Kraft Hockeyville a Hit with CHL Grads
By Aaron Bell
Six months ago Mark Scheifele and Austen Brassard were skating at the Yardmen Arena on opposite teams in the Rogers OHL Eastern Conference Championship Series but on Saturday, they were on the same ice surface as teammates sharing the same dream of playing for the Winnipeg Jets.
Scheifele and Brassard were among several CHL graduates that played in the Kraft Hockeyville game between the Jets and Washington Capitals in Belleville on Saturday. The nearby community of Stirling-Rawdon won the Kraft Hockeyville title for 2012 but had to wait a year because of the NHL work stoppage before they could welcome the NHL stars into the community.
“I’ve been in Brasser’s ear a little bit about Game 7 – the last time we were here,” said Scheifele, who helped the Barrie Colts to a 3-1 win over the Belleville Bulls in the deciding game of the Eastern Conference championship last April. “It’s good to be back here.”
Jets forward Eric Tangradi played three seasons with the Bulls and was their captain in his final year 2008-09. He usually makes his way back to Belleville during the off-seasons but said it was special to come back to his adopted home town with his new team.
“I like to consider myself a little bit Canadian when I come back to this town,” the Philadelphia native said. “It was kind of funny to show the Canadian boys around a Canadian city.”
The Capitals won the game 4-3 in a shootout but few people in the stands cared about the final outcome. The chance to see NHL stars – and many stars in the making – was worth the wait.
Scheifele nearly made the Jets as an underager last year and then posted a tremendous final season with the Colts that included a league-high 41 points in the post-season. He said that extra season in the OHL has helped prepare him to make the jump to the NHL this year and hopes to use a strong pre-season to show that he belongs.
“I feel a lot more mature – physically and mentally,” Scheifele said. “I think that I’m ready and have to continue to show that and work my hardest.
Scheifele played on a line with Vancouver Giants graduate Evander Kane and Devin Setoguchi, who also played in the CHL with the Saskatoon Blades and Prince George Cougars.
“I’ve been looking forward to that the past couple of days,” said Kane, the fourth overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. “We’re trying to build some chemistry and kind of figure out how each other plays. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.”
Former Bulls and Windsor Spitfires netminder Philipp Grubauer made 25 saves after going into the Capitals net midway through the second period. He also stopped all four shooters he faced in the shootout to back the Capitals to the win.
Ed Pasquale played the entire game in the Jets’ net. He started his OHL career with the Bulls before three seasons with the Saginaw Spirit.
Kane scored twice in the loss while Guelph Storm grad Scott Kosmachuk also scored for the Jets. Moose Jaw Warriors grad Troy Brouwer and Stanislav Galiev, who played three seasons with the Saint John Sea Dogs, were among the Capitals scorers.
“It was fun,” Kane said. “They’ve got the big ice surface out here. I didn’t play in the OHL, but it was good. I enjoyed it. It’s nice for the fans to see some NHL hockey when they don’t maybe get that opportunity every day.”
