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Price: $10.00 Newsletter which is available every second week. Includes, Top 210 for 98's, Top 130 for 99's. NEW ADDED TOP 40 western American players. interviews, previews and profiles. NOTE: NEWSLETTERS ARE SENT TO EMAIL THROUGH PDF FILE.NOTE: The January 24, 2013 newsletter is ready to be sent.

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Sunday, September 30, 2012

Sunday Action

Medicine Hat Hockey Hounds 8 - Spruce Grove PAC Saints 5
The Hockey Hounds have now won their 2nd consecutive game, after dropping the first three contest.  The Hounds now have 17 goals scored in their past 2 games.  Looks like they are finally clicking the way many thought they would this year.  Spruce Grove fall to 1-3-0 and have given up 23 goals so far in those 4 games.

Lethbridge Golden Hawks 5 - Red Deer White 1
The Golden Hawks are now a surprising 4-1-0 and have given up just 9 goals in the four wins this year.  They did lose 11-4 to the Bisons however.  Red Deer White are now 2-4-0, after winning their first two games of year.  They have allowed 30 goals in their past 4 games.

Saturday Evening in Bantam Hockey

Saskatchewan SBAAHL
West Central Wheat Kings 5 - Yorkton UCT Terriers 3
The Western Canadian Bantam Championship hosts got off on the right foot in the season opener with a 5-3 win over a pretty good Yorkton squad.  West Central would build up a 4-1 lead early in the 3rd period thanks to a 3 goal and 1 assists effort from Ryder Kissick and a pair of helpers from Kyle Bosch.  The Wheat Kings also got a goal from highly touted Garrett Pilon to salt this one away late in the 3rd after Yorkton closed the gap to 4-3.  Yorkton got singles in this one from '99 born Tyler Stratechuk, Matthew Wilgosh and Brett Melnychuk.  Justen Close from West Central was very strong, turning aside 38/41 shots he faced.  Close will be closely watched this season.

Prince Albert Venice House Raiders 9 - Notre Dame AA Hounds 0
The Venice House Raiders scored 3 goals in each period and out-shoot Notre Dame 36-15 in an easy 9-0 victory.  One of the returning players for the Raiders - Tanner Fiddler scored 3 goals and added 1 assist....'99 born Riley Sawchuk had 1-2-3, Reid Manson 0-3-3 and Drew Warkentine, the brother of former first rounder and current Moose Jaw Warrior Miles Warkentine had 2 goals.  Carson Remy stopped all 15 shots he faced in the win.

Alberta AMBHL
Red Deer Rebels Black 8 - Fort Saskatchewan Rangers 3
Red Deer Black move to 3-1-0 and the Fort Saskatchewan Rangers fall to 0-2-0 after the Rebels cruise to an easy 8-3 victory on Saturday.  Leading the way for the Rebels was big Luke Coleman with 3 goals, he now has 5 goals in 4 games.  Jeff DeWit and Matthew Froehlick each scored a pair.  Grayden Larson stopped 19/22 in the win.  Fort Sask got 1-1-2 from Brandon Hagel, he now has 4 pts in his first two games, the next best on the team has just a single point.

Southeast Hockey  Hounds 9 - Red Deer Rebels White 3
The Hockey Hounds finally earn their first win  and in convincing fashion by beating the now 2-3-0 Rebels White 9-3.  Tyr Thompson, the son of former pugilist Rocky Thompson scored his first 3 goals of the season and also added an assist.  Michael Clarke picked up 2 goals and 1 assisst while Jordan Taupert had 1-4-5.  Taupert leads the team in scoring through 4 games with 2-5-7 now.  The Rebels White continued to be led by the one man show known as Tyler Steenbergen who scored all 3 goals in the game.  Steenbergen has 11 goals and 4 assists already in 5 games.

 Lethbridge Golden Hawks 6 - Spruce Grove PAC Saints 3
Lethbridge move to 3-1-0 and Spruce Grove is now 1-2-0 after the Golden Hawks double up the Saints 6-3.  Grayson Constable once again paced the Lethbridge attack with 2-2-4.  Constable now has 3-7-10 in his first 4 games.  Tyler Anderson also put up 2-2-4 and has 8 points and 5 goals while Jed Horvath had 1-3-4.  Anthony Suriano stopped 22/25 for the win.  Luc Smith scored 2 goals for the Saints and now has 4 goals and leads the team.

Edmonton SSAC 5 - Lloydminster Heat 5
Both SSAC and Lloydminster remain undefeated after a 5-5 tie.  Top rated prospect Tyler Benson had 2-2-4 and now has 15 points in 4 games to start the season.  Nolan Yaremko notched another 2 goals for the Lions, giving him 4-6-10.  Lloydminster got another big game from Mason Shaw who picked up 2-2-4, Shaw is off to a blazing start with 6-5-11 this season.  Top ranked Dman Kale Clague had 1-2-3, giving him  7 points in the early going while '99 born scoring star Zane Franklin picked up a pair of helpers and now has 8 points in 3 games.

Sherwood Park Flyers 5 - Leduc 5 
Sam Steel picked up yet another 3 goals in leading the Flyers to a 5-5 tie with Leduc.  Steel now has 8-6-14 in his first 4 games, which is 7 more than the next player on the team - Skyler Mckenzie.  Speaking of Mckenzie, he added 3 helpers in this one.  For Leduc, they got goals from 5 different players with D- Dalton Hamaliuk, Noah Gregor and Tyson Gruninger each had 1-1-2.

