With the hockey world largely fixated on the upcoming Olympic tournament, it’s a good time to look back at last month and who were some of the Habs’ top prospect and AHL performers.
Laval
1st Star: Adam Engstrom – He started off the month with the Habs (his one game with them isn’t factored in to this placement) but while several prospects have struggled after being sent down, he didn’t. Instead, Engstrom picked up right where he left off, making a big offensive impact while logging heavy minutes overall. He is certainly playing well enough to get another NHL look but he’ll either have to wait to rejoin the Canadiens or that look will be coming from another organization via a trade.
Stats: 11 GP, 5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points, +3 rating, 41 shots, 8 PIMS
2nd Star: Laurent Dauphin – I’ll quickly note that we pick Laval’s top performers for this column even if they’re not technically prospects (or even signed by Montreal, for that matter). But Dauphin’s continued presence in these columns is more than justified. He was once again the leading scorer for the Rocket while anchoring the top line. The game-to-game impact wavered a bit more than usual but it’s hard to argue with the end result.
Stats: 12 GP, 2 goals, 11 assists, 13 points, -2 rating, 26 shots, 4 PIMS
3rd Star: Sean Farrell – Another member of the top line (there was really only one line that produced a lot in January), Farrell looked to be a little more trigger-happy which was good to see. Yes, he’s on a line with two veterans but he was falling back on his playmaking and deferring a little much for my liking. He’s showing that he can be a key contributor in the minors but it would be surprising to see him get any sort of extended look with Montreal.
Stats: 13 GP, 5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points, -4 rating, 34 shots, 2 PIMS
Honourable Mention: Alex Belzile – You guessed it, the other member of Laval’s top line. The veteran was second on the team in points last month behind Dauphin. Like Dauphin, Belzile’s performance was a little inconsistent on a game-to-game basis but the end result still matters. I also found it a bit odd that he was shooting less considering he’s their top scorer although Farrell may have cut into some of those attempts. Short of a late-season recall to give him a reward, it’s unlikely his strong offensive performance will earn him a shot with the Habs.
Stats: 13 GP, 3 goals, 8 assists, 11 points, even rating, 24 shots, 12 PIMS
Other Prospects
1st Star: Michael Hage (Michigan, NCAA) – With Canada in the medal round at the World Juniors, Hage picked up six points in the final two games. Not too shabby, even if internal politics prevented him from being named one of Canada’s top three players. Then, he went back to Michigan and picked up where he left off as one of the top performers with them. It seems safe to say that Hage has shown that he’s worthy of jumping to the pros. Whether that comes late in the season by burning a year of his contract early (like Lane Hutson did) or starting in Laval on a tryout (like Jacob Fowler did) remains to be seen.
WJC Stats: 3 GP, 0 goals, 7 assists, 7 points, +2 rating, 11 shots, 0 PIMS
NCAA Stats: 5 GP, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points, +1 rating, 15 shots, 2 PIMS
2nd Star: Yevgeni Volokhin (Khimik, VHL) – It’s true that goals in Russia’s pro leagues are hard to come by. It’s also true that the VHL is the second-tier league to the KHL. But Volokhin was nothing short of complete dominance last month. He’s at the point where he has more than earned a longer look in the KHL (with a competitive team actually trying to win, not the one he was dumped on last season) but he might have to wait a little while longer for that. Patience is needed but Volokhin is certainly a sleeper in this system.
Stats: 7 GP, 6-1-0 record, 1.15 GAA, .961 SV%, 2 SO
3rd Star: Bryce Pickford (Medicine Hat, WHL) – Even though he missed several games with an upper-body injury (a day-to-day issue that’s now past the two-week mark), Pickford was still one of the more productive defencemen in junior hockey last month. We know he can fire away basically at will and we know he has a cannon for a shot. We also know that point shots aren’t as important in the pros as they once were so it will be interesting to see how he adapts down the road.
Stats: 8 GP, 6 goals, 6 assists, 12 points, +6 rating, 46 shots, 2 PIMS
Honourable Mention: L.J. Mooney (Minnesota, NCAA) – Things didn’t go quite as well for him at the World Juniors as his team was ousted in the quarterfinals. However, Mooney was quite productive upon his return to college hockey, putting up over a point per game last month. All things considered, he’s having a pretty strong freshman year and appears to be picking things up as the season goes along.
WJC Stats: 1 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, -1 rating, 1 shots, 0 PIMS
NCAA Stats: 8 GP, 2 goals, 7 assists, 9 points, -2 rating, 20 shots, 4 PIMS