Western Elite Hockey Prospects: January 2012

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Western U.S.A Top 10

With more and more American hockey players choosing the route of the WHL and its fantastic education program options, we've decided to amp up the coverage of this group for the final 3 months prior to the bantam draft. With that said, we now have a top 65 list of western U.S.A players who are eligable to be drafted in the coming bantam draft. With that said, many of the players listed may or may not come but this will supply some names for people to watch down the stretch. Also you can look for more interviews with the top players from this group in the coming newsletters.

Western U.S.A. Top 10
1. Robby Jackson F L.A. Selects 5'8 160
2. Keoni Texeira D L.A. Selects 6'0 192
3. Ethan Price F Omaha U16 5'11 175
4. Evan Sarthou G L.A. Selects 5'11 145
5. Zach Galambos D Compuware 6'0 160
6. Collin Saccoman D Shattuck St. Mary's
7. Jesse Gabrielle F Osseo Maple Grove Crimson 5'10 185
8. Tanner Moyer F Wenatchee Wild 5'11 170
9. Daniel Woolfenden D Seattle Jr. Admirals 5'9 155
10. Rem Pitlick F Shattuck St. Mary's 5'4 117

* For the rest of the top 65, please visit the newsletter.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Provincial Top 10 Team Rankings

It has been a while since we've offered the rankings on the top 10 teams in each province. There have been several readers of the newsletter and/or the blog who have asked about some of the Saskatchewan teams or for that matter even the Manitoba teams and how they rank. It is a bit easier to rank the B.C. and Alberta teams this year due to the fact many of the top teams have met at the Medicine Hat and St. Albert tournaments. For the Saskatchewan and Manitoba teams it is a bit harder to gauge but there were some teams from Manitoba at the Medicine Hat tournament and Balgonie was at John Reid. It is apparent that there isn't a top 10 team in western Canada from either of those provinces.

British Columbia
1. Cloverdale Colts - PCAHA
2. BWC Bruins - PCAHA
3. Semiahmoo Ravens - PCAHA
4. NSWC Winterhawks - PCAHA
5. POE - OMAHA
6. OHA - OMAHA
7. Seafair Islanders - PCAHA
8. Victoria Raquet Club - VIAHA
9. Kelowna Jr. Rockets - OMAHA
10. Abbotsford Hawks - PCAHA

Alberta
1. Calgary Royals
2. SSAC Southgate Lions
3. Lloydminster Heat
4. Sherwood Park Flyers
5. St. Albert Sabres
6. Calgary Bisons
7. Edmonton CAC
8. Calgary Bronks
9. Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds
10. Leduc Allen's Transport

Saskatchewan
1. Balgonie Prairie Storm - SBAAHL
2. North East Wolfpack - SBAAHL
3. Sask Valley Vipers - SBAAHL
4. Weyburn Red Wings - SBAAHL
5. Saskatoon Stallions - GSHL
6. Melville Millionaires - SBAAHL
7. West Central Wheatkings - SBAAHL
8. Yorkton Terriers - SBAAHL
9. Battlefords Barons - SBAAHL
10. Saskatoon Outlaws - GSHL

Manitoba
1. Pembina Valley Hawks - Ind
2. Winnipeg Warriors - WPG AAA
3. Brandon Wheatkings - WPG AAA
4. Winnipeg Monarchs - WPG AAA
5. Southeast Blizzard - Eastman
6. Winnipeg Sharks - WPG AAA
7. Northern Knights - Eastman
8. Southwest Jets - Eastman
9. Winnipeg Hawks - WPG AAA
10. Seine River Snipers - Eastman

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Sunday, January 29 Update

Manitoba
Brandon 3 - Winnipeg Monarchs 2
In a battle of two of the top teams in the Winnipeg AAA league it was Brandon riding the hot goaltending of Tyson Verhelst to a 3-2 victory on Saturday. For Brandon, it was Jordy Stallard scoring his 10th, Marco Campanella his 12th and Hechler with his 5th of the season. The Monarchs goals both came off the stick of league scoring leader Jackson Keane. Keane, the son of Mike Keane has been one of our fastest risers up the rankings to start the 2nd half of the season. Jackson now has 20 goals and 38 points. His 20 goals trail only 98 born forward Tanner Kaspick of Brandon, who has 22. Brandon is now 18-9-1 and Winnipeg Monarchs are 13-11-0.

Other scores:
Thunder Bay 6 - Interlake 3
Winnipeg Warriors 4 - Winnipeg Sharks 2
Winnipeg Hawks 5 - Winnipeg Monarchs 1 (Friday)

Saskatchewan
SBAAHL

Friday Action
North East Wolfpack 7 - Humboldt Broncos 1
The North East Wolfpack seem to have found their game once again after a brief slump that started at the Prince Albert Bantam "AA" Tournament and carried on after a bit. They improve to 14-3-3 and continue to lead the SBAAHL North by just 1 point over Sask Valley. While Humboldt fall to 3-17-1 and continue to struggle without their star forward Drew Litwin. Despite their sub-par record, Humboldt will still qualify for the playoffs as all 6 North teams make it. In this game, it was a rough affair with 70 minutes in penalty's handed out which included 9 hit to the head penalty's. On the score-sheet it was Zach Paziuk leading the way with 2-1-3. Paziuk has put himself together a solid season with 23-14-37 in 21 games for North East, placing him 13th in league scoring. Gage Miskey scored his 3rd of the year for Humboldt.

Sask Valley Vipers 5 - Battleford Barons 5
The Vipers and Barons play to a 5-5 on Friday in a tame contest. Leading the way for Sask Valley was Kennedy Fox-Zacharias with 3 assists. Fox-Zacharias who plays an gritty game for the Vipers has 9-13-22 in 19 games this season. The Vipers got goals from 5 different scorers and surprisingly Terrell Draude, the league's scoring leader wasn't one of them. For the Barons, it was Colton Iron scoring twice to lead them. Iron, who continues to put up goals for the Barons may garner a look come draft day. The 6'2 190lb Iron now has 24-13-37 in 17 games and is amongst the scoring leaders in the league.

Saturday Action
West Central 7 - Yorkton 5
West Central out-gun the Terriers 7-5 to move to 11-5-4 this season and sit just 4 points back of 2nd place Sask Valley in the North. Yorkton with the loss are now 9-7-4 and sit in 4th place in the South. In this game, Yorkton had leads of 4-1 and 5-2 but in the 3rd West Central would score 4 straight goals to take this one by the 7-5 score. Leading the way for West Central was Brandon Arnold with 1-2-3, Bast 2-1-3 and Shane Collins with 2-1-3. Arnold with 19-31-50 and Bast with 22-21-43 both sit in the top 7 in league scoring. For Yorkton it was Chance Patterson scoring 3 times and adding 1 assist. The 6'2 175lb Patterson from Foam Lake has 7-5-12 in 20 games.

Balgonie 4 - Regina Senators 0
The Prairie Storm have now clinched top spot in the SBAAHL South with the shut-out win over the Senators. The Storm now sit at 18-2-0 while the Senators are at 5-11-4 and sit 8th. The top 8 teams in the South will make the playoffs so this could very well be a first round preview. For Balgonie it was James Piller scoring both goals, he now has 12-9-21 in 19 games. Marshall Wilton picked up a couple points for Balgonie as well. Blade Roh got the shut-out.

Melville 10 - Moose Jaw 5
The Millionaires keep pace with Weyburn and reamin just one point back for 2nd place in the South with the big 10-5 win on Saturday. The Millionaires built up a 5-1 lead after the first period and never looked back. This game was a very rough, chippy game with several hit to the head calls and just kept getting worse and worse until with under a minute left all heck broke looses with fights breaking loose after yet another hit to the head incident. I'm sure we may be looking at some suspensions from this one. Leading the way for Melville was Dakota Boutin with 5 goals and 1 assist! Donovan Neuls 1-3-4 and Rykr Cole had 2-1-3. Cole sits 3rd in league scoring with 31-29-60 in 19 games. Boutin is 8th at 21-20-41 in just 15 games. Neuls has 51 points in 19 games. Dawson Davidson, a 98 born defenseman continues to impress this season with 3-35-38 in 19 games. His 35 assists lead the league. Not bad for a 98 born dman! For Moose Jaw, Zach Hagerman and Connor Murphy each had 2-1-3. Murphy now has 3 goals this season and Hagerman now has 4.

Sask Valley Vipers 9 - Prince Albert Jr. Raiders 2
Sask Valley improve to 13-4-4 while the Jr. Raiders are 4-13-5. This is another potential first round playoff preview. One that the Vipers have totally dominated this year. Leading the way for Sask Valley was Terrell Druade with 2-3-5 and he now sits alone in the league lead for points with 46-35-81 in 21 games this season. 5'5 125 Logan Schatz had 2-1-3, giving him 15-25-40 in 18 games. For Prince Albert, who played this game without their captain and leading scorer Matthew Campese, got goals from Fiddler and Warkentine.

North East Wolfpack 3 - Humboldt Broncos 2
The Wolfpack improve to 15-3-3 and move 3 points up on 2nd place Sask Valley with a narrow 3-2 win. Humboldt is now down to 3-18-1. Chad Grambo and D- Lane Regnier each pick up 1-1-2 to lead the way for North East. Tanner Brockman and Dawson Atamanchuk score the goals for Humboldt. Brockman has stepped up since the injury to Litwin and now has 9-14-23 in 22 games.

