Women’s College Hockey: NWHL Prospect Report

Welcome to our first installment of the Women’s College Hockey: NWHL Prospect Report, where we take a weekly look at how each of the 20 2016 NWHL Draft picks have performed in the recent week of NCAA action.

Week 4’s Top Prospect scoring five points over the weekend is Buffalo Beauts’ Maddie Elia of BU. Get the low down on Elia’s play and many more of these prospects every week, starting with this week’s review:

1.     Kelsey Koelzer, D, Princeton — New York Riveters

·       This Week: No games

Koelzer’s Tigers kick off their season on the road against Providence this upcoming weekend. The 2016 1^st overall NWHL Draft pick was one of 22 players chosen to represent Team USA at the U22 series vs. Canada in August and looked the part of a top pairing, offensive defenseman.

·       Season To Date: No games

2.     Lee Stecklein, D, Minnesota — Buffalo Beauts

·       This Week: 2GP – 0G – 3A – 3PTS – 5SOG – 4PIM

Despite not registering a shot on goal in Minnesota’s first game against UMD, Stecklein picked up a secondary assist on the GWG goal. Game two saw her much more active as an attacker with five SOG. Stecklein is still looking for her first goal of the season.

·       Season To Date: 6GP – 0G – 5A – 5PTS – 11SOG – 6PIM

3.     Dani Cameranesi, F, Minnesota — Connecticut Whale

·       This Week: 2GP – 0G – 1A – 1PTS – 13SOG – 6PIM

Just think, Minnesota pulled out tough wins against No. 4 ranked UMD without their star scorer contributing much. Cameranesi had a primary, powerplay assist in the first game while ending up a -2 in the second game. Averaging 6.5 SOG over the weekend, if she keeps that shot rate up the bounces will start going her way again.

·       Season To Date: 6GP – 4G – 3A – 7PTS – 33SOG – 8PIM

4.     Ann-Renee Desbiens, G, Wisconsin— Boston Pride

·       This Week: 2GP: 2W-0L-0T; 3GA – 45SV – 48SHOTS – .938SVS%

Desbiens saw her biggest workload of the year and still only allowed three goals against a No. 8 ranked Clarkson squad that challenged them both games. Desbiens had trouble with point-generated shots over the weekend. If she wasn’t already scary enough to face, she has room to perform even better.

·       Season To Date: 6GP: 5W-0L-1T; 6GA – 93SV – 99SHOTS – .939SVS% – 2SHO

5.     Sydney Daniels, F, Harvard — New York Riveters

·       This Week: 1GP – 0G – 0A – 0PTS – 4SOG – 6PIM (exhibition)

Daniels and Harvard were blanked 3-0 by CIS member McGill in exhibition play this past weekend. She brought her physical brand of hockey as seen by receiving two checking penalties. The Crimson’s versatile captain will be looked upon this season to lead with a rugged, two-way brand of hockey.

·       Season To Date: No games

6.     Cayley Mercer, F, Clarkson— Buffalo Beauts

·       This Week: 2GP – 1G – 1A – 2PTS – 7SOG – 0PIM

Mercer was an integral part in taking Wisconsin to OT tied 2-2 in the first game last weekend, scoring and assisting on both goals. She had a rough game two with no points and finishing at a -3. Clarkson has had a tough time finding offensive creativity, averaging only 2.17 goals per game, and is relying heavily on Shea Tiley to start the season.

·       Season To Date: 6GP – 2G – 2A – 4PTS – 26SOG - 6PIM

7.     Andie Anastos, F, Boston College — Connecticut Whale

·       This Week: DNP – Injured

Anastos has been dealing with an undisclosed injury she suffered on October 1 in BC’s game against Minnesota-Duluth. Head coach Katie Crowley is hoping Anastos will be able to play against No. 4 ranked Quinnipiac this weekend.

·       Season To Date: 4GP – 1G – 1A – 2PTS – 8SOG - 0PIM

8.     Sarah Nurse, F, Wisconsin— Boston Pride

·       This Week: 2GP – 2G – 1A – 3PTS – 10SOG – 2PIM

One of the nation’s top shooters, Nurse is always a consistent threat who has a supreme handle on the puck, sense, and goal scorer’s touch. Wisconsin’s 4-1 pull away win at Clarkson was when she jumpstarted things for both herself and the team, assisting on the GWG and scoring the insurance goal shorthanded. This last game might have given notice to the rest of the NCAA to watch for an offensive breakout.

·       Season To Date: 6GP – 3G – 3A – 6PTS – 30SOG – 6PIM

9.     Jenny Ryan, D, Wisconsin— New York Riveters

·       This Week: 2GP – 0G – 1A – 1PTS – 2SOG – 0PIM

The points haven’t been overwhelming, but Ryan is playing a steady puck-moving game with precision. With the team filling in Courtney Burke’s departure by committee effort thus far, Ryan is right at the edge of taking control of the defense in terms of filling Burke’s skates as the top defender.

·       Season To Date: 6GP – 2G – 1A – 3PTS – 14SOG – 2PIM

10.     Hayley Scamurra, F, Northeastern— Buffalo Beauts

·       This Week: 3GP – 0G – 1A – 1PTS – 9SOG – 6PIM

Always the more defensive, patrolling forward on her lines, it is no shock that her scoring is down with Coyne graduated. Northeastern has had a fairly easy schedule, yet she still has struggled to score. There’s no replacing one of the NCAA’s greatest women’s players ever, but the supporting cast is still performing well enough for Scamurra to pick things up a notch.

