2024 Spring Shootout Recap
Where else would Mom rather be on Mothers’ Day?
Spring hockey is well underway, and many teams have already competed in a few tournaments. We are just past the halfway point as the spring season usually ends after the North American Hockey Classic Elite tournament in Winnipeg, June 13-16. This past weekend Play Hockey put on the Spring Shootout tournament. Pineapples Hockey was able to get out to a dozen games this weekend.
On Thursday we watched 2 games. The 2013 Jr Ice vs 2012 Jr Freeze and the 2012 PH Selects vs 2012 PHD Predators. In the 2013 Jr Ice vs 2012 Jr Freeze game, the younger team used their younger legs and were beating the Freeze to pucks all over the ice, creating chances mostly off the rush. They would eventually get the games first goal on the powerplay from Maks Chernecki. After a 1st intermission flood, the Freeze took over and completely tilted the game. They used their year of U13 experience, size and physicality to outmuscle the younger Jr Ice team. Ice goalie Devin Fey was solid in net making things look easy through the first half of the game. Finally, the Freeze broke through and didn’t stop, scoring 8 goals in the back half.
In the second game of the evening, the 2012 PH Selects took on the 2012 PHD Predators. It was not the smoothest game of the tournament. Lots of turnovers, penalties, and goals. PHD Predators came out firing and took a commanding 5-2 lead. With some 2012 Team Manitoba players on the squad, the PH Selects skill took over. They went 3 for 5 on the powerplay and ended up stealing 2 points with a 7-5 victory after an empty netter.
On Friday there were 4 games that our staff made it out to. We started off the morning in the 2013 division where we saw the 2014 Jr Ice Brick team take on the 2013 PHD Predators Grey team. The 2014 Jr Ice team that will be heading to Edmonton in July, played a solid game for the full 60 minutes. They are a smaller team who rely on their speed off the rush and on the forecheck to create offence. They also generated numerous chances off of set faceoff plays in the defensive zone. It will be interesting to see how the team does in Edmonton in 7 weeks against North Americas best. We don’t think they have enough strength on the back end or a superstar forward that can guarantee them a few points per night to help them bring home the Brick title. That being said, their goalie might be able to steal a few games for them!
In the afternoon we saw the 2012 Jr Freeze take on the 2012 PH Selects and the 2013 Jr Ice battle against the 2012 Hometown Hockey. The Freeze held their own and had a 4-3 lead early in the 3rd period, however, the skill of the PH Selects once again took over propelling them to a 7-4 win. Hometown Hockey from Minnesota was very fast and strong. They dominated the 2013 Jr Ice from start to finish winning 12-4. Back at the Hockey For All Centre at night, we caught a game in the 2011 division where the PH Selects controlled the game from start to finish against the Jr Freeze.
On Saturday, the action continued at Canlan and Hockey For All Centre. We got another look at the 2014 Brick team who played the 2013 Stealth Wolves from Brandon. This game finished 1-0 on a goal in the final 90 seconds. A very exciting game with great chances, big saves and some physical play that caused quite the stir with some parents. The other game at Canlan had the 2013 PHD Elite take on the Jr Maulers from Yorkton in a game that got out of hand early in the 2nd period. In the semi finals of the 2012 division, the 1st vs 4th game was a rematch of the PH Selects vs Jr Freeze. As the tournament went on, the PH Selects started to control more the game and dominate the scoreboard as expected.
Sundays finals in the gold division of 2011 and 2012 saw undefeated PH Selects runaway with their finals and in the 2013 Gold division, the Stealth Wolves from Brandon took a 5-4 victory off of 4 powerplay goals to capture the tournament title over the Jr Maulers from Yorkton.
We got to see lots of good hockey players this weekend. Skill, speed, physicality, highlight reel goals, highlight of the night saves, we saw it all. There were many players that stood out in the games we watched. These are very small sample sizes as we only got to see a few periods of some players to a few games for others. We are excited to get another look at some of these players in June at the NAHC along with other players that will stand out. As the winter season begins, we will be able to track their progress and see how these players improve. The players that we noticed this weekend are below.
Madden Atkinson – 2011 PH Selects - Madden is a big strong right-handed shooting defenceman. He was a great skater who could get up the ice quickly. He has a strong wrist shot from the point which was able to find its’ way to the net. In his defensive zone, he was able to escape pressure and make a strong first pass helping his team execute efficient breakouts. When defending the rush, we’d like to see Madden tighten his gap on the forward as he gave quite a bit of room for the forwards to generate speed.
Jack Bailes – 2013 PHD Predators AAA - Jack played well against the 2014 Jr Ice. He was not afraid to join the rush and was able to get his shots through traffic to create rebound opportunities. He had his head up to analyze the oncoming pressure on breakouts. Jack kept a close gap to the forwards and was able to shut their offensive chances down early. He skates with his legs very wide and doesn’t get a full extension on his stride. To make it to the next level, he can work on strengthening his stride.
Cooper Beardy – 2012 PHD Predators Elite - Cooper played a solid game against the PH Selects keeping his keep in the fight til the final buzzer. He is a big goalie who has more of a blocking style. He stands aggressive at the top of his crease challenging players and cutting down angles. Cooper swallowed up many pucks giving the opposition limited rebound chances. His glove hand is quick, and he isn’t afraid to add some flair to his glove hand saves. When the play was in front of him, he tracked the puck well, fighting through screens, however when the puck went behind the goal line, he sometimes lost track or lost positioning.
Nixon Boguski – 2013 Stealth Wolves - Nixon is a big left hand defenceman who communicates well with his teammates on the ice. He was heavily relied on in all situations. He double shifted most of the game and could play both the left and right side. His long legs give him an advantage to chasing down players in foot races even when he started a step behind. Some things we’d like to see Nixon work on waiting for his forwards to get to the net before shooting to add some chaos in front and to protect the middle of the ice off the rush. He sometimes drifted towards the wall instead of staying strong in the middle of the ice.
Austin Boyd – 2014 Jr Ice - Austin plays on the top line for the 2014 Jr ice. He was excellent on the penalty kill for his team hunting down pucks along the wall and finding lanes to clear them. He makes good passes in all three zones and then gets to the net looking to screen the goalie or tip the puck. Austin worked extremely hard to be the first player back into the defensive zone and then would have the energy to get back up ice, giving strong support to the puck carriers through the neutral zone. Austin is a good skater but he has the potential to be faster. We look forward to seeing him work on his acceleration and getting to his top speed!
Nathan Brown – 2013 PHD Elite – Nathan is a centerman who uses his size and strength to make power moves off the wall with the puck to drive the net. He works very hard along the walls against opponents using his feet to move pucks and spin off checks. He came out of wall battles with the puck and created tons of scoring chances. When he has the puck, he shows good patience as he sucks in defenders to then make a pass to an open teammate. He supported his defenceman in his own zone very well and was always a passing option on the breakout.
Maks Chernecki – 2013 Jr Ice – Maks is a big centerman who was also called upon by his coaches to play defence where he blocked tons of shots. He has a good shot and can use his quick release to fool goalies. With his large frame, he can easily outmuscle some of his opponents which is how he scored a net front powerplay goal against Hometown Hockey Elite. With his size being such an advantage at this age, he could use it more to protect the puck and not allow the opposition to have the opportunity to steal it.
Crew Corbett – 2012 Jr Freeze – Crew is a tall defenceman who has a good defensive stick and keeps his opponents out of the dangerous scoring areas. He is willing to get up into the rush and will use his edges as deception when carrying the puck up ice. In small areas, his first few steps were a touch behind his opponent which ended up in some lost races.
Miles Coy – 2012 PHD Predators Elite – Miles has a hard, quick snapshot. He doesnt just use his shot to create scoring chances. Miles attacks the middle of the ice and will drive the net hard. He took the puck from the corner muscled his way to the far post where he scored a powerplay goal. On the powerplay, he supports his defence as he climbs the wall where he usually received it back and was able to attack the slot. His long reach and strength helped win most loose puck battles. With his size, Miles needs to use that to his advantage to protect the puck.
Dawson Densmore – 2012 PH Selects – Dawson is a good skater who shows quickness to his game. He attacks players with good skating and stick angles. He can anticipate plays and makes aggressive reads on the play. He was seen playing center, wing and defence on the penalty kill. Dawson keeps his head up entering the offensive zone and can make some creative plays. Seeing Dawson a few times this weekend, we’d like to see more consistency on a shift-to-shift basis from him.
Cruz Ferreira – 2014 Jr Ice – Playing in a division with players 1 year older, Cruz wasn’t afraid to be physical. He used his body position to win battles or seal off his opponents along the wall. He is a left-handed shooter who plays the right wing where he is able to see the whole ice as he receives breakout passes. He has a strong transition game, recognized quickly when turnovers occur to head up ice. Once in the offensive zone, he makes his way right to the top of the crease. Cruz took a few extended shifts looking to stay in the offensive zone which we’d like to see shortened for higher performance late in games.
