The NHL side of Neutral Zone had one scout attend the the Berkshire Jamboree on Monday November 29, 2021. All of the teams played two games which featured 2 thirty minute periods with 2 minute penalties. Each of these schools have a number of other draft eligible players on their rosters. They were either out of the line up or did not show enough to warrant write-up. We will review these players in future viewings and report on their progress.
| Max Resnick | Kent School | NE Prep | R | F | 6’0″ | 194 | Uncomm. | Tampa, FL | 2003 | 2021-2022: C |
Resnick is a September 13, 2003 who was a complete pleasure to watch compete. We think he won every 50/50 puck, and if he did not win it he had the mindset that he was going to hunt you down and take it from you in any way possible. He was incredibly strong on the puck through contact often times rocking opponents on to their heels. When Resnick lowered his shoulder to get to the net he was a nightmare for the defensemen because he has the strength to get to the far post as well as the edgework to escape into the vacated ice allowing him to find open teammates. His unpredictability as a puck carrier made him very difficult to contain while cycling and when coming over the offensive blueline on zone entries. Resnick threw very nice sauce that was easy to handle and he seemed to understand which teammates could one-time hard passes and which ones need a bit more time to let it fly. We feel it was an eye opening day for Resnick and people will be talking about him very soon.
| Michael Murtagh | Fredrick Gunn School | NE Prep | L | F | 6’0″ | 170 | Connecticut | 2023 | East Greenbush, NY | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
The Fredrick Gunn school had a small army of players on their bench, but Murtagh was one who really stood out. He showed great bounce and spring in his first step which allowed him to create space out of tight turns or after receiving passes in transition. From a dead stand still not only did he show a quick step in all four directions, but his cross-under was very explosive and his body control was excellent through body contact. His first touch was soft on both his forehand or back hand and we loved the way he zipped his passes while on the power play. We never had a concern that Murtagh was going to give a bad pass, our concern was that some of his teammates might have a difficult time handling NHL paced passes. Even though Gunn had approximately twenty-eight players dressed Murtagh was ready to play and compete when his name was called. He won 50/50 puck battles, won races to loose pucks and consistently won the important ice in front of his opponent’s net. This was a great way to start the New England prep season for the UConn commit.
| Liam Chapman | Salisbury School | NE Prep | L | D | 6’1″ | 205 | Uncomm. | Weare, NH | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Chapman played his regular hardnosed straight forward game, but he seemed more focused than we’ve seen him in the past and we feel like this positively impacted his overall game performance. We love that he will always be a player who brings an edge to his game. And we never want to see that go away because we feel intimidation a very important piece of what makes him effective. But in Berkshire he seemed much more focused on making his opponents look over their shoulders to find him rather than him talking crap the entire game so they know where he was. As always Chapman played the body with authority finishing opposing forwards so that they were hesitant to come down his side. We loved his leg drive while clearing shooting lanes and we were very impressed with how easily he picked pucks up off the wall to start breakouts. His point shots were hard and they generated rebounds. Chapman had two very hard body checks in the neutral zone that came after he moved laterally without crossing over. Just to be clear, the scout who attended the jamboree loves flirting, yapping and good one liners more than anyone, but he really enjoyed seeing the focus in Chapman’s game.
| Julian Facchinelli | Fredrick Gunn School | NE Prep | R | F | 6’0″ | 174 | Uncomm. | Woodbridge, ON | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Facchinelli was a player that we did not know much about before the day started, but that lack of knowledge came to an end very quickly as he made a positive impact on just about every shift. When heading into contact his deep knee bend and low center of gravity was almost too much to handle for opposing defenders. Through contact he kept his shoulders lower than his opposition’s and kept his hips in front of their hips so that he consistently had opposing defensemen fumbling and tripping over their own feet. As a puck carrier he showed a powerful first step, especially after receiving a pass which allowed him to manipulate gaps into his favor as well as any forward in the jamboree. As an F1 Facchinelli hunted for loose pucks or forcing opponents into poor decisions and turnovers. In the offensive zone he jumped on secondary opportunities in the slot looking to score, but he showed the awareness to pull pucks out of the scrum and find open teammates in the high slot rather than blindly firing pucks off shinpads. Again Fredrick Gunn had five lines of forwards dressed, but we really looked forward to Facchinelli’s shifts.
| Daniel Buchbinder | Northwood School | Independent Prep | L | D | 6’2″ | 172 | Uncomm. | Clarence Center, NY | 2004 | Long Term Player Watch |
We felt this was a great day for Buchbinder. He was a steady presence at both ends of the ice who we feel really made a positive impact. In the defensive zone he cleared shooting lanes without getting tied up and showed nice anticipation when wining races to loose pucks to start breakouts. We loved his awareness when jumping into the play because he did not force the issue. He showed nice timing and when his forward delayed looking for an outlet Buchbinder was there for an easy pass. He also showed nice mobility along the offensive blueline where he easily corralled bouncing pucks and quickly moved laterally along the line to open shooting lanes. He had a quick release where his shots were on net and easy to tip. We are going to need to watch Buchbinder play a few more times before we can make an honest call on his game, but we feel he made a real statement in Berkshire.
| Dylan Hryckowian | Salisbury School | NE Prep | R | F | 5’9″ | 155 | Northeastern | 2024 | Ile Bizar, QC | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Hryckowian can flat out fly and he seemed to love the the Olympic sheet at Berkshire. He used his speed to force defenders off of either blueline and then he exploited the open ice to create chances. He showed a nice shoulder width skating base that allowed for him to explode laterally when the puck was on his stick. On a few line rushes he looked one direction with his eyes before dropping his shoulder in the opposite direction and then exploding laterally past the leaning defender. His edge control and ability to hold an outside edge while he was at top speed at times made him look like he was playing in hyper mode. He was strong on the puck through contact and we loved his ability to protect the puck with his body while using one hand to control the puck. He hunted pucks on every shift and won races that he should not have. We loved his emotion. Hryckowian is a high speed winger who is going to have eyes on him all winter, and he should.
| Connor Santay | Northwood School | Independent Prep | R | D | 6’2″ | 172 | Uncomm. | Baldwinsville, NY | 2004 | Not yet rated |
Santay was big and strong. Offensively he kept things very simple by moving the puck quickly and letting his forwards do the work. His passes were hard and on the tape which allowed his target to accelerate through the pass into open ice. He also must be very good at geometry because his indirect passes were on the tape as well. Santay is a big raw right shot defenseman who we’ve seen improve from National Camp, into the PHC and now into the Berkshire Jamboree. He is the type of player who is not going to get you on the edge of your seat, but he is the type of player who will allow you to breathe when you are his coach. We feel there is a lot of upside with him and we are looking forward to seeing him compete soon.
Logo Credit: Berkshire Athletics