MARLBORO, Mass. — The annual Beantown Classic took place at the New England Sports Center, as well as a few other rinks around Massachusetts, this past weekend.
Teams across various age groups took to the ice, playing in front of college coaches, USHL general managers and NHL scouts.
I spent Friday and Saturday focused on the Eastern Exposure Cup but made the trip to Marlboro on Sunday to take in some of the 18U action with a focus on watching some teams I haven't seen as much as others this fall. Surprisingly, that's been the Little Bruins and Boston Jr. Eagles — two of the more prominent teams around the Boston area.
On Sunday, I also got a look at the Fall Prep Wildcats (Kimball Union's team) and the Avon Regals.
Let's dive in.
Malcolm Baar
Fall Prep Wildcats, 4/10/2006, F, left shot, 5-11/190
Hometown: Revelstoke, B.C.Â
Baar was a primary play-driver for the Wildcats against the Little Bruins. He had many offensive zone entries. Early in the first half, he showed great hockey sense when he drew defenders to him and sifted a nice pass to a teammate for a Grade-A opportunity. Baar will be a massive piece of Kimball Union's offense this winter.
Austin Borggaard
Little Bruins, 1/15/2005, F, left shot, 6-0/185
Hometown: Charlton, Mass.Â
It was a great weekend for Borggaard who continued to show no issue in putting pucks in the back of the net. That was the case again in Sunday's game against the Fall Prep Wildcats when he accelerated off the rush, got around a defender and backhanded one past the netminder. He has one of the best shots I've seen at this level and shows patience when the puck is on his stick in the offensive zone.
Aidan Connors
Boston Jr. Eagles, 8/9/2005, D, left shot, 6-0/161
Hometown: Westboro, Mass.Â
Connors defended the rush really well on Sunday, keeping good gaps and using his physicality to thwart opposing forwards. He defended the high-danger areas well in his own zone, too. In the offensive zone, he has a sneaky strong release on his shots from the point.
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Dennis Davidson
Little Bruins, 5/15/2006, F, right shot, 5-9/175
Hometown: Newton, Mass.Â
Davidson showed well in Sunday afternoon's game. He was creative offensively and used his good skating skills to gain separation from defenders. At one point, he made a spin move to get away from the opposition and make a crisp pass. He notched a nice assist on Teddy MacAusland's (Westwood, Mass.) goal in the first period. Davidson had no problem putting up points at Nobles last season. He looks primed for another strong campaign this winter.
Tyler Hamilton
Boston Jr. Eagles, 12/7/2006, F, right shot, 5-11/170
Hometown: Framingham, Mass.Â
The Jr. Eagles struggled for offense on Sunday, but Hamilton's two-way play stood out. Midway through the first half, he challenged a Regals defender at the point while killing a penalty, leading to a shorthanded breakaway that he came oh-so-close to scoring on. He did, however, draw a penalty on the play. He showed off great vision early in the second half when he hit a teammate with a perfect pass in the low slot. Hamilton is a prospect to keep an eye on this winter at Dexter Southfield.
Sam LeDrew
Fall Prep Wildcats, 3/19/2005, F, right shot, 6-1/175
Hometown: Halifax, N.S.Â
LeDrew had a lot of assertiveness in his game against the Little Bruins. He broke through the Little Bruins' defense off the rush early in the first half and earned a scoring chance. LeDrew also has a strong shot. Late in the game with the Wildcats down a goal, LeDrew had two shots from the top of the faceoff circle. They successfully got through all the bodies in front of the net, but were both snatched up by the glove of Little Bruins goalie Ryder Shea (Framingham, Mass.). With most goalies, LeDrew would've had a goal there.
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Nicholas Petrut
Avon Regals, 12/14/2006, F, right shot, 5-8/150
Hometown: Kingston, Ont.Â
Petrut showcased good speed and skill on Sunday, using his shiftiness to get around defenders and generate chances off the rush. His play-driving abilities helped the Regals gain momentum toward the end of their contest against the Jr. Eagles, which led to them winning.
Tyler Spokane
Avon Regals, 2/9/2005, G, catches left, 6-0/170
Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y.Â
The Jr. Eagles had a number of good chances on Sunday and Spokane turned them all away, earning a shutout. That included a handful of breakaways. But his best save may have been a glove stop on a missile from Charlie Leverone (Sudbury, Mass.) late in the game.
Nathan Walsh
Little Bruins, 7/9/2006, D, left shot, 5-9/165
Hometown: Mendon, Mass.Â
Walsh was always involved in the offense, showing good instincts when joining the rush. He was involved in his team's first goal when he made a smart, heads-up play to make a redirection pass to Davidson in the neutral zone, who found MacAusland on a 2-on-1.
