American teams savour OHL Cup experience
Saturday March 21, 2015
By Josh Sweetland/OHL
The 2015 OHL Cup enters its latter stages this weekend, with just a few teams still standing in the hope of joining names such as Steven Stamkos, John Tavares and Ryan Strome in experiencing an OHL Cup Championship.
The week began with 20 teams in attendance including minor midget champions and top contenders from across Ontario, and two clubs from south of the border.
The Elite Hockey Group and TPH Thunder both battled hard through four games, putting squads together that would work to overcome an element of unfamiliarity with rosters consisting of players from different club teams and high school programs from across the Northeastern United States.
While the tournament provides all players a chance to showcase their skills before OHL management and scouts, it also gives families an opportunity to learn more about the league and the OHL’s player environment.
“This is a very exciting time of year for any minor midget player,” said OHL Director of Recruitment Adam Dennis. “The tournament brings a bittersweet end to most minor hockey careers playing alongside teammates they’ve grown up with while looking ahead to what’s in store in the OHL Priority Selection and school. It’s great to connect not only with the American players and families but all players in this age group and answer questions about the league and share just how the OHL provides the best of both worlds in terms of player development on the ice and in the classroom through scholarship program opportunities.”
Flashing skill and promise on the ice, the U.S clubs also brought with them a considerable hockey pedigree off of it.
A pair of prominent hockey names relevant to the Ontario Hockey League in Primeau and DeBoer could be seen scrawled across the backs of a couple Elite Hockey Group players.
Big 6’1″, 181Ib goaltender Cayden Primeau, the son of the OHL’s 1990 Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy winner and 909-game NHL veteran Keith Primeau, joined the Elite Hockey Group squad after playing Midget hockey in Philadelphia this season.
“Cayden and all of the guys in the room are over the moon to be here competing,” said the elder Primeau on Thursday. “I think they’re a little bit awestruck by the type of attendance here and the following this tournament has in the hockey community.”
A graduate of Whitby Minor Hockey where he grew up playing alongside former NHL blueliner Adam Foote, Primeau skated in the OHL for three seasons from 1987-1990 with the Hamilton Steelhawks and the Niagara Falls Thunder. The 1990 campaign that saw him score 57 goals, 70 assists and 127 points in 65 games caught the attention of the Detroit Red Wings, who made the 6’5″, 220Ib centreman their first round, third overall pick in the 1990 NHL Draft.
“I was playing Major Bantam AA in Whitby when I was drafted to the OHL and I don’t think I even knew when the draft was going to be leading up to the day. There’s no question that the landscape has changed a lot in terms of the recruitment process in hockey these days compared to when I was 15.”
Joining Cayden Primeau on the Elite Hockey Group squad is 2000-born forward Jack DeBoer, a 6’0″, 150Ib kid with a nice stride. Jack helped lead Madison High School to its first Haas Cup Championship this past February with three goals and two assists in the Championship game.
“This is just an outstanding tournament,” said father and former Plymouth Whalers and Kitchener Rangers Head Coach Peter DeBoer. “I was actually explaining to Jack on the way up here about the kinds of things that I was doing as a 15 year-old and it definitely wasn’t playing in front of hundreds of scouts and fans in the middle of Toronto. The exposure and opportunity for these kids to be able to come here and play in this venue is amazing. The OHL Cup is among the best showcase events in North America. I really don’t think there’s anything out there that rivals it.”
DeBoer spent the past seven years behind the bench in the NHL with the Florida Panthers and New Jersey Devils after he led the Kitchener Rangers to an OHL Championship in 2008. Since parting ways with the New Jersey Devils earlier this season, DeBoer says he’s enjoyed valuable family time.
“It’s different really,” he said. “I haven’t been not working during the season in 20 years, so this is the first time I’ve had any opportunity to get out in the middle of winter and help coach teams and be involved. It’s been good family time, but I’m ready to get back to work.”
With Elite Hockey Group playing out of the Lindros Division, another American team in the TPH Thunder nearly made the OHL Cup Quarterfinal with a 2-2 record in the Shanahan Division.
TPH coach Scott Gordon is a former Head Coach of the New York Islanders and most recently, an Assistant Coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Brockton, MA, native has coached at a wide variety of different levels including the pro ranks of the AHL and ECHL along with past junior experience in the QMJHL.
“When I first came in here I couldn’t believe the amount of people that come to watch these games,” Gordon said. “Some of the players pointed up at the cameras and TV monitors upstairs and were thrilled to find out that some of these games are broadcast on TV.”
“Our kids have their tournaments and their districts and nationals, but nothing that comes even close to this when it comes to people who are here to watch and evaluate. It’s a great opportunity for them to play in front of crowds and get some exposure.”
Elite Hockey Group has been in the OHL Cup Showcase for the past four years while the TPH Thunder have been competing since 2007. The two teams have produced such OHLers as Vancouver Canucks prospect and Oshawa Generals centreman Cole Cassels, Mississauga Steelheads forward Marcus Dickerson, Erie Otters rookie Shaun Bily, Kingston Frontenacs forward Sam Field and Guelph Storm blueliner Kyle Rhodes.
The 2015 OHL Cup continues this weekend as we draw nearer to Monday’s Championship game at the Mattamy Athletic Centre at 7:30pm. The game will be broadcast LIVE across the country on Sportsnet One.
For information, stats and updates, be sure to visit ohlcup.ca.
