Prospect Roundup: Stephens aims for Canada roster

With an emphasis on drafting and developing, the Tampa Bay Lightning have created one of the strongest pipelines in the National Hockey League over the last few years. Each week, TampaBayLightning.com will provide statistical updates on key prospects throughout the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and the National Collegiate Athletic Associaton (NCAA), and will highlight select players from the club's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.

CANADIAN HOCKEY LEAGUE (CHL)
Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
C Anthony Cirelli, Oshawa Generals
Drafted 72nd overall (3rd Round) in 2015
Currently in the midst of Hockey Canada's World Junior Selection Camp, the Gens captain was a scratch for their first preliminary game on Monday night. His 33 points continues to lead his Oshawa club.
LW Boris Katchouk, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Drafted 44th overall (2nd Round) in 2016
Though he's gone pointless since a two-goal performance against Windsor on Nov. 30, Katchouk's 24 points in 29 games is still good for fifth in Soo scoring.
C Christopher Paquette, Niagara IceDogs
Drafted 148th overall (5th Round) in 2016
After a six-game dry spell, Paquette put together a four-point weekend (1G-3A) for the IceDogs, despite the team posting two losses. He's second in overall Niagara scoring, and tied for the team lead with 11 goals.
RW Taylor Raddysh, Erie Otters
Drafted 58th overall (2nd Round) in 2016
Another Bolt currently playing with Hockey Canada (and scoring an exhibition goal for them last night), Raddysh continues to the lead the entire OHL in scoring (61 points), assists (38), and plus/minus (plus-37), and is second in goals (23). He paces his Erie club with 61 points in 28 games and is just one goal from tying his previous OHL career-high, set last season. Through two and a half seasons in the OHL, all with Erie, Raddysh has 161 points in 153 games.
D Matt Spencer, Peterborough Petes
Drafted 44th overall (2nd Round) in 2015
Steady on the blueline, Spencer added two assists in a 5-3 Peterborough win over Ottawa on Thursday. He has 3-9-12 totals through 22 games for third in Petes defensemen scoring.
C Mitchell Stephens, Saginaw Spirit
Drafted 33rd overall (2nd Round) in 2015
Stephens added an exhibition goal for Team Canada last night in their 5-3 win over USports (formerly known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport [CIS]), and should he make the World Juniors squad, it will be his fitfh time representing his country internationally. In his final game with the Spirit before leaving for Selection Camp, Stephens scored the game-winning goal and added two assists for Second Star honors in a 5-1 Saginaw win on Dec. 3.
RW Jonne Tammela, Peterborough Petes
Drafted 118th overall (4th Round) in 2015
Tammela scored in his OHL debut on Nov. 8, but has played in just one game since.
Western Hockey League (WHL)
D Libor Hajek, Saskatoon Blades
Drafted 37th overall (2nd Round) in 2016
Though the Blades took the 4-3 loss, Hajek earned his first goal of the season in the defeat to the Hitmen on Dec. 7. He added an assist the next day in an overtime win against Regina, but was scoreless to close out the weekend versus Moose Jaw. Hajek continues to keep pace amongst Blades defensemen, sitting second in scoring from the blueline with a goal and 11 assists in 31 games.
C Brett Howden, Moose Jaw Warriors
Drafted 27th overall (1st Round) in 2016
Howden was held off the scoresheet last night for Team Canada, but added a goal and an assist on the game-winning power play goal for the Warriors in their 7-3 win over Prince Albert for his final game before camp. Despite the injury that kept him out all of November, Howden is still fifth in Moose Jaw scoring with 26 points in 17 games.
G Connor Ingram, Kamloops Blazers
Drafted 88th overall (3rd Round) in 2016
Though he was on the hook for five Team Canada goals last night, Ingram's numbers thus far for the Blazers keep him very much in the conversation for cracking his country's roster for the upcoming World Juniors. Heading into camp, Ingram has a 14-9-1 record with a .935 save percentage and a 2.12 goals-against average through 24 games for Kamloops.
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
LW Boko Imama, Saint John Sea Dogs
Drafted 180th overall (6th Round) in 2015
Continuing his career year, Imama netted his second hat trick of the season and First Star honors in a 4-1 win over Blainville-Boisbriand on Dec. 11. He has six goals in six games in December, and is just four points from setting a new QMJHL career-high.
RW Mathieu Joseph, Saint John Sea Dogs
Drafted 120th overall (4th Round) in 2015
Joseph did not play for Team Canada last night but continues to blow through his season with Saint John, leaving the team with 45 points in 29 games as he headed to camp. He has eight points in the month of December so far, and his point streak, dating back to Oct. 26, currently sits at 18 games.
C Otto Somppi, Halifax Mooseheads
Drafted 206th overall (7th Round) in 2016
He's been held off the scoresheet his last two games, but is still pacing for a solid sophomore campaign with the Mooseheads with 19 points through 26 games.
LW Dennis Yan, Shawinigan Cataractes
Drafted 64th overall (3rd Round) in 2015
A four-goal, six-point weekend for Yan helped lead Shawinigan to back-to-back 5-1 wins on Dec. 9 and 10. He was awarded First Star on Saturday for his efforts, and now has four multi-goal games on the season along with nine multi-point games.
NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (NCAA)
F Ross Colton, U. of Vermont (Hockey East)
Drafted 118th overall (4th Round) in 2016
A freshman, Colton leads all Catamounts in scoring with 13 points (7G-6A) in 16 games, adding a goal in their win last Friday over Boston University.
F Ryan Lohin, UMass Lowell (Hockey East)
Drafted 208th overall (7th Round) in 2016
Lohin is tied for seventh in scoring with 10 points in 18 games for the River Hawks as a freshman forward.
D John MacLeod, Boston University (Hockey East)
Drafted 57th overall (2nd Round) in 2014
In his junior season with the Terriers, MacLeod has four assists through 13 games to go along with a plus-3 rating and 14 shots from the blueline.
G Kris Oldham, U. of Nebraska-Omaha (NCHC)
Drafted 153rd overall (6th Round) in 2015
Through six games, Oldham has a 3-2-1 record for UNO, with a 2.97 goals-against and a .901 save percentage.
D Ryan Zuhlsdorf, U. of Minnesota (Big-10)
Drafted 150th overall (5th Round) in 2015
Zuhlsdorf has two goals and two assists through 15 games with the Gophers this season, and is a plus-4 with nine shots on goal.
AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE - SYRACUSE CRUNCH
The Crunch have won 8 of their last 11 and three in a row … Yanni Gourde leads the team in scoring with 21 points … Matt Taormina leads the team with eight goals from the blueline … Adam Wilcox is 10-3-0-1 with a .924 save percentage and a 2.12 goals-against average … Slater Koekkoek and Erik Condra were just recalled to Tampa
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"He's strong, he's big, he's fast. He works hard every day before practice, after practice, and it's starting to pay off for him. It's not just about going out there and hitting, and he's putting the work in and he's getting rewarded for it. He's playing a full 200-foot game, so that's good to see."
- Stacy Roest, Director of Player Development on Boko Imama