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.
