After a slow start to the season, Lenni Hameenaho is starting to fill the net. This posts updates Hameenaho’s turnaround and all other prospect news.
A Bright Spot in Another Bad Week
Hameenaho scored in back to back games this week, his first two goals of the season. The first goal came Tuesday night in a 6-2 loss to Syracuse.
Defenseman Ethan Edwards also scored his first pro goal in that game.
Lenni Hameenaho’s second goal of the season would come Friday night on a great individual effort shorthanded.
The Comets would go on to lose that game 4-3 in a shootout, the lose again 3-2 in OT on Saturday. Overall, it was a rough, but improved, week. The Comets as a team have been next level awful this season, sitting one point ahead of the Springfield Thunderbirds, tied for the second worst team in the AHL and in dead last for worst goals per game. In this environment, it’s no wonder that just about everyone on the team is struggling. However, Hameenaho seems to be turning a corner after an adjustment period. As the top forward prospect currently in Utica, that’s a positive sign.
What has gone wrong with the Comets? On paper, they should be thriving offensively, but some veterans have really struggled and others have missed games due to recalls from the glut of injuries to the Devils. Thomas Bordeleau, who seemed to be a potential call-up option when he was acquired, has only 3 points in 11 games after a 38 point season for the San Jose Barracuda last year. 32-year-old veteran Ryan Schmelzer has only 2 assists in 13 games, playing mostly top line center minutes after a 23 goal, 44 point season last year. Top-scoring winger last season, Brian Halonen has played well, but has only suited up 5 games (2 goals, 1 assist) due to an extended call-up to New Jersey. Similarly, offensive-defenseman Seamus Casey has only played six games (three points) due to injury and a brief recall.
Overall, the only Comets who have played well offensively with any consistency are Xavier Parent (7 points in 13 games) and Angus Crookshank (6 points in 12 games). Even that, Crookshank’s production is much lower than last season’s 40 points in 62 games for Belleville and Parent is only roughly on pace to duplicate last year’s totals. I’d add to this list second line center Matyas Melovsky (5 points in 13 games), who has been solid for a first year pro. That’s about it. With Halonen and Casey returning to the lineup, at least the Comets didn’t get shutout this week. That’s an improvement. So, there’s that. Ultimately, in this writer’s humble opinion, the Comets need a productive top line center, or to move Crookshank to the pivot and drop Schmelzer down to the third line until he finds his offensive touch again.
Around the Pool:
- A few roster moves. The Comets have recalled winger Cam Squires from Adirondack and sent forward Josh Filmon down to the ECHL. A once-promising scoring winger, Filmon played most of last season for the Thunder, scoring 20 goals, but has struggled to get quality ice time in Utica. Squires made his season debut with the Comets on Saturday, playing on the 4th line.
- Daniel Amoia of the Hockey Writers wrote this piece about Russian Defender Daniil Orlov’s breakout season in the KHL and it’s worth a read. The article is a month old and Orlov’s numbers have come down to earth a little since his blistering hot start, but Orlov is playing big minutes (over 20 a game), has learned to get his shot on net (i.e. goals not inflated by unsustainable shooting percentage), and seems to be developing into a complete package on the backend.
- Center Gustav Hillstrom has been stagnating in the SHL since his recall, playing only four games. Hillstrom caught early headlines with his hot start in the U20 Nationell (16 points in 11 games), but has had trouble cracking the SHL lineup with regularity on a stacked Brynas IF team, whose top two centers have played a combined over 1,500 NHL games and whose bottom two centers are longtime veterans of the club. It’s frustrating, but I really like Hillstrom as a prospect. Touted as one of the better defensive and faceoff-winning centers in the draft, Hillstrom fell due to a perceived low-offensive floor. His boom in the U20 has been encouraging. If the center can develop more offensively at higher levels, he could become a very useful prospect given his defensive acumen.
- Lastly, Daniel Amoia of the Hockey Writers also recently penned this article evaluating the Devils prospects as stocks. Who’s up? Who’s down? If you are a weekly reader of this page, you could probably guess. However, I found his analysis comforting on some of the struggling prospects, especially Silayev, whom I agree is likely getting his ice time slashed (as low as 8:22 on average a game recently) at least in part as a form of punishment for likely coming over to North America soon. Amoia also has some encouraging words for Mikhail Yegorov, who’s struggles this season seem to be more from a failing Boston University defense than his own play.
Your Take
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