It’s a brand new season, but the same old prospect report. Teams and players are slowly getting back into action, and we’re gong to take some time to check in with those who got the early start.
The news of the week
It’s been a quiet week in terms of news, all things considered. But with the Flyers off today, we can expect the first round of cuts from training camp to be made tomorrow, and some prospects to be announced as heading back to Juniors. We’ll touch on that next week though.
What’s up with the Phantoms?
Nothing yet. We’re due for one more quiet week for those guys, before they kick off their own training camp on Sunday. We’ll enjoy it while we can.
The prospect world tour
Most of the action we’ve seen already, through these early goings, is happening abroad. We’ll kick things off over in Russia, where Ilya Pautov has seemed to have been able to keep the nice bit of momentum he built up through his exhibition showings and keep that rolling right into the start of his regular season with Krasnaya Armiya Moskva of the MHL. In his first seven games, he’s managed to put up two goals and six assists.
And then up in the KHL, Yegor Zavragin has made his debut with Sochi, and things are off to a pretty good start for him. He’s played in three games so far, and while he been stuck with losses in two of those, his individual efforts have been good — he stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced in his debut, then we 37/40 in his second game (his first KHL win, also), and then 12/14 after he was sent in in relief in his third game. He’s still adjusting after making a big jump up, but the initial returns have been pretty solid.
Over in Sweden, Jack Berglund’s season has begun, and despite him getting a short stint up in the SHL last season, he’s beginning this one down with Färjestad’s J20 Nationell team. It seems to be all for the best so far though, as he’s been able to really hit the ground running, putting up four goals and an assist in his first three games played. We’ll see how long it is before he gets another sniff at a promotion, but he’s certainly making the case for one right out the gate.
And then back on US soil, while we’re waiting for things to get going in all of the NHL, AHL, and NCAA, the USHL is already underway with their regular season, and the Flyers have a pair of picks from this year’s draft making their debuts. Austin Moline debuted with the Madison Capitals this week, and he’s got a tidy two assists in his first two games to his name. Additionally, Heikki Ruohonen made his debut with Dubuque this week, also played a pair of games, but he’s been held without a point so far. So it goes.