News and Notes
There is a 98 Super Series taking place south of the border with one Western USA team taking part.  The Colorado Thunderbirds, who are one of the better teams overall in the USA are there and finished with a 1-0-4 record.  That's right, 4 ties for the Thunderbirds!  Max Gerlach and Jaden Anderson led the way for the Thunderbirds with 3 goals each.  Both Gerlach and Anderson are in our WEHP top 40 western USA prospects.  Goalie Austin Park was impressive in the super series.








Thursday, September 27, 2012

The new Manitoba AAA Bantam League Schedule


For those asking of when the Manitoba AAA Bantam League schedule would be out.....Well here it is:

http://www.winnipegaaa.com/schedules.aspx

-Of course, shortly after the beginning of the season next Tuesday, the Hockey Manitoba Bantam Showcase will take place in Winnipeg as well.  That schedule has yet to be released but should be very soon.  The tournament is taking place the same time as the big Chilliwack Tournament on Thanksgiving weekend.

-The Melville Bantam AA squad are hosting an 8 team tournament during Thanksgiving as well.  The tournament committee have confirmed 7 of the teams with me this evening.  They are:  Yorkton, Weyburn, Estevan, Humboldt, Melville, Regina Pat Blues, Central Plains and either the Prince Albert Jr. Raiders or the Southeast Hockey Hounds from the AMBHL.

Thursday Update

Thursday AMBHL Action
Calgary Royals (2-2-0)  4 - Airdrie Xtreme (1-3-0)  2
The Calgary Royals opened up a early 2nd period lead of 3-0 and never looked back in moving to .500 on the year.  The only returning player from last years great squad - Sean Montgomery led the way with 2 goals, he now has 3 goals in 4 games this year.  Montgomery is expected to carry the brunt of the offensive load and does appear in our rankings early on this season.  Adam Marcoux, who we interviewed in our latest newsletter was stellar in turning aside 44/46 shots.  Marcoux is originally from Quebec.  At the other end, Kurtis Chapman was also very good in stopping 41/45 shots and Jared Janke led the way with 1-1-2.  Janke, who has just played 2 games this year so far, has 3 points.

Sherwood Park Flyers (2-1-0)  9 - Edmonton KC (0-2-0)  2
Sherwood Park earned their second consecutive lopsided victory of the season with a 9-2 win over Edmonton KC.  First round ranked Sam Steel had a huge game with 4-2-6.  Steel now has 5-6-11 in 3 games but all of those points have come in the past 2 games after the 3-0 opening day shutout loss to SSAC.   D- Jacob Halliday had 1-2-3 and Carter Hart in goal was outstanding, stopping 48/50 shots.  For Edmonton KC, Jake Schnack scored both goals and Alex Rotundo assisted on both.  Adam Holowach stopped 37/46 shots in the loss.

News and Notes
- The Airdrie Xtreme are getting big results from their biggest player in 6'1 170lb Barrett Sheen.  It seems he is handling the adjustment in AAA well this year.  You can read the rest here:  http://www.airdrieecho.com/2012/09/26/sheen-knows-how-to-score




Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Wednesday Update

AMBHL Action
Edmonton MLAC 4 - Edmonton CAC 1
Ryan Jevne and Nolan Volcan were once again the story for a much improved Edmonton MLAC squad in this one.  Jevne scored 2 goals, giving him 5 in his first 3 games while Nolan Volcan picked up 3 assists and now has 3-4-7 in 3 games.  The combination of Hunter Lorenson and Rylie Boychuk stopped 37/38 shots.  Lorenson came in for the 3rd and stopped all 17 shots he faced.  Lorenson was part of that 3-way log jam in SSAC with Berlin and Skinner.  For CAC, '99 born Malcolm Huemmert scored the lone marker.  Pierce Diamond stopped 43 of 46 shots.

News/Notes
- As I tweeted about last night, Tanner Kaspick is a rare 1998 born players who will be playing Midget AAA this year in Manitoba.  He will join his older brother with the Brandon AAA Wheat Kings.

- The Southeast Hockey Hounds are off to a shaky 0-3-0 start in the AMBHL.  Darren Steinke of the Medicine Hat News speaks with coach Jason Bertram of what they need to do to get on track here:  http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-sports/lack-of-pre-season-hurts-09252012.html

- The Saskatchewan Bantam AA league will get underway this coming weekend with 3 games on Saturday and then 4 more games on Sunday.  On Saturday, the Regina Pat Blues will head to Estevan....Yorkton will travel to Kindersley to take on the Western Canada Bantam Championship host - West Central and Notre Dame will head up north to Prince Albert.

- The Southwest Cougars will be part of the new Bantam AAA league in Manitoba this year.  They have a new home, a new assistant coach and have a tournament win under their belts already.  Lanny Stewart from MyWestMan takes a look here:  http://www.mywestman.ca/content/view/5825/69/

more later...


Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Chilliwack Bantam Tournament

Chilliwack Bruins Minor Hockey Association Powered by Goalline Sports Administration Software
There has been much banter early on this season as to who are the top teams in PCAHA and moreover BC Bantam hockey in general.  Many of those questions will be answered on Thanksgiving weekend at the annual Chilliwack Bantam Tournament which takes place from October 5-8, 2012 at the Twin Rinks and a few games at Prospera Red in Chilliwack.

All told, there will be 16 teams taking part in the tournament, divided in to 4 separate pools.  Here are the pools as they stand right now.  Please note, there still could be some revisions to the schedule and if there are, we will update you at that time.


Pool A
Burnaby Winter Club Bruins (1)
Pursuit of Excellence (2)
Vancouver Thunderbirds (8)
Prince George Cougars (13)

Pool B
Langley Eagles (5)
Okanagan Hockey Academy (3)
Victoria Raquet Club (14)
Coquitlam (11)

Pool C
Abbotsford Hawks (6)
Kelowna Jr. Rockets (9)
Calgary Flames
Semiahmoo Ravens (7)

Pool D
North Shore Winter Club (4)
Burnaby Minor (15)
Chilliwack (12)
Kamloops Jr. Blazers (10)

*denotes BC WEHP Team Ranking.

Monday, September 24, 2012

WEHP Releases Top 10 Team Rankings

Each and every Monday this season we will once again be releasing the top 10 team rankings.  With just the Alberta bantam league underway, the rankings are still very much pre-season in nature.

Western Canada Top 10 Team Rankings
1.   Edmonton SSAC 3-0-0 - An influx of talented '99 born forwards from the peewee provincial champion Edmonton Oil Kings peewee squad has added to an already talented group.

2.   Burnaby Winter Club Bruins - They didn't win the recent super series which included a few other top BC teams such as POE, OHA and NSWC but they were without Jaeger White and Owen Seidel and were still finalizing the roster.  BWC is loaded from top to bottom and are one of, if not the top team still.

3.   Calgary Bisons 3-0-0 - Each year, the Bisons are one of the top offensive teams in western Canada and this year looks no different with 26 goals in their first 2 games.  They have been led by some talented forwards and balanced scoring and feature one of the top defenceman in western Canada in Ryley Mckinstry.

4.   Pursuit of Excellence - The winners of the super series and not losing a game at the event.  POE doesn't have the defence it had last year but the offence more than makes up for that.

5.   Okanagan Hockey Academy - Also went undefeated at the super series.  OHA has a well rounded squad with some stead dmen and some solid scoring throughout the line-up.

6.   Notre Dame Hounds - The Hounds have yet to play a game this season but have added many of the top players from Saskatoon and the Balgonie Prairie Storm.  The Hounds have the potential this year to win some major tournaments.

7.   Winnipeg Hawks - The Hawks are without their top player in Nolan Patrick, who continues to heal from an injury.  They also lost a very good dman in Liam Schioler to Shattuck St. Mary's.  The Hawks though still have more than enough to be considered a top team from Manitoba in the new bantam league.

8.   Sherwood Park Flyers 1-1-0 - Led by one of the top players in western Canada in Sam Steel, the Flyers are a dangerous team.  The goaltending is steady and they also feature a more than adequate defence.

9.   North Shore Winter Club - Still a solid team but likely will take a slight step back this year down the rankings.  NSWC still have a plethora of top forwards, especially in the '99 age group but are led by Dante Hannoun and Quinn Benjafield.  The defence should be pretty solid as well.

10.  Lloydminster Heat 2-0-0 - The Heat served notice they are going to be an elite team once again, scoring 21 goals in their first 2 games this season.  Kale Clague leads the team in his 3rd year of bantam hockey.  Mason Shaw looks poised for a break-out season and '99 born Zane Franklin is the real deal.

Honorable Mentions
Winnipeg Monarchs, Calgary Flames, Calgary Northeast Sabres, Langley Eagles,







AMBHL Weekend Re-cap

Tyler Steenbergen leads the scoring race early this season


The only bantam league in western Canada to have the season started is the AMBHL.  The Saskatchewan bantam league will begin play this coming weekend, while the BC and Manitoba leagues shortly after.

On Friday night, there was just one game with a much improved Edmonton MLAC squad defeating Alex Rotundo and Edmonton KC.  MLAC was led by the dynamic combo of Alex Volcan and Ryan Jevne who each scored 2 goals.  We would have to expect both Jevne and Volcan to be up amungst the scoring leaders this season.

Saturday night there was 6 games on the schedule with several blowouts.  The Calgary Bisons followed up an 11-4 victory over Lethbridge with an 8-2 victory over the Southeast Hockey Hounds.  D - Ryley Mckinstry, who we have ranked in the first round picked up another 3 assists, giving him 7 points in his first 2 games.  Matthew Phillips scored 2 more goals, giving him 4 and Jake Ashton scored a pair.  The Calgary Royals defeated the Red Deer White team by a score of 7-3 but the story of the game was once again Tyler Steenbergen who scored all 3 Red Deer goals.  Steenbergan, another one of our first round rated prospects now has 7-4-11 in just 3 games to start the year and is easily atop the scoring race.  The Lloydminster Heat opened their season by firing 65 shots at the Grand Prairie Storm and beat them 14-1.  The Heat had a fairly balanced attack with 12 different goal scorers led by Mason Shaw and Brayden Goulet with 2 goals each.  Edmonton SSAC skated past Leduc 11-3, led by a 2-2-4 night by returning forward Peter Tomares, a 3 point game by highly touted Tyler Benson and a 4 point game from one of the top dmen in western Canada - David Quenneville.  Talented '99 born forwards Anderson, Paterson and Hamblin all scored as well for SSAC and they will be players to watch this year and next.  Sherwood Park proved that they will be one of the top teams in the AMBHL this season with a 12-0 win over the rebuilding Edmonton CAC squad....Talented forward Skyler Mckenzie had 3 goals and highly ranked Sam Steel with 1-4-5.  Brandon Biro scored 2 times....Lethbridge defeated Okotoks 5-3 led by D - Taner Miller and his 1-2-3 along with Grayson Constable with the same 1-2-3.

