Chilliwack Tournament

The first major provincial tournament is set to get underway in Chilliwack, B.C. on Thanksgiving weekend.  The tournament will kick off with NSWC taking on Abbotsford at noon on Friday and wraps up with the final on Monday afternoon.  Here is a look at the groupings and teams taking part in the tournament below.

Group A
NSWC
Kelowna
Prince George
Abbotsford

Group B
OHA
Seattle
Semiahmoo
Victoria

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Group C
BWC
Kamloops
Wenatcheee
Port Coquitlam

Group D
POE
Cloverdale
Chilliwack
Nanaimo

AMBHL season well underway...thoughts

The only major AAA bantam league that is underway currently are the Alberta bantam leagues with the SCAHL, Calgary AA Council league and the AMBHL going.

Ten things we'e noticted
1. ROYALS HOT START So far in the AMBHL there have been very few surprises but one may be the hot start of the defensive minded Calgary Royals.  They aren't a team who will wow you with high impact players but the defensive play has been stellar so far in leading them to a 3-0-0 record while allowing just 2 goals in the process.  Both Morrissey and Sawchenko have posted shut-outs.

2. 98 born's lighting the lamp  Jaeger White has 2 goals in 4 games for Medicine Hat, while Sean Montgomery for the Royals has 4 goals in 3 games.  Dillon Dube has 4 goals in 4 games with Airdrie.  He had 69 with Bow Valley last year in AA peewee, 55 back of league leader White. 

3.  SHMYR/MERKLEY - have been off to very hot starts with Merkley going 6-5-11 in 4 games, while Shmyr is 5-5-10 in 4 games.  Both are still expected to be very high picks in the bantam draft.  Merkley top 10.

4.  EXPECTED HOT START FOR CAC - The highly talented CAC squad is 3-0-0 after 3 gams as expected.  Dylan Stewart, Andrew Marshall and Brayden Burke are highly skilled and putting up big points already.  Defence is big and strong and Orsiak has impressed.

5.  Okotoks with just 5 goals in 4 games - feel sorry for skilled player McCarty as there isn't much to work with in Okotoks.  He has 3 points in 4 games so far.

6.  LEDUC NO LOSSES YET IN PRE or REG SEASON PLAY - They were 5-0-0 in exhibition and have carried that over to regular season, starting at 2-0-0.  Balanced attack led by Fonteyne, Starzynski and Young.

7.  Bronks were 7-0-0 in pre season but... - have really struggled out of the gate early with just 5 goals scored in 3 games.  Whitby and Rutledge have missed the whole season thus far, which hurts.

8.  Beat go's on for the Bisons - They have been a power house for several seasons in a row now and have continued again with a 4-0-0 start.

9.  Head shots being called - There have been on average about 5 CTH calls so far this season, power plays and talent will be key.

10.  Spruce Grove PAC Struggles - They are the hosts of the westerns but may not even make the playoffs in the AMBHL North.  hmmmm.

September 26, 2011 newsletter is now ready

Good Evening;

Rankings
The season is now nicely underway in Alberta as the AMBHL season is just over a week old and we've had a chance to get out and watch some of the action. There have been some surprises as some places have hit growth spurts from last year and some of the 98 born players have really taken the league by storm early and each is factored in to the adjusted rankings.

There have also been several exhibition type tournaments which has given us more preliminary information to work with as the Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia bantam regular seasons will get underway in most cases next weekend.

So with that, we make several additions and some movement near the top and throughout the western Canada 97 and 98 lists. The USA Top 50 has taken a bit of a shift as the Minnesota Showcase and the showcase in Buffalo, NY have just completed during the past couple weeks.

Interviews
We had a chance to speak with a pair of big defenseman from B.C. who combine offence and defense and are sure to be high picks in the top 3 rounds of the bantam draft. One plays in the OMAHA, while the other plays in the PCAHA.

I had a chance to speak with a small, skilled player from Manitoba who has the ability to put up major points in his draft season.

A goalie from B.C. is profiled and he hopes to lead his up-start team to success against the "big boys" of the PCAHA Tier 1.

Finally, we take a look at one of the top 98 born players in western Canada who hopes to follow in his brothers foot-steps.

Previews
The previews continue, this time with the B.C. Bantam hockey. We take a look at who the top teams may be, the top forwards, rookies and projected all-star teams in the province when it is all said and done.

The Top 20 power rankings make its initial appearance on the newsletter. We rank the preliminary teams to watch heading in to the 2011-2012 season.

Listed are the up coming tournaments this season across western Canada as well.

best regards,

Tyler Neisz
western elite hockey prospects

Saturday Notes

  EDMONTON CAC 4 - EDMONTON MLAC 3
One of the AMBHL favourites to represent the league at the Western Canadian Bantam Hockey Championships took to the ice last night as CAC met MLAC in a battle of all Edmonton teams.  CAC, who are expected to be very strong walked away with a narrow 4-3 victory but were without two of its main players.  F- Dylan Stewart was sitting out as a pre-cautionary measure with a minor injury - he is expected back on Sunday, while D- Clayton Eisler who is expected to contribute offence from the back end this season was also out.  MLAC actually looked like they were going to pull off the upset as they held a lead with about 3 minutes to play in regulation time.  However, Brayden Burke would tie the game up with his 2nd of the game and with one minute remaining Matt Dykstra got the winner from Burke/Marshall to give CAC the way.  Dykstra had 25 goals last year in AA Bantam.  MLAC got 1-1-2 from Ryley Wood and goalie Eden Sharp stopped 39/43 shots in the loss.
* MLAC 98 born Nolan Volcan recieved 5 minutes for checking from behind late in the 3rd period and could be facing a suspension.

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Colorado Thunderbirds 5 - Seacoast Spartans 0
The Buffalo Super series for 97 born players continued late yesterday with the Colorado Thunderbirds U14 team running their record to 1-1-0 with a 5-0 victory over the Seacoast Spartans.  Troy Terry notched 2-1-3 and defenseman Logan Fauber had a pair of goals in the victory.  Both Terry and Fauber will be strongly considered for the WHL bantam draft.  Chris Dodero and Jaren Yatsu had singles for Colorado.  Goaltender Jess Sepper who is primed for a solid season had the shut-out.

-The Dallas Ice Jets are finding things tough in Buffalo as they dropped their 2nd straight contest with a 8-0 loss to the powerful Chicago Mission.  The Ice Jets now are 0-2-0 and have scored just 1 goal so far in the series.

Buffalo Super Series Underway

For the American readers, the Buffalo 97Super series is underway already this morning.  There are two western U.S.A teams taking part that we will focus on that are taking part.  The Colorado U14 Thunderbirds and the Dallas Ice Jets are the two teams taking part and they were both in action this morning.

