2014 U14 Tier I Nationals Preview

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	Shattuck St. Mary's Record: 47-7-0 GF-GA: 355-95 Current Ranking: 1
Shattuck has excellent goaltending in David Tomeo, who played for the New Jersey Colonials 98 and helped lead them to a Pee Wee National Championship three years ago. Backing him up is Vincent Shonka, who is also a very good netminder. On defense, Josh Maniscalco is a hard worker and one of the best '99 defensemen that played the last several years for the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers. Also watch out for former New Jersey Colonial Tyler Inamoto, who is a very solid defenseman. Some forwards to watch for are Scott Reedy of Prior Lake, MN, as well as Alex Mella, who played for Mid Fairfield Yankees before going to Shattuck. Another Minnesota native, Grant Mismash, was impressive at the HPHL Showcase. In addition are Brannon McManus, who played for the LA Kings, Logan Hutsko who once played with the Pittsburgh Hornets 98, and Julian Detmer of New Jersey. Shattuck went 11-3 this year against other teams in Nationals, going 3-2 against the Mission, 3-0 against Thunder Hockey, 3-0 against Team Wisconsin, 2-0 against the Carolina Hurricanes and 0-1 against Belle Tire. Shattuck will be attempting to win their first U14 National title. Last season Shattuck lost in the finals to Honeybaked with a team led by Clayton Keller (BU commit) and goaltender Ryan Edquist (U of Minnesota commit).

	Belle Tire Current Record: 57-8-1 GF-GA: 357-125 Current Ranking: 2
Ivan Lodnia and Alex Chmelevski are two of the most dominate '99 players in the nation and will be fun to watch. Both of these players came to Belle Tire from California where they once played for the Anaheim Wildcats. Other forwards to watch include Hayden Rowan, Brandon Kruse, Chase Danol, Cade Robinson, Josh Wildauer, Trent Pitser and Wyatt Bongiovanni. Trevor Locklear is a good puck moving defenseman and Hunter Payment is a solid stay at home d-man. Goaltender Kyle Keyser has started to become the subject of a lot of talk and may be a contender to be invited to Ann Arbor for the 2015 USA Hockey Evaluation Camp. Belle Tire is 23-5-1 overall against other teams competing in nationals. They went 6-0 against Oakland Jr. Grizzlies and 5-0 against Thunder Hockey. They struggled against the Mission, going 0-2-1.

	Chicago Mission Record: 49-7-6 GF-GA: 312-108 Current Ranking: 5
The Mission are 8-4-3 against other teams in Nationals. They played two of the best games of the year splitting a pair of games with the CKSA Red Army team from Moscow at the World Hockey Invite. Sean Dhooghe is very highly regarded forward and is on a lot of scoutsâ€™ radars and was a 2013 Youthees Nominee for Hockey player of the Year. Cole Coskey is a very skilled goal scorer. One of our favorite players at the 1999 level is Jay Feiwell, who we feel is underrated at this point in his career. Joey Keane and Graham Lillibridge are absolutely stellar on defense.

	Oakland Jr. Grizzlies Record: 44-14-12 GF-GA: 225-102 Current Ranking: 4
The Jr. Grizzlies went 5-1 in the Buffalo Super99 Series, an event that has seven of its eight teams playing in Nationals. They are 14-10-1 against other teams in Nationals, but 0-6 against Belle Tire, so that record is slightly deceptive. Andrew Andary is a star player that has great touch around the net and is also a terrific playmaker. He had 4 goals and 4 assists in 5 games at the Buffalo SuperSeries. Brenden Stanko and Jake Transit are also very good forwards in this group. Both goaltenders are both very strong with Ryan McInchak and Josh Pack basically split time during the regular season.

	Los Angeles Jr. Kings Record: 40-11-3 GF-GA: 307-117 Season Ranking: 11
This will be a tremendous test for the Kings. They have played only two games against teams playing in Nationals, losing both bouts to the Colorado Thunderbirds. Players who have been on the Youth1 radar over the last couple of seasons include John Jack St. Ivany, Nathan Gallo and Cameron Hauser. Although the Kings have never won a National title, teams from California have had success, including the LA Selects and California Wave.

	Team Wisconsin Record: 20-11-3 GF-GA: 113-80 Current Ranking: 18
Their record against other nationals qualifiers is 7-8, including being 0-3 against Belle Tire. Tyler Perkins is a very skilled forward and Ian Malcolmson has really good hands. Both of them can put the puck in the net. Defenseman Derick Breezee played up with the 1998â€™s in the past and is a very strong defensive player. Ryan Kenny and Adam Larson provide a very solid tandem in net. Team Wisconsin's best win of the year came over Shattuck St. Mary, bouncing back from a blowout loss earlier in the season.

