Daily 2018 Draft Prospect Updates

Oct. 9, 2017

PROSPECT-UPDATE ARCHIVE

Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadians, and thanks you, Canada, for giving the world the game of hockey. The OHL celebrated Monday's holiday with three games, and there was also action in the Czech Republic and Sweden. Other than that, it was a fairly quiet day for 2018 draft prospects.

Three players stood out and deserve mention on the top-performances list for the Canadian holiday, and two of those prospects aren't even Canadian. They are:

Stars of the Night

PAVEL GOGOLEV -- Don't look now, but Peterborough's Russian import is really heating up. Gogolev was on fire Monday as the No. 1 star of the Petes' 7-3 rout at North Bay. He scored a pair of goals for the second time in the past four games. His first goal, at 4:02 of the opening period, gave Peterborough a 2-0 lead. His second goal, on a power-play at 2:21 of the second period, made it 4-2 and stood up as the game-winner. With four goals on the OHL season, Gogolev is just one short of his rookie total. (Note: Second appearance on this list in 2017-18)

BRADY HINZ -- When you're an undersized major-junior winger, you have to work that much harder to get noticed. Hinz is doing just that this season, as he picked up another goal and assist in Sarnia's 6-5 OT win over Hamilton on Monday. Hinz scored the game's first goal on a power play at 4:50 of the first period. His assist was a much bigger deal, as it came on Calgary draftee Adam Ruzicka's game-winner at 1:12 of overtime. Hinz now has goals in three of his past four OHL games. Like Gogolev, he needs one more to match his 2016-17 total. (Note: Second appearance on this list in 2017-18)

MICHAL KVASNICA -- The WSM league is the second-highest league in the Czech Republic, and it gives draft prospects a chance to play against men without having to be in the Extraliga. Kvasnica is starting to blossom at this level, scoring in each of his last two games. On Monday, he had a goal and an assist to help Frydek-Mistek edge Vsetin 4-3. His goal, at 17:08 of the first period, cut Vsetin's early lead to 2-1, and his assist, at 3:30 of the second period, put Frydek-Mistek up 3-2. Kvasnica, who also scored at the Hlinka tournament, has good size and could be drafted high in June.