NHL draft prospect Alex Nedeljkovic leads Whalers to victory: Sunday’s 3 Stars

No. 1 star: Alex Nedeljkovic, Plymouth Whalers (OHL)

The Plymouth Whalers were outshot 45 to 23 by the Windsor Spitfires, but it didn’t matter because of Nedeljkovic’s outstanding showing in the blue paint. The 17-year-old stopped 44 of 45 shots, including 30 consecutive saves in the first two periods, to lead the Whalers to a 2-1 win.

Ranked as an A-list prospect in NHL Central Scouting Service’s preliminary list, Nedeljkovic is widely regarded as one of the top goalies of the 2014 NHL draft class. In his second season with the Whalers, the 6-foot, 182-pound American has suited up in all but three of their 26 regular-season games, posting a .912 save percentage and 3.32 average.

Matt Mistele scored both of the Whalers’ goals in the third period while Columbus Blue Jackets first-round pick Kerby Rychel potted the Spitfires’ lone marker with under two minutes left in the game.

No. 2 star: Justin Nichols, Guelph Storm (OHL)

Nichols was the Storm’s backbone in their 6-0 victory over the Kitchener Rangers. The 5-foot-10, 156-pound goalie turned away all 34 shots that came his way to capture his first shutout on the season. The impressive performance also bucked a four-goal trend for Nichols as he let in four goals in each of his previous four games.

After scoring four goals the night before in a 6-2 win over the Whalers, Los Angeles Kings prospect Zac Leslie led the Storm offense for the second consecutive night from the back end. He started the game with a goal in the first period and the ended it with one in the third while adding two helpers.

No. 3 star: Sam Bennett, Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)

Bennett did his best to boost his draft stock in the Frontenacs’ 7-5 win against the Mississauga Steelheads. Down 2-0 in the opening frame, the 6-foot, 181-pound centre set up a Henri Ikonen (2G-2A, +2) goal and scored a huge short-handed marker just under two minutes later to get Kingston back into the game. The 17-year-old went onto notch his third point and second helper on Roland McKeown’s game-winning power-play goal with 1:32 left in the contest. Bennett, who is ranked as an A-list prospect by CSS, now has 14 goals and 33 points in 23 games on the year.

Honourable mention: Jacob Brennan, Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL)

Following letting in 10 goals in his last two contests against his hometown Halifax Mooseheads, Brennan had a much-needed bounce-back game in a 4-1 victory over the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. The 19-year-old goaltender stopped 29 of 30 pucks. He was ultimately the main reason why Acadie-Bathurst captured the two points as the shots were 30 apiece.

Robert Pelletier (1G-1A, +1), Adam Chapman (2A) and Patrick Walsh (2A, +2) led the Titan on the score sheet with two-point nights.

Potent notables – Ryan Van Stralen scored two goals and one assist to lead the Ottawa 67’s over the Niagara IceDogs 5-2… NHL draft prospect Michael Dal Colle shinned for the Oshawa Generals in a 5-3 loss to the Barrie Colts with a goal and a helper… Drummondville Voltigeurs blueliner Dexter Weber notched two assists in a 3-2 shootout win against the Shawinigan Cataractes... Albeit in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Gatineau Olympiques, Victoriaville Tigres goalie Brandon Whitney had the game's best performance with 45 saves on 47 shots.

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen