Played on April 5, 2024
Mason Croucher (D, L, 6’1″, 181, Alberni Valley Bulldogs, 10/01/2004, RIT)
Game Grade: B+
Standing at 6’1″, 180 pounds Croucher is an average sized left shot defenseman who still has muscle to pack onto his frame. He showed an upright skating posture with a smooth easy pivot that allowed him to set his gaps early to meet line rushes in the neutral zone or near his defensive blueline. Offensively his passes were hard and accurate as he went tape to tape on 94% of his passes. He attempted 6 shots with 2 hitting the net, 3 being blocked and 2 of those blocks leading directly to Coquitlam zone exits. He is not a killer but he is strong through contact and won 12 of 19 50/50 puck battles. Croucher was a valuable member of both the power play (3:32 TOI) and penalty kill units (2:05 TOI). At this point we do not view him as a potential NHL Draft pick, but with off ice dedication to add weight and explosiveness he is a defender who could be a potential free agent signing after a few years at RIT.
Matthew Kursonis (LW, L, 6’2″, 187, Alberni Valley Bulldogs, 05/04/2004, Holy Cross)
Game Grade: A
Standing at 6’2″, 190 pounds Kursonis is a powerfully built left shot forward who has the awareness to play both wings as well as being a 200′ detailed center. In this game he played center and went 13/28 on face-offs (46%). Whether he has the puck on his stick or is defending he keeps his hips low and his chest high which allows him to power through body contact or pin his man to the wall. Offensively he seemed to be thinking a step ahead of everyone else on the ice as he finished with a game high seven grade “A” scoring chances. On each he showed nice puck awareness, a quick stick and on one he showed excellent hand eye coordination as he batted a puck out of mid air that just went wide. He scored Alberni’s fourth goal on a zone entry where he exchanged lanes with the puck carrier to receive a drop pass. He then accelerated straight down the right dot-lane, used the defender as a screen and fired 16″ snap shot just over the far pad. Overall he won 52% of his 50/50 puck battles (13/25), finished with 3 hits and completed 77% of his passes. He was a key member of the special teams game playing 3:47 on the power play and 3:32 while shorthanded. As a 2004 we do not view Kursonis as a potential NHL draft pick, but we do feel he has a nice combination of size, details and work ethic that could be very appealing to an NHL organization after a few years of NCAA hockey at Holy Cross and strength training.
Grayson Badger (RW, R, 6’1″, 177, Alberni Valley Bulldogs, 05/09/2004, Northeastern)
Game Grade: A-
Standing at 6’1″, 177 pounds Badger is a high energy right wing who is in constant motion throughout his shift. He enjoys running into opponents and knocks them off stride so he can win races to loose pucks and win wall battles. In the offensive zone he showed a quick stick on rebounds and played with a shooter’s mentality. He finished the game with five shots on net and two goals, including the overtime winner, with each shot seeming to catch the goaltender a little off guard and both goals scored simply because he outworked his opponent for the valuable ice at the top of the crease. Badger played a high emotion game that his teammates fed off of. Overall he finished with zero hits, won 45% of his 50/50 puck battles (10/22) and completed 83% of his passes. He earned 1:47 of power play ice time and he did not kill penalties. As a 2004 we do not view Badger as a potential NHL draft pick but we do like his mindset and willingness to stand at the top of the crease to take crosschecks for the good of the team.
Jax Wismer (D, L, 5’11”, 181, Alberni Valley Bulldogs, 03/03/2005, Vermont)
Game Grade: B-
Standing at 5’11”, 180 pounds Wismer is an undersized fleet footed undersized left shot defenseman who uses his agility and quickness to win battles and take away his opponent’s ice before they get there. He showed good strength and was willing to take a hit to make a play. Offensively he was involved in the play looking to consistently join the rush as a second wave or when presented with open ice Wismer used his skating to carry the puck and attack the offensive zone whenever possible. He finished with four shots on net and each generated a secondary scoring opportunity. Defensively he finished minus two and on both goals we feel he could have used his feet to take away ice more quickly. On the first he showed too much respect to the puck carrier allowing him to cut diagonally through the offensive zone with about 8′ of separation which allowed the puck carrier to escape and find the late guy entering the zone. With Wismer’s skating ability we feel he could have been more aggressive. The second goal against came off a 6 on 5 with under a minute left so we can understand him being passive but again with his quickness and agility we would have liked to have seen him be more aggressive one he recognized the dot-lane man was shooting. Overall he won 45% of his 50/50 puck battles (9/20) and completed 87% of his passes. He was a key member of both the power play unit (3:59 TOI, team high) and penalty kill unit (2:17 TOI). As an undersized 2005 left shot defenseman we do not view him a potential NHL draft pick but with added strength his skating and ability to transition the puck will keep NHL eyes on him.
