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LA Kings Prospect Tracker – Week Ending November 4, 2019

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After recognizing the Three Stars of the Month for October in last week’s article, we return to our regular format of summarizing the performances of more than a dozen Kings prospects playing all across the globe.

EUROPE

Samuel Fagemo: Forward, Frölunda HC, SHL (2nd round pick in 2019)

Regular season: 4 goals, 2 assists, plus-1, 0 PIM in 12 games played

Our second star of October had a rather unremarkable week in the stats department, where he was blanked in both contests. It’s of little concern in the grand scheme of things, though, as consistency is a staple for every prospect to develop. Fagemo has averaged a shade over nine minutes of ice time in the few games played since Halloween.

Jacob Moverare: Defense, Frölunda HC, SHL (4th round pick in 2016)

Regular season: 3 goal, 4 assists, plus-9, 4 PIM in 15 games played

As discussed on a recent Kings of the Podcast episode, this is likely Moverare’s last season in Sweden, as the Kings are going to try to bring him back. He picked up a helper this week. The seventh point of 2019-20 matches his season high from yesteryear, but last season it took 42 contests to reach the same output. We discussed in our first article this season the importance of individual growth, and so far the numbers are looking good.

Further, word is he’ll likely have a chance to play for Team Sweden at the Channel One Cup in Moscow in December. Many European scouts were expecting him to play this weekend, but it’s coach Garpenlöv’s first tournament as the top bench boss for Team Sweden, so he opted for a more experienced team. Moverare has been impressive thus far this season, playing on both the penalty kill and power play, as well as his regular shifts. As one scout put it, “It’s not a sexy style, but they love him in Frölunda, on and off the ice.” This shouldn’t come as a major surprise to longtime MayorsManor readers. You may recall where Mark Yannetti once proclaimed the then 17-year-old Moverare had the highest hockey IQ of any defenseman in the NHL Draft.

Kim Nousiainen: Defense, KalPa, Liiga (4th round pick in 2019)

Regular season: 1 goal, 1 assist, minus-6, 4 PIM in 18 games played

Nousiainen hasn’t found his name on the scoresheet since September 20 and his team hasn’t won since October 12 (going 0-4-2 in that span and being outscored 25-7 in that span). So we reached out to some European-based NHL scouts to find out what’s going on. Here’s what we came up with from those conversations… While the team is struggling under their new coach, Nousiainen continues to play big minutes still, around 15-22 each night. He’s also set to join Finland’s U20 team for the big Four Nations Tournament this coming weekend. It should serve as a good break for him. Overall, the general feeling is Nousiainen’s game is going in the right direction, as he’s still a rookie in Liiga – and a young one at that. The points will come. Let’s see what happens in the second half of the season, after he returns from the World Junior Championships.

Bulat Shafigullin: Forward, Reaktor Nizhnekamsk, KHL (3rd round pick in 2018)

Regular season: 5 goals, 3 assists, plus-3, 8 PIM in 8 games played

The past two matches were exceptionally rough for Reaktor in general. Shafigullin didn’t pick up a point, but the bigger issue is finding yourself on the receiving end of 8-2 and 9-1 on back-to-back routs. Then, just as we were about to publish this week’s article, an update came in. You have to watch the video below, you just have to.

NCAA + USHL

Braden Doyle: Defense, Dubuque Fighting Saints, USHL (6th round pick in 2019)

Regular season: 1 goal, 2 assist, plus-0, 2 PIM in 9 games played

Dubuque remains the only team in the USHL who has not lost a match in regulation. They are top of the league and have the fewest goals against. Doyle’s three points ties the team lead with the other blueliners, as the Fighting Saints seem to lean more on team defense and generating offense from the forwards.

Dávid Hrenák: Goalie, St. Cloud State University Huskies, NCHC (5th round pick in 2018)

Regular season: 1-2-3, 3.24 GAA, .884 SV%, 0 SO in 6 games played

The returning runner up of the NCAA championship doesn’t have the same caliber team in front of him this season. They continue to slide down the rankings, and while the Slovak goalie is doing what he can, allowing 10 goals this weekend will likely see them slip a bit further.

