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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Sask First Tournament

The second last provincial camp is set to get underway beginning Friday, April 20 in Regina at the Cooperators Centre.  The approximate 160 players will arrive in Regina at 11:30 AM and various meetings and presentations will take part during the afternoon.  Game action will begin at 4:30 with Zone 8 taking on Zone 5.

In recent years Saskatchewan has had about 45 players drafted on average.  That means about 5-6 players per team are likely to be selected.  Here is a bit of a preview on what to watch at this weekends tournament.

Zone 1
One of the favorites entering the tournament has be the zone including players who played on one of the provinces powerhouse teams - Balgonie and players from Weyburn and Melville.  Every single player on the defense core stand a good chance to be drafted.  Among the group could be three second round draft picks.

Goalies
In goal, the team boasts the 2nd and 3rd ranked goalies in terms of GAA in the SBAAHL.  Braeden Pyne split time in Balgonie this year with Blade Roh and was somewhat over-shadowed.  However, he went the entire regular season without a loss and posted a stellar 2.26 GAA to go with that 11-0-1 record.  Chantz Vinck from Weyburn had a sparkling 1.95 GAA with 3SO and placed just behind Blade Roh in GAA in the overall league.  Vinck is a small goalie still at just 126 lbs.

Defense
The Defense looks to be easily the best this tournament will have to offer as a whole.  Ethan Bear (POE) will come over to join potential 2nd round picks from Balgonie in Brennan Riddle and Troy Murray.  Even Armstrong from Melville is a 6'2 155 raw defenseman with good potential.  Add in hard hitters from Weyburn in Drew Fellner and Nick Lenius and there really aren't any holes.  Overall, there will be at least 4 draft picks from this group with Lenius and Armstrong possibly making it all 6.

Forwards
The forward group is led by the top ranked forward in the province in Jayden Halbgewachs.  We fully expect Jayden to be a high pick in the up coming bantam draft.  Rykr Cole, Dakota Boutin, Donovan Neuls and Jesse Gabrielle give this group ample fire power.  It will be interesting to see what Gabrielle can do in this tournament.  Is he a first rounder?  We will find out.  There will be a minimum of 5 draft picks from this group.

Projected Draft Picks - 10
Top Picks (first 2 rounds) - 3 Jayden Halbgewachs, Ethan Bear, Brennan Riddle

Zone 2
This is a zone that comprises players from Regina.  On paper, they really don't have much of a chance of competing for the title but do have some prospects that could be fairly high picks in a couple weeks.

Goalies
A goalie that we will really be watching at this tournament is 5'11 160lb Logan Flodell.  Flodell entered the year as one of the top goalies in Saskatchewan but has fallen off a bit as the season wore on.  He posted a sub-par 4.33 GAA, placing him 17th in the league.  On the other hand, 5'8.5 130lb Shaun Fleming had a very good year with the Regina Canucks.

Defense
The defense is led by Michael Eskra.  Eskra led all SBAAHL in goals this season and is a very poised, offensive type defenseman.  Jake Tesarowski is a skill defenseman who can play forward.  He is somewhat undersized at 5'8 145lb but should garner a look come draft day.  Billy Waronek is another defenseman we will be watching as he projects as a shut-down defender.

Forwards
The forward group lacks star power with nobody projected to be drafted within the top few rounds this year. A few players to watch would be 5'7 160lb Arthur Miller who plays hard in all areas, competes hard and is a strong player for his size.  Owen Sillinger is a 5'2 120 player with a late 97 birthday who likely won't get drafted but has good bloodlines.  Sillinger's team-mate Conner Chaulk has some compete in him and could be a possible draft pick.

Projected Draft Picks - 4
Top picks (first 2 rounds) - Eskra (maybe)

Zone 3
This zone comprises of players from SW Saskatchewan.  The majority of the players on this team come from the Swift Current and Moose Jaw bantam teams.  On the surface, it looks like this will be another zone who doesn't stand much of a chance at winning Sask First but they do have some decent prospects.

Goalies
Kyle Zinger is a goalie to watch heading in to Sask First.  Zinger is a big goalie with good overall skills and went somewhat overshadowed this year.

Defense
The defense doesn't have anyone who is currently on our rankings but one player who could garner a look is 5'10 155lb Carter Doerksen who played this past season with Swift Current.

Forwards
Up front Colton Adam from Swift Current bantam is a 6'0 140lb player who could still have more filling out to do and projects as a decent prospect.  However, the kingpin of the entire squad is Regan Nagy who is from Ogema and played this year with Weyburn.  Nagy has all the tools to be a top player and is a very smooth skating winger with excellent compete in his game.  We think Nagy could be a top 2 round selection most definite and possibly slip in to the later part of the first round with a solid showing this weekend.  After that, perhaps Bhody Magnusson from Moose Jaw could be a late round selection.  Bhody works hard and leaves it all out there.

Projected Draft Picks - 3
Top Picks (first 2 rounds) - Regan Nagy

Zone 4
This zone is made up of players from the East-Central area of Saskatchewan.  The squad is primarily made up of players who played with the Yorkton bantam team.  This team is made up of several hard hitting defenseman and smallish forwards.  Not a lot of draft picks on this team but a few could definitely surprise.

Goalies
Matt Kustra entered the season as one of the highly touted goalies and a possible top 3 rounder.  His play early on suffered but that could be due to the fact they were playing in a Midget AA league.  As the season wore on, he got better and with a strong Sask First could re-cement himself as a top goalie for the draft.

Defense
The defense core features as many as 4 draft picks.  Yorkton defenseman Turner Ottenbreit and Chance Patterson project as mid round selections.  Patterson is a big 6'2.5 defenseman with a hard shot and huge upside while Ottenbreit is a mean defenseman who competes hard and has a good overall feel for the game.  A pair of Notre Dame defenseman had very strong KIBIHT tournaments.  Evan Werle is a tremendous skater and competed hard.  His team-mate Hilderman showed some promise as well and could be a pick.

Forwards
The forward group isn't as strong and really only has Tyler Kreklewich who played this past season with Melville as its only likely selection.  Kreklewich's offensive production suffered a bit as he played on a 2nd line behind Neuls/Cole and Boutin in Melville.

Projected Draft Picks - 6
Top draft picks (first 2 rounds) - 0

Zone 5
This zone is made up of players from the out-laying areas of Saskatoon.  This zone is perhaps the most diverse in that some of the players played "A" hockey, others in the GSHL and others in the SBAAHL.  Overall, each position in Zone 5 is thin on depth but each have some highly rated players to watch.

Goalies
The goalie to watch here is Sask Valley Vipers starter Connor Ingram.  The 5'11 184lb Ingram was in the top 10 in GAA in the SBAAHL and had just 1 loss the entire season.

Defense
A defenseman who has climbed faster than almost any other this season is Sask Valley Vipers 6'2 170lb Evan Fiala.  Fiala plays tough, competes hard and has some raw offensive skill, he should go in the top 3 rounds of the draft and some feel he could go as early as the early 2nd round.  Logan Karakochuk from Humboldt is an offensive type defenseman who see's the ice extremely well.

Forwards
Up front, Terrell Draude led all SBAAHL players in scoring with 54 goals and 94 points in 24 games.  He can take over games at times.  Strong shot, long reach and super hockey sense.  I think WHL personal want him to improve his skating but his overall game and skill set should land him in the 2nd round.  Drew Litwin from Humboldt had a very frustrating season, battling injury all year.  He has great offensive skill and with a good Sask First, could cement himself as a mid round pick.  Wyatt Sloboshan from Saskatoon is perhaps the top forward from the GSHL this year.  Wyatt is a skill forward with leadership and great offensive awareness.  Logan Schatz is a small shifty player with good skill and ability to pick up points consistently.  Logan could be a draft pick if teams can overlook his 5'6 130lb frame.

Projected Draft Picks - 7
Top picks (first 2 rounds) - 3 (Evan Fiala, Terrell Draude, Wyatt Sloboshan(maybe))

Zone 6
Traditionally a very strong zone.  This zone is made up of players from Saskatoon and has averaged at least 10 draft picks over the past 6 years.  This years team may not touch that level though.  Although we will see definitely 3 defenseman selected from this group, that forward group may not fair so well.

Goalies
Both tenders are undersized and could easily be passed over.  Brock Hamm is just 5'5 120lb while Swystun is 5'8 145 but has a late December birthday, making him almost a 98 born.  Swystun was thought to have a decent chance at being drafted at the start of the season and still could be selected.

Defense
This zone features three defenseman would could all be top 3 round selections.  The group is led by Top 10 overall rated Tate Olson.  Olson doesn't have any holes in his game and some nights this year, played as much as 40 minutes.  Olson has an offensive flair and is very steady in his own zone as well.  Could be the first defenseman taken in the draft.  Connor Hobbs is a 5'11 163lb defenseman who projects as more of a stay at home defenseman who I believe will still get much bigger.  Tough has nails.  Dustin Perillat is the 3rd of the big 3 dman and has a good offensive game.

Forwards
This years group of forwards doesn't really come close to years of the past.  The top rated forward on this zone would be 5'7 135lb Cameron Hebig.  Hebig is one of the more skilled players from the province.  Jimmy Lambert is a 5'2 100lb forward who likely will not be drafted due to being so small.  He isn't 5'5 Brayden Point small, he is just 100lbs still.  If Lambert were 5 inches taller and 30 pounds heavier, he would be a top 2-3 round pick.  Very skilled and tremendous speed.  Could be worth taking a late flyer on to see if he can grow a bit.

Projected Draft Picks - 8
Top picks (first 2 rounds) - 3 (Connor Hobbs, Tate Olson, Cameron Hebig(maybe))

Zone 7
This zone is made up of players from western Saskatchewan around Battlefords, Maidstone and Rosetown areas.  Most of the players on this team played with Battlefords or West Central.  Both teams were mid pack in the SBAAHL north this year.

Goalies
Both goalies from this zone stand over 6'0 tall.  We currently don't have either Malenfant or Kidd in our rankings but that is why Sask First can be such a key tournament.  If either show well, they could be a selection.  Kidd had a 4.46 GAA with West Central this season.  Malenfant had a great 3.50 GAA and we'll be watching him closely.

Defense
The Defense is led by another of the provinces fast climbers in West Central defenseman Shane Collins.  Many view Collins as a possible 1st round selection.  We have him in the 2nd round.  He is another defenseman who simply can do it all.

Forwards
The offence features a few players who could be mid-round selections.  Spencer Bast likely leads that crew though.  Bast is a 5'10 155lb forward who will likely go lower than he should but does project as a possible dark horse scoring forward.  Brandon Arnold, his team-mate from West Central has skill but is undersized.  Keifer Hintz has fallen a bit this year but is a  strong forward with good compete.  Ryan Rothenburger, Layne Young and Brayden Uhrich could all be mid to late round picks.  Uhrich plays with grit and toughness. Young is offensive and Rothenburger has really come on late in the season.

Projected Draft Picks - 7
Top draft picks (top 2 rounds) - 1 (Shane Collins)

Zone 8
Another of the favorites to win Sask First.  Zone 8 is made up of players from NE Saskatchewan and features players from Prince Albert and defending Saskatchewan bantam champs North East Wolfpack.

Goalies
Nik Amundrud is one of the top ranked goalies, if not the top rated goalie from Saskatchewan.  He proved himself a bit at the westerns as he held his team in many of the games.  Amundrud is a late birthday and is 5'11 145.  He will look to establish himself as a possible 3rd to 4th rounder for draft day.

Defense
The defense boast as many as 3-4 draft picks we feel.  Lochlan Morrison is a player with good bloodlines and plays with a good, raw complete game.  Morrison we have a bit higher than most do and we think he could be a 3rd rounder.  Bryce Fiske is as gritty as they come in this years draft.  He takes no prisoners and his compete level is 2nd to none.  Fiske is a bit undersized for a defenseman and really that is the only thing holding him back from being a very high pick.  Matt Long is a hard hitter with good leadership and projects as a stay at home defenseman.  Devin Gerwing was strong at westerns and could see a look.

Forwards
This is a very deep group.  The zone here is led by Matthew Campese who is a December birthdate.  Campese has one of the hardest shots in Saskatchewan and possesses good speed.  We think Matthew will land somewhere in the early 2nd round.  Reed Gunville is a player with good skill and some grity.  When he fills out, he could be a very good player.  The team will have several of the North East Wolfpack players led by Caleb Seaman, Tristan Elder and Zac Paziuk.  Elder is the most intriguing of the group to many as he has great raw offensive skill and has much more room to grow past 6'1 158.  Paziuk has some big time skill and a good nose around the net.  Seaman will need to have a big tournament to re-establish himself as a top 4 round selection.  Grambo and Zary could also be late round selections.

Projected Draft Picks - 10
Top draft picks (first 2 rounds) - 2 (Matthew Campese, Tristan Elder(maybe))

10 Players to Watch for Various Reasons
D - Ethan Bear - Bear played this season on a stacked POE squad which featured as many as 4 players who will be taken in the top 2 rounds.  As a result, Bear didn't see the ice time he was used to prior to moving to POE and perhaps didn't have quite the dominating season many thought he would.  Bear remains a first or second round prospect for the draft but we want to see if he can dominant at a level to put him back in the first round.  He has the talent to do so.

D - Tate Olson - A player that we have had somewhat limited viewing on.  Just the way it worked out.  However, Olson has shown all the tools to be the top defenseman in western Canada.  He will need to dominate and be heads and shoulders above the rest to cement a top 6 selections where many feel he can land.

F - Jesse Gabrielle - Many are very anxious to see Gabrielle at Sask First.  He played this year at Osseo Maple Grove Crimson HS in Minnesota due to family reasons.  Gabrielle is a 5'11 180 scoring star who will need to prove his status as a top 2 round rated prospect.  Gabrielle is from Moosomin, the same hometown as other top players Rykr Cole and Dakota Boutin who will also be watched closely.

F - Troy Murray - The brother of Everett Silvertip and likely top 5 overall NHL selection coming up this year Ryan Murray.  Troy is a late birthday who like his brother, really seems to be getting better and better at a very fast rate.  He may not have the offensive upside his brother has but has a lot of high end tools.  It will be interesting to see if he can cement himself as a top 2 rounder.

G - Logan Flodell and G - Matt Kustra - Both goalies have all the tools to become top tenders down the road.  Both have battled inconsistent play this year.  We want to see if one of them can take the bull by the horns and rise to elite status like we believe they can.

D - Mike Eskra - High scoring blue-liner who is a big under-rated by some.  He will be compared to Ethan Bear as both play similar styles.  Eskra has a chance to be taken in the 2nd round as well with a good tournament.

F - Regan Nagy - Needs a strong Sask First and some dominant play to keep first round status.  However, once again what will hurt him is that he plays on a team with not much else in terms of star talent to help him out.

D - Evan Fiala - Surged up the rankings late in the year and then had a sub-par KIBIHT tournament.  We will look for Evan to return to his dominating self and regain his status as a top 2 round selection.

F - Spencer Bast - One of the dark horse players of the draft.  He isn't likely to be selected in the top few rounds but has the skill to be a high end point producer.  With a good tournament, he could open up some eyes.

F - Tristan Elder - Big forward with good skill for a player his size.  Some have him as high as the first round, we are so sure yet.  He will need to prove that type of status to his this weekend!

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes in the past Saskatchewan has had around the 45 range for draft picks, but this year will be different as this group projects to lack the quantity, and highend quality, of previous years. Best case scenario 30-35 kids are drafted, worst case around 20-25.

There are numerous small and slow skaters from Saskatchewan this year who most teams will not take a risk on.

My prediction is 23 players from Saskatchewan will be drafted in the 2012 WHL draft.

Anonymous said...

Cole, nuels and boutin should be a dominating line seeing they played together all season! A top line in the tournament?

Anonymous said...

Worse draft ever , will be interesting

Anonymous said...

Both comments are from dreamers. Cole, Nuels and Boutin wont dominate in a best on best tournament. The couldnt even dominate Prairie Storm when they got absolutely pounded in the playoffs. They will be facing way better competition at Sask First.

Anonymous said...

Why do players who have played together all season get to play together at a try out? Shouldn't players be placed on totally different lines so they are forced to create chemistry with new line mates and still play well? Isn't that what a true try out is all about? Just wondering.

Anonymous said...

Predictions:

A-Final: Zone 1 vs Zone 5 3-2
B-Final: Zone 6 vs Zone 7 3-5
C-Final: Zone 2 vs Zone 8 3-6
D-Final: Zone 4 vs Zone 3 5-1

Zone 1 has everything needed to win every game
Zone 2 has the goaltending to win 1 game and get into the C-Final
Zone 3 will go winless
Zone 4 will get outstanding goaltending from Kustra to win the D-Final
Zone 5 will surprise Zone 8 in game 1 of the tournament and go on to have an excellent game in the A-Final only to come up short to the power house Zone 1 team
Zone 6 will benefit from being in the weaker pool and get into the B-Final (which they won't deserve),but great goaltending and solid D will get them there
Zone 7 will also surprise Zone 8 and get themselves into the B-Final game where they will have great game with Zone 6 Their depth will be too much for Zone 6
Zone 8 will be the talk of the tournament as they will only beat some of the weak sisters in the tournament because of a total lack of team first mentality (primadonas, egos, selfish attitudes abound)

Just my take on the tournament

I also think there will only be around 25-27 players from Sk taken in the draft

Anonymous said...

10:39 I really can't see Zone 8 finishing where you predicted. In the past 2 years, 14 players off that team have played in Western Canadians. Experience and talent alone will put them in the A-Side final against Zone 1.

Anonymous said...

There will be pretty much the same amount of kids drafted as every other year. Maybe the top end isn't quite as high but the depth is the same as usual.

Anonymous said...

It's too bad that Zone 1 has kids on their team who shouldn't honestly be on there and the players who should be on that team are not. Good players get overlooked.

Anonymous said...

wow - someone has a tiny problem with zone 8. Thinking they would be outside the top 4 shows that the comments are totally personal instead of fact based. Jealous parent maybe...

Anonymous said...

zone 4 - 4 defensive draft pics... not after what I saw in their game against zone 6 last night. Werle can skate and could possibly get drafted and maybe Patterson, the rest, absolutely no way. Way too slow. If it wasn't for outstanding goal tending from Kustra and Palchewich the score would have been double digits. They will be in d final and will probably lose.

Anonymous said...

When will stats and stuff come up for sask first zone tourney? Had it for every other province but not Saskatchewan?

Anonymous said...

The top zones matched up best vs best.The Cole Boutin, Neuls line were top notch best vs best. This line had 4-5 goals in the 8-5 championship game.

Anonymous said...

Dear April 20, 2012 2:34 PM,

They (zone 1) must have done something right by picking the team the way they did. As for the Cole line, it is staggering that SHA would allow those guys to play together. The advantage is immeasurable. Very unfair. As for my original comment, to the parent saying zone 1 left good players off, please name the players left off because I cannot think of one kid who should have been on zone 1 that wasn't. Yes, some guys could have interchanged in with the bottom 6, but so what? So, who got left off that was unfairly not picked? Save your stories for grandma and grandpa because if your kid was good enough, he would have gotten there.

Anonymous said...

The Sask First Bantam event this weekend was NOT a tryout it was a team tournament at hand. Then the top 40 players are selected for a tryout in summer. Respective zone tryouts were back in February 2012.

Anonymous said...

I was of the impression that SHA had directed the zones to make their lines as even as possible. And also that teams were allowed 4 hours of practice. I think most of the zones split up guys who had played together all year. At least that is what I heard at the rink. I agree with 2:34pm. Huge advantage. I also was talking to some parents who were telling me about how busy last week was, with practicing every day for the tournament. How can that be if you only are allowed 4 hours of practice. As well, in speaking with some parents at the rink, there was some discussion about players registering for zones either as a forward or defence, and then when it became eveident they couldnt make the team in the position they registered as, moved to another position and made the team. Other zones cut better players than they kept because they made them play the position they registered for. All that needs to be sorted out by SHA. All in all, the tournament was good, well run, decent officiating and congratulations to all the participants. Good luck to all the players in the upcoming draft.

Anonymous said...

6:20

The Melville line had 3 goals in the Championship Game, including a beautiful bar down goal to open the scoring. Boutin had 2 of the goals and Cole had one with an assist.

The Piller line also scored 3.

1.) Power Play, Piller from Bear and Gabrielle.

2.) Piller from Gabrielle

3.) Gabrielle unassisted on that bank shot.

Jayden Halbgewachs also sniped a goal.

Boutin added another on a penalty shot.

Anonymous said...

SASKATCHEWAN AA HOCKEY SNAP SHOT POPULATION

Take your 8 ZONES at tourney and now make 4 TEAMS from the players. That is what the comparison is regarding Saskatchewan population and 4 AAA teams in Calgary, Alberta & BC.

Saskatchewan will not ever compete at Bantam Westerns.

Example only
SASK CHAMPS NE Wolf Pack vs Hockey Regina Zone 2 and Zone 1 combined.

Anonymous said...

Just did a little bit of a look at some of the Bantam teams line ups from this past year and have a couple questions. On a team that was rated as #1 all year in Saskatchewan (losing to Wolf Pack in the finals by the way) why out side of Halbgewachs are there no forwards being talked about? They have 4 or five in the top 40 of scoring and one kid in the top 30 for goals.

Anonymous said...

April 23, 2012 2:38 PM

Their team was strong because of the quantity of the depth not the quality of the top end

Anonymous said...

Someone is mad. PS if not mistaken second best forward didnt make it his zone team, third best was a 98 and 4th best was Philipson,which at 5ft 5 not a lot of talk on. The rest were role players that will play Midget 2 next year maybe midg 1. PS had good d too.. it is a weak weak year in the south too, maybe 12 will get drafted total from the south teams.

Anonymous said...

4:54 you may be right but didn't the PS win the P.A. Tournament? That was in the North I'm pretty sure. As for second best not making the team... don't know anything about that. Looking at their stats the only 98 you may be talking about didn't play half the year. Looks like Philipson, Piller and Beaudry (Zone 5) had pretty good years by any ones standards.

Anonymous said...

Wow 4:54 pretty harsh don't ya think. PS for not having a very good team sure had a good year. All you need to do is go to the AA website and see that. Plus they won Melville Tourney, Prince Albert Tourney, won South Sask Division and going to a third game in league/provincial final.

Anonymous said...

Not sure why some are worked up over the Zone 1 lines. Looks like the Zone 1 coaching staff struck a perfect balance. Consider that the team scored 22 goals over the course of the 4 game tournament.

1 of those goals was scored on a penalty shot (Boutin)

1 of those goals was scored by a defencman (Bear).

That leaves just 20 goals scored in regular play by the 4 forward lines - and you almost couldn't have spread it out better.

The starting line in the Championship Game was;

LW Gabrielle (3G, 3A, 6pts)
C Jeanott (0G, 3A, 3Pts)
RW Piller (3G, 1A, 4Pts)

This line had 3 of the 8 goals in the championship game and 6 of the 20 goals scored by the team, inclusing the game winning goal vs Zone 4 (Gabrielle). They allowed 2 of the 8 goals against for a +/- rating of +4 on the weekend.


The second line in the championship game was;

LW Leslie (0G, 2A, 2Pts)
C Halgbewachs (4G, 1A, 5Pts)
RW Phillipson (0G, 3A, 3Pts)

This line scored 1 of the 8 in the Championship Game and 4 of the 20 in the Tournament (Halgbewachs assist came with Gabrielle & Piller). They allowed 2 of the 8 goals against for a +/- rating of +2 on the weekend.


The 3rd line in the Championship Game was;

LW Neuls (2G, 3A, 5Pts)
C Boutin (4G, 2A, 6Pts)
RW Cole (1G, 4A, 5Pts)

This line scored 3 of the 8 goals in the Championship Game, plus the Penalty Shot goal, and contributed 6 of the 20 goals throughout the tournament. They allowed 2 of the 8 goals against for a +/- rating of +5 on the weekend.


The 4th line in the Championship Game was;

LW Mayer (1G, 2A, 3Pts)
C Shaw (2G, 1A, 3Pts)
RW Halabuza (1G, 1A, 2Pts)

This line scored 4 of the 20 goals on the weekend. They allowed 2 of the 8 goals against for a +/- rating of +2 on the weekend.

Somebody correctly stated above;

"Their team was strong because of the quantity of the depth"

Overall, the Zone 1 coaching staff should be commended for not only picking the right team, but structuring the team well, with balance and chemistry throughout.

The real strength of the Zone 1 team may well have been on the backend. Troy Murray was SPECTACULAR throughout the tournament. Also, Nick Lenius put on quite a show - a real clinic in puck movement. Was also impressed with Evan Armstrong - really used his size well. Ethan Bear was his predictable dominating self, as was Brennan Riddle. Fellner hits like a tank.

I also disagree with the negative assesments of provincial talent. It's certainly fair to say that the top end talent is down in Regina and Saskatoon but the rural talent at the '97 age group is as strong as it has ever been - both at the top end and with depth.

There WILL BE over 40 kids drafted from this Sask First Tournament - and maybe as many as 13 off the Zone 1 team!

Good Luck to all the kids!

Anonymous said...

Zone 3 surprised many, this zone was ranked 8th(no wins) but went 2-1-1 and won the C-final over Saskatoon. The goaltending was very strong, Jory Litt Jukes and Kyle Zinger were excellent, the offense was led by Regan Nagy(2G/6A) and Bryce Hall(3G/3A), whole team elevated their play......

Anonymous said...

The scouts do not need game sheet summaries...they watch the players compete level, hockey senses, 3 zones of play, and do players play together to make each other stronger. Now with the new Rule changes the other factor is players skating ability laterally to but time and space.
GO Senators!

Anonymous said...

Yes, however, typically the forwards with the strongest compete level, hockey senses, 3 zones of play and skating are also the same forwards who consistently clog up the game sheets. That's certainly the case with these teams and these players

rider pride said...

zone 1 did it right. solid d-group throuought and spilt up the offensive minded. spread there top 3 forwards on 3 different lines instead of juicing one line. nothing wrong with giving hags a PS linemate to work with. boutin got a couple mils linemates to work. gabrielle got a pretty tenacious centermen who got him the puck. a strong checking line to compliment them. good work. i would have done same thing.

Anonymous said...

1:10 PM
"a strong checking line to compliment them"

You just hit the nail on the head there without meaning to. The lines were supposed to be evenly matched. Not a fourth line checking line.

Anonymous said...

I guess Zone 1 just had better coaching, and better players. Even with only practising as team once. Unlike the city teams who had family skates and birthday party skates. I guess it just goes to show that cheating the system doesn't pay off.

Anonymous said...

"The lines were supposed to be evenly matched."

the lines were pretty close to evenly matched. being a "checking line" doesn't take away from their effectiveness. quite the contrary - just hilights their strength. that line produced as many goals as the halgbewachs line without the benefit of a "projected" high pick. looks like the zone 1 coaches know more than those who are ranking the players

Anonymous said...

Wow.And we thought we were bad out here on btchn and complainig about things.Get over it,these top provincial camps are dust.we get it.Bewildered in B.C

Anonymous said...

Its only the 97 group out here lol...

Anonymous said...

April 25, 2012 6:44 AM Agree! another Bewildered in BC.

Anonymous said...

8:08 AM
Agree! But I think the 98 & 99 are going to be worse.