Friday Night Hockey
Halifax 4, Moncton 0
Stacy Roest, the director of player development for the Tampa Bay Lightning, was in Halifax to keep an eye on prized prospect Jonathan Drouin. He likely had something to say regarding the two bad penalties Drouin took.
Drouin reminds me a lot of Patrick Kane when he played in London: shifty, amazing hands, eyes in the back of his head. He might be the first guy I can think of that’s too good to be in the Canadian Hockey League at 18. Having said that, he’ll need to be more disciplined, remain healthy and find other ways to challenge himself (i.e. being moved to centre).
The Moncton Wildcats are like the United Nations of the CHL. They feature players from three different countries, three states and eight provinces on their roster. Hockey operations gurus Danny Flynn and Roger Shannon are well travelled and extremely well connected with a network of people from coast to coast.
Wildcats’ 16-year-old defenceman Adam Holwell received high praise from the coaching staff and after watching him play, it’s evident he’s got a lot of upside.
Ivan Barbashev had an off night, but he definitely has a lot of tools to work with.
What does an NHL assistant coach do when his team’s not playing? Watch Friday Night Hockey of course. It was nice to hear from Gerard Gallant during the course of the game.
Trey Lewis
A run through last year’s Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs and the MasterCard Memorial Cup will not soon be forgotten when it comes to the effort of Trey Lewis. While he wasn’t the most talented defenceman I’ve seen, his determination and work ethic were unmatched.
Too bad his CHL career came to an end due to hip issues. No doubt one of the toughest conversations Cam Russell has had to have with any of his players.
Toughest in the CHL
The U.S. Division of the WHL is proving to be the toughest in the CHL. Seattle has lost four straight games, yet still possesses a .600 win percentage and still sit in last place.
Subway Super Series
As many as 10 Russians currently playing in the CHL should be included in Team Russia’s roster throughout the series. For more on the series, check here. Vladislav Tkachev will also be included as the Moncton Wildcats continue to work to get him into the lineup.
Stat Trick
Best shootout goalies (minimum 10 shootout shots faced)
| Name | Team | SOA | SOGA | SO/SV% |
| Zachary Fucale | Halifax | 13 | 1 | .923 |
| Justin Myles | Seattle | 11 | 1 | .909 |
| Simon Lemieux | Baie-Comeau | 16 | 2 | .875 |
| Philippe Cadorette | Baie-Comeau | 14 | 2 | .857 |
| Robert Steeves | Gatineau | 13 | 2 | .846 |
| Matt Mahalak | Kingston | 11 | 2 | .818 |
| Matthew Greenfield | Kitchener | 11 | 2 | .818 |
Can’t wait to see:
– Tyler Benson with the Vancouver Giants.
According to Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province, he will debut against Tri-City on Saturday. The timing of his debut is somewhat dubious as two other Giants were in the news for all the wrong reasons.
– Whether or not the Buffalo Sabres keep London’s Nikita Zadorov.
Then again, Mikhail Grigorenko was sent back to Quebec last year after he had appeared in 25 games for the Sabres.
– Oshawa become a buyer or a seller.
Completely off topic
Big props to the Press Gang Restaurant in Halifax. Great food, great service and no, we didn’t get a discounted meal.
More CHL
Patrick King is back. You can read him Mondays and Fridays with the latest and greatest from across the CHL.
More Friday Night Hockey
FNH gets back into full swing with a dandy of a game this week. It’s Sam Bennett, Spencer Watson, Roland McKeown and the rest of the Kingston Frontenacs playing host to the defending OHL champion London Knights. Check here for showtimes in your area.
Last but not least
Expect NHL Central Scouting to release its preliminary players to watch list sometime this week.
Each month we will publish a top 10 list of prospects by league. We’ll start in November with the QMJHL.