Coo Coo for Koekkoek

The matchup was supposed to be New York Ranger prospects JT Miller of the Plymouth Whalers (2011 1st) going against Andrew Yogan (2010 3rd) and Peter Ceresnak (2011 6th) of the Peterborough Petes. It wound up being a goalie pulling a Eddie Giacomin and a defenseman with a silly name that stole the show.

On name alone Slater Koekkoek (say it Kuh-Kook) is going to get people's attention but this 6'2 208 defenseman is a player. Smooth skating with a shot that just kicks butt Koekkoek stole the show in our book playing the kind of 2 way game you want to see from a defenseman.

We can honestly say here is a top 10 pick in the 2012 NHL entry draft which is saying a lot because the 2012 draft is already looking very good with a ton of very good defensemen.  Against the Whalers, it seemed like every time there was a big play at either end; it was Koekkoek who's name was said.

People have been telling us about Koekkoek as already the 2012 mock drafts have him listed in the middle of the first round but rising with a bullet. This mock draft has him going to the Rangers and at first glance it would be hard to say no if this became a option.

Koekkoek had a goal and was a +2 for the game as he helped to keep JT Miller and his linemates in check. Miller did not play a bad game as he found space, he skated well and he had his chances but the Petes had a good defense and a red hot goalie (Andrew D'Agostini 2 GAA in 3 games) to stop him.

We thought Miller had a goal in the 3rd period but video review said it did not go in but overall Miller is earning brownie points with each game.

Peter Ceresnak surprised us as our first look at him at Traverse City was of a slow footed, slow reacting defender. Not the case tonight as the 6'3 defender showed us an improved stride but also a shot that had something on it.

Twice Ceresnak sent someone limping off after they tried to block his shot as that too was a surprise given his "light" shot we saw at Traverse City. Ceresnak earned his first OHL assist (secondary on the Pete's 2nd goal) and was a +2 for the night.

Clearly still a work in progress, Ceresnak is a much improved player since Traverse City.  Winning though does make learning a lot easier to do of course.

The 3rd member of the game Andrew Yogan had an assist for his 3rd point (secondary on the Petes 3rd goal) on the season but what opened our eyes was seeing Yogan getting into a fight. Yogan has fought in the past but after missing just about all of last season with a bad shoulder; we had to wonder how physical Yogan would be.

We got the answer as while it was not a top level enforcer but Yogan held his own despite taking several punches (Yogan changed fight with 1 right hand). Got to admit that we are kind of scratching our heads still over the call as Yogan got a double minor for roughing, a minor for instigating, 5 for fighting and a game misconduct.

Not sure how you can give a double minor for roughing when you are also called for fighting, the replays were not there because of the Canadian election results so got to be honest here and say we are still going "huh?" on this call.

It is not roughing when both players are trading punches, it is fighting plain and simple. Even if Yogan did instigate the fight then he does not get the game misconduct unless you (and some Plymouth folks felt this way) wanted to call Yogan for slewfooting (maybe it was close) but was not 100% sure.

In any event we do not fault Yogan for the ejection, would like to have seen him going up at Miller more as a good test for both prospects (teams only meet twice this season). Peterborough is now 4-0-1-1 good for the lead in the OHL's East Division and 3rd best in the OHL.

Plymouth falls to 2-3 on the season with now their 2nd straight loss but goalies were the difference here.  Peterborough's was excellent but Plymouth's was weak.

Mitchell Theoret (Islanders 2011 7th) and his Niagara IceDogs discovered the hard way why the London Knights are the new number 1 team in the weekly BMO CHL Mastercard Top 10.

The Knights jumped out to a 4-0 in the game's first 12 minutes (2 in 1st 3:18), were able to withstand a 3 goal 2nd period from the IceDogs and tacked on 3 more goals for a 7-3 win.

7 goals from 7 different players and points from 12 different players as London improved to 5-0 on the season.  The only flaws in the game for London was their penalty kill was 3 for 6 otherwise Niagara might not have scored at all.

Theoret was scoreless but really everything that Niagara tried, the Knights had an answer for. If you want to see something impressive then look at London's stat sheet.  Every single skater on the Knights has a + number on the season not a single player who is minus.

This is a scary good team that is just going to get better as the season rolls on.

Speaking of that CHL Top 10, it was a good week to be a Ranger prospect as Baie-Comeau (Sam Noreau) were ranked 2nd, Kelowna (Shane McColgan) are 9th. Moose Jaw (McIlrath) and Peterborough (Yogan, Ceresnak) both received votes.

