The Bruins' American Hockey League affiliate in Providence continues to be raided by the parent club, with Jordan Caron the latest to get the call to Boston, joining Zach Hamill and Steven Kampfer as graduates from the prospect list currently up with the big club.
That left the top spot open, with a pair of OHL stars ready to lay a claim to the No. 1 ranking. Fortunately, the same week that Caron vacated the spot happened to feature a head-to-head matchup between Ryan Spooner and Jared Knight.
The two 2010 second-round picks went head-to-head, with Spooner's Kingston Frontenacs prevailing 3-2 in overtime last Friday. Spooner assisted on all three goals, including the OT game-winner by Michael Fine 13 seconds into the extra frame, while Knight didn't have a point for London.
One game isn't enough to determine the rankings, but it helped make the decision a little easier to install Spooner in the top spot. Oh, and this beauty of a goal against Barrie that was the Play of the Week in the OHL didn't hurt either.
With Spooner now at No. 1, let's see how the rest of the Top 10 Bruins Prospects List shakes out this week.
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Last week: No. 2 1. Ryan Spooner, C
Spooner collected a goal and five assists in three games this week. He was the No. 1 star in Kingston's win over London and his goal against Barrie will be on highlight reels for a while. Overall, Spooner has 29-30-59 totals in 47 games this season.
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Last week: No. 3 2. Jared Knight, C/RW
Knight was held without a point against Spooner and Kingston, but did have a goal and an assist in three other games this week. The goal was a power-play strike in a 5-4 shootout win at Belleville, with Knight also scoring in the opening round of the shootout. He has 22-31-53 totals in 51 games.
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Last week: No. 5 3. Joe Colborne, CColborne had a goal in four games with Providence this week. He also engaged in his first professional fight, taking on Worcester's Andrew Desjardins on Saturday. That won't be a big part of the skilled center's game, but it is good to see some emotion and intensity from the youngster, who now has 12-14-26 totals with 35 PIMs in his first pro season.
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Last week: No. 4 4. Matt Bartkowski, DBartkowski didn't have a point in four games with Providence this week, but did have his second pro fight. This time he took on a legitimate tough guy in Springfield's Kevin Harvey, a fifth-year pro with 105 career fighting majors in the AHL and Central Hockey League. Bartkowski has 5-11-16 totals with 34 penalty minutes and 112 shots in 45 games this season.
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Last week: No. 7 5. Max Sauve, C/LW
Sauve had an assist in four games this week with Providence, as the P-Bruins managed just six goals total with their offense weakened with the latest round of call-ups. Sauve still has 12-6-18 totals with six game-winning goals in 32 games this season.
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Last week: No. 8 6. Craig Cunningham, CCunningham continues to pile up points in Portland, posting 3-4-7 totals and a plus-7 rating in three games with the Winterhawks this week. Portland won all three as Cunningham now has 11-14-25 totals in 18 games with the Winterhawks and 21-49-70 totals with 44 PIMS and a plus-14 rating in 54 games overall, good for eighth in the Western Hockey League scoring race.
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Last week: No. 6 7. Jamie Arniel, CArniel had an assist and 11 shots in four games this week, but was also a minus-4. He remains the P-Bruins' leading scorer with 14-17-31 totals in 50 games. Providence's lone representative at the AHL All-Star Game, Arniel also has a team-high 169 shots to go with a minus-7 rating.
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Last week: No. 10 8. Ryan Button, DAfter missing several weeks with an upper-body injury, Button returned to action this week, but did not score in three games with Seattle (WHL). In 52 games split between Prince Albert and Seattle, Button has 3-22-25 totals and 41 PIMs and will try to help the Thunderbirds reach the playoffs to see his first postseason action in the WHL after three seasons of failing to qualify in Prince Albert.
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Last week: 9 9. David Warsofsky, DThe Boston University defenseman is best known for his offense, but Warsofsky also leads the Terriers with 49 blocked shots this season and is a plus-5. He wasn't able to block a shot from fellow Bruins prospect Tommy Cross in the opening round of the Beanpot though, as Cross scored in overtime to lift Boston College to a 3-2 win over BU. Warsofsky has 7-12-19 totals and also leads BU with 88 shots in 28 games.
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Last week: Unranked 10. Tyler Randell, RWWith the exodus of Providence prospects due to call-ups to Boston, another OHLer cracks the Top 10 this week as Kitchener right wing Randell makes his debut. Randell is a 6-foot-1, 194-pound banger picked in the sixth round of the 2009 draft, and he's developing into an intriguing power forward prospect. After having just 19 fighting majors in his first three OHL seasons combined, he already has 15 this year, good for third in the league. But he's not just a tough guy, as Randell also has 16-8-24 totals with five power-play goals and three game-winners. He's really taken off of late, with 10-5-12 totals in 16 games since the start of January. That includes three goals in three games this week, with the game-winner in the Rangers' 4-2 win over Sault Ste. Marie on Sunday.
