Last month, the IceCaps passed the one quarter mark of their season as one of the top scoring teams in the AHL. Not surprisingly, with the attack as good as it was, there are plenty of high grades to go around for St. John’s forwards.
Players must have played in at least 5/19 games to receive a grade.
Forwards
Michael McCarron: A: After not being a top producer for very long in junior (just the first half of last season), very few were expecting McCarron to come in and be a major scorer right away. He made an impact right off the bat and moved up the lineup fairly quickly as well. Penalties are a concern but other than that, I don’t think you could ask for more from McCarron.
Stats: 19 GP, 9 goals, 10 assists, 19 points, even rating, 31 PIMS, 38 shots
Bud Holloway: A: He was brought in to be a top offensive threat for the IceCaps. Holloway has lived up to those expectations as he was battling not only for the team lead in points but the league lead as well towards the end of November.
Stats: 18 GP, 5 goals, 15 assists, 20 points, +5 rating, 4 PIMS, 49 shots
Charles Hudon: A-: With a much more balanced attack to start the season, I was expecting a bit of a drop off in his production but that didn’t happen. Hudon had some penalty trouble early on in the season (nine minor penalties in the first nine games) but he has fixed that up.
Stats: 19 GP, 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points, +3 rating, 24 PIMS, 52 shots
Sven Andrighetto: A-: I’m being a bit picky here but for an offensive player in his third season, I was expecting Andrighetto to be more of a consistent scorer but he scored in just four games. That’s my only real complaint though as his two-way game showed some small signs of improvement while he spent time at all three forward positions. All in all, it wasn’t a bad couple of months.
Stats: 17 GP, 6 goals, 9 assists, 15 points, +6 rating, 20 PIMS, 45 shots
Christian Thomas: B+: After two subpar seasons with Hamilton, the proverbial lightbulb may finally have gone off for Thomas. He was one of St. John’s more consistent performers and he hasn’t been hanging out primarily on the perimeter like before either. His small stature is always a concern but his strong start got him back on the NHL radar with his trade to Arizona.
Stats: 18 GP, 7 goals, 7 assists, 14 points, +2 rating, 4 PIMS, 48 shots
Daniel Carr: B+: Carr picked up where he left off last year as a key secondary scorer. What stood out to me over these first couple of months is that he’s much more consistent on a game-to-game basis; the points aren’t coming in bunches now. If that can hold up moving forward, that would be a huge step in his development.
Stats: 19 GP, 6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points, +5 rating, 8 PIMS, 53 shots
Gabriel Dumont: B-: With this being his fifth full AHL season, I have to admit I was expecting a bit more from him offensively. That said, he hasn’t had as many offensive opportunities either. Dumont has flipped between defensive and offensive-minded lines which also hasn’t helped. With there being fewer offensive threats down there now, I expect bigger things from him in the weeks to come.
Stats: 19 GP, 3 goals, 6 assists, 9 points, -5 rating, 17 PIMS, 40 shots
Jeremy Gregoire: C: Gregoire was a player who I thought would be one of the rookies that made an immediate impact but that hasn’t happened. He spent most of the first month or so buried on the fourth line but once the injuries hit, Gregoire was moved up the lineup and began to become more noticeable. The offence isn’t there yet but he is taking advantage of the extra ice time.
Stats: 19 GP, 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 points, -2 rating, 18 PIMS, 25 shots
Nikita Scherbak: C: The numbers aren’t pretty but they weren’t supposed to be. While his offensive potential is strong, the fact remains that Scherbak is an underage player in the AHL and those players often don’t have amazing starts. Now with his ankle injury, basically the entire first half of the year is a total write-off at this point.
Stats: 9 GP, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points, -5 rating, 8 PIMS, 13 shots
Markus Eisenschmid: C: The German rookie seemed to be a favourite of Coach Lefebvre early on as Eisenschmid was pretty much an every game player before suffering an injury. With some players returning in recent weeks, he may be in tough to reclaim his roster spot. A stint with Brampton may be in his future when he gets the green light to return.
Stats: 12 GP, 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, even rating, 0 PIMS, 9 shots
Mark MacMillan: C-: In his first stint with the IceCaps, he was completely overwhelmed and was quickly dispatched back to the ECHL. The second (and current) go-around has gone much better for MacMillan. He’s only playing in a bottom six role (3rd or 4th line C depending on who is available) but he is starting to earn Sylvain Lefebvre’s trust.
Stats: 5 GP, 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, -4 rating, 0 PIMS, 3 shots
Angelo Miceli: C-: With all the injuries, it wasn’t long before Miceli found himself back up with St. John’s. It was hoped that he’d provide an offensive punch from the bottom six but that hasn’t come to fruition just yet.
Stats: 7 GP, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point, -3 rating, 4 PIMS, 10 shots
Connor Crisp: D+: I was hoping that he’d be given more of a role this season and not just be a designated punch thrower. No such luck there. When healthy, Crisp saw limited action and then, like many others up front, he was injured resulting in him missing considerable time. Maybe when he returns he’ll get to play away from the 4th line? I won’t hold my breath…
Stats: 10 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, -6 rating, 25 PIMS, 8 shots
Jacob de la Rose: D: He followed up a disappointing preseason with an even more disappointing start to his season. It was hoped that de la Rose would be able to use his time back in the AHL to improve his offensive game. That didn’t happen. He also had some issues in his own end. And to top things off, he suffered a knee injury. Not the start anyone envisioned…
Stats: 13 GP, 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, -6 rating, 12 PIMS, 14 shots
Stefan Fournier: D: In his third pro season, Fournier didn’t make the team and even when recalled saw sparing minutes when he did make it into the lineup. That’s not a great way to start a contract season.
Stats: 7 GP, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point, -1 rating, 15 PIMS, 7 shots
Brandon McNally: D: After a decent run to finish last season with Hamilton, there were some hopes that McNally would be a regular this season. However, he has struggled to the point where he is on the fringes of the lineup more often than not. As players return, he’s another candidate to go down for a stint with Brampton to try to get him going as he is a better player than he has shown thus far.
Stats: 9 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, -6 rating, 0 PIMS, 3 shots
N/A: Eric Neilson (4 GP), Luc-Olivier Blain (1 GP), Tim Bozon (1 GP)