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Game/Tournament Reviews

USHL Fall Classic U16: Top 110

Articles, Feature Story, Game/Tournament Reviews, Prospects, Scouting Reports

 

The USHL Fall Classic U16 Tournament didn’t disappoint with the caliber of teams and talent from around the country.  The high end field displayed many teams that have the capability to compete for a U16 USA Hockey Tier 1 National Title next spring.  Don’t be surprised if there is 7-9 teams in this field that are consistently ranked in the top 20 in the country throughout the 2016-17 season.  The tournament was won by the Minnesota Blades, a team that competes in the Fall made up of some of the top players in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.  The Blades played a very consistent tournament and were able to hold off the Chicago Mission and Honeybaked in the Semifinals and Finals respectively.  An early U16 Tournament can bring some challenges for the 01’s as they compete against older players for the first time.  As the year goes on, look for some of the 01’s to move up in our rank in future Neutral Zone reports.

 

Alex Turcotte (L, Chicago Mission, ‘01) –  High end talent with all the tools.  Solid size and strength with a skill set to go along with it.  A strong and powerful skater who can separate from defenders.  He can make plays on the rush or pick teams apart below the dots in tight areas. For an ’01 to make such a seamless transition to midget hockey says a lot about where his game is at. A shoe-in NTDP Camp Invite. College: Wisconsin  Grade: A

 

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Hitmen Classic U16 Division Top 25

Articles, Game/Tournament Reviews, Prospects, Scouting Reports

Neutral covered the U16 division at the Hitmen Classic. There was not a lot of parity and players listed below are generally on the teams that represented the upper echelon of the showcase. Players noted here had a nice weekend and grades are in relation to others on the list.

FORWARDS

A

Clark Kerner (R, 5’6”, 165lbs, ’00, Skipjacks)–hands down the best U16 forward here. Dynamic in every game …highly offensive player, good skater good acceleration, nice hands, sees the ice well, good accurate wrist shot.4 GP 5-7-12!  Not great size.

Joseph Baez (R, 5’8”, 158lbs, ’00, Skipjacks)-small guy, quick feet,. Good hands in tight. Opportunist, feet always moving, great work ethic.4 GP 4-6-10. Only kept off scoreboard one game.

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NAHL Showcase: Top 200

Articles, Feature Story, Game/Tournament Reviews, Prospects, Scouting Reports

Neutral Zone headed to Minnesota for the annual NAHL Showcase. The scouts gathered in flocks once again in Blaine, MN to see the North American Hockey League’s annual gathering. The country’s only Tier II hockey league has had a knack for producing many Division I and Division III players that shine in their collegiate careers. The showcase displays regular season games, but some teams are still in a preseason mode and trying to sort out their rosters as players are showing up from the USHL daily. It’s early in the year and things will change during the season, but here are the players that had good weekends for themselves in front of the scouts.

The list of 200 players is sorted by teams. Grades reflect performance only here at the showcase and are simply in relation to the other players listed below. For example, a “C-“ player here is not a “C-“ player in the NAHL, simply in this group of 200. All players below have a link to their player profile.

One note: We had very limited viewing of Coulee Region (just how the schedule worked out) and thus only one player is noted.

We were in Blaine for every game of the showcase. We will be attending more NAHL games all season and will have game reports for each one. These evaluations are just the beginning. It looks like it is going to be a good year for the NAHL and we will have it all covered.

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Toronto Titans Minor Midget Tournament: Top 64 Rankings

Articles, Feature Story, Game/Tournament Reviews, OHL, Prospects, Scouting Reports

The Toronto Titans Tournament is a kick off to the minor midget season and we had several scouts in attendance. Some players we got a chance to see more than others, so in this report we ranked the players on the top and then did an honorable mention section for players we had limited viewings of. Our Ontario team of 10 scouts will be on the road all season covering both tournaments and individual games and will release an OHL Draft Top 300 after the Toronto Marlies Tournament in late December. All 64 players listed below will have player profiles on our website. Some have already been in our database and others earned a spot on the site after their performance here.

Example:

Jack Hughes (L, 5-9/170, Toronto Marlies, 2001) Hughes has an impressive combination of speed, skill, playmaking ability, and overall ability to make decisions at a high pace. Very skilled offensive player – among the best offensive player in the tournament by points and scoring chances generated. Jack made things happen nearly every time he touched the ice. He is an average sized player but strong on the puck and able to win pucks from players much larger. Jack dictated the play when he was on the ice and if he decides to go the OHL route, he could very well be a top pick in the draft. Also on the NTDP radar. Grade: A

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East-West Invitational U16 Division Top 50

Articles, Feature Story, Game/Tournament Reviews, Prospects, Scouting Reports

Neutral Zone headed to Springfield, MA to check out the Rifles East/West invite. We focused on the U16 division as it was a quick tournament and the U18 group was up the road in Amherst.