Devin Fey – 2013 Jr Ice – Devin is a thin goalie but is very athletic. He moves well laterally and can get from post to post with one strong push. He is often square to the shooter and doesn’t give up many rebounds. We were impressed to see that Devin was patient on his feet and didn’t drop into his butterfly stance on every shot. He played a solid first half and then was put to the test facing shot after shot after shot. The Jr Freeze made it difficult on him creating lots of screens where he’ll need to fight through the bodies to find the puck.
Corbyn French – 2014 Jr Ice – Corbyn impressed our staff in the 2 games we watched. He is always around the puck when he’s on the ice. He is relentless on the forecheck and will do whatever it takes to win the battle. He brings a nasty edge to his game and was physical against the older competition and not afraid to throw an extra punch in the net front scrums. He was strong in his defensive zone taking away passing lanes with an active stick and good positioning. He scored the game winning goal with just over 1 minute left against the Stealth Wolves after he parked himself on top of the crease and picked up a rebound. While not the fastest, he makes up for that with his work ethic.
Lincoln Finch – 2012 Jr Freeze – Lincoln is a left-handed defenceman who plays his off side. He makes a strong first pass out of the zone, keeping his head up to read pressure and find the open man. When accepting the rush, he didn’t let any fancy stickhandling fool him as he watched the chest and kept his opponent in front of him. Lincoln had a good foundation for skating but could improve on his edge work and speed.
Cooper Greenham – 2012 Jr Freeze – Cooper is a smooth skating defenceman who has good speed. He keeps his head up when breaking the puck out and will often skate the puck out himself. He positions himself between the puck and the net in the defensive zone not allowing opponents to get any scoring chances. He has a high compete level and is aggressive is his own zone. Cooper sometimes will hang on to the puck for too long as pressure closes on him which results in some panic decisions. We’d like to see him make a read and execute a play quicker.
Brooks Hague – 2014 Jr Ice – Brooks is a great skater who is an absolute work horse. Even when he gets knocked over, he still will find a way to get the puck from his back. The top centerman on the Jr Ice team sees him getting lots of offensive zone time. He creates space for himself by using his strong edge work helping escape pressure. He quarterbacks the powerplay and uses his excellent puck handling skills to elude pressure. He has a hard slap shot but didn’t create enough scoring chances by waiting too long to shoot. If he can get his shot off sooner, he will score more goals or create more chances for teammates in front of the net.
Liam Hailstone – 2012 PH Selects – He has excellent puck control and will make defenders look silly. With such skill and creativity, he sometimes over stickhandled and put himself into dangerous areas. He is able to gain entry into the offensive zone and find the trailing teammates for high danger chances. He has a long stick that is very active is quick to create turnovers and turn them into offence. Liam struggled to score early in the tournament on his chances and some frustration crept into his game showing some bad body language. He made a great move early in the 3rd going inside out on a defender and rifling a wrist shot top shelf. After this goal went in, he scored 5 more and finished with 12 points.
Jacob Hart – 2013 Jr Ice – A small but very speedy forward. His upper body positioning is very unique to hockey players as he is almost parallel to the ice. He blocked a shot, used his speed and strong lower body to protect the puck on a breakaway where he roofed a beautiful shot. In the blowout game against Hometown Hockey, his game didn’t change at all. There was no quit in his game.
Winston Hempthorne – 2012 PH Selects – Not sure if it was the red helmet or his relentless forecheck that made Winston a standout this weekend. He had no points in the first two games we watched but he was impactful in all of his shifts. He played very physical and was willing to mix it up in front of the net. He knows exactly where to stand to make goalies angry.
Greyson Henkelman – 2014 Jr Ice – The top goalie from the weekend. This kid was unbelievable! He tracks the puck very well and never gives up rebounds. He is very mobile and moves from post to post with easy. Greyson’s glove hand is excellent as he scoops up shots from distance and is quick on point blank looks. He allowed 1 goal in the tournament opener against PHD on a tip and then posted a shutout against the eventual champion, Stealth Wolves. He had his teams fans cheering loud and the opposition wondering what they needed to do to beat him.
Merrick Huberdeau – 2013 Jr Ice – An elite defenceman who was named to the First Team All Star Team at the HHOF Future Legends tournament in Toronto. He has tons of skill and is an excellent skater. As a very offensive defenceman, he often leads or joins the rush. With that much offence, he doesn’t lack defensively as he plays 1 on 1’s perfectly.
Ryder MacLean – 2012 PH Selects – Ryder uses his fantastic skating ability to help him pull away from players escaping his own zone and entering the offensive zone with ease. He makes hard passes and can rip shots from the point. Ryder hinges nicely in the neutral zone and rides his edges to explode up ice. He is a tall defenceman and protects the puck very well. A big game player scored 3 goals and added 2 assists in the final. He scored two from top shelf wristers and his other was a short-handed penalty shot deke where he took a page out of Kuznetsov‘s book by making his way slowly towards the goalie. While he creates so many offensive chances, he sometimes needs to pick his spots more effectively.
Hudson Mascarenhas – 2013 PHD Elite – Hudson knows the spots to go to be a goal scorer. The 2 goals we saw him score were both from the crease. He beat his check off a faceoff to the net and was the recipient of a beautiful pass. His second goal on the powerplay as he was net front and again got a pass that he was able to slide by the goalie. He is always around the net looking for loose pucks or rebounds. On breakouts, moving through the neutral zone he is able to make cross ice passes on the tape leading his center or wing in for a scoring chance. Hudson backchecks hard to the puck carrier or will pick up the trailers. When he is F3, he could be more aggressive attacking the puck carriers instead of letting them build speed into the neutral zone.
Dylan Matthews – 2012 Jr Freeze – Dylan used his speed outside and would use a smart shot, shooting far pad as he had support driving the net for rebounds. He was quick to pucks in the offensive zone as the played shifted from side to side. Dylan scored a nice goal on the powerplay as he came off the half wall to the middle of the ice and shot far side just over the pad. Dylan needs to work on his balance as he was knocked over a few times or seemed to fall over without any pressure.
Jacob McDonald – 2013 PHD Elite – Jacob gets his body low to the ice and is strong on his skates so he can protect the puck. He keeps the puck away from his body and uses a free had to shield the pressure away. He has a quick snapshot and gets pucks to the net quickly creating rebound chances. He is creative around the net and finds a way to get the puck there. He scored an top shelf goal while being tripped and off-balance due to his quick release.
Davis Moore – 2012 PH Selects – Davis is an offensive defenceman. He is very mobile and finds the open ice in the offensive zone. He has great patience with the puck and will not force plays. He had a hat trick in the first game of the tournament. 2 of his goals were simply just from getting pucks to the net with traffic in front. Davis is aggressive on the blue line and will pinch frequently, sometimes staying low on the forecheck. Being an offensive defenceman, Davis needs to pick his spots on when to be leading or joining the rush.
Kale Nicol – 2011 PH Selects – A 2012 born player who played up a year in an age group where body contact was allowed. That didn’t slow Kale down at all. He’s already grown since last seeing him in the AA finals. His skating is very deceptive. It may not look like he’s blazing down the rink, but he still finds ways to beat defenders one on one. His wrist shot is super fast and accurate. He can pick corners from any angle. Kale has great hockey IQ and sees the ice very well. He can anticipate plays and take over a game with his smarts.
Bo Sabourin – 2011 PH Selects – Bo has quick feet and great edges. He is able to escape pressure in tight space and can control the puck while doing it. He finds his teammates in open ice or will move to the scoring areas himself. His pinpoint accurate shot has him scoring in most games. While being one of the smaller players on the ice, he was the player to start the physicality.
Lyrik Selch – 2011 PH Selects – Another 2012 born player that moved up an age category in this tournament, Lyrik didn’t look out of place at all. He is a strong skater who has great balance on his edges. He is able to cutback quickly along the wall in the offensive zone and will either step into the slot for a shot or have his head up to distribute the puck to teammates. He has a hard shot, picks his spot and hits it. He will look for the best scoring option and not just try to shoot top shelf. As the game continued, he became engaged physically as he started to throw more body checks on the forecheck.
Tucker Simms – 2014 Jr Ice – Tucker is a big defenceman. He has good positioning on puck retrievals when being pressured as he would use deception to escape. He has an good stick in the defensive zone and will be physical in the corners. Tucker is a good skater and can transition quickly from the offensive blue line into defensive positioning. Tucker struggled to connect on the first pass out of the zone. He tried to escape pressure by skating it out on his own which sometimes led to turnovers. If he can hit his target, his team will be able to transition quickly to the offensive zone.
Ethan St. Goddard – 2012 Jr Freeze – Ethan is a good skater who is always moving his feet. As a centerman, he works very hard in all three zones and supports his defence down low. He has a good shot and is able to create chances with his ability to beat defenders with his skating. His communication with his linemates at faceoffs was evident.
Jameson Turko – 2013 PHD Predators AAA – Jameson was very good on faceoffs as he won at least 80% of his draws. He protects the puck well down low and makes moves to get to the net. On the rush, he attacks players head on before making his move around them. If he could add some power to his stride, one strong push would help him gain separation as he goes around defenders.