Each week we will take an in-depth look at one young member of the organization, while providing an overview on performances over the last seven days of players below the NHL level. This includes players at the junior (CHL, USHL, etc.) and collegiate (NCAA) levels, as well as professional (AHL, ECHL) ranks.
Prospect Spotlight: Victor Mete, D, London Knights (OHL)
While it takes years to properly evaluate the impact of a given draft class on an NHL organization, there is good reason that Marc Bergevin and Trevor Timmins’ 2016 selections drew initial rave reviews. Their third selection (in the fourth round, at 100th overall) was a blue-liner from the defending Memorial Cup champions who had seen a defensive teammate go some 95 picks earlier.
Victor Mete is a prototypical draft-day slider. While many major scouting services had him in the 80-range — including Bob McKenzie, who ranked him 75th, and McKeen’s as high as 55th — skilled and undersized puck-movers still don’t get the credit they deserve in the eyes of a lot of management groups, particularly when it comes to defencemen. This played perfectly into Montreal’s hands, with Timmins telling McKeen’s he “thought he was a second-round guy.”
Mete’s game compares to a combination of two former Canadiens prospects. Offensively, he bears resemblance to Yannick Weber, while his strong skating ability mirrors that of Mac Bennett. Mete’s shot is certainly an asset, but he’s also adept at jumping into the play and attacking the opposing goal, something which even tempted the Canadiens to give Weber some shifts at the forward position.
What makes Mete’s game even more appealing is his footspeed. “He can really skate,” explained Timmins, which, when combined with his relative thickness and long reach for a defenceman of only five feet ten inches, gives him a realistic shot at overcoming his diminutive stature. Former Knights teammate Michael Giugovaz described Mete to the London Free Press as “probably the best skater I’ve ever played with. He’s so smooth and I’ve never seen someone elude hits like he does.”
After showing glimpses of his potential during the Canadiens’ Rookie Camp this fall, Mete returned to the perennial powerhouse Knights, serving as the team’s top defenceman for a few games in the brief absence of the Vancouver Canucks’ fifth-overall selection, Olli Juolevi. Rather than struggling with the increased responsibility, Mete excelled, as evidenced in London’s numbers of this two-game sample compiled by Mitch Brown:
The improved play has been reflected in his offensive output, as well, with Mete collecting two goals and three assists through six games to date. Juolevi rejoined the Knights after being cut by the Canucks for this weekend’s pair of games, and skated beside Mete on a formidable top pairing. Each blue-liner scored a goal in a 6-3 win Friday, and each had a helper in an OT loss on Sunday.
To make the leap to the next level, Mete needs to work on his play without the puck, but scouts and coaches don’t expect that to be a significant enough weakness to hold him back. In fact, a year ago, his Toronto Jr. Canadiens coach, Johnny Winstanley (great hockey name), spoke to the London Free Press about his defensive play.
“In practice, all the forwards would look to get away from Victor [in drills]. His work ethic, his feet, and ability to stay in front of you is impressive. You can beat him and he’ll be back in front of you before you’ve made your next play.”
Mete will be one of the key prospects to follow this season, and we’ll see how he follows up an inpressive draft year.
Performances from October 3-9, 2016
CHL
Matt Bradley was featured in last week’s spotlight, but the forward had a less productive trio of games, going scoreless in two outings Friday and Saturday after picking up a single helper on Wednesday night. Slipping in the depth chart a bit with the return of some of the team’s stars, Bradley skated with a number of different partners, including Mason Shaw and Ryan Jevne. His one point came as part of a thrilling comeback effort where the Tigers – who went 2-1-0 on the week – entered the third period trailing 4-0 but ended up prevailing 5-4 in overtime.
Jeremiah Addison has been off to an exceptional start since being cut from Canadiens camp, where he had turned a lot of heads, as well. In his season debut for Windsor on Thursday night, he notched two goals (the game-winner on the power play and an insurance marker into an empty net) and two helpers, playing on the top line with Logan Brown (11th-overall pick in 2016 by Ottawa) and Gabriel Vilardi (a top prospect for the 2017 NHL Entry Draft).
The unit should be one of the CHL’s more dominat trios this season, and started off by leading Memorial Cup-host Windsor to a 3-0-0 week. Addison added an assist Friday night and another goal and helper on Sunday.
Simon Bourque, Rimouski’s captain, plays on a top pair with Charle-Edouard D’Astous; an undrafted 18-year-old. His goal came on the power play in a 6-5 loss to Halifax on Friday, while his assist was also on the man advantage in Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to Cape Breton. The Oceanic has stumbled out of the gates with a 3-4-0 record to date.
Will Bitten has been playing centre for the Hamilton Bulldogs, and registered his first point for his new club in his only game this week. Bitten, who went 19-for-25 in the faceoff circle, set-up Michael Cramarossa (a productive undrafted over-ager) for a go-ahead marker midway through the second period in an eventual 5-4 Bulldogs win.
Michael Pezzetta returned to action Sunday after sitting out his four-game suspension, but failed to notch his first point of the season for Sudbury in a 5-4 loss. Pezzetta played centre (6-for-19 in faceoffs) and is wearing an A for the Wolves.
Noah Juulsen had a pleasant surprise waiting for him upon his return to Everett from Canadiens’ training camp: he was named the Silvertips’ captain for this season. Making his debut Wednesday night, the rearguard assisted on Dominic Zwerger’s game-tying power-play marker in the second, and added his first goal of the season into the empty net in an eventual 3-1 victory. Paired with undrafted over-ager Lucas Skrumeda, the two were held off the scoreboard in a 4-1 loss to Carey Price’s former junior team, Tri-City, on Friday.
NCAA
Casey Staum was unable to add to his point totals this week in just a single game, as the defenceman was held out of action one night in a back-to-back situation.
Jake Evans had a breakout 2015-16 campaign, and picked up right where he left off, getting on the scoresheet as the University of Notre Dame began their season. In the team’s second game on Friday, Evans assisted on a Jordan Gross marker as part of the team’s three-goal first period, en route to an eventual 9-2 blowout victory over Arizona State.
Nikolas Koberstein also got on the scoreboard early for University of Alaska Fairbanks, putting him in a good position to exceed last year’s total of two points in 23 games. His assist came on the power play in the first period Saturday in what would be a 4-1 Alaska win. Sunday’s game against the University of Minnesota wasn’t as great an outing, with Koberstein finishing a -6 in a 6-3 loss.
Colin Sullivan began his season for Miami University of Ohio, and has been held pointless to date. He sat out the back half of a Friday-Saturday series, dressing for a 4-3 loss and sitting for a 2-1 victory.
Amateur Goaltenders
Michael McNiven had two strong outings in three games to start his season with Owen Sound. The netminder allowed just one goal in each of Thursday and Sunday’s games, both wins, making a combined 60 saves. But the two victories sandwiched an off-night Friday, where McNiven allowed four goals on 18 shots before being pulled after 40 minutes in a 4-1 loss to Sudbury.
Hayden Hawkey’s season with Providence College has also gotten underway. After struggling to find any playing time in his first few seasons, he notched his first win Friday night over Sullivan’s Miami squad), despite allowing three goals on 18 shots. Hawkey couldn’t complete a sweep in the rematch, however, with Providence dropping a 2-1 decision despite his 22 saves on 24 shots.
AHL / ECHL
The St. John’s IceCaps completed their three-game pre-season schedule this week, and you can find a great recap of the tournament, which ended in a Toronto Marlies sweep, here. The IceCaps’ season begins on Friday, so expect some notes on the AHL prospects’ performances next week.
