Top 5 Prospects of the Month: October

All the way back, with everyone playing hockey!

Welcome back to everyone’s favorite series on the internet, where I go over what Carolina Hurricanes prospects had the best month in terms of production and give everyone those updates. With October wrapping up, prospect hockey is fully back in the swing of things, which should mean no more months with guys sneaking in while only playing 3 games. As a reminder, this is not a list of where they rank amongst prospects. This is just for the given month. This month should be controversial, as the top 2 rankings might throw some people off. With that said, let’s get underway with some Honorable Mentions.

HM: Lucas Mercuri, C (UMass, NCAA) - 7 GP, 2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points

HM: Jayden Perron, W (UND, NCAA) - 5 GP, 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points

HM: Simon Forsmark, D (Timra IK, SHL) - 11 GP, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points

HM: Alexander Rykov, W (Chelmet, VHL) - 7 GP, 4 goals, 1 assist, 5 points

HM: Roman Shokhrin, D (Loko-76/Loko. MHL) - 8 GP, 0 goals, 7 assists, 7 points

HM: Egor Velmakin, G (Dinamo Minsk, KHL) - 3 GP, .946% save percentage, 1.33 GAA

Let me rant a little bit here about Velmakin and Minsk. Bias aside, I don’t think Velmakin has been given a fair shake at all. Going into the year, with Alexei Kolosov going through the process of heading to North America and having that saga, it seemed like Velmakin was in line for a bigger share of the net. When their everyday starter went down with an injury, I thought that Velmakin was in line to take over and try and control the job. Instead, Minsk brought in another goalie and decided to keep Velmakin the backup while giving him maybe 1 start every 2 weeks. What makes the situation worse is that their everyday starter should be back from injury before the end of the year, and Kolosov still has an out if he struggles at the NHL level and/or he gets stuck in the AHL. Long story short, in my opinion, Velmakin is stuck in a crappy situation for his development, where consistent game time is the most important part of development. (10/31 Update: The everyday starter is almost back from injury, which is not good for Velmakin)

5. Oskar Vuollet, W (Skelleftea, SHL/CHL)

I debated between Vuollet and Roman Shokhrin for a long time but ended on Vuollet as he’s doing very well with very limited ice time. Vuollet has had a busy month, playing in 14 games during October. With 3 goals and 4 assists in that time, being a .5 PPG player as an 18-year old in the SHL is very impressive. He’s currently 3rd in the SHL for U19 scoring, only beaten out by David Edstrom, who gets much more ice time and his teammate Axel Sandin-Pellikka, who acts as Skelleftea’s number one defenseman. The goal scoring is great but dried up after the 1st of the month, as he had a hat trick as the 13th forward.

4. Noel Fransen, D (Vasteras, HockeyAllsvenskan)

Noel Fransen is such a fun prospect. His skating is strong, his offense is undeniable, and his defense is getting better game by game. Fransen, who is currently 2nd in U19 scoring in all of HockeyAllsvenskan, had a very solid month of October. In 8 games, Fransen had 1 goal and 5 assists for 6 points while averaging around 20 minutes a night. He’s being used a top defenseman and Fransen is showing his worth.

3. Justin Poirier, W (Baie-Comeau Drakkar, QMJHL)

I would like to introduce everyone to the “Justin Poirier” rule. This rule states that while Poirier is putting up insane stats, other leagues where prospects are playing against hockey players much older and more experienced than them are going to be valued slightly more.

Now, into what Poirier is doing. In 11 games played since returning to Drakkar, Poirier has 9 goals and 9 assists for 18 points. This brings him to 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points in 13 games on the season. Poirier is projected to tie his 51 goals of last year, but I’d wager that he beats the 51 and ends up closer to 60. (Update on 11/1: A 4 goal performance on Friday is an amazing start to his month.)

2. Alexander Nikishin, D (SKA, KHL)

It's yet another insane month that’s well on the way to becoming the regular. Broke the SKA record for most points by a defenseman and was named KHL defenseman of the month, the 6th time that has happened in his career. The beast from St. Petersburg played in 12 games in the month of October, grabbing 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points, all while averaging 24:32 TOI. This brings his point total for the season to 14 points in 18 games, which would be around a 51-point pace for the rest of the season. There really isn’t anything more to say about Nikishin at this point, the kid is insanely good and will slot in to be a top 4 NHL defenseman the minute he steps off the plane in North America. As a reminder to all (and I truly mean all), Nikishin is able to sign an entry-level deal after his KHL season ends.

1. Nikita Artamonov, W (Torpedo, KHL)

Why is it Artamonov over Nikishin for Top Prospect of the Month? With Nikishin, we have come to expect a certain level of play that demonstrates he is the best defenseman in the KHL. With Artamonov, the kid is just 18 years old and playing top-line minutes. He’s generating more chances on a consistent basis while scoring at a much higher rate than he did last year. He’s 3rd in the KHL in scoring and he’s, once again, just 18 years old.

Top Line Art (TM) defends his reign as the World Heavyweight Prospect, continues his impeccable start, and keeps his pace to break the U20 KHL scoring record with another great month of hockey. In 10 games played, he’s scored 5 goals and added 4 assists for 9 points. This brings his total for the season to 11 goals and 9 assists for 20 points in 22 games, which has him projected to have 62 points at the end of the season. This would absolutely smash the U20 scoring record, which is currently held by current Minnesota Wild prospect Danila Yurov’s 49 points he had just last year. Artamonov is also just 4 points away from tying his scoring output from last year and 5 points away from beating it. The kid is doing alright for himself in his second season of KHL hockey.