the type of consistency that quality teams always do.

“Frustration’s just useless. Like, it’s really a useless emotion, it doesn’t do you any good, you lose
confidence over it,” said Miners forward Sam Reinhart. “Yeah, there are days when I come when I’m maybe not as upbeat as I am other days, but I think you just really try to refocus every day. I know it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK: J.T. Compher

A smart, tenacious forward, Compher plays a solid, all-around game. He is versatile, responsible
and reliable to play in all situations. He is defensively mature compared to other players of the same age
and experience. His skating, while it has gotten better, still has much room for improvement. Compher
will never be a top scorer, but projects as a solid third-line center with penalty-killing abilities. He is the
type of player that every team needs and that good teams already have. It’s not a stretch to see that his
value goes beyond goals and assists.

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW: Simon Holmstrom

At first glance, you can see that Holmstrom is an elite skilled winger. With that being said, he has
the potential to be a top-six or bust forward. With his elite skill, he can control the pace of the game. He
is a strong skater and with more strength in his legs, he will continue to improve. He possesses both a
good wrist shot as well as an elite playmaking potential. Injuries have slowed his development curve a
bit. Last summer he couldn’t train properly, and he missed a big portion of the season due to multiple
injuries. Holmstrom will be a long-term project for the Miners but one that could be worth the wait.
Expected CCHL arrival: 2023-24.

Millers Top 10 Prospects for 2019-20

The Millers prospect pool was greatly reduced after Dylan Samberg and Nils Hoglander were dealt to Minnesota. The top 3 show up on most lists of Top 100 NHL prospects but the system’s depth has been greatly reduced due to trades and the graduations of Kotkaniemi, Bennington and Foegele.

1. Ilya Samsonov, G - He’s established himself as a backup netminder in the NHL this season and it’s not an outrageous possibility to see him become a 1B if Braden Holtby continues to struggle. If he pans out the Millers are set in net for the foreseeable future.

2. Ty Smith, D - Expected to break camp and at least get an NHL look-see this season Smith instead was sent back to the WHL. He still profiles as a 2nd pairing, offensive-minded Dman and PP contributor.

3. Tyler Maden, C -Scoring at a point per game pace in college, he’ll probably go pro after this season. Should be a solid middle 6 Center and special teams contributor in the NL.

4. Calen Addison, D - Another gifted WHL blueliner, Addison doesn’t have the well-rounded game of Smith nor the dynamic playmaking skill, but should slot as a 4 to 6 Dman and PP asset.

5. Karl Henriksson, C - He’s a long ways off but the young Swede is opening eyes as an 18 year-old playing against men in his home country’s non-elite (2nd tier) division.

6. Samuel Fagemo, RW - Fagemo is playing in the top tier in Sweden as a 19 year-old and holding his own. At nearly 200 lbs he could make the jump to North America in the next year or two.

7. Oskari Laaksonen, D - A 20 year-old in his 3rd year in the Finish top division, he’s rounding out his game and may show up in NA next season.

8. David Farrance, D - 14 points in 9 games for Boston University has put him back on the radar as a potential offensive contributor from the blueline in the NHL.

9. Janne Kuokonnen, LW - 3rd year AHLer should be a good middle 6 winger, but is unlikely to hit the top 6 ceiling expected when he was drafted.

10. Dustin Wolf, G - Dropped in the draft due to size concerns but he continues to stop pucks in the WHL.

Around the CCHL blog post for Victoria

Victoria News

November 11 2019


It didn't take long for the Ronin to show their true colors about the current season when they traded former Norris trophy winning defenseman PK Subban to Dartmouth. The return isn't overwhelming either although we can't make a final assessment as the draft pick and Ryan Merkley have yet to make the NHL. The cost savings are the real motivation for Victoria to make this move.

While Lawson Crouse has upside and is a former 1st round pick, his best NHL season is 25 points with Arizona of the NHL. Granted he has played less than 200 games in the NHL and as a bigger player, it has been said that they often take longer to grow into their frame and adjust to the speed and pace of the NHL. At least the Ronin hope so.

The team did have pending UFA defenseman Marco Scandella on the bench who now gets a regular starting gig, they also had a roster issue when Jake Virtanen went down with a minor injury. So the thought process in BC was that Scandella should make up some of what they lost in Subban. They also feel that Crouse can fill in on the wing and improve overall team depth upfront.

The onerous Subban contract went to a team that can easily afford his price, plus they can bank on the upside of Merkely and the pick thrown into the deal. The team is fortunate enough to have some very promising kids on the backline including Chabot, Hughes, Lindell, Mayfield & Cholowski so that they can easily take on the risk of Merkley and hope the best for him.

The move also helps clarify who their UFA resign is likely to be as Tyler Myers can likely be retained at less than 4 million dollars due to the CCHL free agency resigning rules. This move signals that the team is likely to continue their rebuild for at least 1 more season in the hopes of becoming a better than 500 hockey team and banking the all-important playoff bonus money in seasons to come.

Its been a slow process but things are starting to come together now. Rumors now indicate that Andrei Svechnikov will soon be joining the club, but the club would not respond to questions about his status.