on Sunday, there were 7 more games on the schedule.  Lloydminster followed up the 14-1 win over Grand Prairie with a 7-1 win over the same team.  Mason Shaw scored his 2nd consecutive 2 goal game and added 2 assists to lead the way.....Airdrie posted a 4-0 shutout victory over Southeast to drop Southeast to 0-3-0.  One of the top ranked goalies for the draft - Kurtis Chapman stopped all 18 shots for the shutout and Barrett Sheen led the offensive attack with 2-1-3.....The Calgary Flames got 14 saves from '99 born goalie Luke Eamon en route to a 4-0 shutout victory.  Cole Makar had 2-1-3 to lead the offence and Carter Cziakowski had 2 assists....The Calgary Bisons picked up yet another lopsided victory, this time beating Red Deer White 9-2.  The Bisons have now scored 26 goals in 3 games to start the season.  Leading the way for the Bisons was Dylan Williamson with 4 goals, while Slater Strong picked up a pair of goals.  Matthew Phillips also scored for the 3rd consecutive game.....The Calgary Northstar Sabres got 2 goals and 1 assist from 1st round ranked Parker Aucoin in a 5-2 victory over Red Deer Black.  Red Deer Black got 1-1-2 from D - TJ Brown.  Expect good things from Brown this year......Spruce Grove got 2-1-3 from Chase Hawkins and 1-2-3 from Sean Nault in a 7-3 win over Fort Saskatchewan.  Fort Sask got 2 assists from Brandon Hagel....Edmonton SSAC moves to 3-0-0 and look very good in doing so, after a 6-2 win over Edmonton MLAC.  '99 born Josh Paterson had 2 goals and 1 assist and Tyler Benson with 1-4-5 in the game.




Thursday, September 20, 2012

September 21, 2012 newsletter is ready



Rankings
The September 21, 2012 newsletter is now ready.  In this edition of the newsletter, we update the Top 210 for 98's, Top 120 for 99's and make some adjustments.  As well, stats have been updated for ALL leagues that have started - just a few games in.  We have also updated the heights/weights of the players where the information has been released.  There have also been over 30 transfers of players switching teams, that is updated too.  The Top 40 western American players are updated.

Interviews
In the interview section I had a chance to chat with one of the top 1999 born players who has won MVP awards at various tournaments, was captain of his team last year and models his game after Erik Karlsson.

I interviewed a goalie originally from Quebec but has lived in Alberta for a few years now.  He looks up to Marc Andre-Fleury for obvious reasons and is a very positionally sound goalie.

We chat with a player from one of the academies who just loves to take the body and mix it up.  He also has some good offensive ability in his arsenal.  

Lastly, interviewed is one of the top players available for the 2013 bantam draft.  We think he should be a first round talent.  He models his game after Jarome Iginla and Erik Lindros (minus the concussions), he says.


Feature - 98 Super Series Re-cap Scouting Reports on All-Stars
In this editions feature segment, we re-cap the 98 Can/Am Super Series which took place in Vancouver last weekend.  It featured four of the top teams in western Canada.  We break down the tournament and do a report on some of the top players and honorable mentions.

-All Tournament listings are included as well.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

September Top 5 Lists

Top 5 teams in Western Canada
1.  Burnaby Winter Club Bruins
2.  Calgary Bisons
3.  SSAC Southgate Lions
4.  Winnipeg Hawks
5.  Okanagan Hockey Academy

Top 5 teams in Western USA
1.  Shattuck St. Mary's
2.  Colorado Thunderbirds
3.  Arizona Bobcats
4.  LA Jr. Kings
5.  Dallas Selects

Top 5 British Columbia Prospects
1.  F- Jaeger White - Burnaby Winter Club Bruins
2.  D- Dante Fabbro - Burnaby Winter Club Bruins
3.  D- Matt Barberis - Burnaby Winter Club Bruins
4.  F- Tyson Jost - POE
5.  F- Dante Hannoun - North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks

Top 5 Alberta Prospects
1.  D- Kale Clague - Lloydminster Heat
2.  F- Tyler Benson - SSAC Southgate Lions
3.  F- Sam Steel - Sherwood Park Flyers
4.  F- Parker Aucoin - Calgary Northstar Sabres
5.  D- Ryley Mckinstry - Calgary Bisons

Top 5 Saskatchewan Prospects
1.  D- Nolan Reid - Notre Dame Hounds
2.  D- Dawson Davidson - Melville Millionaires
3.  F- Kaden Elder - Notre Dame Hounds
4.  F- Garrett Pilon - West Central Wheat Kings
5.  F- Kolby Johnson - West Central Wheat Kings

Top 5 Manitoba Prospects
1.  F- Brett Howden - Eastman Selects
2.  F- Nolan Patrick - Winnipeg Hawks
3.  F- Dylan Thiessen - Winnipeg Monarchs
4.  D- Garrett Kuklica - Winniper Sharks
5.  G- Ryan Kubic - Winnipeg Hawks

Top 5 Western USA Prospects
1.  F- Joey Anderson - Roseville
2.  F- Patrick Khodorenko - Detroit Honeybaked
3.  F- Kieffer Bellows - Shattuck St. Mary's
4.  D- Ryan Lindgren - Shattuck St. Mary's
5.  F- Blake Bargar - Phoenix Jr. Coyotes

SSAC Bantam AAA Fall Tournament

The annual John Ferguson Memorial Tournament wrapped up Sunday in Edmonton.  The tournament featured all of the AMBHL North Division teams, with the exception of Grand Prairie. The tournament was primarily used as a tool for the teams to make final cuts for the 2012-2013 season.  Here below are the final standings.

SSAC Bantam AAA Fall Tournament – Sep. 11-16, 2012
John Ferguson Memorial Tournament
Sanction #BEC2012-005
 STANDINGS
W-L-T
PTS
GF
GA
PLACE
1SSAC Southgate Lions4-0-08242-
2CAC Lehigh Cement2-2-041413-
3Camrose Vikings0-4-001027-
4Fort Saskatchewan Rangers1-1-241923-
5KC Squires1-2-131722-
6Leduc Allen Transport Oil Kings1-2-131732-
7Lloydminster Heat0-4-001318-
8MLAC Scott Pump2-2-042421-
9PAC Saints3-0-172814-
10Sherwood Park Flyers3-0-171810-
11St Albert Gregg Distributors Sabres2-2-04911

The AMBHL North has yet to start their regular season action.  The season will start on Thursday with Edmonton CAC visiting Spruce Grove and a showdown with Edmonton SSAC heading to Sherwood park.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Sunday - AMBHL Action

Calgary Northstar Sabres 4 - Southeast Hockey Hounds 2
The Northstar Sabres score two 3rd period goals and move to 1-0-0 with a win at home against Medicine Hat this afternoon.  Leading the way for the Sabres was highly touted Parker Aucoin with 2 goals, including the GWG in the 3rd.  Josh Barze had 1-1-2 and Josh Logel picked up a pair of assists.  Ian Scott turned aside 33/35 shots in the win.  For the Hockey Hounds, it was Jordan Taupert and Regan Doig scoring.  D - Ryan Teslak, who came over from Cranbrook this season picked up a pair of assists.  The Hockey Hounds were without Slater Dykema in this one.  Kayden Pickles stopped 33/37 shots in net.

Calgary Bisons 11 - Lethbridge Golden Hawks 4
The Calgary Bisons show early why they are one of the favourites to represent Alberta at westerns this season as they defeat Lethbridge 11-4.  The Golden Hawks are now 1-1-0, after beating the Royals yesterday 5-2.  The Bisons had a balanced scoring attack as 9 different players found the score-sheet but leading the way was Matthew Phillips and Dylan Williamson each scoring twice.  '99 born Kyle Olson had 1-3-4 as did D- Ryley Mckinstry.  Nick Sanders stopped 31/35 shots he faced for Calgary.  Lethbridge was led by D - Blake Keiner who had 1-1-2.  Grayson Constable had a pair of helpers.  Lethbridge goalies Matt Lukacs and Andrew Suriano combined to stop 35/46 shots.

Red Deer Rebels White 9 - Okotoks Oilers 2
The Rebels White are off to a 2-0-0 start to the season and the young Okotoks Oilers are now 0-2-0 as Red Deer skates away with the convincing 9-2 victory, Sunday afternoon.  Tyler Steenbergen led the way with his 2nd consecutive 4 point effort in as many days with 2-2-4.  Kyle Cornford had 3 goals and one assist....Tyler Wall with 2-1-3 all had multiple point games.  '99 born Dawson Weatherill stopped 22/24 shots he faced for Red Deer.  Okotoks got singles from a pair of '99 born players as Nolan Steer and Riley Romanshenko each scored.  Isaiah Betinol stopped 32/41 shots for the Oilers.

Red Deer Rebels Black 5 - Airdrie Xtreme 3
The Rebels Black are also now 2-0-0 while Airdrie drops to 0-2-0 after a 5-3 Rebels Black victory.  One of WEHP's top ranked 1999 born prospects for the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft - Jeremy Klessens scored 3 goals....Fellow '99 born player D - Adam Sandstrom had 2 assists as did one of our ranked players D - TJ Brown.  Graydon Larson turned aside 21/24 shots in the Red Deer net.  Andrew Fyten led the way for Airdrie with 2-1-3...We expect some good things from Fyten this season.  Jake Carlson stopped 39/44 shots he faced for the Xtreme.

POE Win CanAm 98SuperSeries

POE 6 - LA Jr. Kings 2
Embedded image permalink

Saturday, September 15, 2012

AMBHL Season Underway

Lethbridge Golden Hawks 5 - Calgary Royals 2
Details to come....

Red Deer Black 5 - Okotoks Oilers 3
Red Deer Black built up a 4-0 1st period lead and 5-0 lead after the 2nd period of play and hung on for a 5-3 opening game victory.  The Rebels Black got goals from 5 different players which included '99 born Jeremy Klessens, Luke Coleman, Tyrees Goodrunning, Parker Smyth and Matthew Froehlick.     Smyth, Goodrunning and Dewit all had 2 point games.  For Okotoks it was Riley Milford, Owen Guenter and Nash Hartford.

Red Deer White 4 - Airdrie Xtreme 3
1st round WEHP rated prospect Tyler Steenbergen figures in on all four goals with 2 goals and 2 assists, which included the GWG at the midway point of the 3rd to give Red Deer White a season opening victory.  Big, 6'4 D - Matt Krawiec scored for Red Deer as did fellow dman Landon Mackenzie.  Forward Tyler Wall picked up a pair of helpers in the win while Lane Congdon stopped 42/45 shots between the pipes.  The Xtreme got singles from Jordan McConnell, Adam Tisdale and '99 born Gary Haden.  D - Cole Noble added a pair of helpers while goaltender Kurtis Chapman stopped 35/39 shots for Airdrie.

