Heading into the championship game against Edge School, Carson Legault had recorded two points (1G, 1A) to his credit in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) Playoffs. A large majority of the scoring duties for No. 10 RINK Hockey Academy Winnipeg had been handled by Kayden Turner (5G, 10A) and Connor Bear (4G, 9A). That dynamic duo not only finished the postseason as the leaders on Winnipeg’s roster, but among all skaters in the league.
But it was Legault who put the team on his back in the title game, finding the back of the net three times to lead his team to a 5-1 victory for the U16 Prep Western Championship. It is the first CSSHL title in club history.
Edge would draw first blood following a fortuitous bounce off a zone dump in. The puck bounced past Winnipeg goaltender Brant Catellier from behind the net right to a charging Simon Cecconi. Before Catellier could react, the puck was banged into the open net for a 1-0 lead. After knocking on the door for what seemed like an eternity, Legault finally managed to beat Connor Nicolson with a rocket from the blue line, evening the score at 13:48 of the period. Just 11 seconds after, Legault collected a loose puck off an errant pass from Tee Hagel and whipped a one-timer that beat Nicolson between the legs, from the slot to put Winnipeg up 2-1.
RHA Winnipeg continued its dominance into the second period. Minutes into the frame, Koy Funk deflected a point shot from Josh McGregor to push the lead to 3-1. Shortly after, Legault dropped to one knee and blasted a shot past the glove of Nicolson to complete the hat trick.
Nicolson was pulled as a result, with Jonah Tonhauser coming into the game. After making nine saves on nine shots, Tonhauser suffered an injury, forcing Nicolson back into the crease. Getting little time to reacclimate himself, Kayden Turner knocked in a loose puck during a net-mouth scramble for his second point of the game and fifth Winnipeg goal.
Edge was unable to mount a comeback attempt, with Winnipeg’s defense shutting things down for the rest of regulation. Overall, Catellier finished with 19 saves on 20 shots, with Nicolson stopping 40 of the 45 pucks that came his way. RHA Winnipeg’s playoff run would end at 5-0-0, allowing just six goals across all matchups.
With RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna defeating Edge School in overtime back on March 15th, tensions were running high heading into the rematch with a championship on the line. But no strangers to competing for CSSHL championships in the past, it was Edge’s veteran players and playoff experience that pushed them ahead to their sixth CSSHL U18 Prep Championship. Having last won in the 2016-17 season, Edge won four straight championships from 2009 to 2013; the first four years the CSSHL was also in operation.
Callas Pierce would get the scoring started when he took a pass from Jace Hader and fired a wrist shot under the blocker of Noah Davis for a 1-0 lead. About seven minutes later, Hayden Harsanyi would knot things up at one goal apiece, when he shot the puck on net that was deflected off Kelowna defender John Franceschetti and in.
Edge had numerous opportunities to break the deadlock in the second period, with a double-minor and major penalties being issued to RHA Kelowna skaters. Thanks to the incredible goaltending from Kelowna’s Evan Gardner, the action would continue into the third period with the teams still tied 2-2. Gardner made 18 saves alone in the period, and finished the game with 42 saves.
Shortly into the third, Terik Parascak would put Edge up 2-1 off a low shot from the right circle that beat Gardner’s glove. With the goalie pulled, Kelowna was able to muster some dangerous chances with the extra skater, but they were denied by Davis. Any chance at a comeback were ended when Parascak deposited his second goal into the empty net, securing the 3-1 win. He would lead all skaters in the postseason with six goals and 12 points in five games.
After the game, head coach James Poole shared his thoughts on the victory.
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This weekend, the 2023 Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) Championship will take place in Oakville. No. 6 Peterborough Petes will enter the tournament as the top seed in their group, following a 8-0-0 stretch in prior playoff games.
