Monday, November 26, 2012

No contest

Ryan Strome (OHL Images)
It was really easy to decide which player would be the Prospect of the Week as right now among the New York Ranger and New York Islander prospects nobody is hotter than Ryan Strome of the Niagara IceDogs. Normally the standard is how a player did over an entire week but sometimes exceptions have to be made.

November 24th was Niagara vs Sudbury and Ryan Strome helped key an unbelievable comeback from down 4 goals with just over 5 minutes left in the 3rd period. Strome with 4 assists (3 primary, 1 secondary) turned defeat into victory.

If you missed it here are the highlights courtesy of TVCogecoOntario.



The clip didn't show Strome making his shootout attempt which set the stage for the final attempt becoming the game winner. Without a doubt the most thrilling game of the season if you were an IceDog fan.

The Islander's first round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Strome has been a model of consistency the entire season registering points in 25 out of 27 games played.

Strome really by all accounts would be playing in the NHL if it wasn't for the current lockout but the NHL's foolishness is Niagara's gain. Strome is leading the OHL in scoring at 17-34-51 and that is on top of a 11 game scoring streak (8-22-30).

Strome actually had a pretty good week as it was starting on Friday when he went 2-1-3 against the Belleville Bulls helping Niagara to a 4-1 win. Saturday was the 4 assist "miracle" and Sunday was a 1 assist effort in a losing cause against Oshawa.

All together Strome was 2-6-8 over the 3 games and the most interesting thing about Strome's current hot streak during November is that he has not earned a OHL player of the week. I for one will be shocked if Strome is not the OHL player of the month.

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Got the word that Shane McColgan should be able to play this week when the Saskatoon Blades return to action. McColgan missed 2 games due to what was called a possible concussion and give the Blades some credit for putting McColgan's health first.

The Blades have been blasted by injuries over the last couple of weeks and really needed anyone healthy enough to play. But the Blades sent McColgan back to Saskatoon rather than risk further injury.

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This is not one of those "I told you so's" but rather saluting a player who has worked his butt off trying to make his dream of playing in the NHL a reality. Brendan Leipsic of the Portland Winterhawks was named the " Denny's WHL Player of the Week."

In 3 games last week Leipsic was 3-6-9 with a +5 as Leipsic is on a 13 game scoring streak which includes 11 straight multi-point games. Leipsic is 12-20-32 during his hot streak and overall is 15-23-38 which is good for 5th in the WHL scoring race.

Congrats to Leipsic as he deserves this honor.




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