I had fully intended on yesterday's post being my last thoughts on the subject, but it seemed like every hockey mind across the continent had an opinion on this story, and there were a few more things I wanted to share. It's largely been reported as a pretty black and white story so far, but there's also a lot of gray area.
There are some people that have expressed concern over the way Nunn has been portrayed as a "victim" in this situation. There was a feeling that Nunn and his family enjoyed the recruiting attention from both sides a little too much, and got caught trying to play both sides of the fence.
The question is, whose fault is that? Is the problem with Nunn or is it systemic? When that type of attention gets thrown on young kids, it's probably only natural for things like that to happen from time to time. It's an awful lot to ask from parents as well.
Regardless, I think if the Nunn family knew all of the facts, they wouldn't have handled the situation in the way that they did. Nunn essentially ended up signing something that gave him little guarantee of a future with the Giants, yet limited his NCAA options.
It's also hard to feel too sorry for Nunn since it was rumored that he got $50,000 upfront from the Giants for signing with them.
There are also a few holes in the Giants "sinister plot". First, the Giants dropped Nunn off of their protected list for a period of time after Nunn committed to the college route, so any other WHL team could have added to him. It's also questionable how much Vancouver knew about the NCAA rules. According to the article yesterday, they only found out fairly recently that Nunn had to sit out a year at Mankato, making them one of the last to find out.
There also wasn't a lot of sympathy for Minnesota State in this situation. It was pretty well-known that Nunn was a fairly high-risk kid during his recruitment, and a number of teams chose to stop recruiting him. MSU chose to take the risk and it ended up not working out for them. MSU head coach Troy Jutting told the Mankato Free Press yesterday, "I knew when they ruled he'd have to sit a year that it might happen. It's unfortunate. He's a big-timer."
There were also a few notes on the CHL education package.
First, it's pretty likely that Nunn, with his NCAA leverage, was able to negotiate a deal that paid for all four years of college, should he go back and use it. In order to get his room and board paid for, however, that would have to be negotiated separately through the team, and couldn't be sent in to the WHL.
As far as the idea of Nunn being able to get a head start on college while with the Giants, that may be true, but highly unlikely. He would have to pay for his classes, and then get reimbursed if he passes them. Given the rigorous travel schedules in major junior hockey, especially out west, it would be extremely difficult to maintain much of a course load. Most players I've seen only take about one class per semester, which isn't going to get you that far ahead.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
MN High School Preview: Class AA
Here's my preview of Class AA. You can view a map of all the schools in Class AA here.
Section 1
Last year, Rochester Century came out of this section, and surprised everyone by upsetting Hill-Murray in the first round of the state tournament, and then coming back to beat Burnsville in the third place game to finish third at the state tournament.
It’s unlikely that the Panthers will have another magical run though. They lost perhaps the best duo in school history in forwards Garrett Grimstad and Joe Knoepke, and forward Ryan Knutson, who looked like he would play a starring role for the Panthers this year, is playing Midget AAA hockey for the Russell Stover program in Kansas.
Lakeville North usually has a pretty strong team, and I wouldn’t be surprised if their success continues and they won this section this year.
Section 2
This should be the most competitive section in the state. It features some great programs, including Edina, who is widely regarded as the best metro-area team, and Holy Angels, who has had some great teams over the past few years, and sent nearly 30 players on to play Division I hockey. Burnsville is also in this section, and has proven themselves capable of pulling off the big upset when they defeated Holy Angels in last year’s section final.
Chaska was the only team in the state to lose a player to the National Development Program this year when Nick Mattson moved on to Ann Arbor. It may seem weird for many old-time high school hockey fans that Bloomington Jefferson isn’t mentioned much, but the Jaguar program has fallen on hard times recently and probably won’t be able to compete with powerhouses like Edina and Holy Angels.
It’s hard to imagine Holy Angels going three straight years without making the state tournament given the talent they’ve had, but I think Edina will just be too good this year.
Section 3
Cretin-Derham Hall is the perennial favorite out of this section, though they were upset by Woodbury last season. There seems to be a fair amount of hype surrounding Rosemount’s team heading into the season, and Eastview should be competitive with two future D-I players on their roster in Corey Fienhage(North Dakota) and Rob Maloney(Providence). But I’ll pick the Raiders to avoid the upset.
Section 4
This section features the classic Hill-Murray/White Bear Lake rivalry, and thanks to the re-sectioning of the state, Centennial is no longer in this section to compete.
If the Bears had Jake Hansen and Taylor Johnson for their senior years this year, I’d be tempted to pick the Bears, but now, I think Hill-Murray has too much raw talent for anybody in the section.
Section 5
Blaine has dominated this group over the past few years, but Centennial, which usually boasts one of the strongest youth programs in the state, is now in this section, and should provide some stiff competition for the Bengals. This section boasts a number of talented 11th graders, including Centennial’s Tyler Pitlick and Dustin Lovick, Rogers’ Nick Jensen, and Maple Grove’s Tom Malone and Josh Gross.
It’s hard to pick against Blaine, but I think the group from Centennial that won youth hockey state championships will finally make some noise on the high school level and win the section.
Section 6
This section is noteworthy for some of the talented defenseman playing in the section, specifically Minnetonka’s Jake Gardiner and Anthony Raiola, and Eden Prairie’s Alec Rush and Nick Leddy. Armstrong is also usually fairly strong, and Cory Thorson could have a big year as a senior. I think Minnetonka will come out of this section.
This isn’t the strongest section this year, but in a few years, I expect this to be one of the toughest sections in the state. There are a lot of families with young, hockey-playing kids moving into the southwestern suburbs, and it’s only a matter of time before those numbers translate into hockey success.
Section 7
This is usually one of the deepest, and most exciting sections in the state, and this year will probably be no exception. The teams in this section don’t seem to be as strong as last year, but it the section semifinals and finals in Duluth should still be great games.
Grand Rapids has come out of this section the past two years and advanced to the state championship game. Their run of success looks like it will end this year though. The Thunderhawks lost their two best players, who are now playing college hockey in Pat White and Joe Stejskal. They also lost starting goalie Reidar Jensen, who was fabulous in the state tournament last year. Grand Rapids really struggled in the first half of last year while White was hampered by an injury, and I think they’ll really struggle without him this year.
Cloquet-Esko-Carleton usually has a pretty good team. They lost star Tyler Johnson and the state’s best goalie in Reid Ellingson, but return one of the best power forwards in the state in Justin Jokinen. Anoka should have a strong team too, with seniors John O’Neill and Cory Belisle both scored over 20 goals last year.
The best team in this section should be Duluth East. After a couple quiet years, the Greyhounds should be back as one of the tougher teams in the state, led by Minnesota-Duluth recruit Max Tardy.
Section 8
This section has pretty much belonged to Roseau and Moorhead over the years, and it’s unlikely that that will change this year. Brainerd moves into this section, and will have the potential to upset one of the two powerhouses. This could be one of Brainerd’s better teams with two exceptional seniors in Joey Frazer and Drew Olson.
In the end though, this year will likely be all about Roseau. The Rams are the defending state champions, and return most of the talent off of that team, including the state’s best player in Aaron Ness, and one of the best goalies in Mike Lee.
The only potential pitfall for the Rams should be the pressure that will be on them this year. The Hockey News will be following the Rams on a weekly basis, scouts from the NHL and NCAA should be attendance at most of their games, and since they are defending a championship and favored to win it again, even more attention than usual will be placed on them in the tiny town with little else besides hockey.
Section 1
Last year, Rochester Century came out of this section, and surprised everyone by upsetting Hill-Murray in the first round of the state tournament, and then coming back to beat Burnsville in the third place game to finish third at the state tournament.
It’s unlikely that the Panthers will have another magical run though. They lost perhaps the best duo in school history in forwards Garrett Grimstad and Joe Knoepke, and forward Ryan Knutson, who looked like he would play a starring role for the Panthers this year, is playing Midget AAA hockey for the Russell Stover program in Kansas.
Lakeville North usually has a pretty strong team, and I wouldn’t be surprised if their success continues and they won this section this year.
Section 2
This should be the most competitive section in the state. It features some great programs, including Edina, who is widely regarded as the best metro-area team, and Holy Angels, who has had some great teams over the past few years, and sent nearly 30 players on to play Division I hockey. Burnsville is also in this section, and has proven themselves capable of pulling off the big upset when they defeated Holy Angels in last year’s section final.
Chaska was the only team in the state to lose a player to the National Development Program this year when Nick Mattson moved on to Ann Arbor. It may seem weird for many old-time high school hockey fans that Bloomington Jefferson isn’t mentioned much, but the Jaguar program has fallen on hard times recently and probably won’t be able to compete with powerhouses like Edina and Holy Angels.
It’s hard to imagine Holy Angels going three straight years without making the state tournament given the talent they’ve had, but I think Edina will just be too good this year.
Section 3
Cretin-Derham Hall is the perennial favorite out of this section, though they were upset by Woodbury last season. There seems to be a fair amount of hype surrounding Rosemount’s team heading into the season, and Eastview should be competitive with two future D-I players on their roster in Corey Fienhage(North Dakota) and Rob Maloney(Providence). But I’ll pick the Raiders to avoid the upset.
Section 4
This section features the classic Hill-Murray/White Bear Lake rivalry, and thanks to the re-sectioning of the state, Centennial is no longer in this section to compete.
If the Bears had Jake Hansen and Taylor Johnson for their senior years this year, I’d be tempted to pick the Bears, but now, I think Hill-Murray has too much raw talent for anybody in the section.
Section 5
Blaine has dominated this group over the past few years, but Centennial, which usually boasts one of the strongest youth programs in the state, is now in this section, and should provide some stiff competition for the Bengals. This section boasts a number of talented 11th graders, including Centennial’s Tyler Pitlick and Dustin Lovick, Rogers’ Nick Jensen, and Maple Grove’s Tom Malone and Josh Gross.
It’s hard to pick against Blaine, but I think the group from Centennial that won youth hockey state championships will finally make some noise on the high school level and win the section.
Section 6
This section is noteworthy for some of the talented defenseman playing in the section, specifically Minnetonka’s Jake Gardiner and Anthony Raiola, and Eden Prairie’s Alec Rush and Nick Leddy. Armstrong is also usually fairly strong, and Cory Thorson could have a big year as a senior. I think Minnetonka will come out of this section.
This isn’t the strongest section this year, but in a few years, I expect this to be one of the toughest sections in the state. There are a lot of families with young, hockey-playing kids moving into the southwestern suburbs, and it’s only a matter of time before those numbers translate into hockey success.
Section 7
This is usually one of the deepest, and most exciting sections in the state, and this year will probably be no exception. The teams in this section don’t seem to be as strong as last year, but it the section semifinals and finals in Duluth should still be great games.
Grand Rapids has come out of this section the past two years and advanced to the state championship game. Their run of success looks like it will end this year though. The Thunderhawks lost their two best players, who are now playing college hockey in Pat White and Joe Stejskal. They also lost starting goalie Reidar Jensen, who was fabulous in the state tournament last year. Grand Rapids really struggled in the first half of last year while White was hampered by an injury, and I think they’ll really struggle without him this year.
Cloquet-Esko-Carleton usually has a pretty good team. They lost star Tyler Johnson and the state’s best goalie in Reid Ellingson, but return one of the best power forwards in the state in Justin Jokinen. Anoka should have a strong team too, with seniors John O’Neill and Cory Belisle both scored over 20 goals last year.
The best team in this section should be Duluth East. After a couple quiet years, the Greyhounds should be back as one of the tougher teams in the state, led by Minnesota-Duluth recruit Max Tardy.
Section 8
This section has pretty much belonged to Roseau and Moorhead over the years, and it’s unlikely that that will change this year. Brainerd moves into this section, and will have the potential to upset one of the two powerhouses. This could be one of Brainerd’s better teams with two exceptional seniors in Joey Frazer and Drew Olson.
In the end though, this year will likely be all about Roseau. The Rams are the defending state champions, and return most of the talent off of that team, including the state’s best player in Aaron Ness, and one of the best goalies in Mike Lee.
The only potential pitfall for the Rams should be the pressure that will be on them this year. The Hockey News will be following the Rams on a weekly basis, scouts from the NHL and NCAA should be attendance at most of their games, and since they are defending a championship and favored to win it again, even more attention than usual will be placed on them in the tiny town with little else besides hockey.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Mr. Hockey Candidates
The Minnesota Mr. Hockey Award is given out annually to the top senior high school hockey player in the state of Minnesota. Here is a list of past winners and finalists.
This year's crop is looking a little thin right now, mainly because my top three choices for the award, Little Falls' Jared Festler, White Bear Lake's Jake Hansen, and Virginia's Nico Sacchetti, have all opted to spend their senior year of high school playing in the USHL rather than playing high school hockey. There are still plenty of great candidates though, and here is a look at a few of them.
1. Jake Youso, Forward, International Falls HS, Committed to Minnesota
Youso is one of the smoothest skaters in the skate, and displays a great understanding of the game. The Broncos will miss goalie Brady Hjelle who is playing in the USHL this year, but Youso should be one of the state's best players.
2. Jake Gardiner, Defenseman, Minnetonka HS, Committed to Wisconsin
Gardiner made the move from forward to defense, and now, as a senior, he is considered one of the best defenseman in the state. He's another very smooth skater that can jump into the rush at any time. He's considered an "A" prospect by the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau and some scouting sites have him listed as high as a first round pick, which is taken into consideration for this award.
3. Tyler Barnes, Forward, Burnsville HS, Committed to Wisconsin
Barnes has come out of nowhere ever since Burnsville's surprising upset of Holy Angels last season. He's a creative playmaker that works well with senior linemate Jake Hendrickson.
4. John O'Neill, Forward, Anoka HS, Committed to Minnesota-Duluth
O'Neill is one of the most complete players in the state. He may not stand out in any one particular area, but he does everything pretty well.
5. Adam Mueller, Forward, Roseville, Committed to Minnesota State
Mueller is one of the fastest skaters in the state, and has a great knack for picking up points. He was overshadowed a little bit last year by another Mr. Hockey candidate in Mike Dorr, but as Roseville's go-to-guy this year, Mueller could shine. At only 5'9" 160 lbs., he's at a little bit of a disadvantage with the NHL scouts, but that didn't stop another Roseville native, Marty Sertich, from taking home the award.
6. Drew Olson, Defenseman, Brainerd HS, Uncommitted
Olson is a talented defenseman that can do just about everything. He skates well, can play physical defense, makes nice outlet passes, and has a pretty strong shot. He, along with teammate Joe Frazer, should lead Brainerd to one of their stronger seasons in school history.
7. Justin Jokinen, Forward, Cloquest-Esko-Carleton, Uncommitted
Jokinen had a nice year last season playing alongside Colorado College's Tyler Johnson. This year, the big power forward will be on his own, but should do just fine. He's a very strong goal-scorer that should be one of the best players in the Northland.
8. Joe Gleason, Defenseman, Edina HS, Committed to North Dakota
Gleason is a talented puck-mover that should rack up a lot of assists feeding scorers like Zach Budish and Anders Lee. It may be tough for him to stand out on such a talented team though.
9. Chris Student, Defenseman, Benilde-St. Margaret's, Committed to Northeastern
Student is another talented puck-mover that got away from the WCHA when he committed to Northeastern last year. BSM lost some very talented forwards off of last year's team, which could hurt his offensive production, but he's one of the smarter defenseman in all of Minnesota.
10. Bryce Ravndalen, Forward, Warroad HS, Committed to St. Cloud
Ravndalen is a slippery stickhandler that made a name for himself last year playing with SCSU's Aaron Marvin. Marvin has graduated, but Ravndalen has improved to become one of the better playmakers in the state, and he should have a very big year.
Wildcard: Aaron Ness, Roseau, Committed to Minnesota
Ness is a bit of a wildcard in that he should be an 11th grader, but is accelerating through his senior year of high school to play for Minnesota next fall. It sounds like his academic progress will be monitored, and if he's deemed to be the equivalent of a high school senior, he will be eligible for the award. If he's eligible, Ness would have to be one of, if not the favorite for the award. He's a smooth skater and very smart hockey player that controls the game from the blueline.
This year's crop is looking a little thin right now, mainly because my top three choices for the award, Little Falls' Jared Festler, White Bear Lake's Jake Hansen, and Virginia's Nico Sacchetti, have all opted to spend their senior year of high school playing in the USHL rather than playing high school hockey. There are still plenty of great candidates though, and here is a look at a few of them.
1. Jake Youso, Forward, International Falls HS, Committed to Minnesota
Youso is one of the smoothest skaters in the skate, and displays a great understanding of the game. The Broncos will miss goalie Brady Hjelle who is playing in the USHL this year, but Youso should be one of the state's best players.
2. Jake Gardiner, Defenseman, Minnetonka HS, Committed to Wisconsin
Gardiner made the move from forward to defense, and now, as a senior, he is considered one of the best defenseman in the state. He's another very smooth skater that can jump into the rush at any time. He's considered an "A" prospect by the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau and some scouting sites have him listed as high as a first round pick, which is taken into consideration for this award.
3. Tyler Barnes, Forward, Burnsville HS, Committed to Wisconsin
Barnes has come out of nowhere ever since Burnsville's surprising upset of Holy Angels last season. He's a creative playmaker that works well with senior linemate Jake Hendrickson.
4. John O'Neill, Forward, Anoka HS, Committed to Minnesota-Duluth
O'Neill is one of the most complete players in the state. He may not stand out in any one particular area, but he does everything pretty well.
5. Adam Mueller, Forward, Roseville, Committed to Minnesota State
Mueller is one of the fastest skaters in the state, and has a great knack for picking up points. He was overshadowed a little bit last year by another Mr. Hockey candidate in Mike Dorr, but as Roseville's go-to-guy this year, Mueller could shine. At only 5'9" 160 lbs., he's at a little bit of a disadvantage with the NHL scouts, but that didn't stop another Roseville native, Marty Sertich, from taking home the award.
6. Drew Olson, Defenseman, Brainerd HS, Uncommitted
Olson is a talented defenseman that can do just about everything. He skates well, can play physical defense, makes nice outlet passes, and has a pretty strong shot. He, along with teammate Joe Frazer, should lead Brainerd to one of their stronger seasons in school history.