Joining them in Group 1 will be the No. 9 Canadian-ranked Southern Tier Admirals, Central Ontario Wolves and Hamilton Jr. Bulldogs. Making up the second group of four teams will be No. 7 York Simcoe Express, No. 12 Halton Hurricanes, Ajax Pickering Raiders and Burlington Eagles. Teams will play three round robin games within their respective groups, before two semifinal games and the eventual championship matchup.
On a current 18-game winning streak, the Petes are one of Canada’s hottest teams at the moment. Fresh off a 3-2 overtime victory against York Simcoe, they are flying heading into the championship tournament and look poised to be the last club standing at the end. Wil McFadden is the current leading scorer with 11 goals and 18 points in those eight games. The team has four players behind him with 10 or more points.
The team most likely to have a chance at coming out of the group other than Peterborough is fellow WHH-ranked Admirals. Playing to a 6-2-0 playoff record, Noah Read (7G, 8A) and Joe Sinclair (7G, 5A) are two of their most consistent forwards. Both players will need to continue to find the back of the net in order to go up against Peterborough’s potent offense. They will hope that Halton does not come out of Group 2, as they dropped two 4-1 decisions to them in the playoffs already. Southern Tier has faced off with the Petes once this season, suffering a 3-1 defeat back on Jan. 22nd.
Nabbing the title in last year’s tournament with a thrilling overtime victory against the Niagara North Stars, York Simcoe hopes to have similar luck this year. Despite two losses to Peterborough, York Simcoe finished its playoffs with a respectable 6-2-0 record. Backed by Owen Griffin’s explosive 17 goals and 28 points, if there is one team that can truly battle with the Petes for the OMHA title, it’s them.
In fact, its depth is even more impressive than that of the Petes, as nine players have garnered 10 or more points. In three regular-season contests, YSE managed to go 2-1-1 against Peterborough. The Express last earned the #RedHats in 2016, with a squad that was led by current NHLer Quinton Byfield.
But coming out of Group 2 will be a tough test, as the Eagles and Hurricanes both went 8-0-0 in their playoff runs. The Eagles relied on a dynamic power play that netted them several goals, and on the solid goaltending of Ivan Kastelan. Kastelan started all eight games, recording a 1.33 goals-against average and three shutouts. Tanner Lam (13G, 8A) and Brady Smith (12G, 8A) will be among the Hurricanes who will try to solve Kastelan as well as whoever York Simcoe places in net. Familiar foes, Halton defeated Burlington three times in the regular season, outscoring them 15-3. The two sides also tied once, 2-2.
Games will be live streamed HERE and you can stay tuned to WHH next week to see who’s crowned as 2023 OMHA Champions. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Discord and YouTube for the latest news, updates and more!
On Wednesday, the Top 10 finalists for the 2023 Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top U.S. college hockey player, were announced. Two of the nominees — Devon Levi and Yaniv Perets — were goaltenders who both spent time together with the Lions Lac St-Louis during their youth hockey days. It is the second time both players have been nominated for the Hobey Baker, with their first nominations coming last year.
Levi and Perets are natives of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, Canada. While Perets is a year older, the two shared goaltending duties during the 2014-15 season in Quebec’s M15 AAA Elite league. Together, they went 27-15-5 with two shutouts, combining to allow 2.40 goals against for the Lions.
They backstopped a Lac St-Louis team that also featured 2018 second-round NHL Draft pick Gabriel Fortier.
Perets, who played in 20 games during that season according to Elite Prospects, won 13 games with a 1.90 goals-against average. Levi won seven games and posted a 2.37 goals-against average in 12 games. The Lions went on to finish second in the region and third overall in the province that season. Levi played four more seasons for Lac St-Louis before playing junior hockey in the CCHL. Perets played one more season of youth hockey before spending the next four seasons between the CCHL, NCDC and BCHL. Both entered the 2020-21 seasons as college freshmen before coming into starting roles for their respective schools last season.
The two have not only been linked for the Hobey Baker, but are also semifinalists for the 2023 Mike Richter Award, awarded to the top goaltender in NCAA Division 1 hockey since 2014. Levi won the award last year, with Perets named as a finalist.
Perets is currently in the middle of his sophomore season with the Quinnipiac Bobcats, who play in the ECAC. He picked up where he left off last season, compiling a stellar 30-3-3 record, with a 1.52 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and nine shutouts. On March 10th, he recorded his 20th career shutout, setting a new ECAC record. Doing so in his 68th career game, it also set a new mark for fastest games to reach 20 shutouts, breaking Ryan Miller’s previous mark of 69 games.
Levi has been just as reliant between the pipes for the Northeastern Huskies in Hockey East. After an injury sidelined him for his freshman year, he burst onto the scene last season and has certainly made up for lost time. This season, Levi has gone 17-12-5, with a 2.24 goals-against average, .933 save percentage and six shutouts. He also backstopped the Huskies to their eighth Beanpot championship earlier this year against Harvard University, coming up with crucial stops in the shootout. Levi was awarded tournament MVP honors as well as the Eberle Trophy, given to the Beanpot’s best overall goaltender.
.@GoNUmhockey takes the Beanpot in a shootout!!! #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/k4oFWQQxSn
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) February 14, 2023
Northeastern’s season is over after a 2-1 overtime loss to Providence College in the Hockey East playoffs. Perets and the Bobcats are preparing for the next stage of the ECAC playoffs, taking place this weekend in Lake Placid, New York. As one of the top nationally ranked teams in the country for the majority of this year, the Bobcats are likely to qualify for the national tournament, regardless of the outcome at ECAC playoffs.
The pair has remained close friends since their youth hockey days in Quebec and even train together during the offseason.
Here is a full list of the 2023 Hobey Baker Top 10 finalists and their youth hockey ties.
Logan Cooley – University of Minnesota
Adam Fantilli – University of Michigan
Sean Farrell – Harvard University
Collin Graf – Quinnipiac University
Lane Hutson – Boston University
Matthew Knies – University of Minnesota
Devon Levi – Northeastern University
Yaniv Perets – Quinnipiac University
Blake Pietila – Michigan Tech University
Jason Polin – Western Michigan University
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Just over a minute into overtime, No. 4 Northern Alberta Xtreme defenseman and leading scorer Daxon Rudolph collected a loose puck following a failed 3-on-1 rush from No. 16 RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna. With a burst of speed, he beat a lone Kelowna defender and fired a wrist shot just over the pad and under the glove of Steele Bass. The goal secured NAX’s first Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) U15 Prep Western Championship.
Heading into this year’s playoff tournament, NAX were seen as favorites to win it all. Finishing first in league play with a 28-1-1 record, one of their two losses on the season came at the hands of RINK Kelowna. The team had a Top-10 scorer in Tucker Tullikopf, a dynamic two-way defender in Rudolph and a potent pairing of Parker Snell and Taylor Raynard in the crease. With not many weaknesses in their game, it would have come as a surprise not to see NAX run the table yet again in the playoffs.
Northern Alberta got its undefeated run off in stellar fashion, beating Delta Hockey Academy Black 11-0. Tullikopf set the score sheet on fire, tallying seven points, six of which were goals. Rudolph got out to a decent start as well, recording one goal and two assists. Raynard pitched a 14-save shutout. Following that were three consecutive victories over BWC Academy, Delta Hockey Academy Green and Edge School. Across those three matchups, NAX outscored its opponents 21-7. Only one hurdle was left, as the club had Kelowna waiting for them in the championship game.
Finishing third in the regular season behind the NAX and Edge School, Rink Kelowna was considered a dark horse to contend for the prep title. The second of only two teams to beat NAX in the regular season, they were victorious in a 4-3 shootout. Consistent play from forward Joe Iginla and Bass in net were two large factors in Kelowna’s success. If both of these players were on their game, Kelowna would prove to be a tough out for any opponent; a fact that was true this postseason. In six games, Iginla scored 12 points (6G, 6A), second on the team behind Cage Smith (3G, 10A). Getting the majority of the workload as the team’s goalie, Bass recorded a 4-0-1 record, with a 2.30 goals-against average and .919 save percentage.
