A couple of Blue Jackets debuts; AHL and NHL, the CHL playoffs have begun and a few teams have swept the first round and a few are all tied up…

 

Starting in the WHL, two teams have swept their series, Seattle Thunderbirds and the Everett Silvertips. Mathew Barzal (NYI) is leading the Thunderbirds with seven points in four games (1.75pts/game) and Silvertips captain Dawson Leedahl leads Everett with five points in four games (1.25), who just returned from a month long hand injury on March 6^th, playing only two regular season games before the playoffs began.

Brandon Wheat Kings lost both their home games to the underdog Edmonton Oil Kings, but won game three on the back of Jayce Hawryluk (FLA) who recorded three assists in the 3-1 victory.

The underdog Regina Pats are up 3-1 in their series with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, leading WHL playoff scorer Adam Brooks (2016 draft eligible) has nine points in four games (4-5, 2.25 pts/GP)

All tied up at two games apiece, Kelowna Rockets and Kamloops Blazers first three games have all been decided by one goal. Game four, the Blazers defeated the Rockets 5-1 on Wednesday night, Collin Shirley (2-1-3) and Matt Revel (1-2-3) both recorded three points.

Memorial Cup host Red Deer Rebels are up 2-1 in their series against the Calgary Hitmen. Moose Jaw Warriors are up 3-1 in their series with the Prince Albert Raiders. Moose Jaw has four of the top five scorers on their roster right now, Brett Howden (2016 draft eligible) 2-7-9, Brayden Point (TB) 2-6-8, Dryden Hunt (FLA) 4-3-7 and Tanner Jeannot 2-5-7.

On Friday, April 1^st, you can watch Game Four of the Red Deer vs Calgary or Game Five of the Moose Jaw vs Prince Albert games free on WHL Live. The promo code and information can be found here, take advantage of this free offer and watch some very good WHL playoff action if you rarely get a chance to.

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The Erie Otters and the Kingston Frontenacs both have a chance to sweep their first round matchups, Game Four between Erie and Saginaw goes tonight (Thursday) in Saginaw at 7:05pm. The Otters have outscored the Spirit 18-7 in the first three games. Alex DeBrincat (2016 draft eligible) is leading the Otters in scoring with three goals and four assists for seven points (2.3). Game 4 of the Kingston and Oshawa series is tonight (Thursday) at 7:05pm in Oshawa. The Frontenacs have outscored the Generals 18-7 as well, with Michael Dal Colle (NYI) and Spencer Watson (LAK) leading the team in scoring with nine points each, both with two goals and seven assists.

The Windsor Spitfires fought off elimination to the Kitchener Rangers in overtime. Brendan Lemieux (WPG) tallied the quickest natural hat trick in Spitfires history, 2:01 minutes. Below is the three goals tweeted out by the OHL.

 

WATCH THIS: @NHLJets prospect @blemieux22 scores a natural hat-trick in 2min for @SpitsHockey #OHLPlayoffs #KITvsWSR pic.twitter.com/thNMEmdSq1

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) March 31, 2016

 

 

London Knights are one win away from defeating the Owen Sound Attack. Leading their series 3-1. The Knights’ had eight goals in Game 4, Matthew Tkachuk (2016 draft eligible) scored half of those and added an assist. Mitch Marner (TOR) also recorded five points (1-4), who shares the league lead with nine points. The main topic out of that game though, was the blindside hit from Max Jones (2016 draft eligible) on Justin Brack. Jones could be looking at a lengthy suspension. Here is a quick clip of Jones’ hit on Brack below.

 

Ouch. Max Jones on Justin Brack. #OHLPlayoffs #NHL https://t.co/PA6jczu9V4

— NormanJamesCTV (@NormanJamesCTV) March 31, 2016

What do you think Max Jones’ punishment, if any, should be for this hit? Let me know in the comments below.

 

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In the QMJHL, two teams have swept their opening round series, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and the Gatineau Olympiques. The Huskies outscored the 16^th seed Drummondville 33-4, including two shutout victories in Game One and Two, which is also the reason for the top four scorers in the QMJHL are Huskies, Time Meier (SJS) 7-6-10, Francis Perron (OTT) 3-10-13, Jean-Christophe Beaudin (COL) 3-6-9 and AJ Greer (COL) 6-2-8. As for the Gatineau, they outscored Quebec 16-6, with the first two games of the series being close games, 1-0 and 2-1. Olympiques leading scorer Gabryl Paquin-Boudreau (SJS) has five goals, three assists for eight points (2.0)

The underdog Charlottetown Islanders and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada are ahead in their series 3-1. The only series tied at 2-2 is the Cape Breton vs. Shawinigan series.

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Biggest signing of the past week, Zach Werenski (CBJ) signs a three-year entry-level contract worth $2.775 million. The breakdown of the contract is below, tweeted by CapFriendly and Aaron Portzline.  Weresnki has already joined the Lake Erie Monsters for his first practice on Tuesday morning, he is expected to make his AHL debut Friday night in Chicago against the Wolves at 7pm.

 

per @Aportzline … would appear Werenski's breakdown is ELC max + schedule A bonuses at max $850K https://t.co/QpbaqMEp9M

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) March 29, 2016

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A couple of notable recalls to the NHL, Sonny Milano (CBJ) will make his NHL debut Thursday night. Milano has four goals in his past three AHL games, he has a hot stick right now. We’ll find out if Milano’s speed and skilled hands will translate to the NHL.

Sergey Tolchinsky was recalled by the Carolina Hurricanes. Tolchinsky has had a few good training camp and prospect tournaments for the Hurricanes. He has 32 points in 65 AHL games this year with the Charlotte Checkers. Tolchinsky will make his NHL debut Thursday night against the New York Rangers at 7pm.

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Feel free to leave comments, questions or concerns below, have fun playing the game of Fantasy Hockey.

 

Paul Zwambag
@zwambag