Team Comcast 2 - Colorado Thunderbirds 2
Many U.S. draft picks are expected to be taken from the Colorado Thunderbirds team at the WHL bantam draft and this morning they were able to tie a very good Team Comcast squad.  Scoring for the Thunderbirds was Christos Zinas and Corey Hard.  Players of note on the Thunderbirds to watch this tournament will be highly skilled Troy Terry and star defenseman Logan Fauber and Zach Goberis.

York Simcoe Express 3 - Dallas Ice Jets 1
The Ice Jets fall 3-1 to the York Simcoe Express this morning.  The main reason for the loss could be pinned on the lack of PP production for Dallas as they went 0/7.  Gary Burk scored the lone goal for Dallas in the loss.

Friday, September 23, 2011

The Winnipeg AAA league is just over a week from beginning but in a prelude to the start of the league is a AA tournament in Virden this weekend.  It will be an 8 team tournament featuring Brandon, Central Plains, Southwest, Melville (SK), Pembina Valley, Central Plaines, Yellowhead and Norman.  Check back through-out the weekend for comments and updates from Virden.

The GSHL has held there 6 team draft and picked squads for the 2011-2012 bantam season.  Later this morning, I hope to have a brief run-down on the GSHL and who looks to be the top teams and players etc.  Stay turned.

Leduc 7 - Spruce Grove 5
And there was one game in the AMBHL last night as Leduc defeated Spruce Grove in a high scoring affair, 7-5. Matt Fonteyne and Justin Young led the way each with 2 goals, while Tristan Starzynski had 3 assists.  Both Fonteyne and Starzynski are expected to be fairly high draft picks for the WHL.  Justin Young is coming from the AA Roughnecks, where last year he had a team leading 27 goals and 57 points, so scoring should be expected from him as well.  For Spruce Grove, Matthew Quartle led the way with 2 goals.  Also of note, Conner Lukan had 2 assists.  Lukan had 41 goals in AA last season.

Leduc looks to stay near the top

Bantam AAA Oil Kings fueling up

By Bobby Roy
The Leduc bantam AAA Allen's Transport Oil Kings are ready for the regular season to start after finishing their exhibition games with a perfect 5-0 record.

But success in the preseason doesn't exactly translate to success in the regular season, explained Colin Gregor, head coach of the Oil Kings.

"The bottom line is we haven't lost yet, but we are playing teams that sat key players out. Exhibition game are there to make evaluations of the players and to make decisions on who is going to make the team," said Gregor.

"It's certainly a positive start, but we have a lot to work on this season and have a long way to go."

The bantam AAAs season began with a game against the Spruce Grove Saints on Sept. 22 away from home, but the results weren't available at the time of press.

With only one returning player from last year's squad, this year's bantam Oil Kings are very young and inexperienced playing at the bantam AAA level, which will likely mean it will take some time into the season before they are firing on all cylinders.

"I'm optimistic we'll have a competitive team, but we have a very inexperienced team. We have lots to work on, but we'll continue to get better as our guys get more experience at the bantam AAA level," added Gregor.

Last year's bantams finished in the second place in the Charger North division of the Alberta Minor Bantam Hockey League (AMBHL), which puts expectations high again for this year's team, but success will likely come as the team learns to play well together.

"We're going to play a team orientated style of hockey. I think we can be competitive in our division, but it's going to take a little time," said Gregor.

Balanced is the word Gregor described his team will need to be this year, but they've already showed signs of that in the five preseason games.

"We're going to have three solid pairings on defense and the same can be said for the forward lines. We also have two goaltenders who should be able to tend at this level," stated Gregor.

Working on the little aspects of the game such as faceoffs, killing penalties, capitalizing on powerplays, making sure everyone on the same page and several other factors is something the Oil Kings will spend a good amount of time in practice working on.

"We'll see how it goes, but there are several areas we need to work on," said Gregor.

Gregor is returning for his second straight year as the head coach and with last year's coaching staff intact for this year, the team is hungry.

"For me, it's a real good opportunity to work with the bantam players. The players are dialed in and hungry to make themselves better hockey players."

Airdrie Xteme Article

Xtreme core bolstered by local talent



By Nathan Anderson
Airdrie City View
After a look at the AAA Bantam Xtreme’s opening game roster, one thing is immediately apparent – this team has a lot of talent familiar to local hockey fans.

The Xtreme hosted its 2011-12 regular season home opener, logging a 3-2 victory over the Okotoks Oilers, Sept. 17 (See relate story on page 22). Over the rest of the season, Airdrie and area players will play a key role in the team’s success or failure.

The Xtreme’s captain, and two of three assistants, hail from this region, as do five other new faces.

Captain Marshall Burr – the team’s biggest player – will anchor a strong defensive core, according to head coach Terry Keogh.

“Burr’s leadership is phenomenal,” he said. “All of the players look up to him. He is the leader on and off the ice.”

Burr, one of four returning veterans from last year’s squad, now measures in at 6’1” and 170 pounds. He had two goals and 10 assists in 28 games last year.

“He is a very skilled player. Even as a first year Bantam, he was among the top group of defencemen in the league. He’s been around the game, understands it well and thinks it well. He’s very mature for his age,” said Keogh.

Burr is joined by two more returning players familiar to local hockey fans, Kris LeClair and Troy Van Tetering. LeClair, who scored the game-winning shorthanded goal in the home opener, had three goals and two assists last year. Van Tetering, originally hailing from the Cartairs area, has played for Airdrie teams for several years. He had three goals and eight assists last year. Both forwards have been named assistant captains.

The Xtreme also welcomes a trio of players with AA Bantam experience with the Airdrie Lightning of the South Central Alberta Hockey League. Forwards Zach Giroux (14 goals, 16 assists in 32 games) and Kyle Antochow (10 goals, 11 assists in 30 games) both bring depth to the Xtreme’s offence. Defenceman Austin Cameron (four goals, 14 assists in 30 games) will add plenty of size to the defensive corps, measuring in at 6’0” and 160 lbs.

Rounding out the local talent on this year’s Xtreme roster are two first-year bantams.

Forward Jordan McConnell was nothing short of phenomenal with the AA PeeWee Lightning last year, racking up 40 goals and 30 assists in 29 games. At 5’7” and 120 pounds, he will have to adapt to playing against bigger, stronger opponents, a process that has already begun, according to Keogh.

“He is a very skilled player. Over the course of the preseason, we gave him a skate or two to see if he could elevate his game to the next level. He did,” said Keogh.

The other local rookie on this year’s Xtreme team is netminder Kurtis Chapman. He posted a 12W-5L record with the AA PeeWee Lightning last year, with a 3.98 goals against average and .900 save percentage.

Very few AAA Bantam teams carry a 13-year-old netminder, but Keogh was happy to make an exception in this case.

“Out of the goalies we looked at, he was the most consistent. He didn’t have a bad outing. The challenge for most 13 year olds is being strong enough to move, side to side and post to post. He is,” said Keogh

Can Grand Prairie make the jump?

