Scouting Reports

Neutral Zone

ON Midget AAA; CP, Pembroke, Nepean, Cornwall, Smiths Falls, Kemptville

Posted on November 30, 2016

ON Midget AAA November 26 and November 28, 2016 The reports below are on players that stood out in these games. Grades are for these games only and in relation to others in the game and age group. Carleton Place Midget AAA- November 26th, 2016 Carter Holmes #55 (L-Defence–6’1 188 lbs- Carleton Place Midget AAA-…

Continue Reading

GOJHL: St. Catharine’s vs. Fort Erie

Posted on November 29, 2016

St. Catharine’s Falcons 5 vs. Fort Erie Meteors 4 – Nov 25th, 2016-Neutral Zone headed to a GOJHL game and below are players we evaluated. Grades are for this game only and are in relation to other players in the game.

Fort Erie Forwards

Dakota Miskolczi (Forward, L, 6’1” 172 lbs, Fort Erie Meteors, Jun/98) – Dakota is 2 weeks back from the QMJHL were he suited up for a few games in that league. He was a 5th rounder by the London Knights in the 2014 OHL Priority Draft. Dakota had a good game making things happen on the forecheck and effective on the power play. Power play goal with a nice shot through traffic in the first period off the post and in. A

Alex McAteer (Forward, R, 6’2” 180 lbs, Fort Erie Meteors, Feb/99) – Alex looked better this time I saw him. Playing with more confidence it seemed, in on the forecheck harder. He scored a beautiful goal when he was set up all alone in the slot with a lane to the never, drove the lane and put a nice move on the Canadians goalie. A good skater with decent hands it will be interesting to see how he improves. B

Continue Reading

St. Andrew’s College at Belmont Hill (scrimmage) Recap

Posted on November 27, 2016

Neutral Zone took a ride over to Belmont to watch St. Andrew’s take on Belmont Hill in a scrimmage. The game was played like a regular season tilt. They played three 18 minute periods with three officials. St. Andrew’s supplied rosters, line sheets and recruiting information. Belmont Hill only had an informal roster shared by parents and wore practice jerseys (with numbers). We will only list the Belmont Hill players that really stood by jersey numbers as we cannot be sure the roster is correct. Belmont Hill has yet to start their season and St. Andrew’s had a dozen games under their belt. We didn’t apply game grades to this group as we will wait for a regular season or tournament game. St. Andrew’s players have links to their profiles.

Corey Andonovski #19 (F, 6’, 192 lbs. 1999)-Corey is a smart player who uses his strong core, balance and stick to create. He made quick decisions with the puck and was tough to handle along the wall. He showed excellent vision. He doesn’t make many mistakes. The 1999 played in all situations and is relied on heavily be a very good team. College: Princeton

Continue Reading

NAHL: NJ Titans at NE Generals

Posted on November 26, 2016

New Jersey Titans 8 –NE Generals 6

Neutral Zone headed to Attleboro and the brand new New England Sports Village to take in some NAHL action. We have seen both these teams before but not in a game like this. It looked more like an all-star game than a league showdown. It was “pink in the rink” night for the Generals which is always great. However, their jerseys numbers were almost impossible to see as they were white on light pink. As a result, we are a little short on the Generals in this report.

The new arena still has a lot of work to be done but the seats are well placed and the people from the facility and the team should be proud of what they have there. It will be great when completed.

We will have the NAHL covered all season and will see each team many times over the next several months. They are listed in no particular order.

Players that we noted in this game:

Todd Goehring (1997; NJ Titans, #19-F)-Todd had a four assist game. The 1997 played an elusive, clever game that allowed him to be a factor all night. What we liked most, however, was his play without the puck. He worked to get in good spots and understands space. College: Sacred Heart Grade: A

Continue Reading

Neutral Zone

Guelph Gryphons vs Oakville Rangers; SCTA/Bantam

Posted on November 26, 2016

Guelph Gryphons vs Oakville Rangers   SCTA- Bantam; November 25, 2016 Oakville scored early and often and ran away with this game. Guelph goaltending struggled and left them trailing 5-1 after 2 periods of play.  Oakville has some shifty forwards who can create when given time and space.  Guelph was too loose in Dzone coverage. Oakville…

Continue Reading

Ontario Minor Midget AAA Alliance East: Waterloo, Cambridge, Kitchener, London

Posted on November 25, 2016

Minor Midget AAA Alliance East – November 2016. Players all have profiles with Neutral Zone.

