In no specific order listed are 10 teams we think have a good chance to do some damage next season. Teams such as the Saskatoon teams who hold a draft prior to the season aren't known in terms of roster as well as some of the rural Manitoba teams as well. OHA, Notre Dame, POE and the other prep schools aren't known as of yet either. POE will hold their camp next week but we do know many who are trying out and/or returning.
Burnaby Winter Club
It remains to be seen if they will be the #1 ranked team and return to westerns or not at this point. Gone are the likes of first rounders Matt Barzal, Ty Schultz, Ty Ronning, Adam Musil and top goalie Nick McBride. However, one of the top forwards in western Canada will be making the move to BWC in Jaeger White who will be coming over from Medicine Hat. White had a successful first year in bantam, placing amongst the rookie scoring leaders in the AMBHL. Add to that a potential Top 5 defenseman for the 2013 in Dante Fabbro and other highly skilled players such as Kyle Uy, Jake Kryski, Ken Kylyshbek with dmen Cameron Ginnetti and Matt Barberis, the core looks good. Tyler Shugrue will take over the goaltending duties from Nick McBride. Rookie forwards Henry Rhyu and Alexander Horner should also add some depth.
North Shore Winter Club
Like BWC, NSWC will lose some of its star power but not nearly to the extent of BWC. NSWC loses 3rd overall bantam pick Jansen Harkins and a few of their top defenseman. Gone also is one of the highest selected goalie in Taz Burman. NSWC will look to an influx of players from the powerhouse Peewee squad led by highly touted Jordy Bellerive. He will be joined by Justin Almeida, Angus Crookshank, Brett Stapley and Nolan Kneen. The kingpin of the offence though will be centered around highly skilled Dante Hannoun with Tak Anholt and Quinn Benjafield adding some good secondary scoring as well. Kwan, Colebourne and Pouliot give NSWC a good defensive foundation.
Langley Eagles
Look for Langley to take a major jump in the standings next year in the PCAHA and replace the likes of Cloverdale and Semiahmoo near the top. Langley will look to Luke Gingras and D- Dennis Cholowski to lead the way. Kaelan Anderson should also help. They will also see an influx of several first year talented players like Alec Capstick, James Malm who are top 10 in the '99 age group. Jordan Hollett is a first year goalie who could very well be the starter.
POE
A powerhouse each season now, POE will return some highly skilled forwards such as Ayre, Jose and McDonald. Word is that Noah Turanski will also make the move to POE. It isn't known who else will be on the squad yet but several of the players who we know are trying are very good and will make POE very good once again.
Airdrie Xtreme
Aidrie had a very young squad last season and got better and better as the season went on. They had 6 first year players who many performed very well. They should be led up front by Jordan McConnell and Dillon Dube, both of whom were amonst the Aidrie scoring leaders last season. Defensively, Adamu Tanaka and Ryan Seefried both return. Kurtis Chapman was tremendous as a first year goalie with a .908 save percentage. Brandon Schuldhaus and Noah Philp will add some depth to the offence and should score. Look for '99 born Gary Haden to have a good chance to crack the roster and perhaps put up points too.
Winnipeg Hawks
The Winnipeg Hawks will be made up from the squad who absolutely dominated the Winnipeg Bantam B2 division going 24-5-1, scoring over 4.5 GPG and allowing under 2.0 GPG. Leading the way will be first round rated prospect Nolan Patrick who in an injury shortened season had 40 points in just 17 games. Patrick is indeed from the famous NHL Patrick family. Vince Loschaivo, Connor Barley, Chase Brakel and Linden McCorrister were all amongst the leading scorers to name a few. In goal, it may not get any better in western Canada than Ryan Kubic who is amongst our top rated prospects. Adam Thurlbeck, Skyler Thorsteinson and Liam Schioler anchor a great defensive core.
Brandon Wheat Kings
The Brandon AA Wheatkings went 27-0-1 in the Winnipeg minor AA league last year and will look to star forwards Ty Lewis and Tanner Kaspick to lead the way. Ty Lewis ran away with the AA scoring race with 54-39-93 in 28 games, that was a 41 point lead over 2nd place Brendan Kokorudz. Lane Tufts was 3rd in league with 39 points and also with Brandon. Tanner Kaspick played age advanced hockey this past season in the Winnipeg AAA league and finished with 24 goals, placing him 3rd in the league in scoring. Defensively, Blake Jameson and Clark Nachtigal add some capable defensive play. Liam Shamray should handle the goaltending duties.
Balgonie Prairie Storm
The Prairie Storm are coming off a fantastic season in which they compiled a 21-2-1 league record. They also had 3 first round draft picks in Troy Murray, Jayden Halbgewachs and Brennan Riddle who all move on to the midget leagues now. However not all is lost in Balgonie for next season. Returning is Taylor Ross who put up 11-7-18 in 11 games during an injury shortened season. Nolan Reid is perhaps one of the top defenseman from Saskatchewan and Jeff Faith was also a very steady defenseman for the Prairie Strom as a afirst year. Jared Legien and Ryan Roberts should also add good depth as returning players. They will also get a huge boost from first year player Eamon Milligan. Milligan led the Regina and area Peewee league in scoring with 66 goals.
SSAC Southgate Lions
The power house program from south Edmonton will once again have a very strong team led by Tyler Benson, David Quenneville and both 98 born goalie return which invaluable experience. Quenneville won defenseman of the year in the North Division while Benson was 2nd in league scoring with 34-50-84. Stuart Skinner is going to be a very closely watched goalie heading in to next season as a first year he posted a 2.59 GAA and a .910%. Skinner is also already over 6'0 tall. Rookie players such as Jacob Thomas and Merrit Oszytko are other 98's who can add depth. However, the biggest influx of talent will come from Peewee provincial champion Edmonton Oil Kings. Josh Paterson, James Hamblin and Matthew Wedman should add instant offence.
Calgary Bisons
The Bisons lose some star talent in Nick Merkley and Braylon Shmyr but will now look to the likes of Kyle Olson and Matthew Phillips to lead the team next year. Ryley Mckinstry, Josh Patrician and Kevin Pierce should give the Bisons and nice start on the blueline. Jake Ashton should make the team next year and could add some extra offensive punch along with Joren Petanaude. The Bisons will also have a good influx of 99 born talent to draw upon.
Feel free to add teams to the list of who to consider for top teams. There are many other teams who are right there at this point and could be considered.
49 comments:
I think you'll want to keep your eye on West Central as well.
Spencer Gerth will be a big difference maker in Langley this season. Big kid, above average shot and very well rounded. He plays in both ends of the ice and had a good rookie season for them last year. Look for him to make a big impression on a lot of scouts.
Best 98s are in Alberta especially if Jaegger White had stayed. Jost, Steenbergen, Benson, Bubba Phillps,Clague,Quennville,Montgomery and others. BC stronger with the 97s and it showed in the draft but this will shift back to Alberta for the 98s.
What about Sherwood park? They are going to have 5 returning players
I think you've missed a couple teams in Alberta. Both Sherwood Park and Lloydminster will have very good teams next year as well. Steel,Paradis, Lakusta, Biro, Mackenzie all return for the Park and if Clague plays bantam next year Lloyd will be strong with Shaw, Johnson, Petrie and Zane Franklin, who lit up Bantam AA as an underage last year.
I don't think WEHP missed any teams. I think they were just pointing out 10 teams to watch. Sherwood Park, Lloydminster, Calgary Bronks and maybe Red Deer could do well. Abbotsford will be well improved from BC. OHA will have another good team. Not sure about the teams from the OMAHA yet though.
Will the Calgary Royals be good next season? Will they have the same coach? He worked wonders with that team lsat year.
If the top 98's are in Alberta , then why does the top 98 BC spring team always beat the top 98 Alberta spring team ? (Every year).
The reason - there are only two BC teams that encompass most of the top players. The Alberta kids have been more spread out, and teams have come and gone. Plus, what happened one, two, and three years ago is no indicator of the future. Many of the Alberta kids are really rising, while not as many new faces in BC. My thoughts anyways - and I am a BC parent.
One of the top Albertans plays on the BC team. Mostly though all of the best Albetans have never played on the same spring team. You may find that different this year. See what happens in Winnipeg then I guess we will know. The biggest problem is Alberta is split North and South where the majority of the BC kids are from the Lower Mainland and tend to all come together on the same team. Don't put too much stock into spring hockey. If Albeta including White played on one team it would be amazing.
This chain could go on for another 4 months. Considering we can only go by the past season. The list breaks down most of the top teams. Do the Royals have the goal-tending this season. They were a very good team. Winn Hawks will be a strong team this year.
Clover and Seafair from PCAHA will drop to Tier 2 or 3. They have no one left they were all 97's.
Great discussion...the unknown variables are what makes these conversations so intriguing. It's unfortunate that we need to wait until U16 next year to gauge how the provinces stack up against one another. On a BC note the rural areas in the north, Okanagan, Kooteney's and island have some gems that aren't factored into the mainland teams...so we'll have to wait and see.
Just as a point of clarification, while many of the top picks were from BC (BWC, POE, NSWC), more Albertans were chosen in the recent WHL draft than kids from BC...look it up. This despite a larger population. So in a "strong" year for BC, still more kids from Alberta taken. I predict the same for 98's, but probably by a wider margin.
Whats done is done, Many players did not go the WHL route from BC. Many in BC decided to BCHL. Which in Alberta is the AJHL not a highly regarded. So in a wrong way 12:44 is correct, But the players from Alberta do not have much else but the WHL, Which BC has more options.
Check out the Emonton Mercury's 98 roster for Winnipeg. The first time most of the top kids from Northern Alberta have ever played together.
This will be SSAC 's year. They will dominate Alberta this year. No one in Alberta will come close. Not many 98 goalies out there and they have 2 very good ones at that.
Hawks and BWC each have 1, and a few do not have any from your notes.
Alberta has the most kids chosen because they have the only True AAA bantam league. The WHL supports that league and it is scouted the heaviest with med hat and st albert tourneys as well. Until BC gets a true AAA league that won't change.
there may have been more kids picked from alberta but higher picks were chosen from bc and next year the top teams will be BWC, NSWC, Langley, OHA, POE, and thats about all and really Langley is the only team where all the kids are from langley.
And From OMAHA next year it will be close between kelowna and kamloops but look for kelowna to have a team more than half first year players.
Vancouver Thunderbirds will be one to watch if they manage to keep crafty Sam Atkins but rumour is that Notre Dame is pursuing him.
At the end of the day Alberta has far more players in the Nhl. Edmonton and Toronto have the highest # of Nhl players of any city in the world. BC has programs that allow recruiting...ie POE, BWC,NSWC... Every year these are the top teams in BC. If Alberta allowed recruiting to 1 or 2 teams then you would see a different result. I don't understand how the rest of the teams in BC are not outraged by BWC or NSWC. Its simple they should not be in a league playing against boundary driven club teams. They are really no different than POE, OHA or Notre Dame...they bend the rules...ie Jagger White from Medicine hat playing for BWC next year. Imagine if everyone could pull that off!
The Wpg Hawks will dominate Manitoba. They have lots of fire power, big defense who skate well, and maybe the best goalie in Western Canada. They should be a contender for the Western Canadian Champioship.
Don't just assume a team from Winnipeg will come out of Manitoba. With the inclusion now of rural AAA teams that race will be much closer that people think. Look what happened this year. Pembina Valley was the dominant team despite a very strong team from the Warriors coming out of the city.
How can you say James Hamblin will add instant scoring to a Bantam AAA ? Not a chance he does.
SSAC will only add in 1 or 2 99's there is no way they go with 4 or 5 99's at the AAA level.
Yes the Wpg Hawks are AAA Winnipeg's chosen team. They are given the best coach, have the widest cathment area and are allowed top players from out of their catchment area. They are the only team in the city allowed to have rural kids playing for them. I wish them luck in the Westerns.
Wpg City teams are very strong in 98 age group. Also, not many rural AAA teams are single roster so that is a huge disadvantage. Thus, they will easily beat the rural AAA teams this year. A complete opposite to the 97 age group.
This year is way more clear than last year in regards to which teams are going to win. Bwc from bc. Ssac from Alberta. Winnipeg hawks from Manitoba. Praire storm from sask?
On the Bisons I'd look to add Williamson, Thompson, Strong and Serpico. Serpico is a long shot given 7 concussions since Pee Wee.
There's no influx of 99s coming into the Bisons. Only one, setoguichi. Long shot with Logan Dyck in the pipes. I guess the only team you watch are the Jr. Hitmen to form your opinion. Patenaude is tiny and adds no overall strength. He needs growth hormones. The other player to watch is Morrison. He's a late bloomer. Big, strong and fast skater.
The one strong Manitoba rural AAA team which won the Directors Cup was denied access to the Bantam AAA league and these top players are now forced to play at a lower level. Perhaps AAA Winnipeg saw them as a threat to the Hawks.
BWC will be strong but not as strong as they use to be because they lost many of their top 98 players after winning their PCAHA Provincals..
Just to name a few, Trevor Ayre, Owen Seidel, Kaellen Anderson, Troy Robillard, Ryan Campbell, Joel Murga, and Robbie Johnson.
I do agree that Jäger White is a huge bonus, but he doesn't come close to filling the gap for all the talent that left
Barberris is going to be the so called Darkhorse for that BWC team, the boy has improved immensely
disappointing he never really lived or attended school in Burnaby, some things continue to fall through the cracks in the PCAHA.
NSWC and Langley will be the top teams along with BWC and Abbotsford, the next grouping will be Vancouver Tbirds, Semi, Seafair and Port Coquitlam.
Really? It was my understanding that WMHA said they would accept anyone who wanted to play there. I'm assuming your talking about the Eastman D Cup team? And yes, they could compete very well there. If Wpg allows Interlake in their league, I'm surprised they wouldn't allow Eastman. Hmmmmm?
Naythan Lange from Langley has been solid in net this spring with the Jr Vancouver Giants. He is a goalie to watch for this winter as a draft pick. Already has his name out there with alot of scouts.
