TSA SCOUTING JOURNAL
Welcome to the TSA Scouting Journal, your one stop shop for North American hockey coverage, providing coverage of Midget, Junior (Tier 1 / Tier 2 / Tier 3), and Collegiate hockey.
Quick Hits
Tampa Bay Lightning are Stanley Cup Champions
NAPHL West Conference showcase Oct 17th - Oct 19th in Blaine, MN
QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada , Sherbrooke Phoenix battling Covid outbreak, in-person team events postponed
NAHL season begins Friday, October 9th
Brayden Patricia leads Eastern Hockey League with 17 points in 7 games
OHL will have no in-play contact if it wants to have 2020-2021 season
September 17 2020 - September 22 2020
EHL
Mid-Atlantic Conference
New Jersey 87’s- 4W-0L-0T- Adam Houli’s squad looks poised for another deep run this year as they start the year 4-0. They had a nice sweep vs the CT Roughriders and also added wins vs Pro-tec and the Little Flyers.
Maryland- 4W-1L-0T- Team Maryland started the season hot going 4-0 but dropped one to a tough Little Flyers team 4-2. 01’ Forward Bobby Geier is off to a impressive start with 7 points in 5 games.
Protec Jr Ducks- 3W-2L-2OTL- ProTec started their inaugural season on the right foot but have come down to earth a bit, losing 4 of their last 5. They have been competing with 2 shootout losses in that time span. Brayden Patricia has been on an early season tear with 17 points in 7 games.
Northeast Conference
Seacoast Spartans- 4W-0L-1OTL-The Spartans have rattled off three straight in a bunch of hard fought games. Skilled two-way forward Azam Jiwa 00’ has been carrying the load offensively with 6 points.
New England Wolves - 4W-1L-0T- They are a deep with a solid defensive core and tremendous goaltending. The goaltending tandem of Kyle Penton and LJ Newell have averaged a 95.1 Save %.
USPHL Premier
Florida Division
This division in the USPHL Premier looks to be extremely competitive at the top. Charleston has started 4-2 out of the gate and right behind them are Tampa (3-1), Florida (3-1), Atlanta (2-2). Tampa Bay 20 year-old forwards Stanley Lucas and Aaron Frenkel are leading the division in scoring with 11 pts each.
Great Lakes Division
Teams in the division played in the Frazer Showcase this past weekend and showed very well. Toledo is sitting at 6-0 up top of the division with games in hand. Metro Jets, Pittsburgh, Lake Erie, Columbus are all sitting with 6 points. These teams will be facing off vs each other over the next course of the next few weeks.
Midwest East Division
Teams in this division struggled at the Frazer Showcase vs the Great Lakes Division. The Chicago Cougars have struggled out of the gate going 2-4. They are a younger group this year as they are still learning the Junior game. Their 20 year old veteran Jozef Martanic is trying to carry his team with 12 points in 6 games.
New England Division
Springfield, Twin-City, Boston Jr Bruins and Islanders Hockey Club are sitting undefeated a few games into the season. Springfield has been impressive thus far going 3W-0L-1OTL, they are a good combination of older and younger players. Should be a team to watch for the local Division 3 schools.
Click below for our USPHL Premier Top 25 scouting reports from the Fraser Showcase.
NA3HL
Central Division
Oregon and Rochester are both sitting at 2-0 as they got their season off on the right foot. Rochester had a nice weekend sweep of the St. Louis Jr Blues. Oregon was able to defeat Milwaukee and Wausau to start their 2020-2021 campaign.
Frontier Division
An exciting year in the Frontier Division is unfolding as many of teams in the division have gotten their 2020-2021 season started. Great Falls, Missoula and Gillette are all sitting at 2-0. Sheridan and Bozeman split their weekend series. Lots of hockey will be played in this division over the course of the next few weeks.
USPHL Elite
North Division
Islanders Hockey Club is sitting at 4-0 as they have handed defeats to everyone in the division, besides the Cyclones who have not started their season yet. Second year USPHL Elite player Jackson Hanson 00’ has 2 Goals and 3 Assists for his Islanders Hockey Club program\
Florida Division
Up top the division are Tampa (4-0) and Florida Eels (3-1). Both teams are looking poised for another neck to neck race for the division championship. Both programs are filled with extremely young talent that are fun to watch. This division holds many potential sleeper prospects for junior programs at the higher levels.
NCDC Showcase Notes
New England Sports Center - 10.2.2020 to 10.5.2020
Our scouting department breaks down 4 NCDC programs from their first showcase at New England Sports Center.
Preview
New Jersey Rockets (2 W – 0 L – 0 T)
Cole Vallese (9)- Forward- ’02, 5’9”, 145 lbs. (Providence) (2 g, 1 a)- Vallese is a strong puck-possession center. He’s a shifty playmaker with the puck and also has a deceptively quick shot. He skates well and uses pivots to open up his body which allows him to generate chances for himself and his teammates. His puck skills draw a lot of attention on PP and he uses a fake slapper to open up space for east-west passes. His one drawback is that he can sometimes fade too much to the perimeter.
Aidan Harper – Goaltender- ’01, 6’2”, 170 lbs (UMass-Lowell) Harper is fundamentally sound. He has a quick recovery as well as great lateral movement and athleticism. He uses his stick really well to deflect pucks away from the net mouth and does a good job of limiting the amount of secondhand chances.
Team Notes
This was the surprise team of the weekend. Last year’s Rockets had some talented players but could never seem to put it together for entire games. With a change in coaches (the fourth time in four seasons), this year’s version is faster and more skilled than previous seasons. The Rockets acquired several NCDC veterans (Quinnipiac Commit Connor Tait ’01 Forward, previously with NJ Hitman and third year veteran Shane Shell who spent the last two years with the Boston Bandits) that have bolstered their lineup.
October 3 2020 - US NTDP U17 (4) at Johnstown Tomahawks (6)
The Under-17 team of the United States National Team Development Program traveled to Johnstown for their first game of the year. The Tomahawks returned several veterans from their squad that has been one of the best NAHL teams for the last two seasons. The U-17 team, featuring some of the best 2004 players in the country, were looking to quickly form a cohesive unit.
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