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Colorado Avalanche prospect report: Regular season milestones and playoff wins

All Big Ten prospects advanced to the next round!

By LaurenKelly24
Terry Wilson - OHL Images

It was a quiet week for Avalanche prospects, despite all Big Ten prospects moving onto the next round of the playoffs.

Ontario Hockey League

#17 - Brandon Saigeon (C)
Oshawa Generals (42-20-4)

Saigeon became Mr. 300 on Saturday:

He had a relatively quiet week, only tallying one assist in four games. Saigeon is 12th in OHL scoring and has 88 points in 66 games this season.

The Generals have two more games remaining in the regular season, and sit third in the conference.

Western Hockey League

#21 - Nick Henry (RW)
Lethbridge Hurricanes (38-18-10)

The Hurricanes clinched a playoff spot last Wednesday and sit second in the division:

Henry had an empty-net goal and three assists in Lethbridge’s three games, hitting a milestone:

Henry has 91 points in 67 games, and sits seventh in WHL scoring. The Hurricanes will wrap up their regular season with back-to-back games this weekend, with their final game on Saturday.

NCAA

#16 - Cale Makar (D)
UMass Minutemen (26-8-0)

Makar had two assists in the Minutemen’s final game of the season (a 4-3 loss to UConn). He was named Hockey East’s defensive player of the week:

That brought him to 42 points on the season, and wrapped up one of the best regular seasons by a defenseman in UMass and conference history:

UMass will head into the Hockey East playoffs as the top seed, and they’ll play their first of a three-game series against New Hampshire tomorrow.

#15 - Shane Bowers (C)
Boston University Terriers (14-16-4)

The Terriers were shutout (and stomped on) by Maine in their final game of the season. Bowers finished with 20 points in 33 games, and BU landed fifth in the conference. They’ll take on the UMass-Lowell River Hawks in the first round.

#26 - Cam Morrison (LW), #4 - Nick Leivermann (D), #2 - Nate Clurman (D)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (18-13-3)
Playoffs Round 1 vs Michigan State: series won 2-0

It only took the Fighting Irish two games to dismantle the lowly Spartans, but it was a very low-scoring series. None of the Avalanche prospects landed on the scoresheet, but they’ll be in a tougher match-up against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in round two.

#58 - Sampo Ranta (RW)
Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-15-4)
Playoffs Round 1 vs Michigan: series won 2-0

The Gophers sent the Wolverines packing with two straight wins. Ranta only contributed one assist, but it was very pretty:

Minnesota will play Notre Dame in the second round on Saturday.

#25 - Denis Smirnov (RW)
Penn State Nittany Lions (19-13-2)
Playoffs Round 1 vs Wisconsin: series won 2-1

This was the only Big Ten quarter-final that went the distance, but Penn State clawed back to advance after dropping the first game to Wisconsin. Smirnov had one assist, but it helped give the Lions the lead in the clinching game:

Penn State will take on Ohio State in the next round, which should be a great and difficult match-up, since the Buckeyes were awarded an automatic bye to the semi-finals thanks to their first place finish in the conference.

#40 - Tyler Weiss (LW)
Nebraska Omaha Mavericks (9-22-3)

The Mavericks wrapped up their regular season with two losses to North Dakota, but Weiss added a goal and an assist in their final game.

Despite finishing last in the NCHC, Weiss and Omaha will head to the playoffs this weekend, taking on Minnesota-Duluth in the first round. Weiss finished the regular season with three goals and ten points in 23 games.

Europe

#51 - Nikolai Kovalenko (RW)
KHL - Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (40-16-6)
Playoffs Round 1 vs Sochi: series won 4-2
Playoffs Round 2 vs St. Petersburg: down 1-0

Lokomotiv advanced to the second round, but Kovalenko has not played in the team’s last four games. However, it’s not uncommon to see rookies benched during the playoffs in favor of more experienced players.

#2 - Danila Zhuravlyov (D) — ELIMINATED
VHL - Bars Kazan (27-22-7)

#19 - Gustav Olhaver (RW) — ELIMINATED
Allsvenskan (SWE) - Tingsryds AIF (19-25-8)

Tingsryds ended their regular season to finish 12th in Allsvenskan and miss out on the playoffs. Olhaver didn’t record any points, and ended the year with eight points in 51 games.