In the System: Svejkovsky's hat trick highlights start of WHL playoffs

Things couldn't be going better for the Penguins' junior prospects whose postseasons are underway.

All four prospects -- goaltender Taylor Gauthier and defenseman Ryan McCleary on the Portland Winterhawks, forward Lukas Svejkovsky on the Seattle Thunderbirds, and forward Jordan Frasca on the Kingston Frontenacs -- all lead 2-0 in their first-round series.

Of that group, it was Svejkovsky who had the best individual performance in the first week of the postseason.

Svejkovsky was scoreless in Game 1, a 6-0 shutout of the Kelowna Rockets. He was a plus-1 and recorded just one shot on goal.

He stepped up in Game 2, however.

Svejkovsky was the No. 1 star in Seattle's 7-3 win, recording a hat trick on seven shots on goal.

“He can break open a game at any moment,” Seattle coach Matt O’Dette said of Svejkovsky after the game. “In the second, when they were carrying the play a little bit, he had an opportunity and put the puck in the back of the net. That’s just an example of the things he can do.”

Svejkovsky was named the No. 2 star of the week in the WHL for his efforts.

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Here's how the Penguins' prospects in junior, college, and Europe did this week:

FORWARDS

Raivis Ansons
Position: Right wing/left wing
Size: 6-1/190
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, fifth round
Age: 20
Team: Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
Season totals: 51 games, 17 goals, 41 assists

Ansons scored a goal and an assist in three games.

The Sea Dogs announced their team awards this week, and Ansons was named the team's top defensive forward.

Tristan Broz
Position: Center/wing
Size: 6-0/179
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, second round
Age: 19
Team: University of Minnesota (NCAA)
Season totals: 36 games, 6 goals, 5 assists

Minnesota's season ended on April 7 in the Frozen Four.

Judd Caulfield
Position: Right wing
Size: 6-3/207
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, fifth round
Age: 20
Team: University of North Dakota (NCAA)
Season totals: 39 games, 11 goals, 9 assists

North Dakota's season ended on March 24.

Jordan Frasca
Position: Center
Size: 6-2/184
Shoots: Left
Drafted: Undrafted
Age: 20
Team: Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
Season totals: 61 games, 42 goals, 45 assists (regular season), 2 games, 2 goals, 1 assist (playoffs)

Frasca recorded a secondary assist assist in Game 1, a 6-1 win over the Oshawa Generals.

He was the No. 1 star in Game 2, a 6-4 win. He scored Kingston's third and fourth goals of the game:

Frasca won 8 of 14 faceoffs in Game 1 and 12 of 18 faceoffs in Game 2.

Frasca was named the OHL's No. 2 star of the week for his efforts.

Liam Gorman
Position: Center
Size: 6-3/199
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2018, sixth round
Age: 21
Team: Princeton University (NCAA)
Season totals: 28 games, 3 goals, 3 assists

Princeton's season ended on March 5.

Lukas Svejkovsky
Position: Center/right wing
Size: 5-9/170
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2020, fourth round
Age: 20
Team: Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
Season totals: 57 games, 35 goals, 41 assists (regular season), 2 games, 3 goals (playoffs)

Svejkovsky was scoreless in Game 1 and recorded a hat trick in Game 2. 

Kirill Tankov
Position: Center/wing
Size: 6-2/190
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, seventh round
Age: 19
Team: SKA-Neva (VHL)
Season totals: 38 games, 10 goals, 11 assists (regular season), 17 games, 1 goal, 4 assists (VHL playoffs)

SKA-Neva's season ended on April 10.

Tankov reported to SKA's junior affiliate in the MHL following SKA-Neva's elimination, and recorded two assists in five games before sustaining an arm injury.

SKA went on to win the league championship, the Kharlamov Cup.

Chase Yoder
Position: Center
Size: 5-11/185
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2020, sixth round
Age: 19
Team: Providence College (NCAA)
Season totals: 38 games, 5 goals, 6 assists

Providence's season ended on March 12.

DEFENSEMEN

Santeri Airola
Size: 5-9/163
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2019, seventh round
Age: 21
Team: Ilves (Liiga), KOOVEE (Mestis)
Season totals: 2 games (Mestis)

Airola underwent surgery in October and missed the remainder of the season. His Liiga team, Ilves, went on to win bronze in the league.

Niclas Almari
Size: 6-1/180
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2016, fifth round
Age: 23
Team: Lukko (Liiga)
Season totals: 11 games, 1 goal, 1 assist (AHL), 6 games, 4 assists (ECHL), 15 games, 2 assist (Liiga), 7 games (Liiga playoffs)

Lukko's season ended on April 3.

Almari returned to Wilkes-Barre to finish the AHL season but has yet to play since returning.

Isaac Belliveau
Size: 6-2/185
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, fifth round
Age: 19
Team: Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL)
Season totals: 65 games, 8 goals, 27 assists

Belliveau recorded four assists in four games.

Daniel Laatsch
Size: 6-5/190
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2021, seventh round
Age: 20
Team: University of Wisconsin (NCAA)
Season totals: 28 games, 1 goal, 2 assists

Wisconsin's season ended on March 6.

Ryan McCleary
Size: 6-2/180
Shoots: Right
Drafted: 2021, seventh round
Age: 18
Team: Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Season totals: 63 games, 6 goals, 24 assists

McCleary was scoreless Games 1 and 2 as Portland took a 2-0 series lead in the first round.

McCleary recorded one shot on goal and a plus-1 rating in Game 1, and no shots and an even plus/minus in Game 2.

Clayton Phillips
Size: 6-0/195
Shoots: Left
Drafted: 2017, third round
Age: 22
Team: Penn State University (NCAA)
Season totals: 32 games, 5 goals, 7 assists

Penn State's season ended on March 12. Phillips signed an AHL amateur tryout with Wilkes-Barre. More on that here. He's yet to play a game since signing.

GOALTENDERS

Joel Blomqvist
Size: 6-1/183
Catches: Left
Drafted: 2020, second round
Age: 20
Team: Karpat (Liiga), Hermes (Mestis)
Season totals: 20 games, 1.32 GAA, .940 SV% (Liiga), 7 games, 1.10 GAA, .950 SV% (Liiga playoffs), 4 games, 2.26 GAA, .882 SV% (Mestis)

Karpat's season ended on April 6.

Blomqvist signed an amateur tryout contract with Wilkes-Barre to finish the AHL season and made his AHL debut on Saturday. He stopped 25 of 27 shots in a 3-1 loss to Springfield. Ex-Penguin James Neal had the game-winner.

Taylor Gauthier
Size: 6-2/208
Catches: Right
Drafted: Undrafted
Age: 21
Team: Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
Season totals: 42 games, 2.34 GAA, .928 SV% (regular season), 2 games, 1.52 GAA, .947 SV% (playoffs)

Gauthier made back-to-back starts in Games 1 and 2 and won both games. He was the No. 1 star in Game 1 with 32 saves on 34 shots and stopped 22 of 23 in Game 2:

The pre-game outfits for Gauthier and the rest of the Winterhawks might be the best part of those first two games: