Reflections on the NAHA Tournament - and College Coaches in Attendance

Talking to the college coaches at the NAHA Labor Day tournament, I think all the coaches agreed that the two Steelers teams ended up being in the two toughest draws in the tournament, but both teams acquitted themselves well, showed that they could compete with the top teams in North America, and at the end of the day, the tournament is about players showcasing themselves, and playing against the top competition in North America, as opposed to Wins and Losses.

While this year marks the first year a Steelers team did not advance to the quarterfinals since the Steelers first attended the tournament in 2004, with the strong interest that Grade 12 players on both teams generated, and strong interest in the younger players on both teams from the college coaches, I consider the tournament a huge success for both teams.

When I scout players during the course of the year, sometimes it is very difficult to project how a player is going to when playing at a higher level of play. I look for certain skills and attributes which, in the past, have led to players being successful when playing at a higher level of play, but you really never know until players are thrown into a high level competition as to how they are going to perform.

As such, I was particularly impressed with some of the younger players on the Steelers teams, who had never experienced this caliber of play before, and were "thrown to the fire", having to play such tough teams, and in particular the defence core of the Steelers black team.

When thrown into this environment, players can either rise to the challenge, or be overwhelmed, so it was great to see the younger players elevate their play to match the caliber of play they were facing.

It was also great to see some of the older players step in and take a leadership role on the Steelers teams.

I am strong believer that playing at the highest level of playing, taking yourselves outside the comfort zone of the level you may have been accustomed to playing at in the past, is the best way to develop hockey players. Playing at the highest caliber of play forces you to make decisions that much quicker, and taxes you physically and mentally. It may be overwhelming at first, but once you get used to playing at the higher level of play, you will be a better hockey player for it.

I counted a total of 88 college coaches in attendance at the NAHA tournament, representing every Division 1 college, and the majority of Division 3 colleges. There likely were more college coaches than that, as I am sure I may have missed a couple college coaches. The tournament organizers should be posting a complete list on their web site shortly.

At this time, I would like to thank the parents on both teams who helped out with the driving: Don Boyd, Tim Gilligan, Bob Mason, Brad Sidjak, Garth Butcher, Darren Hauca and Andrea Krause. Your assistance helps keeps the costs of these tournaments down and greatly helps out the coaching staff.

I would also especially like to thank Colleen Thomson and Bob Mason who basically are the team leaders of their respective teams once we land in Vermont, and co-ordinate everything. This frees up my time and allows me to spend much more time at the rink to liase with the college coaches.

I would also like to wish all the players all the best with their hockey seasons this year, as they return to their own individual club teams for the season.

NAHA Tournament Update - Day 5

The Steelers black team played the Minnesota Junior White Caps in their final game of the tournament. The Minnesota Junior Whitecaps was a pre-tournament favourite to advance from their pool, and were an extremely strong team.

With Brittany Kimber still out of the lineup, the Steelers had to play with only four defencemen for the third straight game, and had little left in the tank.

Minnesota scored an early goal, and the Steelers replied with a highlight reel goal by Erin Sidjak who intercepted a clearing pass in the offensive zone, skated into the slot, and roofed a shot past the Minnesota goaltender. However, it was all Minnesota after that as they scored 7 straight goals for the win.

The Steelers blue team finished off the tournament with a 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Crunch. The Steelers had their chances early in the game, and could have been up 4-0 after the first period, but just could not convert.

However, the highlight of Day 5 from the girls perspective, appears to be a chance encounter with American boy band Jonas Brothers at the Sheraton hotel where both Steelers teams were staying.

Steelers Black team members Caitlyn Beauvais and Chelsea Campbell were fortunate enough to have their pictures taken with the band [with Steeler parent Brad Sidjak in the background].

The Steelers black team concluded their day shopping on Church Street flying back on a 6 PM flight to Vancouver, while the Steelers blue team spent an extra night in Vermont, some team members attending the Jonas brothers concert in the evening before returning to Vancouver on Monday morning.

NAHA Tournament Update - Day 4-

Day 4 saw the Steelers Black team start things off with a game against Little Caesars. The Little Caesars and Steelers teams have developed quite the rivalry, after playing each other 4 times last season at various tournaments, incuding the finals of the NAHA tournament, the quarterfinals of the Stoney Creek tournament, and the semi-finals of the JWHL Challenge Cup.

The Little Caesars line-up was bolstered by Canadian U-18 National team player imports Breanna Frykas and Kaleigh Fratkin.

Steelers teams always seems to bring their A game against Little Caesars, and this game was no exception, as the Steelers finally found their game, playing an aggressive puck pressure game, matching, and at times exceeding, the Little Caesar's team work ethic. Steelers goaltender Kristin Kiyon was once again spectacular in net, and drew attention from college coaches from her play.

The Steelers were down 1-0 after a breakaway goal by Frykas after a Steelers power play had just ended.

However, with 35 seconds left in the game, the Steelers tied it up after Erin Eagles picked up a rebound in a goal mouth scramble, and roofed the puck over a prone Little Caesars goaltender.

This tie, coupled with a loss later in the day to the Connecticut Polar Bears team, ended up eliminating the Little Caesars team from quarterfinal contention.

This game was the most impressive game for the Steelers Black team, and showed that they could compete with one of the top teams in North America.

The Steelers Blue team then played Southern Alberta. The Steelers had a very strong first period outplaying Southern Alberta, and generating many high quality scoring chances including a couple breakaways.

Caitlyn Beauvais scored the Steelers lone goal, with an assist to Alannah Kedra-McCormack.

However, the Steelers were down to 4 defencemen after Tiffany May was hurt in the Little Caesars game and did not dress for the Southern Alberta game. The loss of May was felt, as a very young Steelers defence core started to tire. Southern Alberta scored a goal in the first minute of the second period, and then scored two more unanswered goals for the win.

The Steelers Black third game of the day saw the Steelers faceoff against the Wisconsin Wild. The Steelers had a goal by Katie McPhedran disallowed early on, but outplayed the Wild, and finally broke through in the second period, when Hayley Boyd, went strong to the net, and picked up a rebound off a Kedra-McCormack shot, and fired a hard shot past the Wild goaltender with authority.

Kedra-McCormack, then sniped a shot from the top of the faceoff circle, to give the Steelers an insurance marker, which it would need when the Wisconsin Wild scored a goal in the last minute of play in the game.

Kristin Kiyon was in net, and recorded the win for the Steeler black team.

Tiffany May returned to the Steelers defence core for the game, but Brittany Kimber was hurt at the end of the Southern Alberta game, so the Steelers defence core remained at 4.

The Steelers Blue team, started the day with a game against the Assabet Valley team. The Assabet Valley team ended up winning the NAHA tournament. The game was tied 0-0 after the first period, as the Steelers blue matched Assabet Valley's intensity, but Assabet Valley finally broke through with 3 goals in the second period. Carly Butcher was outstanding in net for the Steelers blue team.

The Steelers then played Team Alaska, and scored two goals in the first period, and won the game 2-0. Rosanne Wallace was in net for the Steelers and picked up the shutout.

This concluded pool play, in which the Steelers Blue team ended up facing 3 of what ended up being the top 4 teams in the tournament in Durham, Assabet and Dawson.

NAHA Tournament Update - Day 3

Day 3 of the trip was the first day of the NAHA tournament.

The Steelers black team's first game was against the Connecticut Polar Bears. For many players on this younger Steelers team it was the first time they were exposed to this level of competition. Playing in the University of Vermont at Gutterson arena, where NHL superstar Martin Louis played his college hockey. The Steelers hung tough in the game, but ended up losing 4-0. Kristin Kiyon was stellar in goal for the Steelers, and the college coaches took notice of her stellar play.

The Steelers black team then had to play only a few hours later against the Cambridge Fury. Cambridge was in first place last year in the Ontario PWHL, considered the top Junior loop in Ontario. Almost all of the Ontario players currently on the U-18 and U-22 Canadian National teams all played in the PWHL. Cambridge only lost 4 players from last year's team, and is considered a pre-season top 5 team in this year's PWHL.

The Steelers seemed to adjust to the caliber of play, battling hard, and getting a great goaltending performance from Jennifer Gilligan, who impressed the college scoutrs with her outstanding play, but could not generate enough offence, falling 2-0 to a tough Cambridge team.

