BC Major Midget Hockey: Northwest Giants

The Northwest Giants, a team from Vancouver, British Columbia recently visited Massachusetts to play three games. They were coming off a silver medal in the MAC's Midget AAA tournament. As of early January, the Giants were undefeated in the BC Major Midget League. In this game, the Giants took on the Boston Jr. Bruins that ended in an exciting shoot-out win for the Giants.

Peter Alexander (2008) Northwest Giants, G

A 1990 DOB .. decent size (5-10, 170) .. recently named top goaltender at the MAC's Midget AAA Tournament .. a butterfly style goaltender who likes to go down and rely on his reflexes .. goes down a bit too early .. was having a tough time finding the pucks through the screens .. played only the first half and could not seem to find a groove.

Cole Gelley (2009) Northwest Giants, D

A 1991 DOB (Jan) .. size (6-0, 167) .. drafted by Chilliwack of the WHL in the seventh round (127th overall) in 2006 .. was named to the All-Tournament Team at the MAC's Midget AAA Tournament .. likes to be aggressive at the offensive blueline and pinch-in .. has a long stride .. played on the PP and PK .. moves the puck well on the PP coming out of his own zone and can really stretch the ice with a deadly accurate long pass .. smart with the puck in the offensive zone .. needs to be stronger in the defensive zone on the PK when clearing the zone.

Spencer Main (2010) Northwest Giants, F

A 1992 DOB (Feb) .. decent size (5-11, 180) .. recently drafted by Kelowna of the WHL in the second round (25th overall) in 2007 .. strong for his size and really goes hard to the net .. a strong skater with good straightaway speed .. vocal on the ice .. played on the PK .. needs to be better defensively with passes in the zone.

Garrett Milan (2009) Northwest Giants, F

A 1991 DOB .. small forward (5-7, 140) .. was named to the All-Tournament Team at the MAC's Midget AAA Tournament .. a shifty player with explosive speed .. hard to contain in the corners with his speed and quick hands .. had a nice assist on a 2-on-1 when he picked the puck along the boards and held the puck until the defense started to shift toward him and slid a quick pass over to his linemate for the goal .. despite his size, he is aggressive on the puck and has quick speed coming down the wing .. smart defensively with positioning and backchecks hard .. second shooter in the shootout for the Giants and made a quick move to the backhand but put it over the net (goalie may have gotten a piece of it).

Jordan Weal (2010) Northwest Giants, F

A 1992 DOB (Apr) .. small forward (5-8, 148) .. recently drafted by Regina of the WHL in the fourth round (79th overall) in 2007 .. has played three games so far with Regina and registered one assist .. his size should not hurt him at the next level because his skills are top notch .. has the ability to skate with the puck and really moves up ice .. catches passes at full speed and has the ability to kick a puck from his skates in full stride to keep the offense going .. has quick hands and moves along with being smart with the puck and knowing when to pass it off .. extremely shifty in the corners and behind the net .. vocal on the ice .. scored in the shootout as the first shooter for the Giants .. he came down with speed, faked a shot, made a quick move and slid it in five-hole .. a definite player to continue to watch his progression and hope that he can overcome a possible size issue.

Matthew Hutchinson (2009) Northwest Giants, D

A 1991 DOB (July) .. good size (6-1, 189) .. drafted by Prince George of the WHL in the 13th round (264th overall) in 2006 .. a strong defensive defenseman .. tough in front of his own net and in the corners .. does not put himself out of position for the big hits, but is aggressive .. decent with the puck but needs to be more careful moving the puck to his partner in the defensive zone.

Max Reinhart (2010) Northwest Giants, F

A 1992 DOB (Feb) .. size (6-0, 160) .. recently drafted by Kootenay of the WHL in the fourth round (86th overall) in 2007 .. played a very strong game against the Jr. Bruins .. plays a physical game, but has the offensive skills to go along with it .. scored on a rebound when the puck found him standing alone at the top of the crease .. decent skater but still looks to be growing into his body .. has decent speed with the puck and needs a few strides to get going .. dangerous around the net.

Kenny Tanaka (2009) Northwest Giants, F

A 1991 DOB (April) .. small forward (5-7, 150) .. drafted by Prince George of the WHL in the 14th round (285th overall) in 2006 .. has a quick release .. scored when he finished off the 2-on-1, as he drove right to the far post and got off a quick shot over the pads of the sprawling goalie.

Chad Ketting (2009) Northwest Giants, G

A 1991 DOB (Jan) .. decent size (5-11, 150) .. played the second half and the shootout .. similar to goalie Peter Alexander, as he likes to go down, but at times goes down too early .. average at playing the puck .. stopped two shootout attempts for the win.