·       Season To Date: 7GP – 2G – 2A – 4PTS – 22SOG - 8PIM

11.     Melissa Channell, D, Wisconsin — Connecticut Whale

·       This Week:  2GP – 0G – 1A – 1PT – 0SOG – 0PIM

Channell continues to be an integral part of Wisconsin’s defense. She had a +4 on the weekend as Wisconsin defeated an impressive Clarkson team. She struggled a bit offensively over the weekend, recording no shots on goal, but her penalty minutes have been decreasing as the season moves forward.

·       Season To Date: 6GP – 0G – 3A – 3PTS – 7SOG – 8PIM

12.     Ashley Brykaliuk, F, Minnesota-Duluth — Boston Pride

·       This Week: 2GP - 1G - 0A - 1PT - 4SOG - 0PIM

Brykaliuk had an underwhelming week offensively compared to the rest of the season. Although she recorded only one point this week (against No. 2 Minnesota), Brykaliuk is tied for second on the Bulldogs in both goals and points. She averages over a point a game and has been impressive on the power play, having scored two PPG already this season.

·       Season To Date: 6GP - 5G - 3A - 8PTS - 21SOG - 0PIM

13.     Sydney McKibbon, F, Wisconsin — New York Riveters

·      This Week: 2GP - 2G - 2A -      4PTS - 6SOG - 0PIM

McKibbon has been a key member of Wisconsin’s impressive offense so far this season. She led the team to a 4-1 win over Clarkson on Saturday, scoring the first and last goals and assisting on Wisconsin’s third goal. McKibbon is tied for first on the Badgers in points and for second in goals.

·      Season To Date: 6GP – 3G – 3A      – 6PTS – 22SOG – 0PIM

14.     Emma Woods, F, Quinnipiac — Buffalo Beauts

·       This Week: 2GP - 1G - 0A - 1PT - 6SOG - 0PIM

Quinnipiac struggled against Mercyhurst over the weekend after posting three 3-0 shutouts in a row (against Maine, UConn, and UNH). Woods scored only one goal, but took more shots than she had any previous weekend this season. Woods is currently in second place on the Bobcats with three goals. QU will hope to see more offense out of her this weekend when they face a Boston College team that has been up and down this season.

·       Season To Date: 6GP - 3G - 1A - 4PTS - 15SOG - 2PIM

15.     Paige Savage, F, Northeastern — Connecticut Whale

·       This Week: 3GP - 1G - 4A - 5PTS - 5SOG - 4PIM

Savage is tied for the lead in assists on the Huskies right now, and recorded four of those assists in the last week. She earned one assist in Northeastern’s draw with Syracuse on Friday and then assisted on three of the Huskies six goals in Tuesday’s 6-2 win over BU, including the GWG. She also scored a goal against BU at 19:59 in the third. All but two of her points so far this season were scored this week, which is hopefully a sign that she will continue to improve throughout the year.

·       Season To Date: 7GP - 2G - 5A - 7PTS - 16SOG - 4PIM

16.     Halli Krzyzaniak, D, North Dakota — Boston Pride

·       This Week: 2GP - 0G - 1A - 1PT - 1SOG - 0PIM

Krzyzaniak is a strong defensive player. She had a +5 overall this weekend in two games against Minnesota State and also recorded two blocks. Despite assisting on a goal this weekend, Krzyzaniak produced less offense than she has previously this season, taking only one SOG. Regardless, she’s a top defender than will continue to be an important part of NoDak’s core squad.

·       Season To Date: 6GP - 1G - 2A - 3PTS - 12SOG - 4PIM

17.     Amy Menke, F, North Dakota — New York Riveters

·       This Week: 2GP - 0G - 3A - 3PTS - 8SOG - 0PIM

Menke leads the Fighting Hawks in points and assists this season. North Dakota should see more points from her as the season progresses if she continues to take lots of shots. Menke has shown improvement as the season has gone on and fans should expect to continue to see her contributing to all aspects of NoDak’s games.

·       Season To Date: 6GP - 1G - 5A - 6PTS - 24SOG - 4PIM

18.     Maddie Elia, F, Boston University — Buffalo Beauts

·       This Week: 2GP - 2G - 3A - 5PTS - 14SOG - 4PIM

Elia has seven points this season, five of which were scored this week. She didn’t score any points in Tuesday’s 6-2 loss to Northeastern, but recorded two goals and three assists in a weekend series with Penn State. Elia is third on the Terriers in goals this season and tied for second in points. She also scored the tying goal in Friday’s 3-3 draw with Penn State while recording a season high seven shots during the game.

·       Season To Date: 6GP - 4G - 3A - 7PTS - 23SOG - 6PIM

19.     Sydney Rossman, G, Quinnipiac — Connecticut Whale

·       This Week: 2GP - 1W-1L-0T; 3GA - 32SV - 36SHOTS - .931SVS% - 1SHO

Rossman’s team struggled against Mercyhurst, but she’s been strong in goal this season. She has four shutouts in six games, and has had consistently good save percentages since struggling against Maine in QU’s opening weekend. QU faces a Boston College team this weekend that, despite struggling a bit so far, has some impressive scorers that will put Rossman to the test.

·       Season To Date: 6GP - 5W-1L-0T; 7GA - 99SV - 106SHOTS - .934SVS% - 4SHO

20.     Lara Stalder, F, Minnesota-Duluth — Boston Pride

·       This Week: 2GP - 2G - 1A - 3PTS - 10SOG - 0PIM

Stalder kept the Bulldogs in the game on Saturday, scoring both goals against No. 2 Minnesota in a 3-2 OT loss. She leads the Bulldogs in goals, assists, and points this season and leads the NCAA in points. The Pride will be pleased they were able to pick her up late in the draft if she continues to play the way she has been. Stalder is averaging two points per game right now.

·       Season To Date: 6GP - 6G - 6A - 12PTS - 31SOG - 0PIM