Hayden Stavroff (RW, R, 5’10”, 188, Alberni Valley Bulldogs, 07/09/2004, Dartmouth)
Game Grade: B+
Standing at 5’10”, 188 pounds Stavroff is below average sized right shot right wing who plays with snarl, grit and combativeness. He finished with game high five hits with the first being a huge open ice hit when he through an exploding shoulder at center ice in the opening minute of the game. He honestly looked like he was having more fun out there than anyone else on the ice as he was involved in post whistle scrums and seemed to chat with anyone who would listen. Midway through the first period (11:33) he earned a roughing penalty that may have looked like a stupid penalty but we were paying attention and know the player he went after had just scored Coquitlam’s first goal and then celebrated directly in front of Alberni’s bench so in all honesty we liked it. Overall he finished with 2 assists, won 50% of his 50/50 puck battles (14/28) and completed 88% of his passes. He was not used on the penalty kill but was third on the team with 3:49 in power play ice time. At this point we do not view Stavroff as potential NHL draft pick but we love his mentality and grit so we feel after four years at Dartmouth he will be a player who earns a professional contract.
Anthony Ip (D, L, 5’7″, 148, Alberni Valley Bulldogs, 08/25/2006)
Did not dress.
Ronan Buckberger (D, L, 5’10”, 174, Alberni Valley Bulldogs, 03/03/2006, Ohio State)
Game Grade: B+
Standing at 5’10”, 170 pounds Buckberger is an undersized left shot defenseman with the edge control and acceleration to cut the net when a forechecker is on his back. Although he did not have any shots on net we liked the puck poise he showed along the offensive blueline and his ability to move laterally while shooting led directly to the Alberni’s overtime winning goal. In the defensive zone he used his leg drive and low center of gravity to pin his man to the wall or clear shooting lanes. He won 55% of his 50/50 puck battles (9/17) while having 8 takeaways. He completed 82% of his passes and was used as a secondary power play option (0:33 TOI) as well as a secondary penalty killer (0:56 TOI). Right now we do not view Ronan Buckberger as a potential NHL draft pick but with time playing Big 10 hockey at Ohio State and time in the weight room he is a defender who could play professionally.
Nicholas Beneteau (C, R, 6’3″, 193, Alberni Valley Bulldogs, 09/12/2003, St. Lawrence)
Game Grade: B
Standing at 6’3″. 190 pounds Beneteau is a long lanky right shot center with the type of vision that allows him to find an open teammate in the wide dot-lane on zone entries or find the weakside point while cycling. He showed nice puck poise and is willing to draw opponents to him absorbing contact while having the strength to still complete the pass. He finished the night -2 with the first goal coming in the opening minute and the second goal being the game tying goal that came with 0:38 seconds remaining in the third period. The first minus he really had very little to do with but on the second he allowed the opposing forward to gain net side positioning to take his goaltender’s eyes away. On the play we would have liked to have seen him use his size and strength to his advantage to prevent the screen before it even happened. Overall he was leaned on heavily by his coaches earning 24:35 in total ice time including 3:53 on the power play and 1:14 on the penalty kill. He won 68% of his face-offs (17/25), won 53% of his 50/50 puck battles (10/19) and completed 82% of his passes. As a 2003 Beneteau has been passed over during his draft years of eligibility but his size and ability to win face-offs will be intriguing to professional organizations. We feel to really keep their attention he will need to continue gaining core and lower body strength as well as increasing his hip flexibility because at this time we feel he is too stiff and too upright to consistently win 50/50 puck battles against professionals that are his size.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images