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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.
Prospect Watch: Liam Kilfoil
@LiamKilfoil via X
As this summer draws to a close, the new hockey season is already upon us, which is made evident every year by the commencement of the historic Hlinka Gretzky Cup. And one very underrated player that I would like to bring your attention to with this article would be Canada’s Liam Kilfoil.
Now, while Liam may not be one of the top prospects that everyone is focusing on in this tournament, he will prove to be an interictal part in both Team Canada’s success through the rest of this tournament (where he is already posting a near point per game average) as well as the Halifax Mooseheads future triumphs, whom he was drafted by in the third round of the 2023 QMJHL Draft.
This is largely too due to the fact that he is a multi-tool player who has proved to be equally effective and dangerous in all three zones. For one, he is defensibly responsible. A coach’s dream center, one who makes an attempt on every shift to try and get back and prevent the opposition from scoring, which is why, at just 16 years of age last season, he was afforded the opportunity to play on the Mooseheads Penalty Killing Unit.
Furthermore, Kilfoil plays with his head on a swivel, allowing him to both see and receive pucks in the neutral zone with ease, which leads to him starting multiple breakout attempts each and every game. And, with his long, powerful strides and mastery level puck distributing skills, you can bet that every time he crosses into the offensive zone with the puck on his stick, it’s going to result in his team achieving a scoring chance, if not a goal. This is why he also received ample playing time this past season when Halifax was on the power play.
So, with all this being said, expect Kilfoil to use the experience he gained last season playing in the Q, along with the knowledge he will gain from playing in this tournament, to far surpass the nine goals and eleven assists that he was able to compile last season, for experience breeds confidence! With this newfound confidence in his game, I think we will see Liam be more willing to resist his initial urge to pass the puck this season and instead hold on to it for a fraction of a second longer, allowing the play to develop further, thus creating more opportunities for he (the puck carrier) to hurl the puck at the net himself.
And, if Kilfoil can do this much like he did in the four playoff games he competed in last season, where he tallied three goals. He will not only become a more complete player but see his 2025 NHL Entry Draft stock rise.