Prospect Update - January Edition

The Pittsburgh Penguins are now halfway through the 2013-14 NHL season, we have hit the end of the year and another month has gone by, so of course it is time to take a look to see how the Pens prospects are progressing. You can take a look at our initial October Update, our November Update, and the most recent December Update for a refresher. Happy New Year!

Major Juniors

Derrick Pouliot of the Western Hockey League Portland Winterhawks has 9 Goals, 21 Assists, and a +15 in 28 games played so far this season. 5 of his Goals and 7 of his Assists were scored on the PP while 1 of his Assists was scored shorthanded. He is #7 in Goals, #5 in Assists, #6 in Points, and #6 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season. However, amongst the D he is #1 in Goals and Points and #2 in Assists and Plus/Minus, and in fact is #10 amongst all WHL D in Points. Portland is 25-8-2-2 and is currently #1 in the US Division and #2 in both the Western Conference and the entire WHL.

Pouliot has also been playing for Team Canada in the World Junior Championship where he has 4 Assists and a +3. He is #3 in Assists, #6 in Points, and #4 in Plus/Minus, in addition to being #1 in Assists, Points, and Plus/Minus amongst D on his team through the Preliminary Round. He is even #10 in Assists, #28 in Points, and #22 in Plus/Minus amongst all players in the tournament as well as #1 in Assists, #3 in Points, and #8 in Plus/Minus amongst all D in the tournament. Canada went 3-0-1-0 to finish as the #1 seed in Group A heading into the Quarterfinals.

Matthew Murray of the Ontario Hockey League Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds has gone 20-6-1-3 with 4 Shutouts, a 2.47 GAA, and a .922 Sv%. He is currently #2 GAA, Sv%, and Wins as well as #1 in Shutouts amongst all OHL goaltenders. SOO is 26-8-1-3 and is currently #1 in the West Division and #3 in both the Western Conference and the entire OHL.

Matia Marcantuoni of the OHL Kitchener Rangers recently returned to the lineup but doesn't seem to be quite back up to par after his injury as he still has just 6 Goals, 6 Assists, and a -13 in 22 games played so far this season. 2 of his Goals and 2 of his Assists were scored on the PP while 1 of his Goals was scored shorthanded. He is #8 in Goals, #10 in Assists, #10 in Points, and #30 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season. Kitchener is 13-22-0-1 and sits at #5 in the Midwest Division, #10 in the West Conference, and #18 in the entire OHL.

Clark Seymour of the OHL Peterborough Petes has 3 Goals, 11 Assists, and a -9 in 33 games played so far this season. 2 of his Goals and 2 of his Assists were scored on the PP. He is #12 in Goals, #7 in Assists, #10 in Points, and #19 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season, although he is #2 in Goals, #3 in Assists and Points, and #5 in Plus/Minus amongst D on his team. Peterborough is 14-19-0-4 and sits at #3 in the East Division, #7 in the Eastern Conference, and #15 in the entire OHL.

Tristan Jarry of the WHL Edmonton Oil Kings has gone 23-10-0-1 with 4 Shutouts, a 2.28 GAA, and a .912 Sv%. He is currently #3 in GAA, #10 in Sv%, and #1 in both Wins and Shutouts amongst all WHL Goaltenders. Edmonton is 24-12-0-1 and sits at #2 in both the Central Division and Eastern Conference and #6 in the entire WHL.

Jean-Sebastien Dea of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Rouyn-Noranda Huskies has 28 Goals, 9 Assists, and a +5 in 36 games played so far this season while going 551 of 926 at the faceoff dot for a 59.5 FO%. 9 of his Goals and 6 of his Assists were scored on the PP while 4 of his Goals and 1 of his Assists were scored shorthanded. He is #1in Goals, #10 in Assists, #2 in Points, and #5 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season, and he is #4 in Goals amongst all QMJHL skaters. Rouyn-Noranda is 23-10-3-2 and sits at #4 in the West Division and #6 in the entire QMJHL.

Europe

Alexander Pechurski is the backup goaltender for the Kontinental Hockey League Mettalurg Magnitogorsk, however he very rarely plays and has a 2-0-1-1 record with a 2.55 GAA and .905 Sv%. Mettalurg has a 20-4-7-8 record and currently sits at #2 in the Kharlamov Division, #3 in the East, and #5 in the entire KHL.

Oskar Sundqvist of the Swedish Hockey League Skelleftea AIK has 3 Goals, 6 Assists, and a +5 in 32 games played so far this season and has gone 51 for 112 at the faceoff dot for a 45.5 FO%. 2 of his Goals were scored on the PP. He is #13 in Goals, #12 in Assists, #14 in Points, and #15 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season. Skelleftea is 23-3-4-6 and sits at #1 in the SHL.

