Game Time Prospect Sunday, Ten Ten Ten

By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department

Welcome to another episode of Game Time Prospect Sunday for the 2010-11 season.

Apologies to all for no "Tomorrow's Blues" article in last night's paper; on top of some communicatus interruptus issues between Prospect HQ and GTHQ, your GTPD found out on Friday afternoon that he was on the street, part of the 9.8% of folks in this great country of ours who are now unemployed.

I blame the Tories; the Labour Party is doing the best they can.

(steps down from soapbox)

Anyway, that would also explain any shortcomings in today's presentation, as I have only limited time available at the Edwardsville Public Library to get this done.  With any luck, I'll be able to get the 'Net hooked up back at my house in the next week, and will now have lots o' free time to make this weekly feature the best it can possibly be.

FEATURED PROSPECT OF THE WEEK:

At the risk of having this segment become a curse to the featured prospect -- last week's featured prospect, Ben Bishop, got shelled for three third-period goals in Peoria's 4-3 home opener loss to Manitoba on Friday -- the featured prospect this week is Bishop's battery mate in Peoria, rookie Jake "The Snake" Allen.

(LINK here to SB Nation asset file for the above graphic.)

Jake Allen, drafted by the Blues in 2008 (2nd round, 34th overall), joins the Peoria Rivermen after a three-year major junior career in the QMJHL, and World Junior Championship gold (2008 U-18) and silver (2010 U-20) medals around his neck.

Allen was a little-known backup goaltender with the St. John's (NF) Fog Devils of the QMJHL when he was tapped by Team Canada to represent the maple leaf in the 2008 U-18 World Junior Championships in Kazan, Russia. At that tournament, Allen was nothing short of phenomenal.

Fredericton, New Brunswick's favorite son played all seven games for Canada, allowing a mere ten goals on 192 shots against for a 1.43 goals-against average and a 94.8% save percentage. His only loss of the tournament was a a 4-2 setback to host Russia in the qualifying round, but Allen and the Canadians got revenge on the Russians with an 8-0 pasting of the host squad in the gold medal game.

The Blues came calling in the second round of the NHL Entry Draft that summer, and shortly thereafter, Allen's Fog Devils club moved from Newfoundland to the Montreal suburbs for the 2008-09 season, becoming le Junior de Montreal. After that move, and with an NHL future now squarely in his sights, Allen began to establish himself as one of the QMJHL's top goaltending prospects.

Just before Christmas 2009, Team Canada came calling once again for Allen to represent his country in the World Juniors, this time on home ice in Saskatchewan for the U20s. While there, Allen was traded to the Drummondville Voltigeurs, and brought his U20 silver medal back to the Q, where he proceeded to go on a tear through the balance of the regular season. Allen won 15 consecutive starts at one point on his way to an 18-3-0 record with the powerhouse Voltigeurs.

In the feature video of the week, here's Jake the Snake putting the kibosh on fellow prospect Mark Cundari during the open-to-the-public prospect practice at St. Louis Mills in September, just prior to the annual Traverse City Prospect Tournament.

RIVERMEN DROP HOME OPENER TO MOOSE:

A hat trick by veteran newcomer Graham Mink put the Rivermen on top early on, but three third-period goals eluded Ben Bishop to allow the Manitoba Moose to stampede out of Peoria with a 4-3 victory on Friday night before over 7,000 at Carver Arena.

The 28-year-old Mink, acquired from the Florida organization in the off-season in exchange for defense prospect T.J. Fast, popped in three straight Rivermen tallies after Manitoba took a 1-0 lead early in the first period. The veteran, however, may cede his first goal to rookie Stefan Della Rovere, whom Mink insists tipped the goal home.

LINK to article at the Peoria Journal-Star website.

LINK to official scoresheet at theahl(dot)com.

After the jump, this week's "Fab Five" of players in the organization who are "Trending Up."

Cody BEACH	Stefan DELLA ROVERE	Jani HAKANPÄÄ	Brett PONICH	Vladimir TARASENKO
** 3 games played this week	** 1 game played this week	** 3 games played this week	** 3 games played this week	** 3 games played this week
** 1 G, 3 A, plus-1	** 0 G, 1 A, plus-1	** 0 G, 1 A, plus-1	** 0 G, 2 A, plus-7	** 1 G, 1 A, even
** 14 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 1 GW	** 0 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW	** 2 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW	** 6 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW	** 0 PM, 1 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW