Neutral Zone’s women’s scouting staff made it to the Rush Showcase in Brampton, Ontario over the weekend of June 5 – 8, marking the start of the summer scouting season.
The Rush Showcase is the first major event in women’s amateur hockey to occur after the May “dead period” where NCAA Division 1 schools are not allowed to recruit. After Rush, Neutral Zone staff will be headed to the upcoming USA Hockey Top 66 camp, and the U18 and U15 development camps.
With around 600 players present, there was plenty of talent at the Rush Showcase for staff to see and Director of Women’s Hockey, Jessica Cameron, as well as former CIS coach and Neutral Zone staffer, Tim Manastersky, enjoyed both the level of play as well as the organization of the tournament.
Detailed rosters were available for all teams and a precise schedule was provided to allow Neutral Zone scouts to stay on track over the course of the weekend. As a result, Cameron and Manastersky alone were both able to watch every time in the showcase at least twice.
One common sentiment among Neutral Zone scouts present was how impressed they all were with the way the younger players stood out. Cameron, for example, had gone into the event planning to focus more on older players, but quickly realized that the young talent could not be ignored.
At the conclusion of the event, 36 players and four goalies were selected to the tournament All-Star team. We are unclear as to how the All-Star team was selected, and while the selected players were all deserving, Neutral Zone scouts said that they were plenty of other players whose performances deserved recognition as well.
The following is a list of 80 players – not in any exact order or ranking – who our scouts felt performed well and stood out the most in this particular tournament. While it may not necessarily be indicative of an overall top 80 ranking for this group of players, it is our top 80 for this specific showcase. Included in the list are the players’ names, numbers, teams, birth years etc., as well as a few notes from our scouts on each player.
This list of players is based on the roster information provided by the tournament, so we cannot guarantee 100-percent accuracy in terms of the right names with the right numbers, though we expect that it is mostly accurate. Tournament All-Star selections have been bolded.
| Pos | Name | GY | League Team | Comments |
| F | Madelyn Bellamy | Hamilton MAA | Complete player on both sides of the puck | |
| F | Erika Bellamy | Hamilton MAA | Speed, hands and effort in both ends | |
| F | Isabelle Mastantuono | Oakville MAA | Solid two way player | |
| F | Jayden Denomme | 2016 | North Bay BAA | Plays with speed |
| F | Mary Mccafferty | 2017 | OHA | Plays smart with speed |
| F | Emily Sloan | 2017 | Ohio U19 | Hard working player with good vision and an impressive shot |
| D | Emma-Lee Martel | 2017 | OHA | Good skating, competitive smart playmaker |
| F | Brooke DiCicco | 2017 | Guelph MAA | Nice hands and a good shot |
| F | Jocelyn Ballantyne | 2017 | Saugeen MAA | Great hockey sense and compete level. Plays with head up and works well off the puck |
| D | Jillian Banks | 2017 | Barrie IAA | Offensive defensemen with a great point shot |
| F | Hannah Smithson | 2017 | Ottawa Lady 67’s | Fast and competitive |
| D | Allison Stathakis | 2017 | Culver Academy | Good sized D who can score from the point |
| F | Bridgid Goris | 2017 | Bluewater IAA | Solid two way player |
| F | Shelby Bradford | 2017 | Belle Tire U16 | Smart playmaker |
| F | Katherine Birkby | 2017 | Cambridge MAA | Hard working player with sped |
| F | Ellie Sasaki | 2017 | Durham West MAA | Consistent effort with speed and skill |
| D | Micayla Macintyre | 2017 | Procresting Pens MAAA | Smooth Skater with skill and the ability to score |
| F | Leah Czerwinski | 2017 | Buffalo Bisons U16 | Good skating playmaker who plays hard |
| F | Devin Kay | 2017 | Kitchener MAA | Good size D who is strong in front of the net and creates offense |
| F | Justina Beard | 2017 | Rideau MAA | Good size with fast skating and smart decisions |
| G | Kaitlyn Booth | 2018 | Stoney Creek MAA | Athletic goaltender with good movement |
| D | Meagan Barry | 2018 | Etobicoke MAA | Quick player with good skill |
| D | Josie Chisholm | 2018 | N. Subway Selects MAAA | Good rushes up ice to create offense |
| F | Taylor Trussler | 2018 | Brantford MAA | Strong very skilled player |
| F | Meghan Anton | 2018 | Cambridge IAA | Skilled two way player |
| D | Avery Webster | 2018 | Cambridge MAA | Uses her body well and plays smart |
| F | Lilane Perreault | 2018 | Chicago Fury U16 | Hard working player with a good shot |
| F | Angelique Page | 2018 | Kanata MAA | Hard working, good skating playmaker |
