Player of the Week: Nikita Scherbak
With his least productive month of the season behind him, the star of the Everett Silvetips turned heads this past week with an explosive pace. He marked two assists in his first game, a 3-2 win over the Spokane Chiefs. He recorded two assists in his next game as well, a 4-1 win over the Tri-City Americans.
He scored a goal and an assist the following night in a rematch versus Tri-City which saw Everett fall 4-3. Scherbak would go without a point in his final game of the week, a 4-3 overtime win over the Portland Winterhawks. Scherbak is 8th in scoring in the WHL with 22 goals, 44 assists in 48 games with a points-per-game pace of 1.38.
| GP | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
The Juniors Report
The Canadiens currently feature prospects playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the Western Hockey League (WHL), the USHL (United States Hockey League) and the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). These leagues can be considered the primary conduit towards professional hockey in North America.
Here’s how the players playing in the aforementioned leagues performed last week
| Player | League | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
| Daniel Audette (C) | QMJHL | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Jeremy Grégoire (RW) | QMJHL | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Michael McCarron (RW) | OHL | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Tim Bozon (LW) | WHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Brett Lernout (D) | WHL | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Nikita Scherbak (RW) | WHL | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Nikolas Koberstein (D) | USHL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Josiah Didier (D) | NCAA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Evans (C) | NCAA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mark MacMillan (C) | NCAA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goalie | League | GP | W | L | OTL | GAA | Save % | SO |
| Zach Fucale | QMJHL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.50 | 0.877 | 0 |
Daniel Audette: Audette continues to put points on the board with Sherbrooke Phoenix, albeit in bittersweet fashion this past week. He marked an assist to open the week in a 4-1 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads. He went without a point in his next game, a 5-2 loss to the Saint John Sea Dogs. He would be the only member of Phoenix to find the back of the net in his final game, recording the third hattrick of his season as his team was blown out by the Moncton Wildcats 9-3. His hat trick raises him to 22 goals in 45 games on the year, surpassing his career best of 21 goals in 68 games.
Jeremy Grégoire: The Baie-Comeau Drakkar captain is maintaining a steady offensive pace this season. He scored the game-winning goal and an assist in his first game, a 3-2 win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. He went without a point in the next game, a 3-1 loss to the Drummondville Voltigeurs. He Scored a goal in his final game of the week, a 6-5 loss to the Chicoutimi Saugeneens. Gregoire is currently producing at a rate of 1.42 points per game.
Michael McCarron: McCarron had a short week with the Oshawa Generals, but he made the most of it. After going pointless in his first game, he turned heads in a 5-2 win over the Windsor Spitfires in the next. He would post his first multi-point game in 13 contests with a goal and three assists as the Generals routed the Guelph Storm 7-2. McCarron’s goal scoring pace has slacked since he left London, but he is still averaging a notable 0.67 goals per game on his season.
Tim Bozon: It was a brief and quiet week for Bozon with the Kootenay Ice. He scored a goal in his first game, a 5-3 loss to the Brandon Wheat Kings. He missed the scoresheet in his next game, a 4-1 loss in a rematch with the Wheat Kings.
Brett Lernout: It was not a very busy week for Lernout and the Swift Current Broncos, but his impact was noticed on the scoresheet. He scored a goal and assist in his first game, a 4-3 overtime victory against the Prince Albert Raiders. He scored a goal in his next game as well, a 4-2 win over the Saskatoon Blades. It has been a very productive run for Lernout, he has recorded ten points in his last 12 games.
Nikolas Koberstein: There remains little of positive note on Koberstein’s rookie season in the USHL. He scored no points in his first game, a 5-2 win over Des Moines Buccaneers. He ccored a goal in the next game, a 5-2 win over the Lincoln Stars. Koberstein has a mere four points in 42 games this season in the USHL.
Josiah Didier: It was a short and quiet week for Didier, who scored no points in his only game, a 3-0 win for the University of Denver over Colorado College.
Jake Evans: The scoresheet continues to be an elusive matter for Evans of late as he works through his rookie season with the Univeristy of Notre Dame. He marked no points in his first game, a 4-4 tie with the University of Maine. He scored a goal in the next game, a 5-1 win over Maine. The goal was Evans’s first point in four games and his first goal in 10 games.
Mark MacMillan: MacMillan did not play this week as North Dakota had no scheduled games.
Hayden Hawkey: Hayden Hawkey has unfortunately been ruled out for the remainder of the 2014-15 season due to suffering tears in his Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Medial Collateral Ligament on November 29.
Zach Fucale: Finding consistency is an elusive objective for Fucale this season in the QMJHL, even following his trade to the Quebec Remparts. He allowed 4 goals on 27 shots in his first game, a 7-4 win over the Gatineau Olympiques. He allowed 3 goals on 25 shots in his next start, a 5-3 win over the Drummondville Voltigeurs. His save percentage has now fallen to 16th overall in the QMJHL at 0.888 and has given up 3 goals or more in seven of his last ten starts.
The European report:
The SHL is the top professional men’s league in Sweden and is at a comparable level to the AHL. Strong play here can often give indications that the player is moving towards being capable of playing in the NHL.
The Extraliga is the top professional men’s league in the Czech Republic. While it is not at the level of the SHL, it is still a competitive pro league where solid production would give credence to a player’s NHL potential.
Here’s how the European prospects performed last week:
| Player | League | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
| Artturi Lehkonen (LW/RW) | SHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Joonas Nättinen (C/RW) | SHL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Martin Réway (C/LW) | Extraliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Artturi Lehkonen: Marked an assist in a 4-2 loss in the Championship round of the Champion’s Hockey League versus Lulea HF. He played no SHL games this week due to the Euro Hockey Tour.
Joonas Nättinen: Nattinen’s team did not play this week in the Swedish Hockey League due to the Euro Hockey Tour.
Martin Réway: Reway’s team did not play this last week in the Extraliga due to the Euro Hockey Tour.
Year to date statistics
| Player | League | GP | G | A | P | PIM |
| Daniel Audette (C) | QMJHL | 45 | 22 | 31 | 53 | 50 |
| Jeremy Grégoire (RW) | QMJHL | 19 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 35 |
| Michael McCarron (RW) | OHL | 42 | 28 | 27 | 55 | 103 |
| Tim Bozon (LW) | WHL | 39 | 21 | 23 | 44 | 12 |
| Brett Lernout (D) | WHL | 53 | 12 | 18 | 30 | 56 |
| Nikita Scherbak (RW) | WHL | 48 | 22 | 44 | 66 | 40 |
| Nikolas Koberstein (D) | USHL | 42 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 83 |
| Josiah Didier (D) | NCAA | 25 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 45 |
| Jake Evans (C) | NCAA | 29 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 20 |
| Mark MacMillan (C) | NCAA | 23 | 15 | 8 | 21 | 19 |
| Artturi Lehkonen (LW/RW) | SHL | 37 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 8 |
| Joonas Nättinen (C/RW) | SHL | 44 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 32 |
| Martin Réway (C/LW) | Extraliga | 31 | 9 | 25 | 34 | 50 |
| Goalie | League | GP | W | L | OTL | GAA | Save% | SO |
| Zachary Fucale | QMJHL | 33 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 3.08 | .888 | 3 |
| Hayden Hawkey | USHL | 15 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2.99 | .896 | 1 |
