The first major tournament of the 2014-2015 bantam season featuring teams from British Columbia and Alberta and even one team from the western states gets under way this coming Thanksgiving weekend in Chilliwack. The tournament will feature sixteen teams, divided into four divisions. Below is a preview of how we feel things make shake down this weekend.
Pool A
North Shore Winter Club Winterhawks
The #1 ranked team in Western Canada and the favorite to win their pool and the tournament. NSWC have been led in the early going this season by #1 ranked 2000 born prospect Luka Burzan who has put up 5-2-7 in his first two games in the PCAHA to lead his team. Also highly ranked Jackson Shepard has gotten off to a fast start as expected. Defensively, 6’1 191lb Ethan Cap has been a physical force and has seen time on the PP and 6’1 195lb returning defenseman Kabir Gill has been solid as well. The team will be looking for increased production from big, power forward Jackson Leppard and Liam Kindree for some secondary scoring.
Prediction – 1st in Pool A.
Calgary Bisons
In was thought by many that the Bisons would take a dip in the standings in the Challenger South but so far that has not been the case. The Bisons are 5-0-1 have allowed under 2 gpg so far this season. Top ranked Bisons F – Spencer Moe leads the team with 7-3-10 and high end D – Jacob Bayne has put up 3-5-8. Carter Coles, Scott McKenzie and Sam Anderson have provided some secondary scoring. A key to the Bisons success could be their PP which has scored 11 goals in 6 games. 2001 born G – Taylor Gauthier is off a great start with a 3-0-0 with a 1.33 GAA and .946%. His goaltending partner Blake Pilon has been solid too.
Prediction – 2nd in Pool A
Vancouver Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds rolled through the exhibition season by going 8-1-0 while outscoring the opposition 71-14. Their only exhibition loss was against the Delta Wild Hockey Academy by a score of 6-2. So far in balancing, the Thunderbirds have played just once, losing 4-1 to BWC. The Thunderbirds are a very big bantam team with 12 of the 18 players standing 5’10 or taller. They boast just 1 player born in 2001 in high end F – Henry Rybinski who should be able to put up some decent numbers in his first year. They will be led up front by Jacob Letwin, Ari Sky and Alex Pescitelli with Ian Walker the leading on the blueline.
Prediction – 3rd in Pool A
Prince George Cougars
The Cougars are 1-4-0 so far this season, with their lone win coming against the Kelowna Jr. Rockets. Matthew Macsemniuk leads the team in scoring with 2-3-5 in his first 5 games. Trent Peters leads the team in goals with 3. Defensively, the team will look to returnee from last year – Brevin Gervais to play in all situations and log lots of minutes. Craig McDonald and Alex Nimmo provide some grit up front for the Cougars. Both Seth Lapre and Matthew Siemens have split time evenly so far this season in goal.
Prediction – 4th in Pool A
Pool B
Delta Wild Hockey Academy
One of the favorites to win the tournament and the favorite to win the pool. Delta are part of the new CSSHL league and currently lead the bantam prep division with a 4-0-1 record and have scored 22 goals while allowing just 11. Brendan Budy leads with 4-6-10 in the 5 games to start the season. Fellow 1st round ranked prospect D – Ty Smith sits 2nd with 3-4-7 while Brodi Stuart and Tanner Hopps with have 3 goals as well to sit tied for 2nd in that category. Watch for 1st year 2001 born bantams Lukas Svejkovsky (son of Yogi) and top five ranked 2001 born F – Josh Williams to add secondary scoring. Mackenzie Merriman and Lach Hadley are surprisingly still looking for their first goals of the season. In goal, 2001 born Boston Bilous has been fantastic, posting a 3-0-0 record with a 1.99 GAA and a .929%.
Prediction – 1st in Pool B
Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy
It has been a disappointing start to the season for POE, going just 1-3-0 while being outscored 20-12. POE have allowed just under 30 shots per game but goalies Jordan Wilde and Cole Wilson have combined to post just a .858% so far. Up front, Pavel Gogolev leads the team in scoring with 3-2-5 along with Eli Zummack at 2-3-5. Max Kryski, Coleton Bilodeau and Trevor Gulenchyn are the only other players who have scored thus far. Big 6’5 D – Kyle Pow has racked up 30 PIMS already and plays a tough game. POE doesn’t have the depth it has had in previous years as some of the other prep clubs are becoming popular as well and they will be in a fight just to finish 2nd in the pool.
Prediction – 2nd in Pool B
Victoria Racquet Club Kings
Racquet Club are definitely no slouches but they likely won’t have quite enough for a top 2 placing in the pool. They have rolled through balancing in the VIAHA with a 5-0-0 record while scoring 31 goals and allowing just 7. They also dominated some exhibition against PCAHA’s Seafair Islanders, going 3-0-0 and outscoring them 26-3. The team is led offensively by 6’3 171lb Quinton Waitzner and 6’0 164lb Ted Brennan. Defensively, the team will look to Sam Kerr, 2001 born Jacson Alexander and Brett Humberstone.
Prediction – 3rd in Pool B
Kamloops Jardine Blazers
The Jardine Blazers were hit hard in the off season with top forward Ty Kolle and top defenseman Seth Bafaro both departing to OHA. As a result, they will be looking for other players to step up in order to secure a top two placing in the division. Including pre-season action, Kamloops are 4-1-0 so far this season which includes three wins against fellow Pool A foe Prince George. So far Seigi Brown has led the team in scoring with 5-2-7 while Keenan Gannon and Brendan Roche each have scored 3 goals. Sam Fuoco leads defenseman with 1-3-4. Of note, top ranked Jardine Blazers prospect Ryan Chyzowski has yet to play due to injury. In goal, Max Paluga is 3-0-0 with a 2.33 GAA.
Prediction – 4th in Pool B
Pool C
Okanagan Hockey Academy
OHA are off to a bit of a slow start in the new CSSHL with a 2-3-0 record, scoring 16 goals and allowing 16 goals. Much more was expected of OHA who have gotten just 1 goal in 5 games from Ty Kolle, 0 goals from Keltie Jeri-Leon and only 2 goals from Tyler Popowich. Riley Krane leads the team in goals with 4 and Tristyn Corliss along with Jon Rees Jr. and D – Seth Bafaro lead in points with 5. Matts Bratton has got off to a great start, stopping 66/71 shots for a 1.75 GAA and a .930%. Several players will really need to step up and play to their potential for OHA to be a factor in this tournament.
Prediction – 1st in Pool C
Edmonton CAC
Big things are expected of Edmonton CAC this year but they have got off to a bit of a slow start going 1-2-0. Josh Prokop is really starting to turn things up this year with 4-3-7 in his first three games and it looks like he will be the go-to guy that many thought he would become. Simon Weidemann and Ryley Appelt have each scored 2 goals in 3 games. Defensively, the kingpin is first round ranked Sean Comrie and Lucas Arbour-Negeo will be expected to carry some of the load too. A player to watch is 2001 D – Daniel Baker who looks primed to be one of the top defenseman in the league next year. CAC will need Josh Bell and Mitchell Babbik to start producing in order to have success moving forward.
Prediction – 2nd in Pool C
Calgary Edge Mountaineers
Calgary Edge are part of the newly formed and highly competitive CSSHL Bantam Prep League. To this point in the season, Edge have gone 3-3-0 while scoring 15 goals and allowing 18 and are currently ahead of both OHA and POE and sit second in the four team division. Edge’s top ranked player Tristen Nielsen leads with 5-2-7 in 6 games and has also been a physical force. Aiden Jenner and Nicholas Soumbasis are the only other players with more than 1 goal, each scoring twice. Spokane, WA D – Lucas Gallagher leads all defenseman in scoring with 1-3-4 and Zachary Okabe leads all first year bantams with 1-3-4. In goal, James Porter Jr. of Bonners Ferry, ID has played just under 4 games and has an amazing 1.08 GAA and a .972% in stopping 139/143 shots faced.
