Stano’s Daily: Petersen With Another Win & Prospect Series

It might not be against the best competition, but Cal Petersen grabbed his second win at the World Championships on Wednesday.

He stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced, helping the USA to a 4-1 victory over Austria.

Petersen’s now 2-0 at the Worlds and has let in just two goals in two games.

This doesn’t mean much for him heading into next season, but building confidence is always good.

The Kings need him to be an NHL goalie next season, or at least raise his trade value enough to make a trade possible.

T.J. Tynan grabbed an assist in that game, giving him three assists in four games for the USA.

Carl Grundstrom grabbed his first point of the tournament on Thursday, assisting on Sweden’s second goal in their 7-1 victory over Hungary.

Prospect Series:

Gabriel Perrault:

In edition two of the Stano’s daily prospect series, we’re looking at Gabriel Perrault.

The son of former Los Angeles Kings forward Yanic Perrault, and younger brother of Anaheim Ducks prospect Jacob Perrault, Gabriel is one of the more interesting prospects in this draft.

Despite smashing Auston Matthews’ point record at the USNTDP, with 132 points, Perrault is still projected as a mid-teens to low-20s pick in most mocks. Although, it’s worth pointing out that The Athletic’s Corey Pronman said in a recent podcast that some teams are thinking about him closer to 10.

On pure offensive talent, Perrault can compete with just about anyone in this draft. A playmaker by trade, Perrault has excellent hands, great vision and the ability to execute passes that carve up defenses.

On top of that, he’s also an excellent shooter. He has a lightning-quick release and can pick corners with a one-timer which makes him a power-play threat.

His hockey IQ is truly high-end and he competes hard for a player who’s just under six-foot. He’s not afraid to attack the interior and score greasy goals around the net.

Sounds like an ideal top-10 pick right?

The one thing scaring scouts is his skating. His skating is poor overall. He doesn’t have much speed, isn’t explosive in his first couple steps and doesn’t have great agility. All bad qualities for a 5-foot-11 forward.

It’s difficult to be undersized and slow in the NHL, even if the rest of your tools are high-end.

Some scouts are also worried that he’s a product of playing on a line with Will Smith and Ryan Leonard at the NTDP. Some view Perrault as the third-best player on that line, however, some of those concerns were put to bed after Perrault’s excellent performance at the U-18 Worlds.

Perrault is committed to Boston College next season where he’ll reunite with his NTDP linemates, Smith and Leonard.

NationalHockeyNow:

ColoradoHockeyNow: Some potential trade bait out of Colorado, could Bowen Byram be available?

SanJoseHockeyNow: Another team in California? Sacramento is a possible destination if the Arizona Coyotes move.

DetroitHockeyNow: Carter Mazur is turning heads at the World Championships.