EXETER, N.H. — Many of the region’s top 2006-born prospects as well as some from outside of the region converged on the Rinks at Exeter from June 10-12 for the Eastern Exposure Hockey Group All-Star Weekend.
NHL scouts and college and prep coaches were on the bench for the two games each team competed in, plus helped with drills and small-area practices during the three-day event. Ryan Breen (New Jersey Devils), Josh Ciocco (Merrimack), Jared DeMichiel (UMass), John Gardner (Avon Old Farms), Connor Gorman (New Hampton), Tyler Helton (UConn), Jerry Keefe (Northeastern), Mike Levine (Vegas Golden Knights), Jon Lounsbury (Holy Cross), James Marcou (Harvard), Paul Pearl (Boston University) and Jason Smith (Brown) were the coaches for this age group.
The event was well-attended with a myriad of NHLPA agents scouring the rinks for tomorrow’s stars. Eastern Exposure Hockey Group, led by Matt Miles, did a great job of bringing together some top 2006 birth-year players for the viewing of agents, coaches and scouts.
Below is a look at the top 2006-born prospects who stood out at this year’s Eastern Exposure Hockey Group All-Star Weekend. The teams listed for each player are for 2020-21.
Eastern Exposure Hockey Group All-Star Weekend: Top 2006s
Forwards
1. Gavin Cornforth
#40 White, Junior Eagles, right shot
Cornforth was the best player here. He’s able to use his size to protect pucks and find open teammates or finish chances himself. He lowers his shoulder and goes hard to the scoring areas. It’s not all power with him as he also has good hands that allow him to keep pucks away from defenders.
2. Nate Porter
#4 Red, Dexter Southfield, right shot
Porter was really good all weekend but stepped it up a notch on Sunday. He’s a power forward who drives the net and creates a lot of chances. He’s able to juke defenders and get separation.
3. Ben Nakata
#5 Red, Boston Advantage, left shot
I’ve said it for a year now, but I really like Nakata as a player. He makes plays and he does the little things well that helps his linemates. He’s on the right side of the puck and knows where to go to recover pucks. Additionally, his vision and hockey sense are very good. He skates well and had several assists throughout the weekend.
4. Teddy MacAusland
#48 White, Minuteman Flames, right shot
MacAusland had a pair of goals in Saturday morning’s game against Red. He’s quick, makes plays and has slick hands. One of his goals was a thing of beauty as he sniped one top shelf from in close.
5. Liam Storch
#4 Blue, Little Caesars, right shot
Scorch is on the smaller side, but he’s got a ton of skill and is a good offensive player in the making.
6. Jared Rothman
#3 Red, NY Saints, right shot
Rothman has good size, can protect pucks, and create offense on the rush. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: Every viewing, including this weekend, he finds a way to get pucks into his opponent’s net.
7. Matthew Frost
#45 White, Team Maryland, left shot
Frost is a power forward who went to the net for a tap-in goal. He’s getting better with each viewing and I think there’s some significant upside.
8. James Hagens
#2 Red, Mount Saint Charles, left shot
Hagens is a small, quick forward who played up with the Long Island Royals 14-U team last season. He’ll be joining his older brother at Mount Saint Charles.
9. Teddy Mutryn
#2 Blue, Boston Advantage, right shot
Mutryn, an ’07 playing up, didn’t look remotely out of place. He’s a big power forward who is able to cycle and distribute pucks in the attacking zone. He’s got some length and I like his potential to blossom into a solid player.
10. Cole Eiserman
#6 Blue, Shattuck-St. Mary’s, left shot
Eiserman has been regarded as one of the better players in this age group for a few years now. He’s a physically mature player with a hard shot and a strong lower body that lets him explode past opposing defenders. He’s leaving the Islanders HC for Shattuck-St. Mary’s.
11. JJ Monteiro
#9 Red, Mount Saint Charles, left shot
Monteiro is a big, rugged winger who shoots the puck incredibly hard. He’s strong and able to bull his way to the scoring areas before unleashing a cannon of a wrist shot. At this level, he’s a legit goal scorer.
