I get pretty geeked up over our prospects. Not only is it fun because it’s hockey, but I enjoy keeping up with their progress throughout the season and from year to year. It helps give me a more complete opinion of them now and what to expect going forward.
“Prospect News” is a new series that’s intended to make it easier for you to keep up with the Red Wings prospects who aren’t in Grand Rapids yet. If you missed the first post, you can find it here.
Since the season has already started for most of these prospects, this post will be kind of a “where are they so far” post to get everyone caught up with what’s happened so far. Going forward, the plan is to have a brief post a couple times a week with box scores, highlights when available, and a brief recap of anything noteworthy that our prospects did. Since this is something new, it’ll be a work in progress and I welcome your feedback and suggestions. Discussion and questions are encouraged.
Here’s a look at how the players of interest are doing so far.
This is the list of Red Wings draftees who aren’t in Grand Rapids yet that we’ll be keeping an eye on.
| PROSPECT NAME | POS | HT | WT | DRAFTED | DOB | POB | Shoots | 2013-2014 Team (League) |
| Andreas Athanasiou | C/LW | 6.00 | 179 | DET-12 (4-110) | 8/6/1994 | London Ont | L | Barrie Colts (OHL) |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | LW | 6.00 | 178 | DET-13 (2-58) | 2/24/1995 | Sudbury Ont | L | Guelph Storm (OHL) |
| Zach Nastasiuk | C/RW | 6.01 | 190 | DET-13 (2-48) | 3/30/1995 | Barre ONT | R | Owen Sound Attack (OHL) |
| Jake Paterson | G | 6.02 | 183 | DET-12 (3-80) | 5/13/1994 | Mississauga ONT | L | Saginaw Spirit (OHL) |
| Marc McNulty | D | 6.06 | 185 | DET-13 (6-169) | 4/5/1995 | Medicine Hat ALB | L | Prince George Cougars (WHL) |
| Mitchell Wheaton | D | 6.05 | 230 | DET-13 (5-139) | 2/6/1995 | Sherwood Park ALB | L | Kelowna Rockets (WHL) |
| Philippe Hudon | RW | 6.00 | 190 | DET-11 (5-145) | 4/15/1993 | Montreal PQ | R | Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL) |
| Anthony Mantha | LW | 6.04 | 190 | DET-13 (1-20) | 9/16/1994 | Longueiul PQ | L | Les Foreurs de Val-d’Or (QMJHL) |
| Mattias Backman | D | 6.02 | 170 | DET-11 ( 5-145) | 10/3/1992 | Linköping SWE | L | Linköping (SHL) |
| Rasmus Bodin | C/LW | 6.06 | 207 | DET-12 (7-200) | 5/5/1994 | SWE | L | Linköping J20 (SWE SuperElit) |
| Mattias Janmark | C/LW | 6.01 | 189 | DET-13 (3-79) | 12/8/1992 | Stockholm SWE | L | AIK (SHL) |
| Hampus Melen | RW | 6.02 | 165 | DET-13 (7-199) | 2/28/1995 | Karlskrona SWE | L | Tingsryds (SHL) J20 Superelite |
| David Pope | LW | 6.02 | 187 | DET-13 (4-109) | 9/27/1994 | Edmonton ALB | L | West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL) |
| James DeHaas | D | 6.02 | 197 | DET-12 (6-170) | 5/5/1994 | Mississauga ONT | L | Clarkson University (NCAA) |
| Ben Marshall | D | 5.09 | 160 | DET-10 (7-201) | 8/30/1992 | St. Paul MN | L | University of Minnesota (NCAA) |
| Mike McKee | D | 6.04 | 230 | DET-12 (4-140) | 8/17/1993 | Newmarket ONT | L | Western Michigan University (CCHA) |
OHL:
Guelph Storm: Tyler Bertuzzi
| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 17 | Tyler Bertuzzi | LW | Guelph Storm | OHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
September 20th: Bertuzzi had 1 goal ( a nice PP goal to tie the game and force overtime) and 2 PIM in a 4-3 win. Highlights Video / Box score / Guelph Recap
Owen Sound Attack: Zach Nastasiuk
| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 27 | Zach Nastasiuk | RW | Owen Sound Attack | OHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
September 20th: Nastasiuk had 1 assist in a 5-3 win Box score / Sound Recap
September 21st: Nastasiuk was a -2 in a 4-3 loss Highlights Video / Boxscore / Sound Recap
Saginaw Spirit: Jake Paterson
| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | SV% | GA | GAA | W | L | Svs |
| 57 | Jake Paterson | G | Saignaw Spirit | OHL | 3 | 0.929 | 10 | 3.33 | 1 | 2 | 130 |
This will be Paterson’s last year in the OHL before he turns pro next season, and if the first few games of this season are any indication, Jake Paterson is going to have a heavy work load again this season. Paterson has faced more than 40 shots in each of the Spirit’s first 3 games of the season and has made 39 more saves (130) so far, than the next closes goalie in the OHL. You may recall hearing about the game last year in the playoffs where Paterson made 67 (67!) saves in a game that his team lost 3-2 in double overtime. A heavy workload is just another day in the crease for Paterson.
