With all the North Americans pro hockey leagues ending their regular seasons it’s time to take one last look at how some current and former Worcester pro players did in the 2017-2018 season. Once again we’re using the old logo, and you can guess how much time I’ve put in on a new one.
For the North American pro leagues any player in their league’s top-20 or leading their NHL team gets listed, and for the European leagues it’s just those in the top-five for the league. Goaltenders only get a mention if they meet their league’s qualifying minimums. All of the stats and rankings are as of April 15th.
For NHL skaters San Jose’s Logan Couture leads the way with two mentions, tying for 17th with 34 goals and 15th with two shorthanded goals. His Sharks teammate Chris Tierney and Boston Bruins forward Tommy Wingels also have two shorties.
Tampa Bay’s Yanni Gourde ties for third with a +34 rating, and Florida’s Micheal Haley leads the NHL with 212 penalty minutes. Joakim Ryan is the only former Worcester pro outside the NHL’s top-20 to be a team leader, with his +13 being the best on the Sharks.
Goaltender Carter Hutton of St Louis hits the list three times, with his .931 save percentage and 2.09 goals against average both leading the league. His three shutouts tie him for 16th.
In the AHL it’s just two skaters getting a mention, with Laval’s Matt Taormina‘s 48 assists ranking him third, and Springfield’s Bobby Farnham‘s 123 penalty minutes landing him in tenth.
Netminder Harri Sateri gets two mentions for his play with the Thunderbirds, earning a third place spot with a .927 save percentage and a sixth for his 2.30 goals against average.
For the ECHL we have five active Railers making the posting, with Barry Almeida leading the skaters with two mentions. His 39 assists tied him for 15th, and his 61 points tied him for 20th. Chris Langkow‘s four shorthanded goals tied him for second, and Yanick Turcotte cracks the top-10 with 188 penalty minutes.
For the goaltenders Mitch Gillam hits the list four times, leading off with his ECHL leading five shutouts. His 2.15 goals against average and .925 save percentage both land him in fourth place, and his 23 wins ties him for fifth.
Eamon McAdam makes the posting twice, with his 2.84 goals against average earning him the 16th spot and a .910 save percentage tying him for 19th.
Other former Worcester pros landing in the ECHL’s top-20 were Reading’s Matt Willows, who gets four mentions with his 32 goals being sixth best in the league and 42 assists tying him for ninth, his third place 74 points, and five game winners tying him for eleventh.
Rapid City’s Peter Sivak tied for the 20th spot with 61 points, and Jacksonville’s tough-guy Garet Hunt finished the season in third with 221 penalty minutes.
Netminder Jeff Jakaitis of South Carolina rounds out the ECHL mentions with his 18 wins tying him for 17th, his third ranked 2.13 goals against average, and a .922 save percentage landing him in sixth.
While we don’t usually post the SPHL rankings, a quick mention of Huntsville’s Anthony Calabrese tying for 19th place with a +14 rating seemed like something worth doing.
Overseas, Riley Brace of the AlpsHL led the league with 49 assists and 76 points, and was third in goals with 27. Michael Swift did the same in the Asia League, leading the league in assists with 28 and points with 42. His 14 goals was third in the Asia League.
Over in the DEL Mike Connolly tied for fourth with 42 assists, and Brendan Brooks, the lone former IceCats player to make the listing, tied for third in the EIHL with 32 goals.
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