WOONSOCKET, R.I. — Mount St. Charles hosted a Northeast Pack event this past weekend for the 14U and 15O age levels.
Along with Mount St. Charles, Bishop Kearney Selects, Long Island Gulls, Mid Fairfield, New Jersey Rockets and Pittsburgh Pens Elite all participated in the three-day event.
I watched the 15O action on Friday. Here are the games I watched:
- Mount St. Charles vs. Long Island Gulls
- Mid Fairfield vs. BK Selects
Both were very strong games with the Gulls edging out Mount St. Charles, 4-3, and Mid Fairfield taking down BK Selects, 3-1.
There are lots of strong prospects on all four teams. Nine of the forwards were highlighted in a separate story.
Here are five defenders and goalies who stood out.
Cameron Chartrand (8)
BK Selects, 3/3/08, D, right shot, 6-0/185
Hometown: Saint-Lazare, Quebec
Chartrand showed himself to be a strong, two-way defenseman on Friday. He had poise with the puck, especially on breakouts and at the offensive blue line. In his own zone, he made smart reads and showcased a good stick, frequently breaking up plays off the rush.
Oskar Drabczynski (14)
Mid Fairfield, 2/13/08, D, left shot, 5-10/181
Drabczynski played with a lot of confidence Friday night, and that led to him scoring a goal. The puck was loose near the offensive blue line so rather than retreat and prepare to defend, he stepped up, kept the puck in the zone and fired a rocket over the goalie and into the net, knocking the water bottle off. He moved the puck really well throughout the game, too. In his own zone, he showed a good stick and adequately defended the front of his own net.
Dominick Mack (9)
Long Island Gulls, 1/12/08, D, left shot, 5-11/165
Home state: New York
Early in the second period of Friday's game, Mount St. Charles had a clear 3-on-1 chance and looked to be on the verge of scoring. But Mack streaked back into the play and broke it up, negating Mount St. Charles of any chance. A few moments later, Mack had the puck at the offensive blue line and sifted a shot through that got past Mount St. Charles goalie Carson Mertz (Coventry, R.I.).
Dave O'Brien (5)
BK Selects, 3/29/08, D, left shot, 5-6/137
Hometown: Weymouth, Mass.
O'Brien may have been one of the smaller players on the ice, but his shiftiness and smart puck decisions helped him be one of the more effective players in the game. He's also got great edgework, which helped him elude forecheckers when carrying the puck from deep in his own zone.
Jacoby Weiner (35)
Mid Fairfield, 6/19/08, G, catches right, 6-1/222
Hometown: Riverside, Conn.
Weiner has size and mobility that most '08 goalies don't quite have yet. His best save on Friday came when his team was shorthanded early in the first period. BK Selects forward Luca Cannata made a nice cross-zone pass to a teammate for a one-timer. Weiner calmly went post to post and made the stop. On other quality chances, Weiner was very aware in his crease and square to shooters. He's a really intriguing goalie prospect who should get looks for next year's U.S. National Team Development Program evaluation camp.