7. Justin Jokinen, Forward, Cloquest-Esko-Carleton, Uncommitted
Jokinen had a nice year last season playing alongside Colorado College's Tyler Johnson. This year, the big power forward will be on his own, but should do just fine. He's a very strong goal-scorer that should be one of the best players in the Northland.
8. Joe Gleason, Defenseman, Edina HS, Committed to North Dakota
Gleason is a talented puck-mover that should rack up a lot of assists feeding scorers like Zach Budish and Anders Lee. It may be tough for him to stand out on such a talented team though.
9. Chris Student, Defenseman, Benilde-St. Margaret's, Committed to Northeastern
Student is another talented puck-mover that got away from the WCHA when he committed to Northeastern last year. BSM lost some very talented forwards off of last year's team, which could hurt his offensive production, but he's one of the smarter defenseman in all of Minnesota.
10. Bryce Ravndalen, Forward, Warroad HS, Committed to St. Cloud
Ravndalen is a slippery stickhandler that made a name for himself last year playing with SCSU's Aaron Marvin. Marvin has graduated, but Ravndalen has improved to become one of the better playmakers in the state, and he should have a very big year.
Wildcard: Aaron Ness, Roseau, Committed to Minnesota
Ness is a bit of a wildcard in that he should be an 11th grader, but is accelerating through his senior year of high school to play for Minnesota next fall. It sounds like his academic progress will be monitored, and if he's deemed to be the equivalent of a high school senior, he will be eligible for the award. If he's eligible, Ness would have to be one of, if not the favorite for the award. He's a smooth skater and very smart hockey player that controls the game from the blueline.
MN High School Preview: Class A
The Minnesota State High School League re-configured all of the sections for hockey this year. Here is a helpful map of which schools are in which section.
For my preview, I'll go through section by section and give some thoughts, as well as some predictions, starting today with Class A, which is for the smaller schools in the state.
Section 1
With the redrawing of the sections, this became an incredibly interesting section. Red Wing and Rochester Lourdes are two programs that have been traditionally strong, but over recent years, hasn't been able to beat St. Thomas Academy. New Prague and Faribault were both fairly strong last year, but couldn't get past Orono. Those four teams no longer have to worry about those schools now, but do have to worry about Albert Lea and Mankato West, who were two of the strongest teams in the old Section 1.
Albert Lea made it to the state tournament last year and seems to have an unending supply of fast, strong skaters. Mankato West should have the section's most dangerous line in Corey Leivermann, Ricky Litchfield, and Ryan Anderson, but will need great goaltending from junior Tyler Bruggeman. Junior Tyler Lapic and freshman Seth Ambroz should give New Prague a talented scoring combo. Faribault returns some talented players, but lost superstar Seth Helgeson to the USHL.
Albert Lea and Red Wing are probably the favorites, but I'll go out on a limb and pick Mankato West to avenge last year's upset and finally earn their trip to St. Paul.
Section 2
This group is highlighted by the intense rivalry of Blake and Breck. Also in this section is Orono, who has made it to the state tournament the past couple of years. Orono is a scrappy team, but I think that without goalie Taylor Peterson, who graduated last spring, that tournament streak will end. Blake pulled off a couple upsets to make last year's state tournament, but I think their run will also end. Breck has some exciting young players in Joey Rehkamp, Riley Borer, and Tyson Fulton, and are my pick to make it to states.
Section 3
Blech. I would take the third seed in any other section in the state over any team from this section. The old Section 1 was a comparatively weak section to the rest of the state, but usually, at least the team that came out of it was respectable. The same can't be said here.
Still, as much as it pains me, I have to pick New Ulm to win the section. They do have two junior defenseman that are worth keeping an eye on in Cody Kohn and Beau Burgau.
Section 4
St. Thomas Academy has to be the heavy favorite in this section. They lost some very key players in goalie Aaron Crandall and forward Nick Larson to the USHL, but also return some good talent and are a very well-coached team. Ryan Walters will be back from a pre-season USHL stint and should score a lot of points.
St. Thomas should receive some competition from Totino-Grace, who has been rebuilding the past two years, but look ready to compete at a high level again. The Eagles are led by two big power forwards in Nick Nagel and Dan DeLisle. Mahtomedi had a great regular season last year, but was upset in their section playoffs.
Section 5
This section features the defending state champion Hermantown Hawks. The Hawks lost a lot of talent off of last year's team, including starting goalie Nate Hardy, top defenseman Chad Huttel, and top scorer Drew Leblanc, who is spending his senior year in the USHL, but Hermantown is such a strong program that they should be able to reload with a fresh set of talent and win the section.
There are some very talented individual players in this section including Duluth Denfield's Jake Johnson and St. Cloud Cathedral's Nate Schmidt, but I don't think any team will have the depth to upset the Hawks.
Section 6
Over the past three years, this part of the state has belonged to Little Falls, and the departure of Jared Festler to the USHL shouldn't stop that from happening again. The Flyers return a great team with some very talented players including the Hanowski brothers, forward Ben Nelson, and defenseman Izaak Berglund.
Potential threats for Little Falls include Alexandria, who could be extremely dangerous, especially if goalie Matt Hemingway gets hot in net, Fergus Falls, who have given the Flyers some trouble over the past few years, and St. Cloud Apollo, who is playing in Class A for the first time. The Apollo program, which has produced players like Kurt Sauer, Chris Harrington, Mike Howe, and Matt Hartman has fallen on hard times recently and was struggling to compete in Class AA.
Section 7
Technically this is the Iron Range section, but the new sections bring Class A powerhouse Duluth Marshall into this section, and the Hilltoppers should be the best team out of this section.
This section was hit by departures to the USHL, with goalie Brady Hjelle leaving International Falls and Nico Sacchetti leaving Virginia. I-Falls Jake Youso and Hibbing's Anthony DeCenzo are noteworthy players, but it's unlikely anybody will be able to keep up with Marshall's depth.
Section 8
Bemidji joins this section as the latest team to stop playing up in Class AA; a sad sign for those that remember the glory days of hockey in northwest Minnesota.
Warroad is the favorite in this section every year, if only on name alone. They've got a star in Bryce Ravndalen that should score a lot of points for them. I could see Zach Lehrke and his Park Rapids team giving Warroad a run for their money, but I think Warroad will return to the state tournament.
For my preview, I'll go through section by section and give some thoughts, as well as some predictions, starting today with Class A, which is for the smaller schools in the state.
Section 1
With the redrawing of the sections, this became an incredibly interesting section. Red Wing and Rochester Lourdes are two programs that have been traditionally strong, but over recent years, hasn't been able to beat St. Thomas Academy. New Prague and Faribault were both fairly strong last year, but couldn't get past Orono. Those four teams no longer have to worry about those schools now, but do have to worry about Albert Lea and Mankato West, who were two of the strongest teams in the old Section 1.
Albert Lea made it to the state tournament last year and seems to have an unending supply of fast, strong skaters. Mankato West should have the section's most dangerous line in Corey Leivermann, Ricky Litchfield, and Ryan Anderson, but will need great goaltending from junior Tyler Bruggeman. Junior Tyler Lapic and freshman Seth Ambroz should give New Prague a talented scoring combo. Faribault returns some talented players, but lost superstar Seth Helgeson to the USHL.
Albert Lea and Red Wing are probably the favorites, but I'll go out on a limb and pick Mankato West to avenge last year's upset and finally earn their trip to St. Paul.
Section 2
This group is highlighted by the intense rivalry of Blake and Breck. Also in this section is Orono, who has made it to the state tournament the past couple of years. Orono is a scrappy team, but I think that without goalie Taylor Peterson, who graduated last spring, that tournament streak will end. Blake pulled off a couple upsets to make last year's state tournament, but I think their run will also end. Breck has some exciting young players in Joey Rehkamp, Riley Borer, and Tyson Fulton, and are my pick to make it to states.
Section 3
Blech. I would take the third seed in any other section in the state over any team from this section. The old Section 1 was a comparatively weak section to the rest of the state, but usually, at least the team that came out of it was respectable. The same can't be said here.
Still, as much as it pains me, I have to pick New Ulm to win the section. They do have two junior defenseman that are worth keeping an eye on in Cody Kohn and Beau Burgau.
Section 4
St. Thomas Academy has to be the heavy favorite in this section. They lost some very key players in goalie Aaron Crandall and forward Nick Larson to the USHL, but also return some good talent and are a very well-coached team. Ryan Walters will be back from a pre-season USHL stint and should score a lot of points.
St. Thomas should receive some competition from Totino-Grace, who has been rebuilding the past two years, but look ready to compete at a high level again. The Eagles are led by two big power forwards in Nick Nagel and Dan DeLisle. Mahtomedi had a great regular season last year, but was upset in their section playoffs.
Section 5
This section features the defending state champion Hermantown Hawks. The Hawks lost a lot of talent off of last year's team, including starting goalie Nate Hardy, top defenseman Chad Huttel, and top scorer Drew Leblanc, who is spending his senior year in the USHL, but Hermantown is such a strong program that they should be able to reload with a fresh set of talent and win the section.
There are some very talented individual players in this section including Duluth Denfield's Jake Johnson and St. Cloud Cathedral's Nate Schmidt, but I don't think any team will have the depth to upset the Hawks.
Section 6
Over the past three years, this part of the state has belonged to Little Falls, and the departure of Jared Festler to the USHL shouldn't stop that from happening again. The Flyers return a great team with some very talented players including the Hanowski brothers, forward Ben Nelson, and defenseman Izaak Berglund.
Potential threats for Little Falls include Alexandria, who could be extremely dangerous, especially if goalie Matt Hemingway gets hot in net, Fergus Falls, who have given the Flyers some trouble over the past few years, and St. Cloud Apollo, who is playing in Class A for the first time. The Apollo program, which has produced players like Kurt Sauer, Chris Harrington, Mike Howe, and Matt Hartman has fallen on hard times recently and was struggling to compete in Class AA.
Section 7
Technically this is the Iron Range section, but the new sections bring Class A powerhouse Duluth Marshall into this section, and the Hilltoppers should be the best team out of this section.
This section was hit by departures to the USHL, with goalie Brady Hjelle leaving International Falls and Nico Sacchetti leaving Virginia. I-Falls Jake Youso and Hibbing's Anthony DeCenzo are noteworthy players, but it's unlikely anybody will be able to keep up with Marshall's depth.
Section 8
Bemidji joins this section as the latest team to stop playing up in Class AA; a sad sign for those that remember the glory days of hockey in northwest Minnesota.
Warroad is the favorite in this section every year, if only on name alone. They've got a star in Bryce Ravndalen that should score a lot of points for them. I could see Zach Lehrke and his Park Rapids team giving Warroad a run for their money, but I think Warroad will return to the state tournament.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Fighting Words
I've been wanting to write a post about fighting in hockey for a while now, but I needed an extra little bit of motivation to put finger to keyboard. Thankfully, there's been a couple scenarios over the past few weeks that have given me that motivation.
The conventional wisdom from the pro-fighting bloc has always been about how fighting actually cleans up the game, and makes it safer for the skill players. Personally, I think it's completely unnecessary.
Example 1: Derek Boogard fights D.J. King
D.J. King tries a wraparound against the Minnesota Wild and takes a couple jabs at the puck before the whistle play. Derek Boogard who, not surprisingly, was out of the play, comes flying in and picks a fight with King.
I know the argument here. "But, if Boogard doesn't fight King, the Blues will keep whacking at Josh Harding all night!" Ok, so King hacks at Harding's pads a little bit there. Maybe next time he hits him a little harder. Maybe the next time he hits him too hard, and is called for a penalty.
It's nice of Boogard to try and police the game, but there's already like four guys out there on the ice to do that. What King did wasn't worthy of being called an infraction by the officials, so it wasn't.
It's also no coincidence that the guy Boogard just happened to pick was St. Louis' biggest fighter, who Boogard had just happened to fight two other times in the last year. That fight had nothing to do with policing the game and everything to do with a guy trying to justify his NHL paycheck.
Example 2: Junior Hockey Brawl
Boy, it's a good thing that Halifax had those enforcers or things might have gotten out of hand.
Example 3: Boulerice Cheap Shots Kesler
Of course the argument is that having a bunch of goons out on the ice is supposed to stop this type of stuff. But would this type of stuff even happen if there weren't a bunch of goons out on the ice?
Boulerice's NHL statline reads like this: 162 games, 8 goals, 2 assists, 319 PIMs. He's not in the NHL for his skill. Of course we don't know the whole story. Maybe Kesler had done something earlier in the game to provoke the attack, but I can guarantee you that whatever he did, getting cross-checked in the face was a disproportionate response. Again, that's why there are officials out on the ice to judge this type of stuff. Somebody that gets punched in the head for a living probably isn't the right choice to play judge and jury out on the ice.
And of course this isn't a rare occurrence. Look at the other players that have committed some of most atrocious cheap shots in recent memory: Chris Simon: 302 career points, 1772 career PIMs, Todd Bertuzzi: 542 career points, 1056 PIMs, Marty McSorley: 359 career points, 3381 career PIMs, Dale Hunter: 1020 career points, 3565 career PIMs.
All guys that were supposed to be "policing" the game with their fighting and instead, they ended up giving the game of hockey a black eye.
Example 4:Junior Hockey Fight
I was at a junior hockey game at a tournament a few weeks ago, and I don't want to use names, but Team A wasn't having a great game. It was fairly early in the third period and they were getting blown out. Player X wasn't having a great game for Team A. All of a sudden, a player from Team B got tripped up and slid into Team A's goalie. Player X jumped on the player and got into a fight with him. The referees finally pulled the two players, and it took 5-10 minutes for the referees to straighten out the mess and get the game started again. While they were sorting it out, most of the scouts in the rink had gotten up and wandered off to watch a different game. The funny thing though, is that as Player X was being escorted to the box, everyone on Team A got up and cheered for him. Why? They were still losing by a lot. They had lost out on a nice opportunity to be scouted. Maybe they were just happy that one of their weakest players wasn't going to be playing anymore. In any case, I fail to see what that accomplished other than positively reinforcing stupid behavior.
The conventional wisdom from the pro-fighting bloc has always been about how fighting actually cleans up the game, and makes it safer for the skill players. Personally, I think it's completely unnecessary.
Example 1: Derek Boogard fights D.J. King
D.J. King tries a wraparound against the Minnesota Wild and takes a couple jabs at the puck before the whistle play. Derek Boogard who, not surprisingly, was out of the play, comes flying in and picks a fight with King.
I know the argument here. "But, if Boogard doesn't fight King, the Blues will keep whacking at Josh Harding all night!" Ok, so King hacks at Harding's pads a little bit there. Maybe next time he hits him a little harder. Maybe the next time he hits him too hard, and is called for a penalty.
It's nice of Boogard to try and police the game, but there's already like four guys out there on the ice to do that. What King did wasn't worthy of being called an infraction by the officials, so it wasn't.
It's also no coincidence that the guy Boogard just happened to pick was St. Louis' biggest fighter, who Boogard had just happened to fight two other times in the last year. That fight had nothing to do with policing the game and everything to do with a guy trying to justify his NHL paycheck.
Example 2: Junior Hockey Brawl
Boy, it's a good thing that Halifax had those enforcers or things might have gotten out of hand.
Example 3: Boulerice Cheap Shots Kesler
Of course the argument is that having a bunch of goons out on the ice is supposed to stop this type of stuff. But would this type of stuff even happen if there weren't a bunch of goons out on the ice?
Boulerice's NHL statline reads like this: 162 games, 8 goals, 2 assists, 319 PIMs. He's not in the NHL for his skill. Of course we don't know the whole story. Maybe Kesler had done something earlier in the game to provoke the attack, but I can guarantee you that whatever he did, getting cross-checked in the face was a disproportionate response. Again, that's why there are officials out on the ice to judge this type of stuff. Somebody that gets punched in the head for a living probably isn't the right choice to play judge and jury out on the ice.
And of course this isn't a rare occurrence. Look at the other players that have committed some of most atrocious cheap shots in recent memory: Chris Simon: 302 career points, 1772 career PIMs, Todd Bertuzzi: 542 career points, 1056 PIMs, Marty McSorley: 359 career points, 3381 career PIMs, Dale Hunter: 1020 career points, 3565 career PIMs.
All guys that were supposed to be "policing" the game with their fighting and instead, they ended up giving the game of hockey a black eye.
Example 4:Junior Hockey Fight
I was at a junior hockey game at a tournament a few weeks ago, and I don't want to use names, but Team A wasn't having a great game. It was fairly early in the third period and they were getting blown out. Player X wasn't having a great game for Team A. All of a sudden, a player from Team B got tripped up and slid into Team A's goalie. Player X jumped on the player and got into a fight with him. The referees finally pulled the two players, and it took 5-10 minutes for the referees to straighten out the mess and get the game started again. While they were sorting it out, most of the scouts in the rink had gotten up and wandered off to watch a different game. The funny thing though, is that as Player X was being escorted to the box, everyone on Team A got up and cheered for him. Why? They were still losing by a lot. They had lost out on a nice opportunity to be scouted. Maybe they were just happy that one of their weakest players wasn't going to be playing anymore. In any case, I fail to see what that accomplished other than positively reinforcing stupid behavior.
Fighting Words
I've been wanting to write a post about fighting in hockey for a while now, but I needed an extra little bit of motivation to put finger to keyboard. Thankfully, there's been a couple scenarios over the past few weeks that have given me that motivation.
The conventional wisdom from the pro-fighting bloc has always been about how fighting actually cleans up the game, and makes it safer for the skill players. Personally, I think it's completely unnecessary.
Example 1: Derek Boogard fights D.J. King
D.J. King tries a wraparound against the Minnesota Wild and takes a couple jabs at the puck before the whistle play. Derek Boogard who, not surprisingly, was out of the play, comes flying in and picks a fight with King.
I know the argument here. "But, if Boogard doesn't fight King, the Blues will keep whacking at Josh Harding all night!" Ok, so King hacks at Harding's pads a little bit there. Maybe next time he hits him a little harder. Maybe the next time he hits him too hard, and is called for a penalty.
