CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard’s hockey program hosted a number of top '08s from across the country on Monday and Tuesday at the annual Crimson Combine. Assistant coaches James Marcou and Jim Tortorella did a great job of organizing yet another terrific Crimson Combine.
The two-day event took place at the school’s Bright-Landry Hockey Center. In addition to competing in two games, each participant took part in on-ice practices and off-ice seminars from USA Hockey’s NTDP staff, including Kevin Reiter, Brent Darnell and Dave Lassonde. In addition to the Harvard assistants and NTDP staff, games were watched by Harvard head coach Ted Donato and a handful of college and prep coaches, junior scouts and NHLPA agents. The Crimson Combine truly is one of the best events of the summer for players in this age group.
The North Jersey Avalanche and Long Island Gulls were well-represented with a number of the top players at the 2008 Crimson Combine hailing from those two programs. Below is a look at 26 prospects who stood out over the course of the two days.
An asterisk has been placed next to the names of three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender who made my unofficial All-Crimson Combine Team.
Forwards
Austin Groves *
North Jersey Avalanche, 5/21/08, left shot
Groves showed as well as any forward at the combine. He’s got great edges and he's light on his skates when flying around the ice. Groves has plenty of skill and was able to pick spots with his shots. He scored a nice goal coming down the left wing without breaking stride and pinged the crossbar on another chance. As a playmaker, he threaded the needle and made some great passes to give teammates golden opportunities to score.
Jacob Jett *
North Jersey Avalanche, 1/15/08, left shot
Jett wasn’t as productive as he might have been capable of, but he displayed why he’s well thought of in this age group. He skates well, protects pucks and is strong on his skates. He was on the right side of the puck and had some chances.
Coleman Bumgarner *
Shakopee (Minn.) HS, 4/25/08, left shot
Bumgarner has a world of potential with his size and ability to play as a power forward. He had a goal here and showed why he played up at the high school level as an eighth grader in 2021-22. Playing defense, he had four goals and 14 assists for Shakopee High School in Minnesota.
JT Rothstein
Mid Fairfield, 1/19/08, left shot
Rothstein’s skating and shot stand out right away. He had a couple of goals and showed the potential to be a difference maker offensively. Projecting, he could be a lethal threat on the power play as he can dominate when he has time and space. He was slick and created a ton of chances both in zone and on the rush.
Kevin Lysohir
Long Island Gulls, 7/10/08, left shot
Lysohir had a nice combine, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist. He used his separation speed and sniped on a breakaway for one of his tallies. Another play that stood out was a terrific backcheck before quickly turning around and sending a pass up ice to spring a teammate on a breakaway.
Owen Burke
Mid Fairfield, 4/22/08, left shot
Burke is a powerful skater who plays a north-south game. He made a big-time pass on a two-on-one that resulted in a teammate finding the back of the net. A power forward, he’s the younger brother of '06 Blake Burke, who is at Westminster.
Mason St. Louis
Mid Fairfield, 1/16/08, right shot
A familiar name to hockey fans, Mason is the son of Montreal Canadiens head coach and former NHL legend Marty St. Louis. He’s also the younger brother of Harvard commit Lucas (05) and Ryan ('03). St. Louis is a good player in his own right and has taken some significant steps over the past six months. He’s a playmaker who has good vision, habits and details in his game. He skates well and was around the puck a lot.
Ryan Kelley
Minuteman Flames, 1/26/08, right shot
Kelley was one of the best skaters here and had a goal and an assist. He’s skilled, slick and able to make plays by using his feet to his advantage.
Aiden Strzelecki
Long Island Royals, 5/8/08, right shot
Strzelecki is a tall, lanky forward with potential to pop into a very good player over the next couple of years. He had a goal here and grew on me as the two days moved along.
Eli Morrison
Yale Junior Bulldogs, 8/23/08, right shot
Morrison is on the smaller side, but he was crafty and strong on his skates, especially for his size. He scored a goal and generated a lot of chances the first day.
Joseph Doyle
River Rats, 3/2/08, left shot
Doyle has size and a good stick. He had three assists and used his hockey sense and compete to overcome a speed disadvantage at times.
Stevie Rousell
Boston Advantage, 3/25/08, right shot
Rousell was strong throughout the combine, but got better as it went on. He had a couple of assists, skated well and made a number of solid hockey plays.
Liam Donnelly
Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, 5/29/07, left shot
Donnelly is a big, physically strong kid who scored three goals over the course of the two days. He can use his size to bull his way to the scoring areas. He had the hardest shot of anyone here.
Nolan Iaricci
Minuteman Flames, 2/14/08, left shot
Iaricci had three goals and showed a good stick throughout the two days.
Owen DeGraff
Long Island Gulls, 1/13/08, right shot
DeGraff had a couple of goals by going to the net front and poking home loose rebounds. There’s something to be said for a player willing to go to the greasy areas in a summer showcase.
Siwoo Lee
Delta Hockey Academy, 9/11/08, right shot
Lee was another one of the smaller, effective forwards on his team here. From north of the border, he’s small, but around the puck a lot and made some plays.
Channing Kao
Washington Little Caps, 5/18/08, right shot
Kao had two goals and an assist. He’s a good skater and crafty.
Michael Foley
Long Island Gulls, 4/3/08, left shot
Foley is a north-south power forward with a hard shot. He scored a pair of goals here.
Defensemen
Anthony Pedalino *
Long Island Gulls, 4/29/08, left shot
Pedalino had a hat trick on the second day. Coming off a strong showing at the Junior Chowder Cup, he once again showed why he’s one of the most well-regarded defenders in this birth year. He’s strong, physical, and has good gaps. He knows when to jump into the rush and is a solid two-way defender.
Alex Zinman *
North Jersey Avalanche, 3/11/08, right shot
Zinman was dynamic at times and clearly proved he was in the top two for defensemen at this combine. He’s mobile, poised and makes quick, smart decisions with the puck on his stick. He got shots through from the point and held his ground in terms of keeping pucks in the attacking zone. He was consistently a breakout machine and puck-possession threat during the two days.
Dominick Mack
Long Island Gulls, 1/12/08, left shot
Mack had a goal and an assist and displayed good tools. He’s smooth and the puck snaps off his stick. He skates well and is strong on retrievals.
Tayvin Frongello
Boston Advantage, 6/6/08, left shot
Frongello had a handful of pluses next to his name over the two days. He has decent size, a hard shot, and reads plays well.
Colin Feeley
Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, 3/7/08, left shot
Feeley is a big, physical, rangy defenseman. He’s tall, lanky and has some upside as a shutdown defender who can cover a lot of ground.
Brock Potter
Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, 1/1/08, left shot
Potter had a goal and an assist. He’s a smart player and made one of the nicest stretch passes of the combine. He sent an indirect pass off the right wing boards for a breakaway.
Goaltenders
Carter Backus *
Boston Advantage, 11/13/08, catches left
It’s tough to gauge goaltenders at an event like this, but Backus gave up just one goal each day. He made a couple of big-time saves, moving laterally, on the second day. He’s got a quick glove and looked to have some potential. He’s a late birthday and looks to be a solid prospect.
Jordan Valcich
Long Island Gulls, 2/21/08, catches left
Valcich showed well with his size, ability to prevent second chances, and eating pucks.
