Prospects

Caps Prospect Roundup: Colby Williams Is Back

Easily the biggest Caps prospect news this weekend was the return of the Regina Pats’ Colby Williams. Williams had been recovering from an upper arm injury after he fell through a glass table during the offseason. Before you snicker, don’t forget Tom Wilson injured his ankle a year ago in an offseason skateboarding incident. It happens. In college hockey-related news, Brian Pinho, after a week off for Providence, had a big impact in the team’s two games against Boston University. And finally, the Europeans were back on the ice last week. Well, sort of.

Now to the roundup:

ISamsonov_MetallurgIlya Samsonov: Goaltender for Metallurg Manitogorsk of the KHL; drafted first round, 22nd overall in 2015

Remember that “sort of” part about the European Caps prospects being back in action last week? Well, that is directed solely at Samsonov. Since the last roundup, Metallurg played four games. Samsonov didn’t play a single minute in any of them. That marks five straight games without a minute played for the young goaltender. You keep wearing that baseball hat, kid. Your time will come.

Metallurg is back in action Thursday, so here’s hoping Samsonov sees more action. Or any action.

Jonas Siegenthaler: Defenseman for the ZSC Lions of the Swiss league; drafted second round, 57th overall in 2015

JSiegenthaler_ZSCUnlike his European prospect counterpart, Siegenthaler did play in all three of the Lions’ games last week. On Thursday, despite a 4-3 shootout loss, Siegenthaler managed to finish the game with a plus-1 rating and with two shots on goal. However, it was in Sunday’s 5-3 win that he recorded his second point of the season – an assist. He also finished the game a plus-2 and with an additional two shots on goal. He was held completely off he scoresheet in Tuesday’s 4-2 loss, but as a young defenseman, what can you expect? At least he wasn’t on the ice for any goals.

ZSC returns to action Friday when it visits the Kloten Flyers (the same team Brooks Laich played on during the lockout).

Zach Sanford: Sophomore left wing at Boston College; drafted second round, 61st overall in 2013

ZSanford_BCBoston College may have only played one game this week, but it was a 6-4 win over Michigan State. Sanford recorded an assist on the Eagles’ third goal of the night as well as three shots. Sanford is now fourth on the team in points, with nine. In the latest NCAA rankings, Boston College stayed put at second.

Sanford and the Eagles return to action Saturday for another one-game weekend at New Hampshire. It’s looking like the game will be aired live (with a 7 p.m. puck drop) on Fox College Sports, but be sure to check your local listings.

 

Thomas DiPauli: Senior center at Notre Dame; drafted fourth round, 100th overall in 2012

TDiPauli_NotreDameOver the weekend, Notre Dame helped its ranking with a 3-2 over Northeastern on Thursday, and a 2-2 overtime tie on Friday. The Fighting Irish hopped up two spots to No. 16. Of the two, Friday was better, in terms of scoring, for DiPauli. He finished the game a plus-1, threw two shots on net and assisted on both goals, earning him second star honors. It was also DiPauli’s second multi-point game of the season and the 10th of his career. He’s also tied for first on the team in points, with nine. Check out DiPauli’s assists from Friday’s game below.

Notre Dame is back this weekend with back-to-back games at No. 5 Massachusetts-Lowell on Friday and Saturday.

Shane Gersich: Freshman center/left wing at University of North Dakota; drafted fifth round, 134th overall in 2014

SGersich_NorthDakotaThis was a weird week for Gersich and North Dakota. Despite beating Miami, who fell just short of making USCHO.com’s top-20 ranking, twice –6-2 on Friday and 4-3 in overtime on Saturday – North Dakota fell one spot to No. 4. Things didn’t go much better for Gersich. He finished the weekend with a single shot in Friday’s game and two shots, but a minus-1 rating, in Saturday’s game.

North Dakota’s freshman-heavy squad will visit No. 7 St. Cloud State this weekend in a back-to-back series that starts Friday night.

 

Connor Hobbs: Defenseman for the Regina Pats of the WHL; drafted fifth round, 143rd overall in 2015CHobbs_Regina

Remember how Hobbs missed games two weeks ago due to “an injury”? Well, turns out he’s got a concussion. He’s listed as day-to-day, but with a concussion, it’s anyone’s guess when he might be back in the lineup. Maybe one of these days, Regina will get both of Caps prospects on the ice.

SSpinner_omahaSteven Spinner: Freshman right wing at University of Nebraska-Omaha; drafted sixth round, 159th overall in 2014

With the week off, Nebraska-Omaha stayed steady at No. 6 in USCHO.com’s ranking. Spinner and the Mavericks are back on the ice Friday and Saturday at Miami. Friday’s game is scheduled to be aired on Fox College Sports with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop. Once again, check your local listings.

 

Colby Williams: Defenseman for the Regina Pats; drafted sixth round, 173rd overall in 2015

CWilliams_ReginaRegina’s captain is back, and he contributed in big ways over the weekend. In his first game back, a whopping 8-5 win over Red Deer, Williams scored a goal and an assist (the assist coming on the power play), was a plus-3 and took six penalty minutes. It should go without saying, but he was named the first star. In his second game, a 5-3 win over Lethbridge, Williams scored an unassisted goal and also finished with a plus-3 rating. Guess his arm is feeling better. Remember that Williams is a defenseman. Does this much scoring remind you of anyone? Most recently, in Tuesday’s game, a 4-2 win against Medicine Hat, Williams cooled down a bit, only notching one assist on the fourth goal, an empty netter. The Pats haven’t lost a game all season with their captain playing. Sure, that’s only three games, but it looked like Regina needed that pick-me-up. Check out Williams’ extensive highlights below.

Regina is back on the ice with back-to-back games on Friday at Brandon and Saturday at Prince Albert.

Regina vs. Red Deer. Williams (wearing No. 5) scores at 1:44, dishes a monster hit at 1:56 and assists on the power play goal at 3:21.

Regina vs. Lethbridge. Williams shows some nice puck possession starting at 1:49 and scores at 3:10.

Brian Pinho: Sophomore center at Providence College; drafted sixth round, 174th overall in 2013

BPinho_ProvidenceAfter a week off, Pinho and Providence College had quite the successful weekend, staying on top of the NCAA. In a rematch of the 2015 NCAA championship (which Providence won 4-3, in case you forgot), the Friars came away with two ties against Boston University, 1-1 on Friday and 3-3 on Saturday. On Friday, with the scoring so low, Pinho only notched one shot. Saturday was a different story. The Caps prospect got the scoring started in the first period, recorded three shots and finished plus-1. But Pinho’s real success this weekend came on the faceoff dot. The sophomore center went 13-for-16 on Friday and 11-for-18 on Saturday. For those not wanting to do the math, that’s an 81.3 and 61.1 percent success rate, respectively. On the season, Pinho is averaging 57.3 percent faceoff success. Always a good thing to see. Check out his goal from Saturday’s game below.

Providence is back at it with a home-and-home series against Northeastern, starting at home Friday.

Pinho wears No. 26. His goal is shown at the beginning.

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