HUDSON, N.H. — In a surprise result, the Northern Cyclones defeated the Junior Bruins, 5-2, on Thursday afternoon at Cyclones Arena.
The Junior Bruins had a significant advantage on paper with numerous Division 1 commits and other players destined for the same. However, Bill Flanagan’s team played a more structured game and came out hard. The only commit on the Northern Cyclones is defenseman Artyom Borshyov, who is slated to play college hockey at Lake Superior State.
The game was well-attended by NHL scouts with the Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, Seattle Kraken and Tampa Bay Lightning represented. There were a couple of Division 3 college coaches in the rink as well.
NHL scouts were there to get their first look at Junior Bruins left wing Shane Lachance, a Boston University commit playing in his first junior hockey game after leaving Tabor Academy. The Andover, Mass., native wasn’t able to play in split-season games, due to the Marion, Mass., prep school locking its students on campus. Lachance hadn’t played in an organized game since February.
While there certainly was some rust, Lachance assisted on the Junior Bruins’ first goal of the game. He’s a huge power forward who certainly will be picked in the 2021 NHL draft. Thursday’s game wasn’t a good indicator, but I expect him to prove his worth to NHL scouts as he gets a few games under his belt. I project that Lachance will be a third-round pick.
In addition to Lachance, NHL scouts certainly took notes on a couple of the Junior Bruins’ underagers — defenseman and Northeastern commit Jackson Dorrington and uncommitted center Cameron Lund.
Defenseman Jacob Pellerin, left wing Michael MacKenzie, left wing Tyler Shetland, center Pavel Karasek and right wing Preston Park scored for the Cyclones. Both Junior Bruins’ goals came off the stick of first-line center and Union commit Colin Graf.
While the half-dozen or so NHL scouts were there to watch Lachance, there were several uncommitted players of significance to college coaches. Ranked below are how those players performed in this game:
Chris Delaney
Junior Bruins, 9/25/04, RW, left shot, 5-7/130
Delaney had an assist on the Junior Bruins’ second goal. After recovering a puck in the neutral zone, he fed Graf, who burst down the left wing, driving the net before finishing. Delaney is very small, especially for the junior level. However, he is fearless. There were numerous times where he got to pucks first and didn’t shy away from contact. He had the puck on his stick a good amount and made some plays. There’s little doubt in my mind that the Hopkinton, Mass., native ends up playing in Hockey East someday and finding his way onto the second or third line.
Rylan Yates
Northern Cyclones, 9/23/03, C, right shot, 5-11/190
Yates isn’t as familiar of a name to local hockey fans. I wrote about him last January and February while he played for the Wenatchee Wild 16-U at the ECEL All-Star Game and ECEL Playoffs. He’s skilled and sees the ice well. He assisted on Northern Cyclones’ first goal, feeding the puck up to the point from the right-wing half-wall. I still want to see Yates become more of a complete player, but there is upside in his skill and offensive instincts.
Cameron Lund
Junior Bruins, 6/7/04, C, right shot, 6-1/165
Lund was held scoreless but got on the scoresheet due to 12 penalty minutes. His team’s second-line center. Lund took a slashing penalty while on the power play in the first few minutes of the game. Toward the end of the first period, he received a 10-minute misconduct for firing a puck in the direction of the linesman after a delayed offside. The Bridgewater, Mass., native certainly has the height, skill and skating ability to be a productive offensive player at the Division 1 level. I’d like to see him play more between the dots, become tougher to knock off pucks and improve his discipline. It was his second consecutive game without a point after scoring four goals and five assists in his first six junior games.
Mack Oliphant
Junior Bruins, 12/28/02, D, right shot, 6-4/200
Oliphant doesn’t stand out at the Tier 3 level like he does when playing 18-U Midget hockey. However, his size and skating ability are assets that lead you to be intrigued. He did snap off a puck while stepping in from the point in the third period that whistled just wide of the net. He didn’t do enough in this game for me to say he’s a Division 1 player, but I think he’s worth watching for several programs in the region.
Brendan Gibbons
Junior Bruins, 7/18/02, RW, right shot, 6-2/205
Gibbons was the right wing on the top line with Graf at center and Lachance at left wing. He didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he was noticeable a few times. He’s strong, heavy on pucks, and can facilitate offense from below the dots. He didn’t generate much Thursday, but I still think he should be on the radar of a few Atlantic Hockey or ECAC Hockey schools. The Wakefield, R.I., native would be a home run for a Division 3 program.
