NHL Prospect Roundup: Calgary Flames’ AHL standouts ready to kick down the door
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No frills this week, just hockey. Here’s a look at 10 prospects that have caught my eye recently:
OHL
The Anaheim Ducks weren’t concerned with Pavel Mintyukov‘s Russian status during the 2022 NHL Draft, selecting him with the 10th pick. Since he already played last year with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, they could at least count on him sticking around. Oh boy, what a journey! In his first 26 games, Mintyukov has 12 goals and 36 points in just 26 games – good for fifth in the OHL. He has swept the OHL’s defenseman of the month title in both months of the OHL regular season and his third overall, with no defenseman topping his 98-point output over the past two seasons. In fact, he’s at 1.05 points per game in that span, which is something you’d expect from an older OHL defenseman, not a freshly drafted NHL prospect. He’s easily one of the best prospects in the Anaheim Ducks system right now, but Sasha Pastujov also deserves some love while sitting third in OHL scoring with 36 points in 23 games between Guelph and Sarnia. The kicker? Mintyukov is on pace for 94 points and won’t be interrupted by the World Junior Championship due to Russia being banned. If that holds, it’ll be the best output by a defenseman a year removed from getting drafted in nearly 30 years.
– Detroit Red Wings prospect Amadeus Lombardi made noise during the team’s development camp over the summer, and now he’s keeping things going in a fantastic first half with the Flint Firebirds. He’s up to third in OHL scoring with 14 goals and 36 points in 27 games, including seven points in three games this weekend and four consecutive multi-point efforts. He was more of a setup guy a year ago before the Red Wings selected him as an overage prospect in the fourth round, and now he’s on pace to crack the 30-goal barrier. He hasn’t lost a beat after the team traded top New York Rangers prospect Brennan Othmann, and now Lombardi is starting to show just how much of a steal he was last July. He’s not a big guy at 5-foot-10, but his skill is taking over right now.
– Has Roman Schmidt forced himself into a USA World Junior Championship roster spot? He’s not a big point producer, but he can bring the boom and uses his 6-foot-5 frame to its full extent. The former USNTDP defender is in his second year with the Kitchener Rangers now and while he isn’t going to match his 11-goal output from last year, his decision-making with the puck has improved with more reps. He plays a deceiving game, lulling you into believing he’s slow-moving and not going to get aggressive before taking away all your space. He’s going to fight for a bottom-pairing role with USA, and, eventually, with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
WHL
– Seems like I need to include at least one Columbus Blue Jackets prospect every week, given how well they’re performing. I’m a big fan of Stanislav Svozil‘s game and was shocked he fell to 69th overall in 2021. He loves to finish checks, knows when to be aggressive and skates well, too. Svozil has been recording points at an incredible rate, and now he’s up to 30 assists and 34 points in 25 games with the Regina Pats. Having a star in Connor Bedard helps, but every good forward needs a smart, puck-moving defenseman to get things started on the rush. Svozil is on an eight-game point streak with 18 points in that span, including a pair of four-point efforts. Not too shabby. Also, a bonus shoutout to Kirill Marchenko, who turned a hot start with Columbus’ AHL affiliate into a well-deserved call-up.
AHL
– I’m going to start this section off by giving praise to an entire team: the Calgary Wranglers. The first-year team is torching the league right now, with Matthew Phillips sitting firmly in first place in the league scoring race. The Calgary Flames have been hesitant to give the 24-year-old an opportunity during his career, but he has to be a call-up candidate at some point, right? Then, there’s Jakob Pelletier, a 2019 first-round pick by Calgary with 23 points in 20 games. He had a 62-point AHL rookie season, which was incredible, and he’s on pace to add another 20 to that this year. He’s 5-foot-9, but I think a few games with the Flames could prove beneficial. Connor Zary has also played at better than a point-per-game pace and should top his rookie output in the coming games. All three have been spectacular for the Wranglers this year and deserve a few games with the big club – it’s not like the Flames are blowing anyone away right now, right?
– I was an Adam Beckman believer when the Minnesota Wild snagged him with the 75th pick back in 2019. Boasting good size and an excellent shot, he had a strong 62-point season with the Spokane Chiefs as a rookie after spending his first full junior year playing AAA. Skip forward to the present, and he’s on pace for 50 points as an AHL sophomore and is coming off of a five-point week, highlighted by two goals and three points with Iowa on Sunday. I think there’s top-six winger potential here.
USHL
– The Madison Capitals have had some noteworthy NHL prospects this year, and 2022 New York Islanders‘ third-rounder Quinn Finley is quickly catching my attention. I remember watching him a bit with the Chicago Steel in 2020-21, when they had a stacked group with guys like Adam Fantilli, Sean Farrell, Matt Coronato and Mackie Samoskevich, among others. I remember seeing Finley and thinking outside of his high speed, he was going to struggle due to his lack of physicality and his defensive consistency. While neither traits are particularly great right now, his relentless motor and playmaking smarts has kept me interested. Finley’s speed will likely give him looks at the pro level, and while he’s not crushing the USHL scoring charts by any means. he is in the top 10 with 23 points through 18 contests. As long as he keeps working hard, he’ll create opportunities for himself once he joins the University of Wisconsin.
NCAA
– Devon Levi probably deserved the Mike Richter award for his incredible season with Northeastern last year, but, alas, it wasn’t meant to be. He’s been one of the best once again this year with three shutouts, a .932 save percentage and a 7-5-3 record in 15 games, often doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the mid-pack Hockey East team. Since getting drafted by Florida in the seventh round in 2020, and getting moved to the Buffalo Sabres in 2021, very few goaltenders have been as dominant as Levi. He’s six-foot, which raises questions about his viability as an NHLer, but he’s given people reasons to doubt that’ll be a problem.
Liiga
– Draft+1 prospects don’t typically blast the Finnish scoring race, and Jani Nyman hasn’t. But I enjoy watching what he does as a 6-foot-3 power forward with Ilves, and I know some Seattle Kraken fans are happy, too. He’s averaging half a point per game, which is solid output for a second-round pick, but he’s also the top-scoring Finnish U-20 national team scorer by a five-point gap. He’ll be one of the top players to watch when the tournament heads to eastern Canada this year.
KHL
– The Colorado Avalanche selected Nikolai Kovalenko in the sixth round of 2018, and it seems like he’s finally starting to show potential as a late-bloomer. He’s on pace for a 52-point season with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, which would be a 30-point boost over his previous best of 22 points in 54 games in 2019-20. He’s signed in the KHL until 2024, so it’ll be a bit before he eventually comes over. But I’ve enjoyed watching him this season, especially with how much more aggressive he’s willing to be on the forecheck. There’s some potential middle-six potential here.
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