The Flyers Junior Hockey Prospect Report (Dec. 27

Welcome to the 6^th edition of The Flyers Junior Hockey Prospect Report for 2024-2025!

This edition for the 2024-2025 season covers the period that was in the WHL, QMJHL, and OHL from Friday December 27^th – Sunday January 12^th.

WHL (Western Hockey League)

Carson Bjarnason #64 (G) – Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)

SEASON	GP	W	L	OTL	SO	SH	SAV	GAA	SAV%
2024-2025	18	8	8	2	1	613	558	3.08	.910

(Dec. 27) The Brandon Wheat Kings returned to action following the Holiday Break as they hosted the Regina Pats with Carson Bjarnason away at the WJHC. In the opening period, young goaltender Dylan McFadyn played in his first ever WHL game and allowed 3 goals on 12 shots at the Pats took a 3-1 lead. The Wheat Kings goal was scored by Matteo Michels at 13:30 for his 13^th of the season. In the second period, Nolan Flamand would score shorthanded at 5:55 to make it 3-2 with his 7^th of the season, but Regina would end the frame with a 4-2 lead. In the third period, Caleb Hadland would score his 13^th of the season at 10:07 but the Regina Pats would add some insurance and defeat the Brandon Wheat Kings 7-3.

(Dec. 28) The Brandon Wheat Kings visited the Moose Jaw Warriors to finish up their weekend slate with yet another goaltender making his Wheat Kings debut in Alex Garrett. In the first period, Brandon would jump out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Marcus Nguyen (his 16^th at 6:11) and Nolan Flamand (his 8^th at 11:48). In the second period, Moose Jaw would score the only goal of the period on the powerplay to cut the lead to 2-1. In the third period, Carter Klippenstein would score twice, and Flamand would notch his second of the game on the powerplay as the Brandon Wheat Kings would defeat the Moose Jaw Warriors 5-2.

(Dec. 30) The Brandon Wheat Kings continued their visit to Saskatchewan as they visited the Swift Current Broncos. In the opening period, the Broncos would strike first to open the scoring but the Wheat Kings responded at 16:59 with Joby Baumuller’s 5^th of the season to tie the game 1-1. Marcus Nguyen would give Brandon the lead with his 17^th of the season at 1:21, and Like Shipley would add his 7th of the season at 5:10 to make it 3-1. There would be no scoring in the third period as Alex Garrett garnered First Star honors as Brandon won their second game in a row by defeating the Swift Current Broncos 3-1.

(Jan. 1) The Brandon Wheat Kings opened 2025 by hosting the Swift Current Broncos. In the opening period, Nolan Flamand would open the scoring with a powerplay goal at 10:29 for his 10^th goal of the season to give Brandon a 1-0 lead. In the second period, the Wheat Kings would make it 2-0 through Marcus Nguyen’s 18^th of the season only 42 seconds in. That was all the scoring though that Brandon would muster as the Broncos would rattle off four goals in the period to take a 4-2 lead and add an insurance marker in the third period to defeat the Brandon Wheat Kings 5-2.

(Jan. 3) The Brandon Wheat Kings visited the Saskatoon Blades looking for their first win of 2025. In the opening period, Brandon’s Dylan Ronald would score his 2^nd of the season at 5:13 to give the Wheat Kings a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Marcus Nguyen would score his 19^th only 34 seconds in followed by Nolan Flamand’s 11^th of the season at 9:10 to extend Brandon’s lead to 3-0. The Blades would score on the powerplay and then at even strength less than a minute later to cut the lead to 3-2. In the third period, Flamand and Ronald would each get their second goals of the game and Joby Baumuller would score his 6^th of the season on the powerplay to propel the Brandon Wheat Kings to a 6-2 win over the Saskatoon Blades.

(Jan. 4) With Carson Bjarnason still away, Alex Garrett would get the start once again as the Bradon Wheat Kings visited the Prince Albert Raiders. In the opening period, Brandon would open the scoring as Prabh Bhathal scored his 1^st WHL goal at 3:03. After the Raiders tied the game, Brandon would take the 2-1 lead into the break at 19:22 through Caleb Hadland’s 14^th of the season. In the second period, both teams would strike twice with the Wheat King goals coming from Marcus Nguyen (his 20^th at 7:36) and Jaxon Jacobson (his 6^th on the PP at 11:15) to make it 4-3. The lead would last well into the closing stages of the game as Hadland would get his second of the game into an empty net to give the Wheat Kings a 5-3 win over the Prince Albert Raiders.

