In our previous update, John Leonard recorded his first professional Hat Trick and first professional four-point game with the San Jose Barracuda, while teammate Zach Emond won back-to-back starts and has posted a 2-1-0 record with a .936 save percentage since the new year.
In this edition of Next Wave check out what our prospects have been up to and how they've been making strides in recent weeks.
Let's take a dive into this week's update of our Next Wave report, presented by Kaiser Permanente.
Next Wave Report: March 21
Big Game Bordeleau
Thomas Bordeleau (Michigan) notched a pair of assists, including a helper on the game-winning power-play goal, in Michigan's 4-3 win over Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game. This was Bordeleau's ninth multi-point game of the season, giving him five points (1g, 4a) in five games against Minnesota this campaign. The center now ranks third on Michigan in assists and fifth in points. Michigan now turns their attention to AIC for a NCAA tournament matchup in the hopes of sparking a run to the Frozen Four.
Magnificent Magnus
Magnus Chrona (Denver) stopped 44-of-47 shots (.936 SV%) in a two-game NCHC quarterfinal series sweep of Miami on March 11 and 12. The next weekend, Chrona saved 29-of-30 shots (.967 SV%) as Denver fell to Minnesota Duluth, 0-2, in the NCHC Semifinals. Denver will play UMass Lowell in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Artemi at the Ready
On March 11, Artemi Kniazev found the back of the net twice and added an assist to establish new career-highs in goals and points in a single game. Through nine games in March, the rookie defenseman has eight points (3g, 5a) and he set a new career-high for shots on goal in a single game twice this month (six on March 16, seven on March 19).
Notable Players
- Sasha Chmelevski is on a three-game point streak (1g, 6a) dating back to March 16, and the center has at least one point in seven of his last eight AHL games (3g, 10a) since March 5. He has three three-point games in this span, including three-assist nights on March 11 and March 19. Chmelevski was recalled by the Sharks after the trade deadline passed on March 21. At the time of his recall, he was leading the Barracuda in scoring (12g, 25a in 47 games).
- Jake McGrew has points in five consecutive AHL games (3g, 3a) for the first time in his career. The forward potted two insurance goals on March 16 at Tucson to record his second career multi-goal game and earn second star of the game honors.
- Jayden Halbgewachs is currently riding a three-game point streak (1g, 2a), with three or more shots in each of those three games. He potted a game-tying power-play goal with under six minutes remaining in the third period on March 18 at Tucson to help the Barracuda earn a point in the contest.
- Sophomore forward Alex Young (Colgate) recorded three points (1g, 2a) in a three-game series against Cornell to help Colgate advance to the ECAC Semifinals, including the game-opening goal on March 12. With the goal, Young hit 30 points on the season for the first time in his collegiate career, becoming just the third player in the last five seasons to reach that threshold for Colgate.
- Danil Gushchin (Niagara) posted a four-point (2g, 2a) game on March 14 to earn first star of the game honors. The winger now has five appearances this season recording four or more points and pieced together back-to-back-to-back multi-point games on March 14, 17 and 19. Gushchin leads Niagara in almost every offensive category, including goals, assists, points, power-play goals, power-play assists (tied, 12) and shots. He ranks seventh in the league in points-per-game.
- Ethan Cardwell (Barrie) has nine points (3g, 6a) in seven games in March. The forward scored three points (1g, 2a) on March 11 and matched a career-high with four points (1g, 3a) the next night. With his four-point game, Cardwell reached the 40-point threshold for the first time in his career and now ranks fourth on his team in points and first in points-per-game (1.16). His four game-winning goals are tied for the most among club skaters.
- Evgenii Kashnikov (Gatineau) has three points (2g, 1a) in his last five games and has been a plus or even player in 12 of 15 games in 2022. The defenseman is a team-leading plus-27 this season and is second among team blueliners in goals.
- Linus Oberg (Orebro HK) picked up an assist on Orebro's game-winning goal in their 3-0 victory over Djurgardens IF on March 12. He now ranks tied-third in points and second in goal scoring among under-22 SHL skaters. The forward has increased his goals, assists, points and point-per-game output in three consecutive seasons in the SHL. 18 of his 25 points this season have come since the new year.
- For the full Sharks player report, click here.
