Prospects Of The Week
Joel Blomqvist Records Shutout In 1-0 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Win, Stays Hot Since Return To Lineup
Joel Blomqvist played for only the second time in 2025-26 and made 27 saves in a 1-0 shutout win for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The 2020 second round pick improves to 2-0-0 on the season after returning to the lineup from injury and boasts a 0.50 goals against average and a .980 save percentage in the wins. Blomqvist managed a .914 save percentage in 18 appearances with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season and struggled in a stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but hopes to make a strong case for another look at the NHL level in 2025-26. Only two seasons ago, Blomqvist earned a spot on the AHL All-Rookie team with a .921 save percentage and 2.16 goals against average in 45 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after two seasons in the top league in Finland.
Luke Devlin Scores First NCAA Goal In Nearly Two Years, Helps Cornell Beat RPI
Luke Devlin missed the entire 2024-25 NCAA season for the Cornell Big Red recovering from injury. The 6’4”, 203 lbs. forward scored for the first time in nearly two years and added a second goal in a 6-1 win over the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers on Saturday night. The 2022 sixth round pick gave Cornell a 2-0 lead early in the first, getting behind the defense and going forehand to backhand for a silky goal. Devlin scored again in early in the second with a heavy shot from the face off dot to extend the Big Red lead to 3-1. Devlin recorded eight points in 28 games as a freshman with Cornell in the 2023-25 season and with the pair of goals improves to three points in eight games so far in the 2025-26 season.
Vasily Ponomarev Scores Twice In Return From Injury To Avangard Omsk Lineup
Vasily Ponomarev returned to the Avangard Omsk lineup after missing just over a month due to injury and scored two goals in a 5-2 win over Barys Astana on Sunday. Ponomarev opened the scoring with a pass attempt deflecting off a defender and into the goal and made the score 4-0 in the second period burying a rebound. Despite opting to sign in the KHL for the 2025-26 season, the Penguins retained the signing rights to Ponomarev after the 2020 second round pick acquired as part of the Jake Guentzel trade finished sixth on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season with 41 points in 56 games. Ponomarev ranks sixth on Avangard with seven goals and 10th on Avangard with 10 points despite only playing 16 games.
Down On The Farm
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Dominates Two Games Last Week, Win One, Lose One
Despite outshooting the Hartford Wolf Pack 33-19 on Friday night, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lost 5-2. Owen Pickering and Raphael Harey-Pinard scored for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Gabe Klassen recorded a pair of assists. Valtteri Puustinen and Chase Pietila finished with helpers. Filip Larsson surrendered five goals on 17 shots in the loss.
Joel Blomqvist stopped 27 shots in a 1-0 shutout win over the Providence Bruins on Saturday. Rutger McGroarty scored the only goal of the game–shorthanded and unassisted in the first period. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton outshot Providence 35-27 in the win.
Wheeling Nailers Sandwich Two Wins Around Loss In Series Against Reading
Maxim Pavlenko stopped 29 shots for the Wheeling Nailers in a 2-0 win over the Reading Royals on Tuesday morning. Ryan Mashie and David Breazeale scored. Brayden Edwards, Brent Johnson, Logan Pietila, and Aidan Sutter picked up assists.
Wheeling racked up 53 shots but scored only once in a 4-1 loss to Reading on Friday night. Matthew Quercia scored the lone Nailers goal. Edwards and Connor Lockhart recorded assists. Pavlenko stoped 23 of 26 shots in the loss.
The tables turned on Saturday with Wheeling beating Reading 3-1 despite being outshot 36-31. Jake Smith made 35 saves. Tanner Andrew scored and added a helper. Jack Works and Lockhart scored the other Nailers goals. Cole Tymkin recorded a pair of helpers, and Edwards, Max Graham, and Bogdans Hodass finished with helpers.