Cleveland Monsters Christmas Break Stats Check In

After a six-day Christmas break, the Cleveland Monsters are back at it against the Rochester Americans tomorrow. 

Let's take a quick look at some stats and who the team leaders are. 

Points

1. Luca Pinelli - 19 - 12th among all AHL rookies
2. Mikael Pyyhtiä - 14
3. 2 Tied with 13 (Del Bel Belluz, Dumais)

Goals

1. Luca Pinelli - 8 - 10th among all AHL rookies
2. Jack Williams - 6
3. 3-Tied with 5 (Del Bel Belluz, Dumais, Ahcan)

Assists

1. Luca Pinelli - 11 - 14th among all AHL Rookies
2. Mikael Pyyhtiä - 10
3. Will Butcher - 10

Power Play Goals

1. Luca Del Bel Belluz - 3
2. Luca Pinelli - 3

Power Play Assists

1. Mikael Pyyhtiä - 7
2. Luca Del Bel Belluz - 4
3. Will Butcher - 4

Game-Winning Goals

1. Luca Pinelli - 3
2. Corson Ceulemans - 2

Goalie Stats

1. Ivan Fedotov - 8-6 - .905% SV% - 2.33 GAA - 2 Shutouts
2. Zach Sawchenko - 4-4 - .888% SV% - 2.68 GAA - 0 Shutouts.

Over the last couple seasons, the Cleveland Monsters have gotten a ton of production from their defensemen, including from Denton Mateychuk, Stanislav Svozil, and Jake Christiansen. But with Mateychuk and Christiansen off to the NHL, no one on the blue line has yet to step up and take their place. 

Veteran Will Butcher and youngster Corson Ceulemans lead the pack this year, with Butcher totaling 12 points, and Ceulemans scoring 4 goals. In fact, only four of the nine defensemen who played in games for Cleveland have scored goals so far this year. Compare that to last season, where 11 of 14 defensemen scored a goal, and you can see where a problem might lie. 

The Cleveland Monsters are just 7 points behind division-leading Syracuse; that's the good news. The team is being led by the young kids, and that's also a very good sign going forward. 

Up Next: The Blue Jackets will now take a five-day break for Christmas and will resume their march to the playoffs on December 28th against the New York Islanders. 

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