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December is here and that means WJC selection camps are starting up around the world. The Avs are certain to have a handful of prospects at the tournament this year and it’s shaping up to be an exciting and important look at them on the national stage.
Prospect of the Week:
Conor Timmins – D (Colorado Eagles) round 2, pick 32, 2017
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 19 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 20 | 6 |
Timmins is long overdue for the prospect of the week honors. Timmins is not only the top prospect on the Eagles, but he’s also the best defenseman on the team even when you include the veterans. He might just be the best player on the team as only two players have a higher point total on the season. He has excelled with every opportunity given to him at the AHL level and the Avs will not be able to keep him out of the NHL for much longer.
Pro Standouts:
Sheldon Dries – C (Colorado Eagles) Free agent signing
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 20 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 24 | -1 |
While I am not sure if I consider Dries a real prospect at this point, he has been a key contributor for the Eagles while they have been missing multiple pieces due to all of the Avs callups. He is more or less a known quantity at the NHL level but with still the majority of the forward callups failing to produce he may still get an NHL game or two this year.
WJC camp invites:
Justus Annunen – G (Oulun Kärpät) round 3, pick 64, 2018
| Games Played | Wins | Losses | OTW | OTL | Save % | GAA |
| 13 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 94.67 | 1.26 |
Annunen has still yet to record a loss in the Liiga this year. Given his past success with team Finland in tournaments like the U18’s and his absurd stat lines as a 19-year-old in the Liiga, he has to have the inside line to the starter job for Suomi. If the tournament goes well for him you can expect the hype to break out of the Avalanche bubble.
Bowen Byram – D (Vancouver Giants) round 1, pick 4, 2019
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 25 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 47 | 5 |
Byram is a virtual lock to make team Canada’s WJC team this year and he will almost certainly be in their top four if not on the top pairing. His WHL scoring has been fairly inconsistent through the last month or so but don’t put much stock in that as he continues to work on his game with an NHL focus. Big things are going to be expected of him at WJCs, let’s see if he can live up to the hype.
Drew Helleson – D (Boston College) round 2, pick 47, 2019
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 6 |
This one is probably a long shot but team USA has not announced it’s expanded camp roster yet and at the very least Helleson should be in the conversation. If a shutdown defensive type is something in demand he could make the team but with all of the talent coming out of the NTDP over the last couple years it would be a bit of tall ask. Next year is likely a more realistic target for Helleson.
Alex Newhook – C (Boston College) round 1, pick 16, 2019
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 13 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 5 |
Newhook might be on the outside looking in but just the fact that he has been invited to the pre-camp shows how much his game has come along in the last few weeks. Points in six of his last seven games and four of those have been multi-point nights. Team Canada is stacked down the middle and BC has made it painfully clear that Newhook is at his best when playing center. He may find his way onto the team and get himself a chance to do something but missing out isn’t the end of the world as he will be eligible for next year as well.
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Sampo Ranta – LW (Minnesota) round 3, pick 78, 2018
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 16 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
As one of the final cuts from team Finland last year, Ranta is fully expected to be on the squad this year. While his numbers aren’t all that gaudy he has already equaled his goal total from last year in less than half as many games. As he continues to find consistency a dive into an always competitive Finnish team could see him take on more of a depth role but at a minimum, it should be a fantastic opportunity for him to play against the best of his peers.
Daniil Zhuravlyov – D (Ak Bars Kazan) round 5, pick 146, 2018
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 28 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
Another shoo-in here, Zhuravlyov will be attending the WJC for the second time in his career. Given his relative success in the KHL, you have to think Russia will have a big role lined up for him on that blue line. While Zhuravlyov is someone a lot of hardcore prospect watchers have kept their eye on, a good tournament would accelerate the process for him significantly.
KHL:
Nikolai Kovalenko – RW (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) round 6, pick 171, 2018
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 32 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 8 |
Halfway through November Kovalenko found the scoring touch that everyone has been waiting to see at the KHL level. His role has been expanded to a middle-six or even second-line one and he is feasting while continuing to bring a physical, hard-working presence. What’s not to love here?
NCAA:
Nate Clurman – D (Notre Dame) round 6, pick 161, 2016
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
Notre Dame lost three straight in the back half of November and Clurman has felt the struggle. His point production has disappeared and he finds himself catching a lot of minuses on the back end as a shutdown defenseman. The lack of scoring is not particularly surprising but he has to be more consistent on the other side of the puck.
