Top draft-eligible players shine at All-American Prospects Game in Buffalo

 

By Matt Mackinder –

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The First Niagara Center hosted the inaugural USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game in 2012 that focused on Seth Jones as the highly-touted prospect.

Thursday night, the 2014 edition of the game, back in Buffalo after being played in Pittsburgh last year, saw current NCAA freshmen Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin as the two points of interest for NHL teams in attendance. Right now, the cross-town rivals in college hockey (Eichel is at Boston University, Hanifin at Boston College) are touted as two of the top three picks in the 2015 NHL draft that goes down next June in Sunrise, Fla.

The team coached by former Buffalo Sabres’ star Mike Grier, a Detroit native now living in Boston, defeated Eddie Olczyk’s squad by a 6-3 count Thursday night.

Both Eichel and Hanifin are U.S. National Team Development Program products, with Hanifin accelerating his schooling to start college as a 17-year-old this season.

Eichel recorded a goal and an assist and was named the player of the game.

“I found myself open a few times in front of the net,” said Eichel, who played from 2012 to 2014 in Ann Arbor with the U.S. NTDP. “I just tried to play hard, work hard. It was my first game in a while and I was just trying to get rid of some of the rust.”

 

And while Eichel and Hanifin may have hogged the spotlight Thursday night, the game featured a slew of Michigan connections in Ryan Bednard (Macomb), Doug Blaisdell (Dearborn Heights), Nick Boka (Plymouth/U.S. NTDP/Michigan commit), Joe Cecconi (Muskegon Lumberjacks/Michigan commit), Kyle Connor (Shelby Township/Michigan commit), Grant Gabriele (Brighton/U.S. NTDP/Michigan commit), Brent Gates (Grand Rapids), Ryan Larkin (Clarkston), Brendan Warren (Carleton/U.S. NTDP/Michigan commit), Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe Woods/Michigan) and Dennis Yan (Troy), in addition to other U.S. NTDP players Jeremy Bracco, Christian Evers, Christian Fischer, Casey Fitzgerald, Jordan Greenway, Caleb Jones (Seth’s younger brother), Michael Lackey, Luke Opilka, Jack Roslovic, Steven Ruggiero, Troy Terry  and Colin White.

“After the first couple shifts, I got the nerves out and played pretty much my game,” said Cecconi, a local favorite from Youngstown, N.Y. “A game like this can boost you or lower your confidence, but I think just being in the game boosted my confidence, knowing guys are watching and that your hard work is paying off.”

Blaisdell saw the game as a reunion of sorts with old teammates.

“There was probably around four of us that played on the same team growing up for Little Caesars and one year on Belle Tire,” said Blaisdell. “It brought back a lot of memories out there. Just to be playing against all these great players out here is very humbling and I’m just glad USA Hockey and CCM brought me out here to come play in front of everyone.”

Warren tied the game 1-1 for Team (Eddie) Olczyk at 6:58 of the second period after Alec Baer opened the scoring for Team (Mike) Grier at 5:35 of the second. Bednard and Larkin both came in to play goal midway through the period – Larkin for Team Olczyk and Bednard for Team Grier – and Larkin allowed a goal to Bracco at 13:12, off an assist from Eichel, and then another to Karch Bachman at 14:27.

Tom Novak answered for Team Olczyk to cap the second-period scoring at 16:44.

Eichel, Bracco and Connor Moynihan added goals in the third for Team Grier, while Tanner Laczynski answered for Team Olczyk.

For Werenski, the game gave him a chance to get his season going a bit earlier than his Wolverines’ teammates.

“It was unbelievable – just good to get the first game of the year out of the way,” said Werenski. “I’ve been practicing a lot, so it was good to get out there with the guys. A lot of these guys are my friends from last year (with the U.S. NTDP), so it was nice to get out there with them.

“We came together as a team there in the second and third, scored a few goals, and it was just a fun game.”