Prospect News is going through a metamorphosis. There are 16 prospects not in Grand Rapids or Toledo, and they play a total of 30+ games a week. In order to streamline the process and not drown everyone in information, these posts will be more of a summary of of the players and highlight any significant accomplishments. So instead of a game-by-game breakdown, you’ll get a summary of their performances since the last post. Additionally, instead of breaking up the players by leagues, they’ll be grouped together by position. It’s pretty difficult to evaluate goalies and defensemen without being able to watch them play, but I’ll continue to post whatever information is available.
Here’s a link to a list of the Red Wings Prospects not currently in Grand Rapids or Toledo.
Goalies:
| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | SV% | GA | GAA | W | L | Svs |
| 57 | Jake Paterson | G | Saignaw Spirit | OHL | 15 | 0.908 | 48 | 3.25 | 8 | 6 | 471 |
Paterson went 4-1 with a .908 SV% and a GAA of 2.54 in his last 5 games. He was in net when Andreas Athanasiou came to town, so you can read my impressions of him in the above linked article.
Saginaw Spirit Hockey Club: Jake Paterson to represent Spirit in 2013 Super Series
Jake Paterson was also named to the OHL Super Series roster and is a top contender for the World Juniors as well.
Saginaw Spirit Hockey Club: Interview with Jake Paterson (Skip to 13:17)
Forwards:
| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 22 | Andreas Athanasiou | LW/C | Barrie Colts | OHL | 18 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 23 |
Athanasiou has 9 points (4G, 5A) in his last 8 games. He’s still on a point per game pace, but what I saw from him live was less impressive than his stats indicate. He has a lot of skill, great hands, speed (oh man does he have speed), and the tools to be a very good player, and he’s on pace to match last years production… What’s disappointing is that he could be so much better. I was in attendance when he visited the Saginaw Spirit and my full analysis can be found below.
Spirit vs. Colts Analysis: What I learned
Athanasiou’s goal against the Plymouth Whalers was the OHL’s #5 play of the week. Video (I recommend watching the video on mute)
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| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 17 | Tyler Bertuzzi | LW | Guelph Storm | OHL | 18 | 5 | 18 | 23 | +3 | 32 |
Bertuzzi has 12 points (2G 10A) in his last 8 games and has already set a career high in points this season. Tyler got into a fight on October 22nd Bertuzzi “Fight” but he didn’t appear to have any interest in getting in a fight, and there wasn’t really much actual fighting that took place. Bertuzzi kind of sort of “fought” after Thompson threw about 5 or 6 punches at his head.
On November 1st, Bertuzzi had a 5 point game, notching 4 assists and scoring a penalty shot goal.
Guelph Storm- Tyler Bertuzzi 5 point game: Video highlights
Guelph Storm- Tyler Bertuzzi 5 point game recap
Guelph Storm- Tyler Bertuzzi post game interview after a 5 point game
Hey look, there’s Bertuzzi and teammate Brock McGinn on the Kiss Cam… Awkward.
Bertuzzi making his mark with surging Storm | Red Wings Central
So far, Bertuzzi get my “Most improved” award hands down. After being drafted, he came into development camp this summer looking like he had a “me against the world” attitude, but that changed after a couple of days. He became attentive to the drills, what other players did, and has apparently taken to heart whatever the coaches told him. He’s showing more discipline, better focus, and it’s showing.
And how’s this for great timing? While I was finishing up this post, this gem came out.
10. Lastly, Tyler Bertuzzi is easily the most improved player in the OHL thus far. Flashing skill with the puck I didn’t know existed.
— OHL Prospects Blog (@BrockOtten) November 11, 2013
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| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | SOG |
| 15 | Rasmus Bodin | C/LW | Linköpings HC | J20 Superelit | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 2 | 5 |
Bodin had 1 assist and 4 shots on goal in his last 4 games.
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| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 71 | Philippe Hudon | F | Victoriaville Tigres | QMJHL | 15 | 5 | 3 | 8 | -6 | 27 |
Hudon has 1 assist in his last 4 games.
After an incident in a game on October 27th, Hudon was suspended for a hit to the head.
Philippe Hudon Suspended 4 games
Philippe Hudon Suspension Video
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| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | Hits |
| 26 | Mattias Janmark | F | A.I.K | SHL | 19 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 0 | 10 | 5 |
Janmark had 3 points (2G 1A), 9 shots on goal, and 2 hits in his last 5 games. On 11/2 he also led his team in TOI with 24:31.
