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January’s prospect 3-Stars highlights the strong 2012 draft as most players
selected last June were able to continue their strong seasons, two of which did so at the World Juniors.  Also, despite their horrific month of
December, there were a few Hamilton Bulldogs that were able to have decent
months and stand out amongst the crowd.

Hamilton Bulldogs

1st Star: Nathan Beaulieu

The proverbial lightbulb seems to have turned on for the rookie defenceman. 
After struggling through the first month and a half of the season, his offensive
game (and his confidence) took significant strides forward in December. 
His decision making still needs to improve but overall he is a better blueliner
now than he was back in October.

Stats: 14 GP, 2 goals, 8 assists, 10 points, -4 rating, 34 SOG, 16
PIMS

2nd Star: Brendan Gallagher

Teams have really started to key on him defensively in recent weeks but
despite that, he continues to be one of (if not the only) the few somewhat
consistent producers in a Hamilton lineup bereft of any sort of offensive
ability.  Should the lockout end in the coming days, he is one of the few
players who would merit a tryout with the big club.

Stats: 14 GP, 3 goals, 5 assists, 8 points, +4 rating, 45 SOG, 15 PIMS

3rd Star: Gabriel Dumont

Although his statline was the best of the month, half of his points came in
one game (see highlights below).  Dumont has been up-and-down for the most
part, a trend that continued into December.  However, he has played with
more confidence in recent weeks and is demonstrating he can be more than a
tertiary scorer for the Bulldogs.

Stats: 14 GP, 6 goals, 4 assists, 10 points, +5 rating, 28 SOG, 17
PIMS

Honourable Mention: Stefan Chaput

Chaput had a knack of finding his way onto the scoresheet more often than not
in December and for a team that struggles to score most nights, a player like
that is certainly good to have around.  Since his recall, he has quickly
worked his way up Sylvain Lefebvre’s depth chart and is now entrenched in a
top-six role.

Stats: 14 GP, 2 goals, 6 assists, 8 points, -2 rating, 19 SOG, 6 PIMS

Other Prospects

1st Star: Alex Galchenyuk

How do you follow up a month where you averaged over two points per game? 
Simple, score at an even higher rate (2.4 PPG with Sarnia).  He was the
hottest player in the OHL before leaving to play for Team USA at the World
Juniors.  Despite seeing surprisingly low ice time (around the 14 minute
per game range), Galchenyuk was their top point-getter through the preliminary
round.

Stats: Sarnia (OHL): 7 GP, 11 goals, 6 assists, 17 points, +10 rating,
4 PIMS
Team USA (WJC): 4 GP, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, +2 rating, 10 SOG, 2 PIMS

2nd Star: Tim Bozon

Bozon slumped in November after a terrific start to the season but he picked
his game up considerably last month, coinciding with the departure of JC Lipon
to Team Canada at the WJC’s.  He re-established himself as one of the
premier goal scorers in the WHL and has played a large part in keeping the
Blazers near the top of the standings.

Stats: 11 GP, 8 goals, 7 assists, 15 points, +5 rating, 16 PIMS

3rd Star: Sebastian Collberg

Despite playing on three different teams in December, Collberg didn’t see a
whole lot of game action.  He was, however, productive wherever he played,
most recently at the World Juniors.  Unfortunately, expect the scoring
totals to drop considerably in January as he is back with Frolunda, the team
that barely played him earlier this season.

Stats: Orebro (Allsvenskan): 3 GP, 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points, 0 PIMS
Mariestad BoIS (Div. 1): 1 GP, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points, +4 rating, 0 PIMS
Team Sweden (WJC): 4 GP, 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points, even rating, 7 SOG, 4
PIMS

Honourable Mention: Danny Kristo

Although Kristo didn’t see a lot of action, he made the most of things when
he played.  His month parlayed him into the top-10 in points-per-game in
the NCAA (across all Division 1 teams).  He remains one of the go-to
players for North Dakota and is a fixture on their top line (often playing
alongside fellow Hab prospect Mark MacMillan).

Stats: North Dakota (WCHA): 5 GP, 3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points, 6 PIMS