Sundqvist has also been playing for Team Sweden in the World Junior Championship where he has 1 Goal and a +1 while going 23 for 29 at the faceoff dot for a 59.0 FO%. He is #6 in Goals, #13 in Points, and #16 in Plus/Minus on his team through the Preliminary Round. Sweden is a perfect 4-0-0-0 to finish as the #1 seed in Group B heading into the Quarterfinals.

NCAA

Bryan Rust, Alternate Captain of the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, has 3 Goals, 9 Assists, and a +2 in 18 games played so far this season. 2 of his Goals and 4 of his Assists were scored on the PP while 1 Goal and 1 Assist were scored shorthanded. He is #6 in Goals, #3 in Assists, #4 in Points, and #8 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season. Notre Dame is 10-7-1 and sits at #8 in the Hockey East Conference.

Josh Archibald of the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks has 11 Goals, 6 Assists, and a +6 in 16 games played so far this season. 3 of his Goals and 4 of his Assists were scored on the PP. He is #1 in Goals and Points, #5 in Assists, and #2 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season. UNO is 8-7-1 and sits at #2 in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

Scott Wilson of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks has 3 Goals, 9 Assists, and a +5 in 16 games played so far this season. 1 of his Goals and 4 of his Assists were scored on the PP. He is #6 in Goals, #2 in Assists, #2 in Points, and #8 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season. UMass-Lowell is 13-5-0 and sits at #6 in the Hockey East Conference.

Theodor Blueger of the Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks has 3 Goals, 8 Assists, and a -5 in 18 games played so far this season. 2 of his Goals and 4 of his Assists were scored on the PP. He is #8 in Goals, #2 in Assists, #4 in Points, and #20 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season. Minnesota State is 11-7-0 and sits at #2 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Conference.

Blueger also played for Team Latvia in the World Junior D1A where he had 1 Assist and a team low -4 playing 3 of 5 games for the 4-0-1 Latvia who finished as the #2 team.

Sean Maguire of the Boston University Terriers is no longer the co-starter, despite having excellent stats. He has not played since November 15th and most recently was not even dressed as a backup. He remains at the same 1-4-0 record with a 2.49 GAA and .929 Sv% that he had last month while BU is 7-8-2 and sits at #10 in the Hockey East Conference.

Jake Guentzel of the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks has 2 Goals, 9 Assists, and an even 0 in 16 games played so far this season. 1 of his Goals and 4 of his Assists were scored on the PP. He is #9 in Goals, #3 in Assists, #5 in Points, and #16 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season, but does lead Freshmen in Assists and Points.

Ryan Segalla of the University of Connecticut Huskies has 2 Assists and a -1 in 13 games played so far this season. He is #11 in Assists, #15 in Points, and #12 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season, but he is #4 amongst D, #3 amongst Freshmen, and #2 amongst Freshmen D. UConn is 7-6-2 and sits at #3 in the Atlantic Hockey Conference.

Blaine Byron of the University of Maine Black Bears has 6 Goals, 6 Assists, and a +3 in 17 games played so far this season. 2 of his Goals and 2 of his Assists were scored on the PP. He is #4 in Goals, #7 in Assists, #6 in Points, and #13 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season, but does lead Freshman in Goals and Points and is #3 amongst Freshman in Assists. Maine is 10-6-2 and sits at #4 in the Hockey East Conference.

Dane Birks has committed to play for Michigan Tech in the future but is currently finishing up his Junior eligibility with the BCHL Merritt Centennials, so far he has 1 Goal and 10 Assists in 30 games played this season. His 1 Goal and 3 of his Assists were scored on the PP while 1 of his Assists was scored shorthanded. He is #15 in Goals, #7 in Assists, and #10 in Points on his team so far this season. Amongst D he is #3 in Goals, #2 in Assists, and #3 in Points though. Merritt is 19-14-2-1 so far this season and is sitting at #5 in the Interior Division and #9 in the entire British Columbia Hockey League.

Troy Josephs of the Clarkson Golden Knights has 2 Goals, 2 Assists, and a -1 in 16 games played so far this season. He is #8 in Goals, #15 in Assists, #13 in Points, and #23 in Plus/Minus on his team so far this season, but does lead Freshmen in Goals and is #3 amongst Freshmen in Assists and Points. Clarkson is 12-5-1 and sits at #3 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference.