Boston Junior Bruins

Posting a 3-1 record at the prestigious Toronto Pro Hockey Bauer Shootout bodes well for the boys from Beantown, as the Junior Bruins outscored opponents by a combined score of 19-11 over the four games before falling to Team Alberta in the tourney quarterfinals by a score of 3-2.  

The Junior Bruins finished at the top of the standings in the Boston Showdown, going a perfect 3-0 and scoring wins over the ’08 Ottawa Senators Prospects, Montreal Lions, Long Island Royals, and H.D. Engine. Like the Bauer Shootout, the quarterfinal proved to be the Jr. Bruins’ Achilles heel, losing in overtime. 

Head coach Chris Masters has been with the program for nearly 20 years after graduating from Boston College in 1999 and playing professionally for the Trenton Titans of the East Coast Hockey League. 

Key Players: Tynan Lawrence, Xander Boutilier, Kaiden Donia, goaltenders Tommy Saulnier and Carson Mertz. 

Team Brick Alberta 

The hometown squad may have one of the best resumes entering this year’s tournament, winning the North American Hockey Classic while defeating five Brick teams.

To complete the tournament, Team Brick Alberta took down the British Columbia Jr. Canucks in the finals. While going 6-0 that weekend, the team showed off its depth and firepower, with three players all posting eight total points. Mathieu Lajoie and Alex Smyth each scored two goals and added six assists, while Ty Meunier scored a goal and dished out seven helpers. Four players each scored four goals during the NAHC. 

The aforementioned Alex Smyth’s father is former Edmonton Oiler great Ryan Smyth, and Nolan Van Waes’ father is a former Canadian Football League players.

Head coach Umberto Fiorillo is a former assistant coach at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and University of Alberta Golden Bears, while assistant coach Sandro Pissani is the former coach of the Midget AAA St. Albert Sabres and fellow assistant Mike Fiorillo is a Brick Invite alum.   

Key Players: In addition to the leading scorers from the NAHC, Brayden Ryan Mackay, Townes Kozicky, Daxon Rudolph, Aaron Sawatzky, Brett Olson.

Team Minnesota 

After going 4-2 and falling in the semifinals last year, Team Minnesota looks to improve in 2018, with its eyes on advancing past the final four to the title game. The state of hockey squad went 2-3 while outscoring opponents 30-25 in the NAHC, including tough losses by scores of 4-3 and 7-4 against Team Brick Alberta and the Saskatchewan Jr. Pats respectively.

Victor Plante led Team Minnesota with seven goals and 10 points during the tournament, while Pacey Adduono registered five assists. Staying out of the penalty box will be key for Team Minnesota, as three players placed among the top-five in penalty minutes in Winnipeg. 

Team Minnesota is coached by former St. Cloud State Husky Billy Hengen, who was named as Team Minnesota’s permanent coach for the Brick Invitational earlier this month. Hengen took a group of 2003-born players to the Brick semifinals in 2013. 

Key Players: Cole Bumgarner, Victor Plante, Pacey Adduono, A.J. Francisco 

Western Selects

Formerly known as Team California Brick, the program’s territory has expanded to include Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas for the 2018 tournament, deepening the talent pool California draws from and offering more players a chance to compete.

The expansion has allowed a pair of players from Alaska, Dub Eunice III, and Drake Owens to join the team, with two of the import slots going to European-Board defensemen in Alexander Command and Tomasz Marsden.    

Highly-accomplished national champion Tier I coach Jeff Turcotte is the head coach of the newly-named Western Selects, where he teams with former NHLer Brad Stuart, who played in over 1,000 NHL games and won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008. Brad’s son Logan was the team’s leading scorer with seven goals and 12 points in the NAHC. 

Key Players: Logan Stuart, Alexander Command, Gavin Clark, Chase Trompeter, goaltender Drake Owens

Chicago Jr. Blackhawks

A number of the Jr. Blackhawks skated for the 2008 Chicago Mission team during the regular season, including the team’s leading scorer at the NAHC Caden Dabrowksi, who totaled eight goals and nine points in Winnipeg. Ryan Loftus and Nicholas Credidio each registered six points during the NAHC. According to the Brick website, defenseman Jimmy Rieber has been named the captain of the Jr. Blackhawks. 

Head coach Ryan Taylor is the Central States Hockey Director for the Highland Park (IL) Falcons Hockey Association. Taylor spent time in the Ontario Junior Hockey League as a player before getting into coaching and player development.  

Key Players: Caden Dabrowski, Jimmy Rieber, Ryan Loftus, Nicholas Credidio

Team Manitoba 

23 years removed from competing in the 1995 Manitoba Midget Hockey League All-Star Game for Team East (Winnipeg Sharks), Jade Malmquist leads Team Manitoba in the Brick as its head coach. Malmquist heads a group of four coaches, including Eric Lancaster, Ryan Thompson, and Garth Lancaster. 

Malmquist’s son Maddox was the team’s second-leading scorer during the NAHC, recording six goals and 11 points as the team went 4-1-1 during the tournament.

Leading scorer Jaxon Jacobson racked up five goals and 13 points, tied for a tournament-high, while goaltender Marshall Nesbitt went 3-0-0 between the pipes. Team Manitoba posted a 3-1 record during the Pro Hockey Bauer Shootout before losing to eventual runner-up B.C. Jr. Canucks 2-1 in the quarterfinals.  

Key Players: Jaxon Jacobson, Maddox Malmquist, J.P. Hurlbert, Brayden Thompson

Toronto Bulldogs 

The defending Brick champions should be in prime position to repeat this year. The team went a perfect 4-0 in pool play of the Bauer Shootout but was upended by the B.C. Jr. Canucks in the tournament semifinals by a heartbreaking score of 4-3. 

The Bulldogs rolled through the CCHA Spring Showcase, taking home the title with a resounding 6-1 win over the Connecticut Jr. Rangers in the finals. In six games, the Bulldogs outscored their opponents (including Toronto Pro Hockey) 35-4. In the spring, the Bulldogs finished second in the CCHA Toronto Invitational, losing to Team Quebec 3-2 in the championship game.

Head coach Dave D’Ammizio is a skills coach at Villanova College in Ontario and has won Greater Toronto Hockey League titles and provincial championships in his time as a coach. 

Javian Nei and Weston Cameron finished as two of the leading scorers during the Shanahan/Warrior tournament in November, with Cameron racking up 12 goals and 20 points and Nei totaling six goals and 14 points. 

Key Players: Weston Cameron, Javian Nei, Alex Mclean, goaltender Andrew Lamanna