Prospect Madden hones his scoring touch
Three big goals in a pair of games against NCAA powerhouse St. Cloud
It’s the latest edition of the weekly tracker, where we tally up the efforts of the Vancouver Canucks’ highest-profile prospects:
TYLER MADDEN
A short-handed goal? Nice. A two-goal effort? Even better.
Leading your team to victory in an impenetrable fortress? Priceless.
Madden put the Northeastern Huskies on his back Friday night, scoring a pair of goals to defeat No. 14-ranked St. Cloud State 4-1 in a building the home team went 170-1 in last season.
The Canucks’ 2018 third-rounder scored his first on a short-handed rush up the ice, taking a crosscrease pass from Matt Felipe and tapping it in past the goaltender to make the score 2-1.
Later in the second period, Madden, who broke out as an NCAA freshman last season with 12 goals, was at it again, finding the sweet spot in the slot to bury a one-timer — as well as the hopes of St. Cloud.
Madden almost had the hat trick goal on a third period breakaway, but the puck hopped on his stick just as he bore down for a shot.
“Big goals for us,” said head coach Jin Madigan after the game. “A really good offensive catalyst for us tonight.”
But wait, there’s more. Madden, 19, opened the scoring the next night against the same team, wheeling around in the left faceoff circle on the power play before depositing the puck between the pads of the St. Cloud netminder.
The No. 11 Huskies lost the game 2-1, but their No. 1 centre was the real winner of the weekend set. With the trio of goals, Madden has five in six games and continues to prove to Canucks brass that they have a versatile prospect with a ceiling that gets raised with each impressive performance.
The Canucks liked Madden’s tenaciousness, skating and hockey smarts when they drafted him. They’ll love his ability to consistently put the puck in the net.
Madden has five goals in six games and a plus-one rating this season.
VASILY PODKOLZIN
Mess with the bull, you get the horns.
The Canucks’ 2019 first-rounder put his head down and scored a patented Podkolzin goal on Tuesday night, taking the puck from a faceoff win and rushing it to the net before finishing with a nice backhand effort.
Podkolzin’s SKA-Neva of Russia’s second-tier Supreme Hockey League (VHL) would win the game 4-3 over Lada. It was a particularly strong night for Podkolzin, 18, who was tireless on the forecheck while continuing to show his creativity with the puck.
And for those worried Podkolzin’s demotion from the KHL would hurt his international appeal, don’t. The powerful Russian teenager was just named to the Russian team for the CHL’s upcoming Canada-Russia series.
Unfortunately, the closest the Canucks prospect will get to Vancouver is Saskatchewan for games on Nov. 13 and 14.
The Moscow native has two goals, five assists and a plus-4 rating in 12 VHL games this season.
NIKITA TRYAMKIN
The giant defenceman scored a big goal this past week — and how he did it was no small feat.
In Monday’s matchup against AK Bars, the Canucks’ 2014 third-rounder single-handedly got his team back into the game. Literally.
Down 2-0, Tryamkin went for a skate, beating a forechecker in his own end before somehow deking through two more defenders with one hand on his stick. He then slipped the puck past the goaltender to complete the improbable end-to-end rush.
The goal was Tryamkin’s first of the season. The defenceman finished the night with a plus-one rating despite his Avtomobilist team losing 6-1. He also logged a team-high 23:21 time on ice.
The 25-year-old “prospect” then played 20:05 in Friday’s 3-0 loss to Metallurg Mg, a game in which he was a minus-one.
Tryamkin has one goal, three assists and a plus-one rating in 21 games this season.
MIKE DIPIETRO
DiPietro’s dream start in the AHL hit REM mode this past week with another electric performance.
The 2017 third-rounder stopped 38 of 39 shots in a tight 2-1 shootout win in Hershey on Saturday night, upping his record to 3-0 for a 7-0 Utica Comets team that’s calling all the right shots in rotating their three goalies.
DiPietro, predictably, was named the game’s first star.