(Jan. 10) Carson Bjarnason made his return to the Wheat Kings net as Brandon hosted the Portland Winterhawks. In the opening period, Bjarnason was peppered with 17 shots but it was the Wheat Kings that held a 2-1 thanks to goals by Nolan Flamand (his 13^th at 13:06) and Dylan Roland (his 4^th at 16:26). In the second period, Portland would score twice to take a 3-2 lead but Jaxon Jacobson would tie the game 3-3 at 19:17 with his 7^th goal of the season. In the third period, Portland would pull away with three goals in the frame to ruin Bjarnason’s return as the Portland Winterhawks defeated the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-3. Bjarnason was tagged with the loss and allowed 6 goals on 43 shots (37 saves).

(Jan. 12) The Brandon Wheat Kings visited the Calgary Hitmen with Carson Bjarnason once again getting the start in goal. In the opening period, Calgary would open the scoring at 17:41 but Luke Shipley would score his 8^th of the season with 21 seconds remaining to escape the period tied 1-1. In the second period, the Hitmen would register 18 shots and would hit paydirt twice to take a 3-1 lead. In the third period, Shipley would score his second goal of the game on the powerplay to cut the lead to 3-2 but Calgary would score an empty-netter to seal a 4-2 victory over the Brandon Wheat Kings. Bjarnason took the loss and allowed 3 goals on 39 shots (36 saves).

https://twitter.com/TheWHL/status/1878567730015555867

Video courtesy of the WHL

Carter Sotheran #59 (D) – Portland Winterhawks (WHL)

SEASON	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	S	PIM
2024-2025	39	2	19	21	-15	105	46

(Dec. 27) The Portland Winterhawks returned from the Christmas Break to host the Tri-City Americans in the first half of a home-and-home. Tri-City would score the only goal of the opening period and add the opener of the second period to take a 2-0 lead. But Portland would storm back with Carter Sotheran registering a secondary assist on Carsyn Dyck’s 6^th of the season at 11:30 to cut the lead to 2-1. The Winterhawks would then strike through Diego Buttazzoni (his 16^th at 12:23) and Alex Weiermair (his 4^th at 17:43) to take a 3-2 lead into the intermission. In the third period, Weiermair would get his second of the game to extend Portland’s lead to 4-2. Although Tri-City would pull to within one, Hudson Darby would put the game out of reach at 16:19 with his 5^th of the season as the Portland Winterhawks defeated the Tri-City Americans 5-3. Sotheran finished the game with 1 assist, an even rating, and 3 SOG.

(Dec. 28) Playing the second half of their home-and-home set, the Portland Winterhawks traveled to face the Tri-City Americans. Reed Brown would score his 4^th of the season at 5:26 to give Portland the lead, but the Americans would tie the game 1-1 only 1:34 later. In the second period Josh Zakreski would give Portland a 2-1 lead with his 20^th of the season at 9:03, but once again Tri-City would tie the game 2-2 in short order only 1:12 later. Alex Weiermair would score his 6^th of the season at 14:03 to retake the lead for the Winterhawks, but once again Tri-City tied the game 3-3 1:11 later. Kyle Chyzowski’s 26^th of the season at 17:33 gave the Winterhawks a 4-3 lead heading into the intermission. In the third period there would be no more scoring even though Tri-City outshot Portland 15-5, giving the Winterhawks a 4-3 win over the Tri-City Americans. Carter Sotheran finished the game with no points, a +1 rating, and 1 SOG.

