Korotky scores twice for SKA St. Petersburg; Pekarcik's beauty assist for Moncton; notes on Dvorsky, Jiricek
Korotky, a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, was off to a sizzling start for SKA-1946 St. Petersburg of Russia's Molodyozhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga (MHL) with 31 points (17 goals, 14 assists) and a plus-21 in 27 games.
The forward (6-foot-2, 198 pounds) was tearing up the junior circuit.
So SKA promoted the 19-year-old to the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in mid-December. So far, it's been a learning curve to play with the big boys in Russia, but on Saturday, Korotky finally got off the schneid to dent the net -- twice.
He scored his first two goals in his 18th game in a 4-3 loss to Neftekhimik on Saturday.
It was just the 10th game in which Korotky even registered a shot on goal and just the third time since joining the big club that he's amassed more than 10 minutes of ice time (11:18)
But each goal came in an attacking fashion and willingness to shoot pucks, like the first on a spin and score and the second on a cross seam pass and score on the far side from inside the left circle.
Korotky is a plus-5 his past three games played after being a minus-8 in his previous 10 games. So the experience and repetition will continue to do him well.
* Juraj Pekarcik -- Maybe the 2023 third-round pick didn't score in either game this past week for Moncton of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, but the forward did have an assist on Saturday in a 3-1 win over Halifax, and it was a beauty to put the game away late in the third period:
Pekarcik has 47 points (19 goals, 28 assists) in 42 games, helping the Wildcats to a 40-9-2-0 mark, good for 82 points in the Eastern Conference.
* Tomas Mrsic -- It was a quiet week -- by his standards -- for the 2024 fourth-round pick, but Mrsic did leave a profound mark with a goal and two assists on Friday for Prince Albert of the Western Hockey League in a 6-1 thumping of Swift Current.
Mrsic, who had just the goal and two assist in three games this past week, continues to score in different ways. This time, in a doorstep rebound:
Mrsic, who has 76 points (31 goals, 45 assists) in 49 games, leads the Raiders in goals and points and is third in assists; he is tied for first in power-play goals (14) and is first with five game-winning goals.
* Dalibor Dvorsky -- The No. 10 pick in the 2023 draft had a goal and an assist in a three-game, four-night stint for Springfield of the American Hockey League in the Thunderbirds' trek to the Midwest.
Dvorsky is now up to 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in 43 games and is third on the team in scoring but first with seven power-play goals, including this howitzer from the right circle on Thursday against Milwaukee:
* Adam Jiricek -- The Blues' 2024 first-round pick (No. 16) has missed four straight games for Brantford of the Ontario Hockey League with an undisclosed injury sustained Feb. 5 in a 2-1 win against Sudbury.
The defenseman, who has played in just 18 games this season (three goals, six assists), also missed five weeks (14 games) in November and early December before missing six more games while representing Czechia at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship.
The Bulldogs, who are 33-16-5-0 and good for first place with 71 points in the Eastern Conference, are 3-0-1 with Jiricek out of the lineup; they host Sault Ste. Marie on Monday before next playing at Peterborough on Thursday.
The latest injury for Jiricek, who sustained a serious right knee injury at the 2024 World Juniors that forced him to miss most of the 2023-24 season, isn't expected to keep him out long term.
* Here's a deft little touch goal scored by Adam Jecho (2024, third round) for Edmonton of the WHL on Saturday in the Oil Kings' 4-3 win over Lethbridge, giving the forward 17 goals and 38 points in 41 games:
