Sunday, February 9
With the NHL on a three-week hiatus and no fantasy lineup to worry about, this is a great time to catch some prospect action in the AHL. This two-part series will give you a quick look at who the top prospects are on each team, as well as their stats (GP-G-A-PTS-PIM) so far this season.
Abbottsford Heat (Calgary Flames)-
Marcus Granlund, C (44-21-16-37-22)
Max Reinhart, C (42-11-26-37-22)
Corban Knight, C (49-13-21-34-33)
Ben Hanowski, LW (45-11-14-25-13)
Sven Baertschi, LW (20-3-6-9-14)
Tyler Wotherspoon, D (39-1-7-8-10)
The Flames have some decent prospects, but Granlund is your best fantasy prospect, and a sleeper pick of mine. Knight plays a well-rounded game and has a scoring touch and is worth a look in deeper league that count hits and penalty minutes. Baertschi has been underwhelming but it’s too soon to give up on his potential.
Adirondack Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers)
Jason Akeson, RW (47-17-28-45-22)
Nick Cousins, C (46-4-9-13-21)
That’s all folks. Slim pickings in the Flyer system, particularly at the AHL level. Is Akeson a prospect or a career minor-leaguer? The Flyers aren’t sure yet. Cousins is a decent NHL prospect who won’t score enough to be a significant fantasy player.
Albany Devils (New Jersey Devils)
Reid Boucher, LW (29-11-11-22-8)
Harri Pesonen, LW (47-8-12-20-38)
Stefan Matteau, LW (40-8-9-17-52)
Jon Merrill, D (14-2-7-9-0)
Boucher is a natural sniper who is underrated in my estimation. He has a Dave Andreychuk like touch around the net. Pesonen is a hard-working, honest player who will have an NHL career, but you don’t need to use one of your prospect spots on him. I feel the same about Matteau. He will likely be a 3rd-line grinder and secondary scorer in the NHL. Merrill is a stud who will be a regular on the New Jersey blueline beginning next fall.
Binghampton Senators (Ottawa)
Matt Puempel, LW (47-17-9-26-80)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau, C (25-7-17-24-12)
Mark Stone, RW (19-9-9-18-4)
Puempel has power-forward potential and has lit the lamp at all levels he’s played at. Pageau, undersized but talented, has warranted a couple of looks already. Stone is close to NHL-ready, he’s still learning how to play without the puck.
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (New York Islanders)
Ryan Strome, C (32-11-32-43-33)
Anders Lee, LW (49-18-17-35-76)
Matt Donovan, D (19-4-11-15-17)
Strome has proven himself in the AHL even if he isn’t quite ready for the big league. Lee is another prospect that you don’t hear a lot about but I really like him. Donovan has shown that his offense will play in the NHL.
Charlotte Checkers (Carolina)
Zach Boychuk, C (40-22-18-40-24)
Brett Sutter, C (33-5-19-24-37)
Brody Sutter, C (41-5-14-19-20)
Danny Biega, D (36-2-9-11-10)
Keegan Lowe, D (41-2-6-8-46)
Boychuk has seemingly been a prospect forever, and may lose that tag soon if he doesn’t start producing when he gets chances. Of the Sutters, only Brett is a fantasy prospect, albeit a fringe one and only in league that count hits and penalty minutes. Biega has good offensive skills, but it doesn’t show in his numbers due to his concentrating on improving his defensive play.
Chicago Wolves (St. Louis)
Ty Rattie, RW (47-18-12-30-26)
Dmitrij Jaskin, LW (33-13-12-25-24)
Cade Fairchild, D (29-2-17-19-18)
Jake Allen, G (33 games, 20 wins, 2.14 GGA, .923 Sav%)
Rattie has done what was expected of him- score goals. Jaskin could really be something, he makes plays most players can only dream about. Fairchild has good offensive accumen and has improved defensively, but his window may be closing. Allen is still likely the goalie of the future in St. Louis.
Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit)
Teemu Pulkkinen, RW (49-18-23-41-26)
Tomas Jurco, RW (32-13-19-32-14)
Ryan Sproul, D (48-8-15-23-32)
Riley Sheahan, C (28-8-10-18-10)
Petr Mrazek, G (16 games, 11 wins, 2.26 GGA, .921 Sav%)
Pulkkinen and Jurco are two more European forwards who will become regulars in Detroit in time. Sproul is intriguing- huge shot and oozes offensive instincts but his defense is atrocious. Sheahan is a future 3rd-line center and Mrazek has starter potential.
Hamilton Bulldogs (Montreal)
Christian Thomas, RW (27-7-10-17-16)
Nathan Beaulieu, D (33-4-12-16-21)
Jarred Tinordi, D (43-3-5-8-63)
Thomas is a gritty winger whose ceiling is a 2nd-liner, but will probably be a 3rd-line player when he reaches the NHL. Beaulieu can quarterback a power-play, but won’t be an NHL regular until he improves his decision making and positional play.
That’s it for part one, now go catch some games and check out these and other prospects in action. Feel free to leave feedback or questions bothe here or on Twitter (@RichDillon17). Thanks for reading.