Colorado Avalanche prospect report: Cale Makar had quite the weekend

I don’t think I’ve done a report where so many Avalanche prospects put up points in the last week. Looking up statistics was pleasantly surprising! Led by none other than Cale Makar, eight of these prospects had at least one point this week.

Ontario Hockey League

#17 - Brandon Saigeon (C)
Oshawa Generals (26-15-2)

After being traded to Oshawa at the deadline, Saigeon has picked up right where he left off since leaving Hamilton — the overager has three assists in three games with the Generals. He now has 66 points in 43 games, good enough for fifth in OHL scoring. The Generals are on a three-game winning streak and sit third in the East (second in their division).

Western Hockey League

#21 - Nick Henry (RW)
Lethbridge Hurricanes (23-12-8)

Henry has cooled off in the past week, only tallying one assist in four games. Lethbridge has gone 2-2 (win, loss, win, loss), and the team only scored once in each loss. With 63 points in 44 games, Henry sits 6th in WHL scoring — and Lethbridge is just one point back of Edmonton for first place in the Central Division.

NCAA

#16 - Cale Makar (D)
UMass Minutemen (17-3-0)

UMass played Vermont in back-to-back games (both wins) this weekend. Makar went pointless in the first game, and turned into a different player the following day. UMass is still first in their conference and they still only have three losses this season.

I guess I’ll let the following replays tell the story — Makar finished with four points when it was all said and done, and now has 8 goals and 16 assists in 20 games this season.

Oh, and he was also named Hockey East’s defensive player of the week:

Okay, I’m drooling at this rush:

Makar took off for a pretty sweet assist:

Here’s his second goal:

And finally, here are full highlights from the game because UMass didn’t post any of Cale’s other points:

Damn, Cale. Have yourself a weekend.

Voting is now open for the 2019 Hobey Baker Memorial Award. You can vote for Cale here.

#15 - Shane Bowers (C)
Boston University Terriers (8-8-3)

The best way to come off a disappointing World Juniors is to return to your regular team and kick some ass. In two games this past weekend, Bowers scored twice against Providence and added an assist against New Hampshire.

Here are both of Bowers’ goals:

Bowers now has 11 points in 18 games this season. With their two wins, the Terriers have climbed up to third in the conference — though they still have twice the amount of losses than the second place team (Northeastern).

#26 - Cam Morrison (LW)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-8-1)

Notre Dame played twice against Minnesota, and the Irish lost both times. Morrison finished with one assist (on a goal that I will delve further into in the next player) in the first game, and went pointless in the second one. Morrison has 14 points in 17 games, and Notre Dame still sits second-last in the always-tough Big-10 conference.

#4 - Nick Leivermann (D)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-8-1)

First of all, let’s give a big round of applause to Leivermann, who scored his first career NCAA goal this past weekend (this is where Morrison’s assist came from)!

Take a look at his goal here:

Even though Leivermann went pointless in the second game this weekend, scoring his first college goal is pretty great. Also, it gives me something more fun to write about for him! Leivermann now has two points this season.

#2 - Nate Clurman (D)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-8-1)

He actually played!

No points, as usual, but he finished with three shots on goal (and a minus-1) in two games.

At least he played.

#58 - Sampo Ranta (RW)
Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-8-4)

It was a big winning weekend for the Gophers, who beat Notre Dame twice. Ranta had three assists for his first career multi-point game in the NCAA.

Here’s his first assist on the opening goal:

I couldn’t find footage of Ranta’s second assist, but here’s his third:

Ranta’s three point weekend gives him 11 points in 20 games this season. Minnesota is second in the Big-10 conference.

#25 - Denis Smirnov (RW)
Penn State Nittany Lions (13-7-2)

Penn State went 1-1 against Michigan State this past weekend. Smirnov went pointless in both games, but had six shots on goal. He was a minus-1 in both games, but considering the Spartans scored eight times, that’s not too bad. Penn State has a huge conference series against Ohio State this weekend — the Buckeyes are first in the Big-10 and ranked fourth in the NCAA.

#40 - Tyler Weiss (LW)
Nebraska Omaha Mavericks (6-12-2)

The Mavericks lost twice to Denver. Weiss had zeroes across his stat lines for both games. The team is second-last in the NCHC — and is tied for the most losses in the conference. Weiss still only has one point this season.

Europe

#51 - Nikolai Kovalenko (RW)
KHL - Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (31-15-3)

Lokomotiv played twice this past week. They were shutout in the first game, but won the next. Kovalenko made his return in the win, finishing with one shot on goal, a minus-1, and playing 10:29. It might take him a couple of games to re-adjust to playing with men. Kovalenko has five points (four are goals) in 26 KHL games this season.

#2 - Danila Zhuravlyov (D)
VHL - Bars Kazan (18-17-6)

Bars lost twice before winning their third game this week. Zhuravlyov, who like Kovalenko was making his return to the team after the World Juniors, went pointless.

#19 - Gustav Olhaver (RW)
Allsvenskan (SWE) - Tingsryds AIF (13-16-5)

Tingsryds played twice this week, going 1-1. Olhaver scored in the win, giving him eight points in 35 games.

I couldn’t find a goal video, but here’s proof he did score: