**UPDATE - Edmonton MLAC defeat Edmonton KC in the final of the Invitational this weekend. Alex Rotundo's 3 goals were not enough as MLAC defeated KC 8-4 in the final....MLAC got balanced scoring in the final and had another big game from its top line of Jevne/Volcan and Readman who combined for 9 points. Rotundo led the tournament in scoring with 17 goals and 5 assists in 5 games.
Edmonton Invitational Tournament Awards
MVP - Alex Rotundo - Edmonton KC
Top Forward - Nolan Volcan - Edmonton MLAC
Top Defenceman - James Miller - Spruce Grove PAC
Top Goalie - Rylie Boychuk - Edmonton MLAC
The Edmonton Invitational Tournament is now in to its final day of action and there have been some huge performances thus far. The tournament's "AAA" portion has just six teams taking part as the Southeast Hockey Hounds, Edmonton KC, Spruce Grove PAC, Fort Saskatchewan, Calgary Edge and Edmonton MLAC are attending.
As somewhat expected, the top ranked team in the tournament - Edmonton MLAC have rolled to a 4-0-0 record and find themselves in the final against the Alex Rotundo led Edmonton KC squad. Edmonton KC has a record in the tournament of 4-0-0 as well. The final will feature a few of the hottest players in the tournament as tournament scoring leader Alex Rotundo will go head to head against the big MLAC line of Jevne/Volcan/Readman. Rotundo is coming off a fabulous performance in the semi-finals last night to which he scored all 6 of his teams goals in a 6-5 win over the Southeast Hockey Hounds. Included in those 6 goals were the gtg and gwg in the final two minutes of play. Rotundo currently leads the tournament with 14-5-19 in the 4 games played. The MLAC top line of Jevne/Volcan/Readman all sit in the top 8 in tournament scoring with Jevne -10 points, Volcan 14 and Readman with 9. They combined for 15 points in the semi-finals.
It should be a very interesting final this afternoon.
21 comments:
MLAC 8-4 Final. Rotundo with 3 and yes had a great tourney. But in the hockey world we call players like him "Poachers" as all he does is hang around the blue line looking for stretch passes and apart from that doesn't have much of a game. He is non existent on the back check and for check. In this final Ty Readman owned him on the boards down low. Will be a high pick but buyer beware with what you might be getting:)
You clearly never watched him play his first three games. He owned all aspects of the game. He is in no way a poacher. Players being open on the far blueline is not always floating it can be directly attributed to hockey sense, the ability to read your teams possession and the opponents positioning. Readman got three breakaway passes on the far blueline against the edge. All of them resulted from excellent reading of the play. Likewise Rotundo has excellent hockey sense. He hits and plays physically. I watched him get many shots off from within traffic in the first three games. I didn't watch the final so maybe he did that, I don't know, but that is not characteristic of his play.
Would have to agree with 9:51; Rotundo is a pretty good well-rounded player and gets his breakaways from great anticipation and the ability to accelerate quickly. Readmon did own him down low in the final, but that's due to Readman's savvy and tenaciousness - not any weakness in Rotundo's game. Readman is one of the smartest players out there and Alex is one of the best goal-scorers. It is worth noting that Rotundo got going in the final when KC kept himaway from the Readman, Jevne, Volcan line. For some reason MLAC did not match lines despite having the home team last change. Both players are very good players who are a joy to watch.
Side note .... Can anyone who has seen him play give me an opinion on Readman and his play ? ...
He is smart and reads the play well. He got four breakaways against the Edge during the tournament simply reading his teams possession and darting behind the defensemen. He's pretty solid positionally and is a good stick handler. However, he is at an extreme physical disadvantage. Despite being a good skater he lacks the strength to generate great speed and gets out muscled quite a bit. His tenacity makes up a lot , but if he's not in perfect position he cannot compensate. Jevne and Volcan are both very strong physically and he definitely benefits from playing with them (who wouldn't though). Overall he's a good AAA player, but I personally would pass over him in the draft because I don't see him being able to compete physically at the next level.
to 7:00 PM - Ty Readman is one of the smarltest players in the league. His hockey IQ is absoutely top level. Readman is the QB of the deadly Jevne, Volcan, Readman line and the MLAC powerply. As good as Jevne and Volcan are, that line would not be what it is without Readman dishing the puck. He plays hard and smart in all 3 zones, has a good stride, quick feet and great hands. Despite his dimunitive size, he is a competitor and a battler and has an accurate, quick release wrist and snap shot. He will score when the opening is there, but is primarily a playmaker. If he was 5'9" he'd be a top 10 player, and despite his smallness, I would still rate him top round but suspect he will go in the 3rd round. Every time I see him play he impresses me.
