Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Devils Prospects at WJC Camps

The Devils will have 3 prospects at World Junior Championship camps opening next week. D Damon Severson will be with Team Canada as they get underway on August 4. D Steve Santini and LW Stefan Matteau will be with Team USA as they get underway on August 3.

Team USA will ice a Team White, which will have Santini on it, and a Team Blue, featuring Matteau. Eventually they will make cuts before Wednesday, thus combining the two teams. Both Santini and Matteau have strong chances of making the final roster so I'd expect them both to make it to the end of this camp. Remember that these camps are to get a look at players and that being cut or even not invited does not mean a player will not end up on the final roster in December. Games will be streamed at FASTHockey.com (PPV). Chris Peters of the United States of Hockey (must read blog for USA hockey) has a preview up. He will soon have player by player previews up soon, so be sure to check them out.

Exhibition games will take place in Lake Placid with the game schedule below:
Sunday Aug. 4
USA White (Santini) vs. Sweden — 1 p.m.
USA Blue (Matteau) vs. Finland — 4 p.m.

Monday Aug. 5
USA Blue (Matteau) vs. Sweden — 1 p.m.
USA White (Santini) vs. Finland — 4 p.m.

Wednesday Aug. 7
Canada (Severson) vs. Finland — 1 p.m.
USA (Santini and/or Matteau) vs. Sweden — 4:15 p.m.

Thursday Aug. 8
USA (Santini and/or Matteau) vs. Finland — 1 p.m.
Canada (Severson) vs. Sweden — 4:15 p.m.

Saturday Aug. 10
USA (Santini and/or Matteau) vs. Canada (Severson) — 1 p.m.
Finland vs. Sweden — 4:15 p.m.

Here are the invitees for Canada and the USA. Here is how the USA will break down between Team Blue and Team White.

Both Santini and Matteau are familiar faces to the US hockey brass as they are former USNTDP players. They have both represented the US internationally at the U17 level, with Santini also featuring at the U18 level last year. Matteau was a late cut last December from the eventual Gold Medal winning team after an ill timed penalty in an exhibition game prior to the tournament sealed his fate.

Severson has seen his prospect stock rise a lot since being drafted. He has represented Canada Western at the U17 level and Canada at the U18 level. He'll face tough competition in earning a spot for Canada but this will be a nice chance for him to further make a name for himself.

Monday, July 15, 2013

The Other 4 Undrafted Free Agent Invitees (Updated)

To follow up last night's post on the 9 undrafted free agents attending prospect camp, here are the other 3, 4 (updated) to fill out the group to 13.

F Mike Ambrosia 5'10, 180, 21 yrs old (Princeton)
- Chatham, NJ native who attended Delbarton prior to moving to the USHL
- Attended Devils prospect camp last year
- Just finished his freshman season
- 2012-13: 21 GP 6-5-11 -5 29 PIM

F Dmitry Antipin 6'3, 190, 23 yrs old (UMass Dartmouth)
- Just finished sophomore year (1st at UMass Dartmouth)
- Freshman year at Finlandia University: 19 GP 4-4-8 12 PIM
- 2012-13: 13 GP 4-3-7 +1 0 PIM 16.0 SH% 1.92 SH/GP

F Kyle Gibbons 6'1, 185, 22 yrs old (Canisius)
- Just finished his junior year
- 2012-13: 42 GP 21-22-43 +8 18 PIM 15.2 SH% 3.29 SH/GP 20 Blk
- Led team in goals, assists, points, and shots
- NCAA Career: 111 GP 42-50-92 +3 94 PIM

D Matt Killian 6'1, 200, 20 yrs old(Yale)
- From Basking Ridge, NJ
- Attended 2011 Camp
- 2012-13: 22 GP 0-6-6 0 PIM
- 2012-13 National Champion
- NCAA Career: 51 GP 1-11-12 12 PIM

David Wohlberg (C)

Acquired: 2008 Draft (6/172)
Shoots: L
Height: 6'1
Weight: 190 lbs.
Birthdate: 7-18-1990
Birth place: South Lyon, Michigan

Statistics



Contract


SeasonAHL SalaryNHL SalaryPerformance BonusesSigning BonusesCap HitTypeExpiry Status
2013-14$65,000 $625,000 $150,000 $75,000 $762,500 ELCRFA

Dan Kelly (D)

Acquired: Signed 5-19-2010
Shoots: L
Height: 6'1
Weight: 195 lbs.
Birthdate: 5-17-1989
Birth place: Morrisonville, New York

Statistics




Contract

Signed to an AHL deal (8-15-2013) after ELC expired.

