In this edition of Next Wave, discover what our prospects have been working on and the progress they've made.
Let's take a dive into this week's update of our Next Wave report, presented by Kaiser Permanente.
PROSPECT OF THE WEEK:
- Carson Wetsch (Calgary, WHL) was named Prospect of the Week (Jan. 8) presented by Kaiser Permanente. Wetsch ranks tied for first in power-play goals (7), game-winning goals (4), third in goals (16) among his team and is one of five skaters to have tallied a minimum 30 points on the season.
- Brandon Svoboda (USA, WJC) was named Prospect of the Week (Jan. 2) presented by Kaiser Permanente. Svoboda helped Team USA capture the gold medal on Jan. 5 at the World Junior Championship against Finland. He finished the tournament with six points (3g, 3a) across seven games, including netting a goal in the gold medal game.
BARRACUDA
- The San Jose Barracuda currently sits second in the Pacific Division standings this season (32 GP). Following games played on Jan. 7, the team ranks second in the division in goals scored (106), good for seventh in the league and their penalty kill (87.5%) ranks second among the AHL. The Barracuda are 2-1-0 to start the new year.
- Luca Cagnoni leads Barracuda defensemen in scoring with 22 points (8g, 14a) and ranks second among rookie AHL blueliners in points (22), tied for second in assists (14), and third in goals (8).
- Ethan Cardwell has logged 13 points (1g, 12a) since being assigned to the Barracuda on Dec. 10. He recorded two three-point efforts in a two-week span (Dec. 15 at Ontario and Dec. 28 at Henderson).
- Georgi Romanov has logged wins in consecutive appearances, including a win in three of his past four appearances. He leads current Barracuda netminders in save percentage (.908).
- Filip Bystedt matched a career-high two goals in a contest at Bakersfield (Dec. 21). It was his first two-goal effort since April 3 of last season at San Diego.
PROSPECT NOTABLES – NORTH AMERICA
- Gabriel Carriere (Wichita, ECHL) recorded a win in three consecutive contests with the Thunder from Dec. 28 through Jan. 3. In that span, Carriere logged two shutouts, his first came against Idaho (Dec. 28) and the second against Iowa (Jan. 3) where he logged a career-high 44-saves at the ECHL level. He ranks first in the ECHL in save percentage (.936), tied for first in shutouts (3), and fourth in goals against average (2.10).
- Jeremie Bucheler (Wichita, ECHL) logged his fourth multi-point effort of his campaign in the 4-3 overtime victory at Kansas City (Dec. 31). Bucheler has logged points in six of his past 11 games played (2g, 7a).
- Joe Carroll (Canada, Spengler Cup) has helped Team Canada to consecutive victories (Dec. 26 at HC Davos and Dec. 28 against Straubing) at the 2024-25 Spengler Cup. Carroll was named to Canada’s Spengler Cup roster along with Shark’s prospect Brandon Coe on Dec. 20.
- Eric Pohlkamp (Denver, NCHC) logged a two-assist game in the 2-1 victory at the University of Maine on Jan. 3. Pohlkamp has clocked a minimum 20:00 time on ice in each of his last four games played.
- Cameron Lund (Northeastern, HE) is tied for first among Northeastern Huskies skaters in points (22), tied for second in goals (9) and assists (13). Lund is two goals shy from eclipsing his goals total from his sophomore year with the Huskies.
- Joey Muldowney (UConn, HE) is riding a season-long tying three-game point streak (3g, 2a), including multi-point efforts in consecutive games. He has logged a career-long 15 points in 18 games, surpassing his previous best of 14 points in 35 games in his freshman campaign.
- Timofei Spitserov (Vermont, HE) has reached double digits in points (11) for the second consecutive season with the University of Vermont. He leads his team in plus-minus rating of +12.
- Kasper Halttunen (Finland, WJC) earned a Silver Medal with Finland at the World Junior Championship against Team USA in a loss in overtime (3-4) on Jan. 5. Halttunen posted a four-game point streak in the tournament (1g, 3a) from Dec. 29 through Jan. 4.
- Sam Dickinson (Canada, WJC) tallied an assist in his first game (Dec. 26) and last game (Jan. 2) at the World Junior Championships. Dickinson skated in every game for Team Canada (5 GP).
- Christian Kirsch (Switzerland, WJC) went 1-3-0 for Team Switzerland at the World Junior Championship. He recorded a win against Kazakhstan, stopping 11 pucks on 12 shots faced, and finished the contest with a .917 save percentage.
- David Klee (Muskegon, USHL) has found the back of the net in three of his past six games played with Muskegon. Klee leads the Lumberjacks in points (24), goals (13), and game-winning goals (4) across his 30 games played in his campaign.
- Michael Fisher (Penticton, BCHL) netted his first goal with Penticton Vees in the 5-1 victory against the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Jan. 3.
- Quentin Musty (Sudbury, OHL) has been sidelined with an upper-body injury since Nov. 25. Musty logged 16 points (6g, 10a) in his last six games played before his injury.
PROSPECT NOTABLES – INTERNATIONAL
- Yaroslav Korostelyov (SKA-1946, MHL) leads SKA-1946 netminders in goals against average (1.79) with a minimum 10 games played and is tied for first in shutouts (2).
- Axel Landén (IK Oskarshamn, HockeyAllsvenskan) netted his first goal of the season as a member of IK Oskarshamm on Jan. 3 at Tingsryds AIF. He ranks second among U-20 HockeyAllsvenskan blueliners in plus-minus rating (+7).
- Theo Jacobsson (Östersunds IK, HockeyAllsvenskan) has found the score sheet in two of his past three games played, including netting his third goal of his campaign on Dec. 27 at Almtuna IS.
