Welcome to the first 2018-19 edition of the prospect update! I took on way too much work last season and left the prospect update behind. I’ve narrowed myself down to Jets Prospects and Prospect Shifts (if you’re interested in shift by shift videos of 2019/2020 prospects, check out prospectshifts.com). Prospect updates will run weekly and will take a look at every prospect in the Jets system.

Note – If you’d like to contribute a little bit to keep these updates coming, consider becoming a Patron!

OHL

Declan Chisholm has been on a roll to start his D+1 season, already totaling 12 points (2G, 10A) in 16 games. Chisholm had 3 goals and 17 assists in 47 games last season. The third year OHL vet is beginning to show more of the offensive side to his game, regularly joining rushes. The Peterborough Petes are currently 2nd place in the East Division with a 9-7-0 record.

Giovanni Vallati is also scoring at a much better rate in his D+1 season. Vallati was traded from Kitchener to the Oshawa Generals back in August, citing “personal reasons.”

Vallati began the season on a six-game point streak, scoring once and adding five assists. In the past two weeks, Vallati has put up three assists in eight games. His Generals are one point behind Chisholm’s Petes in the East Division with two games in hand.

QMJHL

Leon Gawanke has already found the back of the net six times in his third season in North America — his previous best on this side of the Atlantic being eight goals in 2016-17 (in 54 games).

Gawanke will look to take a step forward in his development in the QMJHL before a possible journey into the pro leagues next season.

AJHL

Austin Wong continues where he left off last season, scoring goals and punching faces. The Harvard commit has 10 goals and 8 assists in 15 games this season, to go along with a solid 60 penalty minutes. Wong has made the most of his opportunity to play on the top line with 2020 top prospect Dylan Holloway.

USHL





Nathan Smith has kept up a point-per-game average through nine games this season, held without a point just once. Smith was playing high school hockey in Florida until late in the 2016-17 season, after which he made the journey up north. He may just be one of the Jets’ most intriguing prospects. Smith will attend Minnesota State next season, the former stomping grounds of current Moose goal scoring leader CJ Suess.

Nathan Smith sees the ice so, so well. #RiderTownUSA — Jeff Johnson (@jeje66) October 28, 2018

Jared Moe has had a rocky start to his second USHL season, winning two of seven games. Moe started twice against Fargo this past weekend, stopping 25 of 28 in a 4-3 shootout win and 29 of 33 in a 4-3 loss. Moe is committed to the University of Minnesota for the 2019-20 season.

NCAA

Dylan Samberg had a great weekend out west, visiting Notre Dame in a rematch of last year’s championship game. UMD notched a pair of wins against the #1 ranked Fighting Irish, which should be enough to take over that #1 spot.

Samberg scored the game-winning goal late on Friday, a harmless shot from the point that bounced through the legs of a Notre Dame defender and snuck behind the goalie for a 3-2 win. Saturday’s game went much the same way, this time Samberg recorded a secondary assist on a nice pass to the high slot on the power play to set up an insurance goal.

And a little bonus for you, a shift by shift video from Saturday:

Johnny Kovacevic started the season with a bang, assisting on three goals on October 6th against Lake Superior. In the six games since, Kovacevic tallied one goal on the 20th against Boston University. Merrimack are 2-5 to begin the season; a disappointing start for a team that has been looking to improve on a 12-21-4 showing last season.

Kovacevic and the Warriors will look to regroup for a home-and-home this weekend against Boston College.

Croix Evingson had a pair of assists on opening weekend against RIT, and has been quiet since. The towering 6’5 defenceman will be looking to get into more than the 16 games he appeared in last season (due to injury).

Overseas





David Gustafsson has not had an ideal start to the season. Multiple injuries have afforded him just two games so far, playing just one SHL game and a conditioning game at the U20 level. Gustafsson put up two secondary assists in the U20 game.

On the 24th, it was reported that Gustafsson attended practice, but unfortunately only lasted a half hour before leaving the ice. HV71 play Brynäs IF tomorrow night – my eyes will be on the lineups.

Update – Seems he should be back soon. Thank you to Ryan on Twitter (@DJ_Biff_WPG) for pointing out Gustafsson’s latest Instagram post. Maybe a Swede can fill us in on the exact translation, but Google tells me “Soon I’ll be playing too”.

Santeri Virtanen began the season without a point in his first 11 Liiga games. The next three games he exploded for four points (2G, 2A). Virtanen scored a goal last Wednesday that might make you feel a little déjà vu thinking back to a couple other Finnish prospects. The 2017 4th rounder was held scoreless on Friday and Saturday, but is now playing wing on the top line for SaiPa.

Note – Virtanen’s “Red Bull” blue helmet is a new sponsorship this year. It is worn by each team’s top U20 scorer.

Pavel Kraskovsky has had a slow start to the season, recording just one assist in 17 games. His average TOI is the lowest it’s been since 2015-16, but the centre has won 51.5% of his faceoffs (currently a career high). Kraskovsky has seen a revolving door of players on his wing and is bouncing between second and third line centre.

Arvid Holm is one of only four U20 goaltenders to start a game in the HockeyAllsvenskan league this season, notching three wins in eight games played. Holm has a 3-4-0 record with a 3.45 GAA and 0.884 SV%. Karlskrona has seen a few leads disappear in the third period (apologies if this gave you flashbacks to Saturday’s Jets loss). If the defence can tighten up towards the end of the game, expect the numbers to improve.

It is unfortunate that Karlskrona HK was relegated from the SHL for everyone but Holm. There have been no U20 goaltenders at the SHL level this season, and the second tier gives Holm a great chance to play pro hockey at 19 years of age (until this Saturday, happy birthday Arvid!).

AHL

The Manitoba Moose got off to a poor start to the season, getting outscored 19-6 but managing to escape with a win in their first four games. The Moose recovered with back to back wins in San Antonio and have now won three of the last four games.

CJ Suess leads the team with five goals, while Mason Appleton leads the team with eight points. In his fourth full season with the Moose, goaltender Eric Comrie is 3-2 with a 2.80 GAA and 0.917 SV%. Comrie is joining the Jets in Finland as an extra non-roster goalie in the event of an injury. Kristian Vesalainen is tied for third in team scoring with four assists in four games.

This past week, the Moose lost 4-1 in Milwaukee, getting outshot 41 to 24 in the process. Rookie Skyler McKenzie scored his first regular season AHL goal, after scoring once in the playoffs last season. The Moose then journeyed to Rockford, where Mikhail Berdin made his AHL debut and shut the door. Berdin stopped 35 or 36 in regulation and OT and all three shootout attempts.

The Moose sit in 6th place in the Central Division with a 4-4-0-0 record. They will return to Milwaukee for a rematch on Tuesday before a weekend series with Chicago on the 2nd and 3rd.

ECHL

Mikhail Berdin had a heck of a start to his pro career, winning his first three starts with the Jacksonville Icemen. Berdin joined in on the offence as well, recording his first pro point on a shorthanded assist. The goal was also the game-winner. Berdin has now been promoted to the Moose with Eric Comrie joining the Jets in Finland as a non-roster player.

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