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South Shore Kings 6 @ Okanagan Eagles 1; September 14th, 2016 Neutral Zone made the drive to the Foxboro Sports center on Wednesday for the first USPHL Premier game of the 2016-17 season. The NZ USPHL Game of the Week was between the South Shore Kings and the Okanagan Eagles. Both teams call Foxboro home so the
Northern Cyclones 4 @ EC Wizards 2; September 13th, 2016 Neutral Zone started the EHL season on Tuesday as we headed to Bedford, MA to watch the EC Wizards take on the Northern Cyclones. Play was sloppy early as can be expected in both teams’ first games. As the game moved
Neutral Zone headed to Trenton on Wednesday, September 14 to watch the Lindsay Muskies play the Trenton Golden Hawks in early season OJHL action. The following players were the…
NHL/NCAA/CHL/Junior coaches and scouts have asked us at Neutral Zone to give them an idea of what we will be covering this month. Most of these tournaments will have…
NZ headed to Marlboro, Massachusetts for the Summer Beantown in mid-August with a focus on the futures and pro divisions. The showcase was very well done. Teams had jerseys with matching socks, numbers and names that were visible and respected coaches on the bench. Each team had 16 skaters and the games were all
The Beantown Classic is one of the premiere hockey tournaments in New England and provides scouts and coaches the opportunity to see some of the best players in the region play against one another in a single setting. It also jumbles up rosters and ages which is nice to see. Due to conflicts with
At Neutral Zone we typically avoid the rush of summer hockey showcases. We aren’t against them as it can be fun or a chance for players to get on the ice; but to properly evaluate players during summer hockey showcases is not good practice. However, for the Junior Chowder Cup being less than a
Every year in Buffalo, NY the top players from around the country meet for the US Development Camps. It is a chance for the players to test themselves against…
The Neutral Zone staff was on hand for the Select 16 National Development Camp in Buffalo, NY. We saw every game as well as the All Star Game and put together a comprehensive scouting report based on what we saw. The players are put in the order we saw fit, but we decided not
Jimmy Dowd Jr., the son of 17-year NHL veteran Jim Dowd, made his college commitment to Penn State this week. The talented puck moving defenseman out of the NJ…
Every year our scouts attend the Select Festivals in Buffalo, NY as a chance to see all of the country’s best players (excluding NTDP) on the ice at the same time. It’s an opportunity for NHL, CHL, NCAA and junior scouts to see how the USHL players compare to the CHL players or how
Neutral Zone staff were in attendance at the recent USA Hockey Atlantic District tryout camp held at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ. As a whole, our scouts reported sort of a mixed bag in terms of both the level of competition and performances by individual players.
Neutral Zone attended the New York State Development Camp for the 2001 birth years. Players from around the state of New York come to try out for the National Development Camp in Buffalo, NY where they would play against the best players from around the United States. We have included a report on the top 25 players at the tournament and put them into alphabetical order. We did not have enough time to concentrate on the goaltenders so we evaluated the forwards and defensemen.
Another season has come and gone, but just like that, preparations are already underway all over the country for next hockey season. The USHL is no exception.
It felt strange getting out of the hotel room, stepping out to 85-degree weather, and passing palm trees on the way to the rink at the end of March. The tournament ran from March 31 through April 4, a five-day event that featured 32 of the best Tier 1 Midget AAA teams in the US. The event was held in San Jose at the Sharks practice facility, a four sheet complex with a restaurant upstairs that became a hangout for the NCAA/CHL/USHL/NAHL scouts putting in long hours in the rinks. The tournament was hosted by the San Jose Sharks youth program and they did a nice job keeping scouts fed, handing out programs, and printing shirts, hats, sweatshirts, etc.
After two years of scouting and evaluating the 2000 birth year class, USA Hockey’s National Development Program announced its U17 Team roster. This announcement came just a few short weeks after the NTDP Evaluation Camp which included the top 48 players in the US as determined by USA Hockey scouts and staff. We sat down with the Director of Player Personnel, Ryan Hardy, before the Evaluation Camp to ask about the program and the selection process.
First, I would be remiss if I did not point out what a wonderful host city Anchorage, Alaska made for a tournament of this magnitude. From the facility, The Subway Sport Center, and volunteers, to the many local fans who came out to watch these impressive young hockey players compete. Around every corner was a friendly face looking to strike up a conversation about the sport of hockey and more specifically the national championships taking place in their backyard.
Anyone who plays upper-tier hockey in New England knows about the Beantown Classic. For over a decade it has been the region’s top tournament featuring all of the best NHL, NCAA, CHL and USHL prospects in the region.
The impact on top-quality, draft eligible players leaving New England high school, prep school and Tier III junior hockey was evident during the most recent Beantown Classic as the best pro prospect in the building likely won’t hear his name called until the draft gets into triple digits. The most elite players simply didn’t take part in the showcase this year.