High-flying Hughes turns on jets
Comets’ Dahlen has undeniable skills, but his defensive numbers could use some improvement
It’s the latest edition of the weekly tracker, where we tally up the efforts of the Vancouver Canucks’ highest-profile prospects:
QUINN HUGHES
Sometimes, you have to take care of your own business before helping others with theirs.
If you’re Quinn Hughes, you can do both.
No news was good news for Hughes in a 4-2 win in Minnesota on Friday night. He was neat, he was tidy and finished a plus-1 with one shot on net. It was the kind of even-keeled effort the roving wunderkind would’ve wanted after the messy events at MSG a week before.
But then he dialed it back up on Saturday — and it was spectacular.
Hughes scored a goal, added an assist and had four shots on net in a 4-3 loss against the same Golden Gophers that was Exhibit A of his elite skating and talent.
Hughes’ goal came off a pretty give-and-go with his defensive partner. On the play, Hughes passed it at the blue-line, skated across the zone and one-timed the puck past the glove of the Golden Gophers’ goalie.
His assist is another highlight-reel play only a skater like Hughes can pull off, pulling the defence apart with speed, skill and an eye for the open teammate.
Hughes did have a rough moment, getting beat by a nice toe-drag move for a goal against, but he was in position to make the play and went for the puck instead of the body.
It was the kind of play you don’t mind after what Hughes gave to his Wolverines teammates the rest of the game.
Hughes has four goals and 21 assists in 23 games this NCAA season. He’s also a minus-5.
JONATHAN DAHLEN
Dahlen’s rookie campaign with the Comets will ultimately be judged by how many goals he gets, and the slick Swede scored again in a 4-3 win Saturday in Springfield, Mass.
With the Comets leading 1-0 in the first period, fellow prospect Kole Lind dropped the puck to former prospect Brendan Gaunce, who fed it across the crease to Dahlen. Tick-tack-toe — goal.
It was the 21-year-old’s 12th of the season. He had two shots on net and was a minus-1.
On Friday, Dahlen’s line was victimized a couple times for goals in a 4-0 loss at the Syracuse (N.Y.) Crunch, snapping a three-game win streak for the Comets.
His defensive numbers aren’t great. Plus-minus may be an imperfect stat, but Dahlen’s now a minus-13 — the worst rating among forwards on the team.
He’s also dropped out of the top 20 in AHL rookie scoring with 23 points in 44 games.
Dahlen’s skill level is undeniable. He’s shifty, he’s got superb hands and a good shot.
As for his defensive game? He’s addressed what he needs to work on before while adapting to AHL hockey.
The Comets are fourth in the AHL’s North Division with a 24-19-3-2 record.
JETT WOO
He’s on fire, folks. Woo continued his hot-scoring stretch, adding another four assists in two games this past week for the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors.
Woo had one of those assists Friday, a 6-1 win against the Medicine Hat Tigers. He finished the game a plus-1 and had two shots on net.
Then on Saturday, Woo’s Warriors took on the WHL’s-best Raiders in what was a 4-3 loss in Prince Albert.
Woo had three power-play assists in the game for what is now the league’s second-best power play.
Woo’s offensive numbers are looking better and better as the season wears on. He’s now sixth in the WHL in defensive scoring and trails the Vancouver Giants’ phenom Bowen Byram by only three points — and Byram scored 10 goals in January alone.
Woo’s having an excellent year, as Canucks general manager Jim Benning told TSN 1040 earlier in the week, and continues to blossom as a well-rounded, right side defender.
The 18-year-old has 10 goals and 35 assists in 45 games this season.
MIKE DIPIETRO
Well, that didn’t take long. A week after riding the pine in consecutive games for the 67’s, DiPietro reclaimed the crease with back-to-back wins this past weekend.
The Canucks’ 2017 thirdrounder stopped 30-of-33 shots in a 4-3 overtime win Friday against the Guelph Storm, then muzzled the Niagara IceDogs in a 6-1 win Saturday.
He earned third-star honours saving 25-of-26 shots.
DiPietro recently told The Sporting News he had to refocus his game after the world juniors, and part of that was to get off of social media.
“It’s just better for myself and my overall game. Nobody likes reading positive or negative things about them ‘cause you’re never as good as they say you are and never as bad,” he said in the Jan. 29 interview.
“I think if I just keep things simple, keep it in front of me and have a less-crowded mind, in the future and the long run it’ll pay off.”
The 67’s are tops in the OHL with a 38-9-3-1 record and DiPietro’s numbers with the team are starting to improve after a mid-season trade from the Windsor Spitfires. He now has a 2.82 goals-against-average and a .896 save percentage in nine games with the 67’s.
WILL LOCKWOOD
Consistency is key for Lockwood, who scored in his fifthstraight game in the Wolverines’ 4-2 win Friday.
The goal was no Picasso, yet it painted a greater picture of the type of NHLer the 20-yearold can be.
Lockwood, hard-nosed and soft-handed, picked up a rebound in front of the net, fired a shot off a defenceman, then put it in the net.
He didn’t register a point Saturday, but could have had a clean look at the net had he corralled a beautiful pass from Hughes.
Lockwood has 11 goals and 10 assists in 27 games this season. He’s also a plus-3 overall. Tyler Madden Madden’s Northeastern Huskies are dogging it at an inopportune time in the NCAA season.
Madden went pointless in the Huskies’ lone game this past week, a 3-1 loss to 12th-ranked UMass Lowell. The Canucks’ third-rounder in 2018 had three shots on net and went 8-for-18 in the faceoff circle in the loss, the Huskies’ third in a row.
The malaise comes ahead of the Boston-area Beanpot Tournament opener Feb. 4 against Boston University.
Madden, an NCAA freshman, has eight goals and 12 assists in 21 games. He’s also a plus-3.
JACK RATHBONE
Rathbone’s Harvard hockey squad continues to rise up the NCAA rankings, and the Canucks prospect has been the team’s backbone as of late.
The promising 19-year-old defenceman had another stellar outing Friday night, a 4-1 win versus Dartmouth. Rathbone was a plus-2 in the win, which propelled Harvard into the NCAA’s top 20.
Rathbone, a college hockey freshman, will also take part in the Beanpot Tournament on Feb. 4, as Harvard faces Boston College. A Rathbone versus Madden finale would be tantalizing for Canucks fans.
Rathbone, who is a plus-7 overall, has four goals and seven assists in 20 games this season.
TONI UTUNEN
The more he plays in the Finnish SM-Liiga, the more Utunen progresses.
Utunen, often used as a seventh-defenceman earlier this season, has seen his ice time increase and his play has followed suit.
The 18-year-old fifthrounder in 2018 played in three games for Tappara this past week, and clocked in at 13:19, 12:28 and 14 minutes of ice time, respectively. He also added an assist during that span.
Utunen has one goal and two assists in 30 games this season. He’s also a plus-3 in a league he had trouble keeping a roster spot in just last season.