July 27, 2012 Newsletter is now ready

First of all, I hope everyone is having a relaxing, fantastic summer.  He is a bit of reading for you while on vacation or at the lake!

Rankings

The July 27, 2012 newsletter is now ready.  In this edition of the newsletter we make some big adjustments to a couple of the provincial rankings after going through further the reports sent in by the scouts this summer.  Updated are the Top 200 for 1998 born in western Canada, the top 120 for 1999 born prospects and the western USA top 30, which is set to be expanded to a top 50 very soon.

Interviews

In the interview section this time around, I speak with a top 2 round ranked defenseman from Alberta who compares his playing style to Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith.  He says he is ready to be a top offensive defenceman next season.

I had a chance to talk to British Columbia based prospect who is determined to get off to a fast start this season and be a top offensive player for one of the perenial top teams in western Canada.

I speak with a Saskatchewan forward who flew under the radar in 2011-2012 but we think he could be one of the fastest rising prospects for the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft as the season begins.

Lastly, I speak with one of the top ranked 1999 born prospects who is a pure work horse and ultra talented offensive player.  He tells us the keys to his success.

Feature

In this editions feature segment, we look at the top stories to follow in western Canada for the 2012-2013 season.

Pacific Summer Showcase Underway

Several bantam and peewee aged players are taking part in the Pacific Summer Showcase tournament this week in British Columbia.  The bantam side has four teams with several prospects who are on our list such as; Danny Gatenby, Jared Legien, Marcus Mitchell and a few others.  While the peewee side has a few players as well who are looking to stand out.  Here is a link to the scores and the leading scorers if you wish to track a few of the kids playing in the tournament.  http://www.idthockey.com/leagues/stats_hockey.cfm?leagueID=20822&clientID=2571

July 13, 2012 Newsletter is ready!

The July 13, 2012 newsletter is now ready to be sent out.  In this edition of the newsletter, we continue to update the rankings in the 1998 and 1999 age groups across western Canada.  We make some adjustments to the Western USA top 30 lists as well.

In the Interview section, I had a chance to speak with a British Columbia forward who has loads of skill but played A2 last year, we think he'll put up good numbers in A1 this season.  I also had a chance to speak with one of the most gifted scorers from Alberta.  Could he be the next Brayden Point?  I interview a defenseman from British Columbia who hospeas had a great summer in training and should take the next step and be a fairly high pick.  Lastly, I speak with a forward who has taken a big move from 1000 miles away with his family to pursue his hockey career.

Also, we break down who could be the top 10 teams for the up coming bantam season.  

Lastly, a new section is added as to who has been HOT this summer in terms of rising up the rankings!

Matthew Phillips - Player Profile

Phillips has been one of the most prolific scorers  this summer

Matthew Phillips                    

Calgary Bisons (AMBHL)

5’5 125 Forward

11-12 stats:  31GP 18-8-26 4PIM

Where did you play your minor hockey and what were some of your favourite personal and team memories growing up?
I was born in Calgary but I started my minor hockey in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland. I moved back to Calgary at the novice age where I've played for Bow Valley up until this bantam season. My most recent hockey memory is winning the Southern Alberta championship and helping the Bisons make a long playoff run, before unfortunately losing to Edmonton SSAC in provincials. My favorite memory was when I scored a goal in overtime of playoffs with the Mount Pearl Ames getting called up from timbits to play novice in Newfoundland.

Your rookie bantam season was very successful in that you were able to score 18 goals. What do you feel was the main reason for that type of success?
As a 1st year player, this was a challenging year. I think my success this season came because I kept working hard. 18 goals was mostly a sign of just hard work and having great players and coaches around me to help me stay on track and develop every time I hit the ice. Having a chance to play bantam AAA as a first year player was amazing, my coaches gave me opportunities and showed confidence in me and I'm very thankful for that and an amazing season with the Bisons. 