In the entire Swedish Hockey League, Janmark is…
6th in total points (19)
2nd in goals (12) – For what it’s worth, 9 of Janmark’s 12 goals have come when his team is trailing or tied.
11th in Shots on Goal (52)
9th in short handed shots on goal (4)
18th in ice time per game (21:25) among all players, and 2nd among all forwards in the league.
20th in Power play ice time per game (3:44)
5th in power play goals (4)
15th in power play points (6)
Tre Kronor won against Finland in the Karjala Tournament – Swedish Ice Hockey Association
Janmark also played in the IIHF tournament on the Swedish “Three Crowns or Tre Kronor” team. He played in 3 games but didn’t register a point.
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| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 8 | Anthony Mantha | F | Val d’Or Foreurs | QMJHL | 20 | 22 | 27 | 49 | +4 | 26 |
Mantha has 16 points (4G 12A) in his last 8 games.
QMJHL: Mantha Named First Star of October
QMJHL Network: Mantha named to Super Series Roster
Mantha was also named to the Super Series Roster. The Wings have 3 prospects playing in this tournament.
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| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | SOG | PPG | FO% |
| 69 | Hampus Melèn | RW | Tingsryds AIF | J20 Superelit | 11 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -6 | 14 | 17 | 0 | 34.62 |
Melèn hasn’t played since October 12th
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| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 27 | Zach Nastasiuk | RW | Owen Sound Attack | OHL | 21 | 9 | 10 | 19 | -7 | 8 |
Zach has 5 points (2G 3A) in his last 9 games, including a short handed goal. I was very impressed with Nastasiuk after watching him live. You can read my full write up here: Who is Zach Nastasiuk
Owen Sound Attack: Zach Nastasiuk signs 3 year Wings contract
On November 1st (the same day I got to watch him play) the Wings signed Nasty to a 3 year entry level contract.
Owen Sound Attack- Zach Nastasiuk named to the Super Series Roster
The Super Series is an annual 6 game tournament between a selected Russian Junior team, and a team representing each league in the CHL (OHL, QMJHL, WHL). This tournament is basically a precursor to the World Juniors, so being named to the tournament roster is an impressive accomplishment and these players have a good chance of also making the World Juniors Teams.
Defense:
| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | Hits |
| 5 | Mattias Bäckman | D | Linköping | SHL | 19 | 2 | 5 | 7 | +5 | 4 | 0 |
Bäckman had 5 points (1G 4A) and 10 shots on goal in his last 5 games. He played between 19:01 – 24:12 time on ice in those 5 games, and his season average is 19:15 total ice time per game. That puts him at 42nd overall in the Swedish Hockey League. He also didn’t take any penalties, and only has 2 minor penalties in 19 games played.
Bäckman was originally going to come to North America (the Griffins) this season, but opted to stay and develop another year in Sweden, so look for him to most likely make the jump next year.
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| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 2 | James DeHaas | D | Clarkson University | NCAA | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
DeHaas has 4 points (1G 3A) in his last 6 games.
Joseph had the opportunity to watch DeHaas in person and his assessment can be found here:
Prospect Check-in: On James de Haas
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| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | SOG |
| 10 | Ben Marshall | D | Univ. of Minnesota | NCAA | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 21 |
Marshall scored 1 goal and had 10 shots on goal in his last 4 games.
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| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 2 | Mike McKee | D | Western Michigan Univ. | NCHC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 |
McKee had 1 blocked shot in his last 3 games played. He didn’t play in his team’s last game, and I suspect it may have had something to do with the 5 minute “checking from behind” and 10 minute “game misconduct” he received from a single hit in the second period on November 9th. I wasn’t able to find any details about that altercation yet though, so I don’t know for sure what (if any) discipline will come from it, or if it’s deserved.
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| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 3 | Marc McNulty | D | Prince George Cougars | WHL | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -2 | 40 |
Marc had 4 points (2G 2A) in his last 6 games. There were 2 games he didn’t play in, but I don’t know if it was because of an injury, performance based, or something else.
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| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 6 | Mitchell Wheaton | D | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 10 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 12 |
Mitchell has 3 assists in his last 8 games.
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