If you are going to make comments like that about players - put your name to it.
Jealous maybe.
Not all teams have a kid who scores all the goals but a team who has everyone scoring goals and in the end it's those teams who will learn to play competitive hockey. Playing the same line every second shift proves they don't have a well rounded team. The top scorerers are all divided and some kids not posted even if they have the same points. Congrats to the winning teams and to the teams who compete as a team and not rely on 1 or 2 players to win a game for them.
Ty Readman: off-the-chart hockey IQ, great playmaker, very good skater, small but competitive and tenacious, very good hands and probably the smartest BT AAA player in AB.
who ever wrote the first comment on Rotundo obviously is oblivious to hockey, the only time Rotundo stretched at the blue was late in the game trying to capitalize which any coach would have there best player do. If you watch Benson all he does is sit in the neutral zone,has tons of skill but doesnt do much in the dzone. With rotundo playing center this year he has become much more defensive in his play, not quite as good as maple leafs Nolan VOlcan in his own zone but much better than Ryan Jevne who seems to float and let others get him the puck for a shot, which we all know is probably the best in the league. Readman is a smart hard working player but is a huge beneficiary of who he plays with. Maple leaf coaching staff was not very smart with the home team change, Once KC coach had rotundo playing away from them they were able to get momentum in a game where with so many players out they had now reason even being in.
While I previously stated Readman is a smart player I think you guys are overselling a bit. Readman is good, but he can struggle at times. I personally think that Volcan is the best of the three. Readman while good even by AAA standards isn't all that close to Volcan or Jevne. 5th round at the earliest.
4'10" 80lbs, draft? do not think so,playing with volcan and jevne makes any average player look good.
After watching Rotundo in the last few years his defensive play is one of the best among top scorers in the AAA league. I believe that Volcan is the best out of the team and that line. The only player out of the top prospects in the league that is as defensive as Rotundo and Volcan would have to be Sam Steel which is one of the most skilled players I have seen play this year. From watching KC's games Rotundo outplayed every player in that tournament as shown with his points and plus minus.
He is just as good as volcan and jevne. Although he doesn't have the size, id argue that he is just as talented. He is the playmaker/QB and they are the goal scorers. Every line needs something. And MLAC is good all around, but honestly if you had a top line, would you not play them more? Figure it out. Rotundo is out every shift, so is Benson. Your argument is invalid.
what about biro from sherwood park ? seen him play a few times and his hockey IQ is also very high.
Also with readman, if you saw him play tonight against Sherwood park, your arguments would change drastically. Oh and buddy, he weighs more than 80lbs. Get some accurate stats before coming on this website
I didnt know this site was set up for parents to pump up there kids :) It is entertaining though
Readman did have a 4 point game against Sherwoodpark while Jevne and Vilcan only had 1 each .... He can do it by himself in a game against a top team .
Think the world of Readman.Very skilled & he is as smart a player as there is out there but he is tiny, tiny, tiny. And in the grand scheme he isnt very fast. Likely wont get much bigger in relative terms. I would be shocked if he got drafted. Biro is actually a pretty similar player.
Jan 7 , 4-05 you see this stuff all the time lol , they must think the real scouts read this stuff lmao
Too bad there isn't some stats on plus/minus. In the MLAC Sherwood Park Game, both Jevne and Volcan were on for several goals against... not a good defensive effort by two top prospects. Lorenson also did not have a good game in the net which didn't help. Readman see's the ice real well in all zones, very smart player but has some difficulty in very physical games, although he is very hard to catch with a solid check.
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