BRHL Future Watch Part 2

Jets

GM Hansford has began to retool a bit this season despite being just ouside a playoff spot in the West. As he continues to gather draft picks and clean house a bit there are a couple good specs especially on the back end already in the system.

Logan Stanley-D-1998

After many questioned his offensive potential in his draft year he has followed this year up nicely with 8G, 19A in 33GP for Kitchener as an assistant captian in the OHL.

Travis Dermott-D-1996

Was one of the final cuts in the Leafs camp this year and seems to be a likely call up later in the year for a weak blue line in Toronto. They have done a good job with building the  next crop of young D coming in and Dermott looks like one of the first to take the jump with Nielsen and Liljegren. He has 2G, 12A in 25 GP for the Marlies but it is his defensive play that puts him as one of the next in line to take that next step.

Kings

Rumpy has another one of those teams with too much talent to tank but in that Pacific division battle where he is a fringe playoff team. After being that kind of fringe team the last bit it is actually really impressive the talent he has been able to stock the cupboard with. With the next wave coming in and the current talent on the roster the Kings future looks like they may be trending upward.

Timo Meier-LW

(add your own jokes here). After playing 34 games for the Sharks last season Meier has had a fairly quiet sophomore season but has been picking up his play as of late. He has 6G, 4A in 35GP and is getting 13:30 a night playing 3^rd line LW.

Clayton Keller-C/LW

Another early Calder Candidate. Keller has had a really good rookie season with 14G, 18A in 41GP on a struggling Coyotes team. He is helping carry the load with 18:49 minutes a game and 3:25PP. He should rerate very well and help the BRHL Kings next season.

Alexander Nylander-RW/LW-1998

Started the year with some injury issues but since has worked his way back and has 6 points in 15 AHL games for Rochester and looks like he will be pushing for a roster spot on the Sabres next season. He seems like he has bounced right back and is currently playing for Sweden in the WJC with 6 points in 4 GP.

Brendan Lemieux-LW-1996

Started the year off with the Jets and made it 7 games with 1 goal before being sent down to the AHL. So far he has had a very good pro year with 9 G, 13A in 22 AHL GP.

Lightening

After some early success with his first season as a GM the Bolts did not have as good of a start to this BRHL season and it seems GM Eric has decided to throw in the towel for the season and retool. They hope to start building up a fairly barren system while trying to get back in the playoff race next season.

Kyle Wood-D-1996

Having a good 2^nd pro season in the AHL with 11 points in 24 GP.

Tyler Motte-C/W-1995

Had a strong start to the year in the AHL with 5G, 2A in 8GP before getting called up to the Bluejackets where he has played 23 games with 3G and 1A playing a 4^th line role getting 10:44 a night.

MapleLeafs

After competing for playoffs for years and another slow start GM Handsford was one of the first to sell off this year and continue to build on an already good looking prospect pool.

Pierre Luc-Dubois-C

After many questioned him being taken so high in the draft and falling in the BRHL it looks like it may of worked out very well for GM Handsford. The 19 year old has worked his way up to top line center with Wennberg out in Columbus playing all the tough matchups and minutes and has still been able to put up 8G, 11A in 40GP with 15:01 and 1:40PP a game. He has progressed well fromm where he was at the start of the season.

Miles Wood-LW

The 22 year old has cooled off as of late but has had himself a solid sophomore season with the Devils. He has 10G, 7A in 37GP.

Denis Gurianov-RW/LW-1997

Has had a bit of a slower 2^nd season in the AHL but still has 12 points in 32GP for the Texas Stars. He was a highly skilled 1^st rounder not long ago and figure he is still adjusting to the north amercan game after coming over from the KHL 2 years ago.

Oilers

This year the organization entered its first in what may be a long rebuild. Managment has done well selling off and gathering a tonne of picks and will are focussing on the draft for now to start filling a basically empty prospect system.

Nick Schmaltz-C/LW-1996

He stuck with the Hawks last year for 61 games and put up 28 points, this year he has been playing top 6 minutes getting 18:09 a night 2:50PP and 1:16PK and has been producing well with 7G, 17A in 34 GP so far.

Panthers

GM Rex has been a perennial contender for a few years now and that has come at the cost of his farm system as youth has been moved out to bring in help for the big club. With his last season behind the wheel before taking an expansion team the next GM will have a good pro squad and a fairly shallow prospect pool to work with for whichever direction he decides to take the team.

Andreas Borgman-D-1995

Cracked the Leafs squad this year as a 22 year old and is playing a 3^rd pairing role on the blue line. Still he has had a productive rookie season with 2G, 7A in 38GP putting in 13:51 a game.

Alexandre Carrier-D-1996

In a very good Predators system has played 32 games in the AHL with 2G, 9A. He is still ranked as a top 5 prospect in the Preds organization.

Penguins

After years of rebuilding GM Kennedy is now trying to take that next step with the franchise and has moved quite a bit of youth out in order to try and start setting this team up for success to hopefully become a playoff team and god willing a contender moving forward for years to come. There are still some good prospects in the system and they will be relied on in order to fill out the roster as bigger contracts have to start being signed.

Christian Fischer-RW

Fischer started the year just making the team in the final cuts and in a 4^th line role but as the season has progressed so has he and he is now playing a top six role for Arizona with 10G, 7A in 39GP logging 15:02 and 2:23PP a game. Fischer will be competing for a 3^rd line role next season with the BRHL Pens.

Nicolas Roy-C-1997

Roy had a really strong camp for Carolina and made it past the first couple rounds of cuts however he suffered some concussion issues and essentially got let go to spend his first pro year in the AHL. Since coming back from the concussion he is having a really good year for the Checkers with 6G, 14A in 33GP.

Andrew Nielsen-D-1996

Another one of the young defensemen in the Toronto system that almost made the team out of camp this season. He is currently playing for the Marlies in the AHL with 10 points in 30GP. His production has taken a bit of a step back in his sophomore pro season but all reports are showing his overall game especially defensively is improving as he hopes for either a late season call up or to make the team out of camp next year.

Predators

A lot of times we make these preseason predictions looking at teams on paper and labelling teams as playoff team or contender and for some reason the Preds get forgotten about until about round 2 every year... This team is a perennial contender for sure by winning a cup like 3 years ago, I wanna say a second round exit the year after and another trip to the finals last year, Ty has done a very good job maximizing this roster and has proved it is not a fluke. But in order to keep the team that contender status a lot of the resources have gone into the Pro team and there are not a lot of great specs in the system however they are sure excited about one that will be contributing to the Preds next season.

Alex Debrincat-LW

The young 20 year old is having a hell of a season for the Blackhawks. He is playing 14:35 a night 2:30PP with 13G, 12A. He has played up and down the lineup and despite his small size he is being extremely productive especially as a 20 yr old rookie.

Rangers

Larry took over a fringe team a couple seasons ago and has been able to take this franchise the next step and into a competitive playoff team. With the Rangers focused on the playoffs they still have been able to maintain a descent prospect system which isn’t easy to do.

Haydn Fleury-D

The 21 year old defensemen has played 30 Games for the Hurricanes in his rookie season and finds himself in and out of the lineup. But with the opputunity given he has put up 5 A and averages 16:38 a game with just under a minute PK time.

Valentin Zykov-LW/RW-1995

Has not lived up to expectation since his draft year and the Kings who drafted him ultimately moved on and traded him to the Canes, he had a pretty good first pro year in the AHL with 34 points in 66 GP last season but with the extra time to develop he has had an awesome year in the AHL with 19G, 8A in 29GP which is a really encouraging sign he may finally be getting ready to turn the corner.

Denis Malgin-C/W-1997

Started the season off in the AHL getting 4G, 10A in 13 GP but was then called up to the Panthers and done really well with the opportunity.  He is averaging 12:27 a game with just under a minute on the PP but he recently has started getting top six minutes. He has 5G, 2A in 20GP so far.

Red Wings

GM Andriuk has been behind the wheel a couple seasons now and I think finally got the smell of the old regime out of the organization. The team is doing very well this season towards the top of the East and had a couple good drafts the last couple years.

Taylor Raddysh-RW-1998

After an impressive 109 point campaign in the OHL last season he has not skipped a beat and already has 44 points in 30 GP for the Otters this year. He is a key contributor to Team Canada at the WJC with 4 points in 4 games.

Sam Blais-LW-1996

Had a good start in the AHL with 14 points in 12 GP then got called up to the Blues where he has 3 points in 10GP. Unfortunately  he suffered a lower body injury mid December and has been placed on IR. This in turn ended up opening the door for Tage Thompson

Ondrej Kase-RW

Kase played 53 games for the Ducks last season and is currently on the Red Wings farm team (another exemption type guy for this article). After posting 15 points in 53 games last season he has followed up well with 15 points in only 27 GP so far and is playing on the 3^rd line getting 13:53 a night with 1:30PP.

Anton Lindholm-D

Last year played 12 games for the Avs and so far has been in and out of the lineup but played 23 games at 13:58 with 1:59 PK time. He has yet to get his first NHL point.

Sabres

After taking over into the season and winning the cup his first season in the new regime in Buffalo has slipped a bit in the standing the last couple years and now find them elves selling off again trying to retool and build on for another crack at it next season to get the organization back on track and utilize the remaining years with Crosby.

Thomas Chabot-D

Chabot started the year in the AHL with 7 points in 13 game splayed but since has been called up to the Sens and played up and down the lineup. He is averaging 14:15 minutes a game with 1:45PP. He has 7 points in 18 games played and seems to be getting more and more comfortable with the struggling Sens each game.

Filip Chlapik-C-1997

Chlapik played the first 5 games of the year with the Sens getting an assist and eventually being sent down for further development to the minors. So far he has 15 points in 27 games with the Sens AHL affiliate Belleville Senators and is having a good start to his pro career.

