With most AHL, Junior, and College games happening over the weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to do a Flyers prospect weekend recap. So here is the first weekend recap of the season.
Taylor Leier is off to a hot start with the Portland Winterhawks in the WHL. Skating with familiar linemates Oliver Bjorkstrand and Chase De Leo; Leier has posted four points (all assists) in his first two games. Leier is also wearing an 'A' for the Winterhawks this season. Leier and the Winterhawks are back in action Tuesday.
Anthony Stolarz is also off to a good start with his Junior squad in London. After skating on his home rink with the Flyers earlier in the week his started in the Knights opener on Friday. Stolarz posted a 30 shot shut out, which is especially impressive considering the Knights were without most of their stars (namely First round pick defensemen Olli Maatta and Nikita Zadorov, as well as lottery picks Bo Horvat and Max Domi).
Tyrell Goulbourne didn't pick up a point in either of the Kelowna Rockets' games this weekend. Goulbourne, who was drafted for his pugilism, didn't get in a fight either. He was, however, a +2 for the weekend.
Sam Morin probably had the worst weekend out of the Flyers prospects currently playing in the CHL. He didn't score and was a -2 in a weekend where his Rimouski Oceanic went 0-2. He registered 6 shots on goal (5 in his first game back) and recorded 1 hit.
Robert Hagg was in action Saturday for MODO. He picked up an assist and skated for just over 18 minutes. In four games this season MODO has seen three go into extra time and two make it all the way to a shoot out. Hagg plays again Tuesday.
Valeri Vasiliev played his second and third game after returning from a shoulder injury. He skated for just over 13 minutes in a game against SKA St. Petersberg on Friday (I was watching that game and I don't think he saw any ice time against SKA's Ilya Kovalchuk) and he skated 16:29 in a game Sunday against Severstal Cherepovets. The game against Severstal was second time he saw the ice in OT after returning from his injury. Vasiliev is taking a decidedly defensive role so far, he has only recorded one shot all season (he recorded 17 in 16 games last season with Spartak's top club) but he is still seeing a good amount of ice time, usually finishing 4th on his team in shifts and TOI.
Jakub Kovar, after having a monster debut, came back to Earth Sunday following a 7 goal shelling at the hands of Barys Astana. His numbers for the season are still good, a .919 Save % and a 2.50 GAA, but I think we'll see a little more of this throughout the season. Kovar is playing behind a weak team.
David Drake didn't put up a point and was even in his season opener with the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL. Des Moines lost that opener 6-4.
Fredric Larsson skated in both games for the Youngstown Phantoms this weekend. The Phantoms dropped both games to the US National Development Team by a combined score of 16-9 (starting to get the impression this really isn't a goalie friendly league) and registered a -2. That's not bad considering only one of the US goals on the power play while a third of Youngstown's goals were scored with the man advantage.
Both defenseman Terrance Amorosa and goalie Merrick Madsen sat in the press box (or whatever the USHL equivalent to the press box is) for the openers for their respective teams. Both played high school hockey in New Hampshire last season. Both were considered reach picks even though they were taken later in the draft (Amorosa, like David Drake, wasn't even ranked by NHL Central Scouting). This probably isn't what the Flyers wanted. Remember Anthony Stolarz started last year riding the pine in the NCAA with Nebraska-Omaha and bailed to go to London in the OHL. Stolarz was being heavily courted by a power house team in the CHL, I don't think such offers will come along for Amorosa or Madsen. Madsen will probably see game action a little sooner than Amorosa, his goalie partners struggled in the season opener. Amorosa only skated in one of his Souix City Muskateers pre-season games. Either way both already have NCAA commitments. Amorosa to Providence College and Madsen to Harvard. Madsen I thought looked good at Flyers camp this summer.
The Adirondack Phantoms announced their training camp rosters Sunday. All the names you expect are on the list outside of players like Oliver Lauridsen and Michael Raffl who are still with the Flyers. A couple interesting names on the Phantoms camp roster are undersized wing Guillaume Asselin, a once top prospect (considered a first round pick early in his draft year who went undrafted) who averaged more than a point per game in each of his last seasons in the QMJHL, and big defenseman Mark Nemec, who played last season with the University of Maine and was rather impressive in the Flyers fall rookie camp and prospect game.
NCAA teams don't start playing until October 4th and even then it is essentially a pre-season with most teams playing exhibition games against Canadian colleges. Flyers draft picks Michael Parks (North Dakota) and Nick Luukko (Vermont) start playing at this time. Shayne Gostisbehere and Union College start play October 11th, while Ivy Leaguers Reece Willcox (Cornell) and Petr Placek (Harvard) don't start play until the weekend of October 25th.
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