Predictions For The World’s Largest Youth Hockey Tournament
Five hundred and four teams. Ten thousand players.
There’s nothing quite like the CCM World Invite Chicago.
The annual tournament continues to bring some of the top talent from the U.S. and beyond into the Windy City area for some epic November battles, and this year should be no different. While it won’t be like years past with travel restrictions and the like, it’s going to be a jam-packed hockey weekend.
We’re especially excited for the 2010 age group, which has so many top-tier teams competing that they had to split up the Super Tacks division into Crosby and Ovechkin divisions. Seven of the top 10 teams in the most-recent World Hockey Hub U.S. rankings for the age group will be competing in the Crosby.
Who wins? Well, here’s a look at the Super Tacks division for ’05 through ’10 age groups:
16U Super Tacks
The No. 5 Long Island Gulls and the No. 10 Chicago Mission squads highlight the 16-team field for the 16U age group. Other teams to watch out for include local organizations in Team Illinois and the Chicago Reapers, but plenty of visitors like the Florida Alliance, Culver Academy and the Minnesota Lakers. The Gulls will certainly have their say in who comes home with some hardware, but we like the home team here.
Prediction: Chicago Mission
15U Super Tacks
The No. 5-ranked Chicago Mission boys are the lone team from the World Hockey Hub’s Top 10 list at the 15U age group, and, just like discussed above, it’s hard to go against the teams enjoying home cooking and their own rinks during a tournament like this. Watch out for Team Wisconsin and Belle Tire, but we think Mission takes this age group too.
Prediction: Chicago Mission
2007 Super Tacks
It looks like a wide-open field for the ’07 squads, with the Northeast Wisconsin Jr. Gamblers representing the WHH Top 10 rankings at No. 7 as the lone ranked team. They’re 17-2-0 on the season, and they may be able to get some revenge on one of the two teams that have handed them a loss if they meet up with the Chicago Reapers in the elimination rounds. Still, with a goal differential of 100-39 on the season, we’re not gambling with this guess.
Prediction: NEW Jr. Gamblers
2008 Super Tacks
From the bright lights of Hollywood, the Los Angeles Jr. Kings are the highest-ranked team entering the field for the 2008 birth year. The Kings check in at No. 8 on the Hub list. We like their chances getting out of their own division, but we will advise them to watch out for the Chicago Fury and the Chicago Reapers when they reach the quarterfinals. Seacoast Performance Academy, at 18-7-3 on the season, could make for a fun battle with the Kings down the road, too, as east coast would meet west coast in a Windy City throw-down.
Prediction: L.A. Jr. Kings
2009 Super Tacks
The 2009 age group is where things start to get more interesting. The State of Illinois is certainly represented well, with the No. 3-ranked Chicago Reapers and the No. 7-ranked Windy City Storm joined by the Chicago Fury, Team Illinois and Chicago Mission. The No. 10 St. Louis AAA Blues will be making the drive in, and they’re going to pose a threat to the hometown teams. With teams from Michigan, Massachusetts, California and Colorado all showing up, the 20-team Super Tacks group will be a difficult one to emerge victorious from. The Reapers, however, are a team on a mission this season, and we don’t see them slowing down this weekend.
Prediction: Chicago Reapers
2010 Super Tacks
As discussed at the top, this ’10 group is something. Seven of the 12 teams in the Crosby division appear in our most-recent U.S. rankings – No. 1 Chicago Mission, No. 2 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, No. 5 L.A. Jr. Kings, No. 6 Chicago Reapers, No. 7 Chicago Fury, No. 9 South Shore Kings and No. 10 Little Caesars. In the 10-team Ovechkin division, there’s a whole bunch of teams ready to make their case to move on up in the rankings too, like the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes and Ohio AAA Blue Jackets. In the Crosby, both of the top teams in Mission and Pittsburgh got good (well, as good as it can be in these two stacked divisions) draws in the preliminary rounds, and we think it’s going to come down to an eventual showdown between the two for the tournament title. Our pick? We’re going to call for the “upset” even though between those two rosters, it’s anything but.
Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins Elite
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