HabsWorld.net --
The month of March saw a few new prospects jump to the forefront along with several of the usual faces. Here are our Prospect 3 Stars for the month.
St. John’s IceCaps
1st Star: Charlie Lindgren – The overall numbers don’t really stand out but they don’t tell the tale either. St. John’s defence hung Lindgren out to dry in a few of his starts but the rookie did well enough to keep them in most games while stealing a few as well. Assuming he’s sent back by Montreal shortly, he’s going to be crucial to their playoff push.
Stats: 9 GP, 5-3-1 record, 2.47 GAA, .903 SV%, 2 SO
2nd Star: Jacob de la Rose – Now that he’s settling back in after his last demotion from the Habs, de la Rose is showing some small signs of putting it together offensively. He still isn’t a big threat in that area but he’s more involved with the play and is using his size effectively as well. If the Habs get hit with injuries in the postseason, he’s a strong candidate to be the first player brought up to play.
Stats: 13 GP, 5 goals, 2 assists, 7 points, +5 rating, 21 shots, 4 PIMS
3rd Star: Bobby Farnham – I don’t think there were many people who had the tough guy pegged to be the team leader in assists for the month but surprisingly, that was the case. Farnham has shown himself to be capable of playing a reasonably sound checking role which has resulted in him being more of a middle six player than the fourth liner he was expected to be.
Stats: 13 GP, 1 goal, 6 assists, 7 points, +4 rating, 16 shots, 18 PIMS
Honourable Mention: Chris Terry – It was to be expected but Terry’s play came back down to Earth after a ridiculously strong February. He led the IceCaps in goals but wasn’t as much of a factor as he has been in recent months while his line wasn’t as effective. It was still a decent month for him but his play lately makes a showing like this look like a so-so one.
Stats: 13 GP, 6 goals, 2 assists, 8 points, -6 rating, 47 shots, 8 PIMS
Other Prospects
1st Star: Simon Bourque (Saint John, QMJHL) – Despite having a lesser role than he did at the beginning of the season in Rimouski, Bourque continues to be one of the more dominant blueliners in the QMJHL at both ends of the rink. As the rounds progress in the postseason, it will be worth watching to see if his role changes as Bourque finds himself behind Thomas Chabot, one of the top defensive prospects in the league.
Reg. Season: 7 GP, 1 goal, 8 assists, 9 points, +10 rating, 16 shots, 4 PIMS
Playoffs: 4 GP, 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points, +6 rating, 11 shots, 0 PIMS
2nd Star: Jake Evans (Notre Dame, NCAA) – It was a light schedule for Evans with it being the playoffs and the early rounds of the Frozen Four but Evans made the most of his limited action, picking up points in four of five games. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him sign once the tournament ends and potentially get into a game or two with St. John’s, foregoing the final year of college eligibility in the process.
Stats: 5 GP, 1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points, +1 rating, 15 shots, 6 PIMS
3rd Star: Will Bitten (Hamilton, OHL) – While Bitten hasn’t exactly lit it up with the Bulldogs, he was making more and more of an impact as the season progressed, right up to the very end of the year. He’s not getting the top ice time like he was in Flint but he has been a steady presence on the second line. With them losing in the first round, he’s eligible to join St. John’s down the stretch.
Reg. Season: 9 GP, 4 goals, 3 assists, 7 points, +1 rating, 27 shots, 2 PIMS
Playoffs: 5 GP, 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 points, -3 rating, 7 shots, 8 PIMS
Honourable Mention: Mikhail Sergachev (Windsor, OHL) – There were some games where Sergachev was a dominant force but unfortunately there were others where he was largely a non-factor. While the odd off game at the junior level will happen, it shouldn’t be coming up in the late stages of the season which causes him to drop a bit this month as a result.
Reg. Season: 9 GP, 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points, even rating, 37 shots, 10 PIMS
Playoffs: 5 GP, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points, -3 rating, 13 shots, 8 PIMS
