Canadian Under 18 Camp Report: Forwards
TSR Features | 12 Aug 2010Forwards
Players that made the cut: Brassard, Catenacci, Curtis, Danault, Jenner, Lessio, Meurs, Nugent-Hopkins, Broll, Huberdeau, Puempel, Quine, Ritchie
Adam Lowry | LW | LH | Swift Current (WHL) | 03/29/1993 | 6’4 184lbs | 2011 Eligible
I thought Lowry played well enough that he had a shot to make the team. He has a nice blend of size and skill. He played well along the boards and was willing to use his size to his advantage. For being such a big player at his age, his hands and skating are decent and he doesn’t look clumsy or awkward like many players adjusting to their growth spurts. Lowry is also smart (2009/10 WHL Scholastic Player of the Year) and has good genes as his father (Dave) is a former NHLer who now is an assistant coach with the Calgary Flames. Power forwards usually take a little longer to develop and he remains an interesting player to follow for this upcoming season.
Alan Quine | C | LH | Kingston (OHL) | 02/25/1993 | 5’11 179lbs | 2011 Eligible
Quine was the fastest player in camp. He mishandled the puck a few times while at full speed both in the neutral zone and his own end resulting in some good scoring chances for his opponents. His hands were there in spurts as he was able to make a nice play by knocking a clearing attempt out of the air and he also made a few nice passes, but his hands were hot and cold in this regard. He seemed to shy away from the physical play a little bit.
Boone Jenner | C | LH | Oshawa (OHL) | 06/15/1993 | 6’1.5 197lbs | 2011 Eligible
It took a little while for Jenner to get going, but once he did he was one of the very best players at camp. He’s big and competes hard. Constantly going to the tough areas, Jenner both gave and received some big hits and wasn’t deterred by the physical play. At the same time, Jenner has a lot of skill and created more offense than the majority of players in camp. He had an accurate shot, showed good awareness of his teammates and used his long reach very well.
Brent Andrews | C | LH | Halifax (QMJHL) | 01/19/1993 | 6’1.5 199lbs | 2011 Eligible
Looking over my notes after the camp, I realized I didn’t get a good viewing of him as I had next to nothing written on him. He was not very noticeable through two days of camp.
Brett Ritchie | RW | RH | Sarnia (OHL) | 07/01/1993 | 6’3 204lbs | 2011 Eligible
Ritchie was another big, strong winger at the camp. He was very strong on the puck, good along the boards and won a lot of puck battles.
Sarnia's Brett Ritchie had a productive rookie season with the Sting last year, notching 13 goals and 29 points.
Austen Brassard | RW | RH | Belleville (OHL) | 01/14/1993 | 6’2 192lbs | 2011 Eligible
Nice combination of size and skill. Not overly dominant in any one area, but had a solid camp.
Bryce Milson| LW | LH | Acadie-Bathhurst (QMJHL) | 01/25/1993 | 5’11 181lbs | 2011 Eligible
Milson played okay at the camp, but didn’t excel in any one area. He just wasn’t at the same caliber of some of the skilled guys that made the team and he didn’t find a niche where he would be of some value to the team.
Carter Sandlak | LW | LH | Guelph (OHL) | 05/18/1993 | 6’1.5 199lbs | 2011 Eligible
Sandlak didn’t boast the strongest first impression by taking a bad penalty and displaying some weak skating on the first day. He had a much better final day where he played both a little smarter and more physically. Like Lowry, Sandlak also has NHL bloodlines as his father is former Vancouver Canuck Jim Sandlak.
Colin Smith | C | RH | Kamloops (WHL) | 06/20/1993 | 5’10.5 165lbs | 2011 Eligible
Smith worked very hard at the camp, but was very much overmatched physically. He spent a fair amount of his ice time in his own end. He was willing to get into the shooting lanes to block shots, but he was not aggressively challenging the shooters.
Daniel Catenacci | LW | LH | Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) | 03/09/1993 | 5’10 180lbs | 2011 Eligible
Catenacci had an average day on my first viewing and was much better on the 2nd day. He was very quick and shifty and was able to make some plays. For a small guy, he wasn’t afraid to go to the tough areas. He put up some points but seemed to be fighting the puck from time to time.
David Broll | LW | LH | Erie (OHL) | 01/04/1993 | 6’1.5 221lbs | 2011 Eligible
Broll was the oldest and biggest player in camp. He was by far the most physical player at camp and had several massive hits. He didn’t handle the puck too well, his skating was poor, and his acceleration even worse, but he made everyone aware of when he was on the ice with his big checks. He may not have the skills to be an NHL player, but some teams are going to absolutely love his physical presence as a bottom 6 forward if he can improve his skating.
Garrett Meurs | RW | RH | Plymouth (OHL) | 01/12/1993 | 5’10.5 171lbs | 2011 Eligible
Meurs showed a lot of energy and hustle. He isn’t the biggest player, but he gave everything he had. Meurs needs to get stronger as he was knocked around a lot at the camp, but he fought for the puck and showed some decent hands.
Jonathon Huberdeau | LW | RH | Saint John (QMJHL) | 06/04/1993 | 6’1 166lbs | 2011 Eligible
Huberdeau is a small, smart, and skilled player. He wasn’t flashy, but he played a little more of a complete game than some of the other comparable small, skill forwards.
Lucas Lessio | LW | LH | Oshawa (OHL) | 01/23/1993 | 6’1 195lbs | 2011 Eligible
Lessio was one of the best forwards at the camp. He was good at creating space for himself and anticipating the play. This left Lessio on the receiving end of a few top-notch passes both that he managed to capitalize on. Like Puempel, he definitely benefitted from playing with Nugent-Hopkins. He showed better vision and playmaking ability on the final day than during the previous game. He was good along the boards despite just average strength. He will be an interesting player to follow this season and will now be making the jump to the OHL to play with Oshawa.
Lucas Lessio will be joining the Oshawa Generals this year after spending last season in the CCHL with St. Michael's.
Mark McNeill | RW | RH | Prince Albert (WHL) | 02/22/1993 | 6’1.5 209lbs | 2011 Eligible
McNeill was another one of the hard-working, but lesser skilled player at camp. McNeill was hard on the forecheck, but lost his edges a few times allowing the defenseman ample time to make a play and get the puck heading up the ice.
Matt Puempel | RW | LH | Peterborough (OHL) | 01/24/1993 | 6’0.5 201lbs | 2011 Eligible
For being the reigning CHL rookie of the year, Puempel was very average for me. He knew how to get open in front of the net, but he really didn’t generate any chances himself. Puempel was the beneficiary of some nice plays by two of the best forwards in camp: Nugent-Hopkins and Lessio. He seemed to skate alright, but his positioning was not very good at times.
Michael Curtis | LW | LH | Belleville (OHL) | 01/26/1993 | 6’0 184lbs | 2011 Eligible
Curtis wasn’t the most skilled player on the ice, but he was able to pot a couple nice one-timer goals by going to front of the net and getting a shot off just before the nearest defenseman could get to him. He had good speed but didn’t have great balance and was knocked around a bit because of it.
Michael St. Croix | C | RH | Edmonton (WHL) | 04/10/1993 | 5’11 178lbs | 2011 Eligible
On the first day St. Croix was used quite a bit for the PK and didn’t seem to have a lot of opportunity to showcase what he can do offensively. He made a few nice passes including one off his backhand that hit his teammate in stride for an odd man rush. On the second day St. Croix was sitting next to me in the stands instead of playing. I don’t know whether it had to do with an injury (he looked fine walking around the stands) or a precaution or something else, but he wasn’t playing anyways. St. Croix is a quick skater, but his lateral movements were a bit choppy.
Olivier Archambault | RW | LH | Val d’Or (QMJHL) | 02/16/1993 | 6’1.5 203lbs | 2011 Eligible
Was ok at the camp, but I didn’t get a real good feel for him one way or another.
Phillip Danault | C | LH | Victoriaville (QMJHL) | 02/24/1993 | 6’0 173lbs | 2011 Eligible
I really enjoyed watching Danault play. He is another small player but he was really tenacious in all aspects of his game. He is a very good skater and was relentless on the forecheck. He looks to be a good energy player that has a little skill to boot.
Jean-Francois Leblanc | C | LH | Val d’Or (QMJHL) | 03/03/1993 | 6’3.5 197lbs | 2011 Eligible
Leblanc has great size and competitiveness. He was also very good on the dot.
Raphael Bussieres | LW | RH | Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) | 11/05/1993 | 6’1 189lbs | 2012 Eligible
Bussieres looked to be a little bigger than listed and had some skill to go with his size. He has a late birthday so he still has a couple years to round out his game. He is worth watching for 2012.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | C | LH | Red Deer (WHL) | 04/12/1993 | 6’0 166lbs | 2011 Eligible
Nugent-Hopkins is one of the very few players that really stood out at the camp. He was one of the best skaters at the camp and had very good speed and elusiveness. Nugent-Hopkins showed off his incredible skill level and vision by saucering some beautiful passes through traffic. He made some difficult passes with ease. While he is primarily a playmaker, he showed a willingness to shoot the puck. He was consistently a threat when he had the puck and he also excelled in the faceoff circle. He is still very thin and will need to put on some weight if he hopes to be a lottery pick this year.
Ty Rattie | RW | RH | Portland (WHL) | 02/05/1993 | 5’11 167lbs | 2011 Eligible
Rattie generated some good scoring chances and looked good for the most part. He has some very good offensive tools, but is not the most complete two-way player. You’d like to see him become a more explosive skater for his size and he needs to get stronger. Rattie looks to have grown a bit since I saw him last although he still is a small player. He looks to have lost out in the numbers game for the small forwards that were able to make U18 team.
Tags: Adam Lowry, Alan Quine, Austen Brassard, Boone Jenner, Brent Andrews, Brett Ritchie, Bryce Milson, Carter Sandlak, Colin Smith, Daniel Catenacci, David Broll, Garrett Meurs, Jean-Francois Leblanc, Jonathon Huberdeau, Lucas Lessio, Mark McNeill, Matt Puempel, Michael Curtis, Michael St. Croix, Oliver Archambault, Philip Danault, Raphael Bussieres, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Ty Rattie
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