Nicky Leivermann – D (Notre Dame) round 7, pick 187, 2017
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 14 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
Leivermann continues to prove he is an antipode to the Notre Dame way of playing hockey as he has found consistent offense while the team struggles around him. He leads the defense in scoring and is showing flashes of the player we saw in the BCHL two years ago. There might just be something here to keep tabs on.
Cam Morrison – LW (Notre Dame) round 2, pick 40, 2016
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 14 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 8 |
As a senior Morrison continues to show the consistency you would expect of an upperclassman. I don’t have much to say here; the expectation is still that he will receive a contract at the end of his season and what he looks like at the professional level will be the jumping-off point.
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Denis Smirnov – LW (Penn State) round 6, pick 156, 2017
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 14 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 5 |
The good news is Smirnov rattled off a six-game point streak in November. The bad news is most of those were single point games in blowout wins. I just don’t think there is much chance of him receiving a contract offer at this point.
Matthew Stienburg – C (Cornell) round 3, pick 63, 2019
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 |
The lack of offense at the next level was the biggest fear with Stienburg and so far it’s been an issue. Not having point production is one thing but he is struggling to even get involved in the offense regularly going full games without registering a shot. Cornell is a perfect 9 – 0 with a good number of blowout wins as well and Stienburg just can’t find the action.
Tyler Weiss – LW (Nebraska Omaha) round 4, pick 109, 2018
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 11 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 2 |
UNO’s schedule is a bit of an oddity. They haven’t played a game since November 23rd but will be one of the few NCAA teams to actually play through December and the holiday break. More updates on him once they get back on the ice.
QMJHL:
Alex Beaucage – RW (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies) round 3, pick 78, 2019
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 30 | 21 | 15 | 36 | 18 | 14 |
Beaucage sits just shy of a 50-goal pace which would be a nice little milestone for him to hit if he can keep it up. By now everyone knows he has a shot good enough for the pro level, but the inconsistencies are still cropping up. He hasn’t been able to rattle off a long point streak because he seems to disappear every third game or so.
Extraliga (Czechia):
Petr Kvaca – G (HC Oceláři Třinec) round 4, pick 114, 2017
| Games Played | Wins | Losses | OTW | OTL | Save % | GAA |
| 17 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 92.44 | 2.21 |
Kvaca continues to put in a solid performance night in and night out in the Extraliga but the reality is unless he is doing something special he has taken a back seat to Annunen and Werner.
USHL:
Shamil Shmakov – G (Cedar Rapids RoughRiders) round 7, pick 202, 2018
| Games Played | Wins | Losses | OTW | OTL | Save % | GAA |
| 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .901 | 3.03 |
Sometimes I forget Shmakov exists, and with good reason. He only played two games in November and both came in the second half of it. The assumption here is of course that he was hurt in some way but that information is not readily available from the USHL. Everything about Shmakov and his situation remains peculiar.
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WHL:
Luka Burzan – RW (Brandon Wheat Kings) round 6, pick 171, 2019
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 29 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 18 | -5 |
How good is Luka Burzan? I struggle with that question. He is clearly quite talented, managing over a point per game in the WHL is impressive, but he’s not dominant. He doesn’t take over games, he just kind of chugs along doing his thing playing smooth and effective. A change of scenery may or may not help him but it would certainly help viewers get a better grasp of what he is.
Trent Miner – G (Vancouver Giants) round 7, pick 202, 2019
| Games Played | Wins | Losses | OTW | OTL | Save % | GAA |
| 14 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 89.6 | 3.04 |
Miner seemed like he was finding his game at the start of November but he lost again in the second half. The Giants as a whole are still on the struggle bus a bit and some decisions need to be made about what the organization’s plan is pretty soon, but Miner posting multiple sub .900 sv% games is still underwhelming.
Sasha Mutala – RW (Tri-City Americans) round 5, pick 140, 2019
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM | +/- |
| 24 | 8 | 20 | 28 | 24 | -5 |
Comparing Mutala and Burzan has turned into an incredibly interesting case study. Burzan the skilled, smooth, finesse player that does his thing. Mutala the maniacal worker who refuses to be denied while still possessing the talent to be incredibly effective. Mutala drives the entirety of the Tri-City offense most nights and when he is on it is a sight to behold. I do wonder if he can maintain keeping a bad team relevant for the entire season. The Americans would be in the basement without him.
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