Matthew Savoie is a top prospect heading into the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and with the Western Hockey League season postponed, he is tearing up the United States Hockey League. The Vegas Golden Knights announced the signing of Russian forward Pavel Dorofeyev and 2021 draft-eligible forward Dylan Duke has ten goals in his last seven games played for the United States National Team Development Program.
Savoie Off to Hot Start in USHL
With the Western Hockey League’s start date still unknown, Savoie, a forward for the Winnipeg Ice, has been loaned to the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL. He made his debut just over a week ago, starting on the first line against the Waterloo Black Hawks. The St. Albert, AB native scored two goals and picked up an assist in his three-point opening night.
Since then, he’s recorded five goals and six points in five games. Savoie turned 17 on Jan. 1 and is one of three prospects engaged in an early battle for the first-overall pick in 2022. The WHL has an agreement to play a 24-game schedule in 2021, and when that season officially begins, it’s expected that Savoie will return to the Winnipeg Ice.
Before heading to the USHL, Savoie played four games in the Alberta Junior Hockey league with the Sherwood Park Crusaders, where he recorded three goals and three assists. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Matthew’s brother Carter spent two seasons with the Crusaders before heading to Denver University. Carter was drafted 100th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Golden Knights Sign Dorofeyev
The Golden Knights announced on Monday that they’ve agreed to a standard three-year, entry-level contract with forward Pavel Dorofeyev.
Drafted 79th overall by Vegas in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, he spent the 2019-20 season in the KHL playing for Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He amassed four goals and three assists in 48 games played and represented Russia at the 2020 World Junior Championship, where he recorded three goals and one assist in seven games. Dorofeyev walked away with a silver medal after Russia lost to Canada in the gold-medal game.
This season, Dorofeyev has struggled to break back into the KHL, with only one game played with Traktor Chelyabinsk. Instead, he has spent most of the season in Russia’s second division, the VHL, where he has recorded eight goals and 17 points in 36 games played. It will be interesting to see if Dorofeyev will jump right into the NHL or head to the American Hockey League to play with the Henderson Silver Knights.
Duke Extends Scoring Streak for USNTDP
USNTDP forward Dylan Duke is on an impressive run right now. He’s on a seven-game goal-scoring streak in which he’s amassed ten goals. Duke is a first-time eligible prospect in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and is projected by most to be a second-round talent. However, with this latest run, he is making a case to hear his name called in the first round. There’s one thing that Duke does exceptionally well, and that’s put the puck in the net. During the 2019-20 season, he recorded 29 goals and 18 assists in 46 games for the U.S. National U17 Team.
He leads the U.S. National U18 Team in scoring with 17 goals and 31 points in 25 games played. Sasha Pastujov trails him with 30 points in 18 games played. Duke represented the USA at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge, winning a silver medal and amassing five goals and three assists in six games played. He was ranked 70th overall on Peter Baracchini’s Top 75 Rankings for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.
Duke is committed to the University of Michigan for the 2022-23 season. He joins an impressive class of players who have joined Michigan in the last couple of seasons. Their list of NHL-affiliated prospects includes Boston Bruins’ 2019 first-round pick Johnny Beecher, Golden Knights’ 2020 first-round pick Brendan Brisson, San Jose Sharks’ 2020 second-round pick Thomas Bordeleau, Philadelphia Flyers’ 2019 first-round pick Cam York, and the Vancouver Canucks’ 2020 fifth-round pick Jacob Truscott. The roster also features three top prospects in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft in Kent Johnson, Matty Beniers and Owen Power.