The Steelers blue team started things off with a game at Noon against a very tough Durham team. One of the top teams in Ontario, the Durham team were relentless in the forechecking, back checking, and taking away passing lanes in the neutral zone. Durham won the game 5-1, but had a couple lucky bounces on a couple goals. Jordan Krause scored the lone goal for the Steelers blue team.

The Steelers blue team then played against Dawson College. Led by U-18 Canadian National team player Marie-Phillip Poulin who is considered to be the top 1991 forward in North America, Dawson is considered a top team in North America, and earlier in the day Dawson defeated a team from Minnesota 11-0. Despite this, the Steelers battled hard, and dropped a 3-0 decision to Dawson.

NAHA Tournament Update - Day 2 - Touring Day

Day 2 in Vermont saw the Steelers team break up into different groups.

The Steelers blue team visited Middlebury College in the morning, and then had a 45 minute practice in the afternoon. Middlebury College has one of the best hockey rinks in women's hockey, and an impressive athletic facility and campus. The tour was led by Middlebury assistant Emily McNamara.

Seven of the younger players on the Steelers black team stayed last night in Andover, MA and made the 40 minute drive to Boston, where they had an opportunity to go on a tour of the campus, led by Alan Chim, who showed players the major landmark/buildings of Harvard including the John Harvard Statute (pictured on the right), Harvard Yard, Annenberg, Memorial Church, and Widener Library.

This was then followed by a tour of the athletics facility led by Harvard assistant Coach Melanie Ruzzi, and assistant coach Joakim Flygh (UK). Players then had an opportunity to tour the rink, and see the new Harvard dressing room, and had an informative Question & Answer session with Harvard head coach Katey Stone. The players came away from the tour with a better understanding of what Harvard Hockey is about, and what it will take to get there.

The players then drove up to Dartmouth College and had a tour of the athletic facilities with Rob Morgan including seeing the Dartmouth rink and dressing room, and the impressive new weight training facility, followed by a Question & Answer session with Rob. Rob was asked, and gave great practical advice about the SATs/ACTs, the importance of finding a school that is a good fit for the player, the recruiting process and the difference between recruiting and being recruited, admission standards and the importance of players displaying good hockey habits.

Although it was a long two days of traveling, the players came away with some great advice from the both the coaches of Harvard and Dartmouth, and seeing both schools gave players a great perspective on the difference between the two Ivy League schools.

Special thanks to Don Boyd and Tim Gilligan who volunteered to drive the players down to Boston and back, and were able to do so successfully without getting lost!

The rest of the Steelers black team players had the day to relax at the hotel. Some players went on unofficial visits with their parents to various colleges.

NAHA Tournament Update - Day 1

Players arrived on-time at Burlington, Vermont with all luggage and hockey equipment arriving as well. It was announced on the plane from Chicago to Burlington that some luggage had been left in Chicago, but fortunately it was not any of the Steelers gear.

7 players from the Steelers Black team will be driving to Andover, MA and spend the night in Andover, while the rest of the Steelers black team and Steelers blue team stay behind to rest up for the tournament in Burlington.

Tomorrow the 7 Steelers Black team players will tour Harvard and Dartmouth, while the rest of the Steelers Blue team have their own individual unofficial visits to various colleges with their parents planned or will be resting at the hotel.

The Steelers Blue team will tour Middlebury College in the morning, and have a practice late afternoon

Team BC Selections and Playing Your Game

Someone sent me a link to the selections to Team BC on the BC Hockey Web Site, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to congratulate those players that made Team BC.

That being said, in the eyes of college coaches, making Team BC, or not making Team BC, will not make a difference when the college coaches scout and evaluate you.

I have had had 14 players that played for the Steelers that have gone on to play Division 1 hockey, that were cut from Team BC.  This includes players that ended up playing for schools such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Minnesota.

College coaches are tasked with finding the best players possible.  Quite frankly, their jobs are on the line if they don't select the right players. 

If you, in their eyes, are a good hockey player, who they think will help their program, then they will take you, regardless of whether you make Team BC or not.

In addition, college coaches generally will only base their evaluations on what they see on the ice, and particularly at the upcoming NAHA Labour Day tournament.  They do not base evaluations on off-ice testing.

And evaluating hockey players often is a largely subjective process.  One coach might like you, another coach might not .  I remember at the NAHA tournament two years ago, one of my players who was a bubble Division 1 player, had probably what I thought was the game of her life.  I knew there were two college coaches that were seriously interested in her and I approached both coaches during the course of the game.

One coach was sold, and was willing to offer an official visit.  The other coach "wasn't that impressed with her".

This illustrates that different coaches look for different things.  Some like stay-at-home defencemen that play tough, make good decisions and do not make high risk plays.  Others like flashy Ed Jovanovski type defencemen who are flashy, high risk, high reward type players.

My best advice to players is when you go to the NAHA tournament, just play your game.  Obviously you were scouted by the Steelers coaching staff this year, and selected to play for the Steelers at the NAHA tournament. 

This means that we obviously felt there was something in your game that stood out.  If you play to the strengths of your game, you will be successful.

And for the record - just for fun, I made up my Team BC Predictions this year, based on what I saw at the BC Winter Games, as well as the 3 games that I attended at the final Team BC camp.  I only successfully predicted 13 of the 20 players that made Team BC.

Exhibition Games

The exhibition games between the two Steelers teams going to NAHA has been finalized:

Sunday Aug 24 8:00-9:15am Igloo
Monday Aug 25 4:00-5:15pm Coliseum

The games will be played using the NAHA Tournament Rules

two -- twenty three minute run time halves -- last 3 minutes of each period are stop time
minor penalties are 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Rental Car

For those of you looking for rental cars for Burlington, the best deal on rental cars I was able to find was at Thrifty.

The only draw back of Thrifty is that their Burlington airport location is off-site, meaning a short 5 minute shuttle bus to pick-up the vehicle. However, their rates, and taxes appear to be lower than the other rental companies.

You can compare rental rates for all the rental companies at the Burlington airport on Travelocity. Please book through the link below, and support the Pacific Steelers program:

Hotel Information

Players will be staying at the Sheraton Hotel in Burlington, Vermont

Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center
870 Williston Road
Burlington, Vermont 05403
Phone: 802.865.6654
Toll-Free: 800-866-6117

We were only allotted 20 rooms, and unfortunately our room allotment is used up, and the hotel is completely full.

It is suggested that parents that are still looking for rooms book the Holiday Inn South Burlington on Williston Road. The Holiday Inn South Burlington, is walking distance from the Sheraton, and less than a 10 minute drive to the two rinks that the tournament will be held at.

Please be sure you book the Holiday Inn on Williston Road and NOT the Holiday Inn Express.

Please support the Pacific Steelers program by making your hotel booking through the Travelocity.com booking link below:

NAHA Tournament Schedule

The schedule for the NAHA tournament can be found at:

http://www.winter-hawks.org/LaborDay/index.html

Click on the 2008 Labor Day Tournament Schedule

The team coached by Jeff Eaton is "Steelers Black"

The team coached by Colleen Thomson is "Steelers Blue"

Game Results will typically be posted on the web site, although may be delayed. Check back at this blog, as I will be posting live updates throughout the course of the tournament.

Steelers tie Slash 1-1. Finish third in the tournament and will play in bronze medal game at 10 AM on Sunday.
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Steelers lose 3-0 to Red Deer.
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Dom Goutsis scored a short handed breakaway goal as the Steelers gutted out a 1 to 0 win over Manitoba.
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Nd beats steelers 2 to 1 in a close game
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Arrived in EDMONTON

The steelers have arrived in EDMONTON. Some players are taking a game day skate this morning at the nait arena while others are resting up at the hotel for tonights game against notre dame.
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Steelers to Represent BC at Western Midget Female Championships

The Steelers won the Zone Midget Female AAA Championship, and will represent BC at the 2008 Western Canada Midget Female Championships ("WCMFC") in St. Albert, AB - April 3-6, 2008. Please visit this blog on April 3 for live updates of the Steelers games at the WCMFC.

Visit the official WCMFC Web Site at:

http://www.2008wcmfc.com/

2008 College Showcase

Now accepting registrations for the 2008 Pacific Steelers College Showcase

Visit: http://www.hockeybc.com/brochure/


For more information