	Team Comcast Record: 48-16-7 GF-GA: 329-149 Current Ranking: 7
Comcast won the championship in the AYHL. Evan Barratt had 32 goals and 34 assists in the AYHL regular season, while Matt Cassidy scored 33 goals in 27 regular season AYHL games. Mattias Samuelsson is a 2000 birth year and widely regarded as the top defenseman at his age and is a major force at the 1999 level. They are 7-4-3 against other teams that qualified for Nationals.

	St. Louis Blues Record: 41-15-4 GF-GA: 207-109 Current Ranking: 6
The Blues are 8-7-1 against other teams in Nationals with an incredible 3-0 record against Belle Tire. Brady Tkachuk is a force to be reckoned with for St. Louis. Alex Chodini and Clayton Dawe are also very gifted goal scorers, while John Sieckhaus and Hudson Grote are also players to keep an eye on. James Long and Jack Wachter are both good puck-moving defensemen.

	Buffalo Regals Record: 63-8-5 GF-GA: 375-153 Current Ranking: 3
The Regals may be the most underrated team in Nationals and have been terrific from start to finish. Warrior AAA Invitational Champions Are 6-1-1 record against other teams in Nationals, with their only loss being to Mid Fairfield. Matt Gasuik, Erik Urban, Brandon Hausler and Harrison Craffey are some of the players to watch.

	Mid Fairfield Yankees Record: 30-18-7 GF-GA: 172-125 Current Ranking: 9
Players to watch include Matt Holmes, Christian LeSueur, Nick Abruzzese and Phil Kemp. Diarmad DiMurro, who came to the Yankees from the Colonials, has been a work horse on the blueline. Tyler Haywood and Eric Green are both very good netmiders. They 8-10 record against teams who are in Nationals. The Yankees do hold very impressive wins over Shattuck St. Maryâ€™s and Belle Tire.

	Thunder Hockey (National) Record: 36-15-6 GF-GA: 227-98 Current Ranking: 15
Thunder Hockey has a 2-13-2 record against teams in Nationals, although that is a little deceptive. They are 0-6 vs. Belle Tire and several of those were one-goal games. Kyle Kawamura is one of the most exciting prospects in the 1999 birth year so he will be the focus of Thunderâ€™s opponents. Brenden Eng Tow and Connor Merrill are also very important pieces of the puzzle. Biggest win of the year was a 1-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in the district finals to earn a trip to nationals.

	Carolina Jr. Hurricanes Record: 25-15-4 GF-GA: 172-104 Current Ranking: 12
Carolina opened the season going 1-3-2 at the Buffalo Super99 Series, which featured 7 teams bound for Nationals. They are 3-13-2 against other Nationals qualifiers, with a tough 1-0 loss to Thunder in the Southeast Regional Playoffs, but the Hurricanes were given an at large bid. Kyle MacLean, formally of the New Jersey Colonials, is a very good forward, while the other players to watch are Riley Johnson, Skyler Brindâ€™Amour and Nick Hale.

	Syracuse Nationals Record: 42-17-4 GF-GA: 301-140 Current Ranking: 10
Syracuse is 3-4-1 against the other Nationals qualifiers, including two wins against the Mid Fairfield Yankees. Players to watch: JoJo Farabee is a top 1999 player, while Matt Kirwin, who's plays in the National Team Development Program, is also solid. Also watch for Sutter Donegan, Adam Fontana and Jake Morin.

	Pittsburgh Penguins Elite Record: 34-26-2 GF-GA: 234-189 Current Ranking: NR
Has played against 12 of the teams that are in Nationals during the season, going 8-20-1 against those teams. Liam Walsh, Cole Edgerton (former New Jersey Colonial) and Ryan Haag lead the team in scoring. Brayden Lange and Andrew Hachmeister lead a tough blue line corps. Watch for goaltender Joe Dragonjac.

	Colorado Thunderbirds Record: 40-23-6 GF-GA: 196-117 Current Ranking: 16
The Thunderbirds are a very underrated team that people tend to underestimate. Hold impressive wins over Team Comcast and the Carolina Hurricanes, and are 5-4 overall against teams in the Nationals event. Are 0-2 against Belle Tire, but lost those games 5-4 and 3-2 in a shootout. Played in one of the best games we saw all year, losing 1-0 in a shootout to CSKA Red Army team from Moscow at the World Hockey Invite. Players to watch include defensemen Colby Bukes and Nikolai Lyssogor and forwards Matt Francois, Baker Shore and Ethan Mesler.

	Boston Jr. Terriers (Split) Record: 27-9 GF-GA: 137-66 Current Ranking: NR
As a split season team, being prepared will be critical as this group pretty much shuts down in November in favor of high school hockey. They only have two games against teams in Nationals, going 0-2 against the Mid Fairfield Yankees. They have losses to the New Jersey Rockets and East Coast Wizards this season. They will have a very grueling Nationalsâ€™ schedule that includes the Buffalo Regals and Shattuck St. Maryâ€™s.

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