With about a month gone in the 2019-20 season for most leagues, some of the Kings prospects have yet to really get going, while several others have rocketed out of the gates. Below is our weekly look at all of the organization’s prospects from around the globe.
EUROPE
Alexander Dergachyov: Forward, SKA St. Petersburg, KHL (3rd round pick in 2015)
Regular season: 0 goals, 2 assists, plus-1, 2 PIM in 15 games played
The past couple weeks have not been kind to Dergachyov, whose pointless streak is now at 11 games. He’s still throwing his weight around, however, as he’s in the top 10 in hits while averaging bottom six minutes.
Samuel Fagemo: Forward, Frölunda HC, SHL (2nd round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 3 goals, 2 assists, plus-3, 0 PIM in 8 games played
Don’t let the above numbers fool you. While he was held scoreless in the SHL, he had a four-goal performance playing for the Indians in the Champions Hockey League (note: unlike North America, where teams compete in one league all year, it is common for European teams to play in multiple leagues and/or tournaments throughout their regular season), including the beauty below:
Fagemo has seven goals and one assist in the European CHL, averaging two points a game.
Jacob Moverare: Defense, Frölunda HC, SHL (4th round pick in 2016)
Regular season: 2 goal, 3 assists, plus-6, 4 PIM in 11 games played
Moverare potted another goal this week in the SHL. Although he didn’t burn any barns when participating in the CHL alongside Fagemo, he picked up an assist during a 9-2 rout.
Kim Nousiainen: Defense, KalPa, Liiga (4th round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 1 goal, 1 assist, minus-3, 4 PIM in 14 games played
Playing in a professional league is never easy, especially for an 18 year-old. We’re seeing his minutes hover in the second pairing range, and he has yet to find his name on the scoresheet since September 20. He’s still firing plenty of bombs from the point, as he’s third on the team in shots on goal.
Bulat Shafigullin: Forward, Reaktor Nizhnekamsk, KHL (3rd round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 3 goals, 1 assists, plus-4, 4 PIM in 3 games played
We discussed last week about his expected return soon. He came back and stormed the Russian junior league by registering at least a point in each game. While it’s a small sample size, his points per game rate tops his team.
NCAA + USHL
Braden Doyle: Defense, Dubuque Fighting Saints, USHL (6th round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 1 goal, 2 assist, minus-2, 0 PIM in 6 games played
Doyle chipped in his first tally of the season while backing his team to a perfect 6-0 start and the second fewest goals against.
Dávid Hrenák: Goalie, St. Cloud State University Huskies, NCHC (5th round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 0-0-2, 2.77 GAA, .919 SV%, 0 SO in 2 games played
The Huskies had a week off. There is no news on the St. Cloud front. Expect to see him in net again on Friday, October 25.
Cole Hults: Defense, Penn State Nittany Lions, Big Ten (5th round pick in 2017)
Regular season: 4 goals, 1 assist, plus-5, 2 PIM in 4 games played
Penn State and Alaska exchanged shutting each other out this week. After the previously spicy weekend (which earned him recognition as the No. 3 star in the Big Ten), Hults was blanked in both bouts. He’s still hovering around the lead among blueliners.
Andre Lee: Forward, UMass-Lowell River Hawks, Hockey East (7th round pick in 2019)
Regular Season: 3 goals, 1 assist, plus-3, 2 PIM in 6 games played
Incidentally, while Lee’s size is a great asset in front of the opposition’s net on the powerplay, he has yet to score a goal with the extra man. However, he did pick up a powerplay assist over the weekend.
Alex Turcotte: Forward, Wisconsin Badgers, Big Ten (1st round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 3 goals, 5 assists, minus-1, 4 PIM in 4 games played
Turcotte filled the apple orchard with three assists on Friday and followed it up with a goal on Saturday. This is the second four-point weekend in a row for the high-end forward. His eight points has him tied with Junior teammate Linus Weissbach for the team lead and has him tied for fourth in NCAA scoring. All three of his tallies have come with the man advantage.