A Week in Review (November 2nd to 8th, 2019)

Record this week: 2-1-1
Game 16:

Calgary Chinook 6 Fort Erie Falcons 4

Tkachuk and Giordano help fuel Chinook to wild 6-4 win over Falcons

FORT ERIE - Matthew Tkachuk and Mark Giordano each had three assists and the Calgary Chinook held off the Fort Erie Falcons 6-4 on Saturday afternoon match up. Calvin de Hann, Kris Letang and John Carlson each had a goal and an assist and Carey Price made 34 saves. “Five of our six  defensemen recorded two points or more tonight, it’s unreal. “ Said Coach Eugene Yip.

After the Chinook overcame a 2-0 deficit to tie it early in the second period, Aleksander Barkov put Calgary back in front 3-2 at 9:43 when he redirected a pass from John Carlson. It was a wild third period, Falcons Reilly Smith scored his 4th of the season to tie the game at 3-3 early in the period. The Chinook then got a power play when Ryan Suter went off for holding, and Matthew Tkachuk whipped a backhand pass to a wide-open Calvin de Hann, who snapped the puck short-side on Gibson at 5:06. Calgary born Brayden Point scored 2 minutes later to tie the up at 4-4. It was Johnny Hockey scoring at 13:38 mark to make it 5-4. Panarin sealed the game with his 7th of the season at 16:08. Gaudreau now leads the CCHL with 5 game-winning goals. "We know what we are doing is working and we are hanging in games," said Calgary captain Mark Giordano. "Whether we are ahead or down a goal going into the third period, we can find ways to create offense and come out on top. It is nice for our team to win in different ways, it only adds to our confidence."

Game 17:

Calgary Chinook 3 Dayton Musicmen 4

Calgary Chinook fall 4-3 in an entertaining comeback overtime loss to the Dayton
Musicmen

DAYTON - A fairly even first period with shots in favor of Dayton 15-13 saw both team settles for 2 goals a piece. Taylor Hall took advantage of a defensive lapse at 17:15 when he snuck in front of Aleksander Barkov to redirect a shot to tie the game just little more than a minute before Calgary’s goal by John Carlson.

The Musicmen would gain the lead early in the second period as Jake Guentzel stuffed home the puck on Chinook goaltender Carey Price. The Chinook would capitalize on the penalty by Pierre-Edouard Bellemare shortly after the Guentzel go-ahead goal to make it 3-3. Nothing came into fruition in the third period. Thus the game had to be settled into overtime.

The two teams would trade chances over three minutes in the extra frame when Ex-Chinook Jared McCann buried the puck on Price. Musicmen got revenge of the 4-0 shutout in front of the home crowd.

Game 18:
Seattle Reign 2 Calgary Chinook 4

Chinook move into 1st in Corfield Conference with 4-2 win against the Reign

CALGARY - The Calgary Chinook are tied for first place in the Corfield Conference
thanks to a 4-2 win Tuesday night in Calgary.

Derek Ryan found the back of the net 5:44 into the game when he poked in a rebound. Artemi Panarin fired a powerful wrister past Semyon Varlamov 8:31 into the 2nd period. Kris Letang’s rebound deflected off Varlamov and sailed into the slot, where Panarin rifled it into the net. Matthew Tkachuk earned the other assist. Derek Ryan scored his 2nd of the night with a backhander past Varlamov just 0:21 into the third period. Along the far boards, Jakob Silfverberg controlled the puck
despite being knocked to the ice by a Reign defender. With one arm, he was able to feed a cross-ice pass to a streaking Derek Ryan. He flipped a backhander over Varlamov’ left shoulder.

Reign’ forward Drouin scored with 4:29 left in the third period. He swatted his own blocked shot out of the air and past Carey Price to make it a one-goal game. David Pastrnak tapped in a Barkov pass for a 4-2 Chinook lead just 36 seconds after. On the far side of the goal, Barkov sent a cross-crease pass to Pastrnak on the far post. He slammed it into the open net for the tally. de Haan added an
assist. Price stopped 23 of 25 shots to earn the win.

Game 19

Wisborg Donuts 5 Calgary Chinook 1

Chinook Special Teams Crash in Ugly Loss

CALGARY - The Wisborg Donuts converted on the power play four different times and Leon Draisaitl and Kasperi Kapanen scored 2 goals each as the Calgary Chinook fell, 5-1, to the Donuts on Thursday night in front of the disappointed home crowd at Scotiabank Saddledome.

"It was average at best," Eugene Yip said. "The 5-on-5 play I thought was OK. OK, a lot of nights, doesn't win. At the end of the day, you go to the penalty box as much as we did, we'll lose the game. It cost us tonight."  "They took it to us from start to finish," Chinook winger Matthew Tkachuk said.
"They played like a team with nothing to lose. They are well-coached. I'm sure Donuts Head Coach Johan Kallum had them fired up over there to come in here and play a good game and we didn't match it." The Chinook will now have little time to regroup as they have a date with the
Thunder Saturday evening in Niagara Falls. "We have to address it," Carlson said of the result. "It's a quick turnaround with Saturday’s game, but we'll definitely address this. We're a pretty honest group and we know that wasn't good enough." "It's a huge game tomorrow," Giordano said. "Everybody knows that. It's a great opportunity for us to bounce back. We will do what we have to do to get our minds right and get away from that hockey game and get back to playing Chinook hockey
because that wasn't it."

