Barrie Colts Alumni Update

With the current Colts team sitting at 8^th in the eastern conference, and Captain Justin Murray traded away within the last week, it’s been a somewhat frustrating first half in Barrie. On the bright side there is some Colts’ alumni playing some great hockey these days. In this post I will be going through some favorite former Colts!

The Winnipeg Crew

The Winnipeg Jets, also known as Colts west, or the Winnipeg Colts feature several Colts alumni including two of, if not the best in franchise history. Here’s a breakdown of how the Winnipeg crew are doing this season.

Mark Scheifele: The Colts MVP from 2012-13’s OHL final team is firing on all cylinders for the Jets this season. So far in 30 games played Mark has 17 goals, 20 assists for 37 points. That’s good enough for second on the Jets, one point behind Captain Blake Wheeler. Scheif is also 2^nd in goals behind Patrik Laine, and leads the team in +/- at a solid +14.

Bryan Little: The Colts all time points leader has spent his entire career with the Jets/Thrashers organization after an impressive 4 year career with the Colts. Playing behind fellow Colt Mark Scheifele on the Jets second line, Little has 6 goals, 10 assists for 16 points in 30 games this season. It’s great to see Little continue to stay healthy after a few scary injury shortened seasons in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Brendan Lemieux: Lemieux is still finding his way in his first full NHL season, rotating in and out of the lineup. In 16 games this season with the Jets he has 1 goal, and is 4^th on the team in penalty minutes in roughly half the amount of games played. Being a former Colt, this isn’t a surprise to anyone that Lemieux plays with an edge, even at the NHL level.  

 Andersson and Mangiapane Breakthrough with the Flames

After a few years with the Flames affiliate in Stockton, it appears former Colts stars have finally been given an opportunity to join another Colts alumni TJ Brodie with the big club in Calgary.

Rasmus Andersson: Lots of praise for the former Colt in Calgary as Andersson has fit in nicely with the Flames. Last night he scored his first NHL goal against the Flyers, and has added 2 assists for 3 points in 29 games. While the offensive numbers haven’t jumped off the page yet, Andersson has been a steady presence on the Flames blueline.

Andrew Mangiapane: After a torrid start with the Stockton Heat averaging over a point per game (13GP, 7G, 7A, 14PTS) Mangiapane was called up to the Flames recently. So far he has yet to record a point in a limited role with the Flames in 6 games, but it’s only a matter of time before the former Colts star breaks through at the NHL level.

TJ Brodie: While he wasn’t with the Colts for long, you can’t forget to talk about this guy if we’re talking Flames. Brodie has been a key member of the Flames blueline for years now. This season on the western conference leading Flames, Brodie has put up 3 goals, 9 assists for 12 points in 32 games. He also has immensely improved his +/- at a +18, up from a -16 his last two seasons.

More Alumni

Here’s a look at how a few more Colts alumni are doing this season, including the team’s 1^st Overall NHL picks in Andrei Svechnikov and Aaron Ekblad.

Andrei Svechnikov: Svech is still finding his way in the NHL in a somewhat limited role in Carolina. So far in 29 games he has 6 goals, 7 assists for 13 points. That puts Svech in a tie for 7^th in NHL rookie scoring. With his speed and skill, it won’t be long before he takes off and starts scoring at will for a young and skilled Canes team.

Aaron Ekblad: While it hasn’t been a season to remember for the Florida Panthers once again, Ekblad is putting up another solid season with 7 goals, 6 assists for 13 points in 29 games.  With most of the team with a negative +/- his +3 rating stands out on a struggling Panthers team.

Kevin Labanc: A consistent member of the Sharks top 6 the past couple years, Labanc is having another solid year in San Jose. So far in 32 games he has 3 goals, 17 assists for 20 points. If Labanc keeps up this pace he should surpass his previous career high of 40 points he set last year.

Tanner Pearson: Pearson got off to a rough start on a rebuilding LA Kings team, but he has found new life on the Penguins on a line with Malkin and Kessel for the most part. Since joining the Penguins he has 3 goals, 2 assists for 5 points in 14 games. This has made Ryan Noble, the blogs lifetime Pens fan very happy.

Andreas Athanasiou: Athanasiou has been his usual speedy self for the Red Wings this year and is having a breakout season. Through 28 games he has 11 goals, 8 assists for 19 points. Much like Labanc, AA should smash his career high of 33 points this season.

That was a quick look at some of the top Colts alumni playing in the NHL from the last 10 seasons or so. If there is any alumni you would like to see included in the future be sure to leave a comment! The next time there will be more players playing in the AHL, ECHL or in Europe.