The River Rats Jamboree brought some really good 16-U teams to rinks across southern New Hampshire, including The Rinks at Exeter and Salem ICenter.
The two-day event marked the start of the 2020-21 regular season for all of the region’s top 16-U teams. Players born in 2004 and 2005 make up 16-U teams. It’s an important year for the ’05s as it is their draft year in the USHL and QMJHL, and possible selection in the NTDP comes in March as well.
Boston Junior Eagles, Cape Cod Whalers, Mid Fairfield National, Mid Fairfield St. Louis and Mount Saint Charles were the top local teams at the River Rats Jamboree. The Maine Nordiques, Seacoast Performance Academy and the host River Rats also have some good players.
Before getting into the top uncommitted players from the 16-U division of the River Rats Jamboree, here’s a bit more about the top teams.
The Junior Eagles, made up entirely of ’05s, are led by a first line that includes center and Northeastern commit Will Smith with Will Vote on his right and Ethan Gardula on the left wing. The rest of the team should be familiar to followers of local youth hockey with the exception of top defenseman Jason Zaccari, a newcomer to Tabor who hails from the Anaheim Junior Ducks. Shawn Leary and Jonathan Lanza are two other defensemen to watch. Between the pipes, Sam Scopa and Thomas Kiesewetter are two of the better goaltenders in the age group in this region. The team is coached by NHLPA agent Kent Hughes.
Moving on to the Cape Cod Whalers, it is an older team with all ’04s. The team has a good amount of talent up front, led by Grayson Badger, Harvard commit Bobby Landry and Michael Callow. CJ Foley is the top blueliner.
Mount Saint Charles will get things turned around, but the team struggled to score goals here. The team will have to rely on its defense, led by Ben Robertson. Newcomers to the program, Joseph Peters, Rhett Kodsi and Seth Constance, should provide a boost on the blue line. The team has two very good goaltenders in Jack Spicer and Peter Sterling. With one of the best coaches in the game in Devin Rask, this team will be much better come March and April.
Mid Fairfield National lacks the depth it has had in past years, but its first line is stellar. Center Andon Cerbone, a Michigan commit, centers right Conor Welsh, a Boston College recruit, and left wing Nick Capasso. Another forward to watch is James Shannon. The team is made up of all ’04s.
Mid Fairfield St. Louis, a team I didn’t see but look forward to watching this upcoming weekend, is the organization’s ’05 squad playing at the 16-U level. The team, as you might have guessed, is coached by NHL Hall of Famer Marty St. Louis. His son, defenseman Lucas St. Louis, is part of a very good defensive group that also includes Aram Minnetian and Drew Fortescue. Up front, Boston University commit Ryan Fine leads the way. Brian Nicholas, Salvatore Guzzo and Logan Renkowski are other top forwards. In goal, one of the country’s best at the ’05 level, Ryan Sanborn, is the go-to man.
Maine Nordiques Academy had an 18-U team in its first year in 2019-20, but the program based out of St. Dom’s in Lewiston, Maine, has added a 16-U team for 2020-21. Calgary Flames scout Eric Soltys and 18-U coach Nick Skerlick did a good job recruiting this 16-U group. The top line was impressive in Exeter with Zion Green (Compuware) being the marked man. He’s joined by Roman Vitolo (North Jersey Avalanche) and Cole Lopilato (St. John’s Prep). Another player to watch is Gabriel Fillion, who comes from Ontario Hockey Academy.
Seacoast Performance Academy looked sharp with wins over Mid Fairfield and the River Rats. Billy Sancibrian and Kim Hilmersson had a couple of multipoint games, while Liam Chapman will be the top blueliner.
The River Rats, coached by former Boston College and Union player Ben McManama, had a tough start to the season with a short bench. Many of the team’s players were unable to play due to being locked down at boarding school. Forwards Jackson Graber, Tanner Marsh and Jake Murphy produced up front while Ollie Chessler, William Yee, Will Sinclair and Will Brophy showed some promise on the back end.
River Rats Jamboree 16-U Division: Top uncommitted prospects
Forwards
Will Vote
Junior Eagles, 2/22/05, RW, right shot, 5-7/148
Vote continues to be one of my favorite players in the age group. He checks every box besides size. The Dexter Southfield newcomer has terrific hockey sense and compete. His skating and skill also are very good. He was the best player for the Junior Eagles Monday night.
Ryan Leonard
Springfield Rifles, 1/21/05, RW, right shot, 5-9/170
Leonard played Monday with the 16-U team then spent Tuesday with the 15s, where he’ll play most of the season. I saw him Monday at 16-U where he had an assist on the team’s only goal. Leonard is a goal scorer with a good shot. He’s physically mature and heavy on pucks, but he also has above-average vision in the offensive zone to find open teammates.
Zion Green
Maine Nordiques Academy, 4/12/04, RW, right shot, 5-11/175
Green has a lot of skill with the puck on his stick. He produced multipoint games in two of the three here. If there was one knock on him over the two days, it’s that he needs to be engaged away from the puck and not take shifts off.
Michael Callow
Cape Cod Whalers, 1/15/04, RW, right shot, 6-3/175
Callow is still a work in progress, but he’s grown more and his skating looks more explosive. I’d still like to see him use his size to his advantage and become more productive, but the physical tools are very intriguing.
Grayson Badger
Cape Cod Whalers, 5/9/04, RW, right shot, 6-1/175
Badger was the most productive forward for the Whalers. His compete level is off the charts. He hunts pucks and goes to the greasy areas. All of that combined allows him to generate a ton of chances. If his skating and offensive instincts improve further, he’ll become even more productive.
Roman Vitolo
Maine Nordiques Academy, 7/30/04, C/RW, right shot, 5-11/165
Vitolo flew under the radar some last season on North Jersey Avalanche’s 15 team. He was good here on a line with Green. He’s strong and heavy on pucks. His skating is still an area for improvement, but it was better than I had seen in the past.
Gabriel Fillion
Maine Nordiques Academy, 9/29/04, C, left shot, 5-8/140
Fillion, who played for Mount Academy in Canada last season, is a skilled forward who got better as the jamboree moved along. He’ll need to be better away from the puck, but I expect him to produce with his skating and skill.
Billy Sancibrian
Seacoast Performance Academy, 6/10/04, C/LW, left shot, 6-0/165
Sancibrian is a power forward with size. He drove the net and protected pucks with his length and low center of gravity. He had a couple of multipoint games, including a hat trick against Mid Fairfield and a goal and an assist vs. River Rats.
Defensemen
Ben Robertson
Mount Saint Charles, 9/18/04, D, left shot, 5-10/165
Robertson isn’t overly dynamic offensively, but he’s extremely poised when it comes to retrievals and breakouts. He makes smart decisions with the puck on his stick, which helps his team get pucks north. He’s not a big defender, but he plays with jam and is hard to beat one-on-one and in battles along the wall. He’s a junior who I expect to be committed soon.
CJ Foley
Cape Cod Whalers, 2/11/04, D, right shot, 5-8/145
Foley had a goal and two assists. I thought he looked even more confident and showed a willingness to jump into the offense even more than he has in the past. He skates well, has athleticism and plays hard. Foley is going to be a reliable defenseman who will do the little things to help his team win.
Jason Zaccari
Junior Eagles, 6/2/05, D, left shot, 6-0/170
Zaccari is a dynamic, offensively gifted defenseman. His feet allow him to sidestep oncoming forecheckers and get pucks north, whether it’s skating it out of his zone or making a stretch pass. He shoots it well and can quarterback a power play.
Goaltenders
Jack Spicer
Mount Saint Charles, 4/28/04, G, catches left, 6-1/180
Spicer was very good in Mount’s game Tuesday morning. I saw his improvement firsthand at the War at the Well in August. He’s bigger, better and more consistent than he was in his first season with Mount.
Peter Sterling
Mount Saint Charles, 11/16/04, G, catches left, 6-5/175
Sterling is a late ’04 with a lot of upside. He’s huge and takes up a ton of net even when he goes down. He’s the second half of a terrific goaltending duo with Spicer.
