By: Dominic Tiano | Follow me on Twitter @dominictiano
The Providence Bruins signed NCAA free agent defenceman Grant Gabriele to a one-year AHL contract; however, he will finish this season with Providence on an Amateur Tryout Agreement. Gabrielle was a teammate of Mason Lohrei with the Ohio State Buckeyes this season. The 6’-2” 195-pound right-shooting blueliner will be part of the “replenishment group” as the P-Bruins are going to need bodies at all positions for next season, especially the blueline.
After acquiring the rights to Mike Callahan from the Arizona Coyotes and signing the 6’-2” 205-pound left-shot defenceman to his entry-level contract two weeks ago, it’s looking like the Bruins want to stick with size on the back end. Add to that, the 6’4” 205-pound left shooting Lohrei is leaning towards turning pro, and you’ve added some size to the backend in Providence.
Oskar Jellvik and his Djurgardens IF opened up their best of three playoff series against Timra IK on Wednesday. Jellvik assisted on the first and second goals of the game. On Saturday, Jellvik scored twice, including the overtime winner 3:06 into the extra frame, to beat Timra 3-2 and win the series 2-0. The next round of the playoffs begins on March 30th, 2022.
Avangard Omsk brought a 2-0 series lead over first seed Metallurg MG into the week, but Metallurg would even the series up with a 5-2 victory on Tuesday and a 5-1 win on Thursday. On Saturday, Metallurg once again took the game 5-2 and now needs one win to move on to the next round. Peter Cehlarik was held pointless in all three games.
John Beecher and the Michigan Wolverines defeated American International 5-3 at the NCAA Regionals and set up a date with Quinnipiac on Sunday, who defeated St Cloud State to advance. And on Sunday, Michigan would beat Quinnipiac 7-4 to move onto the Frozen Four against Denver on Thursday. Beecher would get an assist on Sunday.
Matias Mantykivi had a goal and an assist on Sunday to lead Ilves to a 5-1 victory in the opening game of their playoff series against Karpat.
On Thursday, Quinn Olson and the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs defeated Michigan Tech 3-0 at the NCAA Regional Semis and set up a date at the Regional Finals against Denver on Saturday. Denver prevailed with a 2-1 victory, ending Minnesota- Duluth’s four-year run in the Frozen Four.
Also, on Thursday, Jake Schmaltz and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks lost a heartbreaker to Notre Dame 2-1 in overtime to end their season. Schmaltz was in his freshman year and finished fourth in team scoring with eight goals and 16 assists in 39 games. Schmaltz will return to North Dakota next season.
As you know, I hate doing player comparisons when asked who player X compares to. And if you didn’t know, well, now you do. But I am actually going to compare Ryan Mast and Brandon Carlo here – at least the paths they are on. But first, thanks to Elite Prospects for this wonderful tool.
The reason for this comparison is that Mast himself has said he watches Carlo a lot and tries to take aspects of his game and work them into his because they are similar in size. So, let’s have a look:
Mast has generally been a year ahead of Carlo. In Mast’s age-16 year, he was playing in the OHL while Carlo was playing in the U-16s for his. As you know, Mast’s 17-year-old season was lost to the pandemic, while Carlo had an entire season in the WHL.
But their 18-year-old season (this season for Mast) is where the difference begins to take shape. Mast has already outproduced Carlo in their age-18 seasons. Mast has already surpassed what Carlo did in the WHL in Carlo’s 19-year-old season.
What does this all mean? Well, nothing really. Except that it’s hard to project how their offense will translate to the NHL. I’ve said it all season long with Mast; it’s hard to project.
Both are big players that skate very well. Mast is an exceptional backwards skater and has the edge over Carlo there, but in overall skating, Carlo has the advantage. Mast is also more willing to jump into the play and attack than Carlo is, but both prioritize defensive play. Carlo has the better shot, but Mast is the better passer. Carlo is also stronger, but Mast is more physical. Carlo is also the better stick handler and has a higher IQ.
Because of his birthdate, Mast has one more season of Major Junior eligibility and then is eligible as an overaged player (his 20-year-old season) the following season, so we’ll see how the Bruins handle that. But once the Bruins development staff have him under their control, they could turn him into another Carlo.
Providence Bruins Player Stats
Providence Bruins Goalie Stats
Maine Mariners Stats
Coming up this week:
| PLAYER | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
| CEHLARIK | At MET | *Vs. MET | |||||
| MANTYKIVI | Vs KAR | At KAR | Vs KAR | ||||
| JELLVIK | TBD | TBD | TBD | ||||
| GASSEAU | Vs OMA | Vs OMA | |||||
| LANGENBRUNNER | Vs OMA | Vs OMA | |||||
| BEECHER | Vs. DEN | ||||||
| HARRISON | Vs. OTT | At HAM | At KGN | Vs. KGN | |||
| MAST | At WSR | At SAG | At SOO | ||||
| LYSELL | Vs SPO | Vs SPO | |||||
| SVEDEBACK | At D M | At WAT |
AROUND THE GLOBE
WHO’S HOT:
Oskar Jellvik had three goals and two assists in their two-game series sweep to start the playoffs. Jellvik leads the league in playoff scoring and is first in points per game.
Matias Mantykivi had a goal and an assist in his opening playoff game.
John Beecher has two goals and three assists in his last five games.
WHO’S WARM:
Philip Svedeback had a solid performance on Friday, stopping 29 of 30 shots for the victory. On Saturday, he came in to relieve his partner just past the mid-way point of the first after he had given up four goals on six shots. Svedeback stopped 19 of 21 the rest of the way but was unfortunately credited with the loss.
After a bit of a cold spell, Andre Gasseau has two goals and an assist in his last five games (one goal, zero assists in his previous five games). Gasseau is on pace to finish the year with 20 goals and 40 points. Not too shabby as he prepares for Boston College next season.
Jake Schmaltz finished his year off with two goals and three assists in his last five games.
Ryan Mast has six assists in his last six games.
WHO’S COLD:
After a solid run of points in six of ten games, Mason Langenbrunner went pointless in his next eight games. He ended that Sunday with an assist.
Quinn Olson ended the season on a five-game pointless streak. It couldn’t have come at a worse time for Olson and Minnesota-Duluth.
Peter Cehlarik is pointless in his last three games and just not good timing for his squad.
Brett Harrison hasn’t scored in six games.
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