Brandon Burlon (D)

Acquired: 2008 Draft (2/52)
Shoots: L
Height: 6'0
Weight: 195 lbs.
Birthdate: 3-5-1990
Birth place: Nobleton, Ontario

Statistics




Contract


SeasonAHL SalaryNHL SalaryPerformance BonusesSigning BonusesCap HitTypeExpiry Status
2013-14$65,000 $737,500 $137,500 $87,500 $875,000 ELCRFA

Alexandre Carrier (RW)

Acquired: Signed AHL Deal (7-27-2012)
Shoots: R
Height: 6'3
Weight: 210 lbs.
Birthdate: 2-18-1991
Birth place: St-Elzear-de-Beauce, Quebec

Statistics

Contract

2013-14 is the final year of his 2 year AHL deal.
 

Alexander Urbom (D)

Acquired: 2009 Draft (3/73)
Shoots: L
Height: 6'5
Weight: 215 lbs.
Birthdate: 12-20-1990
Birth place: Stockholm, Sweden

Statistics




Contract

SeasonAHL SalaryNHL SalaryPerformance BonusesSigning BonusesCap HitTypeExpiry Status
2013-14$65,000 $550,000 $285,000 $0 $869,167 ELCRFA

9 of the Undrafted FA Invitees Coming to 2013 Prospect Camp

I've been able to figure out who 9 of the undrafted free agent invitees are to prospect camp via twitter. I'm sure there are others but we'll have to wait till the roster comes out later today. The 9 are LW Frank DiChiara, G Jake Hildebrand, LW Nick Saracino, RD Zach Tolkinen, LD Oleg Yevenko, LW Conor Sheary, G Brandon Hope, LW Ryan Misiak, and LW Cody Wydo.

LW Frank DiChiara 6'5, 215, 19 yrs old (Yale)
- From Long Island
- USHL Clark Cup Champion last year (OT GWG)
- 2012-13 Dubuque (USHL): 64 GP 30-30-60 +26 18 PIM, Playoffs: 11 GP 4-8-12 +4 6 PIM
- 3rd on team in scoring last year
- Entering freshman year at Yale

The 2013 Hockey Prospect Black Book didn't rank DiChiara but had some encouraging words on him. They praised his strength which allows him to be strong on the puck and work well along the walls down low. Hockey Prospect also mentions that he has a "pro shot and quick release."

G Jake Hildebrand 5'11, 182, 20 yrs old (Michigan State)
- Played 65.4% games as a freshman last year
- 2012-13: 29 GP 1,659:39 MIN 9-17-2 2.35 GAA .928 SV% 2 SO

LW Nick Saracino 5'11, 185, 21 yrs old (Providence)
- Just finished freshman season
- 2012-13: 28 GP 11-7-18 +8 10 PIM 20.0 SH% 1.96 SH/GP (6 PPG)
- Tied 3rd on team in scoring

RD Zach Tolkinen 6'3, 190, 23 yrs old (Quinnipiac)
- Just finished junior year
- 2012-13: 38 GP 2-5-7 +11 51 PIM
- NCAA Career: 99 GP 6-19-25 +5 121 PIM

LD Oleg Yevenko 6'7, 250, 22 yrs old (UMass Amherst)
- Just finished sophomore year
- 2012-13: 31 GP 0-1-1 -5 55 PIM 0.0 SH% 0.71 SH/GP
- NCAA Career: 64 GP 1-3-4 -6 93 PIM 2.5 SH% 0.63 SH/GP

