NY Islanders prospect Alex Jefferies named NCAA Hockey East player of the month

The month of December is normally cold in Massachusetts. However, NY Islanders prospect, Alex Jefferies, brought the heat and had a monster month with Merrimack College in the NCAA's Hockey East. Jefferies' stellar December earned him the honors as the NCAA's Hockey East player of the month.

Jefferies started off December on a high note scoring four points in the first game of the month tallying a goal and three assists. Jefferies' lone goal of the month came in the second period in a bout against the Uconn Huskies on the power play. Uconn pushed back, but it wasn't enough and Jefferies' power play goal turned into the game-winning goal for Merrimack.

December's #HockeyEast Player of the Month:
Alex Jefferies, @MerrimackMIH pic.twitter.com/UuggBECBtn
— Hockey East (@hockey_east) January 4, 2023

Jefferies' playmaking skills were on full display in December, registering seven assists in five games. The 21-year-old forward lead Merrimack to a 4-1-0 record in the final month of 2022 and only was held off the score sheet once.

The Islanders 2020 draft selection is playing well over a point per game pace this season as he's totaled 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in 19 games. Through two and a half seasons in the NCAA's Hockey East, Jefferies has totaled 57 points in 64 games. He has the opportunity through the rest of this season to bring his college career point totals to a point-per-game pace on his career.

Jefferies ranks 12th overall in NCAA scoring, ahead of top prospect such as Philadelphia Flyers' top prospect Cutter Gauthier and trails Arizona Coyotes' top prospect and World Junior Championship Team USA center Logan Cooley by one point.

According to Lassi Alanen of EliteProspects, Jefferies ranks as a top-10 offensive forward in the NCAA.

Alex Jefferies (NYI) ranks as a top-10 offensive forward in the dataset, primarily due to his high-end primary assist rate and elite individual chance creation. Other areas aren't quite as strong, but still relatively decent. #Isles https://t.co/eqH0zDBRFc pic.twitter.com/rHRmXeahmp
— Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) December 14, 2022

Jefferies is in his junior year at Merrimack college. He's eligible to play one more season following the 2022-23 season in his senior year. The Islanders have yet to sign Jefferies to his first professional contract, however, if the Isles prospect's upward trajectory continues, we could see him in the blue and orange in the near future.

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