Sorry Islander fans you guys may own the college polls but not the CHL polls.

Saturday Night

We normally try not to get ahead of ourselves but it is so hard when the 2011-2012 college hockey season starts with a huge possible matchup. 3rd ranked North Dakota with Islander 1st rounder Brock Nelson hosts their 15th annual Ice Breaker Tournament this weekend.

The Fighting Sioux will face Air Force in one opening round game after Chris Kreider leads his 5th ranked Boston College Eagles against Michigan State. The winners will face each other on Saturday night.

Barring upsets then former USA Hockey teammates Nelson and Kreider will be facing each other in what should be a great game.

If you have Direct TV then all four Ice Breaker Tournament games will be broadcast live on Fox College Sports Central, DirecTV (617 Friday, 623 Saturday). This is a way to get the college season going in a huge way.

(Koekkoek, Ceresnak and Theoret/OHL Images/Aaron Bell and Terry Wilson)

The Truck Has Returned

For any prospect whether he is a New York Ranger or a New York Islander; the biggest game can be the first game after demotion. How a prospect handles being sent down from the NHL at times can set the tone for his entire season.

In the case of Dylan McIlrath (NYR 2010 1st) who was returning to Moose Jaw from the Rangers was going to be an interesting look. The Rangers had made it clear that the intention all along was for McIlrath to play this season with the Moose Jaw Warriors but that does not mean being cut did not hurt.

In the case of McIlrath, his return to the Moose Jaw lineup was a positive one as the Warriors defeated the Lethbridge Hurricanes 3-2. McIlrath came out fired up as in the games first shift he lowered the boom on a Hurricane with a clean heavy body check.

That check energized both the Moose Jaw fans as well as McIlrath's teammates as the Warriors took the game to the Hurricanes. McIlrath was all over the ice and while he did not score, his presence was noticed as were some differences in his game from last season.

McIlrath very much wanted to be involved in the game at both ends of the ice and it is hard to blame a prospect for trying too hard but McIlrath did overdo it a bit. When you are 6'5 220 then you are going to stand out a whole lot in the WHL.

McIlrath got called for goalie interference on a bad call because the ref could not see that he had been shoved into the Lethbridge goalie. Bad call that should have been a Moose Jaw power play but it was not and the teams played 4 on 4.

Moose Jaw though took advantage of McIlrath's energetic play to score twice in the first period to grab a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission. During the intermission McIlrath was interviewed about his time with the Rangers and he talked about getting to learn from the established players like Girardi.

And to McIlrath's credit he acknowledged he had struggled until John Tortorella pulled him aside for a personal "chat." McIlrath understands the pressure he faces playing in New York and felt the camp this year helped him more than the first year.

McIlrath in the 2nd period got called for a check from behind which also led to the surprise moment of the game as when the penalty ended, McIlrath went in on a breakaway against the Lethbridge goalie. McIlrath did not score but what he did show was a much improved skating stride as well as more confidence handling the puck.

Those 2 areas were big weak points in McIlrath's game last year and to see him attacking was a good sign. McIlrath looking for his offense was another sign of improvement as he was looking to go right to the front of the other team's net looking to set screens.

In the 3rd period with the score tied at 2-2, McIlrath took his 3rd minor of the game only this time Moose Jaw turned it into a shorthanded goal which proved to be the game winner.

The positives out of this game was McIlrath showed off an improved skating as well as a willingness to join the attack. Hard not to like 4 very clean heavy hits that McIlrath had in this one as well.

We liked how McIlrath tried to establish his presence on offense and looked to become more active on offense. No points but very hard not to walk away from this game seeing how McIlrath's teammates fed off his presence.

The closest we are going to come to a negative is going to be the 2 other penalties he took as the first was for checking from behind. Like it or not the refs right now are going to call anything and everything that even comes close to check from behind.

McIlrath has to be more aware of this and adjust to it as the "he does not know his own strength" kind of hits are going to go against him now. Again not a criticism but something McIlrath has to become more aware of.

The other area will in time fix itself as McIlrath has to learn to trust himself when handling the puck as once he makes that choice to go on the attack not to second guess himself. Trust that your teammates will cover for you so you can become more confident in your offensive abilities.

The win for Moose Jaw was their 4th straight as a good team just got that much better adding back McIlrath.

Sticking in the WHL, Shane McColgan (NYR 2011 5th) and his Kelowna Rockets are off to a 3-0 start after holding off the Tri-City Americans 4-3. McColgan played well in spurts but did not score in this one.

The Rockets in all honesty escaped with this win as they almost blew a 4-1 lead. Pretty sure McColgan and company are going to hear about it in practice tomorrow as 40 minute efforts in the BC Division is not going to cut it if this team hopes to go far in the WHL playoffs.

What we are going to want to see out of McColgan is on a night like this to make "that play" to turn a game that has become close into an easy win. In this game it was the Kelowna goalie Adam Brown who saved the day as despite giving up 2 goals in the 3rd period made enough saves to keep the win.

Brendan Kichton (Islanders 2011 5th) was the only Islander prospect to see action on Wednesday evening as his Spokane Chiefs were on the road to Vancouver for a game with the Giants. Spokane was able to turn a 0-2 deficit into a 2-2 regulation tie before falling in the shoot out 3-2.

Kichton was held scoreless and if not for a holding call we might have thought he was invisible in this game. Spokane's offense is going to flow though Kichton and we are going to want to see him dictate both flow and tempo for his team if he wants that NHL contract.

Not saying Kichton played a bad game but rather if Kichton has a quiet game the chances of Spokane losing increases. Spokane is in the same division as the Portland Winterhawks and any hope that Spokane has about going deep in the playoffs will depend on how many points Kichton scores (he had 80 last season).

Michael St. Croix (2011 4th) is struggling a bit trying to find his offense after 5 games but that is not what concerns us. His Edmonton Oil Kings were able to earn a 2-1 shootout win over the defending WHL champion the Kootenay Ice but where was St. Croix?

When your offense is struggling as is the case with St. Croix is then you have to make sure your defense is there and that you are not taking penalties. It is early but other than 1 good game we see St. Croix fighting himself to establish his identity.

The penalties that will always get you in trouble with your coaches are tripping and holding calls. Both are clear signs that you are (a) not moving your feet on defense and (b) were about to be beaten on a play.

We know St. Croix can play better than he has and for Edmonton who is wanting to make a run this year; they are going to need St. Croix to play well at both ends of the ice.

If you are looking for the early season surprise then look no further that Steven Fogarty (NYR 2011 3rd) as the 6'3 200 forward has gone 3-2-5 in his debut with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL.

Hard not to like Fogarty as you get to watch the typical "Big man who has small man skills" and then realize that Fogarty is still growing. We like the USHL as a developmental league but Fogarty's decision to go to the BCHL is looking more and more like the better move.

Fogarty and his Vees played host to the Merritt Centennials and what was a close contest for most of the game turned into a 6-1 runaway win. The Vees broke the game open with 3 goals in the 3rd period to win their 3rd straight.

Fogarty is raw, he is very green and while the Rangers may want him to play in the WHL, think Fogarty is taking the right route for now. A year here in the BCHL playing close to 80 games will help show where he is in terms of his development.

Right now Fogarty plans to play for Notre Dame next season and if he stays on this path then a couple of seasons in the CCHA/Hockey East will be good for him. What we want to see come out of him this year is progression to earn an invite to a USA NTDP camp this summer.

It has only been 4 games but for us it would be enough time to pull Christian Thomas (NYR 2010 2nd) off to the side and have a talk about "contract hangover" as watching Thomas play is hard at the moment. Thomas is scoreless in 4 games since returning to the Oshawa Generals from the New York Rangers and we think he is putting way too much pressure on himself.

Thomas and his Oshawa Generals dropped a 4-2 road game to the Belleville Bulls. Thomas as we said is scoreless and a -3 since returning from the Rangers.

Traverse City did not go well for Thomas and we kind of suspect that he may have suffered a minor concussion in the Traverse City final. Thomas took a elbow to the head early in that game and barely was a factor after that.

Despite being 5'9 Thomas has a lot of weight on his shoulders from having to be the man for the Generals, to trying to repeat his numbers from last season and on and on. Right now Christian Thomas we wonder is suffering from "Training Camp Hangover" and if he is then we say relax Christian things will be alright.

For some reason "Training Camp Hangover" strikes Ranger 2nd round picks as it has hit every single 2nd round prospect with the except of Derek Stepan and Michael Sauer since we started doing this. We believe that it is caused by a prospect not happy with the kind of camp he had so he tries to fix everything in one giant shot.

We watched Dubinsky go through it, Werek as well and we will not mention what it did to Antoine Lafleur. The cure really is simple, Thomas just needs to go back to the basics and it will sort itself out.

Thomas will be alright but right now the hard part is trying to tell him that so we would do just like any coach would do and that is keep sending him out there as long as he is trying hard. The cure for "TCH" is a garbage goal and once he scores the first one then he will realize things will be OK.

