• PROSPECT-UPDATE ARCHIVE
The weekend closed with a rather quiet day for 2018 draft prospects on Sunday. Only three players made this top-performances list, and none of them are particularly big names in the draft pool.
The long season is wearing on some of the players who got off to great starts. Several players who were putting up points left and right in November are a shadow of their former selves. This allows scouts to determine the more consistent players.
Playoffs are on the horizon, so it will be interesting to see which players raise their games when the stakes are highest. Consistency and big-game performance are two factors that can make the difference between an NHL and AHL career.
It's getting to be crunch time. For now, check on this trio from Sunday:
CURTIS DOUGLAS -- Surely the tallest player in the draft pool, the 6-foot-8 Douglas is a hulking specimen. But the Windsor Spitfires center is more than just a big body. Since being traded to Windsor, he has blossomed into a scorer who averages nearly a point per game. He got three of them on Sunday, scoring a goal and adding two assists in the first period of Windsor's 7-0 win over Flint. Douglas, the game's No. 1 star, scored at 9:56 to stretch the lead to 3-0 before getting a primary assist on the goal at 14:00 that made it 4-0. He soon after assisted on the 6-0 goal at 16:58. Douglas has 18 goals and 41 points in 63 OHL games this season. Since the trade to Windsor, he has 11 goals and 23 points in 25 games, including goals and three-star selections in two of the last three. He's a really interesting player to watch. (Note: Third appearance on this list in 2017-18)
BLAKE PIETILA -- Pietila, a Michigan Tech recruit, had one of his best USHL games on Sunday, making 40 saves in Cedar Rapids' 4-2 win over Madison. The No. 3 star stopped 12 of 13 shots in the first period, all 14 in the second, and 14 of 15 in the third. This came just a day after his made 39 saves in a 2-1 loss. The back-to-back games were Pietila's first starts in two weeks, and Sunday's win was his first since Jan. 5. (Note: Sixth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
KRISTIAN REICHEL -- Hockey fans remember Robert Reichel, who played 830 games for four NHL teams. So if Robert's son Kristian is anything like his dad, then a long-term career could be in his future. He was looking good on Sunday with two goals on seven shots in Red Deer's 4-2 win at Vancouver. The Rebels center earned No. 2 star honors after scoring at 6:34 of the second period to tie it 1-1 and sending home the game's final goal at 11:35 of the third. Picked by Red Deer in last year's CHL Import Draft, Reichel has been a WHL force with 27 goals and 46 points in 52 games. He also played very well for the Czechs at the 2018 World Juniors. As far as getting drafted, however, he will already be 20 years old when the big day rolls around, and teams might decide to save a pick and sign him as a free agent. He's well worth a sixth- or seventh-rounder, however.