Over the past few weeks, 2008-born Finnish youth hockey club KalPa Keltainen has been making quite a name for themselves. Rising up the ranks in group play, they have been dispatching opponents with ease thanks to solid play at both ends of the rink.
Most recently, they got their biggest win of the season with an 8-0 shutout of No. 8 KalPa Musta.
Sitting with a 9-5-1 record, their lone loss in group play was to SaiPa Jusut. Since that loss back on Sept. 24, they have rattled off seven consecutive victories. If there was any pause to put KalPa Keltainen in the ‘best-of-the-best’ category among their peers, it’s that a majority of their games had come against lower-tier teams.
Yet, their sound win against Kalpa Musta may begin to silence critics and prove that this squad can run with the big dogs of their birth year.
When taking a close look at KalPa Keltainen, the numbers certainly jump off the page. They have been cutting through the competition with an explosive offense that has been averaging an astounding eight goals per game.
Leading this goal-scoring explosion is forward Sisu Mustonen, topping the team with 23 goals and 24 assists. He likes to score in bunches, collecting at least five points in seven games. Mustonen has also tallied four hat tricks; two of which were four-goal games.
Backing up the balanced attack of Mustonen are Reettu Tuovinen (13 goals, 29 assists) and Miro Happonen (10 goals, 22 assists). Impressive numbers for Happonen despite being held scoreless in two matchups.
These stat lines for all three players would be impressive over a season’s worth of action. However, given their performance in just a short time frame only speaks to their immense skill and potential to continue.
As if their contributions weren’t enough, four other players on the squad have at least 10 points to compliment the club’s scoring prowess.
Kalpa Keltainen is in prime position to not only use its success to rise up the World Rankings, but also continue to hold onto the top spot in their group.
For the next few weeks, they will continue group play before a rematch against Musta on Nov. 24. That opponent will surely be looking to avenge their shutout loss the last time the teams met.
If the offense continues to thrive, the sky is truly the limit for Keltainen. The rest of the season will serve as a challenging and important task for the team from Kuopio, Finland.
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The party starts Thursday, while the games officially start on Friday. This weekend, Chicago will be the busiest city on the planet when it comes to youth hockey. Roughly 528 teams will be in the Windy City for the annual CCM World Invite.
A total of 10,032 players will be playing in a combined 1,210 games from Nov. 4-6, as the tournament continues to claim the honor of the largest youth hockey event in the world.
Because of those grandiose attendance numbers, most age groups are split into as many as three sub-divisions — Supertacks, Jetspeed and Ribcor. This provides a competitive balance for all teams involved. Because of this, our focus is narrowed to the Supertacks Divisions that include elite and top-level AAA teams.
We’re starting with the 2009 birth-year because it reads like a USA Hockey Nationals lineup, not a November tournament.
Six of the top 10 teams in the country are slated to compete in the World Invite. The No. 1-ranked Chicago Reapers will look to defend home ice, while being challenged by No. 2 St. Louis AAA Blues, No. 4 Windy City Storm, No. 6 Little Caesars, No. 7 New Jersey Rockets and No. 10 Chicago Mission.
An added bonus? The Huron-Perth Lakers, ranked No. 9 in Canada, crossing the border to join the crowded field.
Big games appear on the calendar rather quickly, as Little Caesars and New Jersey Rockets square off at 2:55 p.m. on Friday. Elimination rounds should be where the most drama happens, as these top teams will likely clash in playoffs.
Continuing down in age groups, the 2010 birth year has so many participating clubs that they made Supertacks Crosby and Supertacks Ovechkin Divisions. The 2010 Supertacks Crosby has the highest-ranked teams competing, and there are three from the American Top 10. The No. 3 Chicago Mission, No. 4 Anaheim Jr. Ducks and No. 10 Chicago Fury will clash in the top 2010 division.
American teams like Florida Alliance, South Shore Kings and Top Gun Elite will travel from across the country to challenge the top group. Additionally, the Sun County Panthers join the mix from Canada. The trio of top-rated teams will have plenty of hurdles to clear if they want to win a World Invite title.
In the 2011 Supertacks Division, the hometown Windy City Storm is the only ranked competitor — they check in at No. 5. The K&B Slovakia Stars surely don’t want to waste a trip all the way across the globe though. There are plenty of storied programs showing up in Chicago, as well. The 16-team field contains the Los Angeles Jr Kings, Sun County Panthers, Chicago Mission, St. Louis AAA Blues, Belle Tire, Oakville Rangers, among others.
Going back up the age groups, the 16U Supertacks field is wide open. None of the teams are ranked, but that doesn’t mean it’s a group to sleep on. Minnesota and Michigan both show up with all-star teams of high school hockey players in Minnesota SDP and Michigan Hockey Advancement, while the Wenatchee Wild and Elgin-Middlesex Canucks represent the Canadian contingent. There’s also three California teams in the Los Angeles Jr. Kings, Golden State Elite and Anaheim Jr. Ice Dogs.
The 15O age group — split into Crosby and Ovechkin divisions — has some ranked teams, on the other hand. In the Crosby Division, No. 1 ranked Chicago Mission looks to win a tournament without leaving home, while No. 3 Mount St. Charles arrives in the Windy City looking to make some noise. Those two will be challenged by No. 5 Little Caesars, and a bevy of other squads looking for some hardware. Watch out for Minnesota SDP, Minnesota Blue Ox and Team Wisconsin, among others.
And to round things out, the 2008 age group is led by No. 2 Chicago Mission. They are the only ranked team out of the 16 participants, but nonetheless, they will have challenges. The Burlington Eagles, Lambton Jr. Sting, and Markham Waxers all come in from Canada, while in-state rivals Chicago Fury and Team Illinois will try to make things rough, too.
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More than 100 teams showed up in Boston, Massachusetts, USA this past weekend for the Eastern Exposure Cup. The top teams in each birth year played in the Blue Division, and that’s where our attention is focused. Many divisions featured some interesting crossover battles between top American and Canadian teams.
The 2008 Blue Division went to the Los Angeles Jr. Kings, a squad that was named world champions earlier this calendar year. One team slated to compete in the Eastern Exposure had a higher ranking than the Kings, but they ended up sorting that one out on the ice.
The Jr. Kings squared off with the No. 3-ranked Windy City Storm in the ’08 Blue Division final. The boys from Hollywood pulled off a 2-0 victory to finish the tournament with a perfect 5-0-0 mark.
Los Angeles also beat Ottawa Myers Automotive 6-0 and the CT Wolfpack 2-1 in preliminary-round play before topping the Ottawa 67’s 3-2 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they played the Boston Jr. Eagles to a 1-0 final score, before the big showdown with Windy City in the final.
There, Keegan Davis and Tyus Sparks scored first-period goals, and a late tally from the Storm wasn’t enough as the Kings prevailed 2-1.
Sparks led the team in scoring with eight points in five games. Logan Stuart had seven, and Noah Davidson had five.
Sascha Pitaev and Oliver Kanat split time between the pipes. Kanat played in three games to a 1.00 goals-against average and one shutout. Pitaev, meanwhile, played in two games and finished with a 0.50 goals-against and one shutout, as well.
Sparks led the tournament in scoring, as well. A pair of Windy City Storm forwards — Nathan Hauad and Jack Hextall — both had seven to match Stuart.
The Sun County Panthers — ranked No. 3 in Canada — scratched and clawed their way through the 2009 Division, emerging victorious with a 4-2-0 record.
After starting things off with a 4-3 win over Florida Alliance, the Panthers dropped a 3-2 decision to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Jr. Knights in their second game of Friday’s action.
Saturday started with another tough outing for Sun County, as the Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers beat them 6-3.
In the elimination rounds, however, Sun County sorted things out. First, they topped RSG Academy 3-2 in the quarterfinals. Then, in the semifinals, they were able to get some revenge, topping Mid-Fairfield 3-2 to advance to the finals.
A date with the United States’ No. 9 ranked Boston Jr. Eagles served as the 2009 Blue Division finale. There, the top-ranked Canadian team in the field tangled with a Top-10 U.S. team. Sun County played its most complete game of the weekend, blanking the hometown squad 3-0.
Sun County found success in Beantown with a balanced attack on offense. Standout forward Jaakko Wycisk recorded nine points in the team’s six games. He was the only player on the Panthers’ roster to register more than a point per game. Alexander Lisi recorded five goals and five total points, while Eamon Edgar had three points in the six games. Jordan Maine led the scoring from the blue line, leading the Panthers’ defensemen in scoring with three total points.
Daniel Cinelli took care of the majority of the crease duties; he registered a 1.75 goals-against average and one shutout over his four games.
Trevor Daley, Jr. led the ’09 Blue Division in scoring with 10 points in only five games, while the aforementioned Wycisk was second in the scoring race. Brady Scali of RSG Academy had eight points in only five games.
Five players had seven points — Don Mills Flyers forward Caiden Clair, Florida’s Harrison Hecker, Jr. Eagles’ Carter Meyer, Mid-Fairfield’s Braydon Sisco and Florida’s Reese Tracy.
Aside from Sun County’s Cinelli, Boston’s Daryn Szabo led the goaltenders with a 1.56 goals-against average and one shutout in six games played.
Szabo, and the Jr. Eagles, deserve an extra tip of the cap for running through a gauntlet of ranked teams on their way to the finals. Their tournament experience included three games against World Top-25 teams. It started with a 3-2 win over the No. 18 Toronto Marlboros. Then, the Jr. Eagles dropped their second game 3-1, against the No. 4 ranked Don Mills Flyers. On Saturday, Boston rebounded with a 4-0 win over No. 25 Windy City Storm and a 5-3 win over unranked Ottawa Myers Automotive in the quarters.
In the semifinal, they got revenge on Don Mills, taking down the top Canadian ’09 team by a final score of 4-1.
In the 2010 Blue Division, the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers took care of business. Entering as the only team in the field ranked, the Jr. Flyers had a tall task at hand of proving their standing. They did just that with a perfect 6-0-0 record against all challengers on the weekend.
On Friday, they posted a pair of 5-0 blankings against Kuper Academy and the Long Island Gulls. Saturday, the shutout streak continued, as they beat the New Jersey Rockets 4-0. In the first playoff game, they gave up a goal — four, in fact — but scored seven of their own to take down the Toronto Nationals.
In the semifinals, Philadelphia had a rematch with the Gulls, and this time it was a 4-0 final. To wrap things up, the Flyers took down the North Jersey Avalanche 7-3.
Bo Christini led the Flyers in scoring with 11 points in six games. Colin MacCormack had nine, and T.J. Petropoulos had eight. Andrew Devyatkin, Henry Albu and Matty Lynn all had six points across the six games.
The Flyers’ goaltending duties were split between Charles Liu and Bryan Schwartz, and they were both dominant. Liu finished with a 1.00 goals-against average and two shutouts in three games, and Schwartz finished with a 1.33 goals-against average and two shutouts in three games, as well.
North Jersey’s Christopher Pinko led the field in scoring with 12 points in six games; teammate William Losauro had 10. Ty McGroarty of the Philadelphia Hockey Club had eight points in five games.
There were four Top-10 U.S. teams in the field of teams at the 2011 Blue Division. The Dallas Stars Elite were the lowest ranked of four heading into the weekend, but that may need to change.
With a 4-2-0 record, the Stars took home the ’11 title, capping it off with a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Jr. Kings.
The Jr. Kings weren’t ranked at the time, but they did plenty of the heavy lifting. First, they defeated U.S. No. 3 Boston Jr. Terriers in the semifinals. Then, the knocked off U.S. No 2 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers in the semifinals. They also took down the Stars in preliminary-round play.
For the Stars, it was wins over the U.S. No. 7 Middlesex Islanders, No. 8 Philadelphia Hockey Club and Lehigh Valley Phantoms along the way. Easton Scott led the Stars in scoring with 10 points in six games; Ethan Zhang had five and Payne Deloach had four. Brooks Del Signore played in four of the games for the Stars, registering a 3.08 save percentage along the way.
A pair of Mid-Fairfield forwards led the tournament in scoring in Jackson Liao and Peter Lyden. They both scored 15 points in only five games.
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With the 2022-23 season well underway, there have been some clubs that have stood above the rest. We look at a few programs across all countries and birth years to see who has established themselves as the “best of the best.”
The ’09 St. Louis AAA Blues experienced a fantastic month of October, going 12-2-0. They’ve held firm in the top two spots among U.S. teams since the rankings began for this season. The Blues have fared extremely well against most competition. A statement highlighted by their two-game sweep of No. 22 Dallas Stars Elite just two weeks ago.
Other highlights include two victories against No. 25 Windy City Storm. St. Louis also split two contests with a Top-10 U.S. team, the Los Angeles Jr. Kings, a 6-4 loss and 5-3 win.
Finding themselves ranked the No. 1 team among Canadian ‘08 clubs, the Vaughan Kings almost went unbeaten in October. The lone ‘blemish’ of their 12-1-0 record for the month was a 3-2 overtime loss to the North York Rangers on Oct. 2.
