• PROSPECT-UPDATE ARCHIVE
One of the nice things about the Canadian Hockey League is that it allows players from all three of its major-junior circuits to go home for Christmas.
NHL players get two or three days off, but the CHL lets kids go home for up to 10 days. They bring them back before New Year's Eve, but it's a generous amount of time to give up in the middle of the season.
Two of three players on the list below went into the CHL break on a high note. Here's the Sunday trio:
NIKOLAI KOVALENKO -- Kovalenko is really putting up the points of late. The Russian winger picked up three more assists Sunday, as his Yaroslavl Loko team beat Khabarovsk 6-3. Kovalenko assisted on a goal at 4:08 of the second period to cut the lead to 3-2. He then picked up another assist on the tying goal at 9:24 of the second, as Yaroslavl continued its run of unanswered scores. He helped close the scoring with an assist on the final goal just 31 seconds into the third period. Kovalenko now has nine goals and 15 assists in 29 MHL games. That includes a four-game scoring streak in which he has accumulated a whopping nine points. (Note: Fourth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
RYAN McLEOD -- Mississauga's top prospect for the 2018 draft now averages more than a point per game after getting a goal and two assists in the Steelheads' 7-2 rout of Sudbury on Sunday. McLeod, the game's No. 3 star, had a point in each period. He assisted on the opening goal at 4:08 of the first, scored shorthanded at 18:24 of the second to make it 4-1, and set up a goal at 3:36 of the third for a 6-2 lead. McLeod, whose older brother is a top Devils prospect, has nine goals and 35 points in 34 OHL games. That includes goals in two of his past three games. (Note: Sixth appearance on this list in 2017-18)
DAVID TENDECK -- Prior to this season, Tendeck didn't even crack the list of top-rated goaltenders for the 2018 draft. Now, the Vancouver Giants netminder is one of the more tempting Canadians out there. On Sunday, he posted his second shutout of the season in a 2-0 win over Prince George, earning No. 3 star honors. His 40 saves included 16 stops in the second period and 15 in the third. Tendeck has six straight WHL wins with a .966 save percentage of the past four starts to rank third in the WHL with a 2.90 goals-against average and 10th in save percentage at .913. (Note: Third appearance on this list in 2017-18)