U18 AAA Atlantics Notebook

Posted on April 22, 2022

Some news and notes from the U18 AAA Atlantic’s @ Paradise!

Thursday, April 21

After a just OK start to his U18 Major career, Liam Noble has figured the game out in the second half which has really carried over into this tournament. Noble was winning face-offs, moving the puck well, back-checking like a demon and finishing his bumps in the Blizzard’s match against the Halifax Mac’s on Thursday night. Noble is a big bodied centre who – like Charlottetown’s Carson Griffin – isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing skater but both have pretty hands and are offensively talented. If you have Griffin on your draft sheet, why not Noble? Noble is playing like he needs to be drafted into the Q, and drafted in a spot that indicates a team really likes him. Noble’s goal in the Macs game was an absolute ‘nip, a rocket under the bar that had to draw the eye of people standing outside the glass.

Matty Butler had a pair of goals and running mate Reegan Hiscock a pair of assists in the Growlers opener vs the Macs, and their praise is well-earned. However, two players who deserve some praise for their play in all zones are Ronan Whitten and Andrew Veitch. Both have excelled in a two-way role for coach Trevor Budgell this season, and along with right flank Tyler Curnew, have been one of most consistent lines in U18 Major hockey here on the island. Whitten and Veitch are often tasked with matching off against the other teams top offensive threats, yet it is often the former St. John’s Hitmen that get the better of their adversaries.

I have mentioned Macs forward Sam Ledrew in previous YouTube videos for having a unique release, and if it wasn’t for the excellent goaltending of Growlers netminder Clay Ryan and the Blizzard Sean Hogan, Ledrew may have had more than just two assists on the day. Look for Ledrew to find the back of the net on Friday – law of averages!

I will admit when I am wrong, and I was way wrong with my assessment of Moncton Flyers forward Luke Patterson last year. I ranked Patterson in the mid-rounds (slightly behind his draft spot which I believe was in the 4th round). Patterson had a massive year for the NB representatives, and continued his stellar play with a trick of hats against the hard-working Charlottetown Knights club. It may have taken them a couple of periods to get their legs under them, but Moncton showed the rest of the tournament that they can be very, very explosive by dropping a 4 spot on the Knights in period 3 of their matchup.

Clay Ryan was lights out for the ‘dawgs in the opener of this tournament. Plain and simple.

Friday, April 22

Growlers forward and Q Draft eligible Matty Butler went off on the Charlottetown Knights in the early game on Friday, but it was all for naught as the dawgs dropped a 7-4 decision to the other island. Butler was often found dipping and diving in and around would-be defenders a la Barry Sanders used to do to my Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in the mid-1990’s. Needless to say, the East Meadows natives stock has to be climbing as he has potted 5 goals combined vs two good teams in Halifax and Charlottetown. Butler seems to create different ways to dangle defenders every week it seems – his agility, coupled with being small, makes him incredibly elusive in 1v1 scenarios.

I really like this Lincoln Waugh kid, and I really like the Charlottetown Knights black jerseys. Waugh’s skating stride is a little wide and he plays with his stick in the air way too much for our taste, but Waugh is such a good passer/decision-maker and would be so easy to play with at any level (supports his partner so well, doesn’t put guys in bad spots… passes blade to blade, no sh*t burgers). Head is always up. Also found that Knights’ Ross Campbell is a nifty little player; some great O zone looks vs the Growlers today and has put up some digits in this turny for a rookie.

The Blizzard got thumped by the Moncton Flyers today by a score of 7-zip, but as the old Dumb ‘N Dumber movie saying goes, they ‘totally redeemed themselves’ by defeating the Growlers 3-2 in the late game. This is a devastating loss for the NL champs, dropping 2 matches today while still having to face the vaunted Moncton Flyers tomorrow. For the host club, the big goal differential against the Hub City likely knocks them out – even if they can manage to pick up a second win on Saturday.

It is blatantly obvious that Moncton are the leader in the clubhouse after day 2, but who is the next best team? The Macs are sitting in second right now, but have to play Moncton tomorrow @ 9 am which is a tough assignment. The Knights have to face the Blizzard who – after a big win tonight vs the Growlers – could play the role of spoiler and have a history of playing the Knights close (a 5-3 game @ the Monctonian). The Growlers shot themselves in the foot tonight and now have to beat the Flyers to have any chance of getting into the finals.

The Halifax Macs young guns had great rookie seasons, but have been somewhat quiet in this tournament to date. The highly-touted prospect combination of McMinn, Aucoin, Kennedy and Halliday have a combined 2 points (1 goal) in 3 games played. Jacob Fletcher has flat out carried the red and yellow jerseys to this point, hanging 8 points on opposing teams in the past 48 hours. It will be interesting to see where Fletcher ends up next season, as he will graduate due to age this spring.

Saturday/Sunday April 23 and 24

Moncton defeated Halifax in the Atlantics final by a score of 2-1, going 5-0 in the tournament to punch their ticket to the Telus Cup in mid-May. While I am not one of these people, this triumph brings about the following question – should Moncton have 2 U18 AAA teams? The 2020-21 census states that the greater Moncton region has around 140,000 people, compared to a place such as St. John’s NL which has roughly the same number of residents but has 2 U18 AAA teams. Charlottetown is smaller than both places population wise and only has one team, but gets to pull from the eastern region of PEI and has Mount Academy plucking top talent from their grasp. The HRM has 3 teams (Halifax, Dartmouth and Cole Harbour). Would anyone be upset if Moncton had 2 teams? The region is clearly developing lots of talent (good on them)!

How about Blizzard goaltender Sean Hogan winning top goaltender in the U18 AAA Atlantics, and Cole Gosse winning top defenceman? Hogan was masterful in the Blizzard’s defeat of their cross-town Growler rivals, while Gosse continues to make headlines as a top Junior ‘A’ prospect. Gosse – a relative unknown in scouting circles as he played high school hockey at the midway point of last season – has really come on this season and should be signed by a Junior ‘A’ club this month. Congrats to both!

Who had the best jerseys in this event? There were some beauty tops in this years Atlantics, which led us to do a worst-to-first ranking here:

#5 – Moncton Flyers. Despite being the top teams in the tournament, Moncton’s tops just don’t do it for us

#4 – East Coast Blizzard. These are nice tops, but for guys who resided in the east end of St. John’s, there’s a little too much Mount Pearl in these! LOL (still very nice though)

#3 (tie) – NL Growlers. Love these, simple design and I like the colour combination.

#3 (tie) – Charlottetown Knights. Nearly identical to the Growlers except for the barber poles on the shoulders much like the Charlottetown Islanders QMJHL team.

#1 – Halifax Macs. These tops are iconic and haven’t changed in forever. Who knew yellow red and white would look so nice? Some may say they’re over-the-top, but we say no way.

That’s it for us! Next stop – Montreal for the Q Cup on Wednesday 4/27. Stay tuned for our notebook blog on that! Best of luck to the graduating U18 players in their future endeavours – really hope to see players like Veitch, Curnew, Gosse, Whitten, Hurley, B Walsh, Mcguire, etc etc playing Junior ‘A’ somewhere next year! Good kids and work ethics on these lads. Cheers -AP