Until then we keep believing in him as we know we have an NHL scorer here there is no question about it.

(McIlrath/Moose Jaw, McColgan/Kelowna, St. Croix/Edmonton, Kichton/Spokane, Fogarty/Penticton, Thomas/Oshawa)

The Ranger Conspiracy Theories NOT

It is almost fitting that even Sean Avery's departure from the New York Rangers is fueling conspiracy theories as the never ending drama known as Sean Avery has to have one last act. The Avery defenders are blaming John Tortorella claiming that the coach is finally getting his way by getting rid of a player the coach hates.

There is only one tiny problem with this "theory" and that is it is not true. It is not true for one simple reason and that is when it comes to the New York Rangers there is only one person who decides anyone's fate.

That person is of course Glen Sather as nobody not John Tortorella and maybe not even James Dolan decides who is and who is not on the Ranger's roster except Sather. John Tortorella may be happy to finally be rid of a player he reportedly dislikes but it was Glen Sather who made the final decision.

If Tortorella really hated Avery as much as the Avery defenders would have you believe then don't you think that Avery would have been gone way before being placed on waivers today? The real reality is that when you look at Sean Avery, his cap hit and what the Rangers were getting in return then this decision was not all that hard to make.

There remains one area where the Rangers continue to shoot themselves in the foot with and that is with salary cap management. Sean Avery had to go simply because the Rangers have zero idea what is going to happen with Marc Staal and the 1.94 million cap hit the Rangers have with Avery opens a little cap room just in case.

That does not mean that I buy for a second John Tortorella's repeated claims that the Rangers had better players than Sean Avery. Right off the bat I would have kept Avery over Erik Christensen because the Rangers are only kidding themselves if they believe Christensen is a better overall player.

It was good for a laugh to read Tortorella actually saying that Christensen could be a "Top 6" forward because in the chances that Christensen has had in previous seasons to claim such a spot he has been a failure.  Yes Christensen had better numbers than Avery on the power play and shoot out but who in their right mind would send Erik Christensen out when they needed a spark?

Who in their right mind puts Erik Christensen out on a penalty kill against an NHL team? We would never dare such a foolish move.

And to be honest, Avery in our eyes offered more than Wojtek Wolski except when it comes to being an underachiever. On offense no question Zuccarello was better than Avery but could you send Zuccarello out to kill penalties?

Christensen for now is safe because he only has a 925 G cap hit otherwise if Avery was the one with the low cap number then he would have stayed. The Rangers can not seem to figure out how to manage their salary cap situation, they never have and odds are until Sather is gone never will.

We were never Sean Avery fans but we do admire how he created this "cult of personality" that Avery has among many a Ranger fan. And because Sean Avery is so good at promoting Sean Avery then we seriously doubt that we have heard the last of him waivers or not.

The question now is how much faith do the Rangers have in Sean Avery reporting to the CT Whale and not being a problem for Ken Gernander? Is there a team in the NHL that will gamble their locker room by adding Sean Avery even though if you needed a penalty killer Avery was pretty good at that?

Honestly if Sean Avery asks to be released from his contract so he can play in Europe then do not even think twice about it just do it. Avery even on his best behavior would cause a circus in the AHL that the Rangers do not need or should want on the CT Whale.

Still one has to wonder if Wojtek Wolski had been 100% during the exhibition season whether the Rangers would have cut him as well. That 3.8 million dollar cap hit almost covers Marc Staal's salary by itself.

If we were Wolski, Christensen, Zuccarello and even Ruslan Fedotenko then we would be constantly looking over our shoulders. The Rangers say that they believe Carl Hagelin and Ryan Bourque need a little seasoning in the AHL but the truth is both have lower cap numbers.

The flip side to starting the season in Europe then having a west coast swing is that the Rangers also risk scaring their fans into jumping off the bandwagon if the team struggles. Already people are worried about the state of the defense with Marc Staal out so remember the Rangers are still 22 days from their home opener.

That is more than enough time to cause a good old panic

But some friendly advice to John Tortorella; if the Rangers stumble out of the gate you might find yourself joining Sean Avery on the not so happy New York exit. Glen Sather has you perfectly positioned to take the fall if the Rangers stumble at any point of the season.

If Glen Sather has no problem firing his own friends like John Muckler and Tom Renney then exactly how safe do you really think your job is? At this point in time, Tortorella's record with the Rangers is not much better than Tom Renney's and from a talent standpoint a good case can be made that Tortorella had more talent to work with.