After (formerly ranked) No. 17 UW swept a 2-game series vs powerhouse UMD, here are this week's college hockey rankings w/ Kings prospects noted…
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) October 21, 2019
6. Wisconsin (Turcotte)
12. Penn State (Hults)
14. St. Cloud (Hrenak)
N/R UMass Lowell (Lee)
Full Rankings https://t.co/mWwlFMaTjN
CHL
Aidan Dudas: Forward, Owen Sound Attack, OHL (4th round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 3 goal, 10 assists, plus-7, 4 PIM in 10 games played
Dudas chipped in another assist in the only contest for the Attack. He was one of the Kings prospects who received the honor to represent Canada for Team OHL in the Canada-Russia junior showcase.
LA Kings will have four prospects in the annual Canada-Russia junior hockey showcase.
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) October 16, 2019
For those unfamiliar, it's Russia vs 2 games each against QMJHL, OHL, & WHL.
Jordan Spence will rep the Q
Aidan Dudas & Akil Thomas the OHL
And goalie Jacob Ingham suits up on Nov 7 for OHL https://t.co/IGTfTRygQx
Jacob Ingham: Goalie, Kitchener Rangers, OHL (6th round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 5-1-3, 3.15 GAA, .919 SV%, 0 SO in 7 games played
Like Dudas, Ingham is part of Team OHL who will have a miniature tournament against Russia. Unlike last week, however, he hasn’t been nominated as one of the stars of the game. He’s still helping backstop the Rangers up the standings, however, as they have not lost in regulation with Ingham in net since September 27.
Arthur Kaliyev: Forward, Hamilton Bulldogs, OHL (2nd round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 14 goals, 11 assists, plus-3, 6 PIM in 12 games played
Kaliyev continues to tell 31 teams he belonged in the first round. He continues to try willing the puck into the net, leading the entire league with 67 shots on goal. The point scoring streak has reached nine games, six of which have been multi-point performances. In that span, Kaliyev has picked up 20 points (12 G, 8 A). The aggregate of points accrued the entire season accounts for 58% of the Hamilton Bulldogs scoring.
Lukáš Pařík: Goalie, Spokane Chiefs, WHL (3rd round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 2-1-0, 2.38 GAA, .908 SV%, 0 Shutouts in 2 games played
No timetable on Pařík’s return as he still remains out with injury (day-to-day, lower body). He last played on October 5.
Jordan Spence: Defense, Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL (4th round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 0 goals, 11 assists, plus-7, 10 PIM in 12 games played
His four assists this past week have him straddling near the point per game mark. The Wildcats really need him to continue contributing on both sides of the ice, as he has 10 assists in their nine wins, and only one point in their three losses. He’s part of Team QMJHL in the aforementioned Canada-Russia series.
Akil Thomas: Forward, Niagara IceDogs, OHL (2nd round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 2 goal, 12 assists, minus-5, 10 PIM in 9 games played
Thomas continues to pile up the points quietly. He’s riding a three-game point streak, picking up a goal and three assists in that span. As this is likely Thomas’ last season in the OHL, he’s rounding out his game for the next level, including leading the league in faceoffs taken per game.
Keep in mind, this weekly tracker only covers prospects not playing professional hockey in North America. In essence, the report serves to provide updates on all players in the pipeline — signed or unsigned — excluding those in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL.
NOTE: Author David Hofreiter can be found on Twitter @Davidenkness if you’re interested in talking more hockey with him or asking further questions about these players.
SPORTSNET REPLAY: Hoven talks NHL Return to Play and UFC 251 on Fight Island
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Enjoy a free replay of John Hoven on Sportsnet Radio, where he joined host Roger Lajoie in Toronto to talk a plethora of topics surrounding the NHL’s Return to Play plan, as well as this weekend’s UFC 251 card scheduled to take place on Fight Island.
Today’s radio segment can be heard using the […]