You led the recent Alberta Champions Cup in goals with 10. What do you feel helped you or made you able to put up such good numbers?
This is my first season with the 98 Jr. Hitmen. The puck movement and discipline style of play forces me to always be thinking and see the ice better. Having two great line mates in Parker Aucoin and Kyle Olson played a big part in my tournament success. When your entire team is working hard, playing as a unit and sacrificing, it's a great atmosphere...and fun. 

What are the strengths in your game that make you such a good goal scorer? On the other hand, what weaknesses in your game do you feel need the most work heading up to the bantam draft a year from now?
I think my strengths are my speed, my work ethic and my two way play. I need to work on my strength so that I can win every puck battle, and a harder shot will make me able to score from any part of the ice. 

Next year you will become one of the go-to players on the Bisons with Merkley and Shmyr moving on. Do you feel you are ready for that and also what can you take from Merkley and Shmyr that will helping you moving forward?
I feel ready for the increased attention and a big amount of ice time most likely. Nick and Braylon we're amazing players of course but they are two very mature guys and they sacrificed and came to work every practice and they helped make other players better. 

Talk about what you are doing for the rest of the spring/summer in terms of hockey camps, tournament and other training?
The rest of the summer I will be going to Challenge Cup in B.C in May and North American Hockey Classic in Winnipeg in June, both with the Jr. Hitmen. I will be doing a lot of conditioning training so I am able to play consistently throughout the entire 33 game season and be able to compete in Medicine Hat and St. Albert if we get the opportunity. 

Lastly, who is your favourite NHL hockey player? If you could pick one player to model your game after, who would it be and why?

My favorite NHL player is Pavel Datsyuk.  I would model my game after him because of his vision and his two way play. You rarely see Datsyuk turnover the puck which would be a great aspect to add to my game. 

Update...Holidays Over, Las Vegas and Brick Tournament

After a week away from "life", we are back from a much needed break from hockey and our other careers!  With that said, it is now time to start setting up for the 2012-2013 hockey season which is still a while away but during the summer, we'll profile some of the top 98's and 99's to watch for the coming season and we'll 4also go league by league and preview the teams.

During this past week, there were a couple big tournaments taking place.  For those of you who follow WEHP on twitter, you'll know that our final two stay stop on our trip through the mountains was in Edmonton  - on the way home.  While the "MRS." was out shopping, I had a chance to watch some of  The Brick Invitational Super Novice Hockey Tournament.  There was absolutely no ranking or scouting involved, just watched out of pure enjoyment.  It was funny, the director of PPL of the Spokane Chiefs sent me a message while watching the tournament asking if I was actually scouting this age group and the answer was a resounding NO!  With that said, it is interesting to look through the number of players in the first 14 year history of the event who made it to the NHL or who have played NCAA or made it to major junior or junior A.

Toronto will play Detroit in The Brick final today.  Toronto defeated Vancouver in a semi-final yesterday and Detroit beat Winnipeg.  The leading scorer in the tournament was Toronto's Logan Morrison, who had 9 goals and 5 assists in 6 games.


The Brick Breakdown
Major Junior/Junior "A" or NCAA = 534
- Works out to an average of 38.14 per year of The Brick Tournament who have played at a Junior, Junior "A" or NCAA level.

NHL Players = 63
- The Brick Tournament has seen 63 players make it to the NHL in the 14 years.  That works out to 4.5 each year on average.  So there was a good chance that those who watched this years tournament that you viewed 4 or 5 future NHL players.


NHL Draft Picks = 154
- With 154 NHL draft picks during the 14 years, that works out to an average of 11 NHL picks per year of The Brick Tournament.

