Welcome back to the fourth weekly installment of the Flyers Junior Hockey Prospect Recap. Happy Columbus Day to our American readers and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone reading in Canada!
With Jay O’Brien and the Penticton Vees winning 10 straight games to open their season, the CJHL (Canadian Junior Hockey League) has names the Vees as the #1 team on their weekly power rankings. The Vees have held the #1 spot in those rankings for 3 consecutive weeks.
In honor of the hot start, here are some highlights of last weeks game versus the Wenatchee Wild in which Jay O’Brien (#9 in the black and blue jersey) recorded 1 goal and 3 assists:
Why was it so important to focus on the Vees winning streak at the opening of this article? Spoiler alert: the winning streak to start the season ended this week, but one Flyer prospect has a bit of a points streak to start his season in his own right (see Egor Zemula below).
This weeks edition covers the week that was in the CHL and the BCHL from Wednesday October 9th – Sunday October 13th.
WHL (Western Hockey League)
Wyatte Wylie #29 (D) – Everett Silvertips (WHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
| 2019-2020 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 6 | +2 | 26 | 6 |
- On Tuesday night, Wyatte Wylie and the Everett Silvertips travelled to Vancouver Island to play the Victoria Royals. Wylie had a primary assist on the powerplay to tie the game at 1-1 at 18:24 of the first period. After being tied 2-2 after 40 minutes, Everett would end up scoring the winning goal at 15:51 of the third period to win the game 3-2. Wylie finished with an even rating and registered 5 shots on goal in the contest.
- Friday night action saw the Everett Silvertips host the Kamloops Blazers. Wyatte Wylie did not register a point and had an even rating as the visiting Blazers won the game by a score of 3-1. Wylie did receive a 2 minute minor penalty for tripping at 6:04 of the second period.
- The Everett Silvertips hosted the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday night. Regulation time could not decide the winner as no goals were scored. The game was decided in overtime with the game winning goal coming courtesy of Everett Silvertips Center Gage Goncalves. Wyatte Wylie did not register a point, but did get credited with 3 shots on goal.
Egor Zemula #9 (D) – Calgary Hitmen (WHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
| 2019-2020 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +8 | 17 | 2 |
- Saturday evening saw the Calgary Hitmen travel north to play the Edmonton Oil Kings. The first period saw Calgary jump out to a 2-0 lead, but ultimately Edmonton came back to win the game by a score of 6-4. Egor Zemula continued his points streak to start the season by tallying 1 goal and 1 assist. Zemula opened the scoring with a powerplay goal at 5:30 of the first period, and added an assist on the powerplay at 16:21 of the second period. Zemula finished the game with a -1 rating to go along with 2 shots on goal.
Roddy Ross #1 (G) – Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
| SEASON | GP | W | L | SO | MINS | SH | SAV | GAA | SAV% |
| 2019-2020 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 331 | 195 | 175 | 3.63 | 0.897 |
- Friday night saw the Seattle Thunderbirds host the Kelowna Rockets. Seattle jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but lost control of the game at the halfway point as Kelowna won the game by a score of 8-3. Roddy Ross was pulled after allowing 7 goals on 35 shots (28 saves). Kelowna scored 4 unanswered goals in the second half of the second period. Seattle got a goal back at 7:21 of the third period, only to see the Rockets close out the game with another 4 goal outburst. Ross ended up playing 50:16 and has now been pulled from a game twice this season.
- The Everett Silvertips hosted the Seattle Thunderbirds on Saturday night. Regulation time could not decide the winner as no goals were scored. Goaltender Dustin Wolf of the Everett Silvertips got the victory as Gage Goncalves scored the overtime winner for Everett. Roddy Ross had a strong showing with 24 saves on 25 total shots in the losing effort. What is more impressive, is that the regulation shutout for Ross came only a day after getting pulled in an 8-3 loss to the Kelowna Rockets. Ross was also named the games Third Star for his performance.
OHL (Ontario Hockey League)
Mason Millman #12 (D) – Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
| 2019-2020 Saginaw Spirit | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -10 | 19 | 8 |
- Wednesday evening had the Saginaw Spirit host the Peterborough Petes. Despite the home side outshooting the visitors 23-20, Peterborough won the game with a 4-0 shutout. Mason Millman had one shot on goal and finished the game with a -1 rating.
- Saturday evening had the Saginaw Spirit host the London Knights. Facing a 2-0 deficit until the latter stages of the second period, the Spirit erupted for 4 unanswered goals to win the game by a score of 6-3. Mason Millman had no points and no shots on goal in the game, but managed to end up with a +2 rating. Millman’s teammate Cole Perfetti (a probable top 5 pick in the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft) had a very impressive showing with 1 goal and 2 assists in the game.
QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
Egor Serdyuk #18 (RW) – Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | S | PIM |
| 2019-2020 Victoriaville Tigres | 6 | 6 | 1 | 7 | -1 | 17 | 6 |
- Friday night saw Egor Serdyuk return to the lineup as the Victoriaville Tigres went on the road to play the Rimouski Oceanic. Victoriaville entered the game trying to avenge last weeks loss to the Oceanic in which the potential first overall selection in the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft Alexis Lafreniere shone. Although the Tigres entered the third period tied 2-2 with Rimouski, the Oceanic came away with the 4-2 win. Lafreniere was dominant once again and was named the game’s First Star with 2 goals and 2 assists. Serdyuk finished the game with a -1 rating and 3 shots (2 were high quality). He also was assessed a 2 minute minor for hooking in the early stages of the third period.
- Sunday afternoon had the Victoriaville Tigres travel to Quebec City to face the Remparts. Victoriaville dominated the opening period with a 14-1 shots advantage yet only entered the intermission tied 1-1. The second period saw the Remparts completely turn the game on its head, outshooting Victoriaville 16-0 in the period and taking a lead on the scoreboard that they would never relinquish. Egor Serdyuk was held off the scoresheet and finished the game with an even rating and 1 shot on goal.
BCHL (British Columbia Hockey League)
Jay O’Brien #9 (RW) – Penticton Vees (BCHL)
| SEASON | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
| 2019-2020 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 23 |
- The Penticton Vees tried to extend their impressive winning streak to open the season on Friday night. With Jay O’Brien notching 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points, the Vees came away with a 6-2 victory over the Powell River Kings and extended their winning streak to eleven games. O’Brien opened the scoring only 1:30 into the first period of the contest, and picked up both of his assists in the second period. It is worth noting that all 3 points for O’Brien were tallied while Penticton was on the powerplay. The Vees finished 4 for 7 with the man advantage. In addition, O’Brien was assessed a 2 minute penalty for slashing in the first period and a 2 minute penalty for goaltender interference in the second period.
- Saturday night saw the Penticton Vees winning streak finally come to an end with a 4-0 shutout loss to the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. Alberni Valley opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal and never really looked back. Jay O’Brien along with the rest of his teammates on the Vees were held off the scoresheet. O’Brien did accrue 4 minutes in penalties; which included a 2 minute minor for hooking at 13:39 of the first period and a 2 minute minor for cross checking at 19:15 of the third period to end the game. Penticton outshot Alberni Valley 32-28, but special teams were a major reason the Vees lost the game as Penticton were 0 for 6 with the man advantage.
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Hope you enjoyed this fall holiday edition of the Flyers Junior Hockey Prospect Recap. Time to put myself into a self-induced turkey coma.
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Until next time from BrotherlyPuck.com,
I remain,
Manny Benevides
photo credit: nbcsports.com
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