ROCKLAND, Mass. — Each year at the Mass. Hockey Festival, there are plenty of debates over who should advance and who shouldn’t, and this year was no different. Overall, Mass. Hockey Executive Director Kevin Kavanagh and Mass. Hockey Player Development Director Paul Pearl deserve kudos for how the festival is run. College coaches and NHL...
ROCKLAND, Mass. — Each year at the Mass. Hockey Festival, there are plenty of debates over who should advance and who shouldn’t, and this year was no different.
Overall, Mass. Hockey Executive Director Kevin Kavanagh and Mass. Hockey Player Development Director Paul Pearl deserve kudos for how the festival is run.
College coaches and NHL scouts serve as evaluators and do a great job, by and large. There have been instances over the years where sons of former NHL players got through over more deserving prospects. But, for the most part, the best players get to go to Amherst, N.Y., for the USA Hockey Player Development Camps.
I agree with most of the picks, but if asked to come up with one player who was snubbed at each age group, I could state a case for that prospect. At the 2008 birth year, it was most apparent that one particular player deserved to make it to national camp.
Stephen Rousell
Rivers, 3/31/08, right shot, 5-9/157
As alluded to above, the biggest snub from the national camp selections was undoubtedly Rousell, who hails from Roslindale, Mass. Rousell was one of the best skaters on the ice in the '08 portion of the Final 40. He used his edges to accelerate, create separation speed and make plays. He received regular minutes for Freddy Meyer’s Red Wings this past winter during the prep season. Hopefully, a wrong will be righted and the former Boston Advantage star will earn an at-large bid to national camp.
Billy MacAusland
Nobles, 8/4/07, C, left shot, 5-8/150
MacAusland was the second-biggest snub throughout the camp. He’s on the smaller side, but he just seems to produce against his own age group. He did just that on Sunday, finding the back of the net twice. His skating, stick and offensive hockey sense would all do well at national camp. From Westwood, Mass., MacAusland has a strong shot at receiving an at-large bid to the July event in Amherst, N.Y.
TO PARENTS: Don't overreact if your child missed national camp
Josh Itri
Tabor, 1/4/06, RW, right shot, 5-9/170
I wouldn’t necessarily describe Itri as being snubbed, but if there was one player out of the mix with a strong case for being considered, it was him. From Sandwich, Mass., Itri did a good job of using his speed and compete level. He hunted loose pucks and scored two goals on Saturday. A rising senior at Tabor, he’ll be counted on to make a bigger impact for head coach Gerry Dineen’s Seawolves.
