As noted in last week’s tracker, nine Kings prospects were invited to their respective WJC camps, and all of them made the final rosters. With the pre-tournament games now completed, all eyes turn to opening day of the biggest U-20 tournament in the world, with things set to begin the day after Christmas.
Additionally, several other members of the Los Angeles pipeline have stepped up their play of late, just before the holiday break came for various leagues.
EUROPE
Samuel Fagemo: Forward, Frölunda HC, SHL (2nd round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 6 goals, 5 assists, plus-4, 4 PIM in 20 games played
The Swedish winger secured himself a spot on his nation’s roster, playing on the top line in two friendly contests against the Czech Republic and United States, tallying two goals and an assist.
https://twitter.com/aj_ranger/status/1208111118511722497
Jacob Moverare: Defense, Frölunda HC, SHL (4th round pick in 2016)
Regular season: 5 goals, 6 assists, plus-13, 6 PIM in 25 games played
The Indians went 1-1 in SHL action this week. LA’s fourth-round pick did not see his stat line change at all over the past week.
Kim Nousiainen: Defense, KalPa, Liiga (4th round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 2 goals, 5 assists, minus-4, 24 PIM in 30 games played
Los Angeles’ most recently drafted Finnish blueliner was with the national team for their pre-tournament camp. Paired alongside Finland’s WJC captain, Lassi Thomson (OTT, 2019), he lasered home a wrist shot en route to a 6-1 win over Germany.
Lenni Killinen (CAR) makes the drop pass to Kim Nousiainen (LAK) who gives Finland 5-0 lead over Germany. #WJC2020 #U20fi pic.twitter.com/64bPtxGCTi
— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) December 21, 2019
While this article doesn’t cover AHL players, we would be remiss not to mention Kupari’s inclusion to Finland’s leadership group.
Lassi Thomson toimii Nuorten Leijonien kapteenina tapaninpäivänä käynnistyvässä alle 20-vuotiaiden MM-turnauksessa. Varakapteeneiksi on valittu Toni Utunen ja Rasmus Kupari. Kuvassa vasemmalta Utunen, Thomson ja Kupari. #NuoretLeijonat #Leijonat pic.twitter.com/Rw9jPxJcWO
— Leijonat (@leijonat) December 21, 2019
Bulat Shafigullin: Forward, Reaktor Nizhnekamsk, KHL (3rd round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 9 goals, 8 assists, plus-7, 10 PIM in 12 games played (MHL)
0 goals, 0 assists, minus-1, 0 PIM in 2 games played (KHL)
Shafigullin was out yet another week. He last played over a month ago on November 14.
NCAA + USHL
Braden Doyle: Defense, Dubuque Fighting Saints, USHL (6th round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 5 goals, 12 assists, plus-8, 2 PIM in 22 games played
The surging defenseman enjoyed a holiday break a little early, with Dubuque not playing a game since our last update.
Dávid Hrenák: Goalie, St. Cloud State University Huskies, NCHC (5th round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 5-6-4, 3.04 GAA, .887 SV%, 0 SO in 16 games played
The St. Cloud netminder also got a bit of a vacation with NCAA invoking a holiday break. He did not receive an invite to represent Slovakia in the WJC due to his age, but he had the honors back in 2018.
Cole Hults: Defense, Penn State Nittany Lions, Big Ten (5th round pick in 2017)
Regular season: 4 goals, 12 assists, plus-13, 16 PIM in 19 games played
Hults’ break started along with the rest of the NCAA, allowing him to prepare for the second half of the collegiate season on January 3.
Andre Lee: Forward, UMass-Lowell River Hawks, Hockey East (7th round pick in 2019)
Regular Season: 4 goals, 8 assist, plus-7, 12 PIM in 17 games played
The late bloomer took the week off with the rest of his River Hawks in response to the holiday season. He saw an uptick in his production before the vacation, and hopefully the performance carries over.
Alex Turcotte: Forward, Wisconsin Badgers, Big Ten (1st round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 6 goals, 9 assists, minus-9, 10 PIM in 16 games played
One of Team USA’s top centers was held off the scoresheet in pre-tournament action. Against Sweden, Turcotte played on the third line left wing but didn’t register a point. Keep in mind part of USA’s lineup was about giving players more opportunities to play. Be sure to check out the MayorsManor interview with Turcotte from USA camp earlier this week.
Canadian Junior Leagues
Aidan Dudas: Forward, Owen Sound Attack, OHL (4th round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 11 goals, 19 assists, plus-12, 10 PIM in 23 games played
Dudas has overcome quite a bit of adversity recently. He injured his finger just days before Canada announced their pre-tournament roster. After recovering from said injury, he led Canada to a 3-0 win over Switzerland with a pair of assists. Mark and Dale Hunter, who manage and coach Team Canada respectively, undoubtedly saw a lot of Dudas in his days on a rival team in the OHL. They seemed set in adding him to the roster if he recovered physically.
I asked Nick Suzuki who to watch for Team Canada st the #WJC2020 : “Aidan Dudas…he’s coming off an injury but he played great against the Swiss. I think all of Canada is going to really love him. He’s just a little a ball of fire out there. He does everything right.
— Dan Robertson (@DanRTSN) December 20, 2019
Dale Hunter on Aidan Dudas, who didn't look rusty at all in 1st game since Nov. 29: "He's all over top of the puck. He's a true worker with skill."
Dellandrea: "He's always so hard on the puck & he's loud, you can hear him everywhere so it makes it easy"https://t.co/rysJMtx7ng
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) December 20, 2019
https://twitter.com/LAKings/status/1207788951035006976
Jacob Ingham: Goalie, Kitchener Rangers, OHL (6th round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 13-4-3, 2.75 GAA, .923 SV%, 2 SO in 20 games played
Ingham had a hot and cold week. A 45 save performance secured his second shutout of the season (leading all Kings goalie prospects). Then, two days later, he had five of 30 shots sneak past him. He entered the holiday break tied for second place in shutouts, seventh in GAA, and second overall in SV% in the OHL. His 36.6 shots on goal he faced per game has also kept him among the busiest of goaltenders.
https://twitter.com/OHLRangers/status/1208794328111427590
Jacob Ingham's shutout streak ends at 121:16 dating back to last weekend against Guelph. #OHLRangers
1-1 at The Aud
— Chris Pope (@_ChrisPope) December 21, 2019
Player Ambassadors @Carterr_2 & @JacobIngham_ lined up for a rare D-man & goalie puck drop to support the Nuttall family. Their daughter (8), was the recipient of 200 units of blood prior to her passing from cancer in 2011. @AttackOHL @OHLRangers @OHLHockey @CanadasLifeline pic.twitter.com/S0RbefvsYU
— Hockey Gives Blood (@hkygivesblood) December 19, 2019
Arthur Kaliyev: Forward, Hamilton Bulldogs, OHL (2nd round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 31 goals, 31 assists, plus-2, 20 PIM in 33 games played
In case you missed it, MayorsManor had a good conversation with Kaliyev during his time at USA’s World Junior camp last week. We can’t stress enough just how dominant the 33rd overall pick has been since joining the Kings organization; leading all players in 11 different hockey leagues in the number of primary points-per-game (ed. note: primary points = goals + primary assists). Kaliyev had a quiet performance in Team USA’s preliminary tilt against Sweden, yet he will wear the red, white, and blue on Boxing Day.
Per https://t.co/nl9UCE2X05, Kaliyev is the top in primary points (goals and primary assists) per game
Study covers 11 leagues, including AHL, OHL, WHL, QMJHL, NCAA +#ArtyPartyhttps://t.co/bN0SlPJjD3
— The Armchair Scout (@Davidenkness) December 16, 2019
Lukáš Pařík: Goalie, Spokane Chiefs, WHL (3rd round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 9-2-2, 2.59 GAA, .914 SV%, 0 Shutouts in 13 games played
The Czech netminder continued to scrape and scratch his way onto host nation’s WJC roster. He had neither the offensive nor defensive support as Sweden routed the team 5-1 in a friendly matchup.
Jordan Spence: Defense, Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL (4th round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 3 goals, 21 assists, plus-21, 14 PIM in 29 games played
Like most prospects, the returning QMJHL Rookie of the Year was on a holiday break.
Akil Thomas: Forward, Niagara IceDogs, OHL (2nd round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 15 goals, 29 assists, plus-2, 30 PIM in 27 games played
Team Canada has historically been one of the toughest rosters to crack for this international tourney of potentially future NHLers. However, Niagara’s captain was named to the final roster.
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.