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With so many injuries and recalls, several IceCaps forwards were thrust into different roles in the second quarter of the season. Some stepped up while others didn’t fare so well. Here are our second quarter grades.
Players must have played in at least 5/19 games to receive a grade. Season stats are as of the halfway point of the year.
Forwards
Chris Terry – A+: He certainly didn’t play a whole lot but when he was there, he was a legitimate top line weapon for the IceCaps, averaging nearly two points per game. You can’t really ask for anything more than that from Terry.
2nd Quarter Stats: 6 GP, 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points, -3 rating, 2PIMS, 22 shots
Season Stats: 20 GP, 10 goals, 16 assists, 26 points, -5 rating, 12 PIMS, 58 shots
Sven Andrighetto – A: Like Terry, Andrighetto wasn’t around too long as he was up with the Habs (and at times, he was a healthy scratch while awaiting a recall) but he made the most of his time with the IceCaps, particularly on the power play. He’s shown himself to be too good offensively for the AHL level. For Andrighetto, it’s all about proving he can handle the NHL game now or risk becoming the hockey equivalent of a ‘AAAA’ player.
2nd Quarter Stats: 7 GP, 3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points, -9 rating, 2 PIMS, 22 shots
Season Stats: 20 GP, 8 goals, 14 assists, 22 points, -8 rating, 8 PIMS, 62 shots
Daniel Audette – A: The IceCaps basically have spoon-fed him a top six role no matter what in the first half of this season. Early on, he wasn’t getting the job done but to his credit, he stepped up in the absence of a lot of top players and gave them top line production for the most part. The key for him now is to see if he can maintain a similar level as he moves back onto a lower line.
2nd Quarter Stats: 19 GP, 6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points, -4 rating, 19 PIMS, 37 shots
Season Stats: 38 GP, 7 goals, 12 assists, 19 points, -6 rating, 27 PIMS, 56 shots
Jacob de la Rose – B+: After a really rough start to the season, de la Rose made the most of his chances to play higher in the lineup and finally started to produce offensively. For a player who has as much professional experience as he has, I was hoping that the peaks and valleys wouldn’t be as prominent this year but that has yet to be the case. Now that he finds himself back with St. John’s after a decent stint with Montreal, it will be crucial for him to pick up where he left off instead of sliding back towards being just a defensive forward.
2nd Quarter Stats: 19 GP, 3 goals, 9 assists, 12 points, -3 rating, 12 PIMS, 32 shots
Season Stats: 34 GP, 3 goals, 12 assists, 15 points, -7 rating, 24 PIMS, 50 shots
Max Friberg – B+: Even with the injuries and recalls, Friberg didn’t spend a ton of time in a top line role as they seem to prefer to use him predominantly as a checker. He did get some more ice time due to all the departures though and made the most of it, providing some solid two-way hockey in the process. Friberg never gets mentioned as a possible call-up but if they just need someone to cover on the fourth line, he’s not a bad option.
2nd Quarter Stats: 18 GP, 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points, +1 rating, 6 PIMS, 24 shots
Season Stats: 33 GP, 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points, -3 rating, 8 PIMS, 48 shots
Nikita Scherbak – B: It’s still a mix of good and bad when it comes to Scherbak. He was benched for part of a game for a lack of hustle and also missed a few weeks due to injury. On the plus side, he was taking some small steps forward in his offensive game and as we saw in early January, he held his own in a brief stint with Montreal. He’s a long way from being ready on a full-time basis though.
2nd Quarter Stats: 10 GP, 2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points, even rating, 8 PIMS, 17 shots
Season Stats: 29 GP, 10 goals, 10 assists, 20 points, even rating, 18 PIMS, 50 shots
Yannick Veilleux – B: Originally brought up to serve as a depth forward, Veilleux has carved himself a regular role in the lineup, even as some of the players started to return from Montreal. There’s nothing really noteworthy about his game but he’s not a liability out there either. As far as tryouts go, that’s far from a bad thing either and it will be interesting to see if he can hold on to a full-time spot in the second half.
2nd Quarter/Season Stats: 16 GP, 2 goals, 4 assists, 6 points, +1 rating, 23 PIMS, 15 shots
Markus Eisenschmid – B-: Even with the lineup being shuffled around regularly, Eisenschmid’s role more or less stayed the same as the third line centre. He hasn’t been particularly flashy but he has been effective which is why it wasn’t too surprising to see the Habs turn around and give him an entry-level deal. Assuming his current injury doesn’t keep him out for long, he’ll be one to watch for in the second half to see if his offensive game comes around.
2nd Quarter Stats: 18 GP, 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points, +5 rating, 6 PIMS, 33 shots
Season Stats: 34 GP, 6 goals, 4 assists, 10 points, +6 rating, 12 PIMS, 55 shots
Bobby Farnham – B-: We know Farnham’s strength which is basically running around trying to hit people. The IceCaps asked him to play a much bigger role for a while, including being a top six forward and he actually held his own. That’s part of the reason why I think he got a brief look with Montreal as he was starting to demonstrate he could handle a regular shift. Not a bad stretch of games for someone who’s basically a fourth liner.
2nd Quarter Stats: 14 GP, 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points, +5 rating, 18 PIMS, 24 shots
Season Stats: 33 GP, 5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points, +3 rating, 58 PIMS, 49 shots
David Broll – C+: After doing next to nothing early on, Broll showed a bit more of a scoring touch while spending a lot of time on the third line. He’s a roster filler and nothing more but at least for a few weeks, he actually played at a mildly useful level.
2nd Quarter Stats: 18 GP, 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points, +2 rating, 30 PIMS, 21 shots
Season Stats: 34 GP, 4 goals, 2 assists, 6 points, +1 rating, 67 PIMS, 35 shots
Mark MacMillan – C: He really didn’t get much of a chance to move into a top role as he remained in the bottom six even after all of the recalls. However, MacMillan’s play hasn’t been good enough to really push for more ice time either. He’s a decent fourth liner but at this stage of his development, he should be doing a fair bit more than that.
2nd Quarter Stats: 19 GP, 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points, even rating, 4 PIMS, 20 shots
Season Stats: 33 GP, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, -2 rating, 8 PIMS, 32 shots
Stefan Matteau – C: Some players stepped up in the absence of so many regulars and some didn’t. Although Matteau had every opportunity to make a more of a mark, he fell into the latter category. He’s settling in as a serviceable middle six AHL forward. I don’t think that’s what anyone wanted to see from him this year and his play is certainly not worthy of a recall any time soon.
2nd Quarter Stats: 15 GP, 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points, even rating, 45 PIMS, 23 shots
Season Stats: 32 GP, 7 goals, 7 assists, 14 points, -2 rating, 83 PIMS, 49 shots
Jeremy Gregoire – C-: Gregoire is another player who really didn’t seize the chance to take on more responsibility in the lineup. For someone who was better than a point-per-game in his last two junior seasons, that has yet to translate into anything resembling offensive production in the AHL. It doesn’t help that he appears to be in the doghouse as well; those two factors make it tough to envision him taking a big step or two forward any time soon.
2nd Quarter Stats: 19 GP, 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points, -2 rating, 33 PIMS, 30 shots
Season Stats: 32 GP, 5 goals, 1 assist, 6 points, +1 rating, 51 PIMS, 41 shots
N/A (under 5 GP): Anthony Camara, Connor Crisp, Charles Hudon, Brandon MacLean, John McCarron, Michael McCarron, Alexandre Ranger
