As the calendar switches to September, it’s time for my annual trip to Traverse City for the NHL Prospects Tournament held at Centre Ice Arena.
First, some background on the tournament.
Now in its 20th year, the competition brings eight teams of NHL prospects together to compete for the Matthew Weust Memorial Trophy. The teams are split into two divisions (named after Red Wings legends Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay) with each team playing the other teams in their division round-robin style over three days; and on the final day, each team faces off against the team that finished in the same place in the other division (4v4, 3v3 etc.).
This year, the Jackets, in what I believe is their 17th trip to Traverse, will be in the Gordie Howe Division facing off against the St. Louis Blues, Carolina Hurricanes and the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks. The Ted Lindsay Division will consist of the Detroit Red Wings, Dallas Stars, New York Rangers and the Minnesota Wild.
As for the Jackets' roster, all I can say is if there is a way to watch the games (the Blues will be streaming games through FSGO but not clear on if every game or just Blues games)...print off a roster, because you’ll need it. The Jackets are bringing only five draft picks and five players signed as free agents, meaning the rest of the roster is made up of free agent invites. This year’s Columbus squad may not be a preview of talent already within the system, but it will be a look at guys are looking to make an impact and possibly earn a pro contract.
Starting with the group of forwards, up front is where the majority of the team’s prospects are. There is a little elephant in the room in terms of one player who will not participate. Still recovering from offseason wrist surgery, top prospect Vitalii Abramov will not be with the team in Traverse City; however, 2018 draft picks Liam Foudy and Trey Fix-Wolansky will make their Blue Jackets debuts. Foudy is probably locked into somewhere in the top six where Fix-Wolansky appears to be a guy that can play anywhere in the lineup. Maxime Fortier will also be making his Blue Jackets debut after missing development camp with an injury.
With Jonathan Davidsson on the roster, it means he will be making his North American debut this season. This is a player we’ve heard mention of from the team’s front office and one you can be sure will be aiming to make the big club; should he not, it’s likely he’ll head back to Sweden to play another season with Djurgarden IF. Kevin Stenlund will be playing his first full North American season after getting a cup of coffee with the Monsters last year where he played in seven games. Kole Sherwood is the most experienced Jackets prospect going to Traverse for the fourth year. In 12 games in Traverse, he’s picked up five points (2-3-5). Sam Vigneault also returns to Traverse after serving as an assistant captain last year and he could wear a letter again in 2018.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see Fortier with a letter on his jersey. Rounding out the forward group, Eric Robinson joins Gabriel Carlsson in the “made his NHL debut before playing in Traverse City” club.
As for the invites, Samuel Asselin and Billy Moskal were invited to development camp and are back to try and impress. Asselin was a member of the Memorial Cup Champion Acadie-Bathurst Titan last season. Moskal, who surprised people by not being drafted, is currently a teammate of Foudy’s in London. Lucas Chiodo is a 5-foot-6 winger who is three points away from moving into the top-20 in Barrie Colts scoring history. He led the Colts in assists last year while wearing an "A." Samuel Dove-McFall has been just over a point per game the last two seasons and was won the QMJHL’s version of the Selke Trophy the Guy Carbonneau Trophy last season. He's off to play for the mighty Varsity Reds of the University of New Brunswick this fall. Yegor Sokolov is a big Russian winger who was second in team scoring on the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, and he has also played with the Russian U18 team.
On defense the only draft pick is 6-foot-5 Ryan Collins, who collected 10 assists in 57 games in Cleveland. Last year in Traverse City, Collins paired with Carlsson on the top pair for most games.
As for the invites joining the team, Garrett Cockerill is an offensive defenseman who put up 15 points in 13 games before leaving Northeastern in late December. Cockerill has shown to score consistently – he put up six points in eight games in the ECHL before joining the Monsters.
Sam Dunn is an Ontario-born player playing in the QMJHL with the Quebec Remparts where he put up 32 points in 66 games. Caleb Everett is a defenseman who plays just down the highway in Saginaw with the Spirit. Last season, he had 20 points in 58 games. William Lochead appears to be the brawn of the team as he collected only 23 points in 156 OHL games while collecting 221 penalty minutes and is off to join the Western Ontario University Broncos in the fall. Michael Prapavessis spent last year as the captain at RPI collecting 19 assists in 37 games for the Engineers; he finished the year with the Cincinnati Cyclones collecting two assists in 11 games.
Keoni Texeira was a teammate of Oliver Bjorkstrand and Paul Bittner in Portland during his first three years in the WHL and was the Winterhawks’ captain last year. Justin Wade has been invited to development camp the last two years and was a teammate of Andrew Peeke at Notre Dame. Wade could also provide some brawn like Lochead. In his NCAA career, Wade had 114 penalty minutes in 117 games. The Jackets defense is a pretty big group with everyone over six feet tall.
In goal, the Jackets are again bringing Matiss Kivlenieks to Traverse City. Last year, he earned a 7-2 win over Dallas, and in his first professional season last year in Cleveland he collected 14 wins. The team’s other goalie will be another London Knight in Joseph Raaymakers. After being acquired by London, Raaymakers set career highs in every statistical category including 29 wins and three shutouts in 46 games played. Raaymakers played in one game for the Cyclones last year after London’s OHL season ended.
There you have it, folks – a quick look at the team the Jackets are bringing to Traverse City. With all the invites in attendance, the lines will be interesting. As usual I’ll be reporting live during practices and games (WiFi permitting...please be better).
