Jets Prospect Update

It’s that time again. 

The Jets’ prospects are starting to sort themselves into groups, with a few still showing strong positive arrows, and others threatening to burn a year without significant progress. 

The team’s skill-first draft class in 2013 continues to be the most impressive group of prospects in the system, with a number of 2011 and 2012 picks starting to fall behind.

This is mostly bad news. The team itself is -1 in goal differential, and playing .500 hockey (though it’s been an up and down road to get there). Klingberg has come alive since our last check-in. He had just 2 points in 8 games, meaning he has 3 in his last 5.

Lowry continues to struggle with injury and ineffectiveness. With his large frame and excellent skating, I really thought he would be an impact player in the AHL early. Perhaps it’s a health issue first and foremost, but this is not a WHL MVP kind of season.

Brenden Kichton is having an excellent year, though. Kichton leads defencemen in scoring. Ben Chiarot is second in shots by defenceman, and may even get on the table next update. On a team where defenceman Will O’Neill is -11, Chiarot is +4 and Kichton +5. It’s not a good statistic in general, but we can start to see some of the chasm on this team between the top players and the bottom.

O’Dell is also having a terrific year, picking up where he left off last season with the team lead in points, shots, and general make-stuff-happen-ness. There may come a point where the team has to consider swapping him with Scheifele on the NHL roster.

Lukas Sutter is well down the road of draft bust, and things are just getting worse. Three of his 4 goals are on the powerplay. He’s getting the minutes. Eight points in 16 games for an over-age player is simply not good enough to expect an impact player in pro hockey. His brains are the problem, as his mobility and willingness to grind are obvious.

Petan is STILL scoring two points a game. The best news for Jets fans is actually Brenden Leipsic’s numbers. A year ago, Petan played with Leipsic and over-ager Ty Rattie – all of whom scored over 100 points for the high-powered Winterhawks. This season, Petan’s most common linemate appears to be Oliver Bjorkstrand while Leipsic has fallen to 26 points in 19 games. Still a very good total, but we have some answer to who is stirring the drink. Very exciting season for Petan and Jets fans.

Lethbridge has a -57 goal differential, and has scored a WHL worst 61 goals. It’s always hard to know just how much a player like Blomqvist is affecting a forgettable season for the Hurricanes, but we can hope he gets moved to a better team come January. 

Kelowna has played just 19 games in the WHL this year, while some teams have played as many as 27. Ryan Olsen is working to make a bottom-six career in pro hockey, and his scoring totals this year and last are suggesting it might be possible.

How about that Josh Morrissey? 

The Guelph Storm haven’t suffered a regulation loss in 14 games. Scott Kosmachuk is not only the leader in points, but also penalty minutes. Rock/reggae multi-instrumentalist Ben Harpur leads the team in plus/minus at +22. 

Jimmy Lodge is not having a stellar draft+1 year, but the Spirit are 7-3-0 since Lodge came back on October 19th. He’s having an effect as a two-way pivot.

Kostalek has 11 assists in 7 November games and seems to be over his early season injury. He was named Third Star of the Week for November 4th to 10th after a 6 assists in 3 games. Five of those were on the powerplay, where he hasn’t typically gotten much time for Rimouski. Having now tied his point total from last season in just 23 contests, we can hope Kostalek is taking advantage of extra opportunity and not simply on a bit of a streak. 

Tanner Lane is on a team with a +3 goal differential, and he’s -3. This season isn’t going in the right direction just yet.

Jordan Samuels-Thomas, on the other hand, is 8th in points and 3rd in shots in the ECAC. The team has 4 players inside the top 8 for ECAC scoring, including Kellen and Connor Jones from the BCJHL. Still, with his impressive size, Samuels-Thomas is making a case for a pro career.

Andrew Copp leads Michigan in scoring so far this year. 

 

Winnipeg native Jason Kasdorf has lost his chance in net after getting blown up in one game early in the year. He hasn’t played a game since. UPDATE: Robert Cleave has explained to my thick skull that Kasdorf has a shoulder injury and is out for the foreseeable future.

 

Jamie Phillips isn’t getting much more ice time than that.

 

That leaves just Jets Saviour Connor Hellebuyck who is settling in at his current .938. He hasn’t been the dominant netminder from his Freshman year, but he’s not so far off.

Burmistrov is Kazan’s leading scorer, followed by another former Jet – Tim Stapleton. Ak Bars is 1st in the Eastern Division, and second in the KHL overall. Burmistrov is also 55% in the faceoff circle, and has 2.3 shots per game. Has anyone mentioned he might look good on the Jets?

Karlstrom still leads AIK J20 in scoring by defencemen, but thanks to promotions to other players, is also tied for the SuperElit league lead in the same category.

Poolman now leads the Lancers’ defencemen in scoring, but he’s a fair way behind the team lead of 34 points by Jake Randolph. That team leads the USHL in the standings, and in now small part because of their top forward line scoring like crazy.

I also stumbled across an interview with USHL alum, Zach Redmond. Assuming you don’t live on the set of Beverly Hills Cop, you will not believe the music in this video.