12. Carson Mitchell
#7 Red, St. Louis AAA Blues, left shot
Mitchell is somewhat of a similar player to JJ Monteiro in that he uses his size and strength to his advantage. He shot it hard and found the back of the net a couple of times this weekend.
13. Andrew DellaSalla
#10 Blue, Mid Fairfield, left shot
DellaSalla is a tall winger who showed flashes of potential throughout the weekend.
14. Ben Wilmott
#47 White, North Jersey Avalanche, left shot
Wilmott is a good skater who has that quick twitch. He can shoot it hard and make some plays.
15. Michael Sandruck
#43 White, Bishop Kearney, left shot
Sandruck is a power forward who protects pucks and shows signs of becoming a good player as he moves up the developmental ladder.
16. Kolin Sisson
#42 White, Mount Saint Charles, right shot
Sisson is a small player who should become more impactful as he grows. He’s quick and skilled but has a hard time asserting himself right now.
17. Michael Schmelzer
#44 White, North Jersey Avalanche, right shot
Schmelzer is a kid who I liked for his size, strength and ability to play a strong north-south game.
18. Christian Chouha
#7 Blue, New Jersey Colonials, right shot
Chouha is a player I’d like to see more of now that I saw him this weekend. He’s quick and has a quick stick to go with it. He looks to be able to pop pucks in the back of the net with agility and good hands.
Defensemen
1. Will Felicio
#15 Red, Mount Saint Charles, left shot
Feleicio is a slick, puck-moving defenseman. He has a lot of skill but doesn’t try to do too much. He has good vision and makes good plays to distribute the puck to open teammates, creating offense.
2. Owen Keefe
#15 Blue, Junior Eagles, left shot
Keefe missed Sunday’s game to play baseball, but he was his usual solid self on Saturday. He’s tough in his own zone, but he’s confident, poised and smart with the puck on his stick. He can shoot it hard and he makes tape-to-tape passes look easy.
3. Liam O’Keefe
#52 White, Dexter Southfield, left shot
I really like O’Keefe because he’s a solid two-way defenseman who doesn’t try to do too much. He has good size and is capable of moving pucks up ice and joining the rush, but he keeps it simple for the most part. Rarely does he make a mistake and get caught out of position.
4. Teddy Stiga
#11 Red, Junior Eagles, left shot
As I mentioned after the Sixty Development Camp, Stiga is a converted forward with outstanding mobility and skating ability. He can fly all over the sheet and he exudes skill and confidence with the puck on his stick.
5. Kiernan Poulin
#12 Red, Boston Advantage, right shot
Poulin is on the smaller side, but he has great feet and likes to push the pace. He projects as an offensive defenseman.
6. Andrew Check
#13 Red, New Jersey Colonials, right shot
I thought Check got better as the weekend moved along and was especially good Sunday. He’s got a great stick defensively and is hard to beat. He’s tough to play against for opposing forwards.
7. Logan Denton
#54 White, St. Louis AAA Blues, left shot
Denton was good at both ends. He makes good, efficient breakout passes and he defends well with his feet and an active stick.
8. Alex Bales
#14 Red, Buffalo Junior Sabres, left shot
Bales is a good skater with a fluid stride. He has some skill with the puck on his stick and should get better.
9. Cooper Cleaves
#16 Blue, Mid Fairfield, right shot
Cleaves has good size for his age and can shoot it hard. He’s a confident puck mover who has impressed me at each viewing, including this one.
Goaltenders
1. Nelson Vickar
#1 Red, St. Louis AAA Blues, catches left
I noticed Vickar right away as the top goaltender here. He’s athletic, has good size and moves well. He made more than a few really good saves with a quick glove and by taking away shooters’ angles.
2. Ryder Shea
#30 Blue, Minuteman Flames, catches left
Shea is another one of the well regarded goaltenders from this age group. He’s quick and sound fundamentally.
