After another incredible year of Alliance minor midget hockey came to an abrupt end this year. While the decision to cancel hockey during an incredibly difficult time in society, you have to feel for those players who had worked all year to get to the OHL Cup, only to have that opportunity taken from them so quickly.

With that said, the 2004 born class in the Alliance has represented themselves quite nicely amongst the teams in Ontario. In the final OHL Cup rankings that were released, Alliance champions the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs found themselves sitting in 3^rd while finalist Hamilton Huskies were in the top 10 and the OHL Cup bound Waterloo Wolves were tagged as an honourable mention.

Looking ahead to the OHL Priority Selection, the 04 group is poised to replicate the results seen last season by the 03 class. On average, about 40 players are selected from the Alliance in the priority selection. Sometimes those numbers are a bit skewed based on when players are taken but from a total stand point, I’d expect to be around that point again this year.

In total, I have 41 players listed in the rankings below. It should be noted, I’d  be absolutely shocked if 41 players from the Alliance were selected and it was the exact players from this list. I fully expect that there will be some players taken who I did not have listed, much like there will be players that I felt should hear their name called that won’t. That is the beauty of the scouting process.

Here is the list that I have compiled following the Alliance season. Below are some further analysis and details.

When it comes to the top spot in the Alliance this year, I think that title belongs to Bryce McConnell-Barker. His combination of size, speed and skill has made him a force to be reckoned with this year. While the offensive capabilities have always been there, you saw a steep progression in his physical game as the year went on. As he found the ability to use his size better, his play progressed even further.

While McConnell-Barker should be the first Alliance name called in my mind, he may not be the only Alliance skater taken in the opening round. Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs forward Hunter Haight has all the tools to make that step to the next level. Haight’s creativity made him a nightmare for defenders to go one-on-one against and he always found himself in open areas for his teammates to find him.

Another player you will want to keep an eye out for early is Brady Stonehouse. A tireless worker on both sides of the ice, Stonehouse is a player that you love to have on your team, but hate to play against. His battles in front of the net were a spectacle this season and even after getting hacked, chopped and dropped, he still got up with a smile on his face. Stonehouse shouldn’t take long to become a fan favourite wherever he lands at the next level.

The OHL Priority Selection is still scheduled for April 4^th with everything getting underway at 9am. Check back with AllianceHockeyScout.com for full coverage of the Alliance players who are selected throughout the day.

It is the final edition of the Alliance Scout team rankings. The next time we are due to put out some rankings, the regular season will be over and the postseason gearing up to begin. At that point, we will replace the team rankings with series previews going forward.

As we currently stand, the postseason picture is still very murky. There is the top tier of Elgin, Hamilton and Waterloo that are all battling for positioning. Then there is the middle of the standings where four points separates fourth from seventh. It will come down to the very last weekend before we can positively say who will match up with who in the opening round.

The following rankings include some season play but with the holiday break squeezed in there, some teams did not have a plethora of games. We also did see four Alliance teams make it out of round robin play at the Marlies Holiday tournament with the Huskies losing in overtime in the quarter-finals.
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After a couple week hiatus, the Alliance Scout team rankings are back for their third edition.

Lots has happened since we ran through each team in the loop. The Alliance All-Star Weekend Showcase went down in Woodstock with another successful weekend. Some Alliance teams then headed on down to Whitby for the Silver Stick tournament (still my favourite tournament of the year). And then this past weekend the Waterloo Wolves hosted the Gold Puck tournament which housed a good chunk of Alliance teams.

As we head into the holiday season, a fair number of teams will be heading down to Toronto for the Marlboros Classic tournament. Once the holiday break hits, most teams will only have a handful of games remaining in their regular season play. Looking at the standings, there is still lots to be decided in terms of seeding and who the eight teams advancing to playdowns will be.

Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty and see where each team sits with a month to go in the season.

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While teams are starting to take shape in terms of expectations and where they may finish at the end of the season, it’s a big weekend that could see some of the landscape shift one way or the other for teams.

It is the All-Star Showcase weekend in Woodstock for the third consecutive year. The weekend, which sees teams play three games on Friday and Saturday caps off with the Bantam, Minor Midget and Midget all-star games on Sunday. Personally, I think this format is fantastic and a big improvement from a few years back when All-Star weekend consisted of four teams and a mini-tournament amongst those four teams. I found that during those events, the final day seemed to drag, and the games weren’t as fluid as players were still trying to figure out playing with one another.

As promised, this is the second edition of the Alliance Scout Team Rankings. While the top four in the league seems to have separated themselves from the pack, there are five teams that seem to be competing for what should be four playdown spots. There are some matchups this weekend that could become even more relevant when late January arrives.

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After a long and very competitive season in the Alliance, we have finally reached the week that so many of these players have been waiting for. This Saturday will be the OHL Priority Selection, where many of these players will have their names called and for some, find a new home for themselves as early as this fall.

For the 2003 born age group, it was a solid bounce back for the Alliance after a bit of a dip last season. While last seasons selection saw 37 players selected, it was the absence of some top talent in those early rounds that was quite noticeable.

This season, the Alliance should see at least one player selected in the opening round while some people have speculated that as many as four skaters from the Alliance loop could be called in the first 21 picks.

When it comes to my personal rankings, this was a hard one without a doubt. Any player from 4-10 could easily have been flipped with legitimate reasoning. Saturday will be a busy time for the Alliance players.

No more delay, here is the final Top 25 Alliance Player Rankings.

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With the Cambridge Hawks still awaiting word of who they will play against in the Alliance OHL Cup Play-In series, a couple of players will get some game action in this week. Goaltender Jet Greaves and defenseman Jagger O’Toole will be on the ice for the Jr. B Cambridge Winterhawks this week according to head coach Dan Fitzgerald. O’Toole is expected to play tomorrow against Listowel while Greaves will start in net Friday night as the Winterhawks travel to Listowel for another contest.

Greaves has been one of the standouts for the Hawks during their playdown run this season. He had a stellar series against the Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs and then, despite being swept, Greaves had some great games against the top ranked London Jr. Knights. Greaves postseason record sits at 3-3 with a solid 2.67 GAA and a .911 SV%. In his lone game with the Winterhawks this season, Greaves took on Listowel back in October. Greaves allowed one goal while making 28 saves, falling to the Cyclones 2-0.

O’Toole has played in five of Cambridge’s postseason games thanks to a two game suspension he received in game one against London. In those games, O’Toole tallied one goal and two assists to go along with 33 penalty minutes. O’Toole suited up for the Winterhawks back in November against Stratford and did not register a point.

What many would call the biggest tournament of the year began this evening as the Silver Stick tourney kicked off in Whitby.

30 teams will compete as a countless amount of scouts take in the action as these athletes and afforded the opportunity to show what their individual games have to offer.

Alliance Scout will be in attendance for most of the weekend to check in on the Alliance squads.

Here is what went down on Thursday night.

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It really becomes apparent that the hockey season is in full swing when the OHL releases their first set of rankings for the 2016 OHL Cup.

That’s exactly what happened today as the week one rankings were revealed. There were only a few surprises in the rankings and we saw two Alliance teams make the cut.

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