2008 New England Pro-Am Jr. Chowder Cup: Part 1

The Jr. Chowder Cup is a showcase of the top '92s and '93s from all over North America. In a multi-part series, McKeen's correspondent Vincent Montalbano looks at some of the players who participated in the tournament, which was once again won by the Brandywine Global Selects '92's.

Atlantic Canadiens

Kevin Gagne (2010), D, Rothsay Netherwood

1992 DOB (Apr) .. lacks size (5-8, 152) .. had committed to Maine for 2010, but was drafted by Saint John (QMJHL) in the 2nd round (32nd overall) and recently signed with them .. skated for Team New Brunswick U-16 at the 2007 Atlantic Challenge Cup .. a tremendous skater – forwards and backwards with a smooth stride .. has quick feet and shifty ability to shake checks and find open ice to move .. so talented with the puck and makes smart plays .. does not try to do everything himself and moves the puck up ice .. makes crisp passes and is a threat with the long pass .. in the offensive zone, he has a strong shot with a quick release .. size does not seem to be an issue with him and uses his quickness to get out of trouble .. registered 24 points (3 goals, 21 assists) in 34 games for Rothsay Netherwood .. a similar build and style to Alex Biega (Harvard) in terms of a small defenseman with great skating ability and puck-handling skills. Stats: 4-1-1-2

Black Aces

Manny Gialedakis (2010), C, Vaughan Kings Midget

1992 DOB (Mar) .. decent size (5-10, 180) .. recently drafted by Kingston (OHL) in the 14th round .. has good speed and shifty moves .. strong on the PK and is aggressive on the puck .. strong in the corners .. possesses a strong shot, but needs to hit the net more .. good 1-on-1 moves .. attacks the net with the puck .. always seems to be around the puck .. against Top Prospects (White), he had two goals .. one goal came from a nice pass by Franco Loparco while he was falling to the ice, Manny got the puck and quickly snapped one top corner .. second goal came when linemate Brendan McLeskey fore checked and the puck came loose and Manny fired it five-hole .. controls the puck well in the offensive zone, especially on the PP .. showed good poise and hands in tight .. interested to see if Manny decides to take the college route or make the jump to the OHL in a few years. Stats: 6-3-5-8

Brendan McLeskey (2010), RW, Detroit Motor City Chiefs (Jr. A)

1992 DOB (Jul) .. good size (6-1, 180) .. recently drafted by Plymouth (OHL) in the 5th round .. combination of speed and skill with a lot of physical play .. uses his speed to get after the puck and throws his weight around every chance he has .. skates a bit hunched over with a wide stride .. protects the puck well and good around the net .. solid and aggressive on the PK .. against Top Prospects (White), his physical play created two goals about 10 seconds apart .. intriguing combination of size, toughness and offensive instincts .. against the Wildcats Elite, he was quiet for awhile and was not playing physical .. hard to contain along the boards and get the puck from with his strength and speed .. vocal .. against CHE Blue, he scored his only goal when he beat the defender wide and fired it five-hole .. another player to track to see if he decides to go the college route or the OHL. Stats: 6-1-4-5

Alex Cord (2010), D, Vaughan Kings Midget

1992 DOB (Feb) .. good size (6-2, 185) .. recently drafted by St. Michael's (OHL) in the 3rd round .. does a good job getting pucks to the net and possesses a big shot when given time to unleash it .. poise with puck, especially in the defensive and neutral zone .. smart defensively and does not force the puck .. good skater but not great .. against Wildcats Elite, he managed to get himself a breakaway when he stole the puck at the redline, but the goalie made a nice glove save .. moves the puck well on the PP .. could develop into a solid defenseman at the OHL level. Stats: 6-1-0-0.

Jesse Beamish (2010), C, Vaughan Kings Midget

1992 DOB (Aug) .. good size (6-1, 170) .. recently drafted by Niagara (OHL) in the 5th round .. has a long stride and good speed .. dangerous around the net and hard to stop .. possesses good hands and shifty .. strong with the puck and uses his frame well to protect the puck .. has a good shot and can fire it on the move .. moves the puck very well in the offensive zone and showed good vision around the net .. great effort getting back defensively and good positioning, but could use more poise with the puck in the defensive zone .. has the OHL size and skill that should make him fit in nicely in a couple of years. Stats: 6-3-2-5

Adam Scully (2010), G, Vaughan Kings Midget

1992 DOB (Feb) .. great size (6-4, 190) .. recently drafted by Erie (OHL) in the 5th round .. covers a lot of the net, which can be expected being 6-4 .. showed good quickness for his size .. has a solid glove .. played a strong game against Top Prospects (White) and was not tested much in the other games. Stats: 3-3-0-0, 1 shutout

Jordan Merante (2010), W, Vaughan Kings Midget

1992 DOB (Mar) .. lacks size (5-8, 155) .. has speed and good hands, which work very good together .. good 1-on-1 .. despite size, he is aggressive after the puck and willing to play physical .. scored against Wildcats Elite when he went to far post and received a nice pass from Beamish for the easy tap-in .. dangerous in offensive zone with his quickness and hands .. quick release .. as soon as the puck goes to the point, he rushes to the front of the net to screen the goalie and get any rebounds or tips .. cycles the puck well in the offensive zone .. constantly buzzing around the offensive zone .. works hard defensively along the boards .. did not get drafted by an OHL team, but he can play at a high level and could be a good college pick-up.

