• PROSPECT-UPDATE ARCHIVE
Well, the Hockey Draft Central home office had a major power-outage in early March. The power came back after a few days, but it took weeks to catch up to the work of daily prospect updates.
So, in the spirit of moving along, check out abbreviated versions of each lost day's events:
CALEN ADDISON -- Addison helped Lethbridge end its WHL opening-round playoff series with a 6-4 win over Red Deer. The defenseman scored a goal and had an assist to cap off a great series. His primary assist on a power-play goal at 16:08 of the first period tied the score at 2-2, and his goal at 3:17 of the third pulled Lethbridge into a 3-3 tie. He finished the five-game series with two goals and five assists, scoring points in all but one game. (Note: Seventh appearance on this list in 2017-18)
JUSTIN BRAZEAU -- He's 20 year old and has missed out on two drafts, but North Bay star winger Brazeau has one more shot. His four goals on 10 shots in the Battalion's 6-5 triple-OT playoff loss at Kingston made a big statement. Brazeau rang off a natural hat trick in the process -- scoring at 15:45 of the first period for a 2-2 tie, getting a short-handed goal at 17:50 of the first, and a hat-trick goal at 3:55 of the second to make it 4-2. His final goal, at 16:39 of the third, gave North Bay a brief lead at 5-4. His team was eliminated from the OHL playoffs, but Brazeau excelled with five goals and seven points in five postseason games.
BEN COPELAND -- Copeland, a Colorado College recruit, has been a reliable scorer for the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks. His goal and two assists -- one point per period and all on the power play -- helped the Hawks to a 7-3 win, as Copeland was named the game's No. 1 star. His first assist helped open the scoring at 4:40 of the first period. His goal at 2:46 of the second made it, 3-0, and his second assist -- a primary helper at 3:59 of the third -- stretched the lead to 6-2. Copeland extended his point streak to six games. (Note: Fourth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
JACK DRURY -- The son and nephew of NHL players, Drury will build on his father Ted's legacy at Harvard. He was particularly sharp as the No. 2 star of Waterloo's 7-3 win over Dubuque with a goal and two assists on the power play. Drury scored at 4:40 of the first period for a 1-0 lead before setting up goals at 2:46 of the second and 3:59 of the third. The goal was his 22nd of the 2017-18 USHL season, and it gave him goals in five of his last six games. (Note: Fourth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
IVAN PROSVETOV -- No NHL team drafted Prosvetov in 2017, but that won't likely happen again this year. The Youngstown goaltender made 31 saves as the No. 3 star of the Phantoms' 6-1 win over the U.S. NTDP Under-17 team. Prosvetov stopped eight of nine first-period shots, all seven in the second, and 16 in the third. He ended the game with a 50:28 shutout run and improved to 4-1-1 in his last six USHL starts. (Note: Third appearance on this list in 2017-18)
SAMPO RANTA -- The Wisconsin recruit from Finland continued his strong USHL season with two goals and an assist in Sioux City's 6-1 win over Des Moines. The game's No. 1 star opened the scoring at 17:38 of the first period, had the primary assist on a power-play goal at 6:31 of the third, and closed the night with the game's final goal on a power play at 17:12. It marked the second straight night that Rampo recorded two goals and three points to earn No. 1 star honors. He had four goals and six points in two weekend games. (Note: Fifth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
MATTHEW STRUTHERS -- Struthers picked up three assists in North Bay's 6-5 triple-OT loss at Kingston that ended the Battalion's season. All of his assists were primary -- in fact, the only helpers on their respective goals. His first came at 15:45 of the opening period for a 2-2 tie. He then set up a short-handed goal at 17:50 of the first to go up 3-2. His final assist came on a goal at 3:45 of the second, stretching the lead to 4-2. Each assist came as part of teammate Justin Brazeau's natural hat trick. He finished the series with six points in five games. (Note: Seventh appearance on this list in 2017-18)
AKIL THOMAS -- Thomas led Niagara to a first-round playoff series victory as the No. 1 star of his team's 5-2 win over Oshawa. He capped off a great five-game series with a goal and an assist in the finale. After registering the primary assist on a power-play goal at 8:37 of the second period to make it 2-0, Thomas scored at 9:37 of the third to make it 4-2. He finished the series with four goals, three assists and three multi-point games. (Note: 13th appearance on this list in 2017-18)
TYLER TUCKER -- Barrie's defenseman kept scoring in the OHL playoffs with a goal, assist, and No. 1 star honors in a 5-2 win over Mississauga. His goal at 14:10 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie. His assist was a primary helper on a power-play goal with 34 seconds remaining. That gave him three goals and four points in his last two playoff games, including back-to-back game-winners, and matched his entire regular-season goals total. (Note: Second appearance on this list in 2017-18)
McKADE WEBSTER -- Webster, a Yale recruit from St. Louis, scored two goals on five shots for Green Bay in a 6-1 rout of Central Illinois. The game's No. 2 star scored his first goal -- the eventual game-winner -- for a 2-1 lead at 7:23 of the opening period. His other goal came less than four minutes later to make it 3-1. Webster has a three-game USHL point streak that includes three goals, two assists and a pair of three-star selections. (Note: Second appearance on this list in 2017-18)