This Saskatoon Maniacs defeated the Battlefords Barons this morning 5-1. The Maniacs got a great performance from Brett Pongracz, holding the Maniacs in the game early when the Battlefords had chances to make it 2-0. The Maniacs would find their legs in the 2nd period, tieing it early and then scoring 2 goals in about 30 seconds midway through the second and never looked back. The Maniacs got strong performances from Sloboshan who scored a couple and Michael Korol who used his speed effectively. Ethan Constant was a constant force on defense. For the Battlefords, Matt Vidal and Keifer Hintz both had strong games as did Troy Gerein.
So the Maniacs will look to upset either the Prairie Storm or Weyburn in the final. At last report, it was 2-0 Balgonie at the midway point of the second period.
In the B Final it will be Yorkton who defeated Prince Albert 10-4 this morning playing against a very under-manned Humboldt team who are without captain Drew Litwin and many others. They had just 10 skaters in their 6-3 win over Sask Valley this morning.
More to come this evening after the B- Final and A-Final.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Seafair vs. Calgary Royals in Rick Lapointe Final
Seafair defeated POE 2-1 in OT. Glenn Gawdin leads the tournament with 18 pts in 4 games.
Calgary Royals defeated Abbotsford 5-1 in the other semi.
More later
Calgary Royals defeated Abbotsford 5-1 in the other semi.
More later
Prince Albert Bantam "AA" Tournament
The semi-finals are now set in Prince Albert in which has been a very interesting tournament to say the least!
The only team who had a perfect record in pool play were the Balgonie Prairie Storm who defeated the Frostbite 5-0, Sask Valley 3-1 and the Regina Senators 7-3. The surprise player of the tournament so far has to be the player of winger Matthew Wass who has used his size and speed and shot very effectively in scoring several goals on the Prairie Storm second line. Halbgewachs the captain of the Prairie strom was also very affective with several rushes and showed good vision. Brennan Riddle was strong as usual and the 98 born pairing of Nolan Reid and Jeff Faith were also strong.
The opposition for the Prairie Storm will be the Weyburn Red Wings who knocked off the Regina Bantam Tournament champion North East Wolfpack 2-1 this evening. It was by far the most physical bantam game I've viewed this season with several hard hits both ways. D- Bryce Fiske of the NE Wolfpack would come a bit unravelled in the 3rd period hitting everything in sight and got thrown from the game in the 3rd. He is a very good player but can become unravelled. Fellner, Leslie were strong on defense throwing hits all night long and Nagy showing his cannon shot on many opportunities.
The other semi-final will be the Saskatoon Maniacs vs. Battleford Barons. The way the schedule went, I was able to view either team, so I'll have a re-cap of their semi-final match-up tomorrow evening. The Battlefords advanced with a 1-0-2 record while the Maniacs were 2-1-0 in their pool with a loss against Moose Jaw.
The only team who had a perfect record in pool play were the Balgonie Prairie Storm who defeated the Frostbite 5-0, Sask Valley 3-1 and the Regina Senators 7-3. The surprise player of the tournament so far has to be the player of winger Matthew Wass who has used his size and speed and shot very effectively in scoring several goals on the Prairie Storm second line. Halbgewachs the captain of the Prairie strom was also very affective with several rushes and showed good vision. Brennan Riddle was strong as usual and the 98 born pairing of Nolan Reid and Jeff Faith were also strong.
The opposition for the Prairie Storm will be the Weyburn Red Wings who knocked off the Regina Bantam Tournament champion North East Wolfpack 2-1 this evening. It was by far the most physical bantam game I've viewed this season with several hard hits both ways. D- Bryce Fiske of the NE Wolfpack would come a bit unravelled in the 3rd period hitting everything in sight and got thrown from the game in the 3rd. He is a very good player but can become unravelled. Fellner, Leslie were strong on defense throwing hits all night long and Nagy showing his cannon shot on many opportunities.
The other semi-final will be the Saskatoon Maniacs vs. Battleford Barons. The way the schedule went, I was able to view either team, so I'll have a re-cap of their semi-final match-up tomorrow evening. The Battlefords advanced with a 1-0-2 record while the Maniacs were 2-1-0 in their pool with a loss against Moose Jaw.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Rick Lapointe Day 1 - Scouts out in full force
 |
| Hopkins off to a hot start for host Victoria |
If you want to know the best place to buy a coffee at a Vancouver Island hockey rink, just ask Victoria's Gord Bridges or Greg Batters. During the hockey season, their second homes are Island rinks as they search out talent as scouts for their Western Hockey League teams.
Bridges has been working for the Lethbridge Hurricanes for five years while Batters has had a 16-year tenure with the Kamloops Blazers.
Bridges and Batters, along with a host of other scouts were at the Ian Stewart Complex on Thursday, attending the Rick Lapointe Memorial bantam triple-A tournament. The scouts were assessing 14-year-old talent that could be drafted in next year's WHL draft.
"The No. 1 thing that I'm looking for in a hockey player is his ability to skate,'' said Bridges, who is the father of former Victoria Salmon Kings goaltender Bryan Bridges. "To me, size doesn't really matter, as the smaller guys can play at all levels.
"I mainly scout the Island and I do take some trips to the mainland. With good quality teams at this tournament, there will be more scouts here.
"The second thing I'm looking for is that a player goes hard for the entire game and he doesn't take a shift or two off. Sometimes the guys will play differently at a tournament so I like to see them perform in a regular-season game when they don't know scouts are watching them.''
Bryan Bridges played five seasons in the WHL, winning a Memorial Cup with the Kootenay Ice before heading to the Seattle Thunderbirds. After a stint in the ECHL with various teams, including the Salmon Kings, he is now playing senior hockey in Lloydminster.
Batters, the former Victoria Cougar and Moose Jaw Warrior, is also the commissioner of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League.
"The main thing that I'm looking for is the compete level,'' said Batters. "We are drafting kids who we hope will help us three years from now.
If they don't have that compete level now, they will not have it in three years.''
One of the top picks in this year's bantam draft is expected to be Matt Barzal from the Burnaby Winter Club. His team is not attending the eight-team tournament.
OVERTIME: The host Victoria Racquet Club Kings opened with a 9-2 win over the Coquitlam Chiefs before dropping a 8-1 decision to Pursuit of Excellence from Kelowna. Seafair from Richmond also has a 1-1 record after beating Team Seattle 8-2 and losing 5-3 to the Calgary Royals. In the other game, the Abbotsford Hawks tripped up Team Seattle 5-1.
The tournament resumes today with games at Ian Stewart, Pearkes and Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The banquet is 5: 30 p.m. at the Memorial Centre with guest speaker Geoff Courtnall. The teams will then watch the WHL game between the Victoria Royals and the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
rauch@timescolonist.com
This weekend I will be tweeting live from the Prince Albert Bantam "AA" tournament. The tournament will feature 20 of the 23 Saskatchewan teams. Favorites are likely to be the North East Wolfpack (11-1-0), Balgonie Prairie Storm (10-0-0) and Melville (5-4-0). Other teams such as the Saskatoon Stallions, Sask Valley and Weyburn could make some noise. Stay tuned through out the weekend for updates on the top talent in the province of Saskatchewan.
The Sherwood Park Flyers of the AMBHL have soared up our rankings this season, losing just twice in 18 games so far this season. Here is an article by Shane Jones on the success of the Flyers so far this season. http://www.sherwoodparknews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3398820.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
December 5, 2011 newsletter is ready
NEW - 98 Born Stats have now been updated where available
Stats have been updated for all Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba players up to December 4, 2011. THE PCACA doesn't produce specific stats, so if any of you have these or would like them included, please forward. From B.C., we have updated POE, OHA and Kamloops stats.
Rankings
We are nearing the midway point of the season now and the rankings are becoming more and more accurate as players begin to show trends and tendencies in their games. Several tournaments have given us a tool to gauge where players should or may fit in at this point in the season. We have now expanded to a top 200 list for the 97 born age group in western Canada, which takes us through the 9th round. The 98 age group currently is a top 115, which covers the top 5 rounds. The U.S. western prospects have risen and fallen for various reasons such as willingness to take their game north of the border and individuals skill set of the player.
Interviews
The interview section this time around, we chat with one of the top players at the Medicine Hat tournament, who may have just had his coming out party if you will.
I chat with one of the top forwards in Saskatchewan who has really taken his game to the next level in the past month, piling up the points and showing extremely well at a recent tournament.
I speak with one of the top 98 born players in, western Canada who hails from Manitoba.
Finally, I had a chance to talk with perhaps the most talented forward in the western U.S.A who we will get to see at the John Reid Memorial Tournament in January.
News and Notes/Mid Season Mock
The Top 20 power rankings make there fifth appearance on the newsletter.
Listed are the up coming tournaments this season across western Canada as well.
And lastly, we include a mid season Mock Draft according to the teams current win percentage in the WHL. We break down who may go where and why at this point.
Coming Tournaments
Rick Lapointe Memorial Tournament
This weekend will once again be a busy one for tournaments across western Canada as we have the Rick Lapointe Memorial Tournament taking place in Victoria and the Prince Albert "Messier Project" Tournament in of course Prince Albert.
The 39th annual Rick Lapointe Tournament will go with just 8 teams this year instead of the previous 14 teams as has been the case over the past years.
The favourites heading in to the tournament which begins on December 8 and wraps up on December 11 has to be the POE, while the Calgary Royals should also provide stiff competition. Other teams taking part in the tournament will be: Abbotsford, Seafair, Seattle Sno-Kings, Wenatchee Wild, Coquitlam and host Victoria.
The tournament is in honour of the late Rick Lapointe who grew up in Victoria and passed away in 1999. He played junior hockey for the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League before embarking on what would be an 11-year NHL career in which he played for Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Quebec and Los Angeles.
Prince Albert AA Tournament
The puck will be dropped on the Prince Albert "AA" Tournament early Friday Morning and four rinks through-out Pricne Albert. The tournament will consist of 20 teams, divided in to 5 pools.
This will be the second of three major provincial tournament to take place in Saskatchewan this season. The first one took place back in November at Regina with the North East Wolfpack coming away with the tournament victory over Sask Valley Vipers in the final.
There will be just 3 teams absent from the tournament this weekend in Prince Albert from the entire "AA" pool of teams in the province. Teams absent are: Swift Current, Regina Oilers and Regina Hurricanes.
Pool A
Weyburn (8-3-0), Saskatoon Bandits (3-2-4), West Central (7-3-1) and Humboldt (1-10-1)
- Look for Weyburn, who are coming off a good appearance in the Lethbridge tournament in which they made the final to win this pool. West Central has a decent chance as well as they have gone 7-3-0 in league play. The Saskatoon Bandits have some talent and could make noise as well.
Top players in the Pool:
Weyburn - F Regan Nagy, D Drew Fellner
Bandits - F Jimmy Lambert, D Conner Hobbs (C)
West Central - Spencer Bast, D Shane Collins
Humboldt - Drew Litwin, D Logan Karakochuk
MVP: Regan Nagy
Pool B
PA Raiders (3-8-2), Moose Jaw (3-8-0), Regina Canucks (6-5-0) and Saskatoon Maniacs (2-3-3)
- A pool that doesn't feature an elite team is wide open to anybody. The Canucks who come in with the top record have been slumping as of late, while the other teams have win percentages under .500 for the season. Wide open here.
Top Players in the pool:
PA Raiders - F Matthew Campese, D Lochlan Morrison
Moose Jaw - F Kyle Arndt, D Regan Seiferling
Canucks - F Chase Tippett, D Jeff Senko
Maniacs - F Wyatt Sloboshan, D Ethan Constant
MVP: Matthew Campese
Pool C
Melville (5-4-0), Saskatoon Outlaws (3-4-2), NE Wolfpack (11-1-0), Saskatoon Generals (2-4-2)
- The champion from the Regina tournament, the NE Wolfpack have the most depth of any team in the league and should be able to win this pool. However, Melville does feature lots of fire power on their top two lines, making them dangerous in any given game. The Saskatoon teams can be dangerous with a few of the cities top stars on the squads. Probably the best pool in the tournament.
Top players in the pool:
Melville - F Dakota Boutin, D Dawson Davidson (98 born)
Outlaws - F Garrett Pilon (98), D Dustin Perrilat
Wolfpack - F Caleb Seaman, D Bryce Fiske
Generals - F Lane Pederson, D Brad Bigsby
MVP: Dustin Perrilat
Pool D
Saskatoon Stallions (6-2-1), Estevan (2-9-1), Battleford (5-4-1), Yorkton (7-5-0)
- A bit of everything in this pool. Yorkton has size and grit, Battlefords have depth and the Stallions have a perfect mix throughout the lineup. It really is any of those three teams who could win this pool.
Top players in the pool:
Stallions - F Logan Loopkey, D Tate Olson
Estevan - F Tanner Jeanott, D Tyler Hengen
Battleford - F Keifer Hintz, D Matt Vidal
Yorkton - F Tanner Mak, D Turner Ottenbreit
MVP: Tate Olsen
Pool E
Prairie Storm (10-0-0), Saskatoon Frostbite (3-4-2), Sask Valley (7-3-1), Regina Senators (4-7-1)
- The favourite here are the Balgonie Prairie Storm led by Regina MVP Jayden Halbgewachs but also look for league scoring leader - Terrell Draude and Sask Valley to make some noise. Frostbite and Senators feature some good talent but won't have near enough.
Top players in the pool
Prairie Storm - F Jayden Halbgewachs, D Brennan Riddle
Frostbite - F Cam Hebig, D Brody Doepker
Sask Valley - F Terrell Draude, D Evan Fiala
Senators - F Arthur Miller, D Jordan Bourassa
MVP: Jayden Halbgewachs
John Reid Memorial Tournament Pools
- Preview for this tournament to come in either the December 19, 2011 newsletter or the January 2, 2012 newsletter.
Iginla Pool - Access Pipeline
Calgary Royals
Semiahmoo Ravens
SSAC
Wenatchee Wild
- A pool that features 3 teams who are currently in the WEHP Top 10. The defensive minded Royals, the offensive minded SSAC and the very deep Semiahmoo Ravens. Wenatchee have some talent as well in all areas. Semiahmoo have met the Royals and beat them 5-4 in Medicine Hat.
Iginla Pool - City Ford
Los Angelas Selects
Cloverdale Colts
St. Albert
Notre Dame
- A fairly wide open pool between St. Albert, Cloverdale and L.A. The Colts are now healthy and it will be interesting to see how they do here. St. Albert are the hosts and will be geared up for this tournament. They proved they can compete against the best by beating Semiahmoo in Med Hat. The Selects are very strong and have several of the top players in the western states. Notre Dame has a couple players but will once again be over-matched.
Reid Pool - Skybox Grill
Calgary Bisons
POE
NSWC Winterhawks
Sherwood Park
- I guess we could call this pool, the pool of death! All four are in the WEHP top 10 and many are going to get their wish with a POE/NSWC match-up. Sherwood Park have perhaps the strongest defensive team in western Canada or close at least. The Bisons led by Merkley and Shmyr are always dangerous!
Reid Pool - Riverside Honda & Ski-doo
Lloydminster
Prairie Storm
CAC
BWC
- Perhaps the most interesting pool of them all. BWC will win this pool quite easily in what should be blow-out scores. After that, it will be interesting to see how (10-0-0) Prairie Storm can do led by Halbgewachs and Riddle. Lack of depth will hurt the Prairie Storm in this tournament. CAC has been slumping and I can't understand why with the talent pool on that team.
LA Selects Holiday Cup 2011
From December 27 - December 30, Lakewood, CA will play host to an elite holiday tournament featuring 8 teams from the western states and Canada.
Jon Blum Division
LA Selects
BWC
Colorado Thunderbirds
Alaska
Colin Long Division
LA Jr. Kings
POE
Arizona Bobcats
Colorado Rampage
 |
| Sawchenko will look to lead his team to victory |
The 39th annual Rick Lapointe Tournament will go with just 8 teams this year instead of the previous 14 teams as has been the case over the past years.
The favourites heading in to the tournament which begins on December 8 and wraps up on December 11 has to be the POE, while the Calgary Royals should also provide stiff competition. Other teams taking part in the tournament will be: Abbotsford, Seafair, Seattle Sno-Kings, Wenatchee Wild, Coquitlam and host Victoria.
The tournament is in honour of the late Rick Lapointe who grew up in Victoria and passed away in 1999. He played junior hockey for the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League before embarking on what would be an 11-year NHL career in which he played for Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Quebec and Los Angeles.
Prince Albert AA Tournament
 |
| NE Wolfpack will look to win 2nd straight SK Tourney |
The puck will be dropped on the Prince Albert "AA" Tournament early Friday Morning and four rinks through-out Pricne Albert. The tournament will consist of 20 teams, divided in to 5 pools.
This will be the second of three major provincial tournament to take place in Saskatchewan this season. The first one took place back in November at Regina with the North East Wolfpack coming away with the tournament victory over Sask Valley Vipers in the final.
There will be just 3 teams absent from the tournament this weekend in Prince Albert from the entire "AA" pool of teams in the province. Teams absent are: Swift Current, Regina Oilers and Regina Hurricanes.
Pool A
Weyburn (8-3-0), Saskatoon Bandits (3-2-4), West Central (7-3-1) and Humboldt (1-10-1)
- Look for Weyburn, who are coming off a good appearance in the Lethbridge tournament in which they made the final to win this pool. West Central has a decent chance as well as they have gone 7-3-0 in league play. The Saskatoon Bandits have some talent and could make noise as well.
Top players in the Pool:
Weyburn - F Regan Nagy, D Drew Fellner
Bandits - F Jimmy Lambert, D Conner Hobbs (C)
West Central - Spencer Bast, D Shane Collins
Humboldt - Drew Litwin, D Logan Karakochuk
MVP: Regan Nagy
Pool B
PA Raiders (3-8-2), Moose Jaw (3-8-0), Regina Canucks (6-5-0) and Saskatoon Maniacs (2-3-3)
- A pool that doesn't feature an elite team is wide open to anybody. The Canucks who come in with the top record have been slumping as of late, while the other teams have win percentages under .500 for the season. Wide open here.
Top Players in the pool:
PA Raiders - F Matthew Campese, D Lochlan Morrison
Moose Jaw - F Kyle Arndt, D Regan Seiferling
Canucks - F Chase Tippett, D Jeff Senko
Maniacs - F Wyatt Sloboshan, D Ethan Constant
MVP: Matthew Campese
Pool C
Melville (5-4-0), Saskatoon Outlaws (3-4-2), NE Wolfpack (11-1-0), Saskatoon Generals (2-4-2)
- The champion from the Regina tournament, the NE Wolfpack have the most depth of any team in the league and should be able to win this pool. However, Melville does feature lots of fire power on their top two lines, making them dangerous in any given game. The Saskatoon teams can be dangerous with a few of the cities top stars on the squads. Probably the best pool in the tournament.
Top players in the pool:
Melville - F Dakota Boutin, D Dawson Davidson (98 born)
Outlaws - F Garrett Pilon (98), D Dustin Perrilat
Wolfpack - F Caleb Seaman, D Bryce Fiske
Generals - F Lane Pederson, D Brad Bigsby
MVP: Dustin Perrilat
Pool D
Saskatoon Stallions (6-2-1), Estevan (2-9-1), Battleford (5-4-1), Yorkton (7-5-0)
- A bit of everything in this pool. Yorkton has size and grit, Battlefords have depth and the Stallions have a perfect mix throughout the lineup. It really is any of those three teams who could win this pool.
Top players in the pool:
Stallions - F Logan Loopkey, D Tate Olson
Estevan - F Tanner Jeanott, D Tyler Hengen
Battleford - F Keifer Hintz, D Matt Vidal
Yorkton - F Tanner Mak, D Turner Ottenbreit
MVP: Tate Olsen
Pool E
Prairie Storm (10-0-0), Saskatoon Frostbite (3-4-2), Sask Valley (7-3-1), Regina Senators (4-7-1)
- The favourite here are the Balgonie Prairie Storm led by Regina MVP Jayden Halbgewachs but also look for league scoring leader - Terrell Draude and Sask Valley to make some noise. Frostbite and Senators feature some good talent but won't have near enough.
Top players in the pool
Prairie Storm - F Jayden Halbgewachs, D Brennan Riddle
Frostbite - F Cam Hebig, D Brody Doepker
Sask Valley - F Terrell Draude, D Evan Fiala
Senators - F Arthur Miller, D Jordan Bourassa
MVP: Jayden Halbgewachs
John Reid Memorial Tournament Pools
- Preview for this tournament to come in either the December 19, 2011 newsletter or the January 2, 2012 newsletter.
Iginla Pool - Access Pipeline
Calgary Royals
Semiahmoo Ravens
SSAC
Wenatchee Wild
- A pool that features 3 teams who are currently in the WEHP Top 10. The defensive minded Royals, the offensive minded SSAC and the very deep Semiahmoo Ravens. Wenatchee have some talent as well in all areas. Semiahmoo have met the Royals and beat them 5-4 in Medicine Hat.
Iginla Pool - City Ford
Los Angelas Selects
Cloverdale Colts
St. Albert
Notre Dame
- A fairly wide open pool between St. Albert, Cloverdale and L.A. The Colts are now healthy and it will be interesting to see how they do here. St. Albert are the hosts and will be geared up for this tournament. They proved they can compete against the best by beating Semiahmoo in Med Hat. The Selects are very strong and have several of the top players in the western states. Notre Dame has a couple players but will once again be over-matched.
Reid Pool - Skybox Grill
Calgary Bisons
POE
NSWC Winterhawks
Sherwood Park
- I guess we could call this pool, the pool of death! All four are in the WEHP top 10 and many are going to get their wish with a POE/NSWC match-up. Sherwood Park have perhaps the strongest defensive team in western Canada or close at least. The Bisons led by Merkley and Shmyr are always dangerous!
Reid Pool - Riverside Honda & Ski-doo
Lloydminster
Prairie Storm
CAC
BWC
- Perhaps the most interesting pool of them all. BWC will win this pool quite easily in what should be blow-out scores. After that, it will be interesting to see how (10-0-0) Prairie Storm can do led by Halbgewachs and Riddle. Lack of depth will hurt the Prairie Storm in this tournament. CAC has been slumping and I can't understand why with the talent pool on that team.
LA Selects Holiday Cup 2011
Jon Blum Division
LA Selects
BWC
Colorado Thunderbirds
Alaska
Colin Long Division
LA Jr. Kings
POE
Arizona Bobcats
Colorado Rampage
Thursday, December 1, 2011
WEHP #1 Overall Ranked - Matt Barzal - BWC
Matt Barzal vs. Seattle Sno-Kings
Courtesy from our pals at scoutreels.com
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