We recently (12/1/19) saw Doug play against St. Andrews College. In all honesty we came away shocked that he was an uncommitted 2002 and wouldn’t you know it, a few…
NHL Scouting Reports
Philip Tresca will make an NHL Scouting Staff look smart
Compete & Effort – We feel Philip has an unearned reputation for being easy to play against. We honestly think anyone who feels this way is not paying attention. When he started playing New England Prep hockey Philip was the smallest player on the ice every game (5’5″ 125lbs). He survived on his brain and did very well. Now he wins battles in the corners and in front of the net. He is willing to take a hit (or hits) to make a play. He competes his ass off and wants to win. He also as developed an “exploding shoulder” that he has begun to use on unsuspecting attackers.
Nolan Cunningham is a New England Prep Defenseman to keep an eye on
So how does a player like Nolan Cunningham end up on our New England Prep NHL Draft Watch List? Well, a little birdie thinks that he is a kid on the upswing. No, it wasn’t an agent. No, it wasn’t a college coach. It was a Neutral Zone scout who has spent some time in rinks who has an eye for late bloomers.
USHL – Muskegon Lumberjacks Draft Prospects (11/29/19)
As you might have recently read, we saw the Muskegon versus Chicago game on November 29th. We were really looking forward to this match-up as both teams have high skill…
New England Prep NHL Draft Watch List (Blog Style)
Over the course of the next week (or so) we will be continually adding and updating this list. It will almost be a running blog of quick hits on New…
USHL – Chicago Steel Draft Prospects (11/29/19)
We recently saw a match-up with Muskegon, and there was no doubt this was a game we were looking forward to viewing as both teams have skill along with youth….
QMJHL – Rouyn-Noranda Huskies Pro Prospects (11/4/19)
On December 4th, Neutral Zone NHL had a scout attend the Rimouski at Rouyn-Noranda Quebec League game. We came away impressed with 2 over-agers who are potential NHL free agent signings when their major junior careers come to an end and two players who are not eligible until the 2021 NHL Draft.
QMJHL – Rimouski Océanic Draft Prospects (11/4/19)
Rimouski had 4 notable players competing in our most recent viewing on December 4th, 2019. Including our Number 1 Rated NHL Prospect, Alexis Lafreniere, and a point per game Quebec League rookie defenseman, Isaac Belliveau, who is not eligible for the National League Draft until the 2021.
Jarod Crespo – Scouting Report
Here at Neutral Zone we have 22 published amateur evaluations on Jarod. Our first was published in September 2016 while he was playing right wing and our most recent in September 2019 where he was viewed as a mobile defenseman with high upside. Combine all of our information together and heading into the start of the New England Prep season we feel Jarod is a defensive prospect who deserves the attention of NHL organizations.
Frankie Carogioiello, an inside look at why he is a name to remember
Here is an inside look at how Neutral Zone generates our NHL Grades, as well as how our overall viewings and evaluations contribute to our Star Ratings for amateurs and the impact those evaluations may have on player’s NHL Grade.
December 1st NHL Draft Rankings – Who are our Top 64 rated draft eligible players?
Alexis Lafreniere maintains his hold on #1, but Quinton Byfield is playing well enough to make us consider making a change at the top. Who are the rest of the…
Alex Jefferies is primed to dominate NE Prep this year
Alex Jefferies (4.5 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — B-) Forward Jefferies is a smart stocky forward who is probably ready for the USHL right now. He plays 50-50 correctly and…
Jacob Quillan will open NHL eyes this Prep Season
We’ve been watching Jake for almost 2 years and in every viewing he continues to improve and becomes a more complete hockey player, so much so that on more than one occasion our in game notes say simply “He’s a hockey player.”
Who’s making an impression? Soo Greyhounds at Sarnia Sting (11/24/19)
Detailed write-ups on the 2020 draft eligible players from both teams can be found below. Two players drafted in last year’s 2019 NHL entry draft were standouts in this game and worth calling out for fans in Carolina and Montreal.
Lucas Mercuri is Rising
Lucas Mercuri (4.5 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C+) Forward Mercuri is a big strong forward with a brain. He finds the quiet areas off of the cycle very naturally….
QMJHL November NHL Draft Rankings
It’s looking like the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League will have the top overall selection and quite possible the first defenseman off the draft board as well, but where do…
Thayer Academy vs U18 South Shore Kings (11/23/19)
Why is a primarily Prep article on our NHL Site? One of our NHL Scouts went to watch Sasha Teleguine. Sasha is a speed demon forward who is not NHL…
U.S. National U18 Team NHL Draft Grade Update
This year’s U.S. National U18 Team might not have the Super Star potential of the dynamic 2001 team, but from top to bottom we believe that the 2002 group has a strong core of players who will carve out National Hockey League careers for themselves. As always, the grades are fluid and reflect September, October and November viewings.
Nico Daws & Michael Bianconi – Consistency May Lead to Hearing their names called in Montreal
We’ve seen both Nico and Michael play quite a bit recently and have been coming away more impressed each time. Here are our thoughts from a November 16th game versus The Saginaw Spirit.
Saginaw Spirit; NHL Draft Prospect Update
After a slower than expected start to the season, Cole Perfetti is heating up and proving why he came into his draft year ranked 6th in The Neutral Zone Prospect Draft Rankings, but he is not the only Spirit player who is earning some attention. Ilya Solovyov, Ethan Cardwell, Mitchell Smith & Sebastian Bulovs are in the conversation as well.
Guelph Storm; NHL Draft Prospect Update
Daws played in a backup role for the OHL Champion Storm in his first year of NHL draft eligibility. This year Daws won the starting job for Guelph and has been the best player in Guelph’s surprising start with a very young team. Daws excels at covering the bottom of the net and controls his rebounds well. He is poised in the net and doesn’t seem to get flustered in traffic. He competes to see pucks through screens. At 6’5 he covers the net well and shows good lateral mobility while moving side to side in goal mouth scrambles.