Bantam AAAs offensively balanced, says coach


By TERRY FARRELL Herald-Tribune staff
The bad news for Glen Bauer is that he only has three returning players for his Golden Arrow Bantam AAA Storm team this season.

The good news is that he has another six who played AA last season.

So, in essence, he has half a team of veteran, or at least "upper-level" bantam players.

Forwards Ryan Bauer, Landon Vollman and Kolton Doram return for a second year as AAA players.

AA grads include defencemen Eric Marchesi, Brett Roberts and Calvin Saunders, as well as forwards RyanHartman, Ronan Van Buskirk and Austin Hrehoruk.

In fact, a loo k at his roster shows that Bauer has only kept three first-year bantams, making this, in one sense, a veteran team.

Not so fast, says the coach.

"I hate to use the word veteran because (the majority of them) have never played this level of hockey before," Bauer said. "The bantam AAA level is a huge, huge step, even from the bantam AA level. It's the best 14-year-olds in the province, realistically, at the end of the day. But I think we are dressing a more well- rounded squad than in the past."

The one area with a relative lack of elite experience is in net, where Tyler Boe and Brandon Wells will split the duties.

Boe played for the Grande Prairie bantam B Hawks last season, while Wells played Tier 1 in the All Peace League for Spirit River.

Bauer said they earned their spots on the team.

"They really did well in the tryouts," he said. "Tyler Boe let in one goal in 60 minutes of play against a pretty stellar Red Deer team and a pretty decent Canadian Athletic Club (Edmonton) team. And Brandon Wells let in two goals, dressing one night in the Red Deer game and dressing the other night without even having a warm-up because another boy was sick. So they both did what they had to do to make the hockey club."

They made immediate impressions by sharing a shutout in the game against Red Deer, a 3-0 Storm victory.

Bauer knows his goalies will be tested, particularly early in the season, as his teammates get to know each other. His three 1998 players are all defencemen and he has no returning D from last year, which will add to the pressure felt by the goalies.

He expects the Edmonton teams to have a bit of an edge for the first couple of months, as their rosters are filled with players who have been playing together for quite some time already.

With the bantam AAA Storm being the youngest level of the Grande Peace Athletic Club, and drawing players from not only Grande Prairie, but towns throughout the Peace, a lot of his players have never played together before.

"It takes three months to get them to gel, and understand that we are playing athletic conferences out of the city that have had their kids together... for three or four years already," said Bauer.

Although the heat will be on Boe and Wells a little bit for the first while, Bauer said the nice thing about this team is he has an offensive depth that GPAC bantam teams have lacked in recent years.

"Definitely our strength is in the fact that we have three even forward lines, all of which carry good size wingers – that's kind of where our consistency is," said Bauer. "In the past, usually they have had three or four or five forwards that have been their go-to guys. I think we have nine good guys up front that can really play the game and another three that really complement that with their size and their physical presence. So I think we are as solid on the front end as this team has ever been."

The bantam AAA Storm are coming off a season which, like most GPAC squads, was forgettable, inasmuch as wins were concerned. The Storm finished with a 3-30-0 record, last place in the 22-team league by a considerable margin.

While wins and losses take a back seat to player development, the longer a team plays, the more development a player gets and the best way to keep playing is by making the playoffs. Bauer said that that focus is a mainstay.

"Our goal is always to make the playoffs and that's where we set the bar for the kids – we wouldn't set it any lower than that," he said. "The expectation is for the kids to put their skates on, go to work and work hard to get a win. Sometimes that works in our favour, sometimes it doesn't.

"As for our association's goals, our goal is to produce and develop hockey players so that when they get to the midget AAA level they contribute to the club and (should they) aspire to go on and have a career, whether that be in school, or junior or even professional for that matter, that they get the tools to compete."

It all starts for Bauer and his boys this weekend, as they host the Edmonton K of C Squires in a pair of games Saturday (6:15 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m.) at the Coca-Cola Centre. It's the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League season-opening series for both teams.

tfarrell@bowesnet.com

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Calgary Royals 3 - Okotoks Oilers 0
The Calgary Royals continue to prove why they'll have one of the best goaltending tandems in all of bantam hockey this season with Morrissey and Sawchenko as they earn a 3-0 shut-out victory.  The Royals who are now 2-0-0 on the season have allowed just 2 goals but have also only scored 7.  Jake Morrissey earned the shut-out on the night but wasn't overly tested.  98 born Sean Montgomery got the Royals on the board with his 2nd goal in 2 games to start the season, Kelton Driedger then scored his 3rd goal in 2 games, followed by a Huber marker off a deflection via a Scalise point shot.  Cameron Anklewich picked up a pair of helpers in the victory.

Calgary Bisons 6 - Calgary Northstar Sabres 3
The Bisons have also won their second straight game to start to the season, doubling up the now 0-1-1 Northstar Sabres 6-3.  Nick Merkley coming off a 2 goal opening game output, added 1-3-4 and Braylon Shmyr with a pair of goals as well.  99 born Kyle Olsen scored his first AMBHL goal and Matt Phillips added his 2nd goal in as many games.

more in the morning, good night folks.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Sherwood Park 3 - Edmonton MLAC 2 
The AMBHL is the lone league which has its regular season underway, and there was one game last night featuring Sherwood Park and Edmonton MLAC.  Both teams had subpar seasons in 2010-2011 but Sherwood Park looks to have a good foundation of  defenseman in Brendan Guhle, Jordan Boulton and Cameron Reagan.  It was that defense on Tuesday night that proved to be the difference in a 3-2 opening game victory for the Flyers.  Scoring for Sherwood Park were Grayson Pawlenchuk with 2 goals and Cameron Reagan with a single.

Sherwood Park does have the chance to surprise a few people this year with that core of defense and solid depth scoring including a pair of 98's in Sam Steel and Skyler Mckenzie.  Both Steel and Mckenzie were held off the score sheet in this game though.

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In B.C., the Kamloops Jardine Blazers held a four game exhibition series over the weekend.  Teams that took part were:  Prince George, Kelowna and Vernon.  The Jardine Blazers went 3-0-1 in those games which included a 5-1 win over Vernon, 2-1 over Prince George and a 1-1 tie against Kelowna.  In the final, the Jardine Blazers defeated Prince George 6-4 with Addison Bazien scoring 4-1-5, Nicholas Chyzowski with 1-3-4 along with Dexter Robinson drawing 3 helpers.  Josh Shank and Bailey Depalma split goaltending duties throughout the weekend.

Scoring for MLAC were Anthony Sirianni and Justin Haukenfrers.  The star of the game for MLAC though as to be goaltender Eden Sharp who stopped 53/56 shots shots he faced!

Sask Valley to be a force in Sask Bantam?

