HabsWorld.net -- 

February was a mixed month for Montreal’s prospects. Several IceCaps put forth strong performances despite some struggles in the standings but there weren’t as many as their unsigned counterparts that stood out. Here are our 3 Stars.

St. John’s IceCaps

1st Star: Charles Hudon – Since around the middle of January, Hudon has found another level in terms of consistency. He’s not lighting it up with frequent multi-point games but most of the time, he’s on the scoresheet and has made an impact at both ends of the rink. He’s doing this without a whole lot of help (since many top players have been recalled) which makes this particularly impressive.

Stats: 11 GP, 4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points, -4 rating, 31 shots, 9 PIMS

2nd Star: Zach Fucale – February couldn’t have gotten off to much worse of a start than it did for Fucale (where he allowed 3 goals in 5:16). Aside from that though, this was his best month in terms of stats and consistency. It’s nice to see him taking a step forward while also shouldering the bulk of the workload with Eddie Pasquale not seeing much action.

Stats: 8 GP, 4-4-0 record, 2.39 GAA, .921 SV%, 1 SO

3rd Star: Bud Holloway – The strong game in, game out play wasn’t there in February as he was more hit or miss over the last few weeks. However, he was on enough times to still leading the IceCaps in scoring for the month. If St. John’s is going to make a late run though, Holloway will need to find another gear and get back to his early-season form.

Stats: 12 GP, 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points, -8 rating, 32 shots, 2 PIMS

Honourable Mention: Morgan Ellis – Being thrust into the #1 role by default provided its challenges early on but Ellis grew more and more comfortable as the month progressed (having another quality option in Victor Bartley helped some as well). It was another steady month for him. The IceCaps really missed him when he was up with the big club.

Stats: 11 GP, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, -3 rating, 31 shots, 6 PIMS

Other Prospects

1st Star: Jeremiah Addison (Ottawa, OHL) – After a slow start to the season, he has taken off in the last couple of months (which happens to coincide with them trading Travis Konecny). Addison isn’t making many highlight reel plays but he’s playing a smart game with a bit of an edge. He even hit the stat sheet with regularity as he had a point in all but two games last month.

Stats: 12 GP, 4 goals, 8 assists, 12 points, even rating, 26 shots, 10 PIMS

2nd Star: Jake Evans (Notre Dame, NCAA) – In recent weeks, Evans has started to see bigger minutes and it hasn’t really affected his production either way. He continues to hover around the point per game mark and is in a tight battle for the team lead in scoring. Neither of those are particularly common for sophomore players which makes what he has done that much more impressive.

Stats: 8 GP, 3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points, +4 rating, 2 PIMS

3rd Star: Simon Bourque (Rimouski, QMJHL) – Like most of the players on this list, Bourque’s consistent production helps get him the nod here. Defensively, he’s holding his own against the top opponents most nights and he certainly seems to be outperforming where he was selected in the draft. I’m intrigued to see how he fares in the postseason; last year he was a depth player but how will he do in a shutdown role against top players over an entire series?

Stats: 11 GP, 3 goals, 5 assists, 8 points, +2 rating, 26 shots, 8 PIMS

Honourable Mention: Noah Juulsen (Everett, WHL) – It wasn’t a great month but it wasn’t bad either. Unfortunately, that was good enough to land him on February’s list. Offensively it has been a down year for the first rounder but he’s not in a system where he’s going to stand out. His fundamentals are improving which is always a good start but the Silvertips aren’t a team that pushes the pace in the offensive end, especially this season.

Stats: 13 GP, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, -1 rating, 6 PIMS