The Flyers Junior Hockey Prospect Report (Jan. 14

Welcome to the 7^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 Tuesday January 14^th – Friday January 31^st.

WHL (Western Hockey League)

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

SEASON	GP	W	L	OTL	SO	SH	SAV	GAA	SAV%
2024-2025	23	10	11	2	1	758	688	3.08	.908

(Jan. 15) The Brandon Wheat Kings huge road trip continued as they visited the Victoria Royals with Carson Bjarnason backing up Ethan Eskit. In the opening period, the game would stay scoreless with Brandon outshooting Victoria 12-10. In the second period, both sides would trade goals with the Wheat Kings goals coming from Joby Baumuller (his 7^th at 6:19) and Jordan Gavin (his 15^th at 16:58) to make it a 2-2 game. In the third period, the Royals would take a 4-2 led through two even strength goals but the Wheat Kings would roar back with goals from Marcus Nguyen (his 21^st), Luke Shipley (his 10^th), and a powerplay goal by Jaxon Jacobson (his 8^th) to give Brandon a 5-4 win over Victoria.

(Jan. 17) The Brandon Wheat Kings visited the Everett Silvertips with Carson Bjarnason getting the start in goal. There was no scoring in the opening period as the Silvertips outshot the Wheat Kings 8-6. In the second period, Quinn Mantei’s 3^rd of the season on the powerplay would give Brandon a 1-0 lead at 5:48. Everett would tie the game 25 seconds later, but the Wheat Kings would take a 2-1 lead thanks to Matteo Michels 14^th at 18:05. In the third period, Carter Bear would tie the game 2-2 but Mantei would score his second of the game at 7:41 to restore Brandon’s 3-2 advantage. However, Everett would score twice and add an empty net goal to hand the Brandon Wheat Kings a 5-3 defeat. Bjarnason took the loss and surrendered 4 goals on 36 shots (32 saves).

(Jan. 19) Playing their fourth of seven straight on the road, the Brandon Wheat Kings visited the Vancouver Giants with Carson Bjarnason getting the start in goal. In the first period, the Giants jumped out to a 2-0 lead including a goal in the final second of play. In the second period, the Wheat Kings would get back into the game with a powerplay goal by Marcus Nguyen (his 22^nd at 5:19) to make it a 2-1 deficit. In the third period, Brandon would outshoot Vancouver 11-3 but the Giants would get the insurance goal to hand the Wheat Kings a 3-1 defeat. Bjarnason allowed 3 goals on 20 shots (17 saves) in the loss.

(Jan. 21) Ethan Eskit would get the start over Carson Bjarnason as the Brandon Wheat Kings visited the Kelowna Rockets. Nolan Flammand would open the scoring with his 14^th of the season at 3:55 to give Brandon a 1-0 lead. In the second period, the Wheat Kings would get goals from Dominik Petr (his 9^th on the PP), Caleb Hadland (his 16^th), Flammand’s second goal of the game on the powerplay, and Matteo Michels (his 15^th) to open up a 6-1 lead. In the third period, Luke Shipley added his 12^th of the season at 13:33 to counteract two late Rockets goals as the Brandon Wheat Kings won this game decisively by a score of 7-3.

(Jan. 22) The Brandon Wheat Kings visited the Kamloops Blazers on the penultimate game of their road trip with Carson Bjarnason getting the start in goal. In the opening frame, the Blazers would take a 2-1 lead with the Wheat Kings goal coming by way of Carter Klippenstein’s 7^th of the season at 8:51. In the second period, Brandon would give Bjarnason some serious goal support as Brady Turko (his 6^th and 7^th), Quinn Matei (his 5^th), and Nolan Flammand (his 16^th on the PP) would open up a 5-2 lead through forty minutes. In the third period Kamloops would cut the lead to two, but an empty net goal by Caleb Hadland sealed the victory for the Brandon Wheat Kings over the Kamloops Blazers 6-3. Bjarnason was credited with the win and allowed 3 goals on 34 shots (31 saves). Bjarnason was named the Third Star of the game.

(Jan. 24) Carson Bjarnason would get the start once again as the Brandon Wheat Kings finished their massive road trip with a game at the Prince George Cougars. In the opening period, Brandon would outshoot Prince George 13-5 but neither side would get on the scoreboard. In the second period, Jaxon Jacobson would open the scoring with his 9^th of the season on the powerplay at 12:46 to give the Wheat Kings a 1-0 lead. The lead would last until the third period as the Cougars would tie the game 1-1 with a powerplay goal of their own at 3:23. The Wheat Kings would retake the 2-1 lead through Carter Klippenstein’s 8^th of the season at 4:08, but the Cougars would score twice in the following 3:45 to hand Brandon a 3-2 defeat. Bjarnason would take the loss and he allowed 3 goals on 24 shots (21 saves).

(Jan. 29) The Brandon Wheat Kings returned home as they hosted the visiting Red Deer Rebels with Carson Bjarnason between the pipes. In the first period, the Rebels had a 13-9 shots advantage and would strike first although the period would end 2-2. Brandon would get goals from Luke Shipley (his 13^th at 3:48) and Jaxon Jacobson (his 10^th at 18:08). In the second period, the Wheat Kings would take a 3-2 lead through Quinn Mantei’s 6^th of the season at 7:52. Brandon would not look back at they outshot Red Deer 29-18 for the remainder of the game and went up 5-2 through forty minutes with goals by Jordan Gavin (his 16^th at 16:47 o the PP) and Marcus Nguyen (his 23^rd at 17:53). Brandon would cruise to victory over Red Deer in the third period with insurance goals by Nicholas Johnson (his 9^th) on the PP only 35 seconds in, and Carter Klippenstein’s 9^th at 5:00 to take this game handily by a score of 7-2. Bjarnason added the win to his stats and allowed 2 goals on 31 shots (29 saves).

(Jan. 31) The Brandon Wheat Kings finished off January with a road game versus the Moose Jaw Warriors with Carson Bjarnason backing up Ethan Eskit. The first period was a wild one that saw Brandon outshoot Moose Jaw 14-8 but exited the period trailing 3-2. The Wheat Kings surrendered the first goal but got contributions from Matteo Michels (his 16^th at 8:08) and Luke Shipley (his 14^th at 17:35). The second period would be scoreless, but the Wheat Kings would tie the game 3-3 with a goal by Carter Klippenstein (his 10^th at 3:21). Overtime would solve nothing and in the shootout, Luke Moroz was the hero for the Warriors as Moose Jaw defeated Brandon 4-3 in a shootout.

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

SEASON	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	S	PIM
2024-2025	45	3	22	25	-15	115	55

(Jan. 14) The Portland Winterhawks visited Saskatchewan as they visited the Prince Albert Raiders. In the opening period, the Raiders took a 2-0 lead with goals on the powerplay and at even strength despite being outshot 14-7. In a seesaw second period, Portland would tie the game 2-2 with goals from Josh Zakreski (his 22^nd at 1:01) and Tyson Jugnauth (his 10^th at 7:48) but Prince Albert would strike twice to take a 4-2 lead. Kyle Chyzowski’s 30^th of the season on the powerplay at 16:22 would cut the lead to one, but the Raiders would score their third of the period to take a 5-3 lead after forty minutes. In the third, Zakreski would score his second of the game at 2:17 but the Winterhawks could not tie it as they dropped a 5-4 decision to the Prince Albert Raiders. Carter Sotheran finished the game with no points, a -3 rating, and 2 SOG.

(Jan. 15) Continuing their tour of Saskatchewan, the Portland Winterhawks visited the Saskatoon Blades. In the first period, Josh Zakreski would score his 24^th of the season only 43 seconds in to give Portland a 1-0 lead. Carter Sotheran would pick up a secondary assist on the opening goal. The lead would not last though as the Blades responded right away and added a powerplay goal to take a 2-1 lead into the intermission. In the second period, Saskatoon would score the only goal of the period on the powerplay despite being outshot 18-9 to take a 3-1 lead. In the third period, Portland would continue to pepper shots on the Blades goal and would get rewarded as Tyson Jugnauth (his 11^th at 15:27) and Ryan Miller (his 9^th at 17:18) would tie the game 3-3 and force extra hockey. With no overtime heroics, the game was decided in a shootout as both Jugnauth and Chyzowski would score for Portland to give the Winterhawks a 4-3 shootout victory over the Saskatoon Blades. Sotheran finished the game with 1 assist, an even rating, and 2 SOG.

