New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: Jakub Malek Deserves More Recognition

Jakub Malek has excelled everywhere he has played since the Devils drafted him. The start of this season has been no exception. It’s time Jakub Malek gets recognized as a legit goaltender prospect.

Take a look at nearly any compiled lists of goalie prospects. Elite Prospects has a list of their Top 20. Daily Faceoff has a list of their Top 25. One name is consistently absent from most of these lists: Jakub Malek. But why? Let’s take a look at some numbers.

Since being drafted by the Devils in the 4th round (100th) overall of the 2021 NHL entry draft, Jakub Malek has excelled in every season. Malek dominated the Czechia2 in his draft +1 season with a gaudy 1.95 GAA and .932 SV%. The knock on Malek at the time was whether he could perform at that level in stiffer competition.

Over the last two plus seasons, Malek has done that in net for Ilves in the Liiga. Playing a platoon role in his first two years for Ilves, Malek finished with goals against of 2.15 and 2.32 and SV%’s of .903 and .915. So far this season as Ilves number one goalie, Malek has continued his puck-stopping ways with a 2.11 GAA and .911 SV%.

Given Malek’s consistent excellence, it is no wonder that Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald signed the netminder to his ELC this past summer. With Daws and Poulter both struggling in net for Utica out of the gate this season, next summer will be a transition year for the Devils AHL goalie pool. Malek should be one of those netminders. Maybe if he continues to stop pucks at that level, the 6’4 netminder will finally get some respect around the league.

Around the Pool

• Utica fell again on Saturday 5-4, this time to the Belleville Senators. Issac Poulter earned the loss for the Comets. Utica valiantly tried to claw back in this one after giving up four unanswered goals in the first half of the game, but it would be to no avail. Of the prospects, Nolan Foote led the way on the scoresheet with two assists with AHL veterans providing much of the scoring.
• The winless Comets followed up that loss with another dud on Sunday, getting shutout again this season, this time 4-0 to the Toronto Marlies. Nico Daws earned his third loss of the short season, stopping thirty of thirty-four.
• Arseni Gritsyuk is still on fire, leading all Devils prospects with 17 points in 16 games. There has been so much justified hype surrounding Gritsyuk for so long, sometimes it’s difficult to remember that the Russian winger was drafted in the fifth round (129th overall) back in 2019.
• Lenni Hameenaho continued his hot start with another multi-goal performance. The scoring winger has 13 points in 14 games. Check out this snipe.

• Goaltender Mikhail Yegurov earned his first shutout this weekend stopping all 34 shots against the Dubuque Fighting Saints. Yegurov has been quietly putting up quality starts since his disastrous opener and now sits with a 2-2-0 record, a 1.95 GAA and a .928 SV%.
• The other goaltender drafted by the Devils this summer, Veeti Louhivaara, has yet to play in a game this season. As no injury is noted on Elite Prospects, Louhivaara seems to be stuck behind goaltenders Veini Vehviläinen and Veini Vehviläinen in the Liiga and Otto Hannikainen, who has started all thirteen games for the JVP U20.
• After transferring over to Quinnipiac from Boston College, defensive defenseman Charles Leddy has two assists in three games to start the season. Leddy had eight points (all assists) in 39 games last season and only seven points in his freshman campaign. It’s far too early to tell if the change in scenery will lead to a break out for Leddy, but the early signs are encouraging.
• For those wondering why winger Kaspar Pikkarainen has only played one game for the Red Deer Rebels, he has been day-to-day with a lower body injury.
• Double overager center/winger Max Graham is doing more than fighting this season as captain of the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL. Graham has four goals and an assist in six games to start the season, a 54 point pace that would crush last season’s total of 42. As to fighting, Graham is still doing that too.

A Few Late Additions

These things happened after I wrote the article but are worth mentioning:

• Cam Squires had a four point night against the Wildcats, leading Cape Breton to a five game win streak. Squires now has 10 points in 7 QMJHL games.
• Also in the “Q”, center Matyas Melovsky has quietly put up 7 points in 6 games as a double overager. With the Devils lacking in center depth in the pool, Melovsky panning out would be a giant plus to the system.

Your Take

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