Scouting Report & Video: Minor Midget Cyclones Open Their Season

*Disclaimer – For a full game report for Minor Midget, please go to TheScout.ca.*

The Chatham-Kent Cyclones Minor Midget team played a pair of games to open their 2019-2020 Alliance ‘AAA’ Hockey season. Below are game reports from the Cyclones’ opening weekend.

Windsor Jr. Spitfires vs. Chatham-Kent Cyclones

Tough opener for the Cyclones in Windsor for their season opener. Windsor looked to dominate early and often in this game and did not let off the gas through three periods of play.

Standouts from this game are as follows:

#75 Nicholas Graniero, F, Windsor Jr. Spitfires – Parlaying a good season in Major Bantam into Minor Midget this year, Granerio scored three goals in this game in dominant fashion. Tough to contain all night with speed and size to match his skill level. Look for him to have a dominant season.

#44 Owen Findlay, D, Windsor Jr. Spitfires The two-way defender for the Jr. Spits showed his impressive skating and skill with the puck both 5 – on – 5 and on special teams. He stirs the offensive drink from the backend and on the rush acts as a fourth forward. Difficult to defend against when in full flight.

#55 Nate Dowling, F, Windsor Jr. Spitfires – Size and strength is Dowlings game. Physical and causes turnovers and does it effectively. May not blow you away in any category, but the work ethic is undeniable. Very valuable player on this game as he does all the little things that you look for in players at both ends of the rink.

#92 Maddox Nazwaski, G, Chatham-Kent Cyclones – Best CK player in this game. Kept the Cyclones in this game for the first half until Windsor took over. Really good athlete and did some exceptional work down low all game.

#55 Ayden Blain, F, Chatham-Kent Cylcones – Big and physical player. Showed some good signs on the penalty kill in this game with his physical play. Not afraid of going to net offensively either.

#42 Noah Szabo, D, Chatham-Kent Cyclones – Mobile defenseman with good Hockey smarts. Works his teammates well and plays special teams. Good accurate shot from the point. Was the best defenseman in this game for Chatham-Kent.

Video Highlights of the Game:

Sun