U-17 Hockey Challenge: Team West

Team West finished the tournament with a 4-2 record good for third place. Many of their star players had competed in this event as underage players last season including tournament-leading scorer Brayden Schenn. Five of the top-ten picks in last year's WHL Bantam draft played on this team. Team West tied Ontario for most goals scored in the tournament with 30, sadly their goaltending was merely average.

Forwards

With three forwards finishing in the top six of tournament scoring, it is easy to see where Team West strengths lied. The PP unit of Schenn, Glennie and Bubnick did an excellent job of terrorizing goalies throughout the tournament. Secondary scoring from players such as Ashton and Hughesman were essential for overall team success as well.

Grade: A+

Defense

With only Cowen a legitimate threat to carry the puck, the backend lacked quality puck movers. Cowen was the only defenseman to play a regular shift on the PP. Lacking the overall mobility to contain fast players on the rush, this was never more evident than on the Olympic-sized ice in a game against Team USA, in which Team West surrendered six straight goals to lose a critical game.

Grade: B-

Goaltending

With neither Krahn nor Hildebrand playing Major Junior A, they seemed overwhelmed at times, to the quality of shooters they faced. Both posted statistics well below tournament average. Often hung out to dry, Krahn did his best considering the defensemen in front of him.

Grade: C+

Scouting Notes

Team West forwards will be heavily scouted in the next few seasons as many of these players factor to be a big part of Hockey Canada's future international teams. Schenn, all but played himself onto a roster spot for the Under 18 in the summer, as did Cowen. Ashton, Glennie and Bubnick will also get long looks and should all be invited to evaluation camps.

Grade: B

Mathew Krahn (2009), G, Winnipeg (Midget)

The younger brother of former Calgary Flames first round selection (Brett), is a tall butterfly goalie .. he does not actively move his pads, as his legs are not quick enough .. he has good side-to-side movement and challenges shooters .. due to his size, he covers a large portion of the net without even moving .. his concentration down low is strong, as he sprawls and extends his limbs to make saves .. he does not give up on plays in traffic and uses his size to push forwards out of his crease to smother a loose puck .. decent glove hand but weak five-hole, as he simply cannot close up in time .. he struggles with long shots .. his mental composure can wane, as was evidenced in a game against the Americans where he surrendered six straight goals - a few being very soft .. he can lose his entire technique when he gets flustered and ends up flopping and going down way too early .. still needs to find consistency in his game .. was not always prepared to face the type of shooters he did in this tournament and at times, appeared overwhelmed.

Jared Cowen (2009), D, Spokane

First overall selection in the 2006 WHL draft is a towering defenseman with outstanding agility and coordination for someone his height (6-5, 215) .. got better with his puck rushing and puckhandling skills throughout the tournament .. he appeared tentative at first but settled down nicely .. big and rangy, he could often skate by players due to the length of his stride and his reach when stickhandling .. he skates with the puck slightly ahead of him but has a patent move to quickly draw it back to his body to get around a player who is foolish enough to stickcheck him .. at times, he can be caught out of position trying to make things happen on the offensive side of the game .. he was relied upon heavily to produce on the backend and may have been over compensating at times .. his ability to headman a rush was noticed quite often, as he showed utmost confidence logging it up .. his first pass and shot are ok but will need to be worked on .. he is not a bruising defenseman but with his size, he can punish a forward .. he will need to get meaner and play with more of an edge .. he has solid defensive positioning and even if he is slightly out of position, his size in most cases will bail him out .. he uses his stick well and is a large player to get around, as forwards will often dump it in rather than try to go one-on-one with him .. finished second in tournament scoring among defenseman (6-0-7-7) .. he has a great future ahead of him, his size, skill and skating ability at this point, make him a top-5 candidate for next year's NHL entry draft.

Carter Ashton (2009), RW, Lethbridge

Son of former NHLer Brent Ashton had a strong tournament averaging a point a game .. plays a game identical to his father .. a tall, yet methodical player whose offensive skills outweigh his defensive ability .. a lumbering skater who has good size and reach but his best weapon is his shot .. his shot explodes off his blade and is very difficult for goalies to contain, thus rebounds are created for easy tap ins .. his hands in close are very quick as well .. he shows great patience on the PP, as he controls the line and exhibits poise with the puck .. he played very passionately in the semis and you could tell he has leadership abilities because he threw the team on his back .. however, those efforts are not always mirrored in the defensive zone where he shows little desire to come back .. he rarely retreats past his own blueline, as he constantly looks for the breakout pass .. has a tendency to slow down with the puck, which allows forwards to catch up to him when he does get an outlet pass .. good mixture of stickhandling moves and overall strength, he needs to identify what type of player he is going to be.

Brayden Schenn (2009), C, Brandon

While his brother was winning WJC gold in the Czech Republic, the younger Schenn was leading the Under 17 team in scoring .. a productive season in Midget last year resulted in him being selected ninth overall in the 2006 WHL Bantam draft .. Schenn is on pace to post even better totals in his first year of Major Junior A than he did at midget last year .. an energetic player who loves to hit and plays a hardnosed game .. he plays with heart and determination and is a high-energy player .. he can take a hit too and relishes in the physical side of the game .. he never hesitates to shoot .. he takes shots from any angle to generate rebounds or get a lucky bounce .. he does not have multiple gears of acceleration but he is quick out of the gate .. his speed levels are sustained after a few strides .. he is not overly fluent on his turns and is better suited for a more up-and-down game .. he will always charge the net with little trepidation .. sneaks out of the corner on the PP, as he is always looking to inch that much closer to the net .. his passing skills are still quite raw .. known more as a finisher, his passes at times are off the mark .. he loses his options due to the length of time he waits to make a play .. he may be better suited to play the wing .. he plays a game similar to Adam Deadmarsh, a warrior who can produce but does not need the spotlight of being the No. 1 guy and will win games for you.

Jimmy Bubnick (2009), LW, Kamploops

Finished second in tournament scoring while playing on a line with Schenn and Glennie .. deceptive skill set but uncanny anticipation, as his awareness on the ice allows him to score .. quick reads in all areas of the ice and reacts to where the puck will be going to, as opposed to where it is at .. his speed shortchanges his game .. he has a gallop in his stride that reduces his rink length speed .. he does however, have a decent burst out of the gate to get to loose pucks .. his hands move faster than his feet .. more of a playmaker than a pure goal scorer, his shot release, especially in the slot needs to come off his stick quicker .. he has patience in traffic and more times than not, he will look to spring his teammate open .. he has the presence of mind to attack the net with his stick down once he has dished it off .. displayed a solid all-around game that highlighted his ability to play with better competition and play a responsible game.

Linden Vey (2009), RW, Medicine Hat

Putting together a respectable season with the Tigers, as he gets plenty of ice on a rebuilding squad .. a PP player who is swift and agile .. very shifty and hard to contain, he excels with open ice, as he has the hand skills to make moves .. silky smooth skater, whose acceleration and first-step quickness help him produce .. he is not a physical player and too easily, he is knocked off the puck .. if he is hit early in a contest, he usually gives up and will be hesitate to compete .. has skills but needs to improve his mental toughness.

Jason Gardiner (2010), RW, Tri-City

Finished the tournament with three points including two goals on the PP .. showed flashes of being able to offensively dominate a game but too often his efforts were inconsistent .. good shot coming down the wing, as he can shoot off either foot .. his quick transition game helped in his overall commitment to defense .. while he did a good job marking his man into the zone, he needs to show more dedication to defensive play until his team has full possession .. swayed from his coverage and at times, let his man go .. needs to be harder on the puck, as too often he allowed himself to get pick pocketed and showed little effort to redeem himself.

Garrett Mitchell (2009), RW, Regina

An energy player whose work ethic and bull-in-a-china-shop approach motivated his peers .. knows how to administer a good clean hit .. fast skater with quick turn overs allow him to stay involved with most plays .. gets dirty and attacks the boards with zest .. small with a stocky build, his balance serves him well in traffic, as he possesses core strength .. he must learn to curb his aggression, as it resulted in many ill-advised penalties .. used primarily on the PK due to his all out kamikaze-style-of-play .. his feet never stopped moving .. takes abuse in front and willingly goes to the net to score garbage goals .. ball of energy was a vital cog in team success.

Scott Glennie (2009), RW, Brandon

The chemistry that Schenn and Glennie have formed as teammates as members of the Wheat Kings translated perfectly at the Under 17 .. third in team scoring with 6-4-4-8 totals .. an offensive-minded player whose skill coupled with his grit and determination make him a threat every time he touches the puck .. very involved and is a constant thorn in the side of opposing defenseman due to his unrelenting pursuit of the puck .. goes hard to the net and does a good job protecting the puck .. great hand/eye coordination allows him to bat down many pucks in all areas of the ice .. his concentration down low with the puck makes him dangerous as well .. he never gives up and always has his eye on the puck .. healthy skater whose agility and athleticism allows him to navigate uncontested when the puck is in his possession .. showed signs of fatigue in the last contest, as he was a virtual non-factor .. nonetheless, he has produced outstanding numbers in the WHL and is certainly on Hockey Canada's radar.