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Winnipeg Jets Prospect Tracker: Mark Scheifele and Ryan Olsen like to score goals

As the NHL lockout rages on, rather than focusing on the definition of HRR, the owner/player split and board meetings that accomplish nothing, we will instead turn our attention to the game of hockey itself by featuring (semi)weekly updates on the Winnipeg Jets‘ CHL prospects: Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry, Scott Kosmachuk, Lukas Sutter, Ryan Olsen, Austen Brassard, and Zach Yuen.

Last time we looked at our CHL prospects it was at the start of November. Let’s see how they’ve done since.

2011 1st Round: Mark Scheifele: 6GP, 6G, 4A, 10PTS, +2, 2PIM

Mark Scheifele has begun to realize his wicked wrist shot is a viable option in addition to his already well-honed playmaking skills. Scheifele was a member Team OHL in the Subway Super Series. Scheifele was given the task of third line shutdown role with two Boston Bruins prospects on the win: teammate Anthony Camara and Seth Griffith. Together they formed a defensively aware unit with an offensive edge, creating many scoring opportunities, although they did not score. Over at HFBoards.com, it was nice to see Scheifele get praised by non-Jet fans, as many – including three Russian regulars – touted Mark to be the strongest player in the game. Oh, also, Yakupov doesn’t like Scheifele apparently.

2011 3rd Round: Adam Lowry: 6GP, 1G, 4A, 5PTS, -3, 11PIM

Lowry continues to be an all-or-nothing player when it comes to the stats sheet. He has produced 8 points in 7 games in November, while only actually producing points in 3 of the games. Lowry dressed for both Team WHL games. In both games, Adam brought a physical game, delivering some of Team WHL’s biggest hits. Lowry was named captain for the second game and scored a goal, even though they lost. Swift Current has had some troubles, losing 4 of the last 5 games and had a change in coaching.

2011 4th Round: Zach Yuen: 4GP, 1G, 1A, 2PTS, -1, 0pim

Yuen has scored his first non-empty-net goal of the year, doubling his goal total. While not yet at the 0.60-0.85 points per game predicted in the last CHL update, it is a start. Yuen is known more for being a stay at home defenseman, using strong skating and positioning to his advantage, than putting up the points.

2011 5th Round: Austen Brassard: 6GP, 0G, 2A, 2PTS, -3, 10PIM

It may have been two secondary assists and it may have occurred after an 8 game scoreless streak, but Brassard has put up his first multipoint game with two assists – his 2nd and 3rd of the season. Unfortunately, Brassard’s points per game hasn’t changed since last time and probably won’t change by much in the future either. Belleville sits second in the OHL's Eastern Conference, one position behind the Barrie Colts. The Bulls have 52 goals in 22 games, compared to the Colts 95 goals in 23 games. It is unlikely that Brassard will be putting up big points on a defense-first team that currently has the lowest goals for total in the OHL, 10 less than next-in-line-but-last-place-in-the-OHL Peterborough Petes.

2012 2nd Round: Lukas Sutter: 4GP, 1G, 1A, 2 PTS, -1, 16 PIM

Sutter has scored more points and has slowed the bleeding on his plus/minus. He has improved his points per game from 0.18 to 0.24. Hopefully things can continue to improve, but unfortunately it is unlikely unless he starts to get some top 6 minutes. On the bright side, Saskatoon has gone 6-3-0-1 in the last 10 games and has started to put the puck in the net.

2012 3rd Round: Scott Kosmachuk: 6GP, 0G, 1A, 1PTS, -2, 4PIM

Well this is unusual for Kosmachuk. After being held to only 1 assist in 4 games, Kosmachuk was demoted to the second line for the next three. After being separated from Mitchell, Kosmachuk has been pointless and his replacement Cody McNaughton received 3G and 2A, after previously being 15GP 2G 1A. It is interesting that the coach promoted someone with only 3 points in the season to the top line when the team started to falter.

2012 6th Round: Ryan Olsen: 4GP, 4G, 0A, 4PTS, +5, 9PIM

The comparisons between Sutter and Olsen are extremely intriguing. Olsen was the 3rd line pivot for Saskatoon and was considered a second round pick early in the year, but his stock fell at the expense of Sutter. Sutter fought his way into Saskatoon’s second line, scored a bunch and his stock grew. Sutter went from not being mentioned on many draft lists all the way to a 2nd or 3rd round grade.

Olsen's point per game marks have increased to Sutter’s 2012 level while centering Kelowna’s 2nd line, and Sutter has been pushed down to Saskatoon’s bottom 6. This week Olsen has improved his 5v5 points to 50% of his totals, with all 4 goals coming at even strength. It will be interesting to see how they compare long term.

Team GP G A PTS +/- PIM G/GP A/GP PTS/GP PPG PPA
Mark Scheifele Barrie Colts, OHL 22 17 20 37 13 13 0.77 0.91 1.68 7 9
Scott Kosmachuk Guelph Storm, OHL 24 12 12 24 0 38 0.50 0.50 1.00 5 4
Adam Lowry Swift Current, WHL 25 10 16 26 -5 44 0.40 0.64 1.04 4 9
Ryan Olsen Kelowna Rockets, WHL 19 11 3 14 8 38 0.58 0.16 0.74 5 2
Zachary Yuen Tri-City Americans, WHL 24 2 11 13 2 20 0.08 0.46 0.54 1 6
Austen Brassard Belleville Bulls, OHL 22 5 3 8 -6 29 0.23 0.14 0.36 2 0
Lukas Sutter Saskatoon Blades, WHL 21 3 2 5 -13 56 0.14 0.10 0.24 0 0

Questions to Ponder:

  • Will Kosmachuk or Lowry bounce back to higher production rates or will they stay around a point per game?
  • Do you think Scheifele can develop to a legitimate 1st line centre the Jets need to pair up with Kane?
  • How impressed with Olsen have you been for a 6th round pick?
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