Oct 17-23 CBJ Prospect Week in Review

Hello, all! I’m fresh off a trip to South Bend, Indiana to see one of the Jackets’ prospects and back with the Prospect Week in Review.

The Monsters were on the road last week so we start off in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the first game, after a scoreless first, the Griffins scored two in the second before adding an early one in the third. Late in third, Alex Broadhurst got the Monsters on the board when TJ Tynan got the puck at the boards and passed to Aaron Palushaj. Palushaj skated around the net and found Broadhurst who had an almost empty net to shoot into. Very late in the game with the goalie pulled, out of some net front chaos, Dean Kukan fired a shot that was stopped with Broadhurst gathering the rebound and again having an almost empty net to shoot into to make it 3-2 Griffins. Anton Forsberg made 29 saves in the loss.

Up next it was off to Rockford for the Monsters’ third meeting with the Ice Hogs in their first four games. Brad Thiessen made his season debut…and it did not go well. The Hogs rolled out to a 3-0 lead before the Monsters added two late second period goals. Palushaj scored his second of the season to make it 3-1. 1:35 later, Daniel Zaar scored his first of the season to make it 3-2. Cody Goloubef had an assist on the goal for his first AHL point since the 2013-14 season. The game ended up being all Hogs the rest of the way as they scored two goals including an empty net goal. Thiessen made 30 saves in the loss.

Kole Sherwood-Flint Firebirds (OHL)
Season Stats 9GP 5-8-13 +8 4PIM
Kole and the Birds opened the weekend against Sault Ste Marie. Midway through the first off a draw, Kole passed to Dennis Busby. His shot was tipped by Everett Clark to make it 1-0. Early in the third, Kole picked up another assist when a Hounds player tripped over the redline and Kole gathered the puck before sending a no look, behind the back pass to Clark in front to make it 3-2 in a 4-3 overtime win.

Next up was a matchup with the Memorial Cup host, the Windsor Spitfires. In the second with the scored tied at one, out of a board battle, Kole got the puck at the point and he passed to Ryan Moore who sent a pass cross rink to Luke Kirwan. Kirwan fired a shot to make it 2-1 in a 4-1 Flint win. Kole suffered an injury late in the game that forced him to miss the team’s final game of the weekend.

Pierre-Luc Dubois-Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)
Season Stats 4GP 0-1-1 -1 6PIM
I don’t normally mention players that don’t score points but I know you’re all curious how Pierre-Luc Dubois did last week. Pierre went without a point in all three games while having varying levels of success at the faceoff dot. First, against Gatineau, he and Vitaly Abramov had a bit of an incident after a play. Players were checked, unkind words were said, we move on. In the loss, PLD would won only six of 20 at the face-off dot.

Next up in a 1-0 loss to the Armada, Pierre again only won six draws while taking 14 face-offs.

Closing out the week, Dubois had his best night at the dot in a 7-2 win over Drummondville. He won eight of the 12 draws he took.

Vitaly Abramov-Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
Season Stats 11GP 8-5-13 -9 12PIM
It was a short but successful week for Vitaly. Starting off against Pierre-Luc Dubois and Cape Breton, Vitaly is the player who put the nails in the Eagles coffin. Early in the third with the game tied at two, Vitaly got the puck at the blueline and skated around the defense before sliding a shot past the Eagles goalie to make it 3-2. Late in the third, Pierre-Luc Dubois was in a board battle and ended up sending the puck into the slot where Abramov was waiting. The young Russian launched the puck the length of the ice to make it 4-2 and he ended up being named third star.

Up next against Quebec, Vitaly opened the scoring when he got the puck at the blueline before skating in and firing a shot from the circle to make it 1-0. Early in the third, after the Remparts had scored four straight, Alex Dostie drove to the net. His shot was stopped but Abramov scored his second of the night on his second attempt. The Olympiques lost the game 6-2.

Calvin Thurkauf-Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
Season Stats 9GP 4-1-5 +3 23PIM
It was a light week for Calvin and the Rockets with only two games on their schedule. Starting off against Tri-City, the team put up an offensefilled first period. Early on, with the Rockets leading 3-2, Calvin skated in on a two on one with Nick Merkley. Calvin fired a shot top corner to make it 4-2. That ended up being the final score and Calvin was named first star in the 4-2 Rockets win.

To close out the week against Seattle, Calvin was held without a point in a 5-1 Rockets win.

Kevin Stenlund-HV71 (SHL)
Season Stats 7GP 2-1-3 +3 2PIM
Kevin continued his strong play of late in a game against Karlskrona. After Kevin had just missed earlier in the period, he deflected an Oscar Sundh shot to make it 1-0 in a 4-1 HV71 win.

Kevin was held without a point in a 3-1 loss to Lulea.

Oscar Dansk-Rogle BK (SHL)
Season Stats 9GP 3-4-0-1 2.85GAA .902Sv% 1SO
Oscar opened the week facing off against the team he was drafted from – Brynas. In the 4-3 loss, Oscar stopped 35 of 39.

Up next against Lulea was a back and forth affair that ended in a shootout. Rogle fell in the extra innings with Oscar stopping 21 of 23 in regulation then stopping five of seven in the shootout.

To close out the week, Oscar picked up the first shutout in the Blue Jackets organization this season just hours before Bob got his first of the season. In the 2-0 win over Leksands, Oscar made 32 saves.

Elvis Merzlikins-HC Lugano (NLA)
Season Stats 10GP 7-3 2.68GAA .923Sv%
Elvis opened the week against Fribourg-Gotteron and in a 5-2 loss, Elvis stopped 36 of 40.

Elvis’ next game was against the Kloten Flyers and Elvis was spectacular – stopping 28 of 29 including this sprawling save on Bobby Sanguinetti. The Panthers would win the game 4-1.

Closing out the week against the SCL Tigers, after a wild first in which Lugano trailed 3-2, it was all Panthers as they came back and won the game 5-3, for Elvis and HCL’s 7^th win of the season.

There you have it folks! Another week in the world of CBJ prospects. Coming up it’ll be another full week including four games for the Monsters. See you with the recap of all the action.