Brody Gillipsie put RINK on top just 1:50 into the championship game. Iginla would increase Kelowna’s lead by two when he finished a 2-on-1 rush with a slick back-hand shot past Snell. Iginla and company had gotten out to the start they needed in order to upset the tournament favorite.
However, with one minute left in the frame, Rudolph would net one back for NAX. He scooped up a failed clearing attempt that deflected off the skate of Cage Smith, and wired a perfect shot from the slot to get his team on the board. NAX has cut the deficit to 2-1 to end the first period.
Riding that momentum, Maddox Rose evened up the score at 2-2 a mere 44 seconds into the second period. The game would remain tied for the next 13 minutes of action before Smith tallied his third goal — and 13th point — of the playoffs for RINK. He danced around numerous NAX players with a gorgeous toe drag before shooting the puck into a gaping net for the 3-2 lead. RINK had once again taken the lead over top-seeded NAX.
Brek Liske made sure his team didn’t trail for long, though, scoring less than three minutes later. He would deposit a rebound chance off a shot from Rudolph to square things up once more, this time at 3-3. Both sides pushed hard for the winner in the third period, but both goaltenders stood firm. Overall, Bass would end up making 34 saves while Snell stopped 36.
A scoreless third period pushed the championship game to overtime. Once the extra period began, Rudolph made quick work of deciding the game by burying a breakaway opportunity to send the NAX bench and fans into a frenzy. The golden goal would be Rudolph’s fifth of the playoffs, giving him 12 total points. None bigger than his game-tying and game-winning goals against Kelowna.
Hear from Daxon Rudolph, the overtime hero for @NAXHockey https://t.co/kbgVqdpRjo pic.twitter.com/gFHQn91dbm
— CSSHL (@CSSHL) March 12, 2023
After the game, head coach Brayden Toma shared his thoughts on the victory.
Head Coach Brayden Toma speaks on his second CSSHL Championship, and first U15 Prep title @NAXHockey pic.twitter.com/X5VOhUMCVI
— CSSHL (@CSSHL) March 12, 2023
And if things couldn’t get more memorable, NAX’s U15 team won its championship the previous day, marking the first time in CSSHL history a team has won both the U15 and U15 Prep division in the same season.
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On Wednesday, USA Hockey unveiled the groupings, schedule and information regarding the 2023 national championships. In doing so, the four at-large teams for each of the 14U, 15O and 16U tournaments were announced, finalizing the field of 16 teams at each age level. Additionally, the groupings for each of the 16 teams were released, accompanied by complete pool-play schedules.
All three age groups will get underway on March 29th, with championship games taking place on April 3rd. The 14U age group will compete in Plymouth, Michigan, while the 15O age group will compete in Wayne, New Jersey. Both the 16U and 18U age groups will bein San Jose, California.
Nine of the Top 10 teams in the U.S. will be in Michigan for the 14U USA Hockey Nationals. Preliminary-round groupings include No. 1 Shattuck-St. Mary’s sharing the USA Pool with No. 4 Dallas Stars Elite. The two teams have yet to meet this season, and will clash for the first time on the second day of the tournament at 10:30 a.m. They’re joined by Little Caesars — who once ranked as high as sixth in the country — and split-season squad Team North Dakota.
The Olympic Pool is loaded with three Top-10 teams, including No. 2 Chicago Mission, No. 5 Bishop Kearney Selects and No. 10 Pittsburgh Vengeance. The fourth and final team is unranked Carolina Jr. Hurricanes, who earned an automatic bid with a Southeastern District championship. Mission won the 14U tournament in 2022. While the ‘07s who brought home gold have graduated to the 15O tournament this year, the 2008s will look to repeat as champions for the program in 2023.
