Joey Anderson drives the net and draws the call pic.twitter.com/pYwQzKUcrb
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) December 11, 2022
Keefe on Joey Anderson: “It’s time for us to give him a little runway to see what he can do”
— Mike Stephens (@mikeystephens81) December 11, 2022
Alex Steeves | W | Toronto (AHL)
Logan Shaw goes hard on the forecheck and is able get the puck to Alex Steeves, who scores a very nice goal. His 8th of the season.#Marlies tie the game at one. pic.twitter.com/rOGXePYjID
— Nick Barden (@nickbarden) December 10, 2022
Artur Akhtyamov | G | Neftyanik Almetievsk (VHL)
#LeafsForever prospect Artur Akhtyamov with a 36 save shutout today. He's up to a .946 sv% with 4 shutouts in 23 games, tied for first in the league. In his last 9 games, his worst game was a .927 sv% — he is the platonic ideal of "dialed in" right now. pic.twitter.com/bmFrtBEeFe
— More like Nikita GREATbyonkin (@brigstew86) December 11, 2022
Notes from the rest of the prospect pool:
- Matt Knies had a solid weekend as Minnesota’s top line of Knies, Logan Cooley, and Jimmy Snuggerud has gotten progressively more dominant. The line combined for seven points in Friday’s 7-1 drubbing of the Wisconsin Badgers, with Knies assisting on both of Cooley’s goals in the contest. The trio would hook up one more time in the second period of Saturday’s 6-4 win, with Knies and Snuggerud setting up Cooley’s 10th of the season. Knies is now up to 11 goals and 11 assists in 20 games while being a driving force for the top line of one of the top-ranked teams in the NCAA.
Gorgeous goal by Coyotes prospect Logan Cooley set up by Leafs prospect Matt Knies pic.twitter.com/4oGxlSVRNP
— Nick Richard (@_NickRichard) December 10, 2022
- Fraser Minten picked up a pair of goals in four games with Kamloops this past week, and his powerplay tally on Saturday sparked the teddy bear toss from his home crowd. Minten now has 11 goals and 13 assists in 20 games so far this season but won’t be joining teammates Logan Stankoven and Caden Bankier at Team Canada’s World Junior selection camp. He won’t turn 19 until next summer so a strong season in 2022-23 could put him in the running for next year’s squad.
Fraser Minten scores the Teddy Bear goal only 10 minutes in 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/5w9xKAVHr9
— Kamloops Blazers (@blazerhockey) December 11, 2022
- Roni Hirvonen bumped a seven-game goalless drought on Friday, scoring his sixth of the season in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Jukurit. He has been playing bigger minutes as of late and has generated chances, but he and his linemates have failed to capitalize more often than not. Hirvonen is still a quality NHL prospect, and his tenacious style of play makes him more than a pure offensive player but it is a bit concerning that his production has taken a step back this season.
Roni Hirvonen hautaa yläpeltiin. #HIFK #Liiga 📽️: @CMoreSportFi pic.twitter.com/ePhbwjnvjc
— Helsingin IFK (@HIFKHockey) December 9, 2022
- Nick Moldenhauer returned to Chicago’s lineup on Friday after missing three weeks with an injury. He picked up an assist in each of Chicago’s two victories over the weekend, bringing his season totals to 11 goals and 12 assists in 18 games. Moldenhauer has had more than his fair share of injury troubles and health scares so hopefully, this latest ailment was just a small bump in the road, and he can get back to the pace that saw him leading the USHL in scoring through the early part of the season.
- Ho-hum weekend for Ty Voit with three assists in three games. He now has nine goals to go along with 42 assists in just 30 games, and his 51 points are nine more than the OHL’s second-leading scorer. Despite dominating the OHL this season, Voit was not named to Team USA’s preliminary roster for the World Juniors. It’s hard to imagine what else Voit could have done to at least earn an invitation to camp, but he is far from the first American playing in the CHL to find himself on the outside looking in when it comes time for international competition.
- Nikita Grebyonkin continues to impress in his first run with substantial playing time in the KHL and scored the overtime winner as Amur defeated Admiral 3-2 on Wednesday. He now has nine points in 26 games and is tied for the KHL scoring lead among 2022 draftees, but leads the way in points per game.
#LeafsForever prospect Nikita Grebyonkin buries the OT winner for his fourth goal of the season. He is now tied for the scoring lead among 2022 draftees playing in the KHL. pic.twitter.com/lH4fBh4Jm5
— Nick Richard (@_NickRichard) December 7, 2022
- Dennis Hildeby has erased his shaky start to the season. He registered a 23-save shutout on Thursday, raising his save percentage to .931 through seven SHL appearances. Matt Tomkins has still started twice as many games as Hildeby so far this season, despite inferior numbers. All Hildeby can do is take advantage of the opportunities he is given, and he has been doing just that as of late.
#LeafsForever prospect Dennis Hildeby with a 23 save shutout yesterday, his first of the season. He has raised his save percentage to .927 in 8 SHL games, which is 3rd best among all goalies in the league. pic.twitter.com/Ok7fVT1cfF
— More like Nikita GREATbyonkin (@brigstew86) December 9, 2022
- Keith Petruzzelli also had a strong start in the Marlies’ 5-2 win over Syracuse on Friday, stopping 34 of the 36 shots he faced. It was a strong bounce-back performance for Petruzzelli after a string of rough outings. He now has a .901 SV% in 12 games with the Marlies this season.
- It wasn’t as strong a week for Vyacheslav Peksa, despite starting the week with a 27-save effort in a 1-0 loss on Monday. He was then pulled after allowing two goals on five shots in Wednesday’s contest and surrendered four goals on 25 shots in Friday’s overtime loss. Even after a couple of poor showings, Peksa’s season-long save percentage of .922 is still quite respectable.
- Veeti Miettinen had a big game for St. Cloud State on Friday, notching a goal and two assists in a 7-3 win over Miami of Ohio. That performance brought him to nine points in his last four games before he was held off the scoresheet on Saturday. Miettinen now has five goals and 14 assists in 18 games this season.
- The Saskatoon Blades demolished Prince Albert by a score of 9-0 on Saturday, and Brandon Lisowsky played a big role in the lopsided affair. He registered his first hat trick of the season and added an assist, bringing him to 14 goals and 15 assists through 26 games so far in 2022-23.
Lisowsky wastes NO time for his 12th of the season😤 pic.twitter.com/3bCFQuJjW0
— Saskatoon Blades (@BladesHockey) December 11, 2022
- 2019 fifth-rounder Mikey Koster found his way onto the scoresheet in Minnesota’s high-scoring weekend tilt with Wisconsin as well. He tallied three assists in the two games and now has seven assists in his last 10 games.
- Defenseman John Fusco scored a goal and an assist in Dartmouth’s 3-2 loss to UMass-Lowell on Friday. The 2020 seventh-round pick is a longshot prospect but he has been productive at the college level this season with two goals and four assists in 12 games.