BOSTON — Harvard is hosting the Crimson Combine this week for players in the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 birth years.
The event allows players to practice and play against one another. Monday and Tuesday were focused on the 2010s and 2012s.
It's a bit early for us to begin watching the '12s, but the '10s are certainly in our wheelhouse. I spent Monday watching both '10s games (all four teams).
Let's dive into 15 standouts from Monday's action.
Samuel Bezio
Plattsburgh High School, 12/12/2010, D, left shot, 5-10/165
Hometown: Plattsburgh, N.Y.Â
Defense typically isn't a strong suit at events like this, but Bezio maintained great gaps when defending the rush and picked the right times to step up, get his stick on the puck and break up the play. Late in the second half, he broke up a rush with his stick, freed the puck and created a 3-on-2 the other way that ended in him getting a high-danger chance. Moments later, he kept a good gap on Carsten Haala, grabbed the puck and made a nice pass up ice.
Charles Boroff
Lakeville South Bantam, 5/12/2010, D, left shot
Hometown: Lakeville, Minn.Â
What stood out most with Boroff was his elusiveness with the puck in his own zone. He was able to stick-handle through forecheckers to get to space. In his own zone, his stick was good, too, breaking up plays and getting in passing lanes. Midway through the first half, he stepped up at the opposing blue line, gained the zone with the puck and started a long, offensive zone sequence.
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Liam Fournier
Seacoast Performance Academy, 2/4/2010, F, left shot, 5-10/154
Hometown: Trois-Rivières, QuebecÂ
Fournier played like the kind of player you would despise playing against. He was noticeable every time he hit the ice. Midway through the first half, his forecheck featured him beating two defenders for a puck, coming out from the corner and cutting to the middle for a shot. He was vital in the cycle, winning board battles and getting to space to evaluate passing lanes. He scored on a shot that the goalie should've had, but Fournier's game was so much more impactful than one goal.
Brayden Hekle
Mid Fairfield, 6/8/2010, F, left shot, 5-10/157
Hometown: Stamford, Conn.Â
Hekle's skating stood out the most. His speed and stride helped him drive play and create offense. That was the case early in the first half when his play-driving led directly to Bo Skelton's goal. He set up Skelton again moments later when he got the puck on the wing, drew the defender to him on the outside and slid a behind-the-back pass to Skelton for a chance. Hekle was also effective at being the first forward in on the forecheck, protecting pucks along the wall and waiting for lanes to open to make passes to high-danger areas.
Jacob Homicke
Centennial AA Bantams, 2/2/2010, D, right shot, 5-11/150
Hometown: Blaine, Minn.Â
As I mentioned with Bezio, defense was not at the forefront for this. But Homicke held good gaps when defending the rush. His stick was good, making good reads to anticipate where forwards were going so he could break up the play. On one of those sequences, he broke up the play and joined the rush the other way, which ended in him scoring from tipping a shot next to the post.
Gage Kallhoff
Moorhead Bantam AA, 6/3/2010, F, right shot, 6-0/159
Hometown: Moorhead, Minn.Â
Kallhoff opened the game with a missile of a shot for a goal. He was bigger than most opposing players, but what I really liked about him were his reads. He made smart decisions when forechecking defenders, successfully taking routes to where they would go. Kallhoff supported plays in his own zone, too, intelligently reading puck scrums to be the one who fished the puck out.
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Liam Koch
Buffalo Jr. Sabres, 11/24/2010, F, left shot, 6-1/170
Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y.Â
Koch's speed and power were on a different level from most of his opponents. He was able to generate speed fairly quickly and put defenders on their heels. Typically, players with that size and ability try to do too much, but Koch was always looking for passes and chances to create.
Dylan Rothstein
Taft, 7/6/2010, F, right shot, 5-7/146
Hometown: New City, N.Y.Â
Rothstein was arguably the best player I saw in both games. He did it all as a center. Supporting plays as the third forward high? Check. Getting back to help out his defensemen (even in summer hockey)? Check. Winning his puck battles? Check. Forcing defenders to turn the puck over? Check. Creating offense through deception and an ability to get to high-danger areas? Check. I think you get the point.
Marc Ruggere
Mount St. Charles, 9/5/2010, D, right shot, 6-2/179
Hometown: Saddle River, N.J.Â
There's no doubt that Ruggere's size helped him as he fended off opposing forwards in his own zone. But Ruggere has good hands. He was able to stick-handle through pressure. At one point, with the puck behind his own net, he passed it off the back of the net to have the forechecker go by, and Ruggere was able to skate the puck to space. He always seemed to be looking to rush the puck.
Carson Schroeder
Northstar Elite, 8/7/2010, F, left shot
Hometown: Menomonee Falls, Wisc.Â
Schroeder's best play came from his outstanding hands and vision. In the first half, he got the puck in neutral ice and, with pressure on him, he shifted around a defender and made a perfect pass through traffic to Connor Kazmierczak for a breakaway, which he scored on. Schroeder made smart reads and his hands allowed him to be creative with the puck.
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Benjamin Sorenson
Shattuck-St. Mary's, 1/2/2010, D, left shot, 6-1/154
Hometown: Minnetonka, Minn.Â
Sorenson's shot was impressive. The big man scored in the first half on a hard shot from out high. The mobility he has as a 6-foot-1, 15-year-old is rare. He was able to drive offense from the back, skating pucks and navigating through pressure with ease.
Xuxin Tang
Guojin Shanghai, 1/15/2010, F, left shot
Hometown: ShanghaiÂ
Yes, you read that right — Tang is from Shanghai. Tang featured outstanding hands, and his skating made him super elusive and, therefore, hard for defenders to contain. Often, players at this level with good hands can sometimes stay along the perimeter, but that wasn't Tang. He fought hard to get to high-danger ice and beat defenders. He was rewarded late in the second half when he went end-to-end for a goal. Tang took it east-west across the neutral zone before using his speed to beat the defender to the outside and slip the puck past the goalie.
Patrick Viano
Boston Jr. Eagles, 12/2/2010, D, left shot, 5-8/146
Home state: PennsylvaniaÂ
Viano was all about elusiveness. Sometimes, he tried to make one too many moves. But most often, Viano was able to get away from pressure to find better passing lanes. Midway through the first half, he intercepted a pass that would've been a breakaway for the other team. He settled it down, slipped to his left and hit Leo Acker with a pass up the middle to kickstart a 2-on-1.
Tripp Wroblewski
Team Wisconsin, 1/23/2010, F, left shot, 5-9/141
Home state: WisconsinÂ
Wroblewski scored on a snipe over the goalie's glove in the first half. Wrobleswki's hands stood out through the rest of the game. He was able to dangle through defenders to get to better ice. Midway through the second half, he took the puck to the outside and in one slick move, moved the puck more middle and got a shot away. Wroblewski was buzzing in the offensive zone, too, at one point forcing a turnover on a breakout and hitting the post with the shot.
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Austin Wu
St. Sebastian's, 1/28/2010, F, left shot, 5-11/161
Hometown: Dedham, Mass.Â
Of all the players at this, I've seen Wu the most by quite a bit. He was his normal, play-driving self, unafraid to bring pucks through the middle of the ice. He set teammates up well in the offensive zone, too.
