Prospect Info: Round 4, Pick 98: Samuel Dove-McFalls, C, Saint John (QMJHL)

[CodyTheHuman]

Here's hoping Aube-Kubel wears jersey number 47 so we can at least nickname him AK-47.

Or he scores 47 goals a season. Or both.

 

[Chuck Downie]

Strong season for Dove-McFalls in the Q with first place Saint John. Flyers have until June 1 to sign him.

 

[Curufinwe]

Scored his 2nd goal of the playoffs last night in a 5-0 win. Saint John are now up 2-1 on Chicoutimi.

http://theqmjhl.ca/players/12348

It's the 4th goal, one minute in to these highlights.

http://theqmjhl.ca/video/game-3-sea-dogs-5-sagueneens-0

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

I think Hexy will either sign him to Ahl contract or let him go.

 

[Embiid]

Does this dude have a future in the AHL let alone NHL?

 

[Curufinwe]

Hextall gave Goulbourne an ELC, so it would be a strange move to let this guy go after the 19-year old season he's had. The Phantoms only signed centers for 17-18 are Vorobyov and Fazleev, with Bardreau (who plays wing as much as center) as an RFA. So it's not like there isn't room for him in the AHL.

 

[Hiesenberg]

They have 35 contracts next year counted, but I don't know how many can be slid or how many more will be added. Lindblom comes to mind thats not counting

 

[Curufinwe]

Bunnaman, Hart, Laberge and Rubstov will all slide in 17-18 unless they somehow make the Flyers.

 

[Hiesenberg]

Bunnaman, Hart, Laberge and Rubstov will all slide in 17-18 unless they somehow make the Flyers.

Rubstov can play in the AHL next year and in that case it will count. If he's sent back to juniors, then yes, it will slide as well.

 

[Curufinwe]

His contract would slide in the AHL as a 19 year old, just like Hagg's did.

 

[FLYguy3911]

The Flyers have a lot more depth than when Goulbourne signed. It's probably 50/50 he signs. If he does sign I could see him playing another year in the Q since last year was essentially a wash.

They could also be waiting on Foo's decision.

 

[Curufinwe]

I don't think the center depth is great at the AHL level, and I think Dove-McFalls is a comparable prospect to Fazleev but we'll know in a month if Hextall agrees.

 

[Hiesenberg]

His contract would slide in the AHL as a 19 year old, just like Hagg's did.

Yup. I keep forgetting that.

 

[deadhead]

They'll sign Dove-McFalls, this is what Hextall wants on his 4th line, a guy with decent size and some skills who can play two way hockey. He was dinged up last year so Hextall was probably waiting to see how he performed this year before offering an ELC.

 

[FLYguy3911]

I don't think the center depth is great at the AHL level, and I think Dove-McFalls is a comparable prospect to Fazleev but we'll know in a month if Hextall agrees.

You aren't just committing to him for 1 season though (unless he signs an AHL deal). The AHL roster next year shouldn't have much impact on whether Dove-McFalls gets signed or not. They can sign AHL vets to fill out the roster next year (I think they will). If the Flyers don't think he has NHL potential they shouldn't sign him to an ELC and possibly take away a spot from someone in the future who does have NHL potential. I don't think Fazleev is anything spectacular, but he is a much better prospect than SDM at the same point in their careers (imo of course) and look at the season he is having now.

 

[Curufinwe]

Fazleev scored more in his draft + 2 season, but that was mainly due to the PP where he wasn't playing behind high end forward talent on one of the best teams in the CHL. Their ES scoring numbers are pretty close - 33 in 59 for Fazleev, 34 in 65 for Dove-McFalls.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Fazleev was also playing on an offensively-challenged Calgary team and playing on a line with guys like Malenstyn and Peterson. Dove-McFalls is playing on a beastly Saint John team and Nathan Noel has been the line driver in the games I've caught.

 

[Curufinwe]

Peterson played all of 14 games. And Fazleev was on the top PP unit with Bean and Sanheim.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Peterson played all of 14 games. And Fazleev was on the top PP unit with Bean and Sanheim.

Hence the "guys like" caveat.

You were talking about even strength, so I was too.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Fazleev scored more in his draft + 2 season, but that was mainly due to the PP where he wasn't playing behind high end forward talent on one of the best teams in the CHL. Their ES scoring numbers are pretty close - 33 in 59 for Fazleev, 34 in 65 for Dove-McFalls.

Don't you think that says a little something about his overall skill level? We're talking about junior hockey here. It's not his 1st year with the club either. He's a 4th year player with the same team. He's had plenty of time to establish himself as one of those top players. Saint John is absolutely a great junior team, but it's not like they are stacked with a slew of top prospects up front. Mathieu Joseph, for example, was picked behind Sam in both the Q Draft and the NHL Draft and has established himself as one of the top players in the league.

Again, I don't think Fazleev is some super prospect on anything, but he worked his way up the depth chart, on to the top PP, and produced at a good clip there. Dove-McFalls' two most common linemates are Mathieu Joseph and Matthew Highmore btw. Doesn't get much better than that in the Q. The two best offensive players on Fazleev's team were both defensemen.

And there's a reason Fazleev was signed less than a year after his draft, even without the gaudy PP stats. SDM may still get signed, but we are a month away from the deadline...

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

They signed Goulbourne in early March but given he was an overager (he turned 21 that January) they had to wait until then otherwise signing him earlier would have burned the year on the ELC.

So I don't really think it's a slam dunk he gets signed at this point. It's not really a tough decision.

 

[Curufinwe]

Scored a goal today in a 6-5 win. Saint John play Blainville in the Finals starting on Friday.

 

[Chuck Downie]

Flyers last CHL prospect still playing in 2016-17.

 

[OzFlyers]

Flyers last CHL prospect still playing in 2016-17.

I think maybe people just hate his name! Go fly Doves!!

 

[Chuck Downie]

I think maybe people just hate his name! Go fly Doves!!