Weegar commits to Mooseheads next season

Halifax Mooseheads general manager Cam Russell’s job this summer may have gotten a whole lot easier.

The Halifax Mooseheads announced today that Mackenzie “Mac” Weegar of the Nepean Raiders will commit to the team for the 2012-13 season.

Weegar reported to the Mooseheads training camp this past summer after being acquired by trade from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies just after the OHL Waiver draft.

A relative unknown to most who follow the Mooseheads, the offensive defenseman turned heads at camp, with a lot of fans predicting him to make the opening night line-up. Unfortunately for Weegar, the play of Josh Desmond and Mitchell Shewfelt couldn’t guarantee that spot.

With the NCAA eligibility deadline looming, Weegar informed the team he would not be remaining at camp, leaving the team and fans wondering what the future held. The question will now be about where Weegar will fit into next seasons depth chart.

Weegar’s offensive talents, if able to translate to the major junior level will solve a lot of problems that Russell was going to face this offseason. Weegar is second in defensive scoring in the Central Canada Tier 1 Junior Hockey League at just over a point per game. His 10 Goals and 44 points in 43 games lag only behind teammate Ryan Johnston. The Mooseheads will be expecting Weegar’s offense to fill the void that will inevitably be left when Konrad Abeltshauser, Halifax’s current offensive leader from the blue line, turns pro at the conclusion of this season.

The arrival of Weegar should also give Russell a few more assets to work with this offseason. The Mooseheads will still need to find at least one top pairing defenseman if they want to compete on the national level. Possibly two, if Steve Gillard is unable to recover from his concussion and return to past form. This will leave Desmond, Shewfelt, Austyn Hardie, newly acquired Brendan Duke and prospect Brian Lovell competing for the three remaining spots. This will leave Russell with some tough choices this summer as two of those names will likely be included in a move to acquire needed 20-year-old players.

Weegar currently stands at 5-11 and 183-pounds according to NHL Central Scouting who also have the right hander ranked 160th among North American skaters leading into the 2012 NHL draft.

Keeping an eye on the Q's Europeans

Each season a new group of European stars bring their skills to North America via the CHL Import Draft.

These players usually go on to play significant roles for their Canadian clubs. This season is no different with six European skaters in the top 30 in QMJHL scoring.

Three of these six skaters are QMJHL rookies, taken in the 2011 import draft.

Mikhail Grigorenko leads the charge of European’s this season. Grigorenko, the QMJHL’s top prospect for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, leads all rookies with 61 points in 39 games this season.

He was ranked second amongst all North American skaters by the most recent NHL Central Scouting Service (CSS) report and has a four point lead over Halifax’s Nathan MacKinnon in the rookie scoring race. CSS ranks players based on the geography of their current league, not birthplace.

Grigorenko stands a very good chance at becoming the first QMJHL player to make the transition to the NHL as an 18-year-old since Rimouski’s Sidney Crosby made the jump in 2005. This is a very exclusive club, including Crosby, only four 18-year-olds have made the jump from the QMJHL in the past 15 years. These players are: VincentLecavalier, Pierre Marc Bouchard, and Patrice Bergeron.

Anton Zlobin has a lot of ground to make up if he’s going to catch Grigorenko for the European scoring crown. Zlobin is currently second in European scoring with 56 points in 48 games this season. Those five points may not seem like much, but Zlobin has played nine more games this season than Grigorenko.

Undrafted at the 2011 NHL draft and not dominating the way most would expect a 19-year-old European skater too, has dropped his draft stock in 2012. Still, Zlobin’s 31 goals lead all European skaters in the QMJHL this season and thus CSS has him projected as the 128^th skater amongst players in North American leagues.

Despite missing time due to injury and the World Junior Championships, Saint John’s Tomas Jurco sits third in team scoring and third among Europeans this season with 51 points.

Having played only 35 games, Jurco comes in with the least amount of games among Europeans in the top five. Averaging well over a point per game and having the luxury of playing for a powerhouse Saint John squad, expect Jurco to take over second spot among the top five by season's end. If anyone has the ability to challenge Grigorenko for the European scoring lead this season it will be Jurco. A late birthday delayed Jurco’s draft eligibility until 2011 where he was taken 35^th overall in the second-round by the Detroit Red Wings.

A three way tie rounds out the top 30 in QMJHL scoring as well as the top five amongst Euro’s.

Sven Andrighetto, Marek Hrivik and Matej Beran each have 50 points on the season.

Andrighetto leads the three with 23 goals on the season, yet of the three, he’s the lowest ranked by CSS at 186th.

Hrivik and Beran are tied with 19goals each and are likely to be drafted this summer. Beran is ranked 59^thamong North American skaters and Hrivik 65^th.

Despite various rankings, all six are playing crucial roles for their respective teams this season. Grigorenko and Zlobin are the leading scorers for two Presidents Cup contenders in Quebec and Shawinigan.

Andrighetto leads his club, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, as well. On P.E.I., Beran follows only star Ben Duffy in scoring and Jurco and Hrivik sit third on their respective teams in scoring.

Frk finding success in 2012 despite Moosehead struggles

The Halifax Mooseheads struggles in 2012 continued this weekend with losses to both Cape Breton and Saint John.

Friday night at the Metro Center, Cape Breton capitalized on their chances to beat the Mooseheads 4-3 in a game where Halifax outshot their opponents 42-27.

Then Saturday, in Saint John, the Mooseheads were able to keep up with the Sea Dogs until a three goal onslaught in just over three and a half minutes in the third period, ended any ideas of a Halifax victory. However, not all is dark in Moose Country. Despite a slow start, Martin Frk has taken his game to a new level to start 2012.

Frk’s struggles this season have been well documented. He began the pre-season on fire, with six points in three games, until a concussion put him out of action until mid-December. Then a technicality kept him out of action again until after the World Junior Championships. His initial return was lackluster with only one goal in seven games. It was clear he wasn’t in game shape, and it showed. He was slow, and didn’t look nearly as dangerous as he had last season when, as a 16-year-old rookie, he was second on the Mooseheads in scoring with 22 goals and 50 points. His draft ranking plummeted. Some were projecting Frk a top 5 pick in the NHL draft entering his rookie QMJHL campaign to where he sits currently; 25^th North American Skater by CSS, 32^ndoverall by ISS, and 36^th overall on Craig Button’s Craig’s List on TSN.ca.

But while the Mooseheads are having a slow start to 2012, Martin Frk is breaking out. Frk has been held off the scoresheet only once in seven games to start the New Year. In that span he’s had three multi-point games. Frk now has 10 points on the season, five goals and five assists. Nine of those points have come in 2012. If Frk can maintain this torrid pace, he’ll finish the season with 38 points and 19 goals in only 36 games played.

Mikhail Grigorenko, the QMJHL’s top prospect, is first on the ISS rankings and second among North American skaters on the CSS rankings has 26 goals and 59 points in 37 games for the Quebec Remparts this season. Frk’s 2012 pace would put him at 24 goals and 48 points over that same timeline. Not much of difference for someone who’s currently expected to be drafted at least a full round lower this June at the NHL Entry Draft. It was Nathan MacKinnon who was supposed to be the star of Rogers Sportsnet Friday Night Hockey showdown against Chicoutimi, but it was Frk’s highlight-reel goal and NHL ready shot that dominated discussion. Frk is starting to turn some heads again and if he continues his strong play don’t be surprised to hear his name called much earlier than currently expected on draft day this summer.