See coach this is where your being a bully to the media is going to bite you in the rear. If the team struggles and the rumors start then do not expect much support from the very media you kept screwing with.

By mid-season if the Rangers are treading water then it will not be just players moved; it will also be the coaching staff. Anyone want to start some good old "Ken Hitchcock to coach the Rangers" rumors?

(Sean Avery courtesy of the New York Rangers)

Sorry Nap Time

Monday was a quiet day for New York Ranger and New York Islander prospect so we took advantage of it. In case you missed it we have been working with a company called Notice Software to develop a mobile app for here.

It is a free app for you and as we said last week we hope it helps us get the word out faster when prospect news breaks. It also allows us to add our twitter and facebook accounts so we can talk to you folks when we are at games.

This season we hope to get you guys involved with our prospect interviews as well as share which player or coach is on the various social media outlets.

The version for those with Blackberry's is up and ready for download and we thought the Android and Iphone apps would be ready but it appears to be another day or so.

The app is free and right now we have twitter added (@theprospectpark) and will be adding facebook shortly.

It is because of your support that we are able to do this so thank you for helping us grow.

A Slow Sunday

Sunday was a really quiet on as only 3 New York Islanders and 1 New York Ranger prospect saw action. It was a nice quiet day to wrap up the week as the college prospects joined the action.

Anders Lee (Islanders 2009 6th) is ready for his sophomore season at Notre Dame but this year has a letter on his jersey. 2nd ranked Notre Dame named their hockey captains with 2 seniors as co-captains and Lee the only alternate captain.

Lee along with freshman defenseman Robbie Russo (Islanders 2011 4th) took to the ice to open their 2011-2012 season against the Western Ontario Mustangs in an exhibition game. Lee scored Notre Dame's first goal as they shut out the Mustangs 4-0.

Russo did not score but he played a nice steady game on the blueline and is expected to be a major contributor for the Fighting Irish. We have a link to the game highlights courtesy of Notre Dame.

If you would have come to us and said that Samuel Noreau (NYR 2011 5th) and the Baie-Comeau Drakkar would be 8-1 after 9 games then we would have thought you were crazy. Yet after the Drakker exploded for 4 third period goals to defeat the Acadie-Bathurst Titan 6-2 for their 6th straight win.

Noreau had a quiet game with just 1 shot on goal to show for his efforts but when you are winning after being a cellar dweller for years then it is hard to complain about personal stats. Noreau is the top pair defensemen and is playing in all situations which has to be making the Ranger management happy.

Goalie Cody Rosen (Islanders 2010 7th) and his Clarkson Knights opened their 2011-2012 season with an exhibition game against the University of Ottawa. The Knights won 4-2 as Rosen was back in his usual spot on the bench as the backup goalie.

(Lee courtesy of the CCHA)

Welcoming Themselves Back

Saturday night was a night for a New York Islander and a New York Ranger prospect to re-introduce themselves to their local fans in their own style.

First Star Brock Nelson

He is known as the other New York Islander 2010 first round pick but in the long run, perhaps Brock Nelson could wind up being the better prospect for the Islanders in the long run.

It may have only been an exhibition game but the 6'4 Nelson served notice that there will not be a sophomore slump coming from him. Nelson got the North Dakota season going with a first period goal and then added a second one (the 7th ND goal 3:24 on the video) as North Dakota blew out the University of Regina 8-1.



Nelson was shifted to left wing for this game and we hope that it is a permanent move because in our eyes, it is a better use of Nelson's size and skill. This is the Brock Nelson we have been waiting to see as Nelson scored his 2 goals on 7 shots and was a +2 for the game while playing a strong 2 way game.

Let us put Nelson down for a 20 goal season as he looks stronger and playing with more focus which is great for Islander/North Dakota fans and bad for those who have to play the Fighting Sioux.  JT Who?

Second Star Shane McColgan

One of the real positives to come out of the Ranger Traverse City effort was the play of Shane McColgan (2011 5th) of the Kelowna Rockets.  The 5'9 right wing made his return to the Rocket lineup a happy one putting up 3 assists to help the Rockets to a 6-3 win over the Vancouver Giants.

McColgan earned the game's 2nd star for his efforts as he got his first point of the season on a secondary assist on Kelowna's first goal of the game at 15:36 on the power play. In the second period, McColgan got the primary assist when he fed Colton Sissons for Kelowna's 5th goal also on the power play for a 5-1 lead.

