The Journey: Top Rising Forward Prospects – April – Part 2
Colton Pankiw
2021-05-01
Welcome back to The Journey. In last week's edition, I covered the Top Rising Forwards Prospects for April. Here is a quick update:
Eeli Tolvanen was finally beginning to find his footing at the NHL level with 10 points in his most recent eight games. At the time last week's edition was posted, however, he had been out for nearly three weeks with a lower-body injury. Since returning he has a goal and an assist in four games.
Cole Caufield was able to suit up in his first NHL game Monday night. Despite being held off the scoreboard, he was able to play nearly 16 minutes and had four shots on goal in a crucial 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames. He should continue to get some good opportunities down the stretch, and while he may not produce a ton of points this year, he looks like a true superstar in the making.
Cole Perfetti continues to impress with the Manitoba Moose and has put up six points in his last four games, giving him 23 in 29 games on the season. It isn't a stretch to say he may be able to get some NHL games in next season, just one year after being drafted.
Vitali Kravtsov has received little ice time in the past week and is still stuck on three points in 15 games. While his career has been strange and somewhat disappointing to this point, it is important to keep in mind that he is just 21-years-old. The skill is clearly there and he still has a chance to become a solid NHL player.
In today's article, we will be looking at the same Dobber's Fantasy Prospect Forward list and examining a few more of the risers who were left off of last week's edition.
Here are more of the latest risers:
Yegor Sharangovich, Devils
(Ranked: Feb: NR, Mar: 115, Apr: 53)
Heading into the 2020-21 season, not much was known about Sharangovich. The 22-year-old Russian, who was taken in the fifth-round (141st overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft had spent the previous two seasons in the AHL with the Binghamton Devils. In those two seasons, he put up just 42 points in 125 total games. The book wasn't closed on him given that he was still very young, but he wasn't expected to make an impact in the NHL this season.
After a great start to the 2020-21 season with Minsk Dynamo in the KHL however, Sharangovich started garnering some hype. By the time he was headed back to North America, he had registered an impressive 17 goals and 25 points in 34 games. Since returning, he was not only able to crack the New Jersey Devils lineup this season, but is just four points shy of the team lead with 26 in 48 games played.
The play of Sharangovich so far in his NHL is extremely exciting for the Devils who are starting to put together a pretty talented pool of young players. While they are struggling this season, they may be able to turn things around in the near future and Sharangovich looks like he will be a big part of that.
Brandon Hagel, Blackhawks
(Ranked: Feb: 220, Mar: 217, Apr: 56)
Chicago Blackhawks forward Hagel shot up the prospect rankings this past month, and deservedly so. After an impressive rookie season with the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL in which he scored 19 goals and 31 points in 59 games, the 22-year-old has provided the Blackhawks with some solid secondary scoring, notching 21 points in 46 games so far.
He has been particularly good as of late, as five of those 20 points have come within his past four games. What makes those numbers impressive is that just one of his 21 points has come on the powerplay, as he is averaging just 23 seconds per game on the man advantage this season. To this point, he has 19 even strength points, which is good enough for fourth on the Blackhawks, proving just how good he has been at 5V5.
Hagel has turned out to be quite a find for the Blackhawks, who signed him after a 102-point season with the Red Deer Rebels in 2018-19. While he was originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth-round (159 overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, he was never offered a contract and as a result became a free agent. He still has plenty of room to grow as a player and appears capable of being a useful middle-six player moving forward for Chicago.
Trent Frederic, Bruins
(Ranked: Feb: 103, Mar: 81, Apr: 74)
23-year-old Frederic burst onto the scene this year with the Boston Bruins. While he had played a combined 17 games with them over the previous two seasons, not many around the league knew who he was heading into the 2020-21 campaign, but that changed in a hurry. He let it be known immediately he wasn't afraid to go after anybody, whether it be dropping the gloves or throwing a big hit. He has very quickly established himself as an agitator.
The issue with Frederic to this point is his lack of offence. In two stints with the Bruins the previous two seasons, he was unable to record a single point. While he has had some better luck this time, he has still struggled to put up numbers with just four goals and five points in 38 contests. He has been a healthy scratch on numerous occasions as of late and this likely plays a major factor.
The good news for Frederic is that he possesses the talent to turn things around. There is a reason he was selected in the first-round (29 overall) by the Bruins in 2016. He proved during his two seasons at the University of Wisconsin that he is a talented player, and was able to record a respectable 32 points in 59 games last season with the Providence Bruins in the AHL. If he is able to find some of that offensive touch and contribute more to the team's secondary scoring, he has a chance to be an important part of this Bruins team going forward.
Ross Colton, Lightning
(Ranked: Feb: 346, Mar: 342, Apr: 110)
Another player who shot up the rankings this past month was Tampa Bay Lightning forward Colton. The 24-year-old earned his first ever NHL call up early this season and has impressed when called upon with eight goals and 11 points in 23 games. Given how deep the Lightning's roster is, he has been forced to sit in the press box on numerous occasions this season, but has certainly impressed both management and fans with his play to this point.
It took Colton some time to get to the NHL, as he was taken back in the fourth-round (118th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. After being drafted, he spent two seasons in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch where in a combined 128 games he had 73 points. What is interesting however is that just 25 of those were goals, so his current goal pace with the Lightning may soon begin to slow down.
While it will be huge for him if he can keep his offensive production going, that isn't the only value he brings. He has tremendous speed and is very responsible defensively, making him very valuable to the Lightning going forward as a bottom-six player.