Belleville’s Crookshank named American Hockey League Player of the Month for February 2024

The American Hockey League announced today that Belleville Senators forward Angus Crookshank, San Diego Gulls defenseman Olen Zellweger and Colorado Eagles goaltender Ivan Prosvetov have been selected as the league’s award winners for February.

Crookshank, the AHL Player of the Month, tallied eight goals and six assists for 14 points in 12 games for Belleville during the month of February.

Crookshank began the month by scoring goals in back-to-back games against Syracuse on Feb. 2 and 3, after which he traveled cross-country to represent the Senators organization at the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic in San Jose, scoring a pair of goals for the North Division during the All-Star Challenge on Feb. 5. Crookshank recorded a goal and two assists in Belleville’s 5-4 win over Utica on Feb. 10, the beginning of a six-game scoring streak. He netted the game-winning goal in a 4-1 decision at Rochester on Feb. 21 and added a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win at Syracuse on Feb. 24 before closing out the month with a goal to help Belleville past Utica, 3-0, on Feb. 28.

Crookshank leads the Senators with 21 goals and 41 points in 45 games this season, his second pro campaign. He made his NHL debut on Dec. 17, 2023, and has recorded one goal and one assist in seven games with Ottawa. The 24-year-old native of North Vancouver, B.C., was a fifth-round pick by Ottawa in the 2018 NHL Draft, and has totaled 52 goals and 52 assists for 104 points in 135 career AHL contests.

He becomes the second Belleville Sens player to win a league Player of the Month Award, joining Josh Norris, who picked up the honour in February of 2020. Drake Batherson won the league’s Rookie of the Month award in February of 2019, while Filip Gustavsson (January 2020) and Mads Sogaard (October 2023) have each won the league’s Goaltender of the Month award.

Zellweger, the AHL Rookie of the Month, posted four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 10 games for San Diego during February.

After participating in the AHL All-Star Classic on Feb. 4 and 5, Zellweger totaled five points in the Gulls’ two-game sweep of a visit to Calgary, recording two assists on Feb. 9 and notching a goal and two assists on Feb. 10. Zellweger scored another goal against San Jose on Feb. 14, then registered two assists and eight shots on goal at Bakersfield on Feb. 20. He scored again on Feb. 24 vs. Ontario, and chipped in a goal and an assist at Texas on Feb. 28.

A second-round choice by Anaheim in the 2021 NHL Draft, Zellweger ranks third among all AHL defensemen and tied for third among all AHL rookies with 37 points in 44 games for the Gulls. The 20-year-old native of Calgary, Alta., also has one assist in four games with the Ducks after making his NHL debut on Jan. 23, 2024.

Prosvetov, the AHL Goaltender of the Month, allowed two goals or fewer in each of his eight starts during February, going 8-0-0 with a 1.25 goals-against average, a .959 save percentage and two shutouts while stopping 231 of 241 shots overall.

Assigned to the Eagles on Feb. 4, Prosvetov made his debut with the club on Feb. 9 and turned aside 26 shots in a 3-1 win over Abbotsford. He made 38 saves in a 3-2 victory over the Canucks on Feb. 10, and was named Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week after stopping 93 of 98 shots in defeating Bakersfield twice and Coachella Valley once between Feb. 14 and Feb. 18. Prosvetov then notched back-to-back shutouts against Henderson, making 15 saves on Feb. 23 and 27 stops on Feb. 24, before closing out the month with a 32-save performance at Abbotsford on Feb. 27.

Prosvetov was acquired by the Colorado Avalanche off waivers from Arizona on Oct. 9, 2023, and has made 11 NHL appearances this season, going 4-3-1 with a 3.16 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage. A 24-year-old native of Moscow, Russia, Prosvetov has a record of 62-54-10 with a 3.17 GAA, an .899 save percentage and six shutouts in 133 career AHL games with Colorado and Tucson. The fourth-round pick by Arizona in the 2018 NHL Draft has appeared in 24 games in the NHL between the Avalanche and Coyotes.