EXETER, N.H. — The Rinks at Exeter 2005 Development Camp took place in early August, bringing quite a few good prospects from the birth year together for a two-day showcase.
The event lost some good players, due to Canadians not being allowed to cross the border. However, there were still some very good prospects from New England and a few other notable standouts from across the country. NTDP assistant director of player personnel Rod Braceful and former Dartmouth and New Hampshire assistant Dave Lassonde coached the teams in game action.
Below is an All-Camp team made up of the top three forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender followed by a list of other noteworthy performers.
All-Camp Team
Forwards
Brian Nicholas
Mid Fairfield, 3/15/05, left shot
Nicholas was highly productive, scoring at least four goals and adding one assist. He’s a power forward who drives the net and has a hard shot. Nicholas protects pucks down low and is able to use his size and strength to his advantage. The Scarsdale, N.Y., native is making the move from Westchester Express to Mid Fairfield for the 2020-21 season.
Joe Hurton
Boston Advantage, 3/23/05, right shot
Hurton has shown plenty of potential over the past year or so since I first saw him, but he put it together for two days in Exeter. A power forward from Quincy, Mass., Hurton scored a big-time goal on the second day and was around the play a lot. His compete level appeared to be better than usual. Hurton will be moving on from Boston Advantage to Dexter Southfield.
Joey Zheng
Phillips Andover, 9/8/05, right shot
Zheng is listed here as one of the top three forwards from this showcase due to his elite speed. He found the scoresheet a couple of times but also impacted the play with his speed and ability to make plays. His hockey sense isn’t as elite as his speed, but it’s certainly a positive in his game. From Glenview, Ill., Zheng will be back for his second season with the River Rats and Phillips Andover.
Defensemen
Francois DeVilliers
Culver, 2/16/05, left shot
DeVilliers is a mobile, puck-moving defenseman. His skating is really good and he can quickly transition from defense to offense. The Irvine, Calif., native had good, tight gaps, and his stick was solid while defending the rush. He appeared poised and confident with the puck on his stick. DeVilliers will be switching from Anaheim Junior Ducks to Culver Military Academy.
Lucas St. Louis
Mid Fairfield, 3/30/05, left shot
St. Louis is an offensive defenseman with good mobility, vision and skill. His stick and skating are both good assets. The Riverside, Conn., native appears to have put on some muscle and added some explosiveness over the past couple of months.
Goaltender
Thomas Kiesewetter
Thayer, 1/2/05, catches left
Kiesewetter has intriguing size and did a good job at the Exeter event. He posted a shutout in his half of action Monday and was solid Tuesday. The Plymouth, Mass., native was solid on rebound control and took up a lot of the net.
Honorable mention
Forwards
Salvatore Guzzo
Mid Fairfield, 4/17/05, right shot
Guzzo is a power forward who protects pucks and forechecks hard. He’s heavy on pucks and is able to distribute the puck to open teammates while using his size and reach to get time and space.
Ryan Smith
Buffalo Junior Sabres, 10/3/05, right shot
Smith had a real good couple of days. He’s more explosive than he was previously and produced a couple of goals. He protects pucks and finished a rush with a nice backhanded score without breaking stride.
Philippe Lalonde
Shattuck-St. Mary’s, 1/6/05, left shot
Lalonde is a player who didn’t particularly stand out a ton in my viewings of Shattuck-St. Mary’s 14-U during the 2019-20 season, but he was good at Exeter. He’s slick with the puck, scoring a couple of goals and adding an assist. I also noted his backchecking efforts.
Logan Renkowski
Mid Fairfield, 8/1/05, left shot
Renkowski continues to display his improved play. He’s fast and does a good job moving pucks quickly to create offensive chances for his teammates.
Brendan Fields
LA Jr. Kings, 1/9/05, right shot
Fields is a playmaker who thinks pass. He does a good job hunting pucks and had an assist during Monday’s game.
Alex Pelletier
Avon Old Farms, 6/1/05, left shot
Pelletier has a lot of speed and good size. A power forward, he does a good job controlling possession and cycling below the dots. His best hockey likely is ahead of him.
Cam Russo
Governor’s, 1/3/05, right shot
Russo is a skilled forward with size. He looks bigger and was able to keep pucks away from opposing defenders and get some chances.
John Halverson
Edina, 10/26/05, right shot
Halverson is a smaller forward from Minnesota who played with pace and made some plays.
Teddy Merrill
Phoenix Junior Coyotes, 5/8/05, right shot
Merrill has good size, protected pucks and notched at least one assist during my viewings.
Michael Nigro
Winchester, 3/22/05, left shot
Nigro scored a couple of goals. He’s a smart forward who is able to find soft areas in the defense and exploit them with his quick release.
Tommy Agerland
Holy Family, 1/1/05, left shot
Agerland has good size and produced with a couple of goals and an assist. His skating is an area of his game that will need some improvement in order to take the next step in his game.
Jesse Allecia
Mid Fairfield, 10/1/05, right shot
Allecia is a small forward who showed off his quickness and craftiness a few times at the event.
Michael Hagens
Mount Saint Charles, 2/1/05, left shot
Hagens is a skilled forward with quickness. He’s making the jump from Long Island Royals to Mount Saint Charles.
Gavin McCarthy
Buffalo Junior Sabres, 6/2/05, right shot
McCarthy is a big and strong player who played a little forward and defense at Exeter. He’s usually listed as a defenseman but was marked down as a forward.
Landan Resendes
Junior Bruins, 12/10/05, right shot
Resendes is on the smaller side, but he’s skilled and made a couple of plays. He’s making the move from Minuteman Flames and Hillside School to the Junior Bruins 16-U team.
Sean Gibbons
Mid Fairfield, 8/1/05, right shot
Gibbons is on the smaller side, but he’s crafty and can make some good passes to find open teammates. He’ll need to add a little more explosiveness to his stride in order to become more dynamic.
Defensemen
Drew Fortescue
Mid Fairfield, 4/28/05, left shot
Fortescue played some forward as his team was short in terms of numbers. He’s a two-way defenseman who can chip in offensively. He’s rangy and has a good stick defensively. There’s some upside here.
Ze’ev Buium
Shattuck-St. Mary’s, 12/7/05, left shot
Buium is a smaller offensive defenseman who does a good job moving pucks up ice. He got better as the two days went along and found the scoresheet.
CJ Theberge
Shattuck-St. Mary’s, 2/2/05, left shot
Theberge is a big, physical defensive defenseman. He’s a blueliner who will need to concentrate on being sharp in his own zone and keeping things simple, in order to make the most out of his tools.
Jason Fritz
Buffalo Junior Sabres, 6/29/05, right shot
Fritz is a smooth defender who made a couple of positive plays throughout the two days.
Nico Pasquale
Team Illinois, 5/1/05, right shot
Pasquale is a smaller defenseman with good mobility. He’s not overly dynamic, but his skating and skill are worth watching as he progresses.
Hunter Spiess
Mid Fairfield, 2/1/05, right shot
Spiess has good size and activated into the offensive zone a few times. He could project as a two-way defenseman, but he’ll have to emphasize the defensive zone.
Jack O’Brien
Boston Advantage, 2/1/05, left shot
O’Brien is an offensive-minded defenseman who skates well and jumps into the offensive attack with frequency.
Charlie Kinsman
Buffalo Junior Sabres, 3/17/05, right shot
Kinsman played both forward and defense, but is typically a blueliner. He has good hands for a big guy and is someone to watch over the coming years.
Nick Perniola
BC High, 4/19/05, right shot
Perniola has a good stick defensively and gaps well. He’s confident and solid defensively.
Bowen Burke
Shattuck-St. Mary’s, 2/9/05, right shot
Burke has good feet but will need to do a better job limiting turnovers going forward.
Goaltenders
Ryan Sanborn
Mid Fairfield, 1/15/05, catches left
Sanborn typically has been one of the top two goaltenders in this age group. He was good at Exeter and showed many of those traits that have made him a hot commodity. He has good size, skates well and is sound fundamentally. It’s less about what he did wrong and more about what Kiesewetter did well over the course of these two days.
Aidan Hopewell
Washington Little Caps, 1/1/05, catches left
Hopewell is a big, prototypical modern-era goaltending with upside. He was solid.
Miles Roberts
Anaheim Junior Ducks, 2/4/05, catches left
Roberts has above-average size, moves well laterally and made some athletic saves.
Caden Pasquale
P.A.L. Junior Islanders, 9/1/05, catches left
Pasquale has good size and made some key saves in his time on the ice. He posted a shutout during his half on Monday.
Dawson Gregatis
Seacoast Academy, 1/1/05, catches left
Gregatis is small, but moves well. He let in just one goal in Monday’s game.