September 20th: Paterson stopped 52/55 shots in a 4-2 loss and 3rd star of the game. Highlights Video / Box score / Spirit Recap
September 25th: Paterson stopped 43/44 shots in a 2-1 win and 1st star of the game. Box score / Spirit Recap
WHL
Prince George Cougars: Marc McNulty
| Number | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| #3 | Marc McNulty | D | Prince George Cougars | WHL | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
McNulty has 4 assists in 3 games played and is playing on the top defensive pairing for Prince George. While I haven’t found any video proof yet, it looks like McNulty got 5 for fighting in both games he registered points in. Coincidence? Hmmm…
September 20th: McNulty had 2 PIM in a 9-2 loss Box score / Cougars Recap
September 21st : McNulty had 2 assists and 7 PIM in an 8-3 loss Highlights Video / Box score / Cougars Recap
September 22nd: McNulty had 2 assists and 5 PIM in a 2-1 win and was the 2nd star of the game. Highlights Video / Box score / Cougars Recap
QJMHL
Victoriaville Tigres: Philippe Hudon
| Number | Name | Team (2013-2014) | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| #71 | Philippe Hudon | Victoriaville Tigres | QMJHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 2 |
Hudon had an assist in the Tigers 5-1 loss to open their season. I didn’t find any official “highlights” video, but there’s a video of one of the fights that also includes some not so great video of the Tigers goal (10 second mark of the video, Tigers are in dark jerseys).
September 20th: Hudon had 1 assist, 2 PIM, and was a -2 in a 5-1 loss. Box score
Les Foreurs de Val-d’Or: Anthony Mantha
| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 8 | Anthony Mantha | F | Val d’Or Foreurs | QMJHL | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
Mantha said he wants to show the Wings that they made the right choice in picking him in the first round, and he’s off to a pretty good start so far. He has 8 points in 3 games and currently leads the QJMHL in scoring.
September 20th: Mantha 3 goals, +2, and 1st star of the game in a 5-0 win. Box score
September 21st: Mantha 1 goal, 1 assist, -2, and 2 PIM in a 4-3 loss Box score
September 25th: Mantha 3 assists and a +2 in a 7-4 win. Box score
Europe
AIK (SHL) Mattias Janmark
| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | Hits |
| 26 | Mattias Janmark | C | A.I.K | SHL | 5 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Janmark currently leads his team in goals (5) points (6) and is 3rd on the team in TOI/game (22:08) behind only 2 defensemen, and has 2 game winning goals (both in the shootout). He is also third in points in the entire Swedish Hockey League, and is tied for first in goals.
You can watch the goals by clicking on the “game stats” link and clicking on the “summary” tab.
September 14th: Janmark had 3 goals, 1 assist and 7 shots and had the game winning goal in a shootut for a 5-4 win Janmark Hat trick video / Highlights Video / Game Stats
September 23rd: Janmark 1 goal and 4 shots in a 3-2 loss to Mattias backman’s Linköping Highlights Video / Game Stats
September 25th: Janmark 1 goal and 4 shots, 1 hit, led the team in ice time with 23:29, and had the game winning goal in a shootout for a 2-1 win. Highlights Video / Game Stats
Linköping (SHL): Mattias Backman
| # | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 5 | Mattias Backman | D | Linkoping | SHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 2 |
Mattias Backman was originally projected to come to North America and join the Grand Rapids Griffins this season, but decided to stay in Sweden for one more year and continue his growth there. He also looks looks eerily like a Disney prince.
September 17th Highlights Video/Recap (Backman goal) / Game Stats
BCHL
West Kelowna Warriors: David Pope
| Number | Name | Pos | Team | Leauge | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| #9 | David Pope | F | West kelowna | BCHL | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Pope opened the season with a goal and an assist, had a goal the next game, an assist the next and a goal the next game. Not a bad start at all. The Warriors won their first five games
September 7th: Pope had a goal and an assist in a 5-6 loss Box score / Warriors Recap
September 13th: Pope had 1 goal in a 3-2 win. Box score / Video Highlights / Warriors Recap
September 14th: Pope had 1 assist and was the 3rd star of the game in a 4-3 win. Box score / Warriors Recap
September 17th: Pope had 1 goal in a 5-3 win Box score / Video Highlights / Warriors Recap
If you missed any of our prospects coverage so far, including the development camp and prospects tournament, you can catch up by going to the prospects story stream.