While the Kings began the month with a stretch of games against Canadian teams, the latter half of the month saw a change. Vaughan has faced off against some of the best the U.S. has to offer as well. Cross-border matchups are always exciting, and Vaughan showed they can handle even the top teams from another country.
Taking part in the Little Caesars Invitational, they went 5-0-0 en route to the championship. They beat the likes of American ranked No. 6 Little Caesars, No. 10 Pittsburgh Vengeance, and No. 2 Chicago Mission.
Viggbyholms IK has been lights out since the start of the youth hockey season, playing to a 16-0-1 record. While they did not have a busy month of October, their performance has been undeniable.
Kicking off their games with a modest showing at the Farsta Games, they collected back to back gold medals at the Nicklas Backstrom Cup and Nordic Youth Trophy, going undefeated at both.
With group play in full swing in Finland, Kiekko Espoo’s ‘07 team has gotten off to a stellar start. A 10-0-0 month has added to their overall 14-1-1 record.
Some may say that they have yet to face the top teams in their group, but you can only play the games that are scheduled. In October, they handled matchups against KalPa, Jokipojat, K-Vantaa, HYRI and HIFK. Aided by their explosive offense, which tallied 27 goals across six games, while only allowing seven.
An offense that is ignited by the two-way play of forwards Aapo Vanninen (6G, 15A) and Aleksi Kilpeläinen (11G, 9A).
Ranked No. 1 in Finland and No. 10 in the world, they are still the team to beat.
Much has been said of the 2010-born CSKA Moscow squad, and rightfully so. What they have been able to accomplish so far this season is nothing short of spectacular, currently sitting with a 21-0-0 record.
CSKA continued their winning ways against their fellow Russian programs this month. Victories over top Russian teams No. 4 Vityaz Podolsk, No. 2 Spartak Moscow. Wins over Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and Krylia Sovetov rounded out October as well.
Look no further than the dynamic duo of Nikita Sinikin (27G, 30A) and Roman Andreev (27G, 22A). Their ability to score seemingly at will has propelled CSKA to their position at the top.
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The Folke Filbyter Cup is one of the top youth hockey tournaments in Sweden. It regularly showcases some of the top players in the U15 age group from across the country. Because of that, it has also become one of the premier events in all of youth hockey.
This year, clubs from the 2008 age group competed in two pools of six teams. After a five-game round robin, the top four teams from each pool advanced to an eight-team playoff. There, Södertälje managed to win back-to-back one-goal games to win the 2022 Folke Filbyter championship.
Södertälje — currently unranked in the latest World Rankings — outlasted a field that consisted of Top Swedish teams No. 1 Nacka HK, No. 3 Täby HC, No. 5 Malmö Redhawks, No. 7 Linköping HC and No. 10 SDE Hockey.
In pool play, SSK tied top-ranked Nacka 3-3 on Friday. Jonathan Sandberg tallied a goal and an assist in that game to earn a crucial point in the standings. The next day, Lucas Brauer delivered a three-point game for SSK to earn another 3-3 tie with Linköping. Holding onto a tie in both of those contests proved to be the difference in the standings. It allowed Södertälje to squeak into the playoff rounds as the 6-seed.
The top four teams from each pool advanced to the playoff rounds. The top team from each pool faced the lowest seed from the opposing pool, and the second seed faced the third seed in cross-pool matchups as well.
Södertälje proved to be the only lower seed to survive the quarterfinals with a 5-1 win over Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg. Sandberg again made his presence felt with two goals and an assist. Joel Falck, Marcus Sӧderman and Christian Furuvik added goals as well.
Continuing in its underdog role, SSK was one of four teams remaining alongside Nacka, Täby and Linköping.
Sӧderman — who hadn’t scored a goal in pool play — scored his second goal of the playoff rounds 13 minutes into the semifinal game. It tied the game at 1-1 and gave Södertälje life heading into the second half. Then, just over seven minutes into the second period, Brauer scored his fourth goal of the weekend to give SSK an eventual 2-1 win. That put the team firmly in the championship game, where they’d face Täby.
The championship game featured four lead changes. Södertälje traded blows back and forth with the higher-ranked opponent right down to the wire. They led 1-0 out of the gate. Came from behind to tie the game up at 2-2 before intermission. Let a 3-2 lead slip away with under 10 minutes to play. But with just six seconds left in regulation, Christian Furuvik tucked one home past Taby’s Caspar Lampe to give Södertälje a dramatic 4-3 upset victory.
Sandberg — who had two points in the championship — led all scorers on the weekend with 17 points. Vilmer Salén-Forsberg allowed six goals against on 41 shots in his two starts in pool play. However, when the focus shifted to elimination rounds, Salén-Forsberg elevated his play with a 1.67 goals-against average and 91.2 save percentage. He started all three playoff games for Södertälje en route to the championship.
Through the first two months of the season, Södertälje had been relatively quiet in game action. The 2008 squad was absent from the Sweden Hockey Trophy and DIF Elitcup in September. Those two events are significant ones for the age group. Through October, the only body of work on record was a 4-0-0 performance in Stockholm group play. None of those opponents were among the Swedish Top 10 teams either.
So, for Södertälje to tie the top-ranked team in the country. And then tie and defeat the No. 7 team in the country. And then defeat the No. 3 team in the country with a championship on the line? SSK made its statement loud and clear that it belongs amongst the top programs in Scandinavia and beyond.
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Each week, World Hockey Hub highlights a few of the most exciting upcoming games in youth hockey. From the hottest rivalries to the biggest tournaments, we focus on matchups that will impact the landscape among top teams in the sport.
Fresh off debuting in the 2008 Finland rankings, HPK Oranssi (8-3-2) will look to prove their position is no fluke when they meet Tappara Musta (9-3-1) for a two-game series this weekend.
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| Saturday, November 5 @ 4:45 p.m. EEST |
These two teams faced off against one another just last month, with HPK winning an offensive showdown 6-5. A victory that helped boost their profile in the world rankings. Heading into the third period clinging to a 4-3 lead, HPK doubled that margin early in the third period.
However, Tappara would strike twice in 13 seconds to knot things up 5-5. With just over three minutes remaining in the game, Tuomas Sompii tallied HPK’s sixth goal of the game for the eventual game-winner.
HPK likes to score in bunches, filling the net for five-or-more goals in four of their eight games thus far. Everi Sipilä’s balanced attack leads all HPK skaters with 18 points (9G, 9A). Nico Cape (6G, 7A), Jimi Koivisto (5G, 5A) and Mico Hjerp (2G, 8A) round out the top of the squad.
Tappara is supplied with a potent attack of their own, averaging at least four goals across all eight of their matches. HPK will be tasked with shutting down the explosive attack of Petteri Sakki. He has compiled an impressive 33 points (20G, 13A) in just eight games.
With loaded offenses like these two programs, this game has the makings of being just as explosive as their first meeting.
A top-25 matchup kicks things off this week between 2007-born teams No. 18-ranked Mount St. Charles (15-3-0) and No. 3-ranked Mississauga Senators (15-7-1).
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| Friday, November 4 @ 8:00 a.m. ET LECOM Harborcenter |
Mount has yet to suit up for any competition against programs from Canada. The Sens, on the other hand, have already experienced their fair share of American opponents.
Mount has exclusively played against teams from their country to this point in the season, and this upcoming tilt serves as an opportunity for them to test their talent against a premier team.
Facing off against some of the best from the U.S., Mississauga has skated against ranked clubs such as the Chicago Mission and Little Caesars. In contests against American teams, the Senators have compiled a 2-4-0 record.
In their last time out, the Mounties swept No. 11 Bishop Kearney Selects in a two-game series. They won 5-4 in overtime on Saturday, and then topped BK again the following day 6-2 in more convincing fashion.
It will be 11 days between games for Mississauga. They haven’t played since a 1-1 tie to Mississauga Reps last Monday. Expect a low-scoring contest here, as the Reps have allowed just 1.83 goals against in their last six games
No. 1 CSKA Moscow (20-0-0) will look to build upon their incredible run of play against No. 9 SKA Strelna (11-5-0) on Tuesday.
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| Tuesday, November 1 |
Historically, these two teams have only met eight times, with CSKA emerging as the victor each time. Tasked with stopping the juggernaut will be Strelna’s goaltending duo of Egor Sokolov and Ivan Savin. While they attempt to prevent goals, Daniil Gladikov (10G, 12A) and Timur Kazakov (12G, 9A) will lead the attack on their opponent.
CSKA’s Nikita Sinikin (27G, 30A) and Roman Andreev (27G, 22A) will be the toughest forwards to slow down. Each skater has been able to seemingly score at will. Both equipped with great hands and lethal shots, they can do damage from anywhere on the ice.
If Strelna can pull out a win, it will serve as a major point of strengthening its resume. Perhaps more importantly, it can serve as a notice to other teams that CSKA is indeed beatable.
Two Eastern Hockey Federation (EHF) foes will take part in a two-game series this weekend at Chelsea Piers in Connecticut. The No. 16 Mid-Fairfield Jr. Rangers (12-0-1) and No. 17 Boston Terriers (11-2-0) — both winners of six straight — come into this contest in the hopes of separating from one another.
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| Saturday, November 5 @ 11:30 a.m. ET Chelsea Piers |
Mid-Fairfield’s plus-91 goal differential is a daunting stat on paper. However, their opponent in the Terriers have a track record of holding their own as well. Boston has built a plus-41 differential over its last seven games, and hasn’t allowed more than two goals against in more than two weeks.
With two games scheduled just three hours apart, tensions between these two could be high on Saturday. The matchups give the youth hockey world back-to-back looks at two top American teams.
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This weekend, 126 youth hockey teams are taking over Boston, Massachusetts.
Their reason for invading Beantown? The Eastern Exposure Cup.
Bringing together top teams from across the United States and Canada, the Eastern Exposure Cup offers a tremendous look at some of the younger birth-years as the hockey season really gets rolling in North America. The 2008 birth-year serves as the oldest group for the Eastern Exposure Cup – individual birth-years go all the way down to 2013.
Thirteen of those 126 teams appear on the World Hockey Hub’s rankings for the U.S. and/or Canada, and they are all spread out across the 2008-2011 birth-years to offer great insight into who’s moving up and who’s moving down in future rankings.
Those are the birth-years we’re watching in Massachusetts this weekend, and we’re confident there will be some great hockey on display.
In the 2008 birth-year, two top-five teams will be competing – the No. 3-ranked Windy City Storm and the No. 5-ranked Los Angeles Jr. Kings. It was quite a trip for the Jr. Kings, who carry an unbeaten streak dating all the way back to Sept. 5 into the tournament. Meanwhile, Windy City quickly gets tested by the Long Island Gulls and Ottawa Myers Automotive in Friday’s games alone.
With the likes of the Boston Jr. Eagles, Dallas Stars Elite, Buffalo Jr. Sabres, Ottawa 67’s and more, the ‘08s have a lot of teams to watch this weekend.
At the 2009 birth-year, there are three teams from the latest U.S. Top 10, and three teams from the latest Canadian Top 10 on the World Hockey Hub, which hopefully means plenty of cross-over action for comparison purposes. The No. 4 Windy City Storm, No. 7 New Jersey Rockets and No. 9 Boston Jr. Eagles represent the top American clubs, while the No. 1 Don Mills Flyers, No. 3 Sun County Panthers and No. 5 Toronto Marlboros represent the Canadian teams to beat.
That’s right – three of the top five Canadian teams in ’09 birth-year in one tournament – on the other side of the border. When you consider some of the other teams participating who could very well be in the Top 10 sometime this season – Mid-Fairfield, the Boston Jr. Eagles, the Boston Jr. Terriers, etc. – you can certainly expect some fireworks at the Eastern Exposure Cup.
The ‘09 Jr. Eagles and Marlboros kicked off tournament action last night, with the Jr. Eagles edging out a 3-2 victory in a thriller.
The 2010 birth-year features just one ranked team in the No. 7 Philadelphia Jr. Flyers. Like the other age groups, however, it’s deep in brand names like the North Jersey Avalanche, Seacoast Performance Academy, Team Illinois and New Jersey Rockets, so we’re still expecting stiff tests for the Flyers and great hockey action.
In the 2011 group, four American squads check in on the WHH rankings – No. 2 Mid-Fairfield, No. 3 Boston Jr. Terriers, No. 9 New Jersey Colonials and No. 10 Dallas Stars Elite. Mid-Fairfield gets quite a challenge with the Quinte Red Devils coming on from Canada for Game 1, the Philadelphia Hockey Club taking them on in Game 2 and the L.A. Jr. Kings showing up for Game 3.
Meanwhile, the New Jersey Colonials and the Boston Jr. Terriers play in one of the first games on Friday. Top-10 showdown before most are done stopping by Dunkin’ for their first or second coffee.
Stay tuned for a wrap-up of the Eastern Exposure Cup, as we can’t wait to see how some of these cross-country battles play out.
For most of North America, the U16 (Canada) or 15O (U.S.) season is a crucial one, as it serves as players’ final campaign before their respective junior league drafts.
Out west, however, things heat up a year earlier.
With the WHL conducting its Prospects Draft a year earlier than its OHL, QMJHL and USHL peers, that means the spotlight gets turned onto the Canadian U15 birth year – this time being the 2008 class.
One of the first major events for the 2008 birth-year is the Graham Tuer U15 Challenge, which has been hosted by Hockey Regina for more than 40 years. The tournament is named in honor of the late Graham Tuer, a minor and junior hockey volunteer, administrator, general manager and scout for more than 50 years; his resume included numerous WHL teams and NHL Central Scouting.
Last season, the Prairie Storm won the Challenge, and four players from the roster were selected in the WHL Prospects Draft in May. Two of those players were first-round selections in center Luke Moroz (Prince Albert) and defenseman Isaac Poll (Saskatoon), to give you an idea of what kind of star power you will see this weekend in Regina.
There are 32 teams competing in this year’s Graham Tuer, which gets underway Thursday morning. They are split into eight pools of four, with elimination games beginning on Saturday. The tournament concludes Sunday, with the championship game slated to start at 3:45 p.m.
It’s all taking place at the Co-operators Centre in Regina, which is a massive six-sheet facility with a main arena that has seating for 1,300 people.
The favorite heading into this year’s event is Northern Alberta Xtreme – the CSSHL program is ranked No. 2 in all of Canada and No. 6 in the world. With a perfect 8-0 start to the season, they hold a 99.25 rating in MyHockeyRankings and an impressive 61-11 goal differential thus far.
The Xtreme will be challenged by the Warman Wildcats, Yellowhead Chiefs and Yorkton Terriers in Pool C, and there will be plenty of other worthy foes if they advance into the tournament postseason.
While Northern Alberta may be the only team in the field that has cracked the World Hockey Hub’s early-season rankings, there are plenty of other clubs looking to surge up the standings with a big weekend at the Graham Tuer.
The Okotoks Oilers are No. 11 in MyHockeyRankings for western Canada with a 4-1-1 record on the year. Meanwhile, OHA Edmonton is one spot behind at No. 12, while clearly being battle-tested early on. They’re 7-8-0 on the season, but they have a 94.10 rating on MHR.
Another team already making a case for some recognition? The Brandon Wheat Kings are an undefeated 9-0 to start the season, and they’re at No. 16 in the MHR rankings.
The list of participating teams is full of notable names, like the SSAC Lions, the Humboldt Broncos, the Regina Pat Blues, Edge U15 and Swift Current Broncos.
We’re excited to see how the early-season showcase at the Graham Tuer helps some teams separate themselves from the pack, as we watch the ’08 birth-year closely for their WHL Draft season.
With the latest release of the World Hockey Hub rankings this week, numerous birth years across Canada saw new programs popping up in the top 10. One of these teams, RINK Hockey Academy Kelowna (16-3-0), is in the midst of a 10-game winning streak. A stretch of games that has vaulted them from a bubble team into the No. 6 spot among fellow ‘08 teams.
The stars have seemingly aligned for them, as they have an explosive offense, tight-checking defense, and an NHL Hall-of-Famer behind the bench.
And when a club has someone like Jarome Iginla as their head coach, is it really that surprising when success follows?
Kelowna kicked off their season with a handful of cross-border matchups against U.S. teams in which they fared relatively well. Programs such as Team Wisconsin, Chicago Fury and Cleveland Barons were all early victories.
Since then, their calendar has exclusively been full of matchups against fellow CSSHL clubs. After a slow start out of the gate, a date with No. 8-ranked Edge School served as the first real test for the club, which eventually ended in a 3-3 tie.
Using that tie as motivation, they have rattled off 10 consecutive wins in CSSHL play. Resulting from this stellar stretch, Kelowna has raised their profile not only in league play, but nationally as well.
With recent victories over teams such as Yale Hockey Academy and Delta Hockey Academy (Green), Kelowna has been able to boost their position in the CSSHL. Currently they sit tied for third with 18 points with Edge School and St. George’s School.
Their biggest win of the season and a major factor in their current place in the Canada rankings was a sound 6-3 win against the former No. 6-ranked Ardrie Xtreme.
The most vital factors to Kelowna’s success have been their explosive offense and sturdy defense. 16 of their 19 total games this season has seen them score 4 or more goals, leading to an impressive plus-76 goal differential.
