CANTON, Mass. – A number of top 16U teams from New England, New York and New Jersey converged on the greater Boston area this past weekend for the Beast Columbus Day Showcase.
Most of the top games were held at the Canton Ice House, but the Rodman Arena, Foxboro Sports Center and Adelard Arena hosted key contests, as well.
Just based on how it worked out with the schedule, I attended more 15O and 18U games than 16U ones over the weekend.
However, I was able to take in a handful of contests and come up with three stars from the 16U division.
Kuzma Voronin
New Jersey Rockets, 7/27/06, LW, left shot, 5-10/170
Voronin, from Yaroslavl, Russia, is yet another top import to play for Noel Rubin’s New Jersey Rockets. Voronin is a good skater with an elite stick and offensive creativity. He’s able to elude opposing defenders with stickhandling in small areas and has the edges to cut and out-maneuver them. He can make plays and finish. He’s certainly one of the top `06s I’ve seen in person this season.
Cam Caron
Cape Cod Whalers, 6/21/07, C/LW, left shot, 6-2/182
Caron is one of the few `07s playing up this fall and he more than held his own over the weekend. He had a goal and an assist in a game Saturday, including a breakaway goal. He’s big, strong and shoots it with zip. There’s no question he’s one of the top six `07 forwards in this region. The Dracut, Mass., native is heading to play for Connor Gorman’s club at New Hampton this winter.
Patrick Clair
North Suburban Wings, 7/16/06, G, catches left, 5-10/160
Clair came up huge in a 1-1 tie against the River Rats on Saturday night. He’s gotten a lot better over the last year or two and should vie for playing time at Austin Prep this winter. He’s not the biggest or most technically sound goaltender, but he showed quick reflexes and made some highlight reel saves. He played in relief the next day and was solid once again.