In the 3rd period after Vancouver had closed the gap to 5-3, McColgan finished off the Giants when he recorded his 3rd assist of the night setting up Carter Rigby at 16:03 for the Rocket's 6th goal. Now our message to the assistant captain of the Rockets is to play like this every night.

Third Star Steven Fogarty

So does anyone want to guess who is leading the Ranger prospects in both goals and scoring? If you said Steven Fogarty of the Penticton Vees (2011 3rd) then you know your Ranger prospects as the 6'3 forward is 3-2-5 after 4 games.

Fogarty had his best game of the young season when he scored his 3rd goal of the season and added his first 2 assists as his Penticton Vees whipped on the Trail Smoke Eaters 9-1. Fogarty wasted little time on Saturday night scoring at 1:10 of the first period and the Vees never looked back.

In the second period Fogarty earned his first BCHL assist when Mike Reilly scored at 8:30 while on the power play to put the Vees up 4-0. In the 3rd, Fogarty made it a 3 point night when he fed Cody DePourcq on the Vee's 7th goal also on the power play at 2:21.

The more we see of Fogarty the more we have to thank Evgeny Grachev for asking for his trade as the 3rd round pick the Rangers got back was used to select Fogarty. Call Fogarty the "anti-Grachev" as we have do not have to worry about Fogarty working hard at all.

The Rest Of The Prospects

We have settled on a nickname for 6'5 225 lb defenseman Samuel Noreau (NYR 2011 5th) as watching him play for the Baie-Commeau Drakkar only one name fits. We are calling Noreau "Thor" because when Noreau throws his body around, he is hammering them.

Repeat after us "In Gordie We Trust" as we had our doubts in selecting Noreau but "Thor" is showing us that he is a whole lot more than just a fighter. The first pair defender on the Drakker, Noreau registered his 2nd assist in as many games as the Drakkar defeated the Prince Edward Island Rocket 6-1.

Noreau got the primary assist on the Drakkar's 5th goal as the surprise team of the QMJHL won their 5th straight game. Noreau in addition to his assist also recorded a "good" hit and was a +1 with 4 PIMs.

Brendan Kichton (Islanders 2011 5th) had a 2 assist night as his Spokane Chiefs had little trouble with rival the Tri-City Americans whipping them 7-2. Out of fairness to Tri-City, they played in Portland on Friday night then rode a bus for close to 7 hours.

Kichton cost himself a star by being on the ice for both American's goals but he is now 0-3-3 on the season.

Andrew Yogan (2010 3rd) had a 2 assist night for his Peterborough Petes but the Petes after a furious 3rd period comeback lost in overtime to the Barrie Colts 6-5. This was a game of ups and downs for Yogan which we hope he takes as a serious learning experience.

For starters, Yogan took 8 PIMs of which 6 came on the same play as Yogan took a double minor for spearing and a minor for slashing. Those are the kinds of plays that get you in the dog house with a coach as it gave the Colts a full 2 minute 2 man advantage (Petes killed it off).

Yogan also took an elbowing minor which did lead to a power play goal for the Colts to make the game 2-0 at the time. Yogan helped ease his own troubles by setting up Matt Puempel for the Pete's first goal less than 2 minutes of the power play goal.

Yogan's 2nd assist was a secondary assist but it was a big one as it came at 18:59 of the 3rd period to bring the Petes to within 1 at 5-4 (Petes scored at 19:59 to tie game).  Yogan and fellow Ranger prospect Peter Ceresnak (NYR 2011 6th) struggled on the defensive side as well being on the ice for the game winning goal.

Memo to both which is keep feet moving and communicate when on defense.

JT Miller (NYR 2011 1st) earned his 3rd assist of the season but his Plymouth Whalers were defeated by the London Knights 6-3. Miller earned a secondary assist on the Whaler's 2nd goal but was a -2 as he was on the ice for 3 goals against on the evening.

Miller is now 1-3-4 in 3 games which is a good start for the Ranger 1st round pick but Saturday night reminded us that he still has some work to do at both ends of the ice.

Mitchell Theoret (Islanders (2011 7th) was scoreless but his Niagara IceDogs spotted the Belleville Bulls a 3-0 lead before scoring 5 straight to earn a 5-3 win. Theoret was a -1 with a minor for "check to the head".

The Guelph Storm welcomed back Andrey Pedan (Islanders 2011 3rd) to the lineup after his 2 game suspension with a 5-3 win over the defending OHL champs the Owen Sound Attack. Pedan was scoreless but put up a +1 for the evening.