Games were two 22.5 minute halves on day one and one 30 minute half on day two. The River Rats took home the championship over Mid Fairfield 1-0. It was a good experience with a lot of talent. We felt comfortable writing something about 50 or so players. About 1/2 of those below are new additions to Neutral Zone.

We recognize that these guys are young and playing a possible 120 plus minutes of hockey in 36 hours is not easy. We account for that and as you will read, we have very little negative to say about this age group. If a player appears on this list, it means they had a good tournament overall and grades simply distinguish between those players this specific weekend.
A sample of the scouting reports mentioned below………..
Zachary Rehbaum (L, 5’10”/165lbs; Buffalo Regals, ‘00)-He was perhaps the best overall player in the invite. Zachary is strong on his skates and has terrific edges. He played a tough, skilled, fast game and created offense in a multitude of ways. He has a quick, accurate shot. He gets to the front of the net for rebounds and tips. The winger is good off the cycle and in transition. One play, he stole the puck vs. the Rifles. He used his speed to push the D into a bad gap. He then snapped a shot “bar down” short side. The 2000 also plays with just enough “nasty” to irritate and create even more space without taking bad penalties. He was excellent and committed to Brown very soon after this event. College: Brown Grade: A

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AYHL Report: Team Maryland vs. Mercer Chiefs u16 Elite

Articles, Game/Tournament Reviews, Prospects, Scouting Reports

 

AYHL Report: Team Maryland U16 Elite @ Mercer U16 Elite   9/24/16

More of slower tempo game but there were players to keep an eye on for both teams.  All players have potential; some have real upside.  Team Maryland edged out Mercer 2-0.

Forwards

 

Connor Tait R 6’00 175 01 Team Maryland

Bottom line, he is a finisher. Scored both TM goals.  God skater with excellent shot. Good hands. Good work ethic. Finds open ice and but not afraid of danger zones. Gets back well for being a scorer. Good size.

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GOJHL Report: Leamington Flyers vs. London Nationals

Articles, Game/Tournament Reviews, Prospects, Scouting Reports

Leamington Flyers took on the London Nationals in a game on September 22nd, 2016. Good potential on both London and Leamington. London took the win 5-3.

Liam Hogan #13 (L, 5-7/155, 1997)
Hogan is in his second year with the Flyers. He is a shifty forward who shows confidence with the puck in traffic. He is good on faceoffs and is willing to hold onto the puck and show poise to make a play in the offensive zone. Although he is on the smaller side, Hogan is not afraid to go to the dirty areas.   Grade: B+

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AYHL Report: Virtua vs. CT Wolpack

Articles, Game/Tournament Reviews, Prospects, Scouting Reports

 

Virtua was all over the CT Wolfpack in this one, holding a 50 to 10 shot advantage. The final score here was 9-2. Some players were all over the ice for Vitrtua, creating offense and getting back fast enough to play defense.

 

Forwards

 

A

Maxim Kuznetsov L 5’09 170 Virtua U16 Late 00

Max had a strong game scoring a couple of goals and being an offensive presence. The first thing you notice is his skating, he is quick and has good acceleration, His hands enable him to create and he is a patient player who sees the ice well. He seems to be getting more assertive going into the danger zones as his game is maturing.

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AYHL Report: NJ Avalanche U16 vs. Mercer U16

Articles, Game/Tournament Reviews, Prospects, Scouting Reports

NJ Avs Premier 7 @ Mercer Elite 0 U16 9/18/16

The score was showed how the game went.  All Avs in this one. In all fairness they are a national bound team and Mercer is all 2001. That being said Mercer will be a pretty good team as we go on. No Dowd (injured) or Tabakin (USNDT call up).

Forwards 

A

Ryan Willett L 5’09 165 Avs 00

A three-point day and was the best forward shift in, shift out, in the game. He combines hockey sense, hands and tenacity.

 

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London vs. Cambridge Minor Midget Scouting Report

Articles, Game/Tournament Reviews, Prospects, Scouting Reports

London and Cambridge faced off on September 15, 2016 at Galt Arena Gardens in Cambridge. London took the win in the Minor Midget – Alliance game 6 to 2. Below is the game report.

Brett Budgell #7 (L, London Knights, 2001) B+  Smooth skating center/winger has been a nice addition to London this year.  Plays well in both ends of the ice.  Scored one and set up two powerplay goals in the game vs Cambridge.  Hockey IQ and passing ability were shown on the two powerplay goals as Brett quarterbacked the PP and set up a number of dangerous scoring chances.  Brett is a power forward with hands, approx. 6 feet tall and moves very well for a big player.  Brett’s goal in the game was a highlight reel goal as he drove wide on the D and beat the goalie with a shot on the glove side.

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