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The grades for St. John’s defence corps and goalies weren’t the highest after the team struggled in their third quarter of the season. The report card is a bit more promising when it comes to their forwards.
Players must have played in at least 5/19 games to receive a grade.
Forwards
Gabriel Dumont: A-: When you think of the top players on the IceCaps, Dumont’s name usually doesn’t come to mind. It should, though. He doesn’t have the high end skill like some prospects do but he continues to be one of their top players.
Stats: 14 GP, 5 goals, 9 assists, 14 points, +2 rating, 24 PIMS, 38 shots
Sven Andrighetto: A-: He didn’t sulk after the Habs sent him back down in mid-January. Andrighetto quickly picked up where he left off with St. John’s and as a result, he won’t be back there again this season (or next, in all likelihood given his waiver situation).
Stats: 7 GP, 3 goals, 3 assists, 6 points, -2 rating, 2 PIMS, 24 shots
Charles Hudon: B+: His line has struggled in the defensive zone (which may explain why Hudon has been dropped down the lineup at times) but he’s still St. John’s top threat most nights. It wouldn’t be shocking to see him get another look with Montreal in the next few weeks.
Stats: 18 GP, 6 goals, 9 assists, 15 points, -8 rating, 15 PIMS, 43 shots
Mark MacMillan: B: The numbers don’t really do MacMillan justice. He has been shuffled through offensive and defensive roles and has had different wingers on many nights. Despite that, he is showing some signs of improvement. I’d like to see him get more of an offensive look over the last few weeks of the season.
Stats: 19 GP, 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points, even rating, 10 PIMS, 20 shots
Max Friberg: B: Friberg hasn’t been the dominant player he was with San Diego which has been unfortunate. However, he often hasn’t had the best of linemates to work with and Sylvain Lefebvre has opted to use him in more of a two-way role so his scoring drop is somewhat understandable.
Stats: 19 GP, 2 goals, 6 assists, 8 points, +3 rating, 2 PIMS, 26 shots
Nikita Scherbak: B-: Scherbak has had some ‘wow’ moments since returning to the lineup. Some of those have been great offensive plays while others have you wondering if he has a clue out there. (Most of those come in his own end.) He’s a ways away from being NHL-ready; he’s not worthy of a cameo with the big club by the end of the year.
Stats: 19 GP, 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points, -13 rating, 4 PIMS, 41 shots
Bud Holloway: B-: The overall production remains strong but it feels like ‘empty production’ for Holloway. He has had a few big games but overall he hasn’t been the big threat he was in the early going this season.
Stats: 15 GP, 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points, -10 rating, 4 PIMS, 40 shots
Jacob de la Rose: B-: He started to pick up his offensive performance before getting recalled which was encouraging. However, that progress went away when he was called up as it did the last time he went back and forth. I’d like to see de la Rose back in St. John’s in the coming days to finish the season as he needs to play in more than a fourth line role.
Stats: 6 GP, 2 goals, 0 assists, 2 points, -1 rating, 2 PIMS, 14 shots
Michael McCarron: C+: As expected, his numbers have started to decline as he became more of a focal part of the attack instead of a complementary player. While McCarron won’t see much more ice time with St. John’s this year (he’ll be sent down for the final couple of games), he could benefit from starting there next season to further refine his offensive game.
Stats: 18 GP, 2 goals, 6 assists, 8 points, -4 rating, 25 PIMS, 35 shots
Lucas Lessio: C+: Compared to the way he was playing after he was acquired, Lessio was in a bit of a down stretch before the Habs brought him up. He has enough skill to produce in the minors but he hasn’t been able to do so with much consistency thus far. He probably won’t do so in the NHL either.
Stats: 7 GP, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points, -2 rating, 8 PIMS, 15 shots
Markus Eisenschmid: C+: The German rookie continued to impress in a limited role while notching his first pro goal. And then he got hurt (and there’s no timetable for his return). I wonder if these injuries will make the Habs think twice about signing him – and I suspect they’re giving serious consideration towards doing so.
Stats: 6 GP, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point, +1 rating, 0 PIMS, 3 shots
Michael Bournival: C: He wasn’t doing a whole lot despite playing a significant role and then the concussion problems returned. I feel bad for Bournival as there’s a good chance that this one winds up being a career ender or at least one that has him in another organization next season.
Stats: 6 GP, 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, even rating, 4 PIMS, 20 shots
Jeremy Gregoire: C: In the few games he did play, Gregoire was largely a non-factor as he has been for most of the season. Getting hurt and missing nearly a month didn’t help his case either. He should get more of a chance down the stretch with all of the injuries/recalls at least.
Stats: 6 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, -2 rating, 5 PIMS, 3 shots
Brandon McNally: C: It hasn’t been a great year for McNally but part of that stems from the fact that he’s often used as an energy player despite not really being an energy player. He looked more comfortable in a top six role for a few games but talent wise, he’s not good enough to stick there for long.
Stats: 10 GP, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points, even rating, 14 PIMS, 10 shots
Tim Bozon: C: Bozon is starting to show some small signs of improvement now that his spot in the regular lineup is more or less secure with all of the players the IceCaps are missing. It will be interesting to see if he can take a step forward or two in the final few weeks as he’s starting to drop down the organizational depth chart.
Stats: 12 GP, 2 goals, 1 assists, 3 points, -5 rating, 6 PIMS, 19 shots
John Scott: C-: Well, he got a goal at least. Scott is still a couple of steps slow even for the AHL level. While that really doesn’t come as a surprise, it’s still a disappointment that a player who has been in the NHL as long as he has can still be a liability more often than not in the minors.
Stats: 12 GP, 1 goal, 0 assists, 1 point, -2 rating, 17 PIMS, 4 shots
Alexandre Ranger: C-: Like McNally, Ranger is somewhat miscast in a fourth line role which is where he has played for the most part when he is in the lineup. He hasn’t fared particularly well in that role which is why he hasn’t been in the lineup all that often.
Stats: 8 GP, 0 goals, 1 assist, 1 point, -1 rating, 2 PIMS, 9 shots
Shane Bakker: D+: An ECHL enforcer isn’t expected to have much success at the AHL level. Bakker hasn’t really had much success in limited action with St. John’s. His presence is redundant most nights with Scott around which makes it puzzling why they’re keeping Bakker around to begin with.
Stats: 8 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, -3 rating, 34 PIMS, 3 shots
Angelo Miceli: D: Miceli is a one dimensional offensive-minded player who continues to fail to produce much (if any) offence when he’s on the ice. It’s a telling sign that players on tryouts are playing ahead of him most nights.
Stats: 10 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, -3 rating, 2 PIMS, 6 shots
N/A: Daniel Carr (2 GP), Evan Rankin (3 GP, released)