Kale Clague-D-1998

Having a real break out year with Brandon in the WHL. He is an assists captain and so far has put up 10G, 37A in just 28GP. As a Defensemen, thats unreal compared to his 40 points in 48 games last year. His play got him the right to play for Team Canada at the WJC where he has 1 point in 3 GP.

Senators

Kirk is the only GM in BRHL history to win multiple championships and he has done that through trade, the shotgun approach of drafting and has been able to maintain a steady pipline of talent coming into the league which gets kept or recycled just in time. He has always had a deep prospect system and there are actually a few good specs coming up that will hope step in and help boost the Sens bottom six because they are becoming more and more top heavy with big contracts.

Ryan Pilon-D-1996

Pilon has taken some time off to really focus on some tape and his hockey IQ but still stays conditioning in Prince Albert, SK for when he is ready to step back into the mix in case his career in law enforcement or Xbox live account gets cancelled. He put up 20 points in 11GP last year in the FCHL for the Wakaw Lakers

Anthony Cirelli-C-1997

Cirelli is having a really good rookie season in the AHL with 23 points in 33 games. He is in a very talented Tampa system who has a good track record for developing youth so it would seem he is on the right track and in a good system for him to succeed.

Jake DeBrusk-LW

He is proving a lot of the haters wrong with a very good rookie season in Boston. He is playing a meaningful top six role and has 8G, 11A in 33GP so far with 14:07 and 1:54PP. He should be pushing for a 3^rd line role next season for the BRHL Senators.

Jonathan Dahlen-LW-1997

Had a good year in Allsvenskan league last year with 44 points in 45 GP and so far has proved it was not a fluke. This year he has posted 28 points in 24 GP and looks like he is progressing well as a spec. Dahlen was drafted this past year later in the first round with a pick acquired via trade for Christian Fischer.

Sharks

The Sharks have been rebuilding for a couple years now since Tyler with new management took over and they are starting get a good pool of young prospects developing  as they continue to rebuild and obtain younger assets and picks.

Steve Santini-D

He played 38 games for the Devils last season before being sent down. He has taken the time to develop and has come in this year for the Devils and won not only a roster spot but a spot on the top pairing. He is getting 20:17 a night with 3:04PK and still has 10 points in 33 GP and should be pushing for a role on the Sharks blueline next season and will likely be a big part of the franchise as the team moves forward.

Tyson Jost-C

Another player who started the season in the AHL who got brought up after 5 games and has been with the big club in Colorado since. He has 2G and 3A in 22GP with 12:49 ice time and 1:30PP but is playing a 3^rd line role and is a very good step for a 19 year old forward.

Jakub Zboril-D-1997

Was thought to be a bit of a reach in his draft year going 13^th overall but he fell in the BRHL draft and GM Ty was willing to take the gamble. So far in his first pro season he has 4 points in 24 GP for the Providence Bruins in the AHL.

Luke Kunin-C-1997

Had a very good start in the AHL with 11 points in 19 GP and was then called up to the Wild. He has played 17 games with 4 points getting 13:14 a game and 1:02PK time. A very good first pro season so far former first rounder.

Stars

GM Junya has been in charge a couple seasons now and has done a good job transitioning this team to being competitive. The team has not missed playoffs since he was handed the team. With the majority of picks being traded and the focus being on the Big Club the farm system is a little dry but still has a couple specs they are keeping an eye on and hope can develop even into bottom six roles for them.

Kasperi Kapanen-RW/LW-1996

Still waiting for him to break out he started the season with the Leafs playing 6 games with 2 goals but was eventually cut and sent down for another year to develop. He has 9G and 6A in 20GP for the Marlies.

Connor Brickley-RW

Back in 2015-16 Brickley played 23 games for Florida, he spent the last season strictly in the AHL but has found a role again this year with the Panthers on the 3^rd line. He is playing 11:40 a game with 1:06PK. So far he has 4G, 7A in 28GP

Wild

GM Mikka continues to collect more young assets as the rebuild enters another year. He has some good talent in the cupboard and hopes they will continue to develop as he eventually will try and turn this franchise north.

Olli Juolevi-D-1998

A highly praised former 5^th overall pick went back to the Finnish Liiga after spending his junior career in the OHL. This season he has 5G and 9A in 20GP and is currently playing for Finland in the WJC.

Brett Howden-C-1998

Had a very strong year with Moose Jaw in the dub last season with 81 points in 58GP and so far has kept up the pace with 31 points in 20GP this year for the Warriors as their Captain. He earned a spot on the Canada WJC and has 2 goals in 4 GP in the tourney so far.

Nick Merkley-RW-1997

Made it through preseason cuts and played a game for Arizona this year before being sent down to the AHL affiliate the Roadrunners where he has had a very impressive first pro season putting up 15G and 15A in just 24GP. The way he is trending shows he should be pushing for a spot on the Coyotes pro roster next season.