It's nice of Boogard to try and police the game, but there's already like four guys out there on the ice to do that. What King did wasn't worthy of being called an infraction by the officials, so it wasn't.
It's always no coincidence that the guy Boogard just happened to pick was St. Louis' biggest fighter, who Boogard had just happened to fight two other times in the last year. That fight had nothing to do with policing the game and everything to do with a guy trying to justify his NHL paycheck.
Example 2: Junior Hockey Brawl
Boy, it's a good thing that Halifax had those enforcers or things might have gotten out of hand.
Example 3: Boulerice Cheap Shots Kesler
Of course the argument is that having a bunch of goons out on the ice is supposed to stop this type of stuff. But would this type of stuff even happen if there weren't a bunch of goons out on the ice?
Boulerice's NHL statline reads like this: 162 games, 8 goals, 2 assists, 319 PIMs. He's not in the NHL for his skill. Of course we don't know the whole story. Maybe Kesler had done something earlier in the game to provoke the attack, but I can guarantee you that whatever he did, getting cross-checked in the face was a disproportionate response. Again, that's why there are officials out on the ice to judge this type of stuff. Somebody that gets punched in the head for a living probably isn't the right choice to play judge and jury out on the ice.
And of course this isn't a rare occurrence. Look at the other players that have committed some of most atrocious cheap shots in recent memory: Chris Simon: 302 career points, 1772 career PIMs, Todd Bertuzzi: 542 career points, 1056 PIMs, Marty McSorley: 359 career points, 3381 career PIMs, Dale Hunter: 1020 career points, 3565 career PIMs.
All guys that were supposed to be "policing" the game with their fighting and instead, they ended up giving the game of hockey a black eye.
Example 4:Junior Hockey Fight
I was at a junior hockey game at a tournament a few weeks ago, and I don't want to use names, but Team A wasn't having a great game. It was fairly early in the third period and they were getting blown out. Player X wasn't having a great game for Team A. All of a sudden, a player from Team B got tripped up and slid into Team A's goalie. Player X jumped on the player and got into a fight with him. The referees finally pulled the two players, and it took 5-10 minutes for the referees to straighten out the mess and get the game started again. While they were sorting it out, most of the scouts in the rink had gotten up and wandered off to watch a different game. The funny thing though, is that as Player X was being escorted to the box, everyone on Team A got up and cheered for him. Why? They were still losing by a lot. They had lost out on a nice opportunity to be scouted. Maybe they were just happy that one of their weakest players wasn't going to be playing anymore. In any case, I fail to see what that accomplished other than positively reinforcing stupid behavior.
The conventional wisdom from the pro-fighting bloc has always been about how fighting actually cleans up the game, and makes it safer for the skill players. Personally, I think it's completely unnecessary.
Example 1: Derek Boogard fights D.J. King
D.J. King tries a wraparound against the Minnesota Wild and takes a couple jabs at the puck before the whistle play. Derek Boogard who, not surprisingly, was out of the play, comes flying in and picks a fight with King.
I know the argument here. "But, if Boogard doesn't fight King, the Blues will keep whacking at Josh Harding all night!" Ok, so King hacks at Harding's pads a little bit there. Maybe next time he hits him a little harder. Maybe the next time he hits him too hard, and is called for a penalty.
It's nice of Boogard to try and police the game, but there's already like four guys out there on the ice to do that. What King did wasn't worthy of being called an infraction by the officials, so it wasn't.
It's always no coincidence that the guy Boogard just happened to pick was St. Louis' biggest fighter, who Boogard had just happened to fight two other times in the last year. That fight had nothing to do with policing the game and everything to do with a guy trying to justify his NHL paycheck.
Example 2: Junior Hockey Brawl
Boy, it's a good thing that Halifax had those enforcers or things might have gotten out of hand.
Example 3: Boulerice Cheap Shots Kesler
Of course the argument is that having a bunch of goons out on the ice is supposed to stop this type of stuff. But would this type of stuff even happen if there weren't a bunch of goons out on the ice?
Boulerice's NHL statline reads like this: 162 games, 8 goals, 2 assists, 319 PIMs. He's not in the NHL for his skill. Of course we don't know the whole story. Maybe Kesler had done something earlier in the game to provoke the attack, but I can guarantee you that whatever he did, getting cross-checked in the face was a disproportionate response. Again, that's why there are officials out on the ice to judge this type of stuff. Somebody that gets punched in the head for a living probably isn't the right choice to play judge and jury out on the ice.
And of course this isn't a rare occurrence. Look at the other players that have committed some of most atrocious cheap shots in recent memory: Chris Simon: 302 career points, 1772 career PIMs, Todd Bertuzzi: 542 career points, 1056 PIMs, Marty McSorley: 359 career points, 3381 career PIMs, Dale Hunter: 1020 career points, 3565 career PIMs.
All guys that were supposed to be "policing" the game with their fighting and instead, they ended up giving the game of hockey a black eye.
Example 4:Junior Hockey Fight
I was at a junior hockey game at a tournament a few weeks ago, and I don't want to use names, but Team A wasn't having a great game. It was fairly early in the third period and they were getting blown out. Player X wasn't having a great game for Team A. All of a sudden, a player from Team B got tripped up and slid into Team A's goalie. Player X jumped on the player and got into a fight with him. The referees finally pulled the two players, and it took 5-10 minutes for the referees to straighten out the mess and get the game started again. While they were sorting it out, most of the scouts in the rink had gotten up and wandered off to watch a different game. The funny thing though, is that as Player X was being escorted to the box, everyone on Team A got up and cheered for him. Why? They were still losing by a lot. They had lost out on a nice opportunity to be scouted. Maybe they were just happy that one of their weakest players wasn't going to be playing anymore. In any case, I fail to see what that accomplished other than positively reinforcing stupid behavior.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Rising to the Challenge
Here’s a look at a few uncommitted college prospects that I think really helped increase their stock over the course of the Elite League season.
Jeff Costello, Catholic Memorial(Wis)
Most of the attention throughout the fall focused on his Team Wisconsin teammates Seth Soley and Nate Condon, who both committed to schools over the Elite League season, but Costello was almost as good as his teammates. But unlike Soley and Condon, Costello is only an 11th grader. There weren’t many inspiring Elite League performances from ’91 and ’92 birthdates in the Elite League this year, which could make Costello’s services highly-sought after by WCHA schools for 2009 or 2010.
Justin Jokinen, Cloquet
Jokinen got a little bit of attention last year, playing alongside Tyler Johnson, but this fall, he showed that he can be excellent on his own. He’s 6’3” 185 lbs., with a nice shot and good skating ability. It shouldn’t be long before he starts fielding scholarship offers.
Anthony Raiola, Minnetonka
I’ve always though Raiola was a fantastic player, and this fall, he helped cement that with 12 points, which was tied for 4th among defenseman in scoring.
Zach Lehrke, Park Rapids
Lehrke made the Select 17s this past summer as an alternate, and this year in the Elite League, he earned a reputation as a hard-working forward with pretty good skills.
Nick Nagel, Totino-Grace
Nagel was fairly unknown prior to this fall, but put up some big points in the Elite League thanks to being paired on a line with the speedy Adam Mueller. He’s a big guy with a fair amount of potential that was listed by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau as a “B” prospect.
Corey Leivermann, Mankato Western College Hockey
Leivermann has long been known as one of the best players in southern Minnesota, but with the exception of the Rochester area, being the best player in southern Minnesota is often about as big an honor as being the best football at Notre Dame. But Leivermann proved that he could play this fall by scoring a lot of points during the Elite League season and making one of the NIT all-star rosters. His skating isn’t the greatest, but he’s a hard worker and a very unselfish player that showed he has a knack for getting to the right spot at the right time to score goals.
Jeff Costello, Catholic Memorial(Wis)
Most of the attention throughout the fall focused on his Team Wisconsin teammates Seth Soley and Nate Condon, who both committed to schools over the Elite League season, but Costello was almost as good as his teammates. But unlike Soley and Condon, Costello is only an 11th grader. There weren’t many inspiring Elite League performances from ’91 and ’92 birthdates in the Elite League this year, which could make Costello’s services highly-sought after by WCHA schools for 2009 or 2010.
Justin Jokinen, Cloquet
Jokinen got a little bit of attention last year, playing alongside Tyler Johnson, but this fall, he showed that he can be excellent on his own. He’s 6’3” 185 lbs., with a nice shot and good skating ability. It shouldn’t be long before he starts fielding scholarship offers.
Anthony Raiola, Minnetonka
I’ve always though Raiola was a fantastic player, and this fall, he helped cement that with 12 points, which was tied for 4th among defenseman in scoring.
Zach Lehrke, Park Rapids
Lehrke made the Select 17s this past summer as an alternate, and this year in the Elite League, he earned a reputation as a hard-working forward with pretty good skills.
Nick Nagel, Totino-Grace
Nagel was fairly unknown prior to this fall, but put up some big points in the Elite League thanks to being paired on a line with the speedy Adam Mueller. He’s a big guy with a fair amount of potential that was listed by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau as a “B” prospect.
Corey Leivermann, Mankato Western College Hockey
Leivermann has long been known as one of the best players in southern Minnesota, but with the exception of the Rochester area, being the best player in southern Minnesota is often about as big an honor as being the best football at Notre Dame. But Leivermann proved that he could play this fall by scoring a lot of points during the Elite League season and making one of the NIT all-star rosters. His skating isn’t the greatest, but he’s a hard worker and a very unselfish player that showed he has a knack for getting to the right spot at the right time to score goals.
Elite League NIT Recap
Here's my recap from the Elite League NIT. I saw the first two games on Saturday, and everything on Sunday. The teams are listed in order of finish the tournament, with their record in parenthesis.
1. Minnesota Red (3-0)
By far the best team of the tournament. They dominated everyone. Not only were they a talented team, but they moved the puck with remarkable ability for a team playing their first games together. They were able to keep a little continuity with the Wisconsin line of Seth Soley, Nate Condon, and Jeff Costello. All three players were fantastic. Soley has an incredible snap shot. On defense, Aaron Ness played fantastic. He really does a great job of controlling the play and moving the puck.
2. LA Jr. Kings (2-1)
Probably the biggest story for LA was Shane McColgan, who was born on January 1st, 1993. It’s pretty impressive for a kid that young to be playing at such a high-level, but McColgan didn’t look out of place at all. He’s an incredibly fast skater, with a pretty good shot. What surprised me most is that he didn’t look like he was the youngest player out there. He wasn’t afraid to play with an edge and get his nose dirty. He picked up two penalties in the second period of the championship game; one for driving hard to the net and poking at the goalie, and one for getting into a shoving match with a Minnesota player.
Tyler Maxwell is a player that had gotten some attention from USA Hockey, and he looked like a solid player. Garrett Taylor was supposed to be another top ’91 birthdate on their team, but he took a spearing penalty and got kicked out, so he didn’t play much.
3. Shattuck-St. Mary’s(2-1)
Shattuck was probably the favorite heading into the tournament, but was upset by LA on Saturday. They beat Malmo pretty soundly in the third place game.
Shattuck’s top line of David Toews, Jordy Murray, and Derek Stepan was pretty dominant, though I don’t know that they racked up a ton of points. Jordy Murray really impressed me, just because he looks like he’s developed so much over the past couple of years. Toews was quietly effective. He didn’t do anything that screamed “first round draft pick,” but made a lot of really nice little plays.
It was my first chance seeing Alexander Fallstrom play, and I was pretty impressed. He’s got good size, and always seems to be causing trouble for the opposition. Seniors Brian Elser and Luke Grenier also played very well.
Stepan Novotny also seems to be developing quite well. His skating looked much better than it did at this time last year. His combination of size and skill kind of reminds me of Andreas Nodl. He just needs to work on getting better at finishing. I must have counted four or five scoring opportunities that he sailed over the net.
’92 Emerson Etem showed some flashes of great play, but still needs to get a little older, and add a little more muscle before he’s dominant at this level.
David Carle was another player that was quietly effective. He’s not very flashy, but plays very solid defense. I overheard one coach say that they were pretty sure he’d be playing college hockey next fall, rather than making a stop in the USHL. Defenseman Mac Williams and Ben Montgomery also played well on the point.
4. Malmo Redhawks (1-2)
It was a little tough to get a read on them. I saw them play against Minnesota Red and Shattuck, and they were way overmatched in both games. They had three ’92 birthdates on their team: goalie Fabian Sivnert, who played very well against Shattuck, forward Victor Ohman, and a 6’4” defenseman named Victor Mangs. Considering how young they were, they looked like pretty nice prospect, especially Mangs, who will be eligible for the 2011 NHL draft. It should be interesting to see if their trip to the US results in any NCAA scholarship offers.
5. Team Michigan (2-1)
As far as skill, they may have been the weakest in the tournament, but they brought an experienced, gritty team to the tournament that fought hard and was able to come away with two wins. They had a big upset over Minnesota White on Thursday. On Sunday, they had a dramatic win over the Dallas Stars to take 5th place for the second straight year.
Goalie Adam Janecyk started Sunday’s game for Michigan, and he was outstanding. He was probably the best goalie at the tournament. Defenseman Brock Carlston and Greg Merrill played close to every other shift for Michigan, and were solid, especially Carlston. At forward, Ryan Baratono scored a nice goal to open the game on Sunday, and Billy Balent looked like a speedy, talented player.
6. Dallas Stars (1-2)
’91 forward Anthony Hamburg played on Dallas’ top line, and he looked like one of their better forwards. Forward Trevor Gerling scored a pretty goal on Sunday, and also played pretty well. Defenseman CJ Ludwig was tabbed by NHL Central Scouting as a player of interest. I’d be surprised if he got drafted just because of the combination of playing midget hockey and that he’s not overly big, but he’s a nice player that should play college hockey somewhere. He’s got a powerful shot from the point, and plays nice defense.
7. Minnesota White(1-2)
Definitely the most disappointing team of the tournament. Conventional wisdom before the tournament was that they would be Shattuck’s biggest competition in the tournament. Instead, they lost to LA on Friday, and were then upset by Michigan on Saturday. There was a brief stretch in the second period on Sunday were they looked great and put together 3 or 4 goals, but other than that, they had a pretty bad weekend.
The two defenseman from Minnetonka, Jake Gardiner and Anthony Raiola both played very well. They’re excellent skaters. Tyler Barnes, Jake Hendrickson, and Danny Mattson played on a line, but they didn’t seem to get much going while I was there. Mattson left late in the third period on Sunday with a shoulder injury that hopefully isn’t too serious.
8. Team Illinois (0-3)
Team Illinois had some talented players, but not as much depth as the other teams in the tournament. Their most impressive players was ’91 forward Cody Murphy. He looks like he will be a star some day. ’91 defenseman Ben Hughes also played pretty solid on both days that I saw TI.
UNO recruit Fredrik Csisar looks like he has developed a lot over the past year. He didn’t do much on Saturday, but played pretty nicely on Sunday. I don’t think he’ll be a star in college, but should be a nice player.
1. Minnesota Red (3-0)
By far the best team of the tournament. They dominated everyone. Not only were they a talented team, but they moved the puck with remarkable ability for a team playing their first games together. They were able to keep a little continuity with the Wisconsin line of Seth Soley, Nate Condon, and Jeff Costello. All three players were fantastic. Soley has an incredible snap shot. On defense, Aaron Ness played fantastic. He really does a great job of controlling the play and moving the puck.
2. LA Jr. Kings (2-1)
Probably the biggest story for LA was Shane McColgan, who was born on January 1st, 1993. It’s pretty impressive for a kid that young to be playing at such a high-level, but McColgan didn’t look out of place at all. He’s an incredibly fast skater, with a pretty good shot. What surprised me most is that he didn’t look like he was the youngest player out there. He wasn’t afraid to play with an edge and get his nose dirty. He picked up two penalties in the second period of the championship game; one for driving hard to the net and poking at the goalie, and one for getting into a shoving match with a Minnesota player.
Tyler Maxwell is a player that had gotten some attention from USA Hockey, and he looked like a solid player. Garrett Taylor was supposed to be another top ’91 birthdate on their team, but he took a spearing penalty and got kicked out, so he didn’t play much.
3. Shattuck-St. Mary’s(2-1)
Shattuck was probably the favorite heading into the tournament, but was upset by LA on Saturday. They beat Malmo pretty soundly in the third place game.
Shattuck’s top line of David Toews, Jordy Murray, and Derek Stepan was pretty dominant, though I don’t know that they racked up a ton of points. Jordy Murray really impressed me, just because he looks like he’s developed so much over the past couple of years. Toews was quietly effective. He didn’t do anything that screamed “first round draft pick,” but made a lot of really nice little plays.
It was my first chance seeing Alexander Fallstrom play, and I was pretty impressed. He’s got good size, and always seems to be causing trouble for the opposition. Seniors Brian Elser and Luke Grenier also played very well.
Stepan Novotny also seems to be developing quite well. His skating looked much better than it did at this time last year. His combination of size and skill kind of reminds me of Andreas Nodl. He just needs to work on getting better at finishing. I must have counted four or five scoring opportunities that he sailed over the net.
’92 Emerson Etem showed some flashes of great play, but still needs to get a little older, and add a little more muscle before he’s dominant at this level.
David Carle was another player that was quietly effective. He’s not very flashy, but plays very solid defense. I overheard one coach say that they were pretty sure he’d be playing college hockey next fall, rather than making a stop in the USHL. Defenseman Mac Williams and Ben Montgomery also played well on the point.
4. Malmo Redhawks (1-2)
It was a little tough to get a read on them. I saw them play against Minnesota Red and Shattuck, and they were way overmatched in both games. They had three ’92 birthdates on their team: goalie Fabian Sivnert, who played very well against Shattuck, forward Victor Ohman, and a 6’4” defenseman named Victor Mangs. Considering how young they were, they looked like pretty nice prospect, especially Mangs, who will be eligible for the 2011 NHL draft. It should be interesting to see if their trip to the US results in any NCAA scholarship offers.
5. Team Michigan (2-1)
As far as skill, they may have been the weakest in the tournament, but they brought an experienced, gritty team to the tournament that fought hard and was able to come away with two wins. They had a big upset over Minnesota White on Thursday. On Sunday, they had a dramatic win over the Dallas Stars to take 5th place for the second straight year.
Goalie Adam Janecyk started Sunday’s game for Michigan, and he was outstanding. He was probably the best goalie at the tournament. Defenseman Brock Carlston and Greg Merrill played close to every other shift for Michigan, and were solid, especially Carlston. At forward, Ryan Baratono scored a nice goal to open the game on Sunday, and Billy Balent looked like a speedy, talented player.
6. Dallas Stars (1-2)
’91 forward Anthony Hamburg played on Dallas’ top line, and he looked like one of their better forwards. Forward Trevor Gerling scored a pretty goal on Sunday, and also played pretty well. Defenseman CJ Ludwig was tabbed by NHL Central Scouting as a player of interest. I’d be surprised if he got drafted just because of the combination of playing midget hockey and that he’s not overly big, but he’s a nice player that should play college hockey somewhere. He’s got a powerful shot from the point, and plays nice defense.
7. Minnesota White(1-2)
Definitely the most disappointing team of the tournament. Conventional wisdom before the tournament was that they would be Shattuck’s biggest competition in the tournament. Instead, they lost to LA on Friday, and were then upset by Michigan on Saturday. There was a brief stretch in the second period on Sunday were they looked great and put together 3 or 4 goals, but other than that, they had a pretty bad weekend.
The two defenseman from Minnetonka, Jake Gardiner and Anthony Raiola both played very well. They’re excellent skaters. Tyler Barnes, Jake Hendrickson, and Danny Mattson played on a line, but they didn’t seem to get much going while I was there. Mattson left late in the third period on Sunday with a shoulder injury that hopefully isn’t too serious.
8. Team Illinois (0-3)
Team Illinois had some talented players, but not as much depth as the other teams in the tournament. Their most impressive players was ’91 forward Cody Murphy. He looks like he will be a star some day. ’91 defenseman Ben Hughes also played pretty solid on both days that I saw TI.
UNO recruit Fredrik Csisar looks like he has developed a lot over the past year. He didn’t do much on Saturday, but played pretty nicely on Sunday. I don’t think he’ll be a star in college, but should be a nice player.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Michigan Thoughts
Billy Sauer-Sauer is only as good as the defense in front of him, and unfortunately, the defense in front of him isn't very good. Of the 7 goals he gave up, four came off of terrible defensive breakdowns. Only the second goal against BC was what I would classify as a bad goal on his part, but at the same time, he also has to step up and make a big save to cover a mistake once in a while.
Mark Mitera-Michigan's best defenseman. The Wolverines need him to play every other shift, at least when they have a lead. He's not an All-American by any means, but the most reliable option Michigan has.
Steve Kampfer-Very high risk/high reward. If the number of smart pinches(like on the goal he scored against Minnesota) outweighs the bad pinches and poor defensive plays in the neutral zone, he'll be a pretty good player. Aside from that one play against Minnesota though, I wasn't overly impressed.
Chad Langlais-I wasn't as impressed as everyone else seemed to be. Both nights, he tried to bat passes out of the air that ended up getting by him and leading to breaks for the other team. He also lost on Ryan Flynn when he fell down behind the net, leading to Minnesota's third goal.
Kevin Quick-The Wheeler goal just about says it all. Talented, but has a ways to go before he's ready for the highest levels of college hockey.
Scooter Vaughn-Didn't see a lot of ice time, and I was ok with that.
Tristin Llewellyn-He took the two dumb penalties on Friday, and it was probably ok leaving him out against a faster opponent in Minnesota, but I'd still like to see him playing every night.
Summers-Rarely was the answer to "Who is supposed to be back on defense right now?" which is about all it takes to be Michigan's second defenseman.
Kevin Porter-He's not going to score 58 points again without T.J. Hensick, but I was very impressed with how he played. Definitely a leader on the team, and he should still finish with at least 40 points this year.
Chad Kolarik-You can really tell that he and Porter are the only two seniors on the team. It looks like he's also going to really step up and have a nice year.
Max Pacioretty-Very talented kid. I think he'll start putting up points once he adjusts to the speed of the game and things start to slow down for him. He doesn't take much time to get his shot off, but I can think of one instance in the Minnesota game when a puck got dropped to him in the slot(not all the dissimilar to where White scored the winning goal), and he wasn't able to pull the trigger on the shot quick enough. Hopefully by the second half of the season, that's a goal for Michigan.
Travis Turnbull-I expected him to make jump this year, and it looks like he has. After Porter and Kolarik, he's probably the third best forward.
Tim Miller-Same as Turnbull. He looks much, much better than he did last year.
Carl Hagelin-I wasn't sure what to expect out of a kid from Sweden, but he's such a hard worker and is always making things happen.
Ben Winnett-Needs to add a lot of muscle before he'll be able to do much in college. He got put on his back a couple times against BC, but I was very impressed with his defensive effort all weekend. He won't provide a lot of offense this year, but will make a great fourth-liner for the time being.
Aaron Palushaj-It's nice that Wolverines will have someone to pick up garbage goals in front of the net, if nothing else.
Louie Caporusso-I think BC felt sorry for him after the way Ferriero abused him.
Danny Fardig-Always nice to see his effort rewarded on the scoresheet.
Mark Mitera-Michigan's best defenseman. The Wolverines need him to play every other shift, at least when they have a lead. He's not an All-American by any means, but the most reliable option Michigan has.
Steve Kampfer-Very high risk/high reward. If the number of smart pinches(like on the goal he scored against Minnesota) outweighs the bad pinches and poor defensive plays in the neutral zone, he'll be a pretty good player. Aside from that one play against Minnesota though, I wasn't overly impressed.
Chad Langlais-I wasn't as impressed as everyone else seemed to be. Both nights, he tried to bat passes out of the air that ended up getting by him and leading to breaks for the other team. He also lost on Ryan Flynn when he fell down behind the net, leading to Minnesota's third goal.
Kevin Quick-The Wheeler goal just about says it all. Talented, but has a ways to go before he's ready for the highest levels of college hockey.
Scooter Vaughn-Didn't see a lot of ice time, and I was ok with that.
Tristin Llewellyn-He took the two dumb penalties on Friday, and it was probably ok leaving him out against a faster opponent in Minnesota, but I'd still like to see him playing every night.
Summers-Rarely was the answer to "Who is supposed to be back on defense right now?" which is about all it takes to be Michigan's second defenseman.
Kevin Porter-He's not going to score 58 points again without T.J. Hensick, but I was very impressed with how he played. Definitely a leader on the team, and he should still finish with at least 40 points this year.
Chad Kolarik-You can really tell that he and Porter are the only two seniors on the team. It looks like he's also going to really step up and have a nice year.
Max Pacioretty-Very talented kid. I think he'll start putting up points once he adjusts to the speed of the game and things start to slow down for him. He doesn't take much time to get his shot off, but I can think of one instance in the Minnesota game when a puck got dropped to him in the slot(not all the dissimilar to where White scored the winning goal), and he wasn't able to pull the trigger on the shot quick enough. Hopefully by the second half of the season, that's a goal for Michigan.
Travis Turnbull-I expected him to make jump this year, and it looks like he has. After Porter and Kolarik, he's probably the third best forward.
Tim Miller-Same as Turnbull. He looks much, much better than he did last year.
Carl Hagelin-I wasn't sure what to expect out of a kid from Sweden, but he's such a hard worker and is always making things happen.
Ben Winnett-Needs to add a lot of muscle before he'll be able to do much in college. He got put on his back a couple times against BC, but I was very impressed with his defensive effort all weekend. He won't provide a lot of offense this year, but will make a great fourth-liner for the time being.
Aaron Palushaj-It's nice that Wolverines will have someone to pick up garbage goals in front of the net, if nothing else.
Louie Caporusso-I think BC felt sorry for him after the way Ferriero abused him.
Danny Fardig-Always nice to see his effort rewarded on the scoresheet.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Season Preview: Ferris State
Head coach Bob Daniels says:
WCH says:
Ferris State certainly fits the model of a team that has built themselves from the goal out. Their deepest position is in goal, where they have three highly-recruit goalies in Derek MacIntyre, Mitch O'Keefe, and incoming freshman Pat Nagle. O'Keefe saw most of the playing time last year, but took a step backwards from his impressive freshman season. That leaves the door open for Nagle to take the starting job.
Whoever is in goal will have the benefit of an experienced defense. They lost two experienced defenseman in Jeremy Scherlinck, the last holdover from Ferris State's NCAA tournament, and Jon Van Culin, but return captain Adam Welch, and Chris Zarb, an NHL draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Bulldogs lost incoming freshman Pat Maroon to the OHL after he was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL draft. They do bring in a number of gritty, hard-working freshman, however. The offense will rely on sophomores Cody Chupp and Aaron Lewicki building off of their impressive freshman seasons.
"In regards to our team, a little bit like Bowling Green from the standpoint that we did have a good second half as well that we'd like to build on. We were 6-2 in February; I think one of the hottest teams in the league down the stretch run against some pretty good opponents such as Notre Dame and Michigan State. We felt like we had a real good finish to the season. Quickly from goal out, in net we return both goaltenders from a year ago. We are also bringing in a freshman that we have high hopes for in Pat Nagle. We are hoping some increased competition in that area will lead us to realize a little more consistency in that position. On defense, I would say we're probably in the top four in the league, top 10 in the country in terms of defensive corp. We are led back there by third-time captain (first time in the history of the program that we've had a captain for three straight years), Adam Welch. We are real deep in that position. We have a couple newcomers, we are very comfortable on defense. Upfront is the real question mark. We've got some players with potential but that's what it's been and they need to realize that potential now. We've got some opportunities there with Adam Miller, Aaron Lewicki, Cody Chupp, Brendan Connolly. I think they all have ability to be scorers in this league but now it's a matter of doing that."
WCH says:
Ferris State certainly fits the model of a team that has built themselves from the goal out. Their deepest position is in goal, where they have three highly-recruit goalies in Derek MacIntyre, Mitch O'Keefe, and incoming freshman Pat Nagle. O'Keefe saw most of the playing time last year, but took a step backwards from his impressive freshman season. That leaves the door open for Nagle to take the starting job.
Whoever is in goal will have the benefit of an experienced defense. They lost two experienced defenseman in Jeremy Scherlinck, the last holdover from Ferris State's NCAA tournament, and Jon Van Culin, but return captain Adam Welch, and Chris Zarb, an NHL draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Bulldogs lost incoming freshman Pat Maroon to the OHL after he was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL draft. They do bring in a number of gritty, hard-working freshman, however. The offense will rely on sophomores Cody Chupp and Aaron Lewicki building off of their impressive freshman seasons.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Season Preview: Nebraska-Omaha
Head coach Mike Kemp says:
WCH says:
The biggest story for Nebraska-Omaha is the gaping hole left by Scott Parse. Parse led the Mavericks in scoring all four years at Nebraska-Omaha, and led the program from last place in the CCHA his freshman year to the school's first NCAA appearance in his junior year. Seniors Bryan Marshall and Brandon Scero have put up decent numbers in their careers, but will have to make a big jump this year to help replace the loss of offense.
The Mavericks have a fairly big freshman class this year with 9 new freshman, but there are two players not in this freshman class that could be bigger losses. Defenseman Quinn Waller was able to qualify academically for UNO, and will instead play for Division III Adrian College this year. Also, talented forward John Kemp was unable to qualify academically and is instead playing another year for the Indiana Ice in the USHL. Kemp would have helped offset the loss of Parse, as well as Alex Nikiforuk, who scored 43 points last year for the Mavericks. Freshman Rich Purslow scored a lot of points as an older player in the USHL, however, and will try to carry that offense over to the college level.
If nothing else, the incoming freshman will add a little more size to the Mavericks roster. Last year, Nick Fanto was the only Maverick forward taller than 6-0. The Mavericks add a little more size in forward Matt Ambroz(6-4 198), defenseman Alain Goulet(6-3 195), and two late additions on defense in Nick van Bokern(6-4 210) and Pasko Skarica(6-3 210).
In goal, Jeremie Dupont saw most of the minutes last season, despite not turning 18 until December. His numbers weren't spectacular, but about as good as any team could hope for given that he was an underage goalie. He should be even better this year with another year of maturity.
"We're looking forward to a great year. The opportunity with Doc leaving gave me a chance for the first time to bring a former player on as and assistant coach. It's a thrill for us to have Nick Fohr, who played on our second through fifth teams at UNO, in a full-time coaching position. He served under Enrico Blasi at Miami for one year as a graduate assistant, had spent three years as our director of hockey operations and will now step into a full-time coaching position, which for me is very gratifying to have one of our own guys move up the coaching ladder. We have some big shoes to fill in our program losing Scott Parse who was our four-time team MVP, three time First Team All-CCHA selection, and holder of every scoring record in our school's history. That's going to be a big hole to fill, along with Alex Nikiforuk, who was another one of our high-scoring forwards that we lost to graduation. We have three seniors that have been consistent scorers, Bryan Marshal, Brandon Scero from Canton, Michigan and Mick Lawrence returning. We'll look for those guys to give us some offensive punch throughout the course of the season. We'll be relatively green back on the blueline. Juha Uotila will be a junior defenseman who has shown some offensive ability back there. Eddie Del Grosso returning from an All-Rookie Team in his first year at UNO and Mark Bernier are our only defensemen with any experience. We'll be playing five freshmen defensemen this year who will all be vying for playing time. And it will be a test to prep them for the rigors of CCHA play. Goaltending should be stable if nothing else. We have Jeremie Dupont coming back from a strong freshman season. He'll be supported by Jerad Kaufman and senior Eric Aarnio. We feel that position can give us some stability for what we consider to be a very difficult cluster in a very difficult CCHA league. We're looking forward to seeing everyone on the road and a great CCHA season."
WCH says:
The biggest story for Nebraska-Omaha is the gaping hole left by Scott Parse. Parse led the Mavericks in scoring all four years at Nebraska-Omaha, and led the program from last place in the CCHA his freshman year to the school's first NCAA appearance in his junior year. Seniors Bryan Marshall and Brandon Scero have put up decent numbers in their careers, but will have to make a big jump this year to help replace the loss of offense.
The Mavericks have a fairly big freshman class this year with 9 new freshman, but there are two players not in this freshman class that could be bigger losses. Defenseman Quinn Waller was able to qualify academically for UNO, and will instead play for Division III Adrian College this year. Also, talented forward John Kemp was unable to qualify academically and is instead playing another year for the Indiana Ice in the USHL. Kemp would have helped offset the loss of Parse, as well as Alex Nikiforuk, who scored 43 points last year for the Mavericks. Freshman Rich Purslow scored a lot of points as an older player in the USHL, however, and will try to carry that offense over to the college level.
If nothing else, the incoming freshman will add a little more size to the Mavericks roster. Last year, Nick Fanto was the only Maverick forward taller than 6-0. The Mavericks add a little more size in forward Matt Ambroz(6-4 198), defenseman Alain Goulet(6-3 195), and two late additions on defense in Nick van Bokern(6-4 210) and Pasko Skarica(6-3 210).
In goal, Jeremie Dupont saw most of the minutes last season, despite not turning 18 until December. His numbers weren't spectacular, but about as good as any team could hope for given that he was an underage goalie. He should be even better this year with another year of maturity.
Season Preview: Nebraska-Omaha
Head coach Mike Kemp says:
WCH says:
The biggest story for Nebraska-Omaha is the gaping hole left by Scott Parse. Parse led the Mavericks in scoring all four years at Nebraska-Omaha, and led the program from last place in the CCHA his freshman year to the school's first NCAA appearance in his junior year. Seniors Bryan Marshall and Brandon Scero have put up decent numbers in their careers, but will have to make a big jump this year to help replace the loss of offense.
The Mavericks have a fairly big freshman class this year with 9 new freshman, but there are two players not in this freshman class that could be bigger losses. Defenseman Quinn Waller was able to qualify academically for UNO, and will instead play for Division III Adrian College this year. Also, talented forward John Kemp was unable to qualify academically and is instead playing another year for the Indiana Ice in the USHL. Kemp would have helped offset the loss of Parse, as well as Alex Nikiforuk, who scored 43 points last year for the Mavericks.
If nothing else, the incoming freshman will add a little more size to the Mavericks roster. Last year, Nick Fanto was the only Maverick forward taller than 6-0. The Mavericks add a little more size in forward Matt Ambroz(6-4 198), defenseman Alain Goulet(6-3 195), and two late additions on defense in Nick van Bokern(6-4 210) and Pasko Skarica(6-3 210).
In goal, Jeremie Dupont saw most of the minutes last season, despite not turning 18 until December. His numbers weren't spectacular, but about as good as any team could hope for given that he was an underage goalie. He should be even better this year with another year of maturity.
"We're looking forward to a great year. The opportunity with Doc leaving gave me a chance for the first time to bring a former player on as and assistant coach. It's a thrill for us to have Nick Fohr, who played on our second through fifth teams at UNO, in a full-time coaching position. He served under Enrico Blasi at Miami for one year as a graduate assistant, had spent three years as our director of hockey operations and will now step into a full-time coaching position, which for me is very gratifying to have one of our own guys move up the coaching ladder. We have some big shoes to fill in our program losing Scott Parse who was our four-time team MVP, three time First Team All-CCHA selection, and holder of every scoring record in our school's history. That's going to be a big hole to fill, along with Alex Nikiforuk, who was another one of our high-scoring forwards that we lost to graduation. We have three seniors that have been consistent scorers, Bryan Marshal, Brandon Scero from Canton, Michigan and Mick Lawrence returning. We'll look for those guys to give us some offensive punch throughout the course of the season. We'll be relatively green back on the blueline. Juha Uotila will be a junior defenseman who has shown some offensive ability back there. Eddie Del Grosso returning from an All-Rookie Team in his first year at UNO and Mark Bernier are our only defensemen with any experience. We'll be playing five freshmen defensemen this year who will all be vying for playing time. And it will be a test to prep them for the rigors of CCHA play. Goaltending should be stable if nothing else. We have Jeremie Dupont coming back from a strong freshman season. He'll be supported by Jerad Kaufman and senior Eric Aarnio. We feel that position can give us some stability for what we consider to be a very difficult cluster in a very difficult CCHA league. We're looking forward to seeing everyone on the road and a great CCHA season."
WCH says:
The biggest story for Nebraska-Omaha is the gaping hole left by Scott Parse. Parse led the Mavericks in scoring all four years at Nebraska-Omaha, and led the program from last place in the CCHA his freshman year to the school's first NCAA appearance in his junior year. Seniors Bryan Marshall and Brandon Scero have put up decent numbers in their careers, but will have to make a big jump this year to help replace the loss of offense.
The Mavericks have a fairly big freshman class this year with 9 new freshman, but there are two players not in this freshman class that could be bigger losses. Defenseman Quinn Waller was able to qualify academically for UNO, and will instead play for Division III Adrian College this year. Also, talented forward John Kemp was unable to qualify academically and is instead playing another year for the Indiana Ice in the USHL. Kemp would have helped offset the loss of Parse, as well as Alex Nikiforuk, who scored 43 points last year for the Mavericks.
If nothing else, the incoming freshman will add a little more size to the Mavericks roster. Last year, Nick Fanto was the only Maverick forward taller than 6-0. The Mavericks add a little more size in forward Matt Ambroz(6-4 198), defenseman Alain Goulet(6-3 195), and two late additions on defense in Nick van Bokern(6-4 210) and Pasko Skarica(6-3 210).
In goal, Jeremie Dupont saw most of the minutes last season, despite not turning 18 until December. His numbers weren't spectacular, but about as good as any team could hope for given that he was an underage goalie. He should be even better this year with another year of maturity.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Season Preview: Notre Dame
Head Coach Jeff Jackson says:
Last season was a breakthrough year for the Irish. Coach Jeff Jackson led the school to their first ever number one ranking and number one seed in the NCAA tournament. They fell just short of the Frozen Four losing to Michigan State in the Midwest Regional Final.
If you believe the preseason rankings, the Irish are due for a bit of a step back this season. They were picked to finish third in the league behind Miami and Michigan State, and 8th nationally. But I believe the Irish will be just as good, if not better than they were last season.
When discussing the Irish, the first place everyone starts with is in goal. The Irish lost Hobey Baker finalist David Brown to graduation. Without a doubt it's a huge loss for Notre Dame, but the question is, was Notre Dame a product of Brown's success, or was Brown a product of Notre Dame's success? Brown was an excellent goaltender, but in looking at his stats, he only saw, on average, about 23 saves per game. If Notre Dame's defense can limit shots that much again this year, they don't need their new starter, whoever it is, to be spectacular and steal wins, they just need him to be solid and not make too many mistakes. Junior Jordan Pearce and Freshman Brad Phillips will compete for playing time, though Phillips looks like the long-term solution in goal and will likely be given every opportunity to win the starting job.
The Irish also lost six other seniors, including a couple on the blueline. It's an interesting choice of words from Jackson when he says that they will be "difficult to replace from a character standpoint, leadership standpoint." While they do lose experience and leadership, they gain a huge advantage in talent thanks to Jackson's first recruiting class, which included two defensive gems in Ian Cole, Notre Dame's first ever first round NHL draft pick, and Teddy Ruth, who both gained collegiate experience playing for the NTDP U18 team last season.
The Irish also returns a ton of talent from last year's team. Kyle Lawson and Brock Sheahan could both be all-conference selection in a pretty weak year for defenseman in the CCHA. At forward, Erik Condra and Mark VanGuilder have both developed as dangerous scoring threats. Sophomores Ryan Thang and Kevin Deeth both had excellent freshman seasons last year, and behind them, there are some talented incoming freshman that could surpise people, just as Thang and Deeth did last year.
The Irish should be one of the best teams in college hockey this year. They may get off to a slow start until they figure out their goaltending situation, but by the end of the year, they will be one of the most dangerous teams in the NCAA.
"We're excited about the upcoming season. Last year is behind us and we have a really strong returning group of forwards. We did lose seven seniors that all played a regular place in our line-up and will be difficult to replace from a character standpoint, leadership standpoint. We are just as excited about the incoming freshmen class that we have coming in. That should give us some stability I'm sure with a few bumps early on to try and improve our back end with a couple freshmen defensemen and young goaltending. We are excited about the prospects up front with Erik Condra, Ryan Thang. Kevin Deeth and Mark Van Guilder returning. On the back side, I think that Kyle Lawson and Brock Sheahan will be two of the better (defensemen) in the conference. We expect our goaltending to be good. I think Jordan Pearce, a junior, is somebody that has potential to be a great goaltender in the CCHA. We have an outstanding freshman in Brad Phillips that we think will be good in time. We are excited about the prospects and we are excited about a new building in the next couple of years. There are a lot of positive things going on in the hockey program. I would like to think we are going to have a great season this year and hopefully consistency will be part of building this program into something special."
Last season was a breakthrough year for the Irish. Coach Jeff Jackson led the school to their first ever number one ranking and number one seed in the NCAA tournament. They fell just short of the Frozen Four losing to Michigan State in the Midwest Regional Final.
If you believe the preseason rankings, the Irish are due for a bit of a step back this season. They were picked to finish third in the league behind Miami and Michigan State, and 8th nationally. But I believe the Irish will be just as good, if not better than they were last season.
When discussing the Irish, the first place everyone starts with is in goal. The Irish lost Hobey Baker finalist David Brown to graduation. Without a doubt it's a huge loss for Notre Dame, but the question is, was Notre Dame a product of Brown's success, or was Brown a product of Notre Dame's success? Brown was an excellent goaltender, but in looking at his stats, he only saw, on average, about 23 saves per game. If Notre Dame's defense can limit shots that much again this year, they don't need their new starter, whoever it is, to be spectacular and steal wins, they just need him to be solid and not make too many mistakes. Junior Jordan Pearce and Freshman Brad Phillips will compete for playing time, though Phillips looks like the long-term solution in goal and will likely be given every opportunity to win the starting job.
The Irish also lost six other seniors, including a couple on the blueline. It's an interesting choice of words from Jackson when he says that they will be "difficult to replace from a character standpoint, leadership standpoint." While they do lose experience and leadership, they gain a huge advantage in talent thanks to Jackson's first recruiting class, which included two defensive gems in Ian Cole, Notre Dame's first ever first round NHL draft pick, and Teddy Ruth, who both gained collegiate experience playing for the NTDP U18 team last season.
The Irish also returns a ton of talent from last year's team. Kyle Lawson and Brock Sheahan could both be all-conference selection in a pretty weak year for defenseman in the CCHA. At forward, Erik Condra and Mark VanGuilder have both developed as dangerous scoring threats. Sophomores Ryan Thang and Kevin Deeth both had excellent freshman seasons last year, and behind them, there are some talented incoming freshman that could surpise people, just as Thang and Deeth did last year.
The Irish should be one of the best teams in college hockey this year. They may get off to a slow start until they figure out their goaltending situation, but by the end of the year, they will be one of the most dangerous teams in the NCAA.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Season Preview: Western Michigan
Head Coach Jim Culhane says:
WCH says:
Western Michigan surprised everyone last year. They were almost universally picked to finish near the bottom of the league, and somehow, quietly snuck into 6th place by the end of the season. Interestingly, Western Michigan somehow managed to finish conference play with a winning record despite giving up more goals than they scored.
There were two main keys to the Broncos success last season. The first was the scoring punch provided by CCHA freshman of the year Mark Letestu and senior Paul Szczechura, and the second was the emergence of freshman goalie Riley Gill.
Gill is back for his sophomore season, and should have an experienced defense playing in front of him. For many years, the Broncos biggest problem has been keeping the puck out of the net, but that looks like it will be an area of strength this year.
The big question will come on offense. Szczechrua graduated, and Letestu signed a contract with the Pittsburgh, leaving a little bit of a hole on the top line. Wings Jeff LoVecchio and Jeff Pierce each scored over 30 points last year, and return, but the biggest Broncos offense will rely on the impact of some of their newcomers.
Freshman Max Campbell joins the Broncos after a record-setting performance in the Western Ontario Jr. B league, and has a chance to be a huge contributor. He was drafted in the 5th round of the NHL draft by the New York Rangers. He looks like he could have a huge impact playing between some of Western's more experienced wings. I wouldn't be surprised if Western had the CCHA rookie of the year for a second straight year.
"We had a great off-season at Western Michigan. I thought our players did a great job in the weight room improving on their athleticism and their strength. In addition to that, I'm very proud that we did a great job last semester and last year in the classroom with a roster of 27 student-athletes. I think at times we can put this on the back burner, but our team grade-point average was a 3.30 with three guys with 4.0 and graduating five student-athletes on time where these young men are competing over four years and not red shirting like some of the other intercollegiate sports at the Division I level and guys walking out with their degrees in four years. We are very proud of that at Western Michigan. We are looking forward to the challenges of the upcoming season. Some key losses for us were the early signing to Mark Letestu, who signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the loss to graduation of Ryan Szczechura and Ryan Mahrle. We feel we have a good core group returning led by our netminder Riley Gill, who was also on the All-Rookie team. On the blue line, I feel we have some depth there with senior Nathan Ansell, Jonathan Lupa, a couple of juniors in Steve Silver and Chris Frank and sophomore Tyler Ludwig. Up front, looking at key contributors in the upcoming season, Jeff LoVecchio, Jeff Pierce, Brian Bicek, I think will be key contributors for us. Someone we expect to have a real big year for us is Patrick Galivan with some sprinkling in from our freshmen class with a couple guys that were drafted this past June in Max Campbell, a Ranger draft, and Ryan Watson, who was a Florida draft. We are excited about the upcoming season and looking forward to the challenges."
WCH says:
Western Michigan surprised everyone last year. They were almost universally picked to finish near the bottom of the league, and somehow, quietly snuck into 6th place by the end of the season. Interestingly, Western Michigan somehow managed to finish conference play with a winning record despite giving up more goals than they scored.
There were two main keys to the Broncos success last season. The first was the scoring punch provided by CCHA freshman of the year Mark Letestu and senior Paul Szczechura, and the second was the emergence of freshman goalie Riley Gill.
Gill is back for his sophomore season, and should have an experienced defense playing in front of him. For many years, the Broncos biggest problem has been keeping the puck out of the net, but that looks like it will be an area of strength this year.
The big question will come on offense. Szczechrua graduated, and Letestu signed a contract with the Pittsburgh, leaving a little bit of a hole on the top line. Wings Jeff LoVecchio and Jeff Pierce each scored over 30 points last year, and return, but the biggest Broncos offense will rely on the impact of some of their newcomers.
Freshman Max Campbell joins the Broncos after a record-setting performance in the Western Ontario Jr. B league, and has a chance to be a huge contributor. He was drafted in the 5th round of the NHL draft by the New York Rangers. He looks like he could have a huge impact playing between some of Western's more experienced wings. I wouldn't be surprised if Western had the CCHA rookie of the year for a second straight year.
Season Preview: Bowling Green
Head Coach Scott Paluch said:
WCH says:
The Falcons do return 23 players from last year's squad, but it is the two players not on the roster that could be the most important. The first is Jonathan Matsumoto, who was Bowling Green's leading scorer last year and left this summer to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers. The second is goalie Josh Unice, who was scheduled to be the starting goalie for Bowling Green this season, before he shocked everyone by signing with an OHL team.
Matsumoto averaged over a point per game in his three year career at Bowling Green. His loss should hurt the offense. Senior Derek Whitmore, who scored 19 goals last year returns, but he will have to prove that his 10-point-increase between his sophomore and junior year wasn't just a product of playing alongside Matsumoto. The Falcons will have to hope from big jumps in production from some of their talented sophomore forwards like Tomas Petruska, Todd McIlrath, Kai Kantola, and James Perkin. Incoming freshman Jacob Cepis scored a lot of points in the USHL and could contribute immediately too.
Jimmy Spratt was charged with being the replacement to Falcon Jordan Sigalet two years ago, and has struggled in goal. Spratt is capable of putting together nice games, but has struggled with consistency. As coach Paluch noted, he had more good games than bad games towards the end of season, which bodes well for the future. If he can't stay consistent, incoming freshman and Buffalo Sabres pick Nick Eno will challenge for playing time. The Falcons will probably need great goaltending to hold them in games.
"This year's team, we understand the rankings that we see ahead of us. As we talk to our team, it's kind of a situation where a lot of our guys are back. We put ourselves in that situation and now it's our responsibility to get us out. We feel real good about this team. Twenty three of our players are back from last year, led by our captain Derek Whitmore, who scored 19 goals and was our leading goal scorer. Our most improved player from last year, Jimmy Spratt in goal, is back and is building on an outstanding second half. We had a really good second half, didn't add up to as many wins as we would have liked. We were a pretty good team in the second half. A lot of last year's players are back with us drawing on that experience. We feel real good about our team. Our off-season has been outstanding from a team building and conditioning stand point. We are ready to prove the rankings wrong."
WCH says:
The Falcons do return 23 players from last year's squad, but it is the two players not on the roster that could be the most important. The first is Jonathan Matsumoto, who was Bowling Green's leading scorer last year and left this summer to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers. The second is goalie Josh Unice, who was scheduled to be the starting goalie for Bowling Green this season, before he shocked everyone by signing with an OHL team.
Matsumoto averaged over a point per game in his three year career at Bowling Green. His loss should hurt the offense. Senior Derek Whitmore, who scored 19 goals last year returns, but he will have to prove that his 10-point-increase between his sophomore and junior year wasn't just a product of playing alongside Matsumoto. The Falcons will have to hope from big jumps in production from some of their talented sophomore forwards like Tomas Petruska, Todd McIlrath, Kai Kantola, and James Perkin. Incoming freshman Jacob Cepis scored a lot of points in the USHL and could contribute immediately too.
Jimmy Spratt was charged with being the replacement to Falcon Jordan Sigalet two years ago, and has struggled in goal. Spratt is capable of putting together nice games, but has struggled with consistency. As coach Paluch noted, he had more good games than bad games towards the end of season, which bodes well for the future. If he can't stay consistent, incoming freshman and Buffalo Sabres pick Nick Eno will challenge for playing time. The Falcons will probably need great goaltending to hold them in games.
Monday, September 24, 2007
NAHL Showcase/Midget Showcase '93 Birthdates
Rocco Grimaldi, Forward, Little Caesar’s U16-This was my first chance to get to see him. I had heard some mixed reports on him in the past, but I was very impressed. He’s a little guy that can stickhandle around anyone. He really reminds me of Jordan Schroeder. He should be a nice college player.
Colin Jacobs, Forward, Texas Attack U16-This was my first chance to see a kid who is already being hyped as one of the top ‘93s. I was glad I got to see him two different days. The first day, he didn’t do much. The second day, he showed what all the hype was about. He’s a very nice skater. His skating reminded me of Danny Kristo, when Kristo was a freshman. He’s also got an amazing wrist shot. I was really surprised that someone his size could get that kind of pace on a shot. His puck control was also superb, and he made a couple great passes to open teammates on the powerplay. I’m sure that there will be another battle between the NCAA and WHL for his services, and unfortunately, for a player that good that young, I’d think the WHL would have an advantage.
Seth Ambroz, Forward, Russell Stover U16-It seems like he’s grown quite a bit since last year. He looked pretty good for being a year younger than everyone else.
Andrew Ryan, Defenseman, Victory Honda U16-Already 6’2” 185 lbs. He looks like he has a lot of potential.
Colin Jacobs, Forward, Texas Attack U16-This was my first chance to see a kid who is already being hyped as one of the top ‘93s. I was glad I got to see him two different days. The first day, he didn’t do much. The second day, he showed what all the hype was about. He’s a very nice skater. His skating reminded me of Danny Kristo, when Kristo was a freshman. He’s also got an amazing wrist shot. I was really surprised that someone his size could get that kind of pace on a shot. His puck control was also superb, and he made a couple great passes to open teammates on the powerplay. I’m sure that there will be another battle between the NCAA and WHL for his services, and unfortunately, for a player that good that young, I’d think the WHL would have an advantage.
Seth Ambroz, Forward, Russell Stover U16-It seems like he’s grown quite a bit since last year. He looked pretty good for being a year younger than everyone else.
Andrew Ryan, Defenseman, Victory Honda U16-Already 6’2” 185 lbs. He looks like he has a lot of potential.
NAHL Showcase/Midget Showcase '92 Birthdates
Jon Merrill, Defenseman, Little Caesar’s U18(Mich. Commit)-Some people thought he might play in the USHL this year. I think it was a good choice that he stayed at the Midget Major level. Even though the level of play is a little lower, I think there is something to be said for getting experience being one of the best players on the ice, and getting experience playing special teams and leading a team. Merrill scored a nice goal on a slapper from the slot, but also gave up a goal on a weird turnover. Overall, I thought he looked excellent, especially considering that he’s still playing up a year. He is one of the best I’ve seen at pinching in on the powerplay. He also sees the ice well and can make great outlet passes.
Garrett Clarke, Defenseman, Russell Stover U18-Scored a natural hat trick on Thursday night. I watched him play on Friday, and while he was talented, I don’t think he played his best game. He’s a very calm, relaxed player, though sometimes I think he holds on to the puck a little too long. He’s amazing offensively, but could use a little work defensively. Reportedly already has some scholarship offers.
Brandon Saad, Forward, Pittsburgh Hornets U18-Didn’t blow me away, but it’s important to remember that he’s a ’92 birthday playing against ‘91s, ‘90s, and ‘89s, and I think it’s harder for an underage forward to stand out than an underage defenseman. He should be very good in the future.
Stephen Johns, Defenseman, Pittsburgh Hornets U18-Very impressive. A big guy that moves well, can contribute some offense, and plays pretty good defenseman. Definitely should make the NTDP team.
Kevin Liss, Defenseman, Pittsburgh Hornets U18-Not huge for a defenseman, but played very reliable defense.
Evan Accettura, Defenseman, Victory Honda U18-Big defenseman. Could improve his skating a little, but that should come when he grows into his body.
Cody Von Reuben, Defenseman, Chicago Young Americans U16-Very strong defenseman.
