Montreal Canadiens prospect Ryan Poehling has 14 points in his last 12 games for the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League. Top prospect for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft Zachary L’Herueux has started the month off right with seven points in three games played. Philadelphia Flyers prospect Tyson Foerster has adjusted well to professional hockey and has 11 points in his first 12 games.
Poehling Heating Up for Laval
Canadiens prospect Poehling is starting to heat up for the Laval Rocket in the AHL. The Lakeville, Minnesota native has six goals and eight assists in his last 12 games played. It’s a considerable jump in production, especially since he started the season with only two goals and two assists in his first ten games. He has eight goals and ten assists in 22 games played and is tied for the team lead in scoring with Joseph Blandisi and Jordan Weal. It’s his second season in the AHL, and he’s already surpassed his 2019-20 season totals in 14 fewer games played.
Drafted 25th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, he spent the 2019-20 season split between the Canadiens and the Rocket. He scored just one goal and one assist in 27 NHL games and recorded five goals and eight assists in 36 games with the Rocket. The hype surrounding him has died down since his NHL debut when he recorded a hat trick in the final game of the 2018-19 season, but he’s starting to return to the form that made him a first-round pick.
L’Heureux Begins April on A High Note
Halifax Mooseheads forward L’Heureux is off to a hot start to April. He has four goals and three assists in three games played, including a four-point effort in the Mooseheads’ 7-2 victory over Cape Breton Eagles on Apr. 2. The Montreal native is a top draft-eligible prospect for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He had an impressive rookie season in 2019-20, amassing 20 goals and 33 assists in 55 games played with the Moncton Wildcats and led all QMJHL rookies in points. He was acquired by the Mooseheads via trade back in June.
On the season, he has 19 goals and 39 points in 32 games played. He ranks second on the team in scoring, trailing Flyers prospect Elliot Desnoyers who has 46 points in 36 games. He is tied for 13th in league scoring.
Once considered a threat to challenge for the first-overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, that hype is slowly slipping away as he hasn’t taken that next step after his rookie season. He’ll need to produce at a pace higher than a point per game if he’s going to compete with his peers at the top of the class.
Foerster Adjusting to AHL Action
Flyers prospect Foerster has started to adjust to professional hockey and now has four goals and three assists in his last three games, including a four-point night in the Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ 4-1 victory over the Hershey Bears on Mar. 31. He would have had to return to the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League, but with their season delayed indefinitely, he’s been able to get an earlier taste of professional hockey. He has six goals and 11 points in 12 games played and is tied for fourth in team scoring with fellow OHL skater Zayde Wisdom.
THW’s Dave Jewell wrote about Foerster after he was selected 23rd overall by the Flyers in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
With Morgan Frost, Scott Laughton, Connor Bunnaman, and now Foerster, the Flyers have an exciting future up the middle. Foerster worked his tail off this season to show he was worth a first-round pick and the Flyers were thrilled to get him. He will be given a shot to make the pros right away, but another season with the Colts can only benefit him. Regardless of timeline, he adds another element to the Flyers’ forward prospect depth and will be a fan favourite down the road.
Drafted 23rd overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, he spent the 2019-20 season in the OHL with the Colts, where he totalled 36 goals and 80 points in 62 games played. He led the Colts in scoring by 37 points and led the entire league in power-play goals with 18. He was tagged as one of the best goal scorers in his draft class, and it’s clear to see why the Flyers took him with their first-round selection last October.