The Attack hold the OHL rights to Scott Stajcer (NYR 2009 5th) who is currently in Europe with the Rangers. It has been expected that the Rangers would send Stajcer back to the OHL when they return to the USA and that the Attack would trade the overage goalie.

Those plans might change if the Attack continue to struggle with their goaltending like they have. Their starter Jordan Binnington has started 5 games and given up 4+ goals in 4 of those starts not a good start.

Speaking of struggling and while it is only 3 games, it still seems strange that Christian Thomas (NYR 2010 2nd) still has not registered even an assist. His Oshawa Generals though broke out of their scoring slump scoring 7 on the hapless Erie Otters en-route to a 7-4 win.

We are not worried but have to acknowledge that Thomas struggled at Traverse City then main camp so we would just pull him aside and tell him to relax as the points will come.

Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) and his Edmonton Oil Kings did the opposite of Friday night as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead against the Medicine Tigers. Only in this won they forgot to play the 2nd half of the game as the Tigers scored 3 goals to tie the game then won via the shoot out 4-3.

St. Croix was scoreless in this one but the play was better than it was Friday night. Still St. Croix can and should be playing better than this.

John Persson (Islanders 2011 5th) and his Red Deer Rebels gave away a 2-0 lead to the Prince Albert Raiders as the Raiders scored 7 unanswered goals for a 7-2 win.  Persson was scoreless and a -4 for the night.

Not wanting to throw gas on any fire but Prince Albert is where Mark McNeil plays (yes he who many a NYR fan wanted drafted) and he has a 3 point night with the first star.

Corey Trivino (Islanders 2008 2nd) and his 6th ranked Boston University stumbled in their first game of the season dropping a 6-4 exhibition game to St. Francis Xavier.  Trivino was scoreless with 2 shots and a +1 on the night.

Scott Mayfield (Islanders 2011 2nd) made his debut with the 4th ranked Denver Pioneers as they started their season with an exhibition game against McGill University (Canada). McGill we have to say came away with a moral victory holding Denver to a 2-2 overtime tie.

Mayfield had a quiet night as the freshman defenseman is making the jump to the NCAAs from the USHL. Can not say anything about his play since we did not get any reports on the game.

Randy McNaught's University of Calgary Dinos were shut out again by the University of Manitoba 2-0. We are not showing McNaught as playing but also not listed as a healthy scratch but we are waiting word on this.


(Images: Nelson/USA Hockey, McColgan/Kelowna Rockets, Fogarty/NY Rangers,  Noreau/Baie-Comeau Drakkar)

Yikes

The first real busy Friday evening of the prospect season but only JT Miller of the New York Rangers can say he had a good night. If you were looking for some good hockey action then tonight was not your night.

Tonight's Star JT Miller

If there is any prospect who is doing a very good job of making fans out of his critics then it has to be the Ranger's 2011 first round pick. On draft day, Miller's selection was questioned by just about everyone (including us) but since then JT Miller's efforts have helped validate the selection the Rangers made.

Miller made sure his first career OHL goal was a statement goal as the native of Pittsburgh PA scored at 11:45 of the 3rd period to help his Plymouth Whalers earn a 3-2 win over the Ottawa 67's.

Miller who was named the game's 2nd star as he also had an assist on Plymouth's first goal of the game too. The Miller goal (which can be found right here) is exactly what we were talking about the other day about KISS.

Miller found a spot where he wanted to shoot from, put himself into a great spot for his teammate to hit with a pass then just fired the puck in the same motion. No chance for the defense to react, the goalie was not fully set so the puck was able to sneak in the 5 hole.

Those are the kinds of goals that win games which this one did and exactly why a prospect will always get points from us for this kind of play. Miller now is 1-2-3 in 2 games with the Whalers who have also won 2 straight.

The Rest Of The Action

Andrew Yogan (NYR 2010 3rd) and Peter Ceresnak (NYR 2011 6th) were both scoreless as their Peterborough Petes improved to 3-0-0-1 with a 2-1 win over the Kingston Frontenacs. The Petes are leading the OHL East Division but had tougher than should have game against the Frontenacs.

Christian Thomas (NYR 2010 2nd) and his Oshawa Generals are struggling as they fell 2-1 to the Belleville Bulls. Thomas and the Generals are having trouble trying to find their offense as witnessed by the 0 for 7 on the power play.

The Generals this year are playing a 17 year old rookie in goal so you can see the team making a conscious effort to play stronger on defense. Thomas we see is pressing perhaps a tad too much to carry the team and we think he just needs to let the game come to him.