Steven Phillips, Forward, Chicago Young Americans U16-Young kid that looks pretty talented.
Cody Campbell, Goalie, Pikes Peak Miners U16-Talented goalie. Great glove. Struggled when the other team had the puck behind his net, but otherwise was solid. Should get some NTDP consideration.
Colton Hargrove, Forward, Texas Attack U16-Big power forward that can skate pretty well, and creates havoc in front of the net.
Jacob Fallon, Forward, Texas Attack U16-Very fast forward that isn’t afraid to drive hard to the net.
Jeff McMinimy, Forward, Texas Attack U16-Stood out more here than he did at this summer’s Select 15s. Showed really nice speed.
Jay Llewellyn, Forward, Victory Honda U16-Very big power forward, that has decent hands for his size. He should be a nice college prospect if he continues to develop.
Garrett Clarke, Defenseman, Russell Stover U18-Scored a natural hat trick on Thursday night. I watched him play on Friday, and while he was talented, I don’t think he played his best game. He’s a very calm, relaxed player, though sometimes I think he holds on to the puck a little too long. He’s amazing offensively, but could use a little work defensively. Reportedly already has some scholarship offers.
Brandon Saad, Forward, Pittsburgh Hornets U18-Didn’t blow me away, but it’s important to remember that he’s a ’92 birthday playing against ‘91s, ‘90s, and ‘89s, and I think it’s harder for an underage forward to stand out than an underage defenseman. He should be very good in the future.
Stephen Johns, Defenseman, Pittsburgh Hornets U18-Very impressive. A big guy that moves well, can contribute some offense, and plays pretty good defenseman. Definitely should make the NTDP team.
Kevin Liss, Defenseman, Pittsburgh Hornets U18-Not huge for a defenseman, but played very reliable defense.
Evan Accettura, Defenseman, Victory Honda U18-Big defenseman. Could improve his skating a little, but that should come when he grows into his body.
Cody Von Reuben, Defenseman, Chicago Young Americans U16-Very strong defenseman.
Steven Phillips, Forward, Chicago Young Americans U16-Young kid that looks pretty talented.
Cody Campbell, Goalie, Pikes Peak Miners U16-Talented goalie. Great glove. Struggled when the other team had the puck behind his net, but otherwise was solid. Should get some NTDP consideration.
Colton Hargrove, Forward, Texas Attack U16-Big power forward that can skate pretty well, and creates havoc in front of the net.
Jacob Fallon, Forward, Texas Attack U16-Very fast forward that isn’t afraid to drive hard to the net.
Jeff McMinimy, Forward, Texas Attack U16-Stood out more here than he did at this summer’s Select 15s. Showed really nice speed.
Jay Llewellyn, Forward, Victory Honda U16-Very big power forward, that has decent hands for his size. He should be a nice college prospect if he continues to develop.
NAHL Showcase/Midget Showcase '91 Birthdates
Dakotah Collins, Forward, Fargo-Moorhead Jets-Youngest player in the NAHL, and it showed. A very fluid skater, but he didn’t quite have the strength to keep up with guys so much older than him. Worth keeping an eye on though.
John Ramage, Defenseman, St. Louis Bandits-Not intimidated by older competition. Really did a nice job throwing his weight around. He’ll probably start the season behind some older players, but his role should grow over the year. Very talented player.
Shane Berschbach, Forward, Little Caesar’s U18-Not very big, but a very crafty stickhandler.
R. Christopher Blessing, Forward, Southern California Titans U18-A pretty good skater. A nice prospect on a weaker AAA program.
Andrew Huckleby,Defenseman, Victory Honda U18-Reliable puck-moving defenseman
Alex Wideman, Forward, St. Louis Blues AAA-Top forward for St. Louis.
Jackson Brandstetter, Defenseman, Chicago Young Americans U16-Decent overall defenseman, that can throw a big hit.
Brent Tate, Forward, Little Caesar’s U16-Worked very hard, and was rewarded with a couple of goals on Friday morning. Very skinny.
Stephen Obarzanek, Forward, Little Caesar’s U16-Hard worker that always seems to be making things happen on the ice.
Keenan Kelly, Defenseman, Pikes Peak Miners U16-Playing in the US after playing prep hockey in Canada. Good size, and can move well. Made a bad turnover in the game I saw, but otherwise played a nice game.
John Ramage, Defenseman, St. Louis Bandits-Not intimidated by older competition. Really did a nice job throwing his weight around. He’ll probably start the season behind some older players, but his role should grow over the year. Very talented player.
Shane Berschbach, Forward, Little Caesar’s U18-Not very big, but a very crafty stickhandler.
R. Christopher Blessing, Forward, Southern California Titans U18-A pretty good skater. A nice prospect on a weaker AAA program.
Andrew Huckleby,Defenseman, Victory Honda U18-Reliable puck-moving defenseman
Alex Wideman, Forward, St. Louis Blues AAA-Top forward for St. Louis.
Jackson Brandstetter, Defenseman, Chicago Young Americans U16-Decent overall defenseman, that can throw a big hit.
Brent Tate, Forward, Little Caesar’s U16-Worked very hard, and was rewarded with a couple of goals on Friday morning. Very skinny.
Stephen Obarzanek, Forward, Little Caesar’s U16-Hard worker that always seems to be making things happen on the ice.
Keenan Kelly, Defenseman, Pikes Peak Miners U16-Playing in the US after playing prep hockey in Canada. Good size, and can move well. Made a bad turnover in the game I saw, but otherwise played a nice game.
NAHL Showcase/Midget Showcase '90 Birthdates
Eric Ringel, Defenseman, Mahoning Valley Phantoms-It’s amazing how much he has developed from 12 months ago, where he was one of the youngest players in this tournament. This year, he looked like the best defenseman in the league. He’s always been great on the powerplay, but this year, he’s getting time on the penalty kill too, and his defense was pretty solid.
Chris Heineman, Defenseman, Traverse City North Stars-In his second year in the NAHL, and looks like he’ll be a top player. Very good all-around defenseman.
Kellen Michalak, Forward, Traverse City North Stars-Talented player. He probably needs another year to get a little stronger before colleges really start looking at him, but he is a definite college prospect.
Ryan Misiak, Forward, Little Caesar’s-A hard worker that uses his size very well. A nice grinder with a little bit of skill.
Bob Marx, Defenseman, Russell Stover U18(Alaska commit)-Does everything pretty well, but doesn’t really stand out in one area.
Colin South, Forward, Pittsburgh Hornets U18-Wasn’t playing, which is a shame because I think he could be an NHL draft pick this year. I though I heard he was injured? Not sure.
Chris Heineman, Defenseman, Traverse City North Stars-In his second year in the NAHL, and looks like he’ll be a top player. Very good all-around defenseman.
Kellen Michalak, Forward, Traverse City North Stars-Talented player. He probably needs another year to get a little stronger before colleges really start looking at him, but he is a definite college prospect.
Ryan Misiak, Forward, Little Caesar’s-A hard worker that uses his size very well. A nice grinder with a little bit of skill.
Bob Marx, Defenseman, Russell Stover U18(Alaska commit)-Does everything pretty well, but doesn’t really stand out in one area.
Colin South, Forward, Pittsburgh Hornets U18-Wasn’t playing, which is a shame because I think he could be an NHL draft pick this year. I though I heard he was injured? Not sure.
NAHL Showcase/Midget Showcase '89 Birthdates
Sam Carr, Defenseman, Fargo-Moorhead Jets-A pretty big contributor, which is rare for a player just out of high school, but I thought he played excellent. He got some time on the powerplay, where he looked pretty solid.
Dan Weiss, Defenseman, Springfield-Solid all-around defenseman. Looks like he’ll play more of an offensive role this year.
Jared Rickord, Forward, Springfield-Former Chicago AAA star showed some really nice offensive flair. He’s a speedy kid that can put the puck in the net.
Dan Weiss, Defenseman, Springfield-Solid all-around defenseman. Looks like he’ll play more of an offensive role this year.
Jared Rickord, Forward, Springfield-Former Chicago AAA star showed some really nice offensive flair. He’s a speedy kid that can put the puck in the net.
NAHL Showcase/Midget Showcase '88 Birthdates
Jerry Freismuth, Forward, Alexandria Blizzard-This is his second year with the Blizzard, and it looks like he’ll play a big role with the team this year. It seemed like he was all over the ice.
Brandon Bahnemann, Forward, Alexandria Blizzard-Hard worker. Should have a nice year for Alexandria, and will probably be in the USHL next year.
Erik Peterson, Forward, Alpena IceDiggers-Alpena native. I thought he was the IceDiggers best forward. Very solid all-around hockey player.
Colin Hoey, Forward, Bismarck-Not very big, but fast and scrappy.
Kyle Maggard, Forward, Bismarck-Top playmaker on an offensively-challenged team.
Isaiah Bennis, Forward, Fairbanks-Not overly skilled, but should get some looks from colleges for his size.
Derek Graham, Forward, Mahoning Valley-Small, but did a great job setting up on the offwing on the powerplay and getting off quick one-timers. Scored a goal in every game.
Tim Kirby, Defenseman, Southern Minnesota-Playing a much bigger role in his second year with the Express. He looks like their top defenseman. His skating could use a little work, but he rarely gets beat in tight spaces.
Brandon Bahnemann, Forward, Alexandria Blizzard-Hard worker. Should have a nice year for Alexandria, and will probably be in the USHL next year.
Erik Peterson, Forward, Alpena IceDiggers-Alpena native. I thought he was the IceDiggers best forward. Very solid all-around hockey player.
Colin Hoey, Forward, Bismarck-Not very big, but fast and scrappy.
Kyle Maggard, Forward, Bismarck-Top playmaker on an offensively-challenged team.
Isaiah Bennis, Forward, Fairbanks-Not overly skilled, but should get some looks from colleges for his size.
Derek Graham, Forward, Mahoning Valley-Small, but did a great job setting up on the offwing on the powerplay and getting off quick one-timers. Scored a goal in every game.
Tim Kirby, Defenseman, Southern Minnesota-Playing a much bigger role in his second year with the Express. He looks like their top defenseman. His skating could use a little work, but he rarely gets beat in tight spaces.
NAHL Showcase/Midget Showcase '87 Birthdates
Russell Anderson, Forward, Alpena IceDiggers-Very big forward(6’4” 225) that seemed to make plays all over the ice. He should definitely receive some college attention this year.
Andrew Muir, Forward, Fargo-Moorhead Jets-Older player that was all over the ice. He’d probably make an excellent penalty-killer at the college level.
Robby Phillipp, Forward, Fargo-Moorhead Jets-Always one of the hardest workers on the ice. Should have a very big year for the Jets.
Max Mobley, Forward, North Iowa-Veteran forward was all over the ice for the Outlaws. Definitely their top forward.
Matt Morin, Defenseman, North Iowa-Small for a defenseman, but a smart player that doesn’t make many mistakes.
CJ Willms, Forward, Southern Minnesota-Hard-working veteran. A few people were surprised he didn’t get a college offer after last year. He’ll probably get one before the year is out.
Brian Arrigoni, Forward, Southern Minnesota-Can skate and shoot better than almost anybody in the league. Giving a good consistent effort will be a question though.
Andrew Muir, Forward, Fargo-Moorhead Jets-Older player that was all over the ice. He’d probably make an excellent penalty-killer at the college level.
Robby Phillipp, Forward, Fargo-Moorhead Jets-Always one of the hardest workers on the ice. Should have a very big year for the Jets.
Max Mobley, Forward, North Iowa-Veteran forward was all over the ice for the Outlaws. Definitely their top forward.
Matt Morin, Defenseman, North Iowa-Small for a defenseman, but a smart player that doesn’t make many mistakes.
CJ Willms, Forward, Southern Minnesota-Hard-working veteran. A few people were surprised he didn’t get a college offer after last year. He’ll probably get one before the year is out.
Brian Arrigoni, Forward, Southern Minnesota-Can skate and shoot better than almost anybody in the league. Giving a good consistent effort will be a question though.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
2008 NHL Draft List
1. Jimmy Hayes
2. Colin Wilson
3. Phil McRae
4. Adam Comrie
5. Mitch Wahl
6. AJ Jenks
7. David Toews*
8. Drew Olson
9. Robbie Czarnik
10. Tyler Myers
11. David Warsofsky
12. Mike Cichy
13. Matt Donovan
14. Danny Kristo
15. Nick Pryor
16. Vinny Saponari
17. Matt Thurber
18. Jared Festler
19. Brock Montpetit
20. Nick Bailen
21. Corey Fienhage
22. Jake Youso
23. Luke Witkowski
24. Austin Handley
25. Kevin McCarey
26. Ryan Grimshaw
27. Max Nicastro
28. Michael Fink
29. Jake Gardiner
30. Troy Power
31. John Carlson
32. Eric Ringel
33. Adam Mueller
34. Brett Beebe
35. Jesse Brown
36. John O’Neill
37. Grant Scott
38. Ryan Hegarty
39. David Carle
40. Derek Stepan
41. Pat Gaul
42. David Wohlberg
43. Ross Henry
44. Mark Anthione
45. Jordy Murray
46. Colin Moore
47. Seth Soley
48. Steve Spinell
49. Andrew Panzarella
50. Aaron Ness
51. Colin South
52. Keegan Flaherty
53. Chris Wideman
54. Anthony Raiola
55. Nate Condon
56. Shawn Szydlowski
57. Joe Gleason
*not really American, but plays in the US
2. Colin Wilson
3. Phil McRae
4. Adam Comrie
5. Mitch Wahl
6. AJ Jenks
7. David Toews*
8. Drew Olson
9. Robbie Czarnik
10. Tyler Myers
11. David Warsofsky
12. Mike Cichy
13. Matt Donovan
14. Danny Kristo
15. Nick Pryor
16. Vinny Saponari
17. Matt Thurber
18. Jared Festler
19. Brock Montpetit
20. Nick Bailen
21. Corey Fienhage
22. Jake Youso
23. Luke Witkowski
24. Austin Handley
25. Kevin McCarey
26. Ryan Grimshaw
27. Max Nicastro
28. Michael Fink
29. Jake Gardiner
30. Troy Power
31. John Carlson
32. Eric Ringel
33. Adam Mueller
34. Brett Beebe
35. Jesse Brown
36. John O’Neill
37. Grant Scott
38. Ryan Hegarty
39. David Carle
40. Derek Stepan
41. Pat Gaul
42. David Wohlberg
43. Ross Henry
44. Mark Anthione
45. Jordy Murray
46. Colin Moore
47. Seth Soley
48. Steve Spinell
49. Andrew Panzarella
50. Aaron Ness
51. Colin South
52. Keegan Flaherty
53. Chris Wideman
54. Anthony Raiola
55. Nate Condon
56. Shawn Szydlowski
57. Joe Gleason
*not really American, but plays in the US
Friday, August 03, 2007
Select 15 Report
Since I don't think I'll be able to post anything without someone saying "That's nice and all, but where's the Select 15 report?"(not that I'm complaining about people actually wanting to read the stuff I write), I may as well post it.
Before I get to the players, there's a couple things I'd like to point out. First off, it should be obvious to most, but sometimes I feel it gets lost: these kids are still 14/15 years old. Everyone that makes it to the national level has tremendous talent, but also has a long ways to go in terms of development before they are ready for college hockey. It's not like the Select 17 Festival, where most players are just 11 months away from being drafted by the NHL, and many have at least a year Junior A hockey under their belt. The Select 15s is more about trying to judge potential. So that's what I'll try to do.
The same standard disclaimers still apply to this event. I watched about 2/3s of every game(since they overlap) on Sunday and Tuesday. I didn't see everything, but I'd like to think I saw a lot. I don't pay as much attention to goaltending, so comments on them are sparse. I'll also be listing the 06-07 team(and the state that team plays out of) for each player, as it was listed in the program, because odds are, most people haven't heard of most of these kids.
Black Team Record: 3-2
Alex Koopmeiners(St. Cloud Cathedral): Strong kid that works hard and can do just about everything fairly well.
TJ Tynan(Chicago Mission): A very small, playmaker-type player.
Quinn Smith(Mid-Fairfield Blues(CT)): An eastern kid that really stood out to me. A very active player that created some nice offense.
Jake Goldberg(Honeybaked(MI)): Extremely quick release on his shot makes him a very dangerous player.
Gold Team Record: 4-1-0
Chase Balisy(Jr. Canadiens(Ont.)): One of the most hyped kids coming into the camp. He's a very talented player. He was especially dangerous when working from behind the net. 99% chance that he won't play college hockey, as he's expected to be a top draft pick in the OHL draft next spring.
Bryan Rust(Honeybaked): Plays a similar style to his older brother Matt. He's a fast skater that works hard, and can contribute some offense. He ended up having a great week offensively.
Emerson Etem(Shattuck-St. Mary's(MN)): Likes to drive hard to the net. He's not huge, but I thought he used his size very well. Very good offensive talent.
Green Team Record: 3-2-0
Derek Forbort(Duluth East Bantam(MN)): Tall defenseman. If he can improve his foot speed, he should be a nice college prospect.
Michael Mersch(Team Illinois): Finished the week as the leading scorer. Very active player that always seems to be involved in the play. Showed the ability to hit, as well as score points.
Andrew Sinelli(Honeybaked): The leading scorer at the Select 14s didn't put up as many points this week. He's great exceptional hands, but he's really skinny. Once he gains a little weight, he should be a very dangerous player. He kind of reminded me of St. Cloud recruit Jared Festler.
Grey Team Record: 4-1-0
Jack Campbell(Honeybaked): Pretty good stats in net all week, and made a beautiful save on Sunday that created a buzz in the crowd.
Brandon Russo(Mid-Fairfield Blues): Not a big defenseman, but a very solid, dependable type. I thought he played very well both days.
Alex Aleardi(Compuware(MI)): Very good skater. I thought he played great. There were a lot of forwards from the metro-Detroit AAA programs, and I think he may have stood out as the best.
Kevin Tiefenwerth(Mid-Fairfield Blues): Needs to add a lot of weight, but looks like he has potential as a talented goal-scorer.
Quin Buckellew(Moorhead Bantams(MN): A very nice hitter.
