• PROSPECT-UPDATE ARCHIVE
The USHL held its annual Top Prospects game on Tuesday, making it the day's
biggest event in draft-prospect land. Although the final score was close,
the game itself wasn't particularly exciting.
There's almost nothing worse in hockey than a game where absolutely nothing is at stake relative to the result. Maybe scouts get something out of these games, but they seem like any other All-Star exhibition, where nobody really cares who wins. Wouldn't it be better for the leagues to just hold skills competitions or combines instead of playing actual games?
Well, at least one prospect from that game made Tuesday's slimmed-down, three-player top-performances list. European leagues produced no candidates for the list on Tuesday, so check-out the trio of North America-based players below:
ALEXANDER ALEXEYEV -- One of the last cuts from Russia's World Junior team, Alexeyev has returned to the WHL with a bang. On Tuesday, he had a goal and two assists for his second three-point night of the season in Red Deer's 5-4 OT shootout loss at Lethbridge. The Rebels defenseman, who earned No. 2 star honors, got his team on the board with a goal at 13:39 of the opening period for a 1-1 tie. In the second period, he set up two power-play goals with primary helpers. The first goal, at 7:16, cut the lead to 3-2. The second goal, at 8:52, pulled Red Deer into a 3-3 tie. With five goals and 22 assists in 33 games this season, Alexeyev has already surpassed last season's four goals and 17 assists in 41 games. On Tuesday, he snapped a six-game goal-scoring drought. (Note: Fourth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
JACOB BERNARD-DOCKER -- The Okotoks Oilers defenseman continued his dominant play in the AJHL on Tuesday with two goals in a 6-4 road win over the Calgary Mustangs. Docker scored at 7:19 of the opening period to make it 1-1 and got another goal just 20 seconds into the third to cut Calgary's lead to 4-3. It was the University of North Dakota recruit's second two-goal game of the season, bringing him to 13 goals and 25 points in 32 games. He has almost doubled his goals total from last season in 22 fewer games. (Note: Fourth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
TYLER MADDEN -- Madden was the standout player at the USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game on Tuesday, scoring two goals to lead Team East to a 4-3 comeback win over Team West. The game's No. 1 star, who was playing in his home rink, notched his first goal at 9:07 of the second period for a 2-0 lead and snapped a 3-3 tie with the game-winner at 15:52 of the third. Madden's goals reflected his recent surge in league play, as he had three goals in four games leading up to Tuesday night. The son of longtime NHL player John Madden, Tyler, also a center, is a lock to get drafted in June, given both his pedigree and the strong season he is having with the Tri-City Storm. Before he goes after his NHL dream, however, he'll be attending Northeastern University. (Note: Second appearance on this list in 2017-18)