The goals will start coming and when they do we still believe Thomas is going to put up huge numbers this season. No need to panic over a 1-2 start for the Generals as they have a lot of talent on their roster.

Mitchell Theoret (Islanders 2011 7th) was scoreless but his Niagara IceDogs jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead and never looked back en-route to a 4-2 win over the Barrie Colts. The IceDogs won for the 1st time this season even without Ryan Strome (Islanders 2011 1st) in their lineup.

Strome is still with the Islanders and whether he returns to Niagara remains to be seen. The IceDogs are a good team but a Ryan Strome makes them a contending team.

Andrey Pedan (Islanders 2011 5th) was sitting out the 2nd game of his 2 game suspension for being the 3rd man in a fight. Against the Erie Otters, his Guelph Storm teammates made sure he did not worry about possibly losing without Pedan in the lineup.

The Storm turned a 3-2 second period lead into a 10-2 rout scoring 7 unanswered goals after the Otters had scored their 2nd goal.  Overall the Storm improved to 2-1-0-1 on the season.

In the BCHL, Steven Fogarty (NYR 2011 3rd) was scoreless with 2 minor penalties as his Pentiction Vees had no trouble with the Prince George Spruce Kings after a 9-2 rout. Fogarty already has 2 goals on the season so not going to make anything about this one.

For those wondering what happened to Randy McNaught (NYR 2010 7th) after a pretty good effort at Traverse City we have an answer. McNaught choose to enroll at the University of Calgary and when you look at it then it actually is a pretty good idea.

The Rangers still hold McNaught's draft rights but McNaught was a long range project to turn him from a goon into a complete player. McNaught is in a league (Canada West) which is a very talented one but one that does not allow fighting.

So the Rangers can sit back and watch McNaught's progress over the next couple of years and it does not cost them a cent. FYI one of McNaught's coaches is former Ranger Cory Cross.

McNaught made his debut on Friday night but like the rest of his Dino teammates was shut out as the University of Manitoba Bison ruined their conference home opener with a 2-0 shutout. It was a team wide lifeless effort but not the kind of debut McNaught had hoped for.

The best way to describe the game that Michael St. Croix (NYR 2011 4th) and his Edmonton Oil Kings played against Medicine Hat Tigers is to think Glen Sather coached Rangers. Forgetting to show up for game time, allowing the other guys to build a big lead then mount a furious comeback that was "too little, too late".

Medicine Hat built up a 5-0 lead that was capped off by Emerson Etem's shorthanded goal for Etem's first hat trick of the season at 8:40 of the 3rd period. The Oil Kings then scored 3 goals in 3:33 to make it a 5-3 game but that was as close as they got.

St. Croix was scoreless and a -3 for the night but he was not to blame as we say this was a team wide stinker. Edmonton is now 1-1-1 on the season as they travel to Medicine Hat for the 2nd half of this home and home.


John Persson (Islanders 2011 5th) and his Red Deer Rebels turned a 2-1 3rd period lead into a 4-2 loss on the road to the Saskatoon Blades. Persson was scoreless and a -2 for his night as the Blade scored 3 times in the 3rd for the win.

Going Mobile

Earlier today we posted a piece about the Prospect Park going Mobile

The Prospect Park has now gone mobile! Go to http://www.noticeorange.com/r/TheProspectPark to get an app for your phone.


It's free and it has alerts so that you'll know whenever The Prospect Park has anything new. What could be better? We hope to have it up and running in the next 24 hours.


We are wanting to make it interactive so those of you with live in game questions or wanting to submit your own game reports/images can


It is a work in progress so we will improving it as we go along

Only problem is the app has not finished yet so our automatic message jumped the gun. For that we apologize but the goals do remain the same as with the app we hope to be able to interact with you better while we are at games.

Not every arena is up to date with the latest in technology but our hope is that the app will allow us to not have to rely on the arenas and get our reports out faster. It has a twitter feature and once things are set we hope to add Facebook as well.

Got to give a stick tap to our friends at Yardbarker who along with Fox Sports have been taking great care of us with the gadgets. What makes Yardbarker that much nicer is that they give us the freedom to say what we want when we want and not have to worry about "big brother."

Even sweeter is that when you visit they pay us for that visit which is even nicer since the money made helps us off-set the costs in bringing the prospects to you.

The folks at Notice Software are building our app for us with the goal to have it up and running at the beginning of next week. We hope you will try it out and give us the feedback we need to get the bugs out of it.


(Miller courtesy of the Plymouth Whalers)