According to the Devils’ official website, Mackenzie Blackwood is the third Devils prospect playing in the Ontario Hockey League to be named that circuit’s player of the week this season. He was named player of the week for the playoff week ending April 17.
Blackwood, a goaltender for the Barrie Colts, led his team to a second round sweep of the North Bay Battalion and into the Eastern Conference Finals against the Niagara IceDogs.
In the period that named him player of the week, he went 3-0-0-0, had a goals against average of 1.31 and a .956 save percentage. According to the Devils’ press release, he also had a shutout against North Bay.
Blackwood is a second round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. The other Devils prospects to be named OHL player of the week were: Pavel Zacha of the Sarnia Sting (November 16-22) and Blake Speers of the Soo Greyhounds (March 14-20).
In other prospect news, the press release also discusses John Quenneville and his Brandon Wheat Kings as they make their way through the Western Hockey League’s playoffs. The Wheat Kings have moved on to their second WHL Eastern Conference Final in two years. They will face the winner of the Red Deer Rebels and the Regina Pats semifinal series.
Quenneville is tied for his team’s lead in playoff scoring. He has seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in eleven games. Those seven goals include two shorthanded goals. Quenneville was chosen 30th overall in the first round of the 2014 Entry Draft by the Devils.