Games reported on: 4

  • Sunday, Nov 6 Waterloo @ Cambridge
  • Thursday, Nov 17 Kitchener @ Cambridge
  • Sunday, Nov 20 Cambridge @ Waterloo
  • Monday, Nov 21 Cambridge @ London

Waterloo @ Cambridge – Nov 6 – Cambridge win 2-1

Goalie – Jet Greaves #31 (L, Cambridge, 2001) A – great rebound control as he faced a number of quality scoring chances from the Waterloo offense.  Jet played an aggressive game and took the angles away from the Waterloo attackers.

Forward – Ryan Campbell #18 (L, Cambridge Hawks, 2001) B+ – powerful skater who was tough for the opposing team to handle off the attack and off the cycle.  Ryan played a strong two way game and won the majority of puck battles during the game.  Ryan scored the game winning goal on a one timer in the slot and created a number of scoring chances in the game.

Continue Reading

GOJHL; Waterloo, Kitchener, Stratford, Cambridge, Listowel, Elmira

Posted on November 24, 2016

Games reported on here: Game grades are for that game only and in relation to others in that contest. Sunday, Nov 1 Waterloo @ Kitchener – Kitchener 5-2 win Saturday, Nov 5 Stratford @ Cambridge – Cambridge 4-3 win Saturday, Nov 19 Listowel @ Elmira – Elmira 2-1 win    Waterloo @ Kitchener, November 1…

Continue Reading

Neutral Zone

Alliance Minor Midget: Waterloo, Sun County, CK Cyclones

Posted on November 22, 2016

Alliance Minor Midget AAA

Information based on games November 13th CK Cyclones vs Waterloo, and November 19th CK Cyclones vs. Sun County.  Waterloo beat the Cyclones 6-1 and the Cyclones beat Sun County 5-3. Players listed were noted by the Neutral Zone staff as having an overall positive influence on their teams. The grades are a result of that players performance in that particular game and not a reflection of their overall ability or upside.

Keean Washkurak #9 Waterloo Wolves (L, 5-9.5/165, 2001)

Washkurak is the team’s captain and leader on the ice. He is strong in the faceoff circle and goes to the net hard.  He has good speed and pursuit of the puck and plays with a physical edge.  He has good offensive skills and can finish around the net.  Grade: A

Continue Reading

Neutral Zone

Ontario Midget Reports: Nepean, Gloucester, Smiths Falls, CP, Ottawa, Kanata

Posted on November 22, 2016

Neutral Zone reports on some Ontario Midget action on November 19, 2016. The grades given to each player are a reflection of their performance at this event and not an overall assessment of their ability or upside.

Brody Bernard #30 (Catches LeftGoalie-6’1 175 lbs- Smiths Falls Midget AAA- Sep. 8, 2001)

Big heavy goalie (he looks heavy in the net) but moves well and is squared to the shooters. He wasn’t overly aggressive but was calm and controlled.  He needs to work on his skating but he had very good rebound control and was good in all areas (down low, glove, blocker, and wrap arounds).

Game rating- B

Continue Reading

EHL November Showcase – Top 125

Posted on November 20, 2016

Neutral Zone spent lots of time the last week watching the EHL Premier. We have been attending individual games all year and have reports published on the site but wanted to immerse ourselves in the league. We developed a list of 125 players that we liked. The players below are overall positive influences on their teams and grades are relative to other players listed. That’s not to say that a player not listed is a negative influence. These are the EHL players we have noticed recently and over 40 are new additions to our profiles.

This report is mainly influenced by the EHL Showcase in Hudson, NH from November 13-15, 2016. The event was well run with each team playing at least two games. Teams played at two rinks and times were staggered to allow scouts to bounce from game to game. We saw every team at the showcase and also supplemented our evaluations here with games we attended several days prior to the event. We will be covering the EHL all season and along with this report will publish reports for Simsbury, CT and individual games all year.

There were a lot of scouts in attendance and the play was good. The officiating was very good and the coaches were professional and prepared. The players worked hard.

One thing that was clear in speaking to college coaches at the event was that they enjoy the event because EHL players and coaches are always willing to consider the opportunities at their schools. There is no pretense and that makes spending time in a VERY cold Cyclone Arena worth their while.

One issue we did have is that we could not see the numbers very well on the CT Oilers uniforms. They only played two games and wore white sweaters which have a black and green stripe across the back with black numbers over them. They look great but we had trouble picking players out. They have a good team and we will try to figure them out in Simsbury in December.

 

Philip Elgstam #22 (F, 5’10”, 201lbs, NJ Rockets, 1998)-Philip is a mature, strong 1998 who was a factor here with 6 points in the three games. He used his body well and has a strong core and stride. He created space with strength and leverage and used his strong, reliable hands to make plays with the puck. He can score. He is not fast but he worked very hard in all three zones and go to the puck. He was good here.  Grade: A

Continue Reading