Maroon Team Record: 3-2-0
D.J. Jones(Wayzata Bantams(MN)): A younger kid, and really small for a defenseman, but he does a nice job of moving the puck.
Carter Foguth(Compuware): One of Compuware's many huge defenseman that is still a little raw, but has a lot of talent.
Colten St. Clair(Phoenix Firebirds): One of the leading scorers at the tournament. Will only be a freshman next year.
Kyle Cook(Cleveland): A very big forward that has some nice offensive talent.
Navy Team
Jordan Nickerson(Shattuck-St. Mary’s): Scrappy, hard-working defenseman.
Jon Merrill(Little Caesar’s(MI)): Easily the best player at the camp. He’s 6’3, but skates like he’s 5’9”. Very smooth with the puck. Excellent in the defensive zone. Does a great job of picking up his man in the defensive zone.
Tyler Vanscourt(California Wave): A smaller, very fast defenseman.
Tyler Cratsenberg(SnoKing(WA?)): A bigger forward that can skate well and has a very hard shot.
Ryan Belonger(Green Bay Jr. Gamblers(WI)): Scored a hat trick on Tuesday, including one beautiful finish where he took the puck off his skate and was able to put it top shelf.
Cody Campbell(Pikes Peak Miners(CO)): Great week statistically, and made some really great saves on Tuesday.
Orange Team
Stephen Johns(Pittsburgh Hornets): A very big defenseman that skates really well. He has a lot of potential.
Austin Levi(Compuware): Another big defenseman with a lot of potential. Skates pretty well in open ice.
Matt Krug(Buffalo Regals): He’s in the Class of 2011. Made a couple mistakes each day, but has a lot of potential.
Evan Hoffman(Mt. St. Charles Academy(RI)): Had some nice moments on Sunday.
Brent Darnell(Catholic Central(MI)): Didn’t end up with great point totals, but I thought he was one of the best forwards there. A great two-way center. Skates well, very tough, and can win face-offs.
Alex Lippincott(Cleveland Barons): One of the bigger forwards at 6’0” tall. Great at controlling the puck and can fire a very nice snap shot. He can move pretty well, though his acceleration is just ok. He looked like a very mature player, with a style that would translate well to higher levels.
Tyler Parker(LA Hockey Club(CA)): Really stood out to me on Tuesday. Really nice combination of size and skill.
Purple Team
Kevin Gravel(Marquette American Legion(MI)): A really big defensive defenseman that can move fairly well. Very responsible in his own end.
Jason Zucker(Las Vegas Outlaws): A nice playmaker.
Jayce Douskey(Colorado Thunderbirds): Pretty talented all-around forward.
Adam Knochenmus(Roseau HS): Seeing him play with people his own age highlighted how good he is. Probably the best Minnesotan in the group. Not very big, but a very hard worker that really understands how to play the game.
Red Team
Jason Binkley(Cleveland Barons): One of the better defenseman at the camp. Skates well, can anticipate plays, and has a very good shot from the point.
Trevor Mingoia(Syracuse Stars): Put up a lot of points the first couple days. Talented, but still needs to fill out physically.
Nick Shore(Colorado Thunderbirds):Had a very good week statistically. Looks like a very nice prospect.
Casey Purpur(Grand Forks Jr. Sioux(ND)): One of the younger kids at the camp, but still showed a lot of talent.
Royal Team
Brandon Archibald: Big defenseman that is a great skater and passer. His team struggled all week, and he didn't play a great game on Tuesday, but he has a ton of potential. Looked like one of the top prospects for the future.
Jimmy Murray(Chicago Mission): A really little guy, but one of the fastest skaters that I saw.
Scott Wamsganz(Alaska All-Stars): Big power forward that can snap off a nice shot. Should be a force once he adds some more weight.
Max Gardiner(Minnetonka Bantams(MN)): Tall forward that can move pretty well. Maybe he’ll switch to defense like his older brother did?
Brandon Saad(Pittsburgh Hornets): A big, solid forward that skates really hard. An early front-runner for best forward in 2011.
Jared Knight(Compuware): Never really got things going offensively. One of the faster skaters at the camp, and can get to top speed very quickly. Extremely quick release on his slap shot, and still gets good pace on it.
Teal Team
Michael Gunn(Compuware): Big defenseman with nice athleticism, but still a little raw.
Austin Watson(Compuware): A very tall, skinny kid that occasionally looks like he hasn’t adjusted to how tall he is, but always looks extremely comfortable in the offensive zone. His snap short is an absolute laser. One of the forwards with the most potential at the camp.
Shane Sooth(LA Hockey Club): Talented power forward. Uses his size pretty well.
White Team
Matt Youso(International Falls HS(MN)): Skates almost as well as his older brother. I’m surprised that he only made the camp as an alternate, because I thought he was towards the higher-end of the defenseman.
Matt Nieto(LA Hockey Club): One of the best forwards at the camp. Very speedy, and has great hands.
Jean-Paul Lafontaine(Bozeman Ice Dogs(MT)): Should be a good player once he gets a little bigger.
Austin Czarnik(Compuware): One of the camp’s youngest players. Not a superstar like his brother Robbie was at that age, but should be a nice player once he grows a little more.
Luke Moffatt(Phoenix Firebirds): A lot of people were disappointed with his low point totals. He struggled to get things going offensively early in the week, but is still exceptionally talented. Aside from being so skilled, what stood out to me was how tenacious and competitive he was.
Tyler Bouchard(Mid-Fairfield Blues): Eastern player that I thought played very well.
Before I get to the players, there's a couple things I'd like to point out. First off, it should be obvious to most, but sometimes I feel it gets lost: these kids are still 14/15 years old. Everyone that makes it to the national level has tremendous talent, but also has a long ways to go in terms of development before they are ready for college hockey. It's not like the Select 17 Festival, where most players are just 11 months away from being drafted by the NHL, and many have at least a year Junior A hockey under their belt. The Select 15s is more about trying to judge potential. So that's what I'll try to do.
The same standard disclaimers still apply to this event. I watched about 2/3s of every game(since they overlap) on Sunday and Tuesday. I didn't see everything, but I'd like to think I saw a lot. I don't pay as much attention to goaltending, so comments on them are sparse. I'll also be listing the 06-07 team(and the state that team plays out of) for each player, as it was listed in the program, because odds are, most people haven't heard of most of these kids.
Black Team Record: 3-2
Alex Koopmeiners(St. Cloud Cathedral): Strong kid that works hard and can do just about everything fairly well.
TJ Tynan(Chicago Mission): A very small, playmaker-type player.
Quinn Smith(Mid-Fairfield Blues(CT)): An eastern kid that really stood out to me. A very active player that created some nice offense.
Jake Goldberg(Honeybaked(MI)): Extremely quick release on his shot makes him a very dangerous player.
Gold Team Record: 4-1-0
Chase Balisy(Jr. Canadiens(Ont.)): One of the most hyped kids coming into the camp. He's a very talented player. He was especially dangerous when working from behind the net. 99% chance that he won't play college hockey, as he's expected to be a top draft pick in the OHL draft next spring.
Bryan Rust(Honeybaked): Plays a similar style to his older brother Matt. He's a fast skater that works hard, and can contribute some offense. He ended up having a great week offensively.
Emerson Etem(Shattuck-St. Mary's(MN)): Likes to drive hard to the net. He's not huge, but I thought he used his size very well. Very good offensive talent.
Green Team Record: 3-2-0
Derek Forbort(Duluth East Bantam(MN)): Tall defenseman. If he can improve his foot speed, he should be a nice college prospect.
Michael Mersch(Team Illinois): Finished the week as the leading scorer. Very active player that always seems to be involved in the play. Showed the ability to hit, as well as score points.
Andrew Sinelli(Honeybaked): The leading scorer at the Select 14s didn't put up as many points this week. He's great exceptional hands, but he's really skinny. Once he gains a little weight, he should be a very dangerous player. He kind of reminded me of St. Cloud recruit Jared Festler.
Grey Team Record: 4-1-0
Jack Campbell(Honeybaked): Pretty good stats in net all week, and made a beautiful save on Sunday that created a buzz in the crowd.
Brandon Russo(Mid-Fairfield Blues): Not a big defenseman, but a very solid, dependable type. I thought he played very well both days.
Alex Aleardi(Compuware(MI)): Very good skater. I thought he played great. There were a lot of forwards from the metro-Detroit AAA programs, and I think he may have stood out as the best.
Kevin Tiefenwerth(Mid-Fairfield Blues): Needs to add a lot of weight, but looks like he has potential as a talented goal-scorer.
Quin Buckellew(Moorhead Bantams(MN): A very nice hitter.
Maroon Team Record: 3-2-0
D.J. Jones(Wayzata Bantams(MN)): A younger kid, and really small for a defenseman, but he does a nice job of moving the puck.
Carter Foguth(Compuware): One of Compuware's many huge defenseman that is still a little raw, but has a lot of talent.
Colten St. Clair(Phoenix Firebirds): One of the leading scorers at the tournament. Will only be a freshman next year.
Kyle Cook(Cleveland): A very big forward that has some nice offensive talent.
Navy Team
Jordan Nickerson(Shattuck-St. Mary’s): Scrappy, hard-working defenseman.
Jon Merrill(Little Caesar’s(MI)): Easily the best player at the camp. He’s 6’3, but skates like he’s 5’9”. Very smooth with the puck. Excellent in the defensive zone. Does a great job of picking up his man in the defensive zone.
Tyler Vanscourt(California Wave): A smaller, very fast defenseman.
Tyler Cratsenberg(SnoKing(WA?)): A bigger forward that can skate well and has a very hard shot.
Ryan Belonger(Green Bay Jr. Gamblers(WI)): Scored a hat trick on Tuesday, including one beautiful finish where he took the puck off his skate and was able to put it top shelf.
Cody Campbell(Pikes Peak Miners(CO)): Great week statistically, and made some really great saves on Tuesday.
Orange Team
Stephen Johns(Pittsburgh Hornets): A very big defenseman that skates really well. He has a lot of potential.
Austin Levi(Compuware): Another big defenseman with a lot of potential. Skates pretty well in open ice.
Matt Krug(Buffalo Regals): He’s in the Class of 2011. Made a couple mistakes each day, but has a lot of potential.
Evan Hoffman(Mt. St. Charles Academy(RI)): Had some nice moments on Sunday.
Brent Darnell(Catholic Central(MI)): Didn’t end up with great point totals, but I thought he was one of the best forwards there. A great two-way center. Skates well, very tough, and can win face-offs.
Alex Lippincott(Cleveland Barons): One of the bigger forwards at 6’0” tall. Great at controlling the puck and can fire a very nice snap shot. He can move pretty well, though his acceleration is just ok. He looked like a very mature player, with a style that would translate well to higher levels.
Tyler Parker(LA Hockey Club(CA)): Really stood out to me on Tuesday. Really nice combination of size and skill.
Purple Team
Kevin Gravel(Marquette American Legion(MI)): A really big defensive defenseman that can move fairly well. Very responsible in his own end.
Jason Zucker(Las Vegas Outlaws): A nice playmaker.
Jayce Douskey(Colorado Thunderbirds): Pretty talented all-around forward.
Adam Knochenmus(Roseau HS): Seeing him play with people his own age highlighted how good he is. Probably the best Minnesotan in the group. Not very big, but a very hard worker that really understands how to play the game.
Red Team
Jason Binkley(Cleveland Barons): One of the better defenseman at the camp. Skates well, can anticipate plays, and has a very good shot from the point.
Trevor Mingoia(Syracuse Stars): Put up a lot of points the first couple days. Talented, but still needs to fill out physically.
Nick Shore(Colorado Thunderbirds):Had a very good week statistically. Looks like a very nice prospect.
Casey Purpur(Grand Forks Jr. Sioux(ND)): One of the younger kids at the camp, but still showed a lot of talent.
Royal Team
Brandon Archibald: Big defenseman that is a great skater and passer. His team struggled all week, and he didn't play a great game on Tuesday, but he has a ton of potential. Looked like one of the top prospects for the future.
Jimmy Murray(Chicago Mission): A really little guy, but one of the fastest skaters that I saw.
Scott Wamsganz(Alaska All-Stars): Big power forward that can snap off a nice shot. Should be a force once he adds some more weight.
Max Gardiner(Minnetonka Bantams(MN)): Tall forward that can move pretty well. Maybe he’ll switch to defense like his older brother did?
Brandon Saad(Pittsburgh Hornets): A big, solid forward that skates really hard. An early front-runner for best forward in 2011.
Jared Knight(Compuware): Never really got things going offensively. One of the faster skaters at the camp, and can get to top speed very quickly. Extremely quick release on his slap shot, and still gets good pace on it.
Teal Team
Michael Gunn(Compuware): Big defenseman with nice athleticism, but still a little raw.
Austin Watson(Compuware): A very tall, skinny kid that occasionally looks like he hasn’t adjusted to how tall he is, but always looks extremely comfortable in the offensive zone. His snap short is an absolute laser. One of the forwards with the most potential at the camp.
Shane Sooth(LA Hockey Club): Talented power forward. Uses his size pretty well.
White Team
Matt Youso(International Falls HS(MN)): Skates almost as well as his older brother. I’m surprised that he only made the camp as an alternate, because I thought he was towards the higher-end of the defenseman.
Matt Nieto(LA Hockey Club): One of the best forwards at the camp. Very speedy, and has great hands.
Jean-Paul Lafontaine(Bozeman Ice Dogs(MT)): Should be a good player once he gets a little bigger.
Austin Czarnik(Compuware): One of the camp’s youngest players. Not a superstar like his brother Robbie was at that age, but should be a nice player once he grows a little more.
Luke Moffatt(Phoenix Firebirds): A lot of people were disappointed with his low point totals. He struggled to get things going offensively early in the week, but is still exceptionally talented. Aside from being so skilled, what stood out to me was how tenacious and competitive he was.
Tyler Bouchard(Mid-Fairfield Blues): Eastern player that I thought played very well.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Select 17 Camp Report
Disclaimers: Every player that makes it to this level of competition is an exceptional player. I tried to watch as much as possible, but it’s impossible to see everything. I’m sure there were things I missed. I’ll probably have less to say about goalies than the skaters because I think it’s difficult to judge goaltending performance over the short-term. I also paid a little closer attention to the kids that have made college commitments already.
Black Team:
Record: 3-2-0
Drew Olson: Probably the most pleasant surprise at the camp. I know some hockey people have thought he’s very underrated for a while, but he was probably one of the best defenseman at the camp. He’s a very good skater, plays a very physical game, and has a little offensive ability. He could be like his former Brainerd HS teammate Carl Sneep, who made a big move up NHL draft boards in his draft year. The only drawback for Olson is that he’s only 5’11”, as opposed to Sneep, who is 6’3”
Chris Wideman(Miami commit):Played very well. Should be an exceptional college player once he physically matures a little more.
Nick Pryor(Wisconsin commit): Starting to develop into the great player everyone thought he’d be. A great skater, and very good in the offensive end, including a great slap shot.
Phil McRae: Probably the best forward at the camp. He had a quiet year in London last year playing behind Pat Kane and Sam Gagner, but he should have a great season next year. He was really strong around the net, and understands how to score goals.
Mark Anthione(Maine commit): He was an eastern kid that I wasn’t familiar with before this camp, but his talent stood out to me.
Gold Team:
Record: 4-1-0
David Warsofsky(BU commit): Very relaxed and poised with the puck. Can make a great pass, even when he’s under a great deal of pressure. He has NHL-level skills, but lacks ideal NHL size.
Duncan McKellar: A big kid, that with a little more development could make a great power forward in college.
Grant Scott(Minnesota commit): He was playing forward, rather than defense, which he played with the NTDP last year, but I thought he was better at forward than defense. At forward, he could run around the ice and hit people, which is what he does best, and it didn’t matter as much if he took himself out of position to do so at forward. I didn’t see him contribute a lot offensively, but he did end the week with four goals. His future is definitely as a grinder rather than goal-scorer.
Jordy Murray(Wisconsin commit): I was surprised that he didn’t score a goal because his best attribute his is fantastic shot. He did register four assists though.
Nate Condon: He didn’t register a lot of points, but he’s a nice all-around player with a lot of potential.
Brian Inman: Had a great day on Friday to finish as the leading scorer in the tournament.
Colin South: He’s a big kid, and I really liked the way that he played.
Kyle Jean: Intriguing prospect. He’s 6’3” 200 lbs., and scored a really nice goal on Sunday.
Brady Hjelle(Duluth commit): Very talented, and ended up with great statistics for the week.
Green Team:
Record: 3-2-0
Steve West(OSU commit): Not very flashy, but played a solid, dependable game.
Eric Ringel(Notre Dame commit): He’s very good on both ends of the ice. Has a great low snap shot from the point that nets him a lot of points.
Joe Gleason(North Dakota commit): An excellent skater, and keeps improving his defense.
Danny Heath: A very talented defenseman that should be a solid college prospect once he matures a little more.
Brian Sheehan: One of the kids I wasn’t familiar with prior to the tournament that stood out to me.
Mike Fink(North Dakota): All of his points were scored on days I was there. He seemed to work well with future Sioux teammate Danny Kristo.
Danny Kristo(North Dakota): He’s always been a great skater, but playing with the NTDP last year seems to have helped make him a more complete player. He always seems very confident with the puck on his stick.
Grey Team:
Record: 4-1-0
Matt Donovan(Denver commit): I thought he had a tremendous camp. He was perhaps the best defensive defenseman at the camp. He’s a very nice skater, and has the ability to jump into the rush, but for the most part, he played conservatively, always kept the play in front of him, and rarely made a mistake.
Pat Gaul(Notre Dame commit): He didn’t have a great week offensively until the last day, but he’s a very fun player to watch. He’s always the hardest working player on the ice, and can make his impact felt even if he doesn’t do much offensively.
Derek Stepan(Wisconsin commit): I think he’s really developed a lot over the past year, and he looked like a fantastic player here.
P.J. Musico: He was the top statistical goalie at the camp, and was very impressive in both games I saw him play.
