Dougie Hamilton incurs a goaltender interference penalty in a recent game against the Erie Otters. Photo from stcatherinesstandard.ca
In a recently-released ranking of the top 100 NHL prospects from Hockey Prospectus, four Boston Bruins prospects rank among the 100 most promising young talents in the league. However, due to the NHL lockout, many prospects have been assigned or reassigned to other clubs so they can continue to gain experience and then perhaps be re-evaluated when the NHL season begins.
Along with discussing where each Bruin is on the list, here are some updates about where each of the prospects are and what they have been doing lately.
Dougie Hamilton is ranked eighth, just behind Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues. Hamilton was reassigned to his OHL team, the Niagara IceDogs, just before the NHL lockout. With Niagara, he’s catapulted from 16 points in his rookie season to 58 in his second and 72 in his third. Plus, he won CHL Defenseman of the Year for 2011-12. This season, he’s already played two games for Niagara, put up an assist and welcomed 15-year-old OHL player Connor McDavid, who was given a special exemption to come up to the O earlier than normal, to the world of juniors by laying a big hit on him. Plus, Niagara has won both of its games to date.
Alexander Khokhlachev sits at number 49. Khokhlachev’s decision to leave behind the OHL and play this year in the KHL, on Spartak Moscow where his dad is the general manager, seems especially shrewd now. Over two years of OHL play, he’s already shown that he can play with the big boys after putting up a 76-point rookie campaign and a 69-point sophomore season. He’s already played eight games with his temporary new team and put up a goal–and four penalty minutes–so far.
Ryan Spooner is ranked 54th. Like Khokhlachev, he too will leave juniors behind this season, but he will make his way to the AHL Providence Bruins. Spooner has consistently put up big point totals during his junior career: 58 points one year, 54 the next, 81 in his third season (split between two teams) and 66 in his final year (also split between two teams).
Torey Krug is 61st Like Spooner, Krug has been reassigned to Providence, where the season has not yet begun. His ranking may have been in part because of what he did while he was in college: CCHA Player of the Year, Hobey Baker candidate, two-time Best Offensive Defenseman winner, shared the CCHA scoring title among all players, led CCHA defensemen in scoring. Plus, he already has championship experience: he won the Clark Cup with his junior Indiana Ice team.
Also, though he is not on the list–goaltenders are harder to predict–it is interesting to note that Malcolm Subban had a big week this week with the OHL Belleville Bulls. The Bulls got a 3-2 shootout win against the Plymouth Whalers, the Bulls’ first win at the Whalers’ home arena since 2008. Subban stopped every shootout shot, remaining perfect in shootouts while also making 33 saves in regulation. He’s already played two Bulls games this season and only allowed three goals.
