Jonathan Audy-Marchessault
 

After a productive junior career JAM had a great rookie season in AHL with the Connecticut Whale last year (24 goals and 40 assists in 76 games). Signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets this summer and apparently scored 5 goals in 3 AHL preseason games.

Is he just another small (5'9" and 163 lbs) scoring star in lower leagues or do you see NHL-upside here?

Here's his stats.

columbus has cam atkinson,matt calvert,tj tyna,lukas sedlak, boon jenner, all ahead of him on hockey futures. he seems to be ranked with guys like Joonas Korpisalo and allan york.
his stats do look good on the whale but evryone seems to draw their own conclusions about small scorers.

Sedlak is actually ranked lower than JAM in Hockey's Futures.

By the way, here's his profile from hockey prospectus:

7. Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, Left Wing
2010-11 Ranking: N/A
Date of birth: 12/27/1990
Age: 21
Height: 5'9''
Weight: 175
Shoots: Right
Statistics: 76 GP, 24 G, 64 P (Connecticut-AHL)
Acquired: Free agent

The Good: Marchessault is a skilled little guy who scouts describe as a "fun player to watch" due to his ability to make plays and the high level of energy he plays with. After being undrafted, he burst onto the scene and turned heads as a rookie in the AHL, ending his first season tied for 10th in league scoring. He has above-average puck skills, solid speed, and his work ethic shows up in both ends. He pressures well and is also the kind of player who hustles back on defense and can be an effective penalty killer despite his size because of his intangibles. He's got good awareness off the puck.

The Bad: Marchessault's size is his major issue. Despite his skill set, he may not be dynamic enough at his size to be an NHLer. He's skilled, but not extremely skilled and doesn't have top-end speed.

Projection: He could be a top-nine player and potentially a fringe second liner, but he also may never become an NHL regular.

my bet is that he doesnt make it full time in the bigs, but hockey prospectus should generally be taken with more value than my opinion, or hockey futures for that matter.

6 points in 4 games so far. Off to a good start to the season.

Anyone more familiar with JAM's and Cory Conacher's game? How would you compare these two guys?

After 20 games JAM has 21 points which is good enough for 9th in scoring in AHL. He has one point more than his highly regarded teammate, another small prospect, Cam Atkinson has and two points more than Cory Conacher has. I wonder when JAM will start to receive the same hype as those two have.

'Jonathan Audy-Machessault - Columbus - Rangers missed an oppertunity to sign this guy after watching him put up 64 points in 76 games as a 5-9 rookie in the AHL... now he is almost 22, putting up point per game and Columbus got him on a Three Year Entry Level!.... he will pay with Columbus soon, and he will be produce atleast .5 PPG... and we all know how Columbus needs guys that will put up points'

I mentioned him in the Hidden Gems thread, He plays much bigger than he is... like St. Louis and Desharnais... Desharnais is my closest comparisson... as he will jump into the NHL for a need like Desharnias was....

I had an empty roster spot in one of my leagues and grabbed him for the time being.

Would you guys take him over Ryan Howse, Max Reinhart, Ian Cole, Paul Byron, Chris Terry, Brad Ross, Zac Rinaldo or Alex Salak? This is a multicat league H2H.

Ian Cole or Chris Terry... they are the closest...

Salak would be nice if he signs for anouther NHL team, but now 2 teams have had him and he hasnt stuck...

Zac Rinaldo is extreamly 1 sided towards PIMs and is a nutcase....

Paul Byron should have been a call up, but has played very poorly in the AHL and doesn't deserve an oppertunity yet... and I question if ever... looking more like a career AHLer...

Brad Ross, Ryan Howse and Max Reinhart are still adjusting to pro... one of them maybe a better long-term option... but right now they are a few years away... with the lockout suppose to end, they will be getting an injection of icetime and see how they play then...