With just about all of the prospects returned from any and all holiday breaks, so too is the prospect report. We’re right back at it to catch up on all of the action from the first week and change of the new year, and there’s a good bit, so let’s get right into it.
The News of the Week
First up, we have a bit more substantial news than we’re used to having around the midway point of the season, which is fun. The biggest piece is that Noah Powell, who had spent the first half of the season with Ohio State in the Big-Ten is packing up and moving over to Oshawa of the OHL. And it’s a move that makes some sense — Ohio State isn’t exactly one of the powerhouse programs of college hockey, and while he’s been improving of late (more on that later), Powell has really seemed to struggle with the jump from the USHL to one of college hockey’s most difficult conferences. Moving to the OHL, where he has an age and physical development advantage over many of the players, should help to rebuild his confidence some and get him going again, laying the foundation for development to begin moving in the right direction again.
Also notable is the bit of non-movement we saw this week. That is, the OHL’s trade deadline came and went yesterday, and Jett Luchanko was not traded away from the Guelph Storm. There was some expectation that this might happen — the top teams often poach the top players on struggling teams to further bolster their lineups for their Memorial Cup runs in these insane looking trade proposals, but Guelph didn’t let him go if there were any such offers for him. He’s performing well on this team though, and he’ll be sticking around for the foreseeable future.
And finally, the AHL All Star Classic selections were announced this week, and Olle Lycksell was the pick from the Phantoms. We’ll see if he’s actually back down in the AHL next month to be available for it, but it’s a nice nod all the same.
Three Stars
Denver Barkey
Barkey, since being left off the World Junior roster for another year, has been on an absolute tear back in London, certainly doing his best to make them regret their decision. Even without quite so much support around him for the time being, he’s been getting it done. Over his last two games, he’s put up a whopping six points (a tidy three goals and three assists). He’s certainly looking like he’s found yet another gear to his game, and he’s not showing any signs of slowing down any time soon. If he can keep this rolling as London continues to get their players back from World Juniors and back in the lineup again, that will be a huge boost for them, that’s for certain, but most of all, it’s nice to see Barkey stepping up when he’s been needed, and avoiding taking a step back due to any bad feelings.
Jett Luchanko
And back to Luchanko, he’s certainly had, shall we say, a high-event week. Since World Juniors wrapped up, he’s gotten back in for two games back with Guelph, and while he was held off the board entirely in that first game back against Kitchener, he put up two goals and an assist in the following game against Erie to make a real statement of his return. He also, in that same game, got himself ejected with 11 seconds remaining for cross checking, a play which also earned him a two game suspension. So he’ll be out of action for the next little bit here, but it’s hard to deny that he certainly found a way to make his presence known, and truthfully had himself the most Flyers feeling game, in spirit, that he possibly could have.
Alexis Gendron
And then back in the AHL, Alexis Gendron is getting going nicely again for the Phantoms. He hasn’t bee playing poorly recently, in fact he’s been doing a commendable job of making sure he’s finding ways to stay involved with play when he’s not scoring, when the bounces aren’t going his way, as they hadn’t been for a little while there. But this week saw his luck turning back in his favor again, and he’s put up two goals over his last three games. This has allowed him to pull himself all the way up into the second position in goal scoring on the team, with a total of 10 goals on the year so far. He’s given the team a real boost, between the scoring he contributes and the jump he gives them with his speed, and he’s quickly becoming one of the key pieces in making this offense click.
Honorable Mentions
Sticking with the Phantoms for a little while longer, we’ll note that they’ve been getting some really nice production from a good portion of the prospect group, of late. As we spoke about earlier this week, they haven’t had everyone going at the same time, but when one or a few players go quiet, others have been doing well to step up in their stead. This week, Elliot Desnoyers was the most impactful in this regard — putting up a goal and assisting on two more across his three games played.
Elsewhere in the lineup, though, JR Avon has continued to have his game trending in the right direction, his production picking up, and he chipped in a goal and an assist, a total which Helge Grans also matched, as he’s made sure to continue to contribute some offense from the back end.
Then over in the NCAA, Powell played what would be his final week in the league, and he finished off on a high note, no doubt about it. He played a pair of games on the week, and while one saw him held off the scoresheet, he did manage to pick up a goal and an assist in the other game, contributing nicely to Ohio State’s huge win over Michigan.
And then over in Kalamazoo, Alex Bump is kicking off a strong start to the new calendar year. He’s put up three assists over his last two games played, helping to inch him back closer to that point per game scoring pace — he’s up to 15 over his first 18 games played.