Prospects News & Rumors: Frozen Four, Jarvis & Slavin

There are eight NHL drafted prospects on the Bulldogs roster: Blake Biondi (Montreal Canadiens), Matt Cairns (Edmonton Oilers), Noah Cates (Philadelphia Flyers), Wyatt Kaiser (Blackhawks), Cole Koepke (Tampa Bay Lightning), Luke Loheit (Ottawa Senators), Quinn Olson (Boston Bruins) and Nick Swaney (Wild).

St. Cloud State

The Huskies were the first of two teams to advance to the Frozen Four on Sunday. They became the fourth team to beat both Boston University and Boston College in the same tournament. They have an experienced roster full of seniors and postseason experience. They looked dominating in their 4-1 Northeast Regional final victory over the BC. This came after losing leading scorer Easton Brodzinski, who had two goals versus BU, in the first period.

St. Cloud State boasts four NHL drafted prospects: Sam Hentges (Wild), David Hernak (Los Angeles Kings), Veeti Miettinen (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Nick Perbix (Lightning).

Minnesota State

The Mavericks finally got over the hump. After going winless in their first six NCAA tournament appearances, they erased a late 3-1 deficit to beat Quinnipiac 4-3 in overtime to advance to the West Regional Final. They then dominated the heavily-favored Minnesota Golden Gophers 4-0, with goaltender Dryden McKay picking up his 10^th shutout of the season. With a first name like that, it is no surprise he’s been great between the pipes.

There are two NHL drafted prospects playing for Minnesota State: Todd Burgess (Senators) and Nathan Smith (Winnipeg Jets)

These four squads will head to the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh for the National Semifinals on Thursday, April 8. Minnesota State will take on St. Cloud State in the first game, with Minnesota Duluth and UMass meeting in the second. The winners will play for the National Championship on Saturday, April. 10.

Seth Jarvis Continues to Impress

It doesn’t matter what league Jarvis is playing in this season. Whether it be the American Hockey League (AHL) or the Western Hockey League (WHL), he is finding the scoresheet on a regular basis.

On Sunday, he scored the game-winning goal in the Portland Winterhawks’ 7-4 victory over the Seattle Thunderbirds.

While on the penalty kill, Jarvis showed off his speed to get past the defense, then used his awareness to protect the puck before snapping it past goaltender Thomas Milic. He finished the game with six shots on goal and a plus-5 rating.

Jarvis, selected 13^th overall by the Hurricanes last October, now has two goals and four points in six WHL games. While he was waiting for the season to start, he played nine games with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL, where he scored seven goals and 11 points.

Josiah Slavin Scores in Pro Debut

The Blackhawks think they have a real steal in Slavin, who they drafted in the seventh round (193rd overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot-3 forward made his professional debut for the Rockford IceHogs on Sunday night after completing his career at Colorado College. The younger brother of Hurricanes’ defenseman Jaccob Slavin took to the ice against the Wolves, Carolina’s AHL affiliate.

Early in the third period of a 5-4 loss, Slavin scored the IceHogs’ third power-play goal of the game for his first professional goal.

Slavin used a formula that will make him a very successful player going forward. He skated right to the front of the net and was quickly found the puck to swipe it home.

“I just want to get in as many games as I can,” Slavin said before skating in his first AHL tilt. “I want to try to be in the lineup every night and to work my way to that.”

With plays like this one, playing every night should not be a problem for Slavin from here on out.