Cam/Am SuperSeries Update

POE will face the LA Jr. Kings in the Final

Top 10 Scorers
1.   Tyson Jost - POE  7-2-9
2.   Kody Mcdonald - POE  3-4-7
3.   Ken Kylyshbeck - BWC 3-4-7
4.   Andre Ghantous - LA 2-5-7
5.   Zach Andrusiak - POE  4-2-6
6.   Dante Hannoun - NSWC  5-1-6
7.   Jake Kryski - BWC  3-3-6
8.   Beck Malenstyn - OHA  2-3-5
9.   Justin Almeida - NSWC  2-3-5
10. Georg Landro - Dallas  2-3-5

Updated Standings through 4 games
Canada Division
Pursuit of Excellence 3-0-1  19-10
Okanagan Hockey Academy 3-0-1  10-3
Burnaby Winter Club 3-0-1  14-10
North Shore Winter Club 1-1-2  18-12

USA Division
LA Jr. Kings  1-3-0  14-18
Dallas Stars Elite 0-2-2  7-11
San Jose Jr. Sharks 0-2-2  4-14
Anaheim Jr. Ducks 0-3-1  10-18

Saturday Action
Burnaby Winter Club 4 - Dallas Stars Elite 2
BWC got 2 goals from '99 Henry Rhyu and singles from Ken Kylyshbeck and Jake Kryski to finish at 3-0-1 along side OHA and POE.  However, due to goal differential, it will be POE taking on the LA Jr. Kings in the final today.  Kryski finished the game with 1-2-3 and Kylyshbeck 1-1-2.  Hank Crone and Grayson Celio added singles for Dallas.  Kevin Graves for Dallas and Tyler Shugrue for BWC were in net in this one.

North Shore Winter Club 4 - Anaheim Jr. Ducks 4
Georg Landro scored 2 goals in leading the Jr. Ducks to their first point of the series yesterday.  Paul Selleck added a single and Austin Koss picked up 1-1-2.  Dante Hannoun continued his fantastic tournament with 2 more goals with singles going to '99 born Justin Almeida and 1-1-2 to Quinn Benjafield.  Garrett Nieto was between the pipes for Anaheim and David Tendeck for NSWC.

Pursuit of Excellence 6 - LA Jr. Kings 4
POE jumped out to an early 3-0 first period lead and never looked back in this one - in remaining undefeated.  Tyson Jost once again led the way for POE with 2 goals and one assist, giving him 7 goals in 4 games.  Single goals went to Zack Andrusiak, Anthony Bishop, Trevor Ayre and Dallas Goodwin.  Leading the way for the LA Jr. Kings was Dylan Strahan with 1-1-2....Strahan joined LA this year from the Dallas Stars Elite program.  Logan McColgan, Jared Christy and Chase Sriprajittichi added singles.

Okanagan Hockey Academy 3 - San Jose Jr. Sharks 0
OHA improve to 3-0-1, having allowed just 3 goals in 4 games.  Brody Wilms was once again strong for OHA in this one.  Andy Stevens scored a pair of goals for OHA and D- Sahvan Khaira, who came over from Cloverdale added a single.  The San Jose Jr. Sharks once again stuggled to score goals as was the thought entering in the super series.  They have just 4 goals scored in 4 games now.

Burnaby Winter Club 3 - Anaheim Jr. Ducks 2
Once again the BWC was force to mount a comeback after falling 2-0 on Jr. Ducks goals by George Landro and Jack Sitzman in a span of 1:41 in the 2nd period.  BWC got on the board late in the 2nd on a goal from WEHP top 5 rated Dante Fabbro.  Sean Mowray would tie it up for BWC early in the 3rd and then Fabbro scored his 2nd of the game to win it.  Tyler Shugrue was in net for BWC while Anaheim went with Alex Frosh.  BWC now has a record of 2-0-1 and Anaheim is now 0-3-0.

North Shore Winter Club 2 - Dallas Stars Elite 2
NSWC is now 1-1-1 and the Dallas Stars Elite now 0-1-2 after a 2-2 tie.  D - Max Gildon scored 2 goals for Dallas in the one.  Many are of the opinion that Max is one of the top '98 born defenseman in the United States.  Brady Chin and Kevin Wong scored the goals for NSWC.  '99 born Dorin Luding and Cole Demers split duties for NSWC.  Ryan Keans stopped 19 of 21 for Dallas.

Pursuit of Excellence 1 - San Jose Jr. Sharks 1
After a shaky start to the SuperSeries for the Jr. Sharks, they have earned two consecutive ties against very good western Canada teams in BWC and now POE.  Jake Acton was once again very strong stopping 24/25 shots and Nick Cefalu scored the lone goal for the Jr. Sharks.  POE got a 3rd period, game tieing goal from Nick Kutkevicious and 7 saves from Nathan Spark.

Okanagan Hockey Academy 3 - LA Jr. Kings 1
OHA improve to 2-0-1 backed by another solid performance by Aria Anagostopoulos and single goals from  Beck Malenstyn, Taylor Ward and Tristin Olson.  LA Jr. Kings lone marker came from D - Sean Cullinane in this one.  Dominick Bossetti was in goal for the Jr. Kings who fall to 1-2-0.

Friday Action
Okanagan Hockey Academy 3 - Anaheim Jr. Ducks 1
- OHA got goals from Jordan Fidanza, Carter Kyle and Beck Malenstyn.  Malenstyn, who we feel will be a top 2 round selection in the 2013 bantam draft also added 1 assist for the only multiple point effort.  Brett Pickler scored the lone goal for Anaheim.  Anaheim goalie Garrett Nieto turned aside 29/32 shots in the defeat while Brody Wilms stopped 23/24.

Pursuit of Excellence 4 - Dallas Stars Elite 2
POE got 2 goals from Tyson Jost and singles from Zack Andrusiak and Kody McDonald in the victory.  Ethan King picked up a pair of helpers while Mcdonald and Andrusiak also had 2 point games.  Mitchell Anderson scored both goals for Dallas.  Ryan Keane stopped 16/20 shots in the loss and POE goalie  Brock Leach Moore stopped 19/21.