(Dec. 31) On New Year’s Eve, the Portland Winterhawks hosted the Everett Silvertips and underage phenom Landon DuPont. In the opening period, Everett would score four times to lead 4-1 with the Portland goal coming while shorthanded through Kyle McDonough’s 11^th of the season. In the second period DuPont would score his 10^th of the season on the PP to extend the Silvertips lead to 5-1, but Josh Zakreski’s 21^st of the season on the powerplay at 19:37 cut the lead to 5-2. In the third period, Carter Sotheran would get an assist on Diego Buttazzoni’s 17^th of the season at 16:15 to make it 5-3. Everett would not be denied though as they added two late goals to crush the Portland Winterhawks 7-3. Sotheran finished the game with 1 assist, a -1 rating, and 2 SOG.

https://twitter.com/pdxwinterhawks/status/1874296087550583036

Video courtesy of the Portland Winterhawks

(Jan. 2) The Portland Winterhawks rang in the New Year as they hosted the Spokane Chiefs. The score would be tied 0-0 after the first period of play although the Winterhawks outshot the Chiefs 16-7. In the second period, Jordan Duguay would strike twice (his 6^th and 7^th at 5:38 and 9:18) along with Joel Plante’s 1^st WHL goal at 9:44 to give Portland a 3-1 lead. In the third period, Kyle Chyzowski would score his 27^th of the season (tied for the league lead) at 6:56 and Diego Buttazzoni’s 18^th at 8:35 would count after being reviewed to give the Winterhawks a 5-1 lead. Spokane would score a powerplay goal but the Portland Winterhawks would defeat the Chiefs by a score of 5-2. Carter Sotheran finished the game with 1 assist, a +1 rating, 2 SOG, and 2 PIMs.

(Jan. 3) Playing their second game in two nights, the Portland Winterhawks visited the Tri-City Americans in what was a wild game. In the first period, the Winterhawks would lead 3-2 thanks to two powerplay goals by Diego Buttazzoni (with matching assists for Tyson Jugnauth and Kyle Chyzowski) for his 19^th and 20^th goals of the season to go along with Kayd Ruedig’s 2^nd of the season at 15:34. In the second period, all the damage was done by Tri-City as the Americans would score four times in the frame to take a 6-4 lead (although Jugnauth would score in the final minute). The lead would not hold for the Americans though as Portland would score twice to tie the game 6-6. The Winterhawks got goals from Ryan Miller (his 7^th at 16:18) and Ryder Thompson (his 5^th at 17:35) to force overtime. With no winner in extra time, the game would be decided in the shootout where the hero would be Tri-City’s Cruz Pavao as Portland’s comeback would come up short with a 7-6 shootout loss to the Tri-City Americans. Carter Sotheran finished the game with no points, a -2 rating, 2 SOG, and 2 PIMs.

(Jan. 4) The Portland Winterhawks hosted the Wenatchee Wild for their third game in three nights. Shaun Rios scored twice for the Wild to start the scoring before Portland got a powerplay goal at 19:26 by Tyson Jugnauth for his 8^th of the season to make it a 2-1 deficit. In the second period, the Winterhawks would tie the game 2-2 through Joel Plate’s 2^nd of the season at 2:49. Wenatchee though would get a penalty shot and convert to take a 3-2 lead into the third period. In the final frame, Wenatchee scored two powerplay goals and an empty-netter to seal the win for the Wild despite a Kyle McDonough shorthanded goal at 18:11 to make the scoreline a bit more palatable as the Winterhawks dropped this one 6-3. Carter Sotheran finished the game with no points, a +1 rating, 1 SOG, and 4 PIMs (two minor penalties).

(Jan. 10) The Portland Winterhawks took to the road as they visited the Brandon Wheat Kings. In the first period, Portland would strike first to take a 1-0 lead through Alex Weiermair’s 7^th goal of the season at 8:04 but would head into the break down 2-1. In the second period, the Winterhawks would allow a goal in the final minute but got goals from Ryder Thompson (his 6^th at 11:23) and Reed Brown (his 5^th at 18:37) to tie the game 3-3. In the third period, the Winterhawks would pull away with Weiermair’s second of the game, Jordan Duguay’s 8^th, and a shorthanded goal by Ryan Miller to give the Portland Winterhawks a 6-3 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings. Carter Sotheran finished the game with 1 assist, a +1 rating, and 1 SOG.

(Jan. 11) The Portland Winterhawks continued their road trip as they headed into Saskatchewan to take on the Regina Pats. In the opening period, the Pats struck first but Portland would rattle off four goals in a row. Getting things started was Ryder Thompson (his 7^th at 8:20) and Diego Buttazzoni’s powerplay goal (his 21^st at 12:11). Carter Sotheran would get into the action by assisting on Kyle Chyzowski’s 28^th goal of the season and chipping in himself with his 2^nd of the season at 18:44 to give Portland a 4-1 lead. Both sides would trade goals in the second period with Chyzowski scoring his second of the game to give the Winterhawks a 5-2 lead through forty minutes. In the third period, Buttazzoni would add his second goal of the game only 48 seconds in, and Tyson Jugnauth would score his 9^th at 4:45 to cruise to a 7-3 victory over the Regina Pats. Sotheran finished the game with 1 goal and 1 assist for 2 points, a +2 rating, and 1 SOG.

https://twitter.com/pdxwinterhawks/status/1878240922267460037

Video courtesy of the Portland Winterhawks

QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)

Spencer Gill #15 (D) – Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)

SEASON	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	S	PIM
2024-2025	35	4	18	22	+24	85	35

(Dec. 28) The Rimouski Oceanic started their post-Christmas Break schedule on the road as they faced the Drummondville Voltigeurs. All the scoring would take place in the third period of this game as the game was tied 0-0 with the shots 21-20 in favor of the Oceanic after forty minutes. In the third period, the deadlock was broken by Drummondville at 4:56 but Rimouski would tie the game 1-1 at 7:51 through Jonathan Fauchon’s 26^th of the season. It was not to be for the Oceanic though as the Voltigeurs would score two goals in the final six-minutes to give Drummondville a 3-1 win over Rimouski. Spencer Gill finished the game with no points, a -2 rating, 4 SOG, and 2 PIMs.

(Dec. 29) The road trip continued for the Rimouski Oceanic as they visited the Shawinigan Cataracts. The first half of the contest was all Shawinigan on the scoreboard as the Cataracts took a 5-0 lead by 10:58 of the second period. Mael St-Denis would score his 7^th of the season at 11:16 to put Rimouski on the board, but Shawinigan would score three more goals in the frame to take a commanding 8-1 lead. In the third period, Jonathan Fauchon would tally his 27^th goal of the season but the Cataracts would score two powerplay goals to thoroughly trounce the Rimouski Oceanic 10-2. Spencer Gill finished the game with 1 assist, a -2 rating, and 1 SOG.

(Dec. 31) The Rimouski Oceanic returned home for their final contest of 2024 as they hosted the Drummondville Voltigeurs. In the first period, Jonathan Fauchon would stay hot with a goal and an assist (his 28^th of the season at 4:43) as the Oceanic would take a 2-1 lead after twenty minutes. Also of note was that Spencer Gill assisted on both Rimouski goals in the period. In the second period, both sides traded goals with Mathys Dube scoring his 5^th of the season for the Oceanic to make it a 3-2 game. In the final frame, Drummondville would score only 6 seconds in on the powerplay but Rimouski would get goals from Maxime Coursol (his 13^th at 1:11) and an empty-netter from Jacob Mathieu (his 22^nd) to give the Oceanic a 5-3 win over the Voltigeurs. Gill finished the game with 2 assists, a +3 rating, and 1 SOG.

(Jan. 3) The Rimouski Oceanic rang in 2025 on the road with a visit to Victoriaville to play the Tigres. The Oceanic would take a 3-0 lead in the opening period with goals by Jacob Mathieu (his 23^rd shorthanded at 6:14), Lou Levesque (his 7^th at 9:55), and Dominic Pilote (his 8^th at 10:10). In the second period, Spencer Gill scored his 4^th goal of the season at 7:34 to give the Oceanic a 4-0 lead. Mathieu would then complete the hat-trick and Alexandre Blais would score his 12^th of the season with 14 seconds remaining to give Rimouski a commanding 7-0 lead. In the third period, Jonathan Fauchon scored his 29^th along with goals by Luke Coughlin and Blais’ second of the game to propel Rimouski to a dominating 10-1 thrashing of the Victoriaville Tigres. Gill finished the game with 1 goal, a +5 rating, and 3 SOG.