| F | Maureen McNerney | 2018 | CYA U16 | Exciting skilled player |
| D | Makyla Porter | 2018 | Guelph MAA | Plays smart and skates back hard to make up for mistakes |
| F | Kira Memet | 2018 | Metro Boston Pizza MAAA | Quick player who can score |
| G | Madison Oakes | 2018 | Oakville MAA | Good coverage of the net with good movement reaction time |
| F | Catherine Trevors | 2018 | Burlington BAA | Crafty player who does great work off the puck |
| F | Chicara Aceti | 2018 | Sara Bauer Academy | Strong player with good skill, skating, and shot |
| F | Mayla Mayer | 2018 | St. Catherines MAA | Skilled player who makes good quick decisions |
| D | Emma Jones | 2018 | NY Storm IA | Good sized D with a hard shot and makes good breakout decisions |
| D | Meagan Grant | 2018 | Sherbrooke Phoenix U19 | Solid and rough defender who is good in corners and in front of the net |
| F | Hanna Tundt | 2018 | Toronto MAA | Hard working and aggressive but also has good awareness of the game |
| F | Malia Leveson | 2018 | The Lawrenceville School | Smart, fast, skilled player willing to dig the puck out of anywhere |
| D | Natasha Simioni | 2018 | London MAA | Size, speed and ability |
| F | Hayley Robitaille | 2018 | Kanata MAA | Moves the puck up ice with speed and skill |
| D | Chloe Harvey | 2018 | Rochester Monarchs U16 | Solid smart defensemen with offensive capability |
| D | Hanna Rose | 2018 | OHA Gold | Good offensive D with a great shot |
| D | Keeley Rose | 2018 | Syracuse Nationals U19 | competitive offensive D |
| F | Annalise Andrews | 2018 | Belle Tire U16 | Quick competitive playmaker |
| F | Katie Trudeau | 2018 | Vikings U16 | Good speed and gritty worker |
| D | Sabrina Schuett | 2018 | Kitchener MAA | Exciting s, smart, skilled D |
| F | Caitlan Krasinski | 2018 | Kitchener MAA | Makes plays in both ends |
| G | Julia Maguire | 2018 | Honeybaked U16 | Good size in net and challenges the puck well |
| F | Anna Segedi | 2019 | Belle Tire U16 | Good speed and skill and not afraid to battle |
| F | Kelly Turner | 2019 | Cambridge MAA | Hard working, good skating forward |
| F | Courtney Hall | 2019 | Honeybaked U14 | Good vision and hands. Makes quick decisions |
| F | Shannon Hollands | 2019 | Mark Stouff BAA | Skilled player who battles hard |
| D | Olivia Hilton | 2019 | Chatam BAA | Smooth crafty player with good hands and upside |
| F | Mallory Dolorfino | 2019 | Fox Motors U14 | Speedy and dangerous in the offensive zone |
| D | Jules Robert | 2019 | Sault Ste Marie BAA | Smart competitive D |
| F | Tyanna Irvin | 2019 | Gloucester BAA | Competes hard and makes plays |
| F | Leah Herrfort | 2019 | Saugeen BAA | Good finisher with good upside |
| F | Annmarie FitzGerlad | 2019 | Gilmour Academy | Smooth hands and great vision |
| D | Taylor Zahirnyi | 2019 | Princeton U16 | Offensive defensemen with good speed |
| F | Alexis Schneider | 2019 | Waterloo BAA | Quick player who makes smart decisions |
| D | Nicole Guidi | 2019 | Gilmour Academy | Makes smart decisions and has a great point shot |
| D | Lindsey Smith | 2019 | Subway Selects Bantam | Smooth hands to move the puck up ice |
| F | Brooklyn Duff | 2019 | Stoney Creek BAA | Tenacious competitor with skating and smarts |
| F | Lokelani Antonio | 2019 | Seattle Admirals U16 | Gritty player who finds tape and make plays |
| F | Mia Morano | 2019 | Oakville BAA | Net front presence with good speed, skill, and shot |
| F | Sarah Bukvic | 2019 | Stoney Creek BAA | Hard working player willing to play both ends |
| D | Hannah Dub | 2019 | Brampton BAA | Good body positioning, point shot, and smart on the pinch |
| D | Chailynn Compton | 2019 | Gloucester BAA | Speed and puck handling ability |
| F | Daniella Calabrese | 2019 | Whitby BAA | Competitive all over the ice with good speed and skill |
| F | Jessica Ciarrocchi | 2020 | Philly Flyers U14 | Fast crafty player |
| F | Abbey Murphy | 2020 | Chicago Mission U14 | Buzzes around the ice with speed and skill |
| F | Payton Luff | 2020 | Honeybaked U14 | Gets the puck to the net with skill and a good shot |
| F | Chantal Ste-Croix | 2020 | Brampton BAA | Very hard working player who has good upside |
| F | Chloe McNeil | 2020 | Nepean BAA | Speed, skill and compete |
| F | Lyndie Lobdell | 2020 | Chicago Mission U14 | Feisty player with all around good skill, shot and speed |
| F | Rayla Clemons | 2020 | DLC U14 | Good skills and speed |
| F | Julia Bolduc | 2020 | Gloucester BAA | Aggressive player who can make plays |
| F | Claire O’Shaughnessy | 2020 | CYA U14 | competitive , good skating playmaker |
| F | Abby Newhook | 2021 | St Johns Boys | Stands out as a younger player with her hard work. Good upside |