Burnaby Winter Club 5 - LA Jr. Kings 4
Top prospect Jake Kryski scored 2 goals and 1 assist in leading the BWC to a 5-4 victory.  They were without injured Jaeger White and Owen Seidel still.  Ken Kylyshbeck had a goal and as assist and other singles went to Kyle Uy and Henry Rhyu.  Tyler Shugrue stopped just 10/14 shots he faced.  For the Jr. Kings, Andre Ghantous led the way with 1-2-3 and Kailer Yamamoto, who came over from Washington State had 2-1-3.  Defenseman, Sean Cullinane who is one of the better ones in the western States had 1-1-2.  Goalie Evan Bohan stopped 33/38 shots.

North Shore Winter Club 8 - San Jose Jr. Sharks 1
First round rated prospect, 5'6 Dante Hannoun scored 3 times in leading the NSWC to a convincing victory.   '99 born Brett Stapley scored 2 goals and his fellow '99 born top ranked line-mates Jordy Bellerive picked up a pair of helpers and Justin Almeida had 1-2-3.  D - Marcus Kwan and Brady Chin each had a goal as well.  The lone goal for San Jose went to Brendan Tydingco had the lone goal.  Goalies were Tendick for NSWC and Acton for San Jose.

Dallas Stars Elite 1 - Okanagan Hockey Academy 1
The Dallas Stars Elite would out-shoot OHA 45-17 but had a tough time beating OHA goalie Aris Anagnostopoulos, who turned asided 44/45 shots.  Hank Crone scored for Dallas and Andy Stevens had the lone marker for OHA.  Kevin Graves stopped 16/17 for Dallas.

Pursuit of Excellence 8 - Anaheim Jr. Ducks 3
POE moves to 2-0-0 with the easy win over the now 0-2-0 Jr. Ducks.  POE built up a 5-1 first period lead and were led in this one by highly ranked Kody Mcdonald and his 2-2-4, Tyson Jost picked up 3-1-4 - giving him 5 goals in 2 games.  Zack Andrusiak scored twice and Ethan King found the score-sheet as well.  Nathan Spark for POE and Garrett Nieto for Anaheim were between the pipes.

San Jose Jr. Sharks 2 - Burnaby Winter Club 2
A a bit of a surprise the Jr. Sharks earn a point against BWC and almost had the win if it wasn't for 2 third period BWC goals.  Jared Southwell and Sawyer Lockleis scored for San Jose.  BWC got third period goals from Kyle Uy and Ken Kylyshbeck, both Uy and Kylyshbeck added an assist for 2 point games.  '99 born Beck Warm was in net for BWC and Jake Acton for San Jose.

LA Jr. Kings 5 - North Shore Winter Club 4
The LA Jr. Kings get 2 late third period goals and defeat NSWC 5-4.  Leading the way for the Jr. Kings was Andre Ghantous and Chris Sriprajittichai with 1-1-2.  Wyatt Light, D - Connor Nobach and Jason Kong also scored for LA.  '99 born Jordy Bellerive had his 2nd straight multiple point game with a pair of goals.  Tak Anholt had 1-1-2 and D- Clint Colebourne scored as well.  David Tendeck stopped 23/28 for NSWC and Dominick Bossotti turned aside 40/44 for the Jr. Kings.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Can/Am 98SuperSeries Underway

Okanagan Hockey Academy 1 - Dallas Stars Elite 1 FINAL
- Hank Crone scored for Dallas and Andy Stevens for OHA.  Aris Anagnostopolous stopped 44/45 shots for OHA.  Kevin Graves stopped 17/18 for Dallas.

North Shore Winter Club 8 - San Jose Jr. Sharks 1 FINAL

Burnaby Winter Club 5 - LA Jr. Kings 4 FINAL
Jake Kryski has 2 goals for BWC and singles so far are to Uy, Kylyshbeck and '99 born Rhyu.

Pursuit of Excellence 4 - Dallas Stars Elite 2 FINAL
- Jost (2), Mcdonald and Andrusiak for POE.  Gildon was outstanding defensively for Dallas.

Okanagan Hockey Academy 3 - Anaheim 1 FINAL
For half the game Anaheim was able to hang in thanks to the goaltending of Matt Nieto but in the end OHA was able to pull away and move to 1-0-0 with a 3-1 win.  Scoring for OHA was, Carter Kyle, Jordan Fidanza and top 2 round ranked Beck Malenstyn with 1-1-2.  Brody Wilms turned aside 23 of 24 for OHA while Matt Nieto stopped 29 of 32.



- Stay tuned throughout the weekend on the website or twitter which is on the right side of the webpage for the latest updates, thoughts and comments.

- In the early pair of games this morning, Anaheim will need some outstanding goaltending from Nieto to steal the game vs. OHA while POE and Dallas promises to a be a very competitive game.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Bantam Musings



The Airdrie Xtreme will look to return to the top of the Ram South Division this season.  The roster has been finalized and Chris Simnett from the Airdrie Echo does a fine job of breaking down the team.  Just two '99 borns made it.  You can read the article here:  http://www.airdrieecho.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3602994

The New Winnipeg Bantam AAA league will start up this season, including 11 teams.  Dan Falloon from the Portage Daily Graphic discuses with the Central Plains Captials the advantages of the new league and bit about his team for 2012-2013.  http://www.portagedailygraphic.com/2012/09/12/major-bantam-caps-pushing-forward

This year the Alberta Cup will be held in Strathmore, Alberta.  Josh Chalmers from the Strathmore Standard has the read here:  http://www.strathmorestandard.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3602670

The Lloydminster Heat will look to build off of a very successful 2011-2012 season in the AMBHL.  This year they will be guided by Jason Clague, thats right, Kale's father.  The expectations are high in Lloydminster this season.  The Lloydminster Source breaks down the team here:  http://www.lloydminstersource.com/Sports/tabid/60/entryid/2405/Default.aspx


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Can/Am SuperSeries Preview



Two of the biggest rivals in western Canada have joined forces to host the Can/Am SuperSeries98 which will take place from September 14-16 in Burnaby and North Vancouver.  The tournament will feature four teams from Canada and four teams from the western USA.  Joining NSWC and BWC will be OHA and POE.  While the western USA will be represented by the Dallas Stars Elite, San Jose Jr. Sharks, LA Jr. Kings and the Anaheim Jr. Ducks.