Draude could go first round in the WHL Draft

If pre-season hockey is any indication of what this team is capable of, we may see a new power house this season in Saskatchewan bantam hockey.  The newly formed SBAAHL has had several teams merge to form a new, more competitive league and teams to perhaps face the rest of western Canada teams in the other provinces.  One team that we may have to watch are the Sask Valley Vipers.  The Vipers in their past 2 pre-season games have beat Prince Albert Venice House Raiders 18-1 and the Battlefords Barons 9-7 - both scores are unofficial.  Terrell Draude, who is a big, finesse scoring forward ala Ryan Johanssen from the Portland Winterhawks scored 11 goals in those 2 wins!  Logan Schatz also chipped in with 4 goals in the wins and Evan Fiala looked strong as well.

The Sask Valley team consists of players South of Beardy's and over to Martensville, including Warman and area. 

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Medicine Hat 4 - Calgary Northstar Sabres 4
The anticipated debut of 98 born Jaeger White will have to wait until another day as he was forced to sit out a game due to un-specified reasons, as Medicine Hat opened their AMBHL schedule against the Calgary Northstar Sabres.  The Hockey Hounds had enough hands on deck however to force a tie with the Northstar Sabres at 4.  Adding singles for Medicine Hat were Mitch Hallas, Kas Stolz, Tyler Stuber and 98 born Michael Clarke.  For the Northstar Sabres, Jordan Xavier scored 1-1-2 leading the way.  We expect big things from Jordan this season.  98 born star in the making Parker Aucoin who is ranked in our top 2 rounds for the 2013 WHL bantam draft had 1-1-2 as well.  Another 98 born who will contribute this year on the Northstar Sabres Brayden Dunn also scored.

Airdrie 4 - Red Deer Rebels Black 1
The Xtreme have run their record to 2-0-0 with another stellar defensive performance in winning 4-1.  Head coach Terry Keogh before the season said they would have to score by committee and player to their strengths which is defensive play.  Scoring goals for Airdrie were 98 born Dillon Dube, Austin Cameron, Ryan Barrow and Adamu Tanaka.

Red Deer Rebels White 6 - Okotoks 1
The Red Deer Rebels White have avenged their 4-2 opening day loss to the Calgary Royals by defeating Okotoks 6-1.  It very much looks as though Okotoks is going to lack the depth to score many goals this season.  Red Deer White fired 56 shots on the Okotoks goalie tandem of Jacob Standen and Carter Seminuk.  Seminuk turned aside 38/44 shots before giving way to Jacob Standen who stood his ground (pardon the pun), stopping all 12 shots fired his way.  Leading the way for Red Deer was Brad Makofka who scored 3 times.  Makofka played in the NCMHA with Rimbey last season, finishing 3rd in league scoring with 23-33-56.  Andrew Perry, who is ranked in our top 150 list had 1-2-3 and Chase Olsen also had 1-2-3 in the victory.  The lone goal for Okotoks was scored by Davis Sheldon.
AMBHL Exhibition Standings
North
SSAC Southgate  6-1-0  44-16
St. Albert  0-4-0  7-20
Sherwood Park  3-2-0  22-14
CAC  5-1-0  38-18
K of C  3-1-0  19-17
MLAC  3-3-0  24-28
Spruce Grove  0-4-0  6-34
Leduc  5-0-0  30-14
Lloydminster  4-0-0  27-10
Camrose  1-2-0  11-14
Fort Sask.  0-5-0  8-27
Grand Prairie  1-2-0  9-12

South
Calgary Royals  1-2-1  12-18
Calgary Bisons  2-1-0  14-11
Calgary Bronks  7-0-0  31-13
Calgary Northstar Sabres  0-1-1  7-8
Airdrie Xtreme  2-2-0  13-9
Okotoks Oilers  0-4-0  5-22
Lethbridge  0-2-0  3-8
Medicine Hat  1-1-0  6-7
Red Deer White  1-1-0  9-10
Red Deer Black  0-2-2  2-11

Saturday, September 17, 2011

The AMBHL regular season got underway today with a trio of games and one is complete already this afternoon.  The Calgary Bronks and the Red Deer Rebels Black played to a low scoring 1-1 draw.  Devan Reed was the lone goal scorer for the Bronks and Riley Morris stopped 22/23 shots in the win.  We fully expect Riley to be one of the top goal keepers in the AMBHL this season.  Scoring forward Zac Whitby was out with a possible long term injury and defenseman Kurtis Rutledge was out as well.  For the Rebels Black it was Tyler Steenbergan who is a 98 born scoring his first of what will be many on the season in the 3rd period to tie it.  Cole Sears turned aside 25/26 shots in the tie effort.  Hudson Elynuik, the younger brother of Campbell Elynuik who plays with the Regina Pats in the WHL had a bit of a chip on his shoulder as he was served up 8 pims in the game. 

Calgary Royals 4 - Red Deer Rebels White 2
The Royals get 2 goals from Kelton Driedger which also included the GWG.  Driedger who played with the 24-4-0 AA Royals Blue last season as a first year bantam had just 4 goals and 13 points for them.  98 born Sean Montgomery scored as did defenseman Max Lajoie in the win.  Both Red Deer goals came off the stick of Quentin Greenwood.  Greenwood definitely has the talent to surprise a few folks this season in Red Deer.

Airdrie Xtreme 3 - Okotoks Oilers 2
Airdrie survived a late 3rd period push by upstart Okotoks and  hold on for the 3-2 victory in the opening game for both teams.  Chad Harrison would lead the way for Airdrie who expects to score by committee this season.  Also scoring for Airdrie tonight was veteran Xtreme member Kris Leclair.  Replying for Okotoks were Quinton Peplinski and reigning south rookie of the year Mason McCarty.

At the NAPHL showcase down in Minnestota, it was POE skating away with a 4-0 win.  Ethan Bear was a force all game long and had a huge shot for the 4th goal from the point that was WHL caliber.  Tyson Jost scored his 9th goal in 4 games on a beautiful feed from Bear.  The POE success this year will primarily come from its defense as they have been rock solid having only allowed 1 goal in 4 games, while scoring 37.  The play though has been sub-standard and they won't face there first real test until they return home.

More to come later...

Coverage

As was the case last year, all leagues from B.C. all the way to Manitoba will be covered this year once again.  It is currently the pre-season so the blog coverage is primarily on the few tournaments and updates that are taking place right now.  The Alberta AAA AMBHL season is beginning tomorrow and we'll have comments, updates and plenty of opinion on that.  There is a tournament in Melfort next weekend, prior to the Saskatchewan Bantam season kicking off in the 2 leagues shortly after.  The Manitoba bantam season in Winnipeg and Rural will get underway in early October as well.

I apologize for the seemingly weighted B.C. content, which some readers have been complaining about in various email messages.  However, we try to keep readers as up to date as possible as to what is going on through twitter and blog.  Things promise to pick up in the coming weeks as mentioned across all provinces.

As far as the newsletter is concerned, it is totally separate from the blog and they shouldn't be thought of in the same breathe.  The newsletter is 25 pages of content which ranks the top 150 for 97 born, top 95 for 98 players, it ranks the top 50 USA born players and has various interviews with players from all provinces and other news.

I hope this clarifies some issues that people are having with the content.

POE go's to 3-0-0 with a 7-0 win/answers to posters questions

The POE program is proving dominant in Minnesota so far this weekend, having out-scored the opposition now 33-1 in the 3 games.  98 born Tyson Jost has been a bit of a surprise with his speed and hands and has shown to be someone to be reckoned with this year, he scored 2 more times and now has 8 goals and 6 assists in the 3 games.  Jordan Kawaguchi as advertised is fairing well with whoever is on his line, whether it be youngsters Jost/Ayre or if he plays with Williams/Jost, it doesn't matter.  Kawaguchi has 2-10-12 so far and is a sure first rounder.  A bit surprising so far is that Tanner Browne and Joey Gatenby with 1 point combined.  Trevor Ayre has 5 goals thus far and Will Lawrence with 4.  Ethan Bear and Chaz Reddekopp have been very stead on the blue-line.

To answer the posters email questions about the kids from Washington State on POE.  Tyler Brown is a big, dominant defenseman who skates very well and has a good knack for jumping in to the play.  He will be someone to watch for the first couple rounds by the looks of things so far. 

Another poster wanted to know who was on the BWC team so far and here is what I can find:

Goalies
McBride, Nicholas - Goalie
Shugrue, Tyler – Goalie

Defenseman
Schultz, Ty
Fabbro, Dante
Buono, Carmine
Peters, Trevor
Trott, Cameron
Masellis, Dominic
Barberis, Matt
Rasovic, Alexander

Barzal, Matt
Szeto, Justin
Gurney, Braeden
Musil, Adam
Ronning, Ty
Ambrosio, Alex
Griffin, Liam
Holowko, Nicholas
Uy, Kyle
Kylyshbek, Kenessary
Bruno, Nico
Hermary, Matthew

Friday, Sepember 16, 2011 Tournament Thread

Day 2 is underway in Blaine, Minnesota at the NAPHL tournament which you can view through the Fast Hockey website.  We will continue to focus on the POE team as they are the lone Canadian contingent, as well as the western states teams as well who have some players of note.

POE 16 - Texas Tornado 0 (FINAL)
Texas has been outscored 25-0 so far and if it weren't for the 16 minute periods, it could be much worse.  So far today, POE has fired 44 shots on goal, including 33 in the 2nd period.  Tyson Jost has been just flying out here in the 1+ games so far and Trevor Ayre has also showed well.  The line of Kawaguchi/Jost/Williams/Ayre has looked unstoppable at times.  It will be a much stiffer test against St. Louis this afternoon and we'll know more at that point as to how good they really are!

Goal Scorers through 2: Ayre (2), Lawrence, Browne, Jost, Pilet, Wellsby, Bear and Finlay.  Tyler Brown has been rock solid from Defence and the 6'1 Olympia, Wash product is going to shoot up the rankings and fast.  Kawaguchi has 2 more assists so far, giving him 1-6-7 in the tournament.

POE added 7 3rd period goals and handed Texas their 2nd straight 16-0 loss.  6 different players  put up 4 points or more including defenceman Ethan Bear 1-3-4 and Tyler Brown 0-4-4.  Forwards Austin Wellsby and Jordan Kawaguchi each put up 1-4-5 in the game and Kawaguchi now has 2-8-10 in the game.  98 born Trevor Ayre replaced Ethan Williams who sat out as a healthy scratch and put up 4-1-5 and Tyson Jost continues to impress with 4-2-6.  98 born Jost now has 6-5-11 through his first 2 games.
California Titans 7 - Western Michigan 0
The Titans pick up their first win over the over-matched Western Michigan squad.  Western Michigan has been out-scored now 17-1 in 2 games.  Jared Turcotte and Anthony Paretti each scored twice in the win, while Jayson Dimazio had 1-2-3.  Paretti from Rancho Palos Verdes, CA is a 5'8 128lb forward who has great speed and vision out there.  Robert Jacobson from Calabasos, CA stopped all 9 shots for the easy shutout.

Minnesota 4 - Phoenix 3
In a battle of a pair of 1-0 teams, Minnesota was able to score a late goal from small, speedy Dylan Mcdonald to win it late.  The goal was Dylan's 2nd of the game and 3rd of the tournament.  6'0 150lb David Brumm chipped in with a pair of helpers in the win.  Highly touted Jesse Gabrielle picked up his 2nd assist in 2 games but has been held off the scoresheet for goals.  For Phoenix, after scoring 16 goals in the opener against Western Michigan, were held to singles from Christian Cakebread, Hunter Lester and top 5 ranked Jake Durflinger - his 1st of the tournament.  Hunter Lester, from Boise, ID had 6 points in the opener.

St. Louis 4 - San Jose 3
St. Louis is now 2-0 after a narrow win over San Jose.  Andrew Eichenlaub scored in the 3rd period for the winner and Caleb Cooper added 1-1-2.  John Moeller was held off the scoresheet after picking up 3 goals in the opener.  5'10 141 Aaron Burden scored twice for San Jose.

Williams/Jost/Kawaguchi run wild in 10-1 win

The POE program got off to a great start in the NAPHL tournament south of the border this evening with a 10-1 victory over the severely over-matched Western Michigan U14 team.  POE got out to a 8-0 lead after 2 periods of play having out-shot Western Michigan 28-1 after 2 periods and ended up out-shooting them 37-3 overall.  Jordan Kawaguchi had a huge game with 1-4-5, Ethan Williams had 2-3-5 and Tyson Jost with 2-3-5.  Jost of course is a 98 born player who is playing with them on the same line.  Tyler Brown from Washington State scored twice for POE.  There next action is tomorrow afternoon at 2:45 MDT against a much stiffer test in the St. Louis U14 team who won today 4-1 led by a 3 goal performance by John Moeller.

Of note in this tournament is that Ethan Price is playing U16 in age advanced with OMAHA U16.  He was held off the score sheet today in a 6-0 win over Pikes Peak Miners. 

Thursday, September 15, 2011

An interesting battle last night in exhibition action between the Calgary Bisons and the Calgary Royals saw the Bisons take the game 7-4.  The Bions roared out to a 5-0 lead after 2 periods en route to the win.  The line of Nick Merkley, Braylon Shmyr and Kyle Olsen were on fire collecting 5 of the goals with Merkley having 3 goals and 1 assist and Shmyr 1 goal and 3 assists.  Sawchenko was in goal for the duration of the game for the Royals.  Of course we all know by know that Kyle Olson is a '99 born player who is going to play age advanced.  His brother Keillan Olsen is also on the team.  The Royals feature just 1 player who will be a first year bantam in '98 back Sean Montgomery.

In Saskatchewan Midget action, a handful of players are taking part in the midget AAA pre-season in the smaaaahl.  Last night featured a pair of highly thought of '97 born players who should go high in the bantam draft with Regan Nagy for Moose Jaw and Jayden Halbgewachs for Regina.  In this match up, Nagy came out on top with 2 goals in the game in a 3-2 Moose Jaw win. 

And tonight, the POE program is in Minnesota taking part in a 8 team tournament featuring many of of the American players who are on the WEHP Top 50 list for USA born.  We'll keep you up to date all weekend long with how the POE kids are fairing, as well as some selected western American players who we think highly of.

Message posting to be closed

First of all, I would like to thank all the people who have supported the site through the past 17 months or so, since its inception.  However, since the posts have been under moderation, we have been getting more and more derogatory posts sent criticizing the blog posting, various parent groups from teams and our reports.  As a result, it looks like it is going to have to be strictly a source for information and reading what we have to offer out of our time rather than this back and forth banter and slanting remarks.

The newsletter will still continue to be published every two weeks to those of you who still enjoy the content in regards to rankings, previews, interviews etc.

Good luck to all the teams, players, coaches, parents and families heading in to the 2011-2012 bantam season.  It promises to be another exciting season.

*The messages will be left on until end of business on Friday.

POE heads to Blaine, Minnesota for big hockey tournament

The pre-season is in full swing now across western Canada and the western States and continues today with the POE heading to Blaine, Minnesota for the NAPHL tournament.  The tournament will feature the St. Louis Selects, California Titans, Minnesota, San Jose Jr. Sharks, Western Michigan, Phoenix, Texas and of course POE.  We will have someone there watching and keep you up to date as the weekend progresses.

Here is what looks to be the final POE Roster:
Pursuit of Excellence 14U




# PLAYER POS HEIGHT WEIGHT D.O.B HOMETOWN

1 Gathercole, Bobby G 5-10 175 Jul 08, 1997 Lethbridge AB
2 Browne, Tanner D 5-11 180 Jan 19, 1997 Victoria BC
3 Helgason, Tyson D 5-8 135 Jun 19, 1997 Fairview AB
4 Brown, Tyler D 6-1 160 Feb 12, 1997 Olympia WA
5 Gatenby, Joey D 5-8 130 May 15, 1997 Kelowna BC
6 Reddekopp, Chaz D 6-1 175 Jan 01, 1997 West Kelowna BC
7 Bear, Ethan D 5-11 180 Jun 26, 1997 Whitewood SK
8 Lawrence, Will F 5-10 143 Oct 20, 1997 Kelowna BC
9 Ayre, Trevor F 5-7 135 Mar 03, 1998 Surrey BC
10 Kawaguchi, Jordan F 5-6 125 May 04, 1997 Abbotsford BC
11 Finlay, Liam F 5-1 100 Feb 18, 1997 Kelowna BC
12 Wellsby, Austin F 5-8 120 Jun 30, 1997 Kelowna BC
13 Pilet, Sean F 5-9 150 Jan 01, 1997 Seattle WA
14 McDonald, Kody F 5-5 125 Apr 07, 1998 Lethbridge AB
15 Jost, Tyson F 5-4 115 Mar 14, 1997 Edmonton AB
16 Williams, Ethan F 5-10 155 Aug 22, 1997 Winnipeg MB
17 Johnson, Levi F 5-10 145 Oct 20, 1997 Lake Country BC
18 Porter, Cody G 5-9 135 Sep 23, 1997 Vancouver BC
31 McLeod, Joseph G 5-11 180 Oct 21, 1997 Scanterbury MB


Also of note, the AMBHL hockey season will begin on Saturday, September 17 with 3 games and then 4 more games on Sunday.  As was the case last year, we'll run down all the nightly action across western Canada each morning for you to read with your cup of coffee!

The other provinces will begin action a bit later, near the end of September - early October.

Notre Dame lands star American Angus Scott

Huge buzz around Scott has a high pick

The Hounds just got that much stronger as Angus Scott will join the Notre Dame Bantam AAA Hounds.  Scott, who hails from Salt Lake City, UT is a big, aggressive player with a knack for scoring.  Angus was part of the Bobcats AAA program under coach Ron Filion - south of the border, featuring many of WEHP top ranked players.  At 6'1 180 pounds, Angus is sure to be a force that many of you will hear about and soon!

Of course, we all know it was reported that Rylee Zimmer will be heading to Notre Dame as well.  He enrolled last week with the Hounds.

September 12, 2011 newsletter is now ready!

The Septemeber 12, 2011 newsletter is now ready. The season is getting closer and we continue to make minor adjustments to the 97 and 98 born western Canada lists as well as the USA Top 50 lists.


We continue to look at the various leagues across western Canada and this time take a look at the newly formed Saskatchewan Bantam League of SBAAHL North Division. Who are the key players, top rookies and teams to watch this season? We'll let you know.

I had a chance to speak with a Calgary forward who can score but learned to play a defensive side to his game and has become an exceptional leader. We speak with a pair of top 10 ranked USA Top 50 players from Colorado and the L.A. Selects program. I also speak with a Saskatchewan born defenseman who is flying under the radar but for how long? Finally I speak with a '98 born from Vancouver Island who's brother has routes in the WHL, high scoring player won't be hidden for long.

Lastly, we cover some various news and notes from around western Canada as piles of tidbits have been flying in from various scouts, parents, coaches. We'll try to catch up a bit with some tournament information from both north and south of the border in that section.

Calgary Royals Bantam Tournament

The Calgary Royals are off to the finals of their hosted hockey tournament after posting a 7-3 victory this morning over Airdrie.  Cameron Anklewich led the attack with 2-2-4.  Airdrie was able to win just one game in the tournament with star defenceman Marshall Burr playing just once in the 5-1 victory last night.  Troy Van Tetering and Tristan Thompson had a strong tournament for Airdrie while Ryan Barrow had a goal and a couple helpers.  The Royals will play their cross town rivals the Calgary Bronks in the final this afternoon.  The Bronks went a perfect 3-0 in the tournament. 

In some other action over the weekend in the AMBHL, it was Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds playing a pair of games yesterday vs. Lethbridge, then against the Calgary Bisons just 30 minutes after!  In the first game, the Hockey Hounds came out on top 5-1.  A pair of 98 born players, Jordan Taupert and Jaeger White each scored, while Vandersloot picked up 3 goals.  Shortly after that game, they played again and fell 6-1 to the Calgary Bisons.

Lloydminster, who should have a pretty good season and be near the top of the AMBHL standings got off to a nice start in the pre-season with a 8-2 win over Red Deer.  Star forward Andrew Koep scored 3 times for Lloydminster.  The Heat will play again this afternoon before likely making their final cuts.  A pair of highly touted 98 players played together with Kale Clague paired with Tristan Petrie.  Petrie played in the Centre Four Hockey League with Lloydminster last year and we all know how Clague did in the AMBHL.

Also yesterday, it was POE all over Kamloops 10-1.  Langley defeated Mission yesterday 5-3 in PCAHA action.  Sharp led the way for Mission will 2-1-3, Kranabetter 2 assists and '98 born Choy with a goal as well. 

Burnaby Winter Club will hold their Red/White pre-season game today, prior to making some final cuts.  Here listed below is the roster:

Red


Ronning
Bruno
Szeto
Murga
Corazza
Coltellaro
Hermary
Kryski
Gurney

Bar-Lev-Wise
Shultz
Rasovic
Trott
Barberis
Parham

McBride



White

Uy
Barzal
Holowko
Zenone
Siagris
Lang
Kylyshbek
Ambrosio
Griffen

Massellis
Robillard
Ginetti
Buono
Fabbro
Peters

Shugrue

Interesting Airdrie Tie Dye Jerseys?

Assistant captain Kris LeClair embraces teammate Ryan Barrow, following Team Pink's game-winning goal during third period action of the Airdrie Xtreme's annual Tie-Dye game at the Ron Ebbesen Arena on Labour Day, Sept. 5.



Sep 07, 2011 04:38 pm
By Nick Kuhl
Airdrie City View

It may have only been an intra-squad game, but head coach Terry Keogh is already impressed with his team.

The hardest part will be picking the final roster.

Keogh and his Airdrie Xtreme coaching staff will be faced with that task this week, following the Bantam AAA team’s annual Labour Day Tie-Dye game, which wrapped up training camp at the Ron Ebbesen Arena on Sept. 5.

“In camp, there were some easy decisions, but in today’s game, there are no easy decisions,” Keogh said. “Guys really battled hard and showed that they want to play on this team.”

In jerseys used during the Xtreme’s inaugural season during the 1990s, Team Pink used three third period goals to outlast Team Black 5-3. Ryan Barrow had the game-winning goal, while Colton Buckler, Jordan McConnell, Cory Kohut and Zach Giroux also scored for the winning side.

Jared Bainbridge, Kyle Antochow and Ryley Smith countered for Team Black.

Airdrie’s Marshall Burr, who was a defenceman with Team Pink, will be one of the Xtreme’s second-year players when it opens the season at home on Sept. 17. The 14-year-old said he’s looking forward to his sophomore year with the club.

“You know what is expected of you from the coaches (this time around),” he said. “You try to set the tempo as much as you can and just be a leader out there.”

“Coming back as a second-year, it’s easier to get into the speed of the game,” added fellow returning defenceman Tristan Thompson. “As a first-year, it was hard to get ready because everybody was so fast.”

Keogh said he was happy with the development of his veterans and knows they will be relied upon early in the season.

“Your veterans that are familiar with your systems – at the start of the year, they play a big role in helping everyone get up to the level they need to be at,” he said.

“We just have to keep going the way we’re going,” Thompson said. “It’s going to get better as the team gets closer and closer to being finalized.”

The Xtreme, which plays in an exhibition tournament in Calgary this weekend, will look for a repeat of last year’s regular season first-place performance, but try to avoid the first-round playoff upset from a year ago.

“We were concerned somewhat coming into camp about some goal scoring and there’s some players that demonstrated today that, not only do they have some talent around the net to create some opportunities, but that they can play a gritty style as well,” Keogh said.

“A lot of good things came from today.”

“We’ll just try to catch our stride here before the tournament and make sure we’re ready,” Burr said.

“It will be good to see how we stack up against the other teams. I’m pretty excited for that.”

WEHP Announce Top 10 Team Rankings

WEHP are pleased to announce our top 10 preliminary team rankings for the 2011-2012 season.  Rankings at this point are based on projected returning players, new players potentially joining from AA or Peewee players making the jump up to Bantam AAA or in the case of Saskatchewan Bantam AA. We are still playing with the idea of whether to include POE, Notre Dame, OHA or any of the other prep schools in the rankings as they are able to bring players in from all over.  So for now, we will not include either of the 3 schools, even though they are exceptionally strong teams this year and will make noise in any tournament they enter.

WEHP Top 10 Rankings
1.   Burnbaby Winter Club Bruins - A solid core of returning players, addition of Musil, good solid defence and goaltending and a good crop of 98's coming in led by Fabbro.
2.   Edmonton CAC - Returning a solid core of forwards led by Stewart and Burke, defence led by Greer and strong goaltending.
3.   Winnipeg Sharks - Dallas Miller and Reid Gardiner are a pair of first round prospects who will have big seasons.  Purtill and Uhryniak will add good depth.
4.   Calgary Bisons - Merkley, Lester, Shmyr give the Bisons some good anchors in key positions.
5.   Cloverdale Colts - One of the better projected offensive teams this year in western Canada led by Soy, Seto, Stukel and Henderson. 
6.   Lloydminster Heat - Perhaps the top defenceman in bantam hockey in western Canada is a '98 born in Kale Clague.  Koep and others will add very good offence.
7.   Kamloops Jardine Blazers - Winters and Davis on defence give kamloops as good a 1-2 punch back there as any team. Bazien and Chyzowski up front will score and a good group of Peewee's moving up.

8.   Winnipeg Warriors - A bantam 2 team that lost just 3 games last year should make noise in Manitoba.
9.   Melville Millionaires- Despite losing Bear to POE, they still return a very strong core from last year and bring in some dynamite defenceman from Peewee.
10.  Semiahmoo - Craighead, Bradley, Wesley and young Michael Regush give them a good chance at success this year.

Thoughts and prayers on Lokomotiv Hockey team plane crash

MOSCOW - A Russian jet carrying a hockey team crashed Wednesday while taking off in western Russia, killing 36 people and leaving one critically injured, officials said.


The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the Yak-42 crashed immediately after taking off from an airport near the city of Yaroslavl, on the Volga River, 240 kilometres northeast of Moscow. It said one person survived the crash with grave injuries.

The ministry said the plane was carrying the Lokomotiv hockey team from Yaroslavl.

The team was heading to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, where it was to play Thursday against Dynamo Minsk in the opening game of the season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The CHL is a league of several ex-Soviet countries.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has sent his transport minister to the site of the crash, 15 kilometres east of Yaroslavl.

Former NHLers on the team roster include Pavol Demitra and Ruslan Salei, and the coach in Canadian Brad McCrimmon. But it was not immediately known whether they were on board the plane.

Former Montreal Canadien Brent Sopel, who is now playing in Russia, tweeted shortly after the crash: "In shock. Prayers out to all of the KHL families."

McCrimmon, 52, is a native of Saskatchewan. He played defence for six NHL teams — Boston, Philadelphia, Calgary, Detroit, Hartford and Phoenix from 1979-80 to 1996-97.

He played 1,222 regular season games in the NHL, collecting 81 goals, 322 assists and 1,416 penalty minutes.

McCrimmon was an assistant coach with the New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers and Detroit Red Wings. He also served as head coach of the Western Hockey League's Saskatoon Blades.

The short- and medium-range Yak-42 has been in service since 1980 and dozens are still in service with Russian and other airlines.

In June, another Russian passenger jet crashed in the northwestern city of Petrozavodsk, killing 47 people. The crash of that Tu-134 plane has been blamed on pilot error.

President Dmitry Medvedev has announced plans to take aging Soviet-built planes out of service starting next year.

— With files from The Canadian Press.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Head shots are becomming a regular news feature in hockey these days.  With more and more concussions being diagnosed, and the study of the impact that they are having on the players who suffer from hits to the head, several programs and studies are being brought forth in various leagues all across North America.

Hockey Canada has layed out a specific wording of when a penalty will be assessed.

www.hockeycanada.ca

Approved at the Hockey Canada Annual General Meeting in Calgary, Alta., in May, Hockey Canada’s new head contact rules are zero tolerance, implemented to cut down on the number of head injuries suffered in the game.

The new rule will be in effect immediately, beginning with the start of the 2011-12 season.

Below is the wording included in the Hockey Canada Rule Book, outlining when the penalty is to be called and what penalty is to be assessed.

Rule 6.5 – Head Contact
(a) In minor hockey and female hockey, a minor penalty shall be assessed to any player who accidentally contacts an opponent in the head, face or neck with his stick or any part of the player’s body or equipment.

(b) In minor hockey and female hockey, a double minor penalty or a major and a game misconduct penalty, at the discretion of the referee and based on the degree of violence of impact shall be assessed to any player who intentionally contacts an opponent in the head, face or neck with her stick or any part of the player’s body or equipment.

(c) In junior hockey and senior hockey, a minor and a misconduct penalty, or a major and a game misconduct penalty, at the discretion of the referee based on the degree of violence of impact, shall be assessed to any player who checks an opponent in the head in any manner.

(d) A major and a game misconduct penalty, or a match penalty shall be assessed any player who injures an opponent under this rule.

(e) A match penalty shall be assessed any player who deliberately attempts to injure or deliberately injures an opponent under this rule.
Note: All contact above the shoulders (neck, face and head) is to be called Head Contact under one of the above (In minor hockey and female hockey).



Andrea Sands of Postmedia news has a very interesting article in regards to this topic.  Several Peewee hockey players in Western Canada will be part of the study.  You can read the rest of the article right here:  http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Peewee+hockey+players+monitored+concussion+study/5342541/story.html.

...............................

The Airdrie Xteme will look to avenge their first round loss from a year ago in 2011-2012.  Nick Kuhl of the Airdrie City News takes a look at the Xtreme camp with head coach Terry Keogh right here:  http://www.airdriecityview.com/article/20110902/ACV1101/309029984/xtreme-prepare-for-upcoming-season.

..............................

The Lloydminster Heat of the AMBHL look to take another climb up the standings this season.  Robb Fenton of the Lloydminster Source takes a closer look here:  http://lloydminstersource.com/Sports/tabid/60/entryid/1213/Default.aspx

Confirmed Tournament Dates
Saskatchewan
Melville Bantam AA Tournament - October 14-16 (8-10 SK, MB)
Regina AA Challenge - November 10-13
Swift Current Bantam AA Tournament - November 25-27
Prince Albert "Messier Project" Tournament - December 9-11 (24 teams)
Saskatoon AA Hockey Tournament - December 30 - January 1 (16 teams)

Alberta
Calgary SW Royals Calgary Sep 9-11, 2011

Edmonton SSAC John Ferguson Edmonton Sep 12-18, 2011
Red Deer Rebels Red Deer Oct 8-10, 2011
Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds Medicine Hat Nov 17-20, 2011
Lethbridge Golden Hawks Lethbridge Dec 1-4, 2011
Edmonton Bantam Invitational Edmonton Dec 27-31, 2011
John Reid Memorial St Albert Jan 19-22, 2012

British Columbia
Chilliwack (International Challenge Cup) Bantam AAA  October 7-10
9th annual Seafair MHA Icebreaker Rep Tournament  October 7-10
KMHA Bantam Tier 1 Tournament  (Kelowna) October 21-23
Tim Jardine Bantam Showcase (South Delta)  November 10-13
Randy Lindros Memorial (Kamloops)  November 11-13
Bantam Tier 1 Tournament (Comox)  November 11-13
Dallas Saunders 31st International Abbotsford Tournament  November 24-27
Annual Bantam Tier 1 Tournament (Prince George)  December 8-11
VRC Rick Lapointe Bantam AAA Tournament (Victoria)  December 8-11
OHA Bantam Tier 1 Tournament (Penticton)  December 27-30
KIBIHT (Kamloops)  April 4-8

Top 10 1-2 Forward/Defenceman punch!

We will continue the Top 10 Thursdays with a double feature today and explore who we all think are the top 10 forward and defenceman punch on the same team.

Ty Schultz is one of the top ranked defenceman for the draft

1st overall ranked Matt Barzal

1.   Matt Barzal - Ty Schultz - BWC BRUINS
2.   Dallas Miller - Ryan Gardiner - WINNIPEG SHARKS
3.   Nick Merkley - Oliver Lester - CALGARY BISONS
4.   Jordan Kawaguchi - Ethan Bear - POE
5.   Addison Bazien - Kevin Davis (Alex Winters) - KAMLOOPS JARDINE BLAZERS
6.   Matthew Campese - Lochlan Morrison - PRINCE ALBERT Venice House Raiders
7.   Dylan Stewart - Justin Greer - EDMONTON CAC
8.   Andrew Koep - Kale Clague - LLOYDMINSTER HEAT
9.   Jayden Halbgewachs - Brennan Riddle - BALGONIE PRAIRIE STORM
10. Ryan Barrow - Marshall Burr - AIRDRIE XTREME

Top 10 Thursdays

A new blog idea this year will give us a chance to look at various top 10 lists in a number of different categories.  Today, I would like to start with who we feel have the top 1-2 punch for scoring across Western Canada.

1.   Matt Barzal - Adam Musil (Justin Szeto)  BWC BRUINS
2.   Nick Merkley - Braylon Shmyr - CALGARY BISONS
3.   Chris Seto - Tyler Soy - CLOVERDALE COLTS
4.   Jordan Kawaguchi - Ethan Williams - POE
5.   Dylan Stewart - Brayden Burke - EDMONTON CAC
6.   Darien Craighead - Matt Bradley - SEMIAHMOO
7.   Matt Fonteyne - Tristan Starzynski - LEDUC
8.   Dallas Miller - Julien Uhryniak - WINNIPEG SHARKS
9.   Matthew Campese - Reed Gunville - PRINCE ALBERT Venice House RAIDERS
10. Jansen Harkins - Cal Babych - NSWC WINTERHAWKS

As always, feedback is welcomed and the list is of course up for debate!