Golden Knights Prospects Watch – Week 1 (9/29 – 10/04)

Every few days we will be keeping tabs on what the latest is with the Golden Knights junior league prospects by giving you game statistics, reports and other useful information. Our first installment includes games from September 29 through October 4. We have also included the upcoming games for each player through October 8.

Forward Prospects

Jakub Brabanec – Charlottetown Islanders
Did not play in the season opener on the road against Acadie-Bathurst.
Upcoming Games This Week (10/05 – 10/08):
10/07 – at Saint John
10/08 – vs Halifax

Zach Dean – Gatineau Olympiques
Dean earned first star honors in his first game against Quebec with a goal and an assist on three shots. The eventual game winning goal came just 17 seconds into the second period. The lone assist came with an empty net insurance goal at 18:59 in the third period. On the faceoff, Dean won 13 of the 24 battles.
2022-23 Stats | 1 GP | 1 G, 1 A – 2 pts | 0 PIM
Upcoming Games This Week (10/05 – 10/08):
10/05 – at Val-d’Or
10/07 – vs Val-d’Or
10/08 – vs Rouyn-Noranda

Jordan Gustafson – Seattle Thunderbirds
Gustafson earned one assist in a victory against Vancouver on October 1 with the assist coming off a goal 14:06 into the first period of play. Gustafson had one shot on goal in the game and collected eight wins on 17 faceoffs in the game.
2022-23 Stats | 1 GP | 0 G, 1 A – 1 pt | 0 PIM
Upcoming Games This Week (10/05 – 10/08):
10/07 – at Kelowna
10/08 – at Vancouver

Ben Hemmerling – Everett Silvertips
In the season opener on September 29 against Tri-City, Hemmerling scored the eventual game-winning goal 19:36 into the second period of play. He ended the game with three shots and a +2 rating. On October 2 in a 4-0 win against Victoria, Hemmerling scored two assists with both coming on power play situations. The first coming at 12:11 in the first period and the second coming at 9:47 in the second period. In the game, he also had four shots while losing the only faceoff battle he was involved in.
2022-23 Stats | 2 GP | 1 G, 2 A – 3 pts | 0 PIM
Upcoming Games This Week (10/05 – 10/08):
10/07 – vs Medicine Hat
10/08 – vs Prince George

Matyas Sapovaliv – Saginaw Spirit
In the season opener October 1 during a 10-6 win against Guelph, Sapovaliv went scoreless on two shots with a +1 rating while winning 11 of 19 battles on the faceoff. He was issued a two minute minor and a 10-minute misconduct penalty at 17:39 in the third period for roughing. The next night in a 7-2 loss to Niagara, Sapovaliv scored a power play goal at 13:35 to give the Spirit a 2-1 first period lead. He also got three total shots in the game while going nine of 12 on the faceoff. In the second period, during a power play, Sapovaliv was issued a two minute minor for cross-checking.
2022-23 Stats | 2 GP | 1 G, 0  A – 1 pt | 4 PIM
Upcoming Games This Week (10/05 – 10/08):
10/07- at Sarnia
10/08 – vs Windsor

Defensemen Prospects

Artur Cholach – Barrie Colts
In a 2-1 season opening loss to Oshawa, Cholach had three shots during the game with a -1 rating. The next night during a 6-5 win against Sudbury, he earned an assist at 19:11 into the first period of play with two shots over the course of the game.
2022-23 Stats | 2 GP | 0 G, 1 A – 1 pt | 0 PIM
Upcoming Games This Week (10/05 – 10/08):
10/06 – vs Niagara
10/08 – vs Peterborough

Joe Fleming – Sherbrooke Phoenix
Fleming during a 4-1 season opening win against Rouyn-Noranda on September 30, earned a +1 rating with 2 hits. The next night against Val-d’Or, he had 1 shot and 2 hits in a 6-1 win.
2022-23 Stats | 2 GP | 0 G, 0 A – 0 pts | 0 PIM
Upcoming Games This Week (10/05 – 10/08):
10/06 – vs Rouyn-Noranda
10/08 – vs Moncton

Goaltender Prospects

Jesper Vikman – Vancouver Giants
In the season opener against Victoria on September 30. Vikman earned a 4-1 win stopping 15 of 16 shots over the course of 60 minutes of ice time. The next night against Seattle, he stopped 27 of 32 shots in a 6-4 loss. His goals against average stands at 3.04 and a save percentage of 0.875 in two starts this season.
2022-23 Stats | 2 GP | Record: 1-1 | 42 SV, 48 SH | 3.04 GAA | .875 SV PCT | 0 SHO
Upcoming Games This Week (10/05 – 10/08):
10/07 – vs Prince George
10/08 – vs Seattle

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