Conference USA
The best bet to make it the furthest in the USA Conference has to be either the Dallas Stars Elite or the LA Jr. Kings.  The Jr. Kings have merged with the LA Selects and should field a very competitive squad led by the likes of F- Dylan Strahan, who comes over from Dallas, D - Connor Nobach and D - Sean Cullinane.  The Stars Elite will be led by one of the better defenseman in the United States from the 98 age group while the Jr. Sharks and Jr. Ducks will have to rely on a pair of talented goalies.

San Jose Jr. Sharks
Much of the Jr. Sharks success will come from the play of goaltender Jake Acton.  He was tremendous at a Labour Day tournament a couple weekends ago in holding his team in many games.  In four games, he posted a tournament leading 1.25 GAA and a .940%.  The Sharks are a bit offensively challenged but will look to Brendan Tydingco, Nick Cefalu and Mischa Subotin.

Kingpin:  G - Jake Acton

Anaheim Jr. Ducks
A similar team to the Sharks in that they are led by the other top goalie in California in Matt Nieto.  Nieto was one of two goalies, along with Acton to be named to the Multi-District camp in Colorado this summer.  Up front, look for fellow CAHA Select Camp players Jack Sitzman, Declan Curtis and Ryan Gil to lead the way.

Kingpin:  G - Garrett Nieto

Dallas Stars Elite
A team that got better and better as the year went on last season will also add F - Hank Crone who play up an age group last year.  Crone is the offensive leader of a team who is pretty deep in all areas.  Defenseman Max Gildon could prove to be one of the better defenseman in the tournament.  Gildon is regarded as one of the top defenseman in his age group in the states.

Kingpin:  D - Max Gildon

LA Jr. Kings
It is pretty scary to imagine just how good this team would've been if Patrick Khodorenko didn't leave for Honeybaked or if Ben Lown didn't move to Shattucks.  However, this team is loaded at nearly every position with the lone question mark in goal.  The team will be led defensively by Cameron Judge, Sean Cullinane and Justin Driffill who were all selected to the District Camp this summer.  Connor Nobach comes over from Washington State and will be a factor. Up front, Jason Kong, Jared Christy, Dylan Strahan and Kailer Yamamoto.

Kingpin:  D - Sean Cullinane

Conference Canada
The Canadian Conference is represented by four of the top ten teams in the WEHP pre-season western Canada rankings.  The situation with the Canadian teams is a bit different with most squads still carrying a few extra players who are on the bubble and are likely to see some game action.  BWC will be led by the top defense in western Canada but they are without Owen Seidel who is out 4-6 weeks with a broken wrist while Jaeger White remains on the mend.  NSWC will look to Dante Hannoun and a trio of top defenseman to led the way.  OHA returns three of their high scoring forwards but sport a brand new defense this year which does have a few questions marks.  POE return key forwards as well and a rebuilt defense core.

Burnaby Winter Club Bruins
The #1 ranked team in western Canada entering the season has virtually no holes on the roster.  The club has one of the top ranked 98 born goalies in Tyler Shugrue.  The true strength of the team though is its defense led by consensus top 5 overall ranked Dante Fabbro, potential first rounder - Matt Barberis and talented Cameron Ginnetti.  Up front, the team will be without two of there top 5 forwards in White and Seidel but Jake Kryski looks like the real deal this year as a potential high pick, while Ky Uy and Kennessary Kylyshbeck should add some offence for the time being.

Kingpin:  D - Dante Fabbro

North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks
NSWC are led up front by Dante Hannoun and Tak Anholt this season.  Expect much of the offence to go through the talented forwards.  Contributions will also be expected from Quinn Benjefield who had a great spring hockey season as well as rookie '99 born Jordy Bellerive, who is currently the WEHP #1 rated '99 born player.  Defensively the team looks strong led by Ryan Pouliot, Marcus Kwan and Clint Colebourne.  Some questions will need to be answered in goal, so perhaps the SuperSeries will sort that out.

Kingpin:  F - Dante Hannoun

Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy
POE will take on a much different look this season.  Last year they were a very defensive orientated team where much of the offence came through the defense.  This year, they will look to some talented forwards such as;  Trevor Ayre, Tyson Jost and Kody Mcdonald.  Marcus Mitchell and Zack Andrusiak add even more scoring as they come up from the T2 team this year.  Defensively, look for big Noah Turanski, Ralph Jarrett and Garrett Atkins to lead the way.

Kingpin:  F - Tyson Jost

Okanagan Hockey Academy
Much of the OHA offence last year went through 93 goal man Brad Morrison but this year they will look to a trio of returnee's in Davis Koch, Taylor Ward and Beck Malentsyn to carry the mail.  The team also gets a boost with the addition of Ryan Bowen from chilliwack up front.  The goaltending reigns are now in the hands of capable Brody Wilms.  Defensively, look for Sahvan Khaira and Darren Rizzolo to be the main cogs.

Kingpin:  F - Beck Malentsyn