| Rank | Player | DOB | Nationality | Draft Year/Position | Current League | 2014 Rank |
| 24 | Justin Auger | 5/14/1994 | CAN | 2013/103rd overall (4th round) | AHL (Monarchs/Reign) | Not Ranked |
Welcome back to the Jewels from the Crown Top 25 Under 25, where the rules are made up and the points don’t matter!
Slotting in at #24 in our list is a very large man. Listed at 6’7”, 230 pounds, Justin Auger even intimidates a large man like myself.
The big winger was drafted in the 4th round in 2013. Jewels has been high on him since then, as you can tell by the fact that not a single one of our voters put him in their top 25 a season ago. Attrition is a hell of a thing.
Auger made his way into the top 25 young players in our system following a breakout 19 game playoff run, during which he scored 2 points. With that said, his first professional season wasn’t as upsetting as that makes it sound. Auger picked up 29 points in 70 games, which is moderately surprising given the fact that he had just 23 points over 53 games in juniors a season prior.
Excitingly, he was named the #10 prospect in the organization by Mayor’s Manor at the halfway point of the season. Here, you can see positive reviews of his game:
Comments shared with MayorsManor previously included “He didn’t do enough to earn his way to the AHL” and “His numbers were bad, his production was bad, and his effort was bad.”
Thrilling!
Did things get better for the big man?
Standing 6-foot-7, Auger uses every inch of his body to play a strong game. Though he isn’t the biggest hitter, no one can criticize him for not using his size. Auger dominates along the boards and in front of the net, and has shown he can finish at times.
Phew.
Auger spent much of the 2014-15 season filling out a bottom six role with the Manchester Monarchs. Referring again to the previous article, sources within the organization praised both his effort level and overall play. Though the numbers aren’t staggering yet, the improvement is encouraging.
Auger will likely begin his 2015-16 season back in the AHL with the Ontario Reign. He still seems like a bit of a long shot to be a steady NHL contributor, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he wiggles his way into a bottom six role in the big leagues.