Cage Smith leads all Kelowna skaters with 20 points (8G,12A), but it has not been the amount of points he puts up but the importance of his goals. A constant threat on the power play, he has struck three times on the man advantage as well as compiling three game-winning goals as well.
Just as it has been easy for them to fill the back of the net, Kelowna’s performance on the blueline and in the defensive zone has made it a nightmare for opponents to score. What stands out about the d-corps of the team is their imposing size.
Among these blueliners is Keaton Verhoeff, who towers at 6-foot-3 and asserts his dominance by sheer size alone. He is an absolute force in front of the net, and it’s tough for opponents to move his 190 lbs. His size is not the only strength, as he leads all Kelowna defenseman in CSSHL scoring with 11 points (2G, 9A).
Looking ahead, Kelowna will have their eyes set on continuing their recent success both in the world rankings as well as among their CSSHL group. With two upcoming games against the North Shore Warriors and Delta Hockey Academy (Black), they will attempt to prove that the last few weeks have only been a sign of bigger things to come.
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As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, it’s easy to tell that youth hockey season around the world is in full action. From the biggest upsets to major movement in top-10 rankings, there’s plenty to catch up on from the last few weeks.
Here’s everything you need to know before exploring the updated youth hockey rankings:
The 2006-born New Jersey Rockets were propelled into the No. 4 spot thanks largely in part to three key victories against fellow U.S. teams.
Sitting on the outside looking in heading into their next stretch of games, the Rockets saw an opportunity to make some noise and prove that their 25-6-2 record is no fluke.
After edging then No. 3 Mount St. Charles in overtime, 3-2, they then bested the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite with another overtime victory, 5-4. Next up was a tilt with No. 10 Bishop-Kearney Selects. The Rockets would once again find themselves in another high-scoring affair, emerging as the victors 5-4.
With the three wins, New Jersey found themselves rocketing up the top-10 into their current position. Now that they are there, time will tell if they can hold onto it and prove they belong with the best.
No. 9 Sollentuna HC took advantage of a matchup with No. 10 SDE Hockey to maneuver their way into the top-10 among ‘08 clubs in Sweden.
Sitting second in their group with a 3-0-1 record, Sollentuna leaned on the heroics of leading scorer Victor Kumpulainen.
In what was a back and forth offensive display for the first 30 minutes, SDE went up 3-2 with about seven minutes remaining in the game.
It was then that Kumpulainen put his team on his shoulders. After tying the game just over a minute after SDE netted the lead, he scored his second goal of the game with just under three minutes left in the game for a 4-3 lead.
Kumpulainen not only leads Sollentuna in scoring, but is also tied for the group lead in points with seven (6G, 1A) with No. 8 AIK Hockey’s Filip Nyberg (4G, 3A). Even more exciting is that both of these squads will face each other on Nov. 13 in a game that could have major implications for things moving forward.
No. 2 Tappara cruised by No. 3 Kärpät 7-1, moving up two spots to leapfrog them at the top of the ‘07 Finnish rankings. It was a game that Tappara had circled on their calendars, as they were defeated by Kärpät 4-3 back in September, and were almost certainly itching for some payback.
In what was a close 2-1 contest going into the third period, Tappara buried five unanswered goals in the third period for the victory. Looking ahead, they have five upcoming games against teams that are all in the top-10.
While the road may not be easy, will we see Tappara strengthen their position at the top?
SKA Strelna also enjoyed a nice little boost in the Russian top-10 among 2007 birth-year teams resulting from wins over Dynamo St. Petersburg and SKA St. Petersburg.
Once handling Dynamo 4-3 in overtime, SKA Strelna’s defense and goaltending stole the show in a 3-0 win against SKA St. Petersburg. These two victories against teams ahead of them in the rankings strengthened their resume for the time being.
Russia has been known to produce its fair share of hockey talent over the years, and one of the premier programs at doing so has been CSKA Moscow. With the 2022-23 season in full gear, it’s safe to say this year is no different.
CSKA currently sits alone at the top of the rankings both in Russia and the world for the following birth years: 2008, 2009 and 2010. They are also ranked No. 1 among ‘06 teams in Russia.
While this is an impressive feat by itself, perhaps more astounding is the current winning streak of one of their programs. The 2010-born program is in the midst of a 20-game winning streak, dispatching all they have faced thus far.
It will be very interesting to see how long they can keep this streak alive, as they will surely be getting the very best of their opponents each night from here on out.