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Prospect Watch: Elijah Neuenschwander
Photo Credit: Alain Favre
As this old goalie starts to take a look at the crop of netminders that will be available in the 2025 NHL Draft, a few names obviously stand out. With those being Canadian-born Joshua Ravensbergen and Jack Ivankovic who both play in the CHL. But there is an outlier who I think will be making a name for himself this season. And that is Swiss-born goalie Elijah Neuenschwander.
What I like about Elijah, who stands at 6’4 and 183 pounds, is that he is not just another flopping butterfly goalie that everyone who plays this position now has seemed to turn into. He is more of a traditional stand-up goalie who will go down to stop a puck when he has to but will quickly recover to a standing position afterward.
This style breeds patience as Neuenschwander often elects to utilize his immense size to his advantage by leaving the crease to challenge the shooter that is barring down on him in an effort to eliminate any sight of twine for them to aim at. By doing this, Elijah forces his opponent into a game of chicken, where both wait for the other to make the first move. It’s a duel of sorts where Neuenschwander’s athleticism and quick reactionary times usually end in him coming out victorious.
Now, let’s talk some numbers. This past season, when Elijah was loaned out to the EHC Chur of the MyHL, he was able to record two wins in two starts while maintaining a goals-against average of just 0.97—so, being that his talents appear to far surpass that of his fellow peers. He spent most of his time playing up in the Swiss Elite Junior League in the U20 Division, where he was able to attain some more challenging competition. But, with every prospect from overseas, the real test for NHL scouts is seeing how these prospects will perform on an international level. I believe Elijah passes that test as well, seeing that while playing in two games for Team Switzerland’s U19 Team this past season, Neuenschwander was able to win both games again (with one being a shutout) and post a 0.50 goals against average and maintain a .985 save percentage.
So, with all this being said, look for this young netminder to be taken somewhere in the second round next summer. Because not only do I think Neuenschwander’s style of play will transition well to the North American game, but I believe in time, Elijah could find himself becoming the best Swiss born goalie to ever play in the NHL. And yes, that includes him surpassing the likes of both David Aebischer and Martin Gerber, who both, mind you, possess Stanley Cup Rings.
Prospect Watch: Malcolm Spence
Photo Credit: Natalie Shaver/OHL Images
If you have paid attention to the OHL at all these last couple of seasons, one name you have probably heard quite frequently mentioned is Malcolm Spence. And that’s because Spence, who was drafted second overall by the Erie Otters in the 2022 Priority Selection Draft, is a bit of an anomaly.
What I mean by that is he possesses so many different skill sets that he is virtually uncategorizable. For instance at first glance, even the best of scouts would look at Malcolm, who stands at 6’2 and 192 pounds, and label him a power forward. Would they be wrong? No, for Spence, at times, relies heavily on his size, strength, and grit to get into the dirty areas, win board battles, and finish off plays in front of the net. Much like another player who wore the number 17, Wayne Simmonds did for so many years in Philadelphia with the Flyers.
But, then, on the very next shift, Malcolm is able to switch gears, if you will, and surprise the opposition’s defense with the type of speed and dexterity we, the fans, are more used to seeing come from a more skilled, slightly smaller forward. An example of him exhibiting these type of traits is when Spence uses a sudden burst of speed to dangle his way into the high-scoring area known as the slot.
However, what will make him the most alluring to prospecting NHL clubs next summer is his ability to combine all that with his renewed focus on becoming more defensively reliable. A feat that he was able to achieve last season when Malcolm was able to go from finishing the 22-23 campaign a -23 to this past season closing out the year a +11.
I’ve got to be honest here with Malcolm helping Team Canada to win GOLD at both the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the U-18 World Junior Championships, not to mention him scoring 19 goals and 43 assists for 62 points in 66 games played with the Otters last season it’s going to be hard to top that. But if anyone is capable of doing that, I assure you it’s this driven individual. And this is because he somehow seems to learn on the fly, whether it’s him computing goalie’s tendencies to memory or having the ability never to make the same mistake twice, I don’t know. But what I am sure of is that Malcolm seems to get better with each and every game that passes; which is why I’m willing to bet when this upcoming season is all said and done Spence will hear his name being called by one of the top ten teams in next summer’s draft.
Should Mark Recchi replace Flyers Ast. Coach Rocky Thompson?
Photo credit: The Philadelphia Inquirer
For the past two seasons, the Philadelphia Flyers power play unit (that finished statistically the worst in the league in each of the last two seasons) has been run by former tough guy Rocky Thompson—a guy who was drafted in the third round of the 1995 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames. And, despite playing 12 seasons as a professional only got to play in a whopping 25 NHL games. Now, in those 25 NHL games, Rocky managed to net a grand total of ZERO goals! However, to his credit he did amass an impressive 2,036 career penalty minutes as a professional!
To make this worse still, you’ll be happy to know that the Flyers thought it wise to hire this career knuckle dragger to run the power play of all things after he was let go by the San Jose Sharks for ripping off his shirt in a team meeting and challenging the then Shark’ Evander Kane to a fight. A real class act if I’ve ever heard one.
I need someone from the Flyers’ upper management to make this make sense for me because not only do I not understand the reason he was hired in the first place, but I don’t get why he is still employed given the team’s lack of production on the man advantage during his tenure. I mean, the Flyers were only effective 12.2% of the time on the power play last year, scoring just 31 power play goals on 254 attempts. Folks, that was 40 goals off the pace of the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. And the previous season was much of the same.
So, what’s the answer? Well, although maybe not the best option, one that would make more sense is firing Rocky Thompson and hiring a familiar face in Mark Recchi, who was just let go from his job with the Columbus Blue Jackets after joining their coaching staff in the middle of the season. Now, call it Nepotism if you want, but with the potential hiring of Mark Recchi, the Flyers would gain the knowledge of a former player whose career spanned 22 seasons in the NHL. Won three Stanley Cups and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame for scoring 577 career goals (200 of which game on the power play) and totaled 1,533 points (569 of those coming while he was on the PP.).
Now, I know Mark’s recent efforts with Columbus did not go so well. But tell me, when was the last time Columbus had a successful season? I’ll tell you if you don’t know, it was back in 2019 when their Head Coach was John Tortorella, when they went to the Playoffs four years in a row.
So, I’m not willing to put the Blue Jackets’ ineffectiveness on the power play last season all on Recchi, especially since Mark won an additional two Stanley Cups as a coach when he was with the Penguins.
What it boils down to for me is, at the end of the day, who do you think this youthful core of players is actually going to listen to and or respect? Rocky Thompson, who was never even afforded the opportunity to be on the ice during a man advantage? Or the iconic Mark Recchi, who has more power-play points than the likes of Brett Hull, Sidney Crosby, and Gordie Howe.
With that being said, Thompson has had his chance and has failed miserably. The team’s power play unit, which was once feared, is now the laughingstock of the league. And I, for one, no longer wish for him to be the guy offering up the tutelage to our players. Hell, Michkov may be the best prospect we’ve had since Eric Lindros, and I’d much rather have a guy like Recchi, who has collected a fist full of Stanley Cup rings drawing up plays for him, than a guy who possibly inspired Adam Sandler to write Happy Gilmore.