
League: MJHL
Home Team: Selkirk Steelers
Visiting Team: Neepawa Natives
Arena: Selkirk Recreation Complex – Selkirk, MB
Date: December 5th, 2017
Game Time: 7:30pm (CT)
Age Group: Junior “A” (1997-2001 Birth Year)
Introduction: A pivotal game between two teams stuck in the middle of the standings and looking to make up some ground. Neepawa jumped out to the 1-0 lead with Selkirk responding shortly after to make it 1-1 after the first. The Steelers would go ahead 3-2 after the second and didn’t look back from there. They took this one 5-2 the final and out shot Neepawa 52 to 33.
Players we noted this game:
Neepawa Natives
Jordan Martin #27 (F, R, 5’11/185lbs, 06/28/1997, Winnipeg MB)
Jordan plays a fast game; he loves to lots of pressure on defenders and cause turnovers. He has quick acceleration and he has that extra gear when skating north-south. He sees the ice well and makes good reads on his passes and positioning. He finished the night with two assists and played a lot of power play time. Very talented with the puck and can process the game at a high speed. Grade: A
Griffin Chwaliboga #5 (D, R, 6’2/210lbs, 05/17/1998, Arborg MB)
Griffin is a smooth skating defenseman with good smarts and a high hockey IQ. He has good mobility and he plays physical and aggressive. The 19 year old is strong on his skates and has good edge work; he limited his gaps and stepped up at the right time. The 98 displayed a strong shot from the point and moves the puck quickly and efficiently on the power play. He finished the night with one goal. Grade: A-
Zach Johnson #28 (F, R, 5’11/175lbs, 11/19/1997, Green Bay WI)
Zach is a hard-working winger who plays on the team’s top line and has smooth hands. He handles the puck well at full –speed and in tight areas, he sees the ice well and is creative with his puck movement. He was always giving 100% effort on every shift and was hard on the fore check and back check. He lacks that extra gear to really break away from defenders. Grade: B+
Zack Smith #20 (F, R, 6’2/185lbs, 05/25/2001, Austin MB)
Zack is a power-forward with good straight-away speed that he used to beat defenders wide while driving the net. He made a nice read on Natives first goal when he stayed near the far blue line and caught the Steelers in a change. He received a nice pass and made no mistake on the partial breakaway when he wired a wrist-shot past the goalie. The 2001 is hard to knock off the puck and uses his size to shield pucks and battle along the boards. Grade: B
Justin Metcalf #11 (F, R, 6’2/185lbs, 06/11/1997, Winnipeg MB)
Justin is a skilled forward with good size and strength. He has smooth hands and can dangle at full-speed; he is strong on his skates and protects the puck well. The 97 makes hard-accurate passes and has good vision in the offensive zone. He is smooth with his breakouts and played a lot of power play time on the top unit. He was held pointless tonight, he had a few good looks but just couldn’t finish. The 20 year old currently has 37 points through 31 games this year. Grade: B-
Jake MacLennan #30 (G, L, 6’8/220, 09/23/1998, Yarmouth ME)
Jake was busy in tonight’s game, facing 51 shots and stopping 47 of them for a .921 save percentage. He’s a monster in the net and doesn’t give shooters a lot to look at. He moves well in the crease for a bigger goalie and he showed a lot of fight while tracking pucks through traffic and during scrums in front of the net. The Steelers were able to beat him on some low shots tonight; it will be interesting to see if that trend continues in future games. Nonetheless, the 1998 born goalie is a very intriguing prospect. Grade: B-
Selkirk Steelers
Connor Barley #90 (F, L, 6’0/187lbs, 02/25/1998, St. Andrews MB)
Connor is a threat to score every time he’s on the ice, he has a lot of talent with the puck and he has a high hockey IQ. He handles the puck well at full-speed and he makes great reads on his passes. He sees the ice well and has solid vision. The 1998 has an accurate wrist-shot with a strong velocity and quickness. He plays a well-rounded game and isn’t afraid of battle for pucks along the boards and in the corners. He finished the night with 2 goals and now has 39 points through 27 games. Grade: A
Nate Halvorsen #20 (F, R, 6’3/181lbs, 06/26/1998, Winnipeg MB)
Nate is a big power-forward with strong skating abilities and good puck protection. He plays physical and is a monster on the cycle and in front of the net. He has good mobility and can really motor down the boards when he gets going. The 1998 has good vision and distributes the puck well to his teammates. He played a lot of power play time and finished the night with 2 assists. Grade: A
Ryan Gardiner #3 (D, L, 6’0/174lbs, 02/25/1997, Winnipeg MB)
Ryan is a solid two-way defenseman with a very high hockey IQ. He plays a smart game and knows where to be at all times; he anticipates the play and makes quick reads and decisions. He moves the puck well and has a great first pass out of his own end. He controls his gaps and has a strong shot from the point. The 1997 has very good mobility and can skate with anyone on the ice, he has quick lateral movement and puck handling to adjust his shooting angles and get his shots on net. He is the Steelers captain and he leads by example with his strong consistent play. Grade: A
Zachary Bennet #31 (G, L, 6’0/157lbs, 10/01/2000, Winnipeg MB)
Zachary is a quick goalie with big-save ability. He challenges his shooters and plays with confidence at the top of the crease. He did well to swallow up his rebounds or deflect them out of harm’s way. The 2000 has a nice calmness about his play in net and doesn’t overplay situations that could get him caught out of position. He stopped 31 of 33 shots tonight for a .939 save percentage. Grade: B+
Nico Labossiere #10 (F, L, 5’9/170lbs, 02/24/1998, Winnipeg MB)
Nico is a skilled centre with smooth hands and a quick first step. He has strong skating abilities and is relentless with his puck pressure. He played a lot of power play and penalty kill time and was great at causing turnovers on the PK and moved the puck quickly and efficiently on the PP. He sees the ice well and makes good reads on his passes. The 1998 handles the puck well at full-speed and is great at distributing it amongst his teammates. Grade: B
William Middleton #19 (F, R, 6’0/209lbs, 06/03/1998, Beausejour MB)
William is a hard-working winger who plays a solid 200ft game. He battles hard in the corners and is effective on the cycle. He drives the net with his size and strength and is tough to knock off the puck. He had a lot of scoring chances tonight and managed to get 1 goal on a nice shot in close to net. He lacks the speed to be a consistent threat to score but he plays a smart game and is always working hard on every shift. Grade: B-