(Jan. 5) The Rimouski Oceanic were back in action as they hosted the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The first period was scoreless as the Oceanic doubled up the Huskies 12-6 in shots. In the second period, Rouyn-Noranda would score the only goal as they outshot Rimouski 18-13 to lead 1-0. In the third period, goals by Alexandre Blais (his 14^th at 4:19), Mathys Dube (his 6^th and 7^th at 4:31 and 9:55), and Jacob Mathieu (his 26^th at 19:01) led the way in a goal-filled period that saw the Rimouski Oceanic tie the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 4-4 in regulation. After overtime solved nothing, the Huskies would outscore the Oceanic 2-1 in the shootout to get the 5-5 shootout victory. Spencer Gill finished the game with no points, a -1 rating, 2 SOG, and 2 PIMs.

(Jan. 10) The Rimouski Oceanic were back in action as they hosted the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. In the first period, the Oceanic would jump out to a 2-0 lead through Luke Coughlin’s 3^rd of the season at 3:29 and Lou Levesque’s 8th of the season (assisted by Spencer Gill) at 4:23. Rimouski would allow a goal with 1 second remaining in the period to head to the locker room up 2-1. The Armada would tie the game 2-2 at 7:28 of the second period, but the Oceanic would retake the 3-2 lead through Mael St-Denis’ 8^th goal of the season at 9:41. In the third period, Jacob Mathieu would add an empty-netter for his 27^th of the season as the Rimouski Oceanic defeated the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 4-2. Gill finished the game with 1 assist, an even rating, and 2 SOG.

(Jan. 11) The Rimouski Oceanic were back in action as they visited the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. In the first period, Rimouski would score at both even strength (Alexandre Blais’ 15^th at 2:18) and the powerplay (Jacob Mathieu’s 28^th at 18:17) to take a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Lou Levesque would give Rimouski the 3-0 lead at 1:08 with his 9^th goal of the season. The Titan would strike back at 18:17 to make it 3-1, but Jonathan Fauchon’s 30^th of the season 45 seconds later would make it a 4-1 game. In the third period, Acadie-Bathurst would make it 4-2 but late goals by Mael St-Denis into an empty net and Thomas Belzil’s 1^st of the season would give the Oceanic an impressive 6-2 win over the Titan. Spencer Gill finished the game with no points, a +1 rating, 3 SOG, and 2 PIMs.

OHL (Ontario Hockey League)

Oliver Bonk #59 (D) – London Knights (OHL)

SEASON	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	S	PIM
2023-2024	26	6	17	23	+17	104	14

Denver Barkey #86 (RW) – London Knights (OHL)

SEASON	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	S	PIM
2023-2024	32	13	39	52	+29	83	16

(Dec. 29) The London Knights visited the Flint Firebirds for their first game after the Christmas Break. The game was scoreless after twenty minutes with Flint outshooting London 12-9. In the second period, Noah Aboflan scored his 3^rd of the season at 4:16 to put the Knights up 1-0. In the third period, London would get goals from Andoni Fimis (his 1^st at 4:07), Henry Brzustewicz (his 6^th at 11:32), and PJ Fagan II (his 2^nd at 12:05) to take a commanding 4-0 lead. The Firebirds would break the shutout late, but the win would go to the London Knights by a score of 4-1. Denver Barkey finished the game with no points, a +1 rating, 4 SOG, and was 1/1 on faceoffs.

(Dec. 31) On New Year’s Eve, the London Knights hosted the Sarnia Sting for their first game of a home-and-home set. I the first period, London would go up 4-1 with goals two goals from Landon Sim (his 11^th and 12^th at 6:00 and 7:06), Rene Van Bommel (his 3^rd at 10:35), and Blake Montgomery (his 11^th at 12:40), In the second period, the Knights would concede a shorthanded goal but would end up scoring another four in the period to take an 8-3 lead. Of note in this period were that Sim would get the hat-trick, Montgomery would score his second of the game, and that Denver Barkey got his 4^th assist of the game. In the third period, London would add another to make it 9-3 as Sam O’Reilly scored his 14^th of the season off a nice feed from Barkey as the London Knights ended 2024 with a 9-3 victory over the Sarnia Sting. Barkey finished the game with 5 assists, a +2 rating, 4 SOG, and was 2/2 on faceoffs. Barkey was named the Second Star of the game.

https://twitter.com/LondonKnights/status/1874203934971343159