Prediction – 3rd in Pool C
Richmond Blues
The Blues are starting the season in Flight 2 of the PCAHA but have started off at 1-0-0 after an 8-3 victory over BWC A2. In exhibition action, Richmond went 8-3-1, losing to the Delta Wild Hockey Academy, Abbotsford and Hollyburn. The Blues have averaged just over 3 gpg so far this season but have allowed just under 2 gpg. The key to success for Richmond is G – Jordan Naylor. Naylor is the WEHP top ranked goalie for the draft currently. Up front, the Blues will look to Michael Araki-Young and David Queree along with top 2001 born F – Aidan Barfoot should be able to chip in as well. Defensively, look for big 6’3 182lb Matthew Leduc to lead a pretty solid defense core. Richmond could easily finish as high as 2nd in this pool but will need strong goaltending and timely scoring to do so.
Prediction – 4th in Pool C
Pool D
Calgary Flames
One of the favorites to win the tournament and the definite favorite in pool D. The Flames so far in AMBHL regular season action are still undefeated with a 3-0-3 record, averaging nearly 6 gpg and allowing just 2 gpg. The Flames leading scorer is currently D – Jonathan Tychonick with 6-4-10. Nick Unruh leads the forwards with 4-5-9 early on. Cameron Pollock-Hughes, Keegan Fraser, Eric Martin and 2001 born Dillon Holloway all have 3 goals. The Flames are solid in all areas with tremendous depth. In goal, one of the top ranked goalies for the draft is Carl Stankowski and he has started off strong with a 2-0-2 record along with a 1.75 GAA and a .912% while 1st year bantam goalie Brett Balas has been solid as well.
Prediction – 1st in Pool D
Colorado Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds are the lone American entry in to this years tournament and it is possible they could lock up 2nd place in the pool as evidence by their 2-2 tie vs. POE at the Canam Showcase a while back. So far, the Thunderbirds have gone 1-2-2 at the Canam Showcase and have won both regular season league games with 5-0 and 4-1 wins over Rocky Mountain Roughriders. Offensively, highly ranked Mason Mannek 3-4-7 and Bryan Lockner 0-5-5 lead the way along with Noah Prokop who has yet to pick up a point. Defensively, look for Nolan Foote (son of Adam) to be one of the top defenseman in the tournament. Interesting to note that Chase Sakic (Joe’s son) is part of the team as well.
Prediction – 2nd in Pool D
Semiahmoo Ravens
The Ravens roster was decimated by the Delta Wild Hockey Academy, losing many of its key players to that program which included top forwards Matt Mosher and MacKenzie Merriman along with defenseman Jack Judson. In exhibition action, the Ravens had a 9-1-2 record, scoring 61 goals and allowing just 29 against primarily tier 2 competition though. The Ravens will look to well traveled Michael Farren and highly skilled Haydn Delorme to carry the bulk of the load offensively. On the blueline, look for Doug Scott and Butch LaRoue to lead the way. The Ravens are one of the tournaments biggest teams with 7 players standing over 6’0, including both goalies.
Prediction – 3rd in Pool D
Chilliwack Bruins
The host Bruins look to be in tough but should be able to hang in some games and be much more competitive this year. So far in regular season action, Chilliwack lost 2-1 to BWC A2 and in pre-season play went just 3-7-2 and were outscored 48-26 with wins against Mission twice and Port Coquitlam. Look for Dylan Ohlsen up front to lead the way and big Tyson Gorynuik on the blueline.
Prediction – 4th in Pool D
Fearless Predictions
Round 1 Playoffs
Edmonton CAC over Semiahmoo
Calgary Edge over Colorado
Calgary Bisons over Victoria
POE over Vancouver
NSWC over Kamloops
Delta Wild over Prince George
OHA over Chilliwack
Calgary Flames over Richmond
Round 2 – Playoffs
NSWC over Edmonton CAC
Delta Wild over Calgary Edge
Calgary Bisons over OHA
Calgary Flames over POE
Round 3 – Playoffs
NSWC over Delta Wild
Calgary Flames over Calgary Bisons
Championship
NSWC Winterhawks
What do you all think?
