Atlantic Team Boasts Talent for Under-17 Tourney
With the Under 17s set to take place in St John's, Newfoundland in a few months, Canadian teams are holding their summer camps now. With Canada usually broken up into teams that include Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Western and Pacific; also taking part in the tournament is USA, Russia, Czech, Germany and Finland, making this a great tournament to catch the future stars of tomorrow.
In Wolfville, Nova Scotia, the Atlantic team is holding their camp from July
Advertisement
20-27 . This years' team boasts a collection of fine talent that has a good
chance to contend for first place in the tournament. Heading this years group
is:
Sidney Crosby, who was selected first overall in the QMJHL draft by
Rimouski, and is one of the most heralded 16 year olds in hockey history, but
due to a minor injury, Crosby did not make it to the camp.
Ryan Mior, selected 7th overall in the QMJHL draft by Prince Edward
Island is arguably the top goalie for his age in Canada, playing junior A last
year in Ontario.
Luc Bourdon, drafted 3rd overall by Val'd-Or. is considered one
of the best defensemen for his age in Canada.
Daniel Ryder of Newfoundland was drafted in the 1st round of this years
OHL draft by Peterborough Petes, he is an explosive forward who can take charge
of the game, but due to injury Ryder did not attend the camp;
James Sheppard who is an underager at the camp, is considered one of
the best '88 born players in Atlantic Canada and is expected to be a very high
pick in next year's QMJHL draft.
Other names that are of great significance are Jordan Clendenning,
David Chubb, and Tyler Hawes, all of whom were picked
in this years QMJHL draft.
The forward position was looking very strong at the camp even with the absences
of Sidney Crosby and Daniel Ryder. The team appears have a well stocked group
of forwards who know how to put the puck in the net. Here is an analysis of
some of the top forwards and bigger names at the camp.
Forwards
- The most impressive forward might be Justin Saulnier from the
Dartmouth Subways (Nova Scoita Midget AAA). With his great playmaking and vision
on the ice that compliment his very creative hands and scoring touch, Justin
makes many highlight reel plays, showing great poise on the ice. Many oooos and
ahhhhs were heard from the benches with some of his moves that he was able to
pull off. Saulnier was impressive right from the first day of camp and showed
no rust from the summer off. In every inter-squad game held, he was the dominant
player on the ice for his team creating chances and adding a lot of excitement.
- One of the more talented players who did not live up to expectations at the
camp was Kenzie Sheppard. A 3rd round pick by the Halifax Mooseheads
in this years draft, Kenzie blends hard hitting and aggressive play with a good
offensive game. Though through the whole camp, Sheppard seemed to just laze
around the ice and only look for the big hit. On the occasional shift he would
show his skills, but overall he was not impressive. Though he did make many
big hits it seemed he did not progress throughout the camp and looked disinterested
at times. Though he is virtually a lock for the team and his talent level is
very high he just did not look interested on the ice.
Jordan Clendenning a 2nd round pick of the QMJHL draft by
Bathurst. In game one, Clendenning made some really exciting plays to show off
his offensive capabilities. A finesse forward who is very dangerous, Clendenning
was good at avoiding hits and creating scoring opportunities with his speed.
A stand out in games 1, 2, 4 he really made an impression at camp. He should be
a shoe-in to make the team and will be counted on to be one of the offensive
leaders for team Atlantic in December.
Another great forward who was at the camp was underager and 2004 QMJHL draft
hopeful, James Sheppard. Although born in '88 and the youngest player
in camp, he was also one of the most impressive. Slated to be one of the top
rookies in Maritime Midget AAA next year and a possible a high pick in next
years QMJHL draft, Sheppard has great size and strength on the ice. He is very
creative with the puck with nice playmaking skills. Went to the net hard, showed
great positioning on the ice and was a great offensive threat on every shift.
In his first game, Sheppard seemed to be a bit intimated on the ice by the older
players but from there he showed great talent, a few times Sheppard received
a cheer from the benches for his nice plays, making a lasting impression on
the scouting and coaching staff.
David Chubb from New Brunswick has a very impressive combination
of grit, size and skill. He showed right from day one that he was here to make
a lasting impression. Throughout the inter squad games, Chubb delivered many
nice hits and was not scared to go into the corners. Showed a nice offensive
game and was counted on to play good defense as well. In many games Chubb caused
many turnovers that helped his team create scoring opportunities.
- Tyler Hawes of the Dartmouth Subways, a 4th round pick in the QMJHL
draft, looked very good on the ice as well. Hawes exhibited great power forward
skills with a nice passing game and soft hands. He is an excellent stick handler
but showed that he needs to improve his shot. Regardless, Hawes was a great
player on the ice at all times for the team and looks to really be in contention
for making the team.
- A player that caught many eyes at the camp was Ryan Hillier.
Not really known like some of the other players such as Saulnier and the rest,
he really made his presence known at the camp. Right from game one, people took
notice of his exciting play and good skating. Though his finish was not all
that great, his determination and stick handling carried him a long way on the
ice, making the right plays and taking advantage of every opportunity.
- Jordan Knox showed a great skill level on the ice but also seemed
to take shifts off as well. Had great hands in traffic to go with great size
and strength. Knox tried too hard to make those perfect plays which ended up
hurting him. Knox was smooth with the puck all throughout camp but seemed to
have a panic button at times which would cause him to cough the puck up.
- Daniel Morgan who plays for the McDonalds AAA in Halifax Nova
Scotia was not as impressive as he could have been. Even though this was the
summer camp and rust is to be expected, he played very sporadically all throughout
the camp.
Other guys trying out for the forward position are Matthew Bragg, Timmy Caines,
Kory Cooke, Alex Curran, Matt Eagles, Mark Furgeson, Blake Gallagher, Bradley Gallant, Ryan Graham, Dale King, Chad Locke, Patrick Lockyer, Brent Lynch, Dylan MacDonald, Jamie MacInnis, Steven MacPherson, Dean Ouellet, Devan Preught, Mitch Price, Colby Pridham, Jason Rinzler, Paul Roebothan, Ben Sherren, Bryce Swan, Geoff Walker, Wesley Welcher & Sean Wilson.
Defense
Leading the way on defense are Luc Bourdon and Chad Denny both of whom are
good at both ends of the rink and look to be virtual locks to make the team.
Here is a look at some of the top defensemen at the camp:
- Luc Bourdon is a great skating blueliner who is smooth, well
balanced and fast on his skates. He made many great end to end rushes, had great
patience with the puck and showed very smooth and very creative stick work.
All of these assets made him a great offensive threat, but he did not show very
good defensive play in the first two games. His shooting skills and decision
making at times were questionable as well for the first two games. After that
he really picked up his game and started putting everything together. Bourdon
made many rushes which resulted in goals on several occasions and in the second
half of camp, really picked up his defensive game. He will be counted on to
be the power play quarterback and leader in the backend. He has the talent to
dominate at both ends of the rink.
Chad Denny - a second round pick by Lewiston of the QMJHL came to camp
a little overweight but no negative effect was seen as he showed great size
and strength on the ice. Has good skating and great defensive play, started
the camp off good and ended great. Denny should be a lock for the team and will
be counted on with Bourdon to supply solid defense. Denny has good two-way skills
as well, though unlike Bourdon, Denny wont rush into the offensive zone. He
is good at controlling the play from the blue line and showed that in camp.
A very impressive defenseman, Denny will be counted on to create a solid defense
for the team.
Travis Coles a 5th round pick in the QMJHL draft by Chicoutimi was solid
in camp. . Makes safe plays and is good at taking his man out. Coles on many
occasions made some really nice plays to break up a potential scoring chances.
Looked very poised and eager to play on the ice, he seems to have the right
attitude.
- Ben Chiasson of the Dartmouth Subways and a 4th round pick
of the QMJHL draft by Shawinigan was solid. Patrolled the blue line well, taking
away space in his own zone. Not scared to rub a man out along the boards, Chiasson
made many nice plays o get noticed, had a strong camp and played a solid all
around game.
- Jamie Blom of the Cole Harbour Redwings of the Nova Scotia
AAA displayed an intimidating presence on the ice and the ability to take away
the passing lanes well. Showed a lot of rust in the first few games but picked
it up enough later to show that he can be a solid player for the team.
Other guys trying out for defense are Jonathan Cameron, Ben Clark, David Crossman, Nick Emanuele, Matthew Haynes, Mathieu Leblanc, Dusty Levi, Mark MacEachern, Chris Martin, Doug Martin, Mark Morrison, Ryan Neaves, Dexter Newman, Brian Penny, Jason Picco, Justin Quinton, Rodi Short & Kyle Verschuren.
Goal
The goaltending jobs were hard fought, with Ryan Mior as a lock for the starting
job, the backup role will be a tough one with Marc Cheverie, Matthew Kimber, Ben MacFarlane, and Devin O'Brien all fighting for a spot and all of them looking
really good. Here is a look at the goalies in camp:
- Ryan Mior is arguably the best '87 born goalie in Canada. He
also might have been the best player throughout the Atlantic camp. Started the
week off great looking as if he never had any time off with his great positional
play, competitive attitude, calm demeanor and quick glove. Mior was making great
saves and standing tall right from day one. In his first game he forced five
breakaways turning aside them all. Made many highlight stops all throughout
the camp as he might have been the busiest goalie throughout camp. Mior will
be expected to be the team's number one goalie in December as he is capable
of stealing games by himself.
- Devin O'Brien was arguably the second best goalie in camp, making
great saves including a few which caused his bench to stand up and cheer. Some
saves were of the Dominik Hasek variety, the kind made with his back turned.
He seemed to thrive on pressure as he was paired up with MacFarlane, and really
turned it on just when you though that MacFarlane had the edge. In the first
two games, O'Brien never showed any rust, stealing the show for his team.
He led his AAA team last year to the Air Canada Cup as a rookie which shows
you that this guy has some great talent.
- Ben MacFarlane played great last year for Fredricton AAA in New Brunswick
and continued his great play at the Atlantic camp. Though he had a rough start
in game one, MacFarlane recovered to put together a solid camp, he will be in
tough with the other goalies to possibly be the back up.
- Marc Cheverie who played for the Dartmouth Subways last year
and has committed to Notre Dame prep school in Saskatchewan this year put together
a solid camp himself. He showed a nice glove hand and great agility in the nets,
though he had trouble controlling his rebounds he still looked very good in
the nets through the camp.
- Matthew Kimber who was good at camp, but was outplayed by O'Brien
and MacFarlane in camp. Though Kimber had a good camp and proved that he is
worthy of consideration for the camp he did not stand out like MacFarlane and
O'Brien did. Kimber had some bad rust on the 1st day of camp by letting
in soft shots and he seemed to be getting frustrated in his play, but after
that game he picked it up and started to show some great goaltending.
Throughout the camp, players that were expected to show up did just that, such
as Ryan Mior and Luc Bourdon. Team Atlantic looks as if they are going to have
a great offensive minded team, built around Sidney Crosby who can win games
by himself. He will have help though with Daniel Ryder and other great talents
such as Clendenning, Saulnier, J. Sheppard, K. Sheppard and others. With a great
offense and possibly on of the best goalies in Ryan Mior and solid defense with
Bourdon and Denny leading the way, team Atlantic looks to change their recent
bad showings at the under-17s to really being a contender.