No. 3 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite come in as the highest ranked at-large bid in the tournament. They will be joined by No. 8 Boston Jr. Eagles, and again, two top-ranked teams that have yet to meet this season. Unranked Valley Forge Minutemen and split-season Minnesota Lakers will round out the four teams in the NHL Pool.
The Liberty Pool is highlighted by No. 6 Los Angeles Jr. Kings and No. 7 Mount St. Charles. Those two teams won’t meet until the final day of pool play, and in all likelihood, should determine the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to come out of this group. Unranked Oakland Jr. Grizzlies and Team Wisconsin will have their hands full in this four-team group.
| USA #1 Shattuck-St. Mary’s #4 Dallas Stars Elite Little Caesars Team North Dakota | OLYMPIC #2 Chicago Mission #5 Bishop Kearney Selects #10 Pittsburgh Vengeance Carolina Jr. Hurricanes | NHL #3 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite #8 Boston Jr. Eagles Minnesota Lakers Valley Forge Minutemen | LIBERTY #6 Los Angeles Jr. Kings #7 Mount St. Charles Oakland Jr. Grizzlies Team Wisconsin |
They’ve been the No. 1 ranked team in the country for 18 consecutive weeks. Little Caesars’ reward for their dominance in ‘22-23? Arguably the toughest draw in the tournament. Both No. 8 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite and No. 9 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers will be looking to take down the giant that’s been Caesars this season. Split-season squad Team North Dakota will have its hands full as the only unranked team in the USA Pool.
No. 3 Chicago Mission comes in as defending national champions of the 2007 birth year. They’re joined by No. 5 Long Island Gulls, Carolina Jr. Hurricanes and Compuware in the Olympic Pool. Mission and Long Island have yet to meet this season, but are set to do so for the first time on the last day of pool play. That game could potentially determine the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds to advance to the quarterfinals.
Shattuck-St. Mary’s came up just short in the national championship last season. This ‘07 group has played with something to prove all season long, entering the tournament ranked No. 4 in the country. They’re joined in the NHL Pool by two teams they have already beaten this season in No. 6 Mount St. Charles and unranked Team Wisconsin. The fourth team in the mix is Dallas Stars Elite, who’s just 5-5-0 in their last 10 games.
The Liberty Pool is headlined by No. 2 Bishop Kearney Selects and No. 7 Los Angeles Jr. Kings. They’ve met twice this season, with each team picking up a win over the other. The swing game in the series comes on the final day of pool play, where they’ll likely determine the top two teams advancing to the next round. Unranked Neponset Valley River Rats and New Jersey Rockets will look to disrupt that narrative.
| USA #1 Little Caesars #8 Pittsburgh Penguins Elite #9 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers Team North Dakota | OLYMPIC #3 Little Caesars #5 Long Island Gulls Carolina Jr. Hurricanes Compuware | NHL #4 Shattuck-St. Mary’s #6 Mount St. Charles Dallas Stars Elite Team Wisconsin | LIBERTY #2 Bishop Kearney Selects #7 Los Angeles Jr. Kings Neponset Valley River Rats New Jersey Rockets |
The 2005-born Bishop Kearney Selects won last season’s national championship, and the ‘06s will look to repeat as champions for the program. They come into the Liberty Pool ranked No. 5 in the country, but may not even be the favorite in their own group. No. 3 New Jersey Rockets are ahead of them in the standings. Plus, a pair of West Coast teams look to play spoiler in the Anaheim Jr. Ducks and Phoenix Jr. Coyotes.
Top-ranked Shattuck-St. Mary’s headlines the USA Pool, with No. 8 Chicago Mission and split-season squads Boston Little Bruins and Team North Dakota. Shattuck has been the No. 1 ranked team in the country for 26 consecutive weeks, and will look to go wire-to-wire as the undisputed top team in America. A Friday matchup with Mission may be the only resistance Shattuck sees in pool play. Even then, the Sabres have a 4-0-1 head-to-head record against Chicago and could very easily run the table.