(Jan. 17) The Portland Winterhawks continued their Saskatchewan road trip as they visited the Moose Jaw Warriors. The Warriors would strike first, but Carter Sotheran scored his 3^rd of the season at 12:27 after skating the puck into the slot and firing a wrist shot home to tie the game 1-1. Portland would take a 2-1 lead as Kayd Ruedig would score his 3^rd of the season at 17:09. In the second period, Moose Jaw would tie the game 2-2 but Alex Weiermair (his 9^th) and Kyle McDonough (his 13^th) scored less than a minute apart to make it a 4-2 lead for the Winterhawks. In the third period, Hudson Darby would score his 6^th of the season at 6:12 as the Winterhawks would defeat the Moose Jaw Warriors 5-2. Sotheran finished the game with 1 goal, a +1 rating, 3 SOG, and 2 PIMs.

Ah, yeah…there was no stopping that one 🎯 pic.twitter.com/FSTSPf5mRY
— Portland Winterhawks (@pdxwinterhawks) January 18, 2025

Video courtesy of the Portland Winterhawks

(Jan. 18) Finishing up their Saskatchewan trip, the Portland Winterhawks visited the Swift Current Broncos before heading back home. The Winterhawks must have been in desperate need of some home cooking as Swift Current outshot Portland 14-5 and scored three goals. The second period was not any better as the Broncos would score twice at even strength and twice with the man advantage to go up 7-0. Portland would finally get on the board in the third period through Josh Zakreski’s 25^th of the season on the powerplay, but the Broncos would add another three in the final frame to completely trounce the Winterhawks 10-1. Carter Sotheran finished the game with no points, a -3 rating, no SOG, and was assessed a 10 minute misconduct.

(Jan. 24) The Portland Winterhawks returned home to celebrate Pride Night as they welcomed the visiting Tri-City Americans to the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. In the first period, Diego Buttazzoni would score a powerplay goal (his 23^rd at 9:02) and Josh Zakreski would tally at even strength (his 26^th at 16:35) to give Portland a 2-1 advantage. In the second period, Tri-City would tie the game 2-2 but Tyson Jugnauth would score his 12^th of the season on the powerplay with only six seconds remaining to give the Winterhawks a 3-2 lead. In the third period, Alex Weiermair would give Portland some insurance with his 10^th of the season only 1:37 in to make it a 4-2 game. The Americans would cut the lead to 4-3, but Carsyn Dyck would restore the two-goal lead with his 7^th of the season at 9:54. Tri-City would cut the lead again, but Portland’s Zakreski would score his second of the night into an empty net as the Winterhawks defeated the Americans 6-4. Carter Sotheran finished the game with 1 assist, a +1 rating, 2 SOG, and 7 PIMs (an Interference minor and a Fighting major).

(Jan. 25) The Portland Winterhawks took to the road once again as they visited the Wenatchee Wild. In the first period, the Wild would strike first but Diego Buttazzoni’s 24^th of the season on the powerplay at 11:14 would tie the game 1-1. In the second period, Wenatchee would score a powerplay goal of their own to take the lead but Ryan Miller (his 10^th at 12:48) and Alex Weiermair (his 11^th on the powerplay at 16:21) would give the Winterhawks a 3-2 lead. In the third period, a pair of powerplay goals by Buttazzoni (his second of the game) and Kyle Chyzowski (his 31^st at 17:43) would seal a 5-2 victory for Portland over the Wenatchee Wild. Carter Sotheran finished the game with no points, an even rating, and 3 SOG.

(Jan. 31) The Portland Winterhawks closed the month of January by hosting the Medicine Hat Tigers. 2026 top prospect Gavin McKenna would nab a pair of assists in the opening period as the Tigers would jump out to a 3-0 lead. In the second period, Medicine Hat would make it 4-0 but Josh Zakreski would score his 28^th of the season to make it 4-1 at 18:04. In the third period, McKenna would add a goal to his stat sheet as the Tigers would score another three straight goals to make it 7-1. Carter Sotheran would get an assist on a late consolation goal on Zakreski’s second of the game, but Portland would get crushed by Medicine Hat by a score of 7-2. Sotheran finished the game with 1 assist, a +1 rating, and 0 SOG.

QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)

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

SEASON	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	S	PIM
2024-2025	43	5	23	28	+28	102	41

(Jan. 15) The Rimouski Oceanic began a mini home stretch by playing the visiting Halifax Mooseheads. Jacob Mathieu would open the scoring for Rimouski with his 29^th of the season at 3:54 to give the Oceanic a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Halifax would score at even strength and on the powerplay to take a 2-1 lead, but Maxime Coursol scored his 14^th of the season at 16:52 to tie things up 2-2. There was no scoring in the third period and the Oceanic would feel disappointed that they could not find a winner as they outshot Halifax 41-25 in the game. In overtime, Rimouski would rue their missed opportunities as the Mooseheads would score the winner through Braeden MacPhee as Halifax would defeat Rimouski 3-2 in overtime. Spencer Gill finished the game with no points, an even rating, and 4 SOG.

(Jan. 17) The homestand continued for the Rimouski Oceanic as they welcomed the visiting Shawinigan Cataractes to the Sun Life Financial Coliseum. No goals were scored in the opening period although the Oceanic would outshoot the Cataractes 14-12. In the second period, Shawinigan would open the scoring at 13:18 but Mael St-Denis would tie the game 1-1 with his 10^th goal of the season at 19:10. In the third period, Eriks Mateiko scored his 15^th of the season at 3:10 and Mathieu Cataford added his 12^th of the season to provide some insurance as the Rimouski Oceanic defeated the Shawinigan Cataractes 3-1. Spencer Gill finished the game with no points, an even rating, and 3 SOG.

(Jan. 19) In their final home game of the mini homestand, the Rimouski Oceanic hosted the Cape Breton Eagles. In the first period, the Eagles would score twice on seven shots on either end of Mathieu Cataford’s 13^th of the season to put the Oceanic down 2-1 after twenty minutes. In the second period, Cape Breton would make it 3-1 only 35 seconds in to take a 3-1 lead before Mael St-Denis scored his 11^th and 12^th goals on the powerplay to tie the game 3-3. After the Eagles would take the lead once again, Rimouski would tie the game 4-4 with Jacob Mathieu’s 30^th goal of the season. In the third period, the Eagles once again scored early (37 seconds in) and the Oceanic again tied the game 5-5 through Mael St-Denis’ hat-trick goal to force overtime. After an unreal eight shots on goal in overtime for the Oceanic, the game remained scoreless and went to a shootout where Rimouski would score twice to take a hard fought 6-5 overtime win over the Cape Breton Eagles. Spencer Gill finished the game with 2 assists, an even rating, 0 SOG, and 2 PIMs.

(Jan. 24) The Rimouski Oceanic hit the road for three consecutive games over the weekend starting with a visit to Saint John to play the Sea Dogs. In the opening period, the Sea Dogs opened the scoring but Jacob Mathieu tied the game 1-1 with his 31^st goal of the season at 6:17. Saint John would take a 2-1 lead but Mael St-Denis continued to be red hot as he scored his 14^th of the season at 15:56 followed by Eriks Mateiko;s 16^th goal 44 seconds later to make it 3-2. In the second period, St-Denis would score his second of the game on the powerplay at 2:34 and Jonathan Fauchon’s notched his 31^st of the season at 12:21 to make it 5-2. St-Denis would get his hat-trick with a powerplay goal at 13:16 of the third period; and although Saint John would get a goal back, Mateiko would notch his second into an empty net as the Oceanic crushed the Sea Dogs 7-3. Spencer Gill finished the game with no points, a +2 rating, and 1 SOG.

(Jan. 25) The Rimouski Oceanic continued their condensed road trip in Atlantic Canada as they visited the Moncton Wildcats. In the first period, Mael St-Denis and Eriks Mateiko continued to stay hot as they scored their 17^th and 18^th goals of the season just over two minutes apart to give Rimouski a 2-0 lead. Moncton would claw their way back with a powerplay goal at 17:09 to make it 2-1 after twenty minutes. In the second period, the Wildcats would tie the game 2-2 with an even strength goal but Jonathan Fauchon scored his 32^nd of the season at 15:52 and St-Denis’ scored his second of the game (assisted by Spencer Gill) to make it a 4-2 game. In the third period, Mateiko would score his second of the game to make it 5-2 at 13:31. The Wildcats would score a consolation goal in the final minute but the Oceanic would defeat the Wildcats by a score of 5-3. Gill finished the game with 2 assists, a +2 rating, 3 SOG, and 2 PIMs.

(Jan. 26) In their third game in three nights, the Rimouski Oceanic visited the Charlottetown Islanders to close out their road trip. The Islanders would get on the board first with a shorthanded goal to take the 1-0 lead. In the second period, Rimouski would storm back with two goals in 3:34 courtesy of Jonathan Fauchon (his 33^rd at 0:29) and Alexandre Blais (his 16^th at 3:34) to give Rimouski a 2-1 lead. Charlottetown would rattle off three straight goals including two on the powerplay to take a 4-2 lead before Blais would score his second of the game on the powerplay to make it a 4-3 deficit. In the third period, the Islanders would hold on and add two empty net goals to hand the Oceanic a 6-3 loss. Spencer Gill finished the game with 1 assist, a -2 rating, and 3 SOG.

(Jan. 30) The Rimouski Oceanic began a three-game homestand with a visit from the Victoriaville Tigres. In the first period the Tigres would open the scoring with a powerplay goal with Spencer Gill in the box, but the Oceanic would tie the game 1-1 through Alexandre Blais’ 18^th of the season. In the second period the Oceanic generated 21 shots but only came away with only one goal as Jonathan Fauchon scored his 34^th of the season to make it 2-1. Mathys Dube’s 8^th of the season at 11:30 of the third period was the insurance marker that Rimouski needed, and they added an empty net goal for Fauchon’s second of the game as the Oceanic defeated the Tigres 4-1. Gill finished the game with no points, a +1 rating, 1 SOG, and 2PIMs.

(Jan. 31) Continuing on at home, the Rimouski Oceanic played against the visiting Sherbrooke Phoenix. In the opening frame, Maxime Coursol would open the scoring with his 15^th of the season at 12:31 but Sherbrooke would tie the game up 1-1. In the second period, Spencer Gill scored his 5^th of the season at 1:33 to give the Oceanic a 2-1 lead. Jonathan Fauchon would make it 3-1 at 10:51 to extend the lead to 3-1 before the Phoenix would get back to within one at 17:00. Neither side would score in the final stanza as the Sherbrooke Phoenix were defeated 3-2 by the Rimouski Oceanic. Gill finished the game with 1 goal, a +1 rating, and 2 SOG.

OHL (Ontario Hockey League)

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

SEASON	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	S	PIM
2023-2024	33	8	20	28	+21	127	20

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

SEASON	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	S	PIM
2023-2024	38	17	43	60	+32	100	20

(Jan. 17) The London Knights hosted the Guelph Storm as Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk battled against fellow Flyers prospect Jett Luchanko. In the first period, Kasper Halttunen would score his 3^rd of the season at 16:55 to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. In the second period, goals by Jared Wooley (his 5^th), Sam Dickenson (his 17^th), and Landon Sim (his 15^th) would open up a 4-0 lead for London. Barkey would add to Guelph’s misery as he took advantage of a sloppy Luchanko turnover at his own blueline and scored a shorthanded goal on a breakaway for his 14^th of the season to make it 5-0. In the third period, Sim would score his second of the game and Aleksei Medvedev would stop all 32 shots he faced as the London Knights shutout the Guelph Storm 6-0. Bonk finished the game with no points, a +1 rating, and 3 SOG. Barkey ended the game with 1 goal, a +2 rating, 2 SOG, and was 1/3 on faceoffs.

Denver Barkey shorthanded goals are cinema@NHLFlyers | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/SiXBbFF9aK
— London Knights (@LondonKnights) January 18, 2025