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,
22 comments:
Semi tied BWC 4-4 this weekend and Semi had four players out with injuries
Semi also beat Langley,
how come Semi isn't ranked higher?
Your right Semi should be higher who out out for Semi and who was out for BWC. Who was in net for either team ?
First you have to understand what tryout games are. Once you understand that, then you will see that this part of the season is irrevevant. Semi and 4 guys out, BWC had 3 of their top end guys out and goalies have not been secured. Lets not get too excited about rankings yet. Chilliwack will be the first measure for teams to see how they compare.
BWC has been playing all there games without 2 of there top 5 forwards and 3 of there top D sitting out and there starting goalie. Wait for chilliwack BWC will dominate
If you think that BWC will dominate in Chilliwack , then you are in for a big surprise. Brag all you want , everyone knows that they are not that good.
RE:POE
Many refer to the fact that they do not have defence as strong as last year...a surprise?
Not really as it's hard to imagine anyone duplicating such a strong group.
Semi also tied South Delta - that is likely why they are not ranked higher.
Sept 18 OHA ranked in the top 5 teams ahead of POE.
Today, POE ahead of OHA.
Neither team has played any meaningful games since then,at least to my knowledge...so why the flip flop?
Interesting to listen to ALL the teams chirping about who's better in the preseason. The fact is the real season starts in Chilliwack.
3:33 If you don't think BWC is that good, why? I would like to hear your scouting rational. What team do you think will dominate and why?
11:32AM ,Nobody is going to dominate. There are 4 to 5 teams that can win this tournament.BWC still has a couple of its top players injured and does not have much depth up front.
Agreed. Scoring will be an issue for bwc against strong clubs. Their defence is plenty strong. But goaltending is a real question mark too. Shugrue has looked very weak in exhibition, and they never got the paperwork straightened out for Barrett. Careful when you try to parachute into the Winter Clubs folks ... the politics can get you from any number of angles.
11:26 Sure they did, Barrett played the entire game against Semi in the 4 -4 tie.
Barrett was dropped to the A2 team. Warm a 99 is the other goalie for BWC. Shugrue has played in 2 games Kings and Dallas. WEHP had it wrong he did not play all games the super series games. Langley and OHA will be a great game. Semi will be better then everyone thinks. You guys are funny, always trying to stir up something when nothing is cooking. NSWC will walk thru to the Semi-finals.
SSAC and SP Flyers will be the strong teams from Edmonton this year. Bisons will at the top form Calgary.
Medicine Hat will give us an idea of where everyone is at. Anything before does not matter.Teams will start to develop and change.Medicine Hat and St Albert are the ones where you can see who is developing into stronger teams. Anything before does not matter. BTW its a long season ex games mean nothing.
Hey 11:26
Excellence analysis..hahaha..and scoring won't be a problem for most clubs against strong teams???? good one!!!
Shugrue has played in many big games over many years and has been just fine...don't push the ejection button yet!!!
Careful when you parachute to any association if your your not legitimate...I hear there are alot of glass houses in the associations...hope the dyke doesn't break and flow to the valley!!!!
I would like to thank you for your very informative scouting analysis...haha!
What would happen if teh alberta kids played in their home province? Would it affect much? Also how many Alberta kids are playing in BC teams a few that get talked about I recognize from Alberta.
Sem and Langley should be solid, but bwc's defence is just too solid ... plus White and Kryski will bury enough of their chances.
This site has the barrett goalie as the #4 ranked 98 goalie in bc, and another has him somewhere in the top 5. So how could he be cut to A2? Something seems fishy about that.
Anybody seen the goalies for nswc? i hear they're both 99s.
Its always fishy when it doesn't go they way parents want! Don't make excuses or blame others. Tell him to keep working hard, be positive and help him work through this speed bump!!!
Yes correct cole demers and dorrin luding
Cole and Dorrin will be just fine. And they'll be great for us next year because of this experience. And I agree with those who think POE will be stronger than bwc, but they'll never really get a chance to prove it ... no Provincials and no Westerns for the Kelowna club.
Remember, any player moving to a new association is a threat to an existing player ... so player movements are most strenuously opposed by people inside the club your moving to. In your son's case, i understand that a deal had already been struck so he was going to get the fuzzy end of the popsicle no matter what. It's not the way it ought to be maybe, just the way it is. Stuff like that happens, right? Gotta move on though. He'll be fine.
Hey goalie Dad, maybe you should take note of what happened in Chilliwack. Goaltending is their biggest problem. Could get the call-up any time LOL. Sorry to hear what they did to ur kid though.
Just in case you check back here Goalie Dad, I'll echo the comments above. I have friends at the club and heard about the package deal BS - it's a lesson to all about the ethics at work over there. Your boy will be fine though. Great goalie, great kid.
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