A Weekly Look at the 2019-20 Sudbury Miners: Volume 4

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

Miners Weekly Record: 2 wins, 0 losses, 1 OT loss.
Miners League Standing: 10 wins, 6 losses, 2 OT Loss = 22 points total. Currently sit in 5th place in
the Canosa Conference, 10th overall in the CCHL.
Miners Special Teams: Power Play – 20.7% (13th); Penalty Kill – 82.7% (9th)
Miners Scoring Leader: Center Nicklas Backstrom (8G – 10A = 18 pts; 34th Overall in the CCHL)

Maybe they have figured it out now. Maybe they have finally turned a corner after a rocky start.
Maybe….just maybe….they can be the team that we expected at the start of the season.

At least that is what the fans and management are hoping with this years’ edition of the Sudbury
Miners. The team again had a solid week, taking 5 out of a possible 6 points and their recent stretch of solid play has also saw them tie their current season high win streak at 4. However, despite their recent run of success, they have made up little ground on the teams above them in the Cansoa Conference. This just shows that it will be a battle all year for the Miners to solidify their spot in the post-season dance.

“It looks like we have turned a corner and are playing some good hockey”, stated Miners Coach
Derek Sutton. “But this league is so tight right now and if you aren’t careful, you can quickly be on the outside looking in. You know what they say, sometimes you do the hard work and set the table and somebody else eats the meal”.

MINERS PLAYER PROFILE OF THE WEEK: Travis Konecny

Konecny is best described as a fiery, talented competitor, with great hands in tight. He is a
balanced skater, with great lateral agility and decent speed. His skating and patience allows him to
outwait goalies and beat them laterally. He is a solid, heads up playmaker but his shot is just above
average. Despite his size, he is not shy to invite contact in order to make a play and gets to the dirty
areas in order to get a scoring chance. He is fast developing into a top-6 forward for the Miners, and
there is still room for his game to grow. The 50 point mark this year is a decent milestone at this stage in his development.

MINERS PROSPECT NEED TO KNOW: Gabriel Fortier

The first thing that strikes you about Fortier is that he makes himself noticeable on every shift. He
is relentless all over the ice in pursuit of the puck and attacking those with it. He is equally good with the puck as without, and on both sides of the puck as well. But, having said that, he does not possess elite skill. He also does not possess great size and must get stronger before making the jump up to the next level. He will need some minor league seasoning. Fortier’s style of play makes him a fan favourite, and he has the skills and smarts to play useful CCHL shifts up and down the line-up.

Expected CCHL arrival: 2023-24.

Calgary: A Week in Review (October 26th to November 1st, 2019)

Record this week: 2–0-0

Game 14:
Calgary Chinook 4 Parry Sound Orrsmen 3

Letang has 3 points in Chinook’ 4-3 win over Orrsmen

PARRY SOUND - The Calgary Chinook are a far better team when Defensemen
jumps into the play like play-making defenseman Kris Letang did yesterday night.
“He's such a good player when he plays the game the right way,” coach Eugene
Yip said.  “He's a competitive guy. He really cares. He can make plays, he can score, he
does it all.” Letang poked holes in the Orrsemen defense in helping the Chinook build a 3-1
lead by the 2nd period and eventually beat Parry Sound for the third straight time
this season. He set up Bobby Ryan’s 1st goal of the season with a pass that found the veteran
forward wide open to the right of the net early in the first period. Letang's no-look
pass from the right point set up Nino Niederreiter to make it 2-0.

Aleksander Barkov also scored in a game the Chinook never trailed. Carey Price
stopped 32 shots in the game.  Calgary improved to 9-5-0, and moved three points ahead of sixth-place.

Dartmouth Lakers in the Corfield Conference.

Game 15:

Gillam Sharks 3 Calgary Chinook 5

Chinook erupt for five goals in the first period, handed the Sharks fifth loss in a row

The Calgary Chinook exploded with five goals in the first period against the
slumping Gillam Sharks. David Pastrnak started the offensive outburst with a power-play goal in the first seven minutes of the opening period. Pasta skated in close and fired a shot over
the right shoulder of Sharks goaltender Keith Kinkaid.

Under two minutes later, It was Aleksander Barkov with his fourth of the season. After a face-off, the puck slid into the slot and Barkov scooped it up and deposited it into the net. Johnny Gaudreau scored his sixth and seventh goals in the middle of the first period. Gillam pulled Kinkaid after he surrendered four goals on six shots in less than 15 minutes.

Three of Calgary’ first five scores came on the power play.

“The first period was pretty good, scoring from everyone,” said Chinook coach
Eugene Yip. “I thought we played a really direct period. Sometimes that's mistaken
for not being offensive, but I thought we supported the puck really well. We were
on top of their defencemen in the first period, came out fast and hard.”