The NHL Pool features No. 6 North Jersey Avalanche and No. 7 Little Caesars. Unranked Cleveland Barons and Seacoast Performance Academy enter the tournament on the heels of automatic bids earned through their respective district playoffs. Caesars enters pool play as the only team with wins over all three of its future opponents, defeating the Avs twice, the Barons twice and splitting with Seacoast.
No. 2 Long Island Gulls, No. 4 Compuware, No. 10 Mount St. Charles and unranked Nashville Jr. Predators make up one of the toughest foursomes in the country in the Olympic Pool. The top three have been among the Top 10 in the country virtually all season. Only Long Island and Mount have played each other this season, clashing four times in close games separated by an average differential of 1.75 goals.
| USA #1 Shattuck-St. Mary’s #8 Chicago Mission Boston Little Bruins Team North Dakota | OLYMPIC #2 Long Island Gulls #4 Compuware #10 Mount St. Charles Nashville Jr. Predators | NHL #6 North Jersey Avalanche #7 Little Caesars Cleveland Barons Seacoast Performance Academy | LIBERTY #3 New Jersey Rockets #5 Bishop Kearney Selects Anaheim Jr. Ducks Phoenix Jr. Coyotes |
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There’s a new club at the top of the ‘07 rankings in Russia, and it’s the first time they’ve been there since Dec. 21st. Following a solid stretch of play that saw them nab victories over No. 3 CSKA Moscow, Atlant Mytishchi and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Dynamo Moscow is back as No. 1. Mikhail Melikov, the club’s leading scorer, tallied four points in the 9-1 victory over Atlant. This season, he has produced 27 goals and 47 points.
While Dynamo was a familiar name in the No. 1 spot in Russia, a new team cracked the Top 10 among 2007-born teams in the U.S. With a strong 10-2 victory over Compuware, No. 10 Victory Honda’s offensive outburst gave them enough of a jolt to catapult over the previous spot holder. Braden Wade and Nolan Makinski both notched hat tricks and Luc Plante scored a goal and four assists in a five-point night. The victory also continued a nine-game unbeaten streak for the team, which ended the following day with a 3-2 overtime loss to Fox Motors.
The regular season concluded over the weekend, and with it, brought some movement among Top-10 teams. In these final matchups before playoffs, No. 3 Ilves and No. 5 Jokerit experienced some decent boosts from crucial wins. Ilves got its business done in two matchups versus No. 4 Kärpät, winning by scorers of 13-3 and 4-0. In the 13-goal explosion, seven skaters notched two or more points, led by Jalmari Melanen’s one goal and four assists.
Jokerit put forth a solid team effort in a 4-1 victory over No. 6 Lukko. Aapo Niemelä (2G) and Taavi Aarvala (2A) connected for the final two goals of the game, solidifying both the win and two-point performances.
With strong finishes to group play, both Ilves and Jokerit earned spots in the top four of the overall group standings. As a result, they have earned first round byes in the playoffs, along with No. 2 Tappara and No. 1 Kiekko-Espoo. They will now await the winners from the first round to see who they will open their playoff schedules against.
The opening round of Sweden’s U16 SM-playoffs has come and gone, and No. 3 MoDo Hockey has raised eyebrows with its performance thus far. The power trio of Elton Hermansson (3G, 3A), Vincent Wedin (2G, 4A) and Erik Häggblad (1G, 5A) have lifted their club to new heights. By securing wins over fellow ranked opponents like No. 1 Nacka HK and No. 4 Djurgårdens IF, its position among the country’s elite has been strengthened.
The road doesn’t get any easier, as entering the second round MoDo finds itself in the dreaded ‘group of death’ along with top-ranked Nacka, No. 2 Täby HC and No. 6 Södertälje SK.
Be sure to check out the complete world rankings, including Top 10s by country and World Top 25s for each of the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 birth years.