BEDFORD, Mass. — One of the biggest events of the offseason calendar is in the rearview.
The Wizards Showcase took over the Edge Sports Center this past weekend, featuring 31 teams from New England, the western U.S. and western Canada and some of the best prospects in the U19, U16 and U14 age groups.
I spent my weekend focusing primarily on the U16 and U19 teams, doing my best to see each New England team at least once. All told, I saw 21 total games, most for at least two periods.
We already broke down eight standout forwards as well as eight standout defenders and goalies among the U19s earlier this week. After breaking down nine standout U16 forwards, it's time to wrap up with the standout defenders and goalies among the U16s.
Here are eight players who impressed.
Carly Dann
East Coast Wizards/Loomis Chaffee, 7/21/2008, D, left shot, 5-9
Hometown: Hanover, NH
Just as she did at the New England District's festival in May, Dann made a strong impression with her stout defense and quick decisions. The rising junior at Loomis Chaffee is an excellent defender in transition. She kept everything toward the outside, forcing puck carriers to the boards with strong stick positioning and physical play. She did a great job at holding the blue line and preventing easy entries, and she routinely started transition quickly either with her legs or with a strong first pass after winning pucks.
Ava Decourcey
Boston Jr. Eagles/Nobles, 7/24/2008, D, right shot, 5-6
Hometown: Rockland, Mass.
Decourcey was strong at the offensive blue line all weekend. She can flat-out hammer the puck, which gave the Jr. Eagles an advantage on power plays and low-to-high looks. Against the Connecticut Jr. Eagles on Sunday, she was excellent running the power play at the top of the umbrella. She did a good job of not staying stationary and moving laterally to draw defenders toward her and open up space for teammates. Decourcey, who will head to Nobles after scoring 16 goals as a sophomore at Tilton last season, saw the ice well and made good pinches and decisions in the offensive zone to extend plays. She also smartly bled time off the penalty kill, protecting the puck below the goal line in her own end before finding Erin Flaherty (Boston, Mass.; St. Paul's) with a stretch pass to clear the zone.
Mia MacDonald
Mass. Spitfires/Thayer, 2028, D, right shot
Hometown: Walpole, Mass.
MacDonald, who put up five points on the blue line as an eighth-grader at Thayer last season, got much better as the weekend went on. She was at her best on Sunday in the Spitfires' tilt against Team West. She played an assertive game and made good reads to activate in transition. The right-hander scored in the first period after recognizing a wide-open lane in the neutral zone to lead the rush and cashing in on a second chance in tight.
WIZARDS SHOWCASE: 8 standout U19 forwards | 8 standout U19 defenders and goalies | 9 standout U16 forwards
Lillian Horton
Premier Ice Prospects/Edina Green, 5/23/2009, D, left shot, 5-10
Hometown: Edina, Minn.
Like her older sister Whitney, who stood out among the U19 forwards, Horton displayed strong skating during the showcase with long, efficient strides. In the defensive zone, she did a great job with Olivia Bonarrigo (Medway, Mass.) to clear out the net-front on a penalty kill against the Wizards on Saturday. Horton used her frame effectively down low to muscle forwards off pucks and to shield pucks as she fended off forecheckers.
Olivia Bonarrigo
Premier Ice Prospects/NAHA Red U16, D, right shot
Hometown: Medway, Mass.
Like Horton, Bonarrigo was one of PIP's best blue-liners this weekend. In the offensive zone, she facilitated the play well at the point and kept things simple. She set up Ava Carr's second goal against Assabet on Saturday with a quick, low shot that had eyes. In the defensive zone, she defended well in front of her net and did a good job of boxing out screens to keep lanes open for her goalies to see shots.
Jamie Noonan
Mass. Spitfires/Groton, 2008, D/F, right shot
Hometown: East Bridgewater, Mass.
Noonan can play both forward and defense, and she was on the blue line the most when I saw the Spitfires this past weekend. Her speed stood out the most, and it helped make up for some lapses for the Spitfires in their end. She was quick with regroups and exits, and she easily took away time and space from puck carriers off the rush and in the corners.
AWARDS:Â Handing out the boys and girls prep individual honors for 2024
Addie Sutherland
Mass. Spitfires/Dexter Southfield, 2009, G, catches left, 5-4
Hometown: West Roxbury, Mass.
Sutherland was strong throughout the weekend for the Spitfires. She battled hard through heavy traffic around her net and made strong, timely saves in their game against the CT Jr. Eagles on Friday. The rising junior at Dexter made really high-quality saves against Team Western Canada on Saturday. She anticipated well and reacted quickly with her team under siege in the defensive zone for most of the second period. Sutherland went 3-0-0 and gave up just two goals on the weekend, finishing with a 0.67 goals-against average.
Ines Khamis
Assabet/St. Mark's, 3/2/2008, G, catches left, 5-6
Hometown: Livermore, Calif.
Khamis was excellent for Assabet for a lot of the same reasons Sutherland stood out for the Spitfires. She consistently remained collected amid pockets of heavy pressure and kept rebounds out of dangerous areas. She made a fantastic highlight-reel save to rob a sure goal in transition against High Performance Hockey Skills (HPHS) on Friday, sprawling across the crease to make the pad save. The rising junior at St. Mark's went 2-0-0, giving up one goal and leading the U16s with a 0.50 GAA.
BALANCING ACT:Â Full-season? Split-season? Girls prep hockey tries to find a middle ground
Sophia Luoni
High Performance Hockey Skills/Natick, 2008, G, catches left
Hometown: Natick, Mass.
Neither Luoni, nor Alex Herbert's (Reading, Mass.), stats jumped off the page for an HPHS team that went 0-3-1 while getting outscored 16-4. Both were stronger than the box scores indicated. Luoni, who ran with the starting job as a freshman at Natick High last season, made strong positional stops and reacted quickly throughout the weekend. She made a terrific glove save on a shot that was labeled for the top corner right after coming in cold off the bench against Assabet on Friday. Against Team West on Saturday, she scrambled into position to make a great save on a bang-bang one-timer from point-blank range. Later, she changed her angle and flashed the pad for a good save off a deflection.
