Late Saturday.......
Mainland Spring Hockey Tournament
The start of spring hockey is underway with a tournament in British Columbia. This gives us our first look at some of the top B.C. spring hockey teams and players who will travel to major tournaments in Alberta, Winnipeg and the Challenge Cup this spring/summer. There will also be several other smaller tournaments with various teams attending that we will cover as well.
The Mainland Tournament features top teams such as the Vancouver Vipers and the Vancouver Selects Blue who feature many of the top 1998 born prospects leading up to the 2013 bantam draft. The Vipers are 4-0-0, while the Selects Blue are 3-1-0, having lost a head to head game vs. the Vipers by a score of 6-1.
The Vipers have played the past 2 games without current top 5 rated 98 born prospect Jaeger White who suffered an injury in game 2 of the tournament. Also, Jake Kryski and Keyvan Mohtari didn't take part at all in the tournament. Quinn Benjafield has been limited to just 2 games as well for the Vipers. So for though, scoring hasn't be a concern, even if all the forwards out. They have scored 29 goals in 4 games and are led by Luke Gingras and Dante Hannoun who each have 7 goals thus far. Hannoun has 11 points while Gingras sits 2nd with 8. Jaeger white is 2-5-7 in just 2 games. Dante Fabbro leads all defenseman with 1-3-4 in 4 games. Tyler Shugrue, one of the top rated 98 born goalies right now has played in 3 of 4 games.
The Selects Blue haven't been quite as dynamic with just 12 goals scored in 3 games at the time of this entry. Beck Malenstyn leads the team in goals and points at 4-0-4. Davis Koch and Kailer Yamamoto each have 2 goals for the Selects Blue.
Other Notables:
Ben Brar - Vancouver Selects Black - 4-1-5
Tak Anholt - North Shore Selects 2-4-6
Justin Pogdorenko - Kootenay Avs 4-4-8
Everett Hicks - Kootenay Avs 4-3-7
Oliver Alcock - Pacific Knights 5-0-5
The Vipers and the Selects Blue will meet in tomorrow's final.
BC CUP - Day 4
Canucks 4 - Wild 3 SO
Scoring the goals tonight for the Canucks were; San Chung from Coquitlam, Maxwell James from Kamloops and Ty Ronning. Chung and Ronning have been spark plugs for the Canucks so far at the BC Cup. Scoring for the Wild were; Matt Barzal, Brady Reagan and Jesse Wallace from Kimberley.
Sabres 4 - Stars 1
Sabres got goals from Brad Morrison with 2, Benjamin Paul and Jordan Funk who played with Cloverdale this past season. The Stars lone goal came from Nanoose Bay product Trent Bell. Bell played this season with the Oceanside Generals.
Wild 4 - Bruins 2
Both teams are now 1-1-0 as the Wild double up the Bruins 4-2. Hayden Child opened the scoring for the Bruins. Child played this year with Vernon and was somewhat of a pugilist with 161 pims in just 38 games. He also scored 14 goals. Then it was all Wild as Colton Faucher from Prince George scored. Faucher is a 5'10 160lb defenseman who could garner a look come draft day. Parker Wotherspoon scored to give the Wild a 2-1 lead. Wotherspoon we fully expect to be early in the draft in the first round. Ricky Bateman from Fort St. John gave the Wild a 3-1 lead before Jonny Evans scored to cut the gap to 3-2. Evans is a 5'6.5 125 forward who is very talented but very small which could hurt his draft chances. Jonathan Irving from Coquitlam rounded out the scoring. Matt Barzal who we have rated #1 lead all point getters with 3 assists.
Leafs 4 - Canucks 3
The Leafs now move to 2-0-0 while the Canucks drop to 0-2-0. Top 10 rated prospect Jansen Harkins scored his 2nd goal in as many games giving the Leafs a 1-0 lead. Soon after, Jack Lafroth of Terrace scored to even the game 1-1. The 6'0 155lb Lafroth had 26-28-54 in 38 games this season with Terrace McCarthy Motors GM Bantam Reps. He was a team-mate of high scoring forwards Colin Bell and Carter Shannon. Mitchell Cameron would score for the Leafs before the end of the period to give the Leafs a 2-1 lead. That goal was Cameron's 2nd of the tournament. It would be 3-2 and the end of the 2nd as Jordan Topping of Nanaimo and Jansen Harkins with his 2nd of the game would trade markers. Topping, a 5'11 forward from Nanaimo is showing well so far. In the 3rd, the Leafs went up by 2 as Chaz Reddekopp scored his 2nd of the tournament. Look for Chaz to go late first or early 2nd round. Tyler Soy would add a late one for the Canucks to make the final 4-3.
Sabres 3 - Flyers 2 SO
Glenn Gawdin would score very early in the first period to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead. Gawdin, who played this year for Seafair went a bit un-noticed this season but everyone is taking notice now and we think he has a good chance to be a top 10 selection on May 3rd. The game stayed 1-0 until early in the 2nd when another highly touted player scored as speed Brad Morrison scored. Morrison scored over 80 goals this season with OHA and could also land in the first round or early second at the latest. Then a bit later on in the 2nd period, Glenn Gawdin scored his 2nd of the game to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. Jakob Stukel would tie the game up for the Sabres before the end of the period. Stukel is a hard working player who lays it all on the line and could be a early 2nd round selection. The game went to a shoot-out where the Sabres would win it. Both teams are now 1-1-0.
Stars 7 - Avalanche 5
Highly ranked Chris Seto who played this season for Cloverdale scored 2 goals as did Seafair forward Ryan Wilkinson. Seto was part of one of western Canada's deadliest duo's along with Tyler Soy. Ryan Wilkinson was 2nd behind Glenn Gawdin in Seafair scoring with 12-25-37 but 51 points back of Gawdin's 58-32-90. Joe Surgenor led the Avalanche with 2 goals. Surgenor is a 5'7 145lb forward from Courtenay, B.C. He played this season with Comox Valley Bantam A's.
Bruins 3 - Leafs 1
Both teams are now 2-1-0 as the Bruins defeat the Leafs 3-1. Devon Sideroff got the scoring started in the first period to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Sideroff played this season with OHA and placed 4th in OHA scoring with 34-43-77 in 63 games. Then Mitchell Newsome who played in Semiahmoo this season scored to tie the game at 1-1. Alex Hartman of Fort St. John scored and the Bruins got another late one to take the game 3-1.
23 comments:
The difference between Gawdin and the all stars who played for select type teams is he payed for association team and still played tier 1 scoring or should we say out scored almost all the elite superstars on their placed and marketed pedestals
True elite athletes always show all the time
and he hadn't even hit his peak in growth, this may be another just regular kid playing and developed at a regular association 16 yr old we will soon see in the dub ( a man amongst the boys)
How is Barzal doing, looking just good with the elite local boys?
No politics and no show casing at this level
its been a very good tournament so far all teams are close. so far the players that stand out the most to me are barzal gawdin morrison and actually wilkinson.
some of the players who were promoted and set up heavily by their coaches and/or dads etc. up to now won't do as well outside that protected formula.
This isn't an elite tournament. Many weak AA players got invited. Next tryout at the provincial level in July will be the real one.
9:45PM..... the verdict hasn't changed from Atom, Pee Wee and Bantam.... still top player in Western Canada and arguably Canada in his age and deserves to go number 1 ... I think what your saying is " I'm jealous of this kid"..... Don't take scouting up as a profession!!!
Agree with 10:18 AM - the quota system from the regions distorts the process - dozens of high-end players from the Island and Mainland pinched off.
Parents when will you learn. Best Ever ? Come on take it for what it's worth. By the way BC Hockey gladly thanks you for your hard earned money .
April 15, 2012 9:19 PM - agree it's unfortunate how the process works - but especially as it is BC Best?
not sure why a comment about Jonny Evans's size is posted. that means crap. he's played with the top end players for 7 years of selects & vipers and was at the top. he has all it takes to go far in hockey. he will grow that's guaranteed but talent is something you are born with. he was an average size player at bc cup, look at the rosters. i believe he got 4 points and was on the team that won gold.
hey 9:45pm there are many many talented players across canada, no one is jealous. saw him throughout u-16 so far and he's not #1. gawdin is very underated and is going to go very far. maybe he's not "represented" like who you're talking about
I watched Barzal play and his talent level is very good but he is on the wrong side of the puck an aweful lot. It appears fairly easy to get him off his game. He simlpy got tripped at the beginning of the game with the puck, there was no call and he proceeded to yell at the ref from the bench for the entire time until he hit the ice again. Was in Toronto this past week working with a coach whom trains the first over-all Bantam pick in the OHL priority draft. Name is Connor McDavid. He's better than Barzal without question. Will be intersting come the NHL draft.
Connor #97 McDavid http:youtube.com/watch?//www.v=ZywAm-mADdk&list=PL28D9373699EC0424&feature=player_detailpage
If BC spring hockey is anything like Manitoba spring hockey in the 98 age group, there is one top team and the rest compete with each other. It makes it easy for the top players on the top team to pad their stats in these tournaments, so a lot of this info is meaningless.
Team is largely picked before any camp. Top lines from top teams, top D pairings. Token zone representation to fill 3rd and 4th lines who won't get to play.
5:44
I don't get it, You get mad that teams are stacked in winter at winter clubs, then you get made that teams are stacked in Spring, What you don't understand is these spring kids have all played for their spring teams for the most part before Atom, They want to play together, I have not seen one comment about the spring scores or games . but yours ???? So no one is saying score 4 goals or more. Give it a rest
McDavid was taken first overall in the OHL minor midget draft as an underager. He will be playing full time in the OHL next year as a 97.
Connor McDavid is hands down the top 97 in Canada. Makes plays at full speed and is amazingly quick.
Does Team BC have to have representation of the regions of the province, or do they just take the best players?
Yes otherwise people would stop going.For $10 BC Hockey could purchase Western Elites draft list and invite kids based on the list and save hockey parents a million dollars. Or better yet wait for the WHL draft since its biased towards the WHL ayway. My understanding is the BC Cup actually hurts kids draft ranking if they under perform.Bottom line if your son isn't playing in the WHL at 16, the U17 team is unlikely.
The U17 comment isn't far off...was at U17 camp last year and best player was a little guy standing 5'5" and 150lbs. Of coarse he was overlooked for the Bantam draft due to size. Low and behold when the announcement was made for the regional camp...he was left off the list...why? He wasn't somebody's invested job security and he defied all "old school" logic for what appropriately represents a "traditional" hockey player. Time after time, if given the opportunity, skill continues to tromp over size. Evidence of this is unfortunately starting to be seen in international competition where we still have relics choosing "BIG" less talented players for (mostly defense) our national teams.
Fortunately for the "little guy" at the U17 camp he did fine...choosing the BCHL instead with a full-ride scholly to a top notch ivy league school to boot.
April 19 5:31 PM
Please don't muddy the waters for young players and their families. The Ivy League schools don't have athletic scholarships. They do offer financial aid.
As for the player you seem to be referring to, yes he is a good player. Smart, high energy and sound skill set. Missed the bantam draft on size? Don't tell Hicketts or Butcher. However is there a too strong affiliation between WHL and BC Hockey? Absolutely. Is there too much political influence in respect to who gets to advance with BC Hockey and who doesn't? It appears so. Success for BC MML teams against other province competition has been abysmal. Provincial representative team success is not reflective of the overall quality of player in BC as evidenced once the rest enter other developement leagues and the success rate in the dub of listed players is perhaps better by % than those drafted so young. The best players in BC are often not on the MML teams or being selected for U16 and U17 final teams or being drafted - it's not so often to due with size as to do with who knows who and the depth of the relationship.
To this years crop of bantams; don't let somebody else's pick of the day or list or opinion effect what you think of you too much. Take it with a grain of salt, know there are other options just down the road, work hard, stay true to yourself and be proud of how far you've come.
Was he the young man that lit up the BCHL?
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