I am a huge fan of Naythan Lange from Langley and he should definetely be starter goalie for next season as their 98 netminder. He had a good season last yr as the rookie on the Bantam AAA Team.
It was not the kids that left BWC, it was the type A parents who think their kids are better than they really are ,what they left behind was respected Coaching from WHL scouts, player development, and being part of a team that more than likely will advance to Westerns. Their only competition will be
NSWC
Hey 9:04am , I think that Langley will be able to give BWC some competition next year.
9:04 AM
May 21, 2012
are you implying that BWC doesn't recruit top players , then only have issues when they leave calling the parents Type A?
are the parents playing or is it the kids or does it look bad when good kids and people leave?
if a coach can't keep several kids parents under control he will never be able to coach a team (thats politics vs team participation 101)
someone posted a comment about Musil from BWC, even though he was developed in South Delta and in the Czech (he wasn't made into the player he is in the one year at the private club, but he was fortunate to get the exposure the private clubs get going to all the tournaments, Musil is just a great natural hockey player)
Club type coaches are good and that goes for all the coaches in Canada, but it just seems easier to be a sucessfull and winning BWC coach having many great players that transfer in for their final bantam years for the tournaments and the exposure
Is it a conflict having coaches and assistants that are whl scouts and work for sports management programs/agents?
If your child doesn't fit their mold or if the parent is labelled as a Type A, will your child still get a fair chance ?
Why do all these type A parents flock their then?
hockey at this level is still considered Minor Hockey people, enjoy all these moments before their gone
how do you consider being part of team if certain players don't play?
4 shifts in games wont develope anyone, but I guess the practices are what really maters if you want to wear that magic yellow helmet.
I like how people keep talking about Langley, Lange did play incredible in net, the big forwards skated well to the box and led this past weekend tournament with undisceplined penalties and their star D was way out of his league and thats in both the physical and skill section.
We don't see any hidden surprises evolving in Langley
POE was scouting and recruiting heavy this weekend , wonder why?
The Subway Classic in Winnipeg will be the eye opener for kids and parents
Langley should be able to beat burnaby no problem
It will be Coquitlam that will be a strong dark horse in Flight 1. Port Coquitlam will be down in Flight 3 or 4.
It will be Coquitlam that will be a strong dark horse in Flight 1, Port Coquitlam will be Flight 3 or even 4.
Who or what does Coquilam have that makes them a Dark horse?
Teams could move,but not much.
Top 6 Group - not in any order
SSAC,Hawks,BWC Airdrie,Bronks,Bisons
Group 6-11
POE,Lloyd,OHA,Balgonie,NSWC,
Are good enough too if stay healthy:
Next 4
Wheat Kings,Royals,Pembina Valley, NorthStar Sabers,
Dark Horse is MLAC
What makes the Top 5 different from the rest.
SSAC has many returning and they came in 2nd last season. Hawks were dominate all year. BWC will have the strong Def. All in these top 6 have proven and very talented goalies. SSAC has 2 for that matter. Alberta will have some great hockey all year long.
Dont know much about Langley, but what parents write about here. 2 in Top 30 -98 and a few in 99's not enough to play with the big boys.
What exactly are everybody's thoughts on Medicine Hat this year. I was scrolling through last seasons squad. Jordan Taupert who should be a first rounder this year will likely lead the way. Some secondary scoreing provided by Slater Dykema and Micheal Clarke who is a physical juggernaut loves to hit. Defensive aspects I heard that they have 1 player
from peewee who will prove to be quite useful Kanen Krushel. They will most likely be lead by Tash Bowles and Dylan Macpherson. Goaltending is
going to be slightly weak for the AAA level, No I am not a parent of any of these kids so no one should get the opinion that I'm trying to boast these kids repuatations up just saw they had plenty of 1st years and were curious to know what other people thought.
NSWC,POE and OHA only have one player each in the top 30-98's,yet you think that they have enough to play with the big boys. Why is that ?
Medicine hat will struggle next year. If 5'1 jordan taupert is what your relying on for offence u have a problem
11:58
It's usually good kids and delusional parents!!! One season away from these programs and they realize how good it was and the mistake they've made.
Good coaches do keep both the kids and the A type parents under control. It's some A type parents that realize they can't influence these coaches and leave the program. They want to point fingers saying it was political, conflicts ect. These are all just excuses!!!( politics vs. team participation 101) The real reason for leaving will never be admitted but it would usually involve their son having to earn a spot on a team!!!
Look for the Airdrie Xtreme to be a dominant source of the AMBHL. Most likely lead by returning Jordan Mcconnell,AA Timberwolves Noah Philp, and also lookout for AA player Jared Janke. All three of these young men have huge potential. Anchored in goal by Kurtis Chapman, I see Airdrie as a strong contender. This team will be fun to watch!
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