The 20-year-old was scintillating in the win, especially in a second-period sequence in which he made several five-alarm saves to keep the Bears from clawing back into the game.
DiPietro’s season stats are eye-popping. He has a 1.62 goalsagainst average and a stingy .940 save percentage.
Elsewhere in the lineup, defenceman and 2016 first-rounder Olli Juolevi (7 GP, 0G, 4A) notched another assist in Friday’s 5-1 win against the Binghamton Devils, while 2017 second-rounder Kole Lind (7 GP, 2G, 6A) scored in the same game to continue his strong start to his second pro season.
WILLIAM LOCKWOOD
We are not limited by our old age, we are liberated by it.
Lockwood, the captain for Michigan, scored in both Wolverines games this past weekend — and the NCAA senior looked good doing so.
In Friday’s 4-0 win against No. 18-ranked Western Michigan, the 21-year-old capped off a fine team effort with a slick snipe from the top of the faceoff circle. It appeared as though the wily college veteran was going to pass it to a defender, but instead turned and wristed a laser into the top corner.
Lockwood, the Canucks’ 2016 third-rounder, finished the game with a goal and a plus-one rating.
The next night at Western Michigan, the Wolverines lost 4-1 but the old dog had one bite left. Trailing 2-0 in the second period, Lockwood scored a power play goal to briefly get his team back into the game. He ended up with three shots on net and an even plus-minus rating.
Lockwood is a nice prospect to keep an eye on. He’s a hard-nosed winger who plays the game at a fast pace and has some scoring chops to boot.
The Bloomfield Hills product has three goals in six games and is a plus-two overall.
CARSON FOCHT
Winner, winner chicken dinner. In an outdoor WHL game billed as the Prairie Classic, Focht fired home the overtime clincher for the Calgary Hitmen in Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Pats in Regina. It was a big goal for the Regina native, who deserves some home cooking after sealing the deal.
“First off, being in my hometown was really special, but just the atmosphere out there was perfect,” Focht told Postmedia. “I don’t think we could have asked for better conditions. (There was) a little bit of flurries but I think that just made it a bit more special.”
The goal keeps Focht’s hot start percolating. The Canucks’ 2019 fifth-rounder continues to light the league on fire in his draftplus-one season and has goals in four straight games. He scored an empty-netter in Friday’s 4-2 win at the Moose Jaw Warriors as well.
Focht, a late-blooming centre whose potential is looking rosier by the day, is 18th in WHL scoring with nine goals and six assists in only 11 games played. He’s among the league leaders in points per game and is a plus-seven.
JETT WOO
Once a warrior, always a warrior. Woo went back to where it all began on Friday and put up two assists against his old Moose Jaw team. In fact, half of Woo’s six points this season have come against the Warriors.
After the game, Woo told the media the game was “something that I’m going to remember for a while.”
The 19-year-old 2018 second-rounder also had an assist in Sunday’s overtime win against the Pats.
Woo, who hasn’t exactly lit it up so far this season, also started slow last season before picking it up and having a fine offensive campaign.
The right-side, 205-pound defenceman continues to play his heavy, poised game and has one goal, five assists and a plus-one rating in 10 games this season.
NILS HOGLANDER
The good news? Nils is back from a five-game suspension for a violent elbow he landed to the face of an opponent.
The bad news? Nils was held scoreless this past week for Rogle BK of the Swedish Elite League.
Hoglander had one shot on goal and a plus-one rating in 10:10 of ice time in Thursday’s 2-1 overtime loss to Brynas. In Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Orebro, the Canucks’ 2019 second-rounder did a whole lot of nothing in 8:25 of ice time.
Still, Canucks brass are happy with the way he has started the season.
“Hoglander was off to a great start (before his suspension) and is putting everything on the ice that we expected he would do,” Canucks director of player development Ryan Johnson said.
Johnson is impressed with Hoglander’s power, strength, athleticism and battle level.
The 18-year-old forward has two goals, one assist and a plus-three rating in nine games this season.