April 4, 2023

ALUMNI REPORT: Hart’s winning streak, Huuhtanen tearing up Liiga

alumni report carter hart Gage Goncalves Niko Huuhtanen

Casey Bryant

NHL

Carter Hart (2013-18) is on a personal four-game win streak with the Philadelphia Flyers, with his most recent outing being a 29-save shutout of the Detroit Red Wings on Mar. 25. Though the Flyers have struggled in a rebuilding year, the 24-year-old Hart remains a bright spot for them with a 21-21-10 record and a .909 save-percentage.

It's Carter Hart slamming the door for the @NHLFlyers with a 29-save @pepsi shutout! 🟠⚫️ pic.twitter.com/zooS93TVfU

— NHL (@NHL) March 25, 2023

Connor Dewar (2015-19) picked up an assist in his last game with the Minnesota Wild on Apr. 3, bringing his season total to six goals and 12 assists in 76 games played. Of his six tallies this season, three of them have come shorthanded. The Wild rank T-3rd in the NHL as a team in shorthanded goals with 11.
Jake Christiansen (2015-20) was recalled to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Mar. 25 and has since played in five games with an assist on Mar. 28 at Madison Square Garden. He has 23 NHL games under his belt this season with three helpers and 25 SOG. The 23-year-old defender has been as consistent a scorer as possible with the Cleveland Monsters, registering at least one point in 20 of 32 games played since Dec. 29. His season totals in the AHL: eight goals and 21 assists in 43 games played.
Radko Gudas (2009-10) is a +2 in his last two games with the Florida Panthers, helping them keep pace with the NHL Playoff picture. The Cats have won three in a row and sit just one point back of the New York Islanders for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with five games left to play. Gudas sits T-3rd in the NHL in hits with 285, sitting just 11 behind Toronto’s Luke Schenn for the league lead.
Thanks to six points within six games in March, Jujhar Khaira (2013-14) has logged one of his best scoring seasons in his eight-year NHL career. He has four goals and eight assists in 46 appearances with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2022-23.
Noah Juulsen (2013-17) was recalled to the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 27 and has stuck with the big club since. The 26-year-old blueliner has appeared in 12 NHL games this season with a +1 defensive rating while averaging 14:58 TOI. In the AHL, Juulsen logged 20 points in 47 games with Abbotsford.

AHL

Mitch Love (2003-05) has led the Calgary Wranglers to the postseason once more, as his squad currently boasts the best record in the AHL at 47-15-4 (98 points). They currently are riding an 11-game point streak, with 10 victories and one shootout loss.
Wranglers netminder Dustin Wolf (2017-21) leads the league in wins (39) with the next closest pulling in at 26. He also leads in save-percentage at .932 and shutouts with seven, while placing second in goals-against average at 2.10.

#BELvsSYR started and ended with goals from Gage Goncalves last night. @SyracuseCrunch pic.twitter.com/u3GYF6h50d

— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) April 1, 2023

Gage Goncalves (2018-21) has logged four consecutive multi-point performances for the Syracuse Crunch, including a three-assist night on Apr. 1 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 22-year-old Tampa Bay Lightning prospect ranks fourth on the team in points with 12 goals and 37 assists in 65 games, as the Crunch sit second in the North Division.
Cole Fonstad (2019-21) has set a new career-high in scoring at the AHL level, netting 15 goals and 13 assists in 64 games this season with the Cleveland Monsters. Six of his 15 tallies this season have come on the man advantage.
Ronan Seeley (2018-22) notched an assist in three straight games from Mar. 22 through Mar. 26, and finished a career-best +3 defensively in his most recent outing on Apr. 3. The 20-year-old former 7th-round NHL Draft pick has posted four goals and 17 assists through 63 games in his first AHL campaign.
Byron Froese (2008-10) is one assist away from tying a personal best in the category for a single-season. The 32-year-old forward has 23 helpers on the year to go with nine goals for the Henderson Silver Knights.
Garrett Pilon (2017-18) has registered a point in three of his last four games, giving him nine goals and 14 assists in 47 appearances with the Washington Capitals’ affiliate Hershey Bears this season. The Bears, led by Pilon and Riley Sutter (2015-19), lead the Atlantic Division with a 41-16-9 record for 91 points and have clinched their spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Wyatte Wylie (2016-20) has two points in his last four games, as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms sit in good position to lock in their playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. The Philadelphia Flyers prospect has 10 points in 42 games on the blueline this season.
Orrin Centazzo (2016-18) earned a callup to the Toronto Marlies after a standout year with the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers. He posted 45 points in 36 games with the Growlers, and has since played in 15 AHL games with one assist.

ECHL

Alex Swetlikoff (2021-22) is currently second on the Savannah Ghost Pirates in scoring with 47 points in 62 games as a rookie. The 21-year-old Vegas Golden Knights prospect has 19 goals in his first pro season.

Alex Swetlikoff's 19th goal of the season gives us the lead in Greenville! #TheHauntBegins pic.twitter.com/U7U1vDdD84

— Savannah Ghost Pirates (@SavGhostPirates) April 2, 2023

Zack Andrusiak (2018-19) is second on the Cincinnati Cyclones (Buffalo Sabres affiliate) in scoring with 45 points in 39 games, good for 11th-best in the ECHL.
Shane Harper (2005-10) continues to be a point-per-game player for the Adirondack Thunder (New Jersey Devils affiliate) with 34 points in 34 games, sitting 13th-overall in ECHL scoring.

USPORTS

Jonny Lambos (2021-22) finished his first season at University of British Columbia with eight assists in 21 games.
Matt Fonteyne (2013-18) registered 32 points in 28 regular season games and five points in six playoff contests for the University of Alberta Golden Bears, helping the squad reach the USPORTS final against the University of Calgary.

EUROPE

Niko Huuhtanen (2021-22) leads the Finnish pro team Jukurit in goal-scoring with 17 in 48 games in Liiga- also good for 14th-best in the league. The 19-year-old Tampa Bay Lightning draftee also represented Finland at the 2023 World Junior Championship, where he collected two goals and an assist in five games.

🚨 Niko Huuhtanen (#88 in yellow) goes to the net and puts it home for his 17th goal of the Liiga season! Ondrej Kovarcik (‘95) and Michal Kovarcik (‘96) pick up the assists.
–@MikkelinJukurit pic.twitter.com/zm0uYAQHze

— Future Bolts (@LightningProsp1) March 12, 2023

Patrick Bajkov (2013-18) has 20 points in 38 games in his first season with HC Vita Hästen in the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan league.
Former NHLer Mirco Müller (2012-14) has 14 assists in 52 games as alternate captain for HC Lugano in the Swiss professional league, helping to lead them to the NL Playoffs.
Michal Gut (2019-22) has completed his first pro season in Czechia, finishing with four goals and three assists in 41 games with HC Litvínov. Gut, who finished his Everett career with 107 points in 104 WHL appearances, helped lead his club to the Extraliga playoffs.