• PROSPECT-UPDATE ARCHIVE
It was a relatively quiet Sunday, as many international teams began their November break. Over the next week or so, there will be many tournaments taking place, but none bigger for draft prospects than the Five Nations event in Finland. Dozens of top-notch Europeans, plus the whole U.S. NTDP Under-18 team, will be on display in Hameenlinna.
Only five players make the list for Sunday, and three are from Europe. There is no question that the European talent pool is extremely deep this season. Check out Sunday's top performances below:
ALBIN ERIKSSON -- Eriksson, a left wing with Skelleftea's Under-20 team, is a lock to get drafted, even if it's in the later rounds. He's almost 6-foot-5 and can really skate. In fact, he might be one of those surprise Europeans taken in the first two rounds. He boosted his profile on Sunday with two goals on six shots in Skelleftea's 4-2 win over Leksand. Eriksson scored the game's first goal on a power play at 0:54 of the second period before stretching the lead to 2-0 with another goal at 9:13 of the second. It was Eriksson's first two-goal game of the season. He has seven goals and seven assists in 15 U20 games..
SAMUEL ERSSON -- The Gavle U20 goaltender had an outstanding weekend with back-to-back wins. After making 27 saves in a 7-2 win on Saturday, he came right back Sunday with another 27 saves in a 3-1 win over Solna AIK. Heading into the weekend, Ersson hadn't won a game since Oct. 20. Before that he had been very hot, and he has now won 11 of his 15 starts this season. (Note: Fourth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
PHILIPP KURASHEV -- Kurashev, the No. 3 star of Quebec's 5-4 loss to Blainville-Boisbriand, scored twice on Sunday. His first goal came on a power play with 42 seconds left in the first period, cutting the lead to 2-1. He later scored another power-play goal at 16:58 of the second to give the Remparts a 4-2 lead. It was the Swiss center's fourth multi-point game of the season. He has 15 points in 19 QMJHL games after scoring 54 in 65 last season. (Note: Second appearance on this list in 2017-18)
EETU MAKI -- Maki, who will play for Finland in the Five Nations tournament, had a big Sunday with two power-play goals on six shots in Vaasa U20's 3-2 win over Kuopio. The first goal, at 5:02 of the opening period, made it 1-0. The second, at 16:05 of the period, put Vaasa up 2-1. Maki is on a five-game scoring streak with six goals and nine points over the span. He has surged up to 17 points in 24 games this season. (Note: Second appearance on this list in 2017-18)
MERRICK RIPPON -- A Mississauga rookie defenseman, Rippon is not known as a scorer but was a huge offensive force on Sunday with his first OHL three-point game. All three points came on assists, helping the Steelheads roll over Peterborough 9-2. His first assist, a primary helper at 19:26 of the opening period, made it 4-1. His later had a primary assist on a power-play goal at 2:03 of the third period for a 7-2 lead, and he assisted on the power-play goal that closed the scoring at 14:25 of the third.