By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department
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THREE STAR SELECTIONS FOR THE WEEK ENDING 12-08-12
For the seventh time in the last 11 weeks, and the third week in a row, a scoring star from the QMJHL has captured First Star honors in "Game Time's" weekly selection of the "Fab Five" prospects in the Blues' system.
Moncton LW Yannick Veilleux scored twice this week, both times on the power play, and added an assist to help his club to two wins in three games during the last seven days.
Another LW prospect, 2010 first-round pick Jaden Schwartz, tallied the game-winner as Peoria topped Grand Rapids 2-1 on the road this week, and also added a shorthanded goal on Saturday night in Peoria's 4-1 loss in Texas.
This week's Third Star is goaltender Niklas Lundström, who is expected to be the starter in goal for Sweden in the upcoming World Juniors, and who turned aside 35 of 38 shots through three periods and overtime -- and all three shots faced in the shootout round -- as AIK topped Timrå IK 4-3 on Thursday night.
Honorable Mentions this week go to a pair of forward prospects playing on opposite shores. Out West, RW Ty Rattie continues to put the lie to statements by fans and "experts" alike that he can't succeed without last year's linemate (and Calgary prospect) Sven Bärtschi. Rattie struck for a pair of goals, and added a pair of helpers, as Portland won a pair of games this week. And back East in Beantown, RW prospect Sam Kurker scored just the second goal of his young NCAA career, but it was a big one: the game-winner against longtime BU rival New Hampshire in a rare Thursday night college game.
Just missing out this week were a pair of major junior prospects. Dmitrij Jaskin, also bound for World Junior play later this month, scored once and added four helpers this week, but his Moncton Wildcats club saw a seven-game win streak come to an end with a 7-3 drubbing by Victoriaville on Friday night. Out west, defensive defenseman Joel Edmundson made the most of his trade to the high-powered offensive machine in Kamloops by tallying his third goal of the season in his first game with the Blazers.
| *** FIRST Star *** | ** SECOND Star ** | * THIRD Star * |
| Yannick VEILLEUX | Jaden SCHWARTZ | Niklas LUNDSTRÖM |
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 |
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| Moncton (QMJHL) | Peoria (AHL) | AIK Solna (SEL) |
| ** 3 games played this week | ** 3 games played this week | ** 1 game played this week |
| ** 2 G, 1 A, minus-1 | ** 2 G, 1 A, minus-3 | ** 65 mins, 3 GA, 1-0-0 |
| ** 4 PM, 2 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW | ** 0 PM, 1 PP, 1 SH, 1 GW | ** 2.77 GAA, 92.1 save % |
HONORABLE MENTION:
SAM KURKER, RW, Boston University (HEA): 2 GP, 1-0-0, plus-1, 2 PM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 1 GW.
TY RATTIE, RW, Portland (WHL): 3 GP, 2-2-4, plus-3, 2 PM, 1 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW.
...
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THREE STAR POINT STANDINGS FOR THE WEEK ENDING 12-08-12
Players receive four points for being named First Star, three points for Second Star, two points for Third Star, and one point for Honorable Mention. The top ten prospects in the Three Star point standings for this week are as follows:
| PLAYER | CLUB | POINTS |
| Dmitri Jaskin | Moncton, QMJHL | 19 |
| Yannick Veilleux | Moncton, QMJHL | 16 |
| Ty Rattie | Portland, WHL | 15 |
| Ryan Tesink | Saint John, QMJHL | 13 |
| Jordan Binnington | Owen Sound, OHL | 12 |
| Vladimir Tarasenko | SKA St Petersburg, KHL | 10 |
| Jake Allen | Peoria, AHL | 8 |
| Teemu Eronen | Jokerit, SM-Liiga | 4 |
| Niklas Lundström | AIK Solna, SEL | 4 |
| Jaden Schwartz | Peoria, AHL | 4 |