AMBHL Action
Sherwood Park 8 - Camrose 2
The Sherwood Park Flyers have now pulled in to a 1st place tie with SSAC Southgate Lions at 20-4-3 with a convincing 8-2 victory over Camrose on Friday night. Camrose at 13-11-5 remain one point back of Leduc for 2nd and home ice advantage in the Charger North. For Sherwood Park it was River Beattie, Jesse Zahirchuk and Grayson Pawlenchuk each scoring 2 goals in the victory. Pawlenchuk has 20 goals for Sherwood Park and has been one of our fastest climbers up the draft rankings in the past couple months. Team scoring leader Sam Steel with 1-2-3 now has 23-19-42 in 27 games. You will be hearing a lot from him next year in terms of being a possible 2013 WHL first rounder. Danton Davies and Robbie Fulton replied for Camrose who continue to play without one of their top forwards - Landon Pilger. Pilger could be finished for the year by the sounds of it.

Edmonton KC 6 - Edmonton MLAC 4
In a game of the 5th and 6th place teams in the Nitro North and who also will not be making the playoffs, it was the 98 born players who shone in this one. For KC, it was Alex Rotundo scoring 4 goals. Rotundo is currently rated in the first round for the 2013 WHL bantam draft. He also leads KC in scoring with 21-13-34 in 28 games. For MLAC it was another 98 born shining as Ryan Jevne scored 3 times and added 1 assist. His fellow '98 born team-mate Nolan Volcan had 1-2-3. Volcan leads MLAC in scoring with 28 points in 28 games while Jevne has 22.

Leduc 5 - Spruce Grove 3
Leduc stay in 2nd place at 13-10-5, 1 point up on Camrose while Western Canada Bantam Championship host Spruce Grove fall to 6-22-1 and are in a fight with Fort Saskatchewan and Grand Prairie for the final playoff spot and the right to Lloydminster in the first round. Tristan Starzynski led the way for Leduc with 1-2-3. He now has 17-17-34 and is just behind Young and Fonteyne for the team scoring lead. Fonteyne had 1-2-3 and Young had 1-1-2 for Leduc in this game. For Spruce Grove, G- Nicholas Schneider turned aside 53/57 shots he face and gritty forward Justin Jacobson had 1-2-3. Jacobson was all over the score-sheet as he also took 4 minor penalties, giving him 117 pims on the season. Team scoring leader Conner Lukan did not play in this one.

Saturday Action
Red Deer Black 3 - Airdrie 1
Red Deer Black keep their slim playoff hopes alive as they sit 7 points back of 4th place Lethbridge and they have just 6 games remaining. Lethbridge though have 3 games in hand. Airdrie who may finish under .500 for the first time in many years are 10-13-5 and in a battle with Red Deer White and Lethbridge for 2nd in the division. Leading the way for Red Deer Black was '98 Tyler Steengergan with 2 assists, giving him a team leading 14-26-40. G- Carson Franks stopped 32/33 shots. For Airdrie, D- Tristan Thompson scored his 8th of the season.

Lloydminster 4 - Fort Saskatchewan 0
The Heat move to 21-4-3 and sit tied for the overall league lead in points with the Calgary Royals at 45. Lloydminster have already clinched first overall in their division. They played this one without league goal-scoring leader Andrew Koep. Chase Bateman and Shawn Weber each scored 1-1-2 for Lloydminster. Shawn Weber sits 2nd in Lloydminster scoring with 40 points in 28 games. 98 D- Kale Clague scored his 11th of the season. Carter Hart stopped 44/48 shots for Fort Sask.

Calgary Bisons 8 - Red Deer White 2
The Bisons move 4 points up on their cross town rivals Calgary Bronks with a big 8-2 win. The Bisons have scored the 2nd most amount of goals in the league. In Merkley's absence the line of 98 born Phillips, Keillan Olson and Brayden Brown combine for 13 points. Phillips scored 4 times and now has 16 goals. Keillan Olson with 1-4-5 now has 33 points in 28 games and Brown has 12 points in 27 games. Braylon Shmyr scored his 33rd.
* Corrected Information - Merkley did in fact play.

Medicine Hat 7 - Okotoks 4
The Hockey Hounds improve to 14-7-4 and hold a 9 point lead over 2nd place Airdrie. Okotoks trail the 6 place Northstar Sabres by 6 points for the final playoff spot in the Calgary division. For Medicine Hat in this one it was Kas Stolz with 3 goals, giving him 10-12-22 in 27 games. 98 born F- Michael Clarke had 3 assists and now has 23 points in 27 games. 98 born Jaeger White scored his 26th goal in 26 games and fellow '98 Jordan Taupert scored his 13th. Medicine Hat should be a dangerous team once again next year. For Okotoks who played without top forward Mason McCarty got 2 assists for 2nd leading scorer on the team Eric Theander. Okotoks goalies faced 59 shots in this game.

Edmonton CAC 9 - Grand Prairie 2
Edmonton CAC improve to 17-8-3 and are still 6 points back of first place SSAC and Sherwood Park. Grand Prairie is in that 3-way battle for the final playoff spot in the other division with For Sask. and Spruce Grove. In this game, Dylan Stewart, Brayden Burke and Cole Gammer each scored twice. Brayden Burke also added two helpers giving him a team leading 56 points. CAC have 6 players with 15 or more goals, making them a dangerous team heading in to the playoffs. For Grand Prairie, Kolton Dorum had 1-1-2 and now has 18-8-26. His 18 goals are far and away the team lead and should be given a look on draft day.

British Columbia

PCAHA Results

Thurday Action
BWC 2 - NSWC 2
Semiahmoo 5 - Abbotsford 3
Chilliwack 5 - Port Coquitlam 4

Saturday Action
BWC 6 - Seafair 1
Chilliwack 5 - Richmond 4

OMAHA Action
Kelowna 3 - Prince George 1
Kamloops 10 - Prince George 2

Sunday, January 29 Update

Friday, January 27, 2012

January 30, 2012 newsletter is now ready

*Stats have been updated for all Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba players up to January 27, 2012. The Stats now included all GSHL player stats which are available for individual players upon request. THE PCACA doesn't produce specific stats, so if any of you have these or would like them included, please forward. From B.C., we have updated POE, OHA, Kamloops and Seafair individual player statistics.
RankingsThe rankings have changed quite a bit in regards to both the 97 and 98 player rankings. The John Reid Memorial Tournament was a great tool to be able to determine where to slot specific players from all provinces. Some major rises, new additions and some players whose play has them dropping down the rankings as well. We also received some scouting notes from south of the border and have adjusted those rankings.

Interviews
First off, we chat with a player from one of the top teams in western Canada and who had a very good John Reid Memorial Tournament. He is very much looking forward to the Alberta Cup.

Next, I speak with a British Columbia goalie who was one of the goalies at the John Reid Memorial Tournament. He looks up to Carey Price and tells us why!

I also had the pleasure to speak with a big defenseman who is making major noise in the second half of the season. He is from British Columbia

Finally, I chat with perhaps the top player heading in to the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft. He has scouts wishing it was his draft year this year!

News and Notes/Tournament Re-Cap

The Top 20 power rankings make another appearance and some movement with the top teams has taken place.

The Top 10 western U.S.A teams are updated as well

Also provided is a John Reid Memorial tournament re-cap as well as some news and notes on bantam happenings coming up across western Canada and the western states.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

WEHP #1 Ranked '98 born prospect - Kale Clague

The odds on favourite to go 1st overall in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft is Kale Clague of the Lloydminster Heat of the AMBHL. Edmonton's Global Sports honoured Kale as athlete of the week on Tuesday, here is there piece on him!

Just click on the heading to view the video...

Ethan Williams has returned home to Winnipeg

POE forward Ethan Williams has left POE and will return home to Winnipeg immediately for the 2nd half of the season and his schooling. There was absolutely no issues with the program at POE or anything like that. It is a personal/family matter and we'll leave it at that.

Ethan will return to POE to take part in the KIBIHT Tournament in April. He has not left the program.

All the best to Ethan and his family moving forward.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

2013 Western Canada Bantam Championships

The Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League are pleased to announce that the 2013 Western Canada Bantam Championships have been awarded to West Central Wheat Kings.

The SBAAHL playoff format is set and all 6 North Teams qualify while 8 of the 11 South teams will advance. Each series will be a best of 3 series.

Round 1 - Feb 19 - 29
Round 2 - Mar 1 - 10
Round 3 - Mar 11 - 20
North vs. South Final - Mar 21 -31

2012 WHL U.S. Prospects Camp Set

Calgary, AB - The Western Hockey League will be hosting the seventh annual WHL U.S. Prospects Camp in Anaheim, California at the Anaheim Ice facility from April 13-15, 2012.

The WHL U.S. Prospects Camp provides a unique opportunity for U.S. born hockey players to participate with other top ranked 1997 and 1998 born players in the only evaluation camp conducted by the Western Hockey League in the U.S. this season. The WHL is the largest Major Junior Hockey League in North America and is a leading supplier of player talent to the National Hockey League. Virtually all of the WHL’s 22 Member Clubs will have scouts in attendance to evaluate player’s ability to play in one of the world’s finest development League for junior aged players.

“The WHL U.S. Prospects Camp provides our WHL Clubs with the opportunity to evaluate top prospects from throughout the western United States who are eligible for this year’s WHL Bantam Draft,” commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison, “It is important we provide these young prospects every opportunity to learn more about the benefits of playing in the Western Hockey League, including details on our WHL Scholarship Program.”

The WHL U.S. Prospects Camp is open only to U.S. Residents born in 1997 and 1998, who live in the Western United States (all U.S. States west of the Mississippi River and Alaska). Of the 34 U.S. born players currently on WHL rosters, 16 attended a WHL U.S. Prospects Camp.

WHL Head Coaches will run the benches of each camp team. Last year’s camp featured Bruno Campese (Prince Albert Raiders), Dean Clark (Prince George Cougars), Don Hay (Vancouver Giants) and Derek Laxdal (Edmonton Oil Kings). Current California born WHL players will also attend the camp, serving as assistant coaches during the weekend. Current Kamloops Blazer Chase Souto (Yorba Linda, CA) and graduate player Parker Stanfield (Orange County, CA/Everett Silvertips) attended last year’s camp.

The WHL U.S. Prospect Camp also features a WHL Prospects Information Session, where players and their families will learn about the benefits of playing Major Junior hockey in Canada. In past seasons guest speakers have included former Kamloops Blazers’ Scott Neidermeyer and Darcy Tucker, and current Edmonton Oil King Tyler Maxwell.

For those players who were invited to participate in this year’s camp, please complete the Player Registration Form and submit it to the WHL Office:

Attn: Tyler Boldt
Manager, Player Development and Recruitment
Western Hockey League
Phone: 403-693-3058
Fax: 403-693-3031
Email: boldtt@whl.ca

Team rosters, finalized schedules, and other camp information will become available in the near future

KIBIHT Tournament

There have been a few teams announced who will be attending the KIBIHT Tournament which runs from April 4-8 in Kamloops, B.C. Once again, the KIBIHT will run at the same time the Western Canada Bantam Hockey Championships take place in Spruce Grove, Alberta. As a result, we may not see many of the top teams confirm until they are eliminated from provincials. Teams like BWC, Cloverdale and Semiahmoo all feel they have a great shot at advancing from B.C. so they are likely to wait. As are teams like Lloydminster, SSAC, Sherwood Park, Calgary Royals and a couple others from Alberta.

Here are the confirmed teams attending currently:
Airdrie Xtreme
Burnaby Eagles
Grand Prairie Storm
Kamloops Jardine Blazers
Mission Stars
North Shore Winter Club
OHA
POE
Richmond Blues
Sask Valley Vipers

Monday, January 23, 2012

WEHP Top 10 Western Canada Team Rankings

WEHP are pleased to announce the weekly Top 10 Team Rankings for western Canada this afternoon.

1. Cloverdale Colts - The Colts have won a remarkable 16 games in a row overall which has included the Burnaby Christmas tournament win over NSWC and now the big John Reid Memorial victory over Semiahmoo. They have also defeated BWC twice in a row, once in regular season (5-3) and at the John Reid (3-1).
2. BWC Bruins - BWC have been as hot as anyone this year. However, recent losses to Cloverdale have put them to the #2 spot in western Canada now.
3. Semiahmoo Ravens - They have been on quite a roll as of late, going 5-0-0 at the John Reid with wins over SSAC, Bisons, CAC, POE and have won two of the past three games vs. NSWC.
4. NSWC Winterhawks - They have had a tremendous season but lately have dropped several games going back to the Burnaby Christamas Tournament which has now carried over to the John Reid Tournament. They lost games to Sherwood Park, Calgary Bisons and the Calgary Bronks at the latest tournament.
5. Calgary Royals - Have just 2 league play losses in the AMBHL and at the John Reid defeated SSAC 4-1 before slumping a bit near the end. Lost to Semiahmoo and BWC but ended out nicely with a win over Sherwood Park.
6. POE - Lost to BWC, Semiahmoo and NSWC which has all but cemented them in a tier below with the Royals and SSAC now. They have lost one of their leading scorers as well.
7. SSAC Southgate Lions - Have hit a bit of a skid as of late with a couple consecutive losses in league player and then carried that through with a opening loss to the Royals at the John Reid. Ended the tournament with wins over Prairie Storm, Lloydminster and the Bisons.
8. Lloydminster Heat - Had a couple ups and downs at the John Reid Tournament with losses to CAC and a 6-5 loss to SSAC but tied BWC and beat St. Albert and Bronks quite easily. They are 20-4-3 in league play.
9. Sherwood Park - Have been very strong all season long. At the tournament this past weekend, they lost to Cloverdale, POE and the Royals. They can give teams fits and will be a force down the stretch.
10. Edmonton CAC - They have been hot as of late in the AMBHL and continued that in to the John Reid Tournament with two straight wins over the Bronks and Lloydminster. However, they couldn't continue that roll with losses to BWC, Semiahmoo and the L.A. Selects down the stretch.

Honourable Mentions:
Calgary Bisons
St. Albert Sabres
Seafair Islanders
Pembina Valley hawks
OHA

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Cloverdale are John Reid Memorial Tournament Champions!

The Cloverdale Colts continue to be red hot, winning their 16th game in a row en route to the John Reid Memorial Tournament Final. The run in St. Albert was very impressive and included wins against L.A. Selects (7-4), Notre Dame (7-5), St. Albert (5-3), Sherwood Park (5-4), BWC (3-1) and Semiahmoo (5-1).

As has been the case all tournament long, the big line of Soy-Seto-Stukel were simply too much to contain for Semiahmoo. Chris Seto had 1-1-2, Jakob Stukel 2-0-2 and Tyler Soy 2-3-5. Tyler Soy who was ranked 4th overall in our latest rankings for 97 born finished the tournament with 9-11-20 in the tournament. Soy was voted tournament M.V.P. Chris Seto 9-8-17 and Stukel 8-5-13 were far too strong. Gregory Maggio stopped 35/36 shots in the victory. Darien Craighead capped off a strong tournament with 7-9-16. Plotnikoff with 15 points as well as Bradley and Wesley had 11 points a piece.

John Reid Memorial Top 10 Scoring Leaders
1. Tyler Benson 10-11-21 5GP SSAC
2. Tyler Soy 9-11-20 6GP Cloverdale - MVP
3. Giorgio Estephan 6-13-19 5GP SSAC
4. Chris Seto 9-8-17 6GP Cloverdale
5. Darien Craighead 7-9-16 6GP Semiahmoo
6. Cole Plotnikoff 8-7-15 6GP Semiahmoo
7. Matt Barzal 7-8-15 6GP BWC
8. Jakob Stukel 8-5-13 6GP Cloverdale
9. Jansen Harkins 7-5-12 5GP NSWC
10. Jayden Halbgewachs 8-3-11 Balgonie

John Reid Memorial Top 5 Goalies
1. Nick McBride 4-1-0 2.07 .920 290 minutes BWC
2. Logan Thompson 2-0-0 2.22 .933 135 minutes Calgary Bisons
3. Stefan Wornig 3-1-0 2.51 .920 239 minutes Semiahmoo Ravens
4. Zach Sawchenko 1-2-0 2.65 .890 181 minutes Calgary Royals
5. Kyle Cheema 3-0-0 2.67 .920 180 minutes Cloverdale Colts

John Reid Memorial Awards Re-cap
Reid Divison
F- Tyler Soy
F- Nick Merkley
F- Robby Jackson
D- Parker Wotherspoon
D- Joe Gatenby
G- Kyle Cheema

Iginla Division
F- Andrew Koep
F- Matt Barzal
F- Cole Plotnikoff
D- Ty Schultz
D- Kale Clague
G- Stefan Wornig

Top Forward
Tyler Soy

Top Defenseman
Ty Schultz

Top Goalie
Stefan Wornig

MVP
Tyler Soy

John Reid Memorial Tournament - Day 4

SSAC 5 - Calgary Bisons 4
SSAC finish at 3-2-0 and the Bisons at 2-3-0. Nick Merkley led the way once again for the Calgary Bisons with 1-1-2. Merkley led the Bisons in tournament scoring in goals (6) and points (10) in 5 games. Also of note, Braylon Shmyr scored again and finished with 4-2-6 in 5 games. For SSAC it was the Estephan/Benson show again as Estephan was 2-1-3 and Benson 1-2-3. Benson finished the tournament with 10-11-21 and Estephan with 6-13-19 in 5 games each. Their performance at the tournament is something pretty remarkable given the fact they only played 5 games and got that many points. The all-time record holder Jonathan Toews had 35 in 7 games. Although Benson and Estephan may not have caught him, they may have been within range.

BWC 5 - POE 4
BWC ended up with a 4-1-1 record while POE finished up at 3-3-0 losing to Semiahmoo, BWC, NSWC. Leading the way for BWC in this game it was once again Ty Ronning and Matt Barzal. Ronning scored twice and added an assist while Barzal was 1-2-3. Barzal led the team in goals (7) and points (15) in 6 games. Ty Ronning was second in team scoring with 5-6-11. Justin Szeto who sat out the game due to the spear in the previous game had 5 points in 5 games. Another notable Adam Musil had 6 points in 6 games. For POE, Joe Gatenby who was named to the all-star team had a pair of assists. Gatenby finished with 5 points in 6 games. Kody McDonald led the team in goal (4) and points (6). D- Ethan Bear who we expect to be a first rounder was ejected for Charging late in the 2nd period.

Calgary Bronks 5 - NSWC 3
Bronks captain Zac Whitby picked up 3 goals and 1 assist to pace the Bronks to a nice win over the NSWC. The Bronks ended up with a 2-3-0 record, after losing their first 3 games. They ended up with consecutive wins over Balgonie and NSWC. NSWC ended up with a subpar 2-3-0 record in the tournament against western Canada's best. For NSWC, it was Jansen Harkins and Cal Babych each with 1-1-2. Harkins was far and away the NSWC leading scorer with 7-5-12 in 5 games which was 6 better than anyone else. Whitby led the Bronks in goals (4) and points (6).

L.A. Selects 4 - Edmonton CAC 3
The Selects finish the tournament with a 3-2-0 record while Edmonton CAC finish 2-3-0, after starting 2-0-0. In this one it was Robby Jackson picking up 1-3-4. Jackson was named to one of the all-star teams and is far and away the Selects scoring leader this season. Ty Comrie, yes from the famous Comrie family had 2 goals in the game. Robby Jackson led the Selects in tournament scoring with 3-8-11 and Comrie led in goals, going 4-2-6. For CAC, Derek Brown and Ben Mcleod each had 2 points. Cole Gammer led CAC in tournament scoring with 4-6-10 and Dylan Stewart led with 6 goals.

Calgary Royals 6 - Sherwood Park 5
In what one would think would be a low scoring game, turned out to be just the opposite as the Royals out-score the Flyers 6-5. The Royals break a 3 game losing steak and finish at 2-3-0 while the Flyers finish 2-3-0. For the Royals today it was Logan Ferguson continuing his strong tournament with 3-1-4, Tyler Rohl had 1-2-3 and Shane Allen scored a pair. Ferguson's goals was in OT. Ferguson led the Royals in goals with 4 and tied Cameron Anklewich for the team lead with 6 points in 5 games. For Sherwood Park, it was once again Jesse Zahirachuk with 3 points and Grayson Pawlenchuk with 2 points. Pawlenchuk led the Flyers with 7-4-11 in tournament play.

Lloydminster 7 - St. Albert 3
Lloydminster finish the tournament at 2-2-1 and St. Albert finish at 1-4-0 with their only win coming in the first game vs. Notre Dame. St. Albert mustered just 14 goals in the tournament. Leading the way for Lloydminster in this one was 98 born D- Kale Clague with 1-3-4. Clague was named to the all-star squad last night. Chandler Klein and Andrew Koep each had 3 point efforts for Lloydminster. Klein and Koep each scored 11 points in the 5 games. Klein has 24 points in 27 games this season for Lloydminster while Koep has 54. Kale Clague had 9 points in 5 games. For St. Albert, Matteo Gennaro scored one of the goals. Gennaro led St. Albert in goals this tournament with 4. Patrick Dea was strong for St. Albert in the tournament sporting a .910 save percentage.

Notre Dame 3 - Prairie Storm 1
The Hounds record their first win of the tournament of the tournament over Saskatchewan foes Balgonie. Lantz Hiebert led the way with 2 goals for the Hounds and Colin Burston had 2 assists. Rylee Zimmer had the other marker for Notre Dame. Colin Burston led the Hounds in tournament scoring with 2-3-5 in 5 games played while top 2 round projected Rylee Zimmer was held to just 3 points and 1 goal. Notre Dame was only able to score 11 goals in the 5 tournament games. For Balgonie, it was 98 born D- Nolan Reid scoring his first of the tournament. It was Reid's first of the tournament. Jayden Halbgewachs drew an assist on the Reid goal and was in on 11 of the 13 goals Balgonie scored in the tournament. He could've easily been named to the All-Star team in our opinion.

SBAAHL Action

Regina Oilers 5 - Regina Senators 1
The Regina Oilers improve to 9-10-0 while the Senators drop to 5-10-3 with the Oilers winning the all Regina battle. 98 born Owen Sillinger picked up 3 helpers and Conner Chaulk had 3 points as well. Both Chaulk and Sillinger have 23 points in 19 games and trail team leader D- Mike Eskra by 5 who has 28. Eskra scored his 15th of the season, which leads all defenseman in goals.

Estevan 5 - Moose Jaw 3
Estevan is slowly pulling themselves out of the basement as they have now won 3 of their past 4 games to pull in to a tie with Moose Jaw. For Estevan it was Tyran Brown scoring 1-2-3 to lead the way. The 6'0 170lb Brown now has 13 points in 20 games. For Moose Jaw it was Bhody Magnusson with 2 goals, giving him 9-11-20 this season in 19 games.

West Central 6 - Prince Albert 6
Prince Albert is now 4-11-5 while West Central is now 8-5-4. This game had 70 minutes in penalty's. For West Central, it was star forward Spencer Bast with 3-1-4, Stang now has 14-16-30 in 14 games. Josh Stang and Brandon Arnold each had 3 points as well. For Prince Albert, top 2 round rated prospect Matthew Campese had 2-3-5. Campese now has 28-19-47 in 20 games and is amongst the league leaders in scoring.

Yorkton 2 - Swift Current 2
Yorkton is now 9-6-3 and sit 4th in the south, Swift Current is 7th at 5-9-4. Patterson and Neufeld scored for Yorkton and it was Keenlyside and Kouri for Swift Current.

North East 4 - Sask Valley 4
North East remains in first place at 13-2-3 and Sask Valley is now 11-4-3. Terrell Draude scored 2 goals for Sask Valley and Tristan Elder scored a pair for North East.

Winnipeg Bantam AAA All-Star Day - January 14th MTS Ice Plex

Team East 8 - Team West 6 - Bantam 1
The Bantam 1 and Bantam 2 All-Star games took place last weekend in Winnipeg at the MTS Ice Plex.

In the Bantam 1 game, it was goals galore as Jordy Stallard from Brandon worked a nice 2 on 1 with Garrett Armour to give Team West a 1-0 lead. Stallard leads Brandon in scoring this season with 31 points in 25 league games. Then it was a Monarch scoring from a Hawk as Jackson Keane worked an odd man rush with Keagan Kolesar for two quick goals, with Kolesar making it 3-0 from Keane. Jackson Keane is really turning it up as of late and leads the Monarchs in scoring with 16-18-34. Kolesar by far leads the Hawks with 17 goals, 8 more than anyone else on the Hawks.

Team East would cut in to the lead on the PP as Laine Mckay took a pass in the slot from Defenseman Mack Dwyer of the Sharks to cut the gap to 3-1. Shortly after, Team West got a marker from James Shearer of Brandon to make it 4-1. The scoring continued in the first period as Laine Mckay scored his second of the game to make it 4-2. D- Anderson and Bouchard scored goals to make it 4-4 after 1.

In the 2nd, Zach Grezelewski scored to give Team West a 5-4 lead. Team East tied it up once again on Jordy Stallard's 2nd goal of the game to make it 5-5. Then at the midway point of the 2nd, the teams switched goalies as Bodnar for East and Verhelst for West entered. Both goalies were perfect for the rest of the 2nd period as the game entered the 3rd tied at 5.

Braden Purtill scored early in the 3rd to give Team East a 6-5 lead. Then Chase Fincaryk scored his 2nd of the game and it was 7-5 on a great individual play. Then shortly after, Laine Mckay scored his hat-trick goal to make it 8-5 on a tipped in point shot. Mckay won't be eligable for the bantam draft as he plays with Thunder Bay. Then it was Team West answering back with a highlight reel type goal as Keegan Kolesar scored his 2nd to make it a 8-6 final.

Team East Team West - Bantam 2
Team West would strike first as Linden McCorrister scored to make it 1-0. McCorrister was a force all period long with big hits and strong play. He is 3rd on the Winnipeg Hawks in scoring with 11-18-29 in 23 games. Then it was Team West making it 2-0 on a goal from Dawson Martin from the Winnipeg Monarchs. Martin is 3rd in Monarchs scoring with 24 points this season. After the 2-0 west lead, Team East would pressure but top ranked '98 goalie Ryan Kubic would come up big with several great saves. Especially Kubic came up big against the buzzing of William Koop would put on intense pressure but couldn't beat Kubic.

In the 2nd, the chances continued but both goalies were outstanding keeping the game at 2-0 West at the midway point. Hall for West and Adamyk for East entered the game and were both strong until Team East finally got on the board with a Austin Friesen point shot to make it 2-1. It is interesting to note that Friesen had gone 21 league games without a goal with the Winnipeg Warriors.

In the 3rd, it was Milan Horanski scoring on a weak shot for Team East to tie it at 2-2. Horanski has 9 pts in 23 games for the Winnipeg Warriors this season. Then it was Team West regaining the lead on a goal from Josh Curtis. Nathan Halverson of Team East tied it with a snipe shot top shelf and it was 3-3. Team West would then score a late one on a nice pass from Curtis to Matheos and a 4-3 Team West victory.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

John Reid Memorial Tournament - Day 3

Consolation Round Play
Calgary Bronks 5 - Balgonie 4 SO
Balgonie Prairie Storm sniper Jayden Halbgewachs scores 3 goals and 1 assist in defeat as the Calgary Bronks defeat them 5-4. Halbgewachs, who we fully expect to be a first round selection in the bantam draft has 8 goals and 2 assists for Balgonie through 4 gp. The next closest on the team has just 4 points. Mark Rassel had 1-2-3 for the Bronks and Bryson Traptow had 1-1-2 and also the SO winner.

NSWC 4 - Notre Dame 1
NSWC have won their 2nd straight game against academy teams as they defeated Notre Dame 4-1. The Hounds in somewhat of an off year are now 0-4-0 and have been out-scored 20-8. NSWC top 10 ranked Jansen Harkins picked up 3 goals and 1 assist in the game. Jansen Harkins leads NSWC in tournament scoring, as expected with 6-4-10 in 4 games. They have also got production from a pair of defenceman in Cal Breber and Mark O'Shaunessy who both picked up 5 points so far.

Calgary Bisons 4 - St. Albert 2
Top 5 ranked '97 born bantam prospect Nick Merkley continues his strong tournament with 2 goals and 1 assist today. Merkley now has 5-3-8 in 4 GP. Keillan Olson scored his first two goals of the tournament as well for the Bisons. St. Albert got goals from Matteo Gennaro, his 3rd and Stephen Cretain, his 2nd.

Lloydminster 6 - SSAC 5
SSAC came out on top of another wild one this afternoon against Lloydminster. 98 born forward Tyler Benson continued his assult on the tournament scoring race with another goal and two assists. Benson leads the tournament in scoring after 4 games with 9-9-18. His line-mate and AMBHL scoring ace Giorgio Estephan had 2-3-5 in the game. Estephan now is 2nd in tournament scoring with 4-12-16 in 4 games played. 98 born D- David Quennville who is on track for a top 10 selection, along with Benson in the 2013 WHL bantam draft, did not play. For Lloydminster, AMBHL goal scoring leading Andrew Koep led the way with 2-1-3. Klein and Koep are leading Lloydminster right now in tournament scoring with 8 points each. Lloydminster held a 31-27 shot advantage.

BWC 5 - Calgary Royals 2 - BWC advance to the Semi - Finals
#1 western Canada ranked BWC were powered by the #1 ranked player Matt Barzal en route to the 5-2 win and a place in the semi - finals. The game was 2-1 heading to the 3rd period when Barzal scored in the first 30 seconds of play and then salted the game away with 5 minutes to go with his 3rd of the game. Nick McBride was strong for BWC stopping 31/33 shots and Royals goalie Zach Sawchenko had one of his only off games of the season stopping just 24/29.

POE 4 - L.A. Selects 3 OT - POE advance to the Semi - Finals
Ethan Williams plays hero as POE comes by from a 3-1 deficit to advance to the semi-finals. The Selects held a 3-1 lead early in the 3rd period on goals from Rainer, D-Keoni Texeira and Aaron Aragon. However, the comeback started with Tanner Browne scoring just 20 seconds after the Aragon goal to make it 3-2 in the 3rd period early. Then with just 4 minutes remaining, Austin Wellsby scored to tie the game and force OT. In the OT period, Ethan Williams scored his first of the tournament to give POE a berth in the semi's. Gathercole was busy for POE has he stopped 34/37 shots and his counterpart for the Selects turned aside 44/48 shots.

Semiahmoo 9 - Edmonton CAC 5 - Semiahmoo Advance to Semi's
Just like Cloverdale, Semiahmoo is now also 4-0-0 in the tournament as they advance to the semi-finals with a 9-5 wild one against CAC. In what was expected to be a high scoring game, was, as both teams are averaging better than 6 GPG in the tournament. The Semiahmoo attack was led by Cole Plotnikoff with 2-3-5, John Wesley had 2-1-3 and 98 born Michael Regush picked up a pair of goals. Cole Gammer, Brayden Burke and Matt Dykstra led the way with 3 points each. Dykstra had 2 goals.

Cloverdale 5 - Sherwood Park 4 - Cloverdale Advance to semi's
The Colts continue to roll as they earned a come from behind 5-4 victory over Sherwood Park in the first of 4 quarter-finals today. Sherwood Park held a 4-2 lead after the 2nd period powered by a hat-trick from Grayson Pawlenchuk. Pawlenchuk leads Sherwood Park with 6 goals in 4 games in the tournament. 98 born Sam Steel picked up 3 assists. For Cloverdale, it was once again the Seto and Soy show as Chris Seto picked up 3-1-4 and Soy 2-1-3. They are currently 2nd and 3rd in tournament scoring with 13 points each. Both players have 7-6-13 in the 4 games.
Maggio stopped 18/22 shots for Cloverdale while Klassen stopped 22/27.

The round robin portion of play is complete at the John Reid Memorial Tournament and the four playoff match-ups are set. Please see below the match-ups for the playoff rounds.

Cloverdale vs. Sherwood Park
BWC vs. Calgary Royals

POE vs. L.A. Selects
Semiahmoo vs.CAC

It is interesting to note that there was a three way tie with SSAC, Calgary Royals and the Prairie Storm all finishing at 1-2-0. I got the following note on the procedure of how the tie breaker was in fact decided.

"Access pool ended up with three teams finishing at 1-2-0. So it came down to GF/GF+GA to determine the winner. Individual games were capped off at 6 goals differential.

2nd place - Calgary Royals .533
3rd place - SSAC .529
4th place - Prairie Storm .308

* Tie breaker formula and maximum 6 goals difference was documented in the program rules and coaches meeting prior to the tournament.

Top 5 Happenings through Round Robin
1. Tyler Benson - We all knew the 98 born was good but did we expect him to be running away with the tournament scoring race? The scary thing is that he has gotten better and better this tournament as he was shut-out in his first game vs. the Royals, then he put up 5-1-6 against Semiahmoo. Those 5 goals came in the first 23 minutes of the game. Then last night, he put up 3-6-9!! That's right, 9 points! He won't be able to break Jonathan Toews record of 35 points in 7 games just due to the fact that Benson will only play 5 games. However, if he can put up just 8 more points, he will be the 2nd all-time leading scoring at the tournament. As it stands now, he is tied with Toews at 5 PPG.

2. NSWC Elimination - The recent struggles of the NSWC which began to an extent at the Burnaby Christmas Tournament and then continued on to the regular season of the PCAHA, have now carried over to this tournament. The struggles though are pretty relative as they have beaten the teams they should have in league play but were losing to other top teams, something of a concern entering this tournament. They opened up the tournament with losses to Sherwood Park (5-3) and the Calgary Bisons (6-2) which eliminated them very early on. They were able to get some redemption with a 7-3 win over pool winner POE though to close it out.

3. B.C. Teams Continue to Rule - There are 5 B.C. teams in the tournament and each pool was won by a B.C. team. POE, BWC, Semiahmoo and Cloverdale each won their respective pools. Obviously it wasn't possible for all 5 to win a pool so one team had to bow out and that was NSWC. What is meant by "continuing to roll" is that at the Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds Tournament, the same thing happened as POE, BWC, Semiahmoo and NSWC won their divisions. That tournament also had just 5 B.C. teams at it.

4. DEFENCE!!! - The Calgary Royals as they have all season long, played great defence. That is the main reason why they are moving on to the playoff round. They allowed a tournament low 7 goals in the 3 games, 4 of which came to Balgonie. However, they have scored just 8 goals and will meet up against BWC today in one of the quarter-finals. BWC is also a defensive minded team who plays with great structure. We would be surprised to see many goals in that one.

5. OFFENCE!!! - Several of the top offensive teams didn't disappoint in the tournament so far. The AMBHL's highest scoring team - SSAC led the entire round robin in goals with 21. Thanks in large part to Estephan, Benson and Quennville. Cloverdale as projected have been able to score with the likes of Soy/Seto and Stukel leading the way. CAC with their top two lines have caused fits for some of the teams. Same can be said with the offensive depth and the top four forwards on Semiahmoo.

More later

Friday, January 20, 2012

John Reid Memorial Tournament - Day 2

BWC 5 - Edmonton CAC 3
Finally someone was able to hold down the high flying CAC squad in this tournament as the BWC lock up 1st place in their pool with a 5-3 win. BWC will now move on to play the winner of the Calgary Royals/Prairie Storm game tonight. Edmonton CAC will play Semiahmoo. For BWC, it was Barzal with 2, Szeto, 98 born Fabbro and Ronning. Matt Barzal and Ty Ronning each had 3 point games for BWC. CAC got markers from Marshall, Stewart and Burke. Dylan Stewart has a multiple point game at 1-1-2.

Lloydminster 4 - Calgary Bronks 2
The Heat end up winning this one but it wasn't enough as they will finish 3rd in the pool, putting them out of contention for the tournament title. For Lloydminster, it was Hilsendager, Fischer with the last two goals and also Klein scoring. Rassell and Shupe scored for the Bronks who go 0-3-0. Lloydminster out-shot the Bronks 46-15. Riley Morris had a very strong tournament in goal for the Bronks though.

L.A. Selects 6 - Notre Dame 1
The L.A. Selects now move on to play POE tomorrow in what should be a very good game in the playoff round. POE just recently lost to L.A. down at the Selects Christmas time tournament and will look for revenge here. Star foward Alex Mehr led the way for the Selects with 1-3-4, Robby Jackson picked up 2 more points, top western U.S.A defenceman in our rankings picked up his first goal of the tournament and 98 born we will hear lots about Patrick Khodorenko also scored. Jack Flaman scored Notre Dame's lone marker. The Hounds finish 0-3-0 in the tournament which really isn't a huge surprise. The shots were 25 for each squad.

NSWC 7 - POE 3
In a game that meant what turned out to be absolutely nothing was one NSWC salvaged some pride with a 7-3 victory. POE would've liked to have went in to the playoff round on a winning note looking for their first major tournament championship of the season. In this game, it was NSWC getting out to a 5-0 lead by the midway part of the 2nd period on goals by; 98 born Dante Hannoun with 2, D - Mark O'Shaunessy and D - Cal Brebner with 2. POE would then get back in to it with goals by a pair of d-men as Tanner Browne scored late in the 2nd and then Joe Gatenby early in the 3rd. However, that was very short lived as Cal Brebner completed his hat-trick and then assisted on a Jansen Harkins goal. 98 born F- Trevor Ayre rounded out the scoring. POE was once again without its star forward Jordan Kawaguchi due to illness. Brebner and Harkins each had 4 points for NSWC and Dante Hannoun had 3.

Cloverdale 5 - St. Albert 3
The beat goes on for the Cloverdale Colts as they have swept through their group with a 5-3 win over host St. Albert. Looks like with the loss, St. Albert is finished. Cloverdale win their pool. After a scoreless first period, goals by D- Tyler Fraser, Jordan Funk and then Seto and Soy within the final 40 seconds of the 2nd gave Cloverdale a commanding 4-0 lead. In the 3rd, St. Albert almost came all the way back with Cretain, Gennaro and Lazaro making it 4-3 with just under 8 minutes remaining. Jakob Stukel with his 5th of the tournament put the game away with just over one minute remaining. Tournament scoring leader Tyler Soy had 4 more points, giving him 5-5-10 in 3 games, while Chris Seto who we project for a top 10 draft pick had 3 points, giving him 9 now.

Sherwood Park 5 - Calgary Bisons 2
In an all important, all Alberta battle it was the team from the north beating the team from the south 5-2. With the Sherwood Park victory, they advance to the playoff rounds from their pool along with POE. POE will go in as the top seed while Sherwood Park will be the 2nd in the cross-over which I'll explain later. Sherwood Park would take a 4-0 lead by the late portions of the 2nd period before goals by Nick Merkley and Braylon Shmyr cut the gap to 4-2 early in the 3rd. Grayson Pawlenchuk for Sherwood Park would lead the way with 2-2-4. Sam Steel had a pair of points as well.

Semiahmoo 9 - SSAC 8 FINAL ** 98 born Tyler Benson with 5 goals in the first 23 minutes of this game.

Quite the shoot-out this afternoon between two very offensive squads as Semiahmoo would score with 12 seconds remaining to break the tie and earn the win. With the win, Semiahmoo will move on to the playoff round tomorrow. SSAC is now at 0-2 and will need major help. Colt Plotnikoff played the hero with the late goal. It was a huge game for the Semiahmoo stars as Plotnikoff and Bradley each had 3 points, Wesley had 2-2-4, Newsome 1-4-5 and Craighhead 2-3-5 in the victory. For SSAC it was, Tyler Benson going off in a huge way. The 98 born Benson scored 5 goals, all of them in the first 23 minutes of the game. SSAC held a 8-4 lead with 17 minutes remaining before Semiahmoo scored 5 goals to take this one. Giorgio Estephan had 0-5-5 and 98 born D- David Quennville had 2-2-4.

Prairie Storm 4 - Calgary Royals 3 FINAL

The Balgonie Prairie Storm who are 16-1-0 in SBAAHL action this year had some doubt surrounding them entering the tournament but bounced back nicely after a hard fought 4-3 win over one of Alberta's top bantam teams - Calgary Royals. The Royals, who have just 2 losses the entire season in the AMBHL got on the board first as captain Cameron Anklewich scored to give the Royals a 1-0 lead after the first. In the 2nd, Balgonie captain Jayden Halbgewachs scored to tie it 1-1 very early in the 2nd. Then just past the midway point of the 2nd, Cameron Anklewich scored his 2nd of the game and it was 2-1 Royals but Balgonie once again tied it with Jayden Halbgewachs scoring his 2nd of the game as well and it was 2-2. Then D- Troy Murray gave Balgonie their first lead of the game and just 30 seconds after that Jayden Halbgewachs completed his Hat-Trick for a 4-2 Balgonie lead. D- Savi Scalise rounded out the scoring with Anklewich picking up his 3rd point, assisting on the play.

BWC 4 - Lloydminster 4 (FINAL)

The BWC nearly found themselves in trouble in terms of making it to the playoff round but still control their own destiny with a 4-4 see-saw battle of a game. Lloydminster with the tie remain alive but will need a BWC loss to CAC later today. Lloydminster started off the scoring just past the midway part of the 1st period as Chandler Klein scored and then late in the first period BWC tied it on a goal from Matt Barzal - his first of the tournament. In the 2nd period, BWC took a 2-1 lead as 98 D- Dante Fabbro scored his first of two goals in the period around the midway point. Then Fabbro would score his 2nd with just seconds left in the 2nd period in what could've been a huge blow to the Lloydminster chances in the tournament. However, the 3rd period it was comeback time for Lloyd as Shawn Weber cut the gap to 3-2 with 14:00 to go in the game from Chandler Klein. Then they tied it 1:20 later on a Chandler Klein goal from Andrew Koep. Then it was AMBHL goal scoring leader Andrew Koep completing the comeback with his first of the game and 4th point from Klein who also had a huge 4 point game. But with just 3 minutes remaining, top 5 overall ranked Adam Musil tied it from Barzal to give BWC a 4-4 tie vs.a very game Lloyd squad. Matt Barzal finished with 3 points in the game.
Shots on Goal: 98 born G- Shugue stopped 20/24
Lloyd G - Tucker Cochrane stopped 27/31

Edmonton CAC 7 - Calgary Bronks 4 (FINAL)

Edmonton CAC has caught fire leading up to the tournament with a few wins in a row and now in the tournament they have been piling in the goals at a torrid pace. This morning, they have punched their ticket in to the playoffs tomorrow as either the 1st or 2nd place team in their pool, depending on what happens this evening against the 1-0-1 BWC. CAC scored early and often in this one as Brayden Burke, the teams scoring leader made it 1-0 about 5minutes in, then it was 98 born F- Nolan Kurylo scoring his 2nd goal in as many games to tie it at 1-1. Then D- Clayton Eisler made it 2-1 but just seconds later Bronks tied it on a Devon Reed tally. CAC would take a 3-2 lead in to the dressing room as Ethan Oestreicher scored. In the 2nd, CAC would put this one away with 2 goals in 54 seconds as Cole Gammer scored his 3rd of the tournament and then Derek Brown shortly after. CAC would fire another 2 goals near the midway part of the 2nd in 12 seconds with Dylan Stewart scoring his 4th of the tournament Ryan Stewart his 1st. CAC would cruise on to the 7-4 victory as Zac Whitby and 98 born D- Carter Cziakowski rounded out the scoring.

St. Albert, Alberta - Day 2 is set to get underway at the John Reid Memorial Tournament with a pair of early games. The Calgary Bronks will play Edmonton CAC and BWC will play Lloydminster. Both Edmonton CAC and BWC can move on to the playoff round with a win this morning.

As was the case yesterday, we'll do our best to keep you folks updated on a continuous basis throughout the days action. You can either look here on the blog or follow over there on the right hand side under the twitter updates.

Yesterday we witnessed a bit of a shocker as NSWC lost both of their games to be eliminated from any chances of winning the tournament. Losses to Sherwood Park early on and then the Calgary Bisons sealed their fate. To this point, they are the only team who has been eliminated from the tournament. POE on the other hand, by virtue of their two wins will move on to the playoff round. The Cloverdale Colts who are also 2-0-0 have moved on, it just isn't know if they'll finish first or second in their pool as of yet.

Stay tuned....

Thursday, January 19, 2012

John Reid Memorial Tournament - Day 1

JOHN REID MEMORIAL - DAY 1

Opening Ceremonies

Cloverdale 7 - Notre Dame 5
The Cloverdale Colts as expected were able to defeat Notre Dame, but not by the amount many of us may have expected they would. With the loss Notre Dame is finished, while Cloverdale has clinched a spot in the playoff rounds. It just isn't known yet if they will finish first or second. If they loss to St. Albert tomorrow, they will finish 2nd by virtue of St. Albert having beat them. A St. Albert win would also eliminate L.A. due to Cloverdale's head to head win over them earlier in the day. A Cloverdale victory tomorrow over St. Albert, gives L.A. the 2nd place finish. In this game though, Cloverdale had all they could handle. They would start off the scoring 5 minutes in to the first on a goal by Jordan Henderson. Then Notre Dame would tie it at the midway point of period one on a goal from Salt Lake City, UT born Angus Scott and it was 1-1 after 1. In the 2nd, Chris Seto gave Cloverdale the lead but it was once again short lived as Angus Scott scored his 2nd of the game. Then Scott would set up Colin Bursten to give Notre Dame a 3-2 lead with 7 minutes to go in the 2nd. Just 23 seconds later though, Tyler Soy tied it at 3-3. Then late in the 2nd was a flurry of goals, first it was Jack Flaman giving Notre Dame the lead once again at 4-3 then Chris Seto and Parker Wotherspoon scored just 30 seconds apart to give Cloverdale a 5-4 leading heading the dressing room. In the 3rd, Kamen George gave Notre Dame a 5-5 tie that would hold up until just 9 minutes remaining as Jakob Stukel scored his 4th of the tournament and Cloverdale would salt it away with a late Tyler Soy SH marker to win it 7-5 in a wild one. As is the norm with Cloverdale, the line of Stukel/Soy/Seto was just too much on this night as they would combine for 5 goals and 10 points. Defenceman Parker Wotherspoon had 3 helpers.

Los Angeles Selects 3 - St. Albert 2

Another of the pre-tournament favourites almost went down and out just as the NSWC did earlier this evening as the Selects were able to eek out a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over host St. Albert. Both teams now enter tomorrow's action at 1-1. St. Albert would open the scoring as Ethan Lazaro scored late in the first period. Lazaro is 2nd on the Sabres in goals this season with 18 in 27 games. In the 2nd period, the Sabres would increase their lead to 2-0 as this team Matteo Gennaro would score on a pass from Lazaro. Both Lazaro and Gennaro had 2 points each. Cue the comeback as Alec Mehr cut the gap to 2-1 and then Ty Comrie went to work scoring late in the 2nd period from Robby Jackson and then Comrie scored again SH from Robby Jackson again to give the Selects a 3-2 lead after the 2nd period. The Selects out-shot St. Albert 44-32. Sarthou for L.A. and Dea for the Sabres were both outstanding.

Calgary Bisons 6 - NSWC 2
The Calgary Bisons bounce back from an early loss to POE by defeating one of the favourites to win the entire tournament in NSWC. NSWC are now 0-2-0 and have been out-scored 11-5 and look to be finished already which is somewhat of a big surprise. The Bisons would score early and often in the 1st period as first round rated prospect Braylon Shmyr scored just over one minute in to the game. Then just past the midway point of the first period Nick Merkley scored his 2nd of the tournament to give the Bisons a 2-0 lead and then D- Bradley Forrest scored late in the first period to give them a 3-0 lead after the first period. In the 2nd period, it was more of the same as Braylon Shmyr scored early to make it 4-0 on his 2nd of the game. However with just 3 seconds left in the period big Cal Babych broke the shut-out and gave NSWC a glimmer of hope at 4-1. In the 3rd, D- Hayden Kelly and then Nick Merkley with his 2nd of the game would make it 6-1 very early. Nash Dabb scored a late 3rd period goal to make the final 6-2. Both Nick Merkley and Braylon Shmyr had 2-1-3, while G - Logan Thompson stopped 25/27 shots he faced. NSWC starter Bo Didur stopped just 22/27 and Taz Burman in relief stopped 4/5 to mop up the final 17 minutes.

POE 4 - Sherwood Park 1

In a battle of two of the better defensive teams in the tournament, it was POE winning out 4-1. They were once again without their star forward and most dynamic player in Jordan Kawaguchi who continues to sit with an apparent flu/cold. Sherwood Park would score the games first goal and head to the 1st period intermission with a 1-0 lead on a goal by Grayson Pawlenchuk. Pawlenchuk is currently 2nd on the team behind 98 born Sam Steel with 18 goals in 25 games in AMBHL regular season. Things would change in the 2nd period though as D- Tyler Brown would score to tie the game up at 1-1. Brown is an American born player who made the move to POE from Washington State this year. Then 98 born Kody McDonald would give POE a 2-1 lead. McDonald is having a nice season with 18 goals in 37 games with POE. Then in the 3rd it was another 98 born player scoring as Tyson Jost made it 3-1, Jost is 2nd in POE scoring this year with 86 points in 43 games and should have a fair amount of family there as he is from Leduc. Trevor Ayre, yet another 98 born scoring very late to make it a 4-1 final.

Semiahmoo 6 - Balgonie 1

The Balgonie Prairie Storm got their first taste of elite hockey teams from western Canada and came up short 6-1 to a very strong Semiahmoo squad this afternoon. The Ravens had leads of 2-0 and 4-0 by periods. In the 1st period it was Darian Craighead opening up the scoring just over a minute in and then Cole Plotnikoff scoring later in the period for a 2-0 advantage. In the 2nd, Matt Bradley and D- Keenan Scardina scored to make it 4-0 after 2. In the 3rd, Cole Plotnikoff and Darien Craighead each scored their 2nd goals of the game sandwiched in the middle was a Balgonie goal from Saskatchewan "AA" scoring leader Jayden Halbgewachs. Craighead had a big game with 2-2-4, Wesley 0-3-3 and dman Jake Fletcher was 0-2-2. Shots were: Balgonie 21 - Semiahmoo 26
Pyne for Balgonie stopped just 20/26
Wornig for Semiahmoo stopped 20/21

BWC 4 - Calgary Bronks 1

BWC would hold a huge territorial advantage in this game but the Bronks got a strong effort in goal from Riley Morris, stopping 37/41 shots. BWC would score just 12secs in to the game as Justin Szeto took a pass from Matt Barzal for an early 1-0 lead. Despite pressing for the rest of the period, Morris would hold strong and it was 1-0 after 1. In the 2nd, Justin Szeto would score his 2nd of the game for a 2-0 lead and then Ty Ronning made it 3-0 and that is the way it would stand after 2. In the 3rd period, 98 born Nolan Kurylo would score for the Bronks to make it a game and cut the gap to 3-1. However, just over 2 minutes later Ty Ronning scored his 2nd of the game from Musil and Barzal to make it a 4-1 final. All four of BWC main offensive players; Musil, Barzal, Szeto and Ronning all scored 2 points in the game, nobody else made the score-sheet. Nick McBride stopped 19/20 for BWC.

Edmonton CAC 9 - Lloydminster 2

In what should've been a far closer contest, wasn't, as CAC took it to a very good Lloydminster team who has just 4 regular season losses in the AMBHL by a score of 9-2. CAC was led by Cole Gammer who had 2-2-4, Dylan Stewart with 3-1-4, Burke, Marshall and Dykstra were amongst the other goal scorers for CAC. Lloydminster had goals from D- James Hilsendager, 98 D- Kale Clague and Taylor Anshelm. Of note in this game was that top 2 round ranked F- Andrew Koep was held totally off the score-sheet and received a 5 minute interference major and a game misconduct for running CAC G- Tyler Kwiatkowski. No word yet on possible suspension. Lloydminster goalies Cochrane and Heisler combined to stop just 30 of 39 shots. Kwiatkowski stopped 17/19 before his departure and Max Smith stopped 6/7.

Early Draw
POE 2 - Calgary Bisons 1

POE survives a bit of a scare and comes on top with a narrow 2-1 win over underdog - Calgary Bions. POE is without their main offensive catalyst Jordan Kawaguchi due to illness, no word on whether he will return today and of course the recently departed Will Lawrence who switched over to BWC. Goals may be hard to come from for POE in this tournament if Kawaguchi is out for a bit.. In this one, Joe Gatenby would score first to put POE up 1-0 late in the first but just 22 seconds later Nick Merkley who is playing ill scored to tie things up a 1-1. In the 2nd, Liam Finlay would score the eventual game winner. Finlay was the only multiple point scorer in the game and will now be relied heavily upon to carry the offensive load. POE had 3 AP players in the line-up, including starting goale Cody Porter who turned aside 22/23 shots. Michael Barabash stopped 26/28 for the Bisons. Next up for the Bisons is NSWC. Big game for both teams, loser is likely out already.

Sherwood Park 5 - NSWC 3

It didn't take long for one of the first upsets to occur at the tournament today as in the first game of action, it was Sherwood Park, ranked 9th in the tournament defeated the 2nd ranked NSWC 5-3. Sherwood Park would take a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by a pair of their outstanding defenceman Brendan Guhle and then Cameron Reagan. In the 2nd period, another defenceman, this time from NSWC would score as Mark O'Shaunessy cut the gap in half to 2-1. In the 3rd period, 40 seconds in, it was 98 born Sam Steel giving Sherwood Park a commanding 3-1 lead. Then Jansen Harkins who is expected to be a top 10 selection in May's bantam draft scored two goals to tie things up at 3-3. Then with about 7minutes to play, Jesse Zaharichuk would score the game winner and his 3rd point of the game. River Beattie added a late one in to an EN for the 5-3 Sherwood Park win. Guhle, Steel and Zaharichuk all had multiple point games for Sherwood Park while Harkins, Babych and Hannoun each had 2 points for NSWC. Sherwood Park outshot NSWC 35-24. It was Burman vs. Klassen in goal.

St. Albert 3 - Notre Dame 1

St. Albert held leads of 1-0 and 2-0 by periods with goals from Cameron Mazur (SH) in the first and then Tristan Gavin on a (PS) in the 2nd. The 3rd period saw Jacob Vance score to make it close. Vance has just 2 goals in 23 league games in Saskatchewan. Then Cameron Mazur scored his 2nd of the game in to an empty net with seconds remaining. Matt Kustra of Notre Dame stopped 25/27shots he faced while his counterpart Patrick Dea stopped 23/24.

Calgary Royals 4 - SSAC 1

As has been the case all season long, the Calgary Royals used their depth and team play to beat the team they are tied with atop the AMBHL league standings. The Royals got off to a quick start which is key for them on goals by D- Charlie Marchand and Carter Huber. Marchand had just 1 goal in league play coming in to the tournament! Late in the first period Josh Hayward was able to get one by Sawchenko to cut the gap after the first to 2-1. In the 2nd period, Josh Giacomin and Tyler Rohl would score a couple late markers to give the Royals a 4-1 lead which they would clamp down on in the 3rd for the 4-1 Final. Royals captain Cameron Anklewich picked up 3 helpers. Royals G- Zach Sawchenko turned aside 16/17 shots while SSAC G- Stuart Skinner stopped 32/36.