Maroon Team:
Record: 1-4-0
Michael Clemente: He was good, but not great in the games I saw, but he finished the week with pretty good stats. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a goalie knock the net off the posts as much as he does.
Max Nicastro(BU commit): Extremely smooth skater, and comfortable with the puck. Can make a nice pass in just about any situation. He’s listed at 6’3” 195 lbs., but looked a lot lankier.
Sean Lorenz(Notre Dame commit): I don’t think he’ll ever be a superstar, and he doesn’t really stand out in any particular area, but he’ll be a pretty dependable defenseman at the college level.
Tim Hall: I was really surprised that he didn’t have more points than he did. He’s a very good skater, and has great hands. He was the leading scorer on a bad USHL team last year, and I think he’ll have a big year next year.
Shawn Syzdlowski: He’s a really strong kid, and has decent skating ability to go along with his strength.
Troy Power: I don’t think the less-structured play benefits his style of play, but I still thought he played well. He’s probably the best in his age group along the boards and behind the net.
Colin Moore: Not flashy, and didn’t score a lot of points, but I think he’d be a valuable piece to any college hockey team.
Jake Youso(Minnesota commit): He was one of the fastest forwards at the camp. He finished the week with 5 points, but could have had even more if he had finished off a few more chances.
Navy Team:
Record: 2-3-0
Steve Spinell(Miami commit): Talented kid that had a pretty solid week despite not getting on the scoresheet.
Ryan Grimshaw(Harvard commit): I was very impressed with how he played. He’s an excellent defensive defenseman.
Adam Comrie: He probably has the most upside of anyone at the camp. He’s a big kid that is very physical and is good at jumping into the play. He’s a pretty good skater too. He had a lot of penalties, but more from being overly aggressive as opposed to being out of position.
Jesse Brown: A big forward with really nice skills. He scored a really nice goal on Sunday, but then didn’t score the rest of the week. He has a lot of talent though.
Luke Grenier: I thought he had an excellent week. He’s a smaller, more skilled kid that can put up a lot of points.
Josh Berge: He’s another kid that I think does better in a more structured environment where he can cycle the puck and play along the boards. He still has very good skills, though I thought his lack of size was more apparent here.
Zach Lehrke: A Minnesota kid that got thrown in as an alternate and was able to contribute a few points.
William Rapuzzi: He’s very good at controlling the puck on his stick. I’m really surprised he was held off the scoreboard for the week. He should be a college hockey player some day.
Orange Team:
Record: 2-3-0
Ryan Hegarty(Maine commit): Played very solid defense.
Luke Witkowski(Western Michigan commit): I was very impressed with him. An excellent skater, good size and strength, and he was pretty good with the puck. He was a great find by WMU’s coaching staff.
Jarrod Mermis: I wasn’t familiar with him before the camp, but he always seemed to be doing good things whenever I saw him.
AJ Jenks: I thought he looked excellent. He had such a size and strength advantage over everyone else that he was able to play a little higher level. He’s really starting to develop his skills a little more and become a more complete player.
Keegan Flaherty: I think he’s improved a lot over the past year. He had a very nice week here.
Ben Hanowski: I think he does better in a more structured setting, but he still finished the week with good offensive totals. He’s a very talented offensive player.
Purple Team:
Record: 3-2-0
Jordan Tibbett(MSU commit): I thought he played pretty well in the games I saw, though he made one really bad error in each game.
Ross Henry: I thought he was great the first day, and just ok on Thursday.
Jake Gardiner(Wisconsin commit): He’s a converted forward, and still looks like a forward playing defense. He was good offensively, but I think he could improve defensively.
Josh Bemis(Western Michigan commit): He’s an excellent skater for his size. He could be a little better with the puck, but he did rack up a lot of assists on the week.
Tyler Landman: He was all over the ice. Excellent skater and stickhandler, and is always working hard.
Colin Reddin: I thought he looked excellent here. One of the better playmakers at the camp. Unfortunately, it sounds like he’ll be going to the WHL.
Brock Montpetit(Wisconsin commit): He’s a very talented kid. This was the best I’ve ever seen him look. He should be a very good player for the Badgers.
Justin Florek(Northern Michigan): He showed flashes of brilliance, but also looked just ok for long periods of time. He did a good job of getting to the front of net and cashing in on chances. He should be a good college player, but probably not the superstar people thought he might be two years ago.
Red Team:
Record: 0-5-0
Joe Rogers: Faced a lot of rubber playing on a not-so-good team, and did pretty well. He got shelled on Thursday and that killed his stats, but other than that, he had a very good week. He’s super quick. I really hope he finds a way to play college hockey.
Seth Helgeson(Minnesota commit): He’s still very raw, but I thought he played pretty well here. He has an absolute cannon for a shot.
Joe Marciano: He does everything pretty well, but doesn’t really stand out in any particular area.
John O’Neill(Duluth commit): A very solid, complete all-around player. Not flashy, but does everything really well.
Craig Kitto: A speedy little player.
Kevin McCarey(UNH commit): I was very impressed with his offensive ability. He set himself up in the high slot a number of times and fired a fantastic wrist shot.
Royal Team:
Record: 3-2-0
Corey Fienhage: A big, mean defenseman.
John Carlson(UMass commit): A big kid with a lot of offensive ability.
Tyler Fleurent: Caught my eye on a couple different occasions with nice plays.
Mitch Wahl: Tremendously talented. I was a little disappointed with how he played on the first day, but he looked great on Thursday. Very smooth skater, excellent hands, and can throw his weight around a little bit too.
Nate Dewhurst(Denver commit): A nice playmaker.
Danny Mattson: Tremendously talented and still really young. I was once again impressed with his speed, and he has good finishing ability. He’ll be one of the most highly-sought recruits for 2009.
Chris Bournazos: Not a very big kid, but he did a good job of getting himself into position in front of the net to score goals.
Teal Team:
Record: 3-2-0
Bryce Aneloski: I thought he played very well this week.
Malcolm Lyles: Probably the most intriguing prospect at the camp. I think he was the fastest north-south skater at the camp, and had a few jaw-dropping rushes that impressed everybody, but also made a bunch of mistakes and got caught too far up the ice a couple times. If he could improve a little in the defensive end, he’d be a great player.
Mike Cichy(North Dakota commit): He had a great week offensively, especially later in the week. He’s definitely a kid that knows how to get the puck into the net.
Brett Beebe: Another kid that knows how to score. I was very impressed with how good he was around the net.
Marc Rodriguez: Not very big, but has a great shot.
Vinny Saponari: I thought he was one of the better forwards at the camp. He’s very confident and poised with the puck and always seemed to be creating offensive chances. He probably had an even better week than his point totals indicate.
Aaron Crandall: I think he’s one of the top goalies for his birth year. He played a very aggressive, but it worked for him. He finished the week with great stats.
White Team:
Record: 2-3-0
Aaron Ness(Minnesota commit): The most mature hockey player at the camp. Sees and understands the game better than anybody. It’s starting to get to the point where his lack of size is a little more of an issue, but for the most part, he can skate well enough that it isn’t too much of a problem.
Austin Handley(Michigan State commit): A big, solid defenseman that delivered some really nice hits. I thought he played very well.
Robby McDyre: He caught my eye a couple of times on Thursday.
Charlie Thauwald: A big kid with loads of potential. He could develop into a very nice power forward.
Black Team:
Record: 3-2-0
Drew Olson: Probably the most pleasant surprise at the camp. I know some hockey people have thought he’s very underrated for a while, but he was probably one of the best defenseman at the camp. He’s a very good skater, plays a very physical game, and has a little offensive ability. He could be like his former Brainerd HS teammate Carl Sneep, who made a big move up NHL draft boards in his draft year. The only drawback for Olson is that he’s only 5’11”, as opposed to Sneep, who is 6’3”
Chris Wideman(Miami commit):Played very well. Should be an exceptional college player once he physically matures a little more.
Nick Pryor(Wisconsin commit): Starting to develop into the great player everyone thought he’d be. A great skater, and very good in the offensive end, including a great slap shot.
Phil McRae: Probably the best forward at the camp. He had a quiet year in London last year playing behind Pat Kane and Sam Gagner, but he should have a great season next year. He was really strong around the net, and understands how to score goals.
Mark Anthione(Maine commit): He was an eastern kid that I wasn’t familiar with before this camp, but his talent stood out to me.
Gold Team:
Record: 4-1-0
David Warsofsky(BU commit): Very relaxed and poised with the puck. Can make a great pass, even when he’s under a great deal of pressure. He has NHL-level skills, but lacks ideal NHL size.
Duncan McKellar: A big kid, that with a little more development could make a great power forward in college.
Grant Scott(Minnesota commit): He was playing forward, rather than defense, which he played with the NTDP last year, but I thought he was better at forward than defense. At forward, he could run around the ice and hit people, which is what he does best, and it didn’t matter as much if he took himself out of position to do so at forward. I didn’t see him contribute a lot offensively, but he did end the week with four goals. His future is definitely as a grinder rather than goal-scorer.
Jordy Murray(Wisconsin commit): I was surprised that he didn’t score a goal because his best attribute his is fantastic shot. He did register four assists though.
Nate Condon: He didn’t register a lot of points, but he’s a nice all-around player with a lot of potential.
Brian Inman: Had a great day on Friday to finish as the leading scorer in the tournament.
Colin South: He’s a big kid, and I really liked the way that he played.
Kyle Jean: Intriguing prospect. He’s 6’3” 200 lbs., and scored a really nice goal on Sunday.
Brady Hjelle(Duluth commit): Very talented, and ended up with great statistics for the week.
Green Team:
Record: 3-2-0
Steve West(OSU commit): Not very flashy, but played a solid, dependable game.
Eric Ringel(Notre Dame commit): He’s very good on both ends of the ice. Has a great low snap shot from the point that nets him a lot of points.
Joe Gleason(North Dakota commit): An excellent skater, and keeps improving his defense.
Danny Heath: A very talented defenseman that should be a solid college prospect once he matures a little more.
Brian Sheehan: One of the kids I wasn’t familiar with prior to the tournament that stood out to me.
Mike Fink(North Dakota): All of his points were scored on days I was there. He seemed to work well with future Sioux teammate Danny Kristo.
Danny Kristo(North Dakota): He’s always been a great skater, but playing with the NTDP last year seems to have helped make him a more complete player. He always seems very confident with the puck on his stick.
Grey Team:
Record: 4-1-0
Matt Donovan(Denver commit): I thought he had a tremendous camp. He was perhaps the best defensive defenseman at the camp. He’s a very nice skater, and has the ability to jump into the rush, but for the most part, he played conservatively, always kept the play in front of him, and rarely made a mistake.
Pat Gaul(Notre Dame commit): He didn’t have a great week offensively until the last day, but he’s a very fun player to watch. He’s always the hardest working player on the ice, and can make his impact felt even if he doesn’t do much offensively.
Derek Stepan(Wisconsin commit): I think he’s really developed a lot over the past year, and he looked like a fantastic player here.
P.J. Musico: He was the top statistical goalie at the camp, and was very impressive in both games I saw him play.
Maroon Team:
Record: 1-4-0
Michael Clemente: He was good, but not great in the games I saw, but he finished the week with pretty good stats. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a goalie knock the net off the posts as much as he does.
Max Nicastro(BU commit): Extremely smooth skater, and comfortable with the puck. Can make a nice pass in just about any situation. He’s listed at 6’3” 195 lbs., but looked a lot lankier.
Sean Lorenz(Notre Dame commit): I don’t think he’ll ever be a superstar, and he doesn’t really stand out in any particular area, but he’ll be a pretty dependable defenseman at the college level.
Tim Hall: I was really surprised that he didn’t have more points than he did. He’s a very good skater, and has great hands. He was the leading scorer on a bad USHL team last year, and I think he’ll have a big year next year.
Shawn Syzdlowski: He’s a really strong kid, and has decent skating ability to go along with his strength.
Troy Power: I don’t think the less-structured play benefits his style of play, but I still thought he played well. He’s probably the best in his age group along the boards and behind the net.
Colin Moore: Not flashy, and didn’t score a lot of points, but I think he’d be a valuable piece to any college hockey team.
Jake Youso(Minnesota commit): He was one of the fastest forwards at the camp. He finished the week with 5 points, but could have had even more if he had finished off a few more chances.
Navy Team:
Record: 2-3-0
Steve Spinell(Miami commit): Talented kid that had a pretty solid week despite not getting on the scoresheet.
Ryan Grimshaw(Harvard commit): I was very impressed with how he played. He’s an excellent defensive defenseman.
Adam Comrie: He probably has the most upside of anyone at the camp. He’s a big kid that is very physical and is good at jumping into the play. He’s a pretty good skater too. He had a lot of penalties, but more from being overly aggressive as opposed to being out of position.
Jesse Brown: A big forward with really nice skills. He scored a really nice goal on Sunday, but then didn’t score the rest of the week. He has a lot of talent though.
Luke Grenier: I thought he had an excellent week. He’s a smaller, more skilled kid that can put up a lot of points.
Josh Berge: He’s another kid that I think does better in a more structured environment where he can cycle the puck and play along the boards. He still has very good skills, though I thought his lack of size was more apparent here.
Zach Lehrke: A Minnesota kid that got thrown in as an alternate and was able to contribute a few points.
William Rapuzzi: He’s very good at controlling the puck on his stick. I’m really surprised he was held off the scoreboard for the week. He should be a college hockey player some day.
Orange Team:
Record: 2-3-0
Ryan Hegarty(Maine commit): Played very solid defense.
Luke Witkowski(Western Michigan commit): I was very impressed with him. An excellent skater, good size and strength, and he was pretty good with the puck. He was a great find by WMU’s coaching staff.
Jarrod Mermis: I wasn’t familiar with him before the camp, but he always seemed to be doing good things whenever I saw him.
AJ Jenks: I thought he looked excellent. He had such a size and strength advantage over everyone else that he was able to play a little higher level. He’s really starting to develop his skills a little more and become a more complete player.
Keegan Flaherty: I think he’s improved a lot over the past year. He had a very nice week here.
Ben Hanowski: I think he does better in a more structured setting, but he still finished the week with good offensive totals. He’s a very talented offensive player.
Purple Team:
Record: 3-2-0
Jordan Tibbett(MSU commit): I thought he played pretty well in the games I saw, though he made one really bad error in each game.
Ross Henry: I thought he was great the first day, and just ok on Thursday.
Jake Gardiner(Wisconsin commit): He’s a converted forward, and still looks like a forward playing defense. He was good offensively, but I think he could improve defensively.
Josh Bemis(Western Michigan commit): He’s an excellent skater for his size. He could be a little better with the puck, but he did rack up a lot of assists on the week.
Tyler Landman: He was all over the ice. Excellent skater and stickhandler, and is always working hard.
Colin Reddin: I thought he looked excellent here. One of the better playmakers at the camp. Unfortunately, it sounds like he’ll be going to the WHL.
Brock Montpetit(Wisconsin commit): He’s a very talented kid. This was the best I’ve ever seen him look. He should be a very good player for the Badgers.
Justin Florek(Northern Michigan): He showed flashes of brilliance, but also looked just ok for long periods of time. He did a good job of getting to the front of net and cashing in on chances. He should be a good college player, but probably not the superstar people thought he might be two years ago.
Red Team:
Record: 0-5-0
Joe Rogers: Faced a lot of rubber playing on a not-so-good team, and did pretty well. He got shelled on Thursday and that killed his stats, but other than that, he had a very good week. He’s super quick. I really hope he finds a way to play college hockey.
Seth Helgeson(Minnesota commit): He’s still very raw, but I thought he played pretty well here. He has an absolute cannon for a shot.
Joe Marciano: He does everything pretty well, but doesn’t really stand out in any particular area.
John O’Neill(Duluth commit): A very solid, complete all-around player. Not flashy, but does everything really well.
Craig Kitto: A speedy little player.
Kevin McCarey(UNH commit): I was very impressed with his offensive ability. He set himself up in the high slot a number of times and fired a fantastic wrist shot.
Royal Team:
Record: 3-2-0
Corey Fienhage: A big, mean defenseman.
John Carlson(UMass commit): A big kid with a lot of offensive ability.
Tyler Fleurent: Caught my eye on a couple different occasions with nice plays.
Mitch Wahl: Tremendously talented. I was a little disappointed with how he played on the first day, but he looked great on Thursday. Very smooth skater, excellent hands, and can throw his weight around a little bit too.
Nate Dewhurst(Denver commit): A nice playmaker.
Danny Mattson: Tremendously talented and still really young. I was once again impressed with his speed, and he has good finishing ability. He’ll be one of the most highly-sought recruits for 2009.
Chris Bournazos: Not a very big kid, but he did a good job of getting himself into position in front of the net to score goals.
Teal Team:
Record: 3-2-0
Bryce Aneloski: I thought he played very well this week.
Malcolm Lyles: Probably the most intriguing prospect at the camp. I think he was the fastest north-south skater at the camp, and had a few jaw-dropping rushes that impressed everybody, but also made a bunch of mistakes and got caught too far up the ice a couple times. If he could improve a little in the defensive end, he’d be a great player.
Mike Cichy(North Dakota commit): He had a great week offensively, especially later in the week. He’s definitely a kid that knows how to get the puck into the net.
Brett Beebe: Another kid that knows how to score. I was very impressed with how good he was around the net.
Marc Rodriguez: Not very big, but has a great shot.
Vinny Saponari: I thought he was one of the better forwards at the camp. He’s very confident and poised with the puck and always seemed to be creating offensive chances. He probably had an even better week than his point totals indicate.
Aaron Crandall: I think he’s one of the top goalies for his birth year. He played a very aggressive, but it worked for him. He finished the week with great stats.
White Team:
Record: 2-3-0
Aaron Ness(Minnesota commit): The most mature hockey player at the camp. Sees and understands the game better than anybody. It’s starting to get to the point where his lack of size is a little more of an issue, but for the most part, he can skate well enough that it isn’t too much of a problem.
Austin Handley(Michigan State commit): A big, solid defenseman that delivered some really nice hits. I thought he played very well.
Robby McDyre: He caught my eye a couple of times on Thursday.
Charlie Thauwald: A big kid with loads of potential. He could develop into a very nice power forward.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)