Brandywine Global Selects 92's

Dom DiMascia (2010), D, Hotchkiss School

1992 DOB (Jul) .. lacks size (5-9, 160) .. an Eaglebrook School grad who looks ready to make the jump to the prep level .. showed good anticipation in the neutral zone .. has poise with the puck in the defensive zone and makes strong outlet passes .. also moves the puck well in the neutral zone .. not very offensive, but gets his shots to the net and low .. solid 1-on-1 .. at times, he needs to make better decisions on when to pinch-in, as he left his partner with a 2-on-1 when he got beat at the blueline. Stats: 3-0-3-3

Brandywine Global Selects 93's

Roman Ammirato (2011), C, Philadelphia Little Flyers Midget

1993 DOB .. lacks size (5-5, 125) .. possesses solid offensive skills .. has good vision and hands .. scored two goals against the Florida Eels .. 1st goal – he faked the shot and quickly got around the net and tucked it in for the wraparound goal .. 2nd goal – was Marian Hossa-like, as he was about to skate around the net, the puck came to him and he quickly adjusted his body and made a quick stickhandle around the diving goalies glove and tucked it in .. has impressive offensive talent to make him an attractive recruit for any prep school or junior team. Stats: 4-4-5-9

Cardinal Sports 93

Joe D'Agostino (2011), D, Buffalo Saints U18

1993 DOB (Apr) .. size (5-11, 170) .. a smart, all-around solid defenseman .. smart in the defensive zone with the puck and uses his partner well .. good positioning to support his partner .. likes to join the offense, but comes back quick .. strong outlet passes in neutral and defensive zone .. has a low, hard shot from the point .. has a physical edge to his game .. poise at the point – made a nice move around the forward to give himself more room to shoot .. a definite player to watch. Stats: 5-1-3-4

CHE (Blue)

Ben Holtom (2010), LW, Barrie Colts Midget

1992 DOB (Mar) .. great size (6-2, 192) .. recently drafted by Plymouth in the 12th round .. a physical presence every shift .. when he extends his strides, he gets some speed going .. if given room in the neutral zone to get moving, he is hard to contain coming down the wing .. has a strong shot .. needs to be better defensively with the puck .. lacks the scoring touch around the net .. could be a solid checking line forward at the next level. Stats: 3-0-0-0

Connecticut Yankees

Andy Iles (2010), G, Salisbury School

1992 DOB (Jan) .. lacks size (5-8, 160) .. recently drafted by Soo Greyhounds (OHL) and was invited to the NTDP try-out .. calm under pressure and solid positioning .. made a save on a penalty-shot in the game against Carolina Stars – closed-up five-hole .. great recovery after first shot .. quick post-to-post .. good angles and challenges shooters .. ability to find puck through maze of bodies .. definitely should be considered one of the top '92 goalie prospects. Stats: 6-3-0-0, 1 shutout.

Quinn Smith (2010), C, Avon Old Farms

1992 DOB (Jan) .. lacks size (5-7, 165), but his game is all about speed .. he is so fast and does not lose a step when he has the puck .. aggressive on the PK because his speed allows him to get back into position .. with the puck, he has the vision and poise to make him very deadly in the offensive zone .. has a soft touch around the net and moves the puck very well .. has good hands in tight .. will need to get stronger on his skates .. will need to step-up offensively, as Avon's top line has left. Stats: 6-2-4-6

John Knisley (2011), W, Syracuse Stars

1992 DOB (Nov) .. lacks size (5-8, 155) .. similar to Quinn Smith, he has great outside speed and is very shifty with the puck .. so quick and dangerous around the net .. always moving his feet in the offensive zone .. has very good acceleration with and without the puck .. needs to work on his defensive game to be a solid all-around player. Stats: 6-1-5-6

Ali Thomas (2010), W, Mid-Fairfield

1992 DOB .. great size (6-2, 170) .. very effective when he uses his size and is aggressive on the puck .. strong upper body but needs to get stronger on his skates .. has good hands but is most effective around the net and banging home rebounds .. scored against the Carolina Stars when he took the puck around the face-off circle and fired it by the goalie .. had a strong tournament that should have put him on the scouting map, but will need to take his game to a higher level of competition. Stats: 6-5-1-6

Michael Paliotta (2011), D, Choate School

1992 DOB (Apr) .. good size (6-1, 175) .. with his size, strength and experience playing at the prep level this past season, he does not look like the youngest player on the team .. showed a feisty and aggressive side to his game .. has good anticipation and reads the ice well .. strong skater forwards and backwards .. got into some penalty trouble because of how aggressive he is at times .. a very good prospect with lots of upside. Stats: 6-0-3-3

Peter Michailidis (2010), C, Westminster School

1992 DOB (Mar) .. lacks size (5-9, 170) .. the type of player who gets the puck in the offensive zone and slows the game down with his poise and has the vision to make plays and scoring chances .. has playmaker written all over him .. has good speed with the puck .. reliable defensively, especially when playing center and coming back hard to help out down low .. should have a bigger role with Westminster next year. Stats: 6-3-3-6

Trevor Mingoia (2010), C, Berkshire School

1992 DOB (Jan) .. lacks size (5-8, 165) .. played last year for the Rochester Alliance .. like a lot of his teammates on the CT Yankees, Mingoia has a lot of speed, especially coming through the neutral zone .. scored two goals against the Carolina Stars – 1st goal came when he got a rebound and held the puck just a bit before firing it top corner – glove side .. 2nd goal was from a nice pass by Quinn Smith and he one-timed it into the net .. despite his size, he is strong .. looking forward to seeing how quickly he adjusts to the prep level and how he fits in on a talented Berkshire team. Stats: 6-3-0-3