Cole Hults: Defense, Penn State Nittany Lions, Big Ten (5th round pick in 2017)

Regular season: 4 goals, 4 assists, plus-8, 2 PIM in 7 games played

The big talk of the week at MayorsManor was some Kings on Kings crime, in which the junior defenseman faced off against Los Angeles’ most recent top pick in Alex Turcotte. Hults would walk – or in this case, skate – away with more bragging rights, as he picked up three assists and a pair of wins.

Andre Lee: Forward, UMass-Lowell River Hawks, Hockey East (7th round pick in 2019)

Regular Season: 3 goals, 2 assist, plus-3, 4 PIM in 9 games played

The hulking forward witnessed his team capture a couple victories over the weekend, but he did not notch a point himself.

Alex Turcotte: Forward, Wisconsin Badgers, Big Ten (1st round pick in 2019)

Regular season: 3 goals, 5 assists, minus-5, 4 PIM in 6 games played

Turcotte had a rather unusual experience while enduring Kings on Kings crime: he didn’t register a point in back-to-back contests.  While he had been blanked in a few U-18 World Championship games, he was held off the scoresheet only three times against the collegiate competition last year. Knowing his competitive nature, look for him to fight hard next week against Omaha.

CHL

Aidan Dudas: Forward, Owen Sound Attack, OHL (4th round pick in 2018)

Regular season: 7 goal, 15 assists, plus-9, 6 PIM in 15 games played

The captain of the Attack and the future leader of Team OHL in the Canada Russia series next week saw his five-game scoring streak snapped on Saturday. Dudas displayed a repertoire of contributions this week, as he scored a short-handed goal, powerplay goal, even strength goal and added an even strength assist. Beginning Thursday, Dudas will captain the OHL team in their two-game series vs. Russia.

Jacob Ingham: Goalie, Kitchener Rangers, OHL (6th round pick in 2018)

Regular season: 6-3-3, 3.28 GAA, .912 SV%, 0 SO in 12 games played

The late pick from 2018 had his workload lightened this week with only one game, and the Rangers aren’t slated to play again until November 8. He’ll get some extra time between the pipes for Team Canada as they play against Russia, and hopefully he can regain his earlier performance this season.

Arthur Kaliyev: Forward, Hamilton Bulldogs, OHL (2nd round pick in 2019)

Regular season: 19 goals, 17 assists, plus-1, 10 PIM in 18 games played

Arguably, there is no prospect who has been more consistent in Juniors than the recent second round pick. He leads the entire OHL in points and shots on goal, and is tied for the league lead in goals. He has scored in 16 of the 18 contests, and 12 of such were multi-point affairs. Coincidentally, his stat line last season ended with 51-51-102, and it now sits at 19-17-36. He may not win the Cy Young award, but he keeps you guessing until the puck finds its way in the net. Over the past week, Kaliyev became the second Bulldog to hit the 100-career goal plateau in OHL history.

Lukáš Pařík: Goalie, Spokane Chiefs, WHL (3rd round pick in 2019)

Regular season: 2-1-1, 2.77 GAA, .891 SV%, 0 Shutouts in 4 games played

As we discussed last week and mentioned on Kings of the Podcast by MayorsManor editor John Hoven, the Czech goaltender finally returned to the ice after injury on November 3. While losing 4-3 in overtime isn’t ideal, and his statistics took a hit, getting back on the ice and regaining his rhythm is the top priority.

Jordan Spence: Defense, Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL (4th round pick in 2019)

Regular season: 1 goal, 14 assists, plus-12, 10 PIM in 12 games played

While only finding twine once this season, the smaller than average puck mover remains in the top 10 in defenseman scoring due to the assists he’s picked up. He’s anchoring the top pair for Moncton, which has pushed them to the top of the Eastern Conference in the Q and the second-best team defensively. Spence will also be the first of several Kings prospects to participate in the annual Canada-Russia series beginning tonight in Saint John. First up, the QMJHL teams will play a pair vs. Russia (including a follow-up game tomorrow), then the OHL will have their turn this Thursday and next Monday. Those games will feature Akil Thomas, Aidan Dudas, and Jacob Ingham.

Akil Thomas: Forward, Niagara IceDogs, OHL (2nd round pick in 2018)

Regular season: 7 goal, 16 assists, minus-7, 20 PIM in 15 games played

The captain continues to develop leadership and put his team first. On a night when the IceDogs only had four healthy defensemen, Thomas was one of the forwards who was willing to move back on defense and played 29 minutes. His points per game took a hit as a consequence, but he still leads Niagara in this statistic.

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.