PLYMOUTH, Mich. — On Thursday, games began in the 2025 U.S. National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp. Players hit the ice at 9 a.m. for the first game and 3:30 p.m. for the second. The camp is organized into Team McAvoy (blue) and Team Larkin (red).
Five New England natives are at the camp, along with five players who played at Mount St. Charles this winter. While they all likely won't make the team, all 10 have legitimate cases to make it.
My flight to Michigan landed at noon, so I couldn't see the day's first game.
After one day, some of the players listed below looked like the top players in camp. Here are notes on every local prospect from the second game.
Carter Meyer
Rivers, 4/10/2009, F, left shot, 6-1/170
Hometown: Winchester, Mass.Â
In the first seven minutes, Meyer had two points. His first was a goal, as he got the puck in neutral ice, got all alone on the netminder and went five-hole for the finish. On his next shift, he called for the puck prior to the offensive blue line, entered the zone and drew a defender, which created space for forward Toronto Titans forward Michael Tang. Meyer fed Tang for the goal. Meyer drove play and let the game come to him. One of the biggest things I'm watching for this weekend is how Meyer slows down the game among the other best players from his birth year. On Thursday, he was outstanding at it. When it got to alternating between the power play and penalty kill in the third, Meyer won a draw while killing a penalty, rushed the puck and cleared it. He was the best player in Thursday's second game.
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Nathaniel Chizik
Mount St. Charles, 2/15/2009, G, catches left, 6-2/204
Hometown: Warrington, Pa.Â
I feel for goalies in events like these because they're not designed for them to thrive. That was far from an issue for Chizik, who was spectacular on Thursday. Early in the first period, he made a plethora of big saves, stopping Sioux Falls Power forward Finn Spehar on a breakaway, a Shattuck-St. Mary's forward Nolan Fitzhenry one-timer and a point-blank chance from Shattuck-St. Mary's forward Braden Horton. Chizik is fortunate to have size, but his feet are terrific and he's able to cover so much of the bottom of the net without having to move very much. He knew when to be deep in his net and when to be more aggressive. I'd have a hard time believing he doesn't make the team after Thursday's game.
Finn Sears
Rivers, 5/4/2009, F, left shot, 6-1/175
Hometown: Medford, Mass.Â
The biggest strength of Sears' game was his assertiveness. The Rivers product played away from Pandolfo and Meyer on Thursday and took action, producing several scoring chances. When he got pucks in and around the net, he looked for passes but often used his frame and compete to get to high-danger areas. At one point, he hit the post after looking to the middle for a pass. Late in the first period, he used his speed to force a turnover at his own blue line. He had an odd-man rush, drew the defender and made a behind-the-back pass to a teammate. While that shot was stopped, Pittsburgh Pens Elite forward Mark Pape scored on the rebound. Throughout the game, Sears was equally good at earning passing lanes and knowing when to shoot. He also had two points in Thursday's earlier game.
Jake Boguniecki
Mid Fairfield, 4/22/2009, D, right shot, 6-0/153
Hometown: Orange, Conn.Â
There are a lot of crafty, smaller, puck-moving defensemen at camp. Boguniecki isn't that. Instead, he was a trusty, two-way force on Thursday. At one end of the ice, he hopped into the rush responsibly and picked his spots on when he'd get involved in the slot. At the other, he defended the rush with great gaps, forcing players to the outside and using his physicality to separate them from the puck. He used his size and stick to box players out in front of his own net, too.
Brayden Willis
Mount St. Charles, 9/16/2009, F, right shot, 5-8/159
Hometown: Gilbert, Ariz.Â
Willis' deadly shot was on display. Late in the first period, he entered the offensive zone and cut towards his off side. As he did that, he used the defender as a screen and ripped a laser over Chicago Reapers goalie Lucas Johnson's glove. He scored on a penalty shot later in the game on a nice finish through Johnson's legs. I also like Willis' vision, as he found Mount St. Charles forward Rocco Pelosi streaking down the left side for a few chances. Willis is making a legitimate case to make the team.
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Braiden Scuderi
Mount St. Charles, 3/31/2009, F, right shot, 5-6/153
Hometown: Haddon Heights, N.J.Â
Scuderi seemed to always be around the puck. He had several end-to-end rushes, getting the puck near the top of his own zone and using his speed and shiftiness to sift through the defenders in the neutral zone and into the other team's end. He got open off the cycle quite a bit. And, when he had the puck, he never panicked — even if a defender was coming to make a hit. He came off the half-wall with pucks nicely, too. The biggest thing Scuderi has to prove at camp is that he can make a big impact despite his size.
Sam Pandolfo
Rivers, 7/2/2009, F, left shot, 6-4/180
Hometown: Winchester, Mass.Â
Was Pandolfo the flashiest player on Thursday? Far from it. But the Rivers product consistently did the little things right. He backchecked hard to break up rushes. He took good positioning in his own zone. In the offensive end, he found routes to the net and was able to find his teammates in transition with good passing. Everybody at the camp can dangle, but Pandolfo is a well-rounded hockey player. That, along with being the biggest forward at the camp, are his two best cases to make the team — and those are both important.
Rocco Pelosi
Mount St. Charles, 1/28/2009, F, left shot, 5-9/164
Hometown: Sewell, N.J.Â
In my opinion, this wasn't Pelosi's best showing. He had a few hard, quick shots, but some missed the net, while others were stopped. He did get open for a couple of rushes down the left side of the ice and used his frame well to protect pucks. Pelosi entered this camp with his stock as high as anyone's so there is zero reason to be alarmed. I'm excited to see what Pelosi can do in Friday's game.
Christian Semetsis
Mount St. Charles, 10/14/2009, D, left shot, 5-9/147
Hometown: Smithtown, N.Y.Â
What I liked most about Semetsis' performance was his subtle moves when passing and rushing the puck. He had no problem settling for small-area passes, especially in the offensive zone. When he had the puck, he used deception to get around defenders who were on him. He showed a strong ability to get open in the high slot in the offensive zone for scoring chances. He had nice rush defense midway through the first period when he stepped up, got his stick on the puck and rode out an opposing player into the boards.
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Cam Minella
Brunswick, 8/29/2009, D, left shot, 5-11/155
Hometown: Darien, Conn.Â
Minella's skating and puck-moving abilities have long been his two best assets and they were both on display. However, he was having trouble getting off hard, quick shots in the first period. He bounced back midway through the second when he got open and ripped a shot that bounced off Johnson and over the netminder for a goal. I liked how Minella was always trying to shoot with purpose, getting his head up and looking for tips. In my opinion, his best case to make the team will be showcasing nice defense over the next few days.
