Phantoms update: The Phantoms could really use Myers/Morin; how much time does Martel have left?
11/8 – 4-2 WIN vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers
11/11 – 6-1 LOSS vs. Hershey Bears
Mark Friedman (D): 2 GP, 1 shots
2014 3rd Round Pick, 86th overall
Still no points in his last 8 games for Friedman. He has just two assists in 14 games this season for the Phantoms.
Mike Vecchione (C): 2 GP, 1 assist, 4 shots
Undrafted Free Agent
Vecchione has been fairly consistent points-wise this season, only being held off the scoreboard in 4 of his 15 games this season. The rookie has 13 points (2 G, 11 A).
Nicolas Aubé-Kubel (RW): 2 GP, 1 assist, 3 shots, 2 PIM
2014 2nd Round Pick, 48th overall
NAK will need to curb down the time in the penalty box as he has already eclipsed more PIM (19) than games played (15) in the early going in the season. His assist on Wednesday gave him 9 points (4 G, 5 A) in 15 GP.
Danick Martel (RW): 2 GP, 1 goal, 1 assist, 5 shots
Undrafted Free Agent
Another week, another goal for Martel to add to his already league-leading collection. His 14 on the season are 5 ahead of the 2nd most. His 19 points overall are good for 2nd in the AHL. After the decline in secondary scoring recently for the Flyers, you will likely begin to see a public outcry for Martel to “get his shot”.
Oskar Lindblom (LW): 2 GP, 1 goal, 2 shots
2014 5th Round Pick, 138th overall
Oskar gets his 3rd goal of the season to go along with his 6 assists already. All 9 of his points have come in the last 9 games.
Mikhail Vorobyev (C): 2 GP, 1 assist, 0 shots
2015 4th Round Pick, 104th overall
Vorobyev has begun to pick things up as he has been paired up with Lindblom as of late. The Russian rookie has 7 points (1 G, 6 A) in 15 games.
Alex Lyon (G): 8 GA, 69 saves
Undrafted Free Agent
Not really a nice week for Lyon. He battled hard on Wednesday in the Phantoms 4-2 win, stopping 42 shots en route to a victory. Lyon then followed it up with a clunker on Saturday. The 2nd year Phantom has a .897 SV% in 11 games.
Phantoms Notes: Both Philippe Myers and Samuel Morin remain out of the lineup with injuries.
Notable Canadian junior performers this week:
Connor Bunnaman (C/LW), Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
2016 4th Round Pick, 109th overall
It may have taken Bunnaman his first 6 games to net a goal, but in his last 11 games he has plated 11 of them. He is the Rangers leading goal-scorer and only 3 points off the team-lead in the points. Here is his 10th goal of the season.
Anthony Salinitri (C/LW), Sarnia Sting (OHL)
2016 6th Round Pick, 172nd overall
Salinitri finally breaks that goal-scoring drought with a monster weekend. He had gone his previous 8 games without one. Salinitri has 19 points (7 G, 12 A) on a stacked Sarnia team this season.
Morgan Frost (C), Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
2017 1st Round Pick, 27th overall
Frost is on pace to obliterate his totals from last season (62 points in 67 games). He has 27 (10 G, 17 A) in 20 so far in 2017. While this may not be as impressive as the Eeli Tolvanen’s of the world, we could perhaps view this as “hey, this is pretty great!”. Here is one of his goals from Friday.
Isaac Ratcliffe (LW), Guelph Storm (OHL)
2017 2nd Round Pick, 35th overall
With the amount of shots he has taken this season (76 in 18 games), some were bound to go in. For a power forward scoring winger, Ratcliffe hasn’t had the greatest start in his draft +1 season. However, on a poor offensive team like Guelph, he is their leading goal-scorer with 8. You can see his goals here and here.
Maksim Sushko (RW), Owen Sound Attack (OHL)
2017 4th Round Pick, 107th overall
After a torrid pace to open the season, Sushko has quieted a bit with only 2 points (2 A) in his last 6 games. Overall, he still has an impressive 15 points (9 G, 6 A) in 16 games.
Matthew Strome (LW), Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)
2017 4th Round Pick, 106th overall
- 11/10 – 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 shots, 1 for 2 FOW
- 11/12 – 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 shots, 4 PIM, 3 for 10 FOW/
Finally, here come the points for Strome. That’s 9 points in his last 4 games. He has 16 (8 G, 8 A) in 17 this season. Check out this nasty move for a goal. Keep doing these things Strome, do it for Krut.