LW Conor Sheary 5'9, 160, 21 yrs old (UMass Amherst)
- Just finished junior year
- 2012-13: 34 GP 11-16-27 -6 29 PIM 10.78 SH% 3.00 SH/GP
- 2nd on team in scoring last year
- NCAA Career: 104 GP 29-47-76 +4 51 PIM 12.03 SH% 2.32 SH/GP

G Brandon Hope 6'0, 197, 19 yrs old (Owen Sound)
- Spent 2 years with Sarnia before moving on to Owen Sound
- 2012-13: 20 GP 1,080 MIN 12-6-0-0 2.61 GAA .915 SV% 0 SO
- OHL Career: 67 GP 3,456 MIN 24-24-1-3 3.99 GAA .883 SV% 0 SO

The 2013 Hockey Prospect Black Book also had some words on Hope. They highlight that he has "excellent leg movement" and say his "reflexes are strong" but mention that he needs to work on his rebound control.

LW Ryan Misiak 5'11, 185, 21 yrs old (Mercyhurst)
- Just finished sophomore year
- 2012-13: 41 GP 18-20-38 +7 14 PIM 20.22 SH% 2.17 SH/GP
- 2nd on team in scoring last year
- NCAA Career: 77 GP 24-33-57 +4 36 PIM

LW Cody Wydo 5'10, 175, 22 yrs old (Robert Morris)
- Just finished sophomore year
- 2012-13: 38 GP 21-12-33 +16 16 PIM 18.75 SH% 2.95 SH/GP
- 2nd on team in scoring last year
- NCAA Career: 72 GP 34-19-53 +21 26 PIM

Where are they playing next year?

With prospect developmental camp starting today and national camps following weeks later, I thought I'd put a quick post together on where the Devils college, junior, and European prospects will be playing this year. Right now here are the Devils prospects and where they will be playing this upcoming season:

Advancing to the Pros (AHL/ECHL):
D Jon Merrill, D Seth Helgeson, LW Stefan Matteau, LW Reid Boucher, D Reece Scarlett, LW Myles Bell*

New Additions (2013 Draftees):
D Steven Santini, C Ryan Kujawinski, LW Miles Wood, LW Myles Bell, G Anthony Brodeur

NCAA:
Wisconsin: D Joe Faust (SR)
Ohio State: D Curtis Gedig (SR)
North Dakota: LW Derek Rodwell (SR)
Miami: C Blake Coleman (JR)
Michigan Tech: LW Blake Pietila (JR)
Harvard: C Alexander Kerfoot (FR)
Boston College: D Steven Santini (FR)
Brown: LW Miles Wood (FR)

QMJHL:
Gatineau: G Anthony Brodeur

OHL:
Windsor: LW Ben Johnson**
Kitchener: LW Ben Thomson*
Kingston: C Ryan Kujawinski

WHL:
Swfit Current: C Graham Black*
Kelowna: D Damon Severson

KHL:
Dinamo-Minsk: F Artur Gavrus (Oshawa hold his OHL rights via trade from Owen Sound)

*Could go pro or return for overage season.
**No idea what his current legal situation is.

I figured Bell is ready to move onto the AHL/ECHL, Thomson could go either way as he is more of a future enforcer than prospect, and I'm guessing the Devils may take it easy on Black with his Grave's Disease.

---

D Damon Severson is on the roster for Canada's summer camp for the 2014 WJHC. Their camp gets underway on August 4.

D Steve Santini and LW Stefan Matteau are on the roster for the USA summer camp for the 2014 WJHC. That camp gets underway August 3.

I believe F Artur Gavrus will be eligible for Belarus in the WJHC Division 1A as he doesn't turn 20 until January 3 and the competition is in December.

Welcome

Welcome to my first blog everyone! My name is Brian and I am die-hard New Jersey Devils fan that loves to keep track of their prospects. My main focus will be on their prospects in the NCAA, CHL, and KHL this year, but I also plan on tracking and posting on their AHL and ECHL prospects as well. I'm not an insider, scout, reporter, or expert - just a fan with some passion for hockey!

You can expect game by game prospect updates, links to interesting articles on the prospects from around the web, and hopefully some interviews with other bloggers and media personnel who follow individual prospects on a closer scale.

I hope you will find this blog useful!

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