March 18, 2022
Western Financial Place, Cranbrook, British Columbia
| Tyson Dyck | Cranbrook Bucks | BCHL | L | F | 6’0″ | 170 | Uncomm. | Abbotsford, BC | 2004 | 2021-2022: C+ |
Not a burner, but is consistently where he should be before the puck arrives, will need to work on skating efficiency as he gains lower body and core strength to improve his glide.
Line rush turnover at offensive blueline, showed awareness to stop on puck and use an active stick to force a turnover by Vees Dman then continued into offensive zone to start a cycle.
Really strong hands during mid-wall battle which led to slick royal road pass for one-timer.
Buck’s 1st goal – soft strongside chip and hustle as F1, won puck battle passed to slot, won race to the net after the pass.
Plays with 2 hands on his stick always ready to move the puck quickly, can have a rolling puck on his blade, but still make flat passes.
Buck’s disallowed goal in second (16:23)- took the draw & won it cleanly in the left offensive circle back to his left defenseman, spun to net side of Vees center, attempted tip while his linemate won race to puck for short side goal.
Buck’s 2nd goal – (Broken play) hustled off bench on a line change, linemate forced a turnover & Dyck won the race to the loose puck which he fired at the net, puck bounces to teammate for a wide open net.
Excellent anticipation for loose pucks and when to sprint to open area in the offensive zone for a grade “A” opportunity.
Buck’s 3rd goal – power play, positioned as bumper, tried a one-timer that was partially blocked but he won the race to the loose puck before poking it to his linemate for a backdoor empty net one timer… awareness.
Buck’s 4th goal – smart angle on a forecheck made opposing defender try to do too much which forced a turnover, won race to loose puck, tor dragged around Vees defender and walked the goal line before hitting teammate heading to backdoor.
Buck’s 5th goal – empty netter, Dyck forces a turnover at the defensive blueline and fires an indirect off the end wall for his linemate to put into the empty net.
| Ryan Hopkins | Penticton Vees | BCHL | R | D | 6’2″ | 174 | Maine | 2023 | Lunenburg, NS | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Maintained defensive side positioning during net front battles while cross checking down into numbers, willing to take a knee to eat a one-timer.
In neutral zone he activated as weakside D, received a poor pass in the right dot lane but did an excellent job of using his left inside edge to control pass and then take a quick 5 hole snap shot.
Vees 1st goal – hustled to offensive blueline on a change, received D to D pass, faded off to right and took a hard snapper through a screen.
Shifty along offensive blueline with poise and eyes up, snap shot is quick and hits the net.
Really tight gap in neutral zone, moves on the pass to create turnover, has a awareness to retrieve the puck at defensive blueline and flip it out of trouble.
Real zip on passes without the need to dust it off, stretch passes are rockets and on the tape… hard wrap dump-ins do not get stopped by opposing goalie.
Ends the cycle with authority and shows lower body power by throwing an opposing forward to the ice (3:00 left in 2nd).
Definitely has some mean in him as he took an open ice run at Dyck as time expired in the 2nd period.
Vees 2nd goal – did not get an assist, but the play started when he prevented a Bucks forward from going wide on him and getting to the net showing a hidden poke check and core strength in the battle.
Retrieves pucks with his head on a swivel locating more than just forecheckers, is willing to take a hit to make a pass.
Showed wiggle along the offensive blueline, faking left to release a snapshot as he faded to the right.
| Joshua Niedermayer | Penticton Vees | BCHL | L | D | 6’0″ | 201 | Arizona State | 2022 | Newport Beach, CA | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Quick decisions on breakouts, good use of indirect passes or wraps to get Bucks forwards trapped below the puck.
Point shot blocked in final 2 minutes of 1st period.
Buck’s 1st goal – caught flat footed on a change, lost foot race to soft chip in strong side corner, ended up on the wrong side of the puck.
Vees 1st goal – responded quickly after Bucks goal, forced play down strong side wall in Ozone, received pass on his backhand, stayed over the puck for a quick tape to tape pass to Hopkins.
Buck’s disallowed goal in second (16:23) – lost body positioning with his man on a defensive zone face-off, player went on to win race to loose puck at the goal line and score short side.
Buck’s 2nd goal – D partner retrieved a dump-in and decided to get fancy below the goal line which led to turnover, Bucks forwards opportunistic, picked up a minus but other than trying to hard to recover for his partner he did nothing wrong.
Smart angle to end a partial breakaway, stick on puck, forces turnover and starts transition.
More indirect passes that get opposing forwards trapped below the puck, nice pace on passes
| Joshua Nadeau | Penticton Vees | BCHL | R | RW | 5’7″ | 157 | Maine | 2022 | St. Francis de Madaska, NB | 2021-2022: C+ |
Pace through neutral zone as puck carrier, soft chip to strongside corner and won race to establish cycle.
Bumper on the power play, received a pass on forehand as bumper then made a no look backhand for a one-timer on the left dot lane.
Got smoked to start 2nd period, but rather than change or look distracted he won a race for a loose puck in the neutral zone to generate a breakaway & a grade “A” scoring opportunity.
Shifty below the goal line, stutter step to initiate contact and quick first step out of contact to make highly skilled passes that linemates can one-time.
First shift after Vees 2nd goal Nadeau was excellent.. strong in the corner while cycling, maintained possession looking for linemates in dot lane & finding them, won race to rebound and fired a bouncing puck that generated another rebound scoring opportunity.
High end passing skills, especially on backhand passes which often times look like the passes surprise his teammates even when they are directly on the tape.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images