Tournament Updates

Prince Albert Tournament
The Prince Alberta Bantam Tournament got underway yesterday afternoon and on day 1 there were a total of 7 games.  Due to going back and forth between the two rinks yesterday, all the finals won't be available until later today.  However, a few players had some good efforts in the games viewed.

For Humboldt, who took on the Saskatoon Maniacs in the first game of the day, Ryan Walchuk showed some very good compete level and took the body whenever he had the opportunity to do so.  If he could improve his skating some more throughout the remainder of the season, he could be a draft pick.  Matthew Parsons was the captain of Humboldt and anchored things in all situations and was used at F and D at various times.  He has good overall skills and makes the simple play consistently. The Maniacs were fairly solid in their own zone, led by captain Matthew Leniuk and Brett Hamm.  Small 5'2" forward Brayden Camrud was good in all areas of the ice and had a highlight reel goal - taking the puck from his own end and through the entire Humboldt team.  The Maniacs have a few good '99 born players led by Dino Antoniadis, who was effective.

After catching the first two period of the Humboldt game, it was time to catch end of the Northeast/Frostbite game.  Jordan Borstmayer played on a line with a pair of '99's - Conner Tuffs and Kris Bzdel.  They were dangerous each time on the ice and Borstmayer was able to control the play.  '99 born Tuffs showed great ability and wasn't afraid to drive the front of the net either.  Cory Thomas was very strong defensively for Northeast and anchored the blueline, playing a very calm, conposed game.  Tristen Charles wasn't in the lineup for Northeast, he was a player we were hoping to see yesterday.  For the Maniacs, the captain Noah Looman showed some good phyiscal play defensively and laid a couple hard hits.  Cole Young showed bursts of his speed down the wing but really couldn't generate a whole lot.

Next it was a very young Weyburn squad taking on Melville.  For Melville, I was very impressed with the improvement with Marial Beny from where he was at last season.  Beny has a powerful stride and the potential to be a good power forward.  He worked hard down low but I would like to see him drive the net just a bit more and use that size he has.  Caleb Riess showed fantastic vision with numerous tape to tape, cross-ice passes - setting up a couple goals.  He does a bunch of things very well but nothing extraordinary.  He should be a pick in the bantam draft.  Saving the best for last is the thought on Dawson Davidson.  Davidson, as thought coming in is likely the best defenseman in the tournament.  He has high end, first round type of skill, great vision, composure and a good shot to which he used a few times.  He plays a lot like the Moose Jaw Warriors Morgan Rielly.  I came in expecting a lot from Davidson and he delivered!  Weyburn D - Austin Neiszner is a big, stay at home type who wasn't flashy at all but pretty effective.  The other top players were mostly '99 born players for Weyburn.

Lastly for yesterday it was back to the AHC to take in the first half of the Balgonie/Moose Jaw game.  The Prairie Storm controlled the entire play in the first half of the game.  The line of Bentz-Dmytriw/Wilton created many chances with the captain Jared Dmytriw controlling the play and making things happen with very good creativity.  Jared Legien didn't see a lot of ice time for whatever reason and seemed to be having a few long conversations with the coach.  I was impressed with the play of Zach Hagerman of the Warriors.  He has very good speed, good skater and scored a goal on a nice play.

Rick Lapointe Tourament Day 1 Update
Standings

DIVISION: Pool "A"

TEAM	GP	W	L	T	OTW	PTS	GF	AVG	GA	AVG	PCT	L10
Okanagan Hockey Academy	2	2	0	0	0	4	10	5.00	1	0.50	1.000	2-0-0
Cowichan Valley Capitals	2	1	1	0	0	2	5	2.50	5	2.50	0.500	1-1-0
Hollyburn Huskies	2	1	1	0	0	2	9	4.50	9	4.50	0.500	1-1-0
Cloverdale Colts	2	0	2	0	0	0	4	2.00	13	6.50	0.000	0-2-0

DIVISION: Pool "B"

TEAM	GP	W	L	T	OTW	PTS	GF	AVG	GA	AVG	PCT	L10
Seafair Islanders	2	2	0	0	0	4	5	2.50	3	1.50	1.000	2-0-0
Victoria Racquet Club Kings	2	1	1	0	0	2	9	4.50	6	3.00	0.500	1-1-0
Surrey Thunder	2	1	1	0	0	2	5	2.50	4	2.00	0.500	1-1-0
Wenatchee Jr Wild	2	0	2	0	0	0	4	2.00	10	5.00	0.000	0-2-0

LEAGUE LEADING PLAYERS	NEXT 20 >

	PLAYER	#	P	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	P/G	PIM
1	Beck Malenstyn	11	F	OHA	2	4	1	5	2.5	0
2	Dale McCabe	11	F	VRC	2	4	1	5	2.5	0
3	Nicolas Bizzutto	19	F	Surrey	2	2	2	4	2.0	0
4	Carter Stephenson	16	D	Hollyburn	2	2	2	4	2.0	0
5	Ty Strandberg	19	F	VRC	2	2	2	4	2.0	0
6	Kobe Doi	11	F	Cloverdale	2	2	1	3	1.5	0
7	Davis Koch	17	F	OHA	2	2	1	3	1.5	0
8	Liam Nijhoff	4	D	OHA	2	2	1	3	1.5	2
9	Lucas Barker	14	F	Hollyburn	2	1	2	3	1.5	6
10	Schael Higson	7	D	OHA	2	1	2	3	1.5	0

The Hockey Manitoba AAA Showcase will begin this morning.  There will be an update early this evening on that event.