Carsen Twarynski (LW), Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
2016 3rd Round Pick, 82nd overall
It’s been a nice 4th WHL season for Twarynski so far as he’s seen an uptick in his offensive numbers with Kelowna. He has 18 points (10 G, 8 A) in 16 GP.
Carter Hart (G), Everett Silvertips (WHL)
2016 2nd Round Pick, 48th overall
Hart must be feeling much better as he plays back-to-back games for the 2nd weekend in a row and posts a shutout in the 2nd game to boot. Our bastion of hope in net has a .933 SV% in 6 games.
Pascal Laberge (C), Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
2016 2nd Round Pick, 36th overall
- 11/8 – 3 shots, 4 PIM, 2 for 7 FOW
- 11/9 – 1 shot, 6 PIM, 4 for 12 FOW
- 11/11 – 4 shots, 2 PIM, 13 for 17 FOW/
Perhaps its time to start worrying about Laberge and what he projects to be at a higher level. The once promising 2nd rounder has only 4 assists and no goals in his last 12 games. This is very much a “prove it” season for Laberge after a injury-filled mulligan last season.
German Rubtsov (C), Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL)
2016 1st Round Pick, 22nd overall
- 11/9 – 2 shots, 5 for 10 FOW
- 11/10 – 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 shots, 3 for 9 FOW
- 11/11 – 1 assist, 2 shots, 3 for 9 FOW/
While he certainly wasn’t disappointing in his time with Chicoutimi, Rubtsov has certainly picked up the pace even more, compiling 7 points (2 G, 5 A) in his 5 games with A-B. Overall, he has 18 points (5 G, 13 A) in 16 games. Here is his goal from Friday.
Notable European performers this week
Ivan Fedotov (G), Toros Neftekamsk (VHL)
2015 7th Round Pick, 188th overall
Things not looking great for Fedotov.
Kirill Ustimenko (G), MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg (MHL)
2017 3rd Round Pick, 80th overall
- 11/12 – 4 GA, 29 saves/
Ustimenko has a .921 SV% in 20 games.
Euro Notes: Felix Sandström, Linus Högberg, David Bernhardt, Olle Lycksell and David Kaše were all out of action as the SHL took a break for the Champions Hockey League tournament.
Notable NCAA and USHL performers this week:
Wade Allison (RW), Western Michigan University
2016 2nd Round Pick, 52nd overall
What, you can’t have hat-tricks every weekend? With no points against Minnesota-Duluth, the sophomore sits at 14 points (6 G, 8 A) in 11 games.
Tanner Laczynski (RW/C), Ohio State University
2016 6th Round Pick, 169th overall
Laczynski continues to build upon his impressive freshman season (32 points in 34 GP) with a solid sophomore effort with 13 points (4 G, 9 A) in 12 games.
Cooper Marody (C), University of Michigan
2015 6th Round Pick, 158th overall
Not for nothing, but it’s worth noting that Marody (16 points) is now 9th in NCAA scoring and just 3 points off the lead. His 13 assists are 2nd most in college.
Brendan Warren (LW), University of Michigan
2015 3rd Round Pick, 81st overall
Warren picks up his 3rd goal and first assist of the season. You can see the goal here in the highlight reel for the game.
David Drake (D), University of Connecticut
2013 7th Round Pick, 192nd overall
Alert the presses, David Drake got his first point of the season this weekend.
Wyatt Kalynuk (D), University of Wisconsin
2017 7th Round Pick, 196th overall
Kalynuk gets his first goal of the season and of his collegiate career, woo! He has 7 points in his freshman season. You can check out his goal here.
Terrance Amorosa (D), Clarkson University
2013 5th Round Pick, 132nd overall
Amorosa finishing off his collegiate career in style, banking 11 points (3 G, 8 A) in 12 games. He is college’s highest scoring D-man along two other blue-liners.
Noah Cates (LW), Omaha Lancers (USHL)
2017 5th Round Pick, 137th overall
- 11/10 – 0 shots
- 11/11 – 1 shot/
It’s been a struggle for Cates this season. He has 3 points (2 G, 1 A) in 12 games.
Matej Tomek (G), Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
2015 3rd Round Pick, 90th overall
- 11/10 – DNP
- 11/11 – DNP/
Tomek has clearly established himself as the backup early on with his .885 SV%. He’ll struggle to get in games at this rate.