NHL Draft Picks By Team
Alaska - 1
Boston  - 9 (Ryan Shannon, Mike Brown and Ben Lovejoy all made the NHL)
Toronto Bulldogs - 11 (Ethan Werek made NHL)
Calgary - 6 (Krys Kolanos, Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi made NHL)
California - 13 
Connecticut - 6 (Max Pacioretty made NHL)
Detroit - 7 (TJ Hensick, David Booth, Erik Condra, Nate Gerbe, Tim Gleason, Steve Kampfer made NHL)
Edmonton - 16 (Jay Bouwmeester, Mike Comrie, Tyler Ennis, Ryan Garbutt, Brendan Mikkelson,  Dion Phaneuf, David Schlemko, Jared Spurgeon made NHL)
Kamloops - 1
Minnesota - 15 ( Jack Hillen, Erik Johnson, Jamie McBain, Peter Mueller, Jim O'Brien, Blake Wheeler all made NHL)
Montreal - 4 ( Matthew Lombardi made NHL)
Northwest - 5 ( Colin Fraser, Brandon Dubinsky and Dustin Byfuglien made NHL)
Pro Hockey - 15 (Logan Couture, Alex Pietrangelo, Tyler Seguin, Steve Stamkos, PK Subban all made NHL)
Red Deer - 1
Saskatchewan - 1 (Jaden Schwartz made NHL)
Saskatoon - 8 (Carter Ashton, Warren Peters, Darroll Powe, Brayden Schenn, Luke Schenn all made the NHL)
Toronto - 5 (Matt Halischuk, Kyle Quincey, Wojtek Wolski made NHL)
Vancouver - 24 (Karl Alzer, Troy Brouwer, Gilbert Brule, Jordan Eberle, Colton Gillies, Travis Hamonic, Andrew Ladd, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Brent Seabrook, Kyle Turris all made NHL)
Winnipeg - 23 (Cam Barker, Darren Helm, Alex Steen, Jonathan Toews, Ian White and Travis Zajac all made NHL)

Las Vegas NAAACC
A small tournament was taking place in Las Vegas over the past week as well.  The Edmonton Mercurys won a a 5 team tournament that featured the Vancouver Selects, Sask-Can, Alberta Ice and Spartan PFO.  Several players didn't make the trip on all the teams.  Just a fun way to end summer hockey for those who chose to play this year!

NAAAACC Underway Tomorrow/July Top 5 lists

The North American AAA Champions Cup is set to get underway tomorrow in Las Vegas.  The 1998 age group will consist of Sask-Can, Vancouver Selects Blue, Edmonton Mercury's, Alberta Ice and Spartan PFO.  Action will begin tomorrow morning at 8:15 with SaskCan vs. Alberta Ice.  The final is slated for Friday at 2:30.  One would have to think the Edmonton Mercury's are the overwhelming favourites to capture the title.  The Vancouver Selects Blue would be the other contender.  However, anything can happen and usually does.

The 1999 age group will feature the Southern Alberta Sting, Alberta Chain, Team Doritos and the Minnesota Machine.  Action begins Monday morning at 9:45 and wraps up with the final on Friday at 4:15pm.

1998 born Top 5 Prospects

	Player	Position	Team	League	Height	Weight	Birth	GP	G-A-PTS	PIM
1	Kale Clague	D	Lloydminster	AMBHL	5’11	150	Jun 5/98	33	11-23-34	44
2	Tyler Benson	F	SSAC	AMBHL	5’11	165	1998	33	34-50-84	44
3	Jaeger White	F	BWC	PCAHA	5’10	154	1998	32	28-23-51	16
4	Dante Fabbro	D	BWC	PCAHA	5’10	155	Jun 20/98
5	Sam Steel	F	Sherwood Park	AMBHL	5’9	147	1998	33	26-24-50	10

1999 born Top 5 Prospects

Rank	Player	Pos	Team	League	Height	Weight	Year
1	Jordy Bellerive	F	NSWC	PCAHA	5’9	165	1999
2	Alec Capstick	D	Langley	PCAHA	5’7	115	1999
3	Kyle Olsen	F	Calgary Bisons	AMBHL	5’2	110	1999
4	James Malm	F	Langley	PCAHA			1999
5	Jonathan Smart	D	Kelowna	OMAHA			1999