Cloverdale 7 - LA Selects 4

In a battle of two very potent offensive teams, the game started out slow with both teams failing to find the back of the net in the first period. The second period proved to be a totally different story though as top ranked western U.S forward Robby Jackson scored early to make it a 1-0 Selects lead. The lead lasted in to the later portions of the 2nd period when the flood gates opened up in a big way with 5 goals in just over 3 minutes of play. First it was Chris Seto scoring for Cloverdale to tie it at 1-1, then Jake Rainer gave the Selects 2-1 lead just 20 seconds later. 42 seconds after that, Cloverdale tied it on a goal from Jacob Stukel from Chris Seto and then Alec Mehr gave L.A the lead with a SH marker before D- Tyler Fraser tied it for Cloverdale for a 3-3 tie heading to the 3rd. In the 3rd, top 10 ranked Tyler Soy scored 2 PP goals in a span of 25 seconds to give the Colts a commanding 5-3 lead. Robby Jackson would add his 2nd of the game to make it 5-4 and then Stukel his 2nd to make it 7-4.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Top 20 All-Time John Reid Memorial Tournament Scorers

1. Jonathan Toews 7GP 21-15-36 2PIM Winnipeg Warriors 2003
2. Michael St. Croix 7GP 16-7-23 4PIM Winnipeg Monarchs 2008
3. Ryan Depape 7GP 9-12-21 10PIM Winnipeg Warriors 2003
4. Colin Smith 6GP 13-7-20 16PIM Edmonton CAC 2008
5. Gilbert Brule 7GP 13-7-20 14 PIM NSWC 2002
6. Adam Sergerie 7GP 12-7-19 2PIM Thunder Bay 2002
7. Brendan Ranford 6GP 9-10-19 10PIM Edmonton CAC 2002
8. Blair MacAuley 7GP 6-13-19 6PIM Winnipeg Warriors 2003
9. Brendan Shinnimin 6GP 7-11-18 6PIM Winnipeg Sharks 2006
10. Mitch Holmberg 7GP 9-8-17 6PIM Sherwood Park Flyers 2008
11. Zach Franko 7GP 7-10-17 2PIM Winnipeg Monarchs 2008
12. Cody Eakin 7GP 4-13-17 10PIM Winnipeg Monarchs 2006
13. Ryan Berlin 7GP 14-2-16 6PIM SSAC Southgate 2009
14. David Conrad 6GP 10-6-16 2PIM Winnipeg Sharks 2006
15. Charles Inglis 7GP 10-6-16 18PIM Winnipeg Sharks 2007
16. Jordan Messier 6GP 6-10-16 17PIM Notre Dame Hounds 2007
17. Ryan Schwartz 7GP 6-10-16 6PIM Notre Dame Hounds 2005
18. Curtis Lazar 5GP 9-6-15 12PIM POE 2010
19. Jason Gardiner 6GP 9-6-15 12PIM Winnipeg Sharks 2006
20. Tyler Spurgeon 6GP 9-6-15 2PIM Edmonton CAC 2002

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Top 10 Players to watch at the John Reid Memorial Tournament

The 34th annual John Reid Memorial Tournament is set to begin bright and early Thursday morning in St. Albert, Alberta.
The first tournament was held way back in 1979 with Sherwood Park defeating St. Albert in the final. In 1985, the tournament changed from a Bantam A tournament to a Bantam Major A tournament. Then in 1994, the tournament increased from the previous 8 teams to 12 teams and then to 16 teams in 2009 as it is now.
St. Albert as host has won just once in the history of the tournament. The Notre Dame Hounds and Thunder Bay Kings have won 4 times each. Thunder Bay won 4 straight tournaments from 1997-2000.
In 1993 the tournament changed its name from the Gregg Distributors Tournament under coach John Reid who was employed at Gregg Distributors. In 2003, Mr. Reid passed away from a battle with cancer and in 2004 the tournament became known as the John Reid Memorial Tournament.
This tournament has turned in to one of the most heavily scouted events in western Canada in preparation for the bantam draft. Last season over 75 WHL scouts were in attendance.

Top 10 Players to watch at the Tournament
10. F- Zach Sawchenko - Calgary Royals - The Royals success at this tournament will be its continued team play and goalie Zach Sawchenko. Zach has been lights out this year sporting a 11-1-0 record with a 1.42 GAA and a .944 save percentage. Those numbers are far and away tops in the AMBHL by over a half a goal per game.

9. F- Rylee Zimmer - Notre Dame Hounds - Rylee was thought of as a sure fire first round prospect entering the 2011-2012 season. However, playing in the Midget league in South Saskatchewan seems to have hurt some of the prospects game play this year. This tournament will be very important for Rylee to re-emerge as a top talent and put a stamp on his status as a top prospect.

8. F- Giorgio Estephan - SSAC Southgate Lions - The leading scorer in the AMBHL by a 13 point gap over his 98 born team-mate Tyler Benson, Giorgio will look to lead our top 5 ranked SSAC to a tournament win. Estephan will look to cement himself as a top 10 talent for the draft with a strong tournament.

7. D- Joe Gatenby - POE - The smooth skating defender is one of the most offensive defenceman in western Canada. He will look to lead POE to its first major tournament final this season. Look for Joe to rise up to a legit first round consideration after this tournament. In fact all of the POE defence will be watched and scouted closely as 5 of them could be top 2 round selections. Joe won top defenseman at the other major tournament this season in Medicine Hat.

6. F- Sherwood Park Defence - Pretty tough to just choose one of the defenceman that Sherwood Park possess. Jordan Boulton, Cameron Reagan, Brendan Guhle and 98 born Colin Paradis give the Flyers a legit chance at victory. Again as POE above is strong and could have several drafted in the top 2 rounds, Sherwood Park boasts the same.

5. F- Jansen Harkins - NSWC Winterhawks - The offensive catalyst on one of the favourites to win the tournament. Harkins has impressed all season long, winning tournament MVP at the Medicine Hat Tournament. He has vaulted in to top 5 consideration overall for the bantam draft in May. He is the son of former NHL'er Todd Harkins

4. F- Nick Merkley - Calgary Bisons - Nick enters the tournament as perhaps one of the most exciting players to watch. He has outstanding speed and natural skill. Currently Nick ranks 2nd in the AMBHL with 34 goals and is 3rd in league scoring. He is also ranked in our top 5 currently for the WHL bantam draft.

3. F- Tyler Soy - Cloverdale Colts - Tyler has been injured for much of the first half of the season. However, since his return in November he has led his squad to a tournament victory in Burnaby over Christmas and wins over NSWC and BWC. Soy has had limited viewing so far this season and should definitely garner consideration as a top 10 pick at the completion of the tournament.

2. F- Adam Musil - BWC Bruins - Adam has improved consistently all season long. He is very intriguing just due to his approximate 6'2 170lb size already and his strong two-way game. Musil is the brother of Vancouver Giants and Edmonton Oiler prospect David Musil as well as the son of former NHL rear-guard Frank Musil. David will help BWC very far in this tournament and is not in the shadow of Barzal anymore!

1. F- Matt Barzal - BWC Bruins - One of the most talked about players in recent memory. Matt Barzal has drawn comparisons to former BWC star and Edmonton Oilers first overall selection Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Not sure if we agree with those comparisons but Matt is definitely the odds on favourite to go first overall despite the huge pressure he has faced. This will be one of the final looks scouts will have to see Matt against the top talent from western Canada prior to the draft. How many scouts will the Silvertips have in St. Albert???

Sunday, January 15, 2012

January 16, 2012 newsletter is now ready

JOHN REID MEMORIAL PREVIEW INCLUDED

Stats have been updated for all Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba players up to January 14, 2012. THE PCACA doesn't produce specific stats, so if any of you have these or would like them included, please forward. From B.C., we have updated POE, OHA, Kamloops and Seafair individual player statistics.
RankingsNow that most of the tournaments have been completed in western Canada, we now have a pretty keen scope as to who the top players are and where they fit. After several hours of meetings and going over the rankings, we have adjusted them as such. There has been movement near the top of each age group as well as several new players making the Top 200 list for 97 born and the top 125 list for 98 born prospects. The U.S. Top 50 list continue's to be worked on and the list includes players we feel may come to the WHL.

Interviews
The interview section is very interesting this time around as I had the pleasure to chat with several of the top talents from around western Canada.

First off, I speak with the latest in the trend to towards skilled, elite forwards to come out of Alberta. We think this player could make some serious noise in St. Albert.

Next, I speak with an offensive minded defenceman from Saskatchewan that reminds us of a young first year bantam named Ryan Murray. We introduce you to him in this edition.

I also had the chance to talk to perhaps the player creating the most buzz in a long time in western Canada. He has broken minor hockey records and is continues to impress in bantam hockey.

Finally I chatted with a player who is scoring goals at a rapid pace and leading his league currently. He is a pure sniper.

News and Notes/Tournament Re-Cap

The Top 20 power rankings make another appearance and some movement with the top teams has taken place.

The Top 10 western U.S.A teams are updated with a key team on the list to play in the John Reid Memorial Tournament in a weeks time.

Also provided is a huge tournament preview on the John Reid Memorial Tournament taking place in St. Albert on the weekend of January 19-22. We break-down each team and discuss their chances and key players to watch!

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