Joe Colborne Recaptures Top Spot on Bruins Prospects List After Huge Week in Providence

Ryan Spooner was looking to move to a new place. He probably didn’t figure it would end up moving him down in the prospects rankings at the same time.

Spooner, the highly-skilled playmaking center the Bruins selected in the second round this June, had become frustrated playing for struggling Peterborough in the Ontario Hockey League. After yet another loss on Saturday, Spooner requested a trade and left the Petes.

That’s not an unusual move in junior hockey, where players have no other real recourse to alter their situation, and Spooner reportedly left Peterborough on good terms as the Petes dealt him to Kingston for some even younger talent they can rebuild with. 

With the move, Spooner goes from a Peterborough team that is in last place in the OHL’s East Division at 4-11-1-1 to a Frontenacs club that leads the division with an 11-6-1-0 record.

But while Spooner sat at home awaiting a deal, Joe Colborne took full advantage and reclaimed the top spot in the Bruins’ prospect rankings with a huge week in Providence. Colborne helped the struggling P-Bruins break out of their early-season slump as Providence won all three games it played over the weekend.

After being outscored 35-18 in their first nine games, the P-Bruins outscored Bridgeport, Portland and Albany by a combined 17-5 to post three wins and move back to .500 at 5-5-1-1. Colborne factored in five of those goals, as the 2008 first-rounder moved back into the No. 1 spot for this week.

There was movement at the bottom of the top 10 as well, where the likes of Jordan Knackstedt (4-2-6 totals in three games), Zach Hamill (four assists in three games after just one assist in his first eight games) and Boston University defenseman David Warsofsky (2-7-9 totals in eight games this season) couldn’t even crack the list.

Here’s a breakdown of the 10 players from Boston’s deep prospect pool who did make the cut this week.

• 1
  Last week: No. 2 Joe Colborne, C

  After a slow start to the season, Colborne broke out in a big way this week, putting up 4-1-5 totals and a plus-4 rating in three games. He picked up an assist against Bridgeport and a pair of goals against both Portland and Albany. Colborne has always had the highest ceiling of any of the Bruins’ prospects outside of the NHL, and now he has the production to match it with 5-5-10 totals and a plus-6 rating through 12 games. That’s enough for the big center to retake the top spot in our rankings.

• 2
  Last week: No. 1 Ryan Spooner, C

  Spooner played just one game this week, and had no points and was a minus-1 in a 4-2 loss to Niagara. After that defeat, he left Peterborough to seek a trade for a better chance to playing for a winning club. He got his wish with the deal to Kingston, now we’ll see what kind of production he can have with better talent around him. He already had 10-9-19 totals in 14 games with the Petes.

• 3
  Last week: No. 3 Jared Knight, C/RW

  Knight wasn’t reunited with Spooner when Kingston landed his fellow Bruins prospect instead of London, but Knight is doing just fine one his own. He had 2-2-4 totals and was a plus-4 in three games this week, pushing his season totals to 6-9-15 and a plus-4 in 17 games.

• 4
  Last week: No. 4  Steve Kampfer, D

  Kampfer is certainly proving he’s not the selfish sort, as he dished out five assists in three games this week, including three against Albany on Sunday. Kampfer now has 2-9-11 totals with 24 shots and a plus-3 rating in 12 games in his first pro season in Providence.

• 5
  Last week: No. 5 Matt Bartkowski, D

  Bartkowski took some strides to clean up his play in his own zone this week, finishing a plus-4 in three games. He didn’t ignore the offensive side of his game either, adding seven shots and two assists. He now has 0-3-3 totals and is a minus-1 in 10 games this season.

• 6
  Last week: No. 6 Max Suave, C/LW

  Sauve continues to be sidelined with an injury to his left wrist. He is now expected to be out a couple more weeks. Sauve had 3-1-4 totals ad was a plus-1 in four games before the injury.

• 7
  Last week: Unranked Jamie Arniel, C

  Arniel’s strong play to start the season was rewarded with his first NHL call-up on Tuesday. Arniel was brought up on an emergency basis when Michael Ryder was questionable for Wednesday’s game in Pittsburgh. Ryder was able to play, so Arniel is still waiting to make his NHL debut, but the fact he was the first forward called up this year shows how well he’s performed. Arniel had 3-2-5 totals, including the game-winner in OT at Portland, in three games this week and now has 6-3-9 totals and 44 shots in 12 games.

• 8
  Last week: No. 9 Yury Alexandrov, D

  Like most of the P-Bruins, Alexandrov enjoyed a breakout week. The Russian rookie doubled his season production in three games with a goal and an assist, and after posting a minus-4 in his first nine games, he was a plus-5 in the three wins. He now has 2-2-4 totals and is a plus-1 through 12 games.

• 9
  Last week: No. 7 Ryan Button, D

  Button had another quiet week as Prince Albert continued to struggle in the WHL, losing to Swift Current 5-1 and Seattle 5-2. Button didn’t have a point and was a minus-2. He now has 0-7-7 totals and in even with 13 PIMs through 20 games. The even plus/minus rating is particularly impressive considering the amount of ice-time he logs and the fact that the Raiders have been outscored 81-62 this season.

• 10
  Last week: No. 10 Craig Cunningham, C

  Cunningham continues to pile up points in Vancouver, where the Giants’ captain added another goal and two assists in four games this week. That kept him in first place in the WHL scoring race, as Cunningham has an eight-point lead on teammate Brendan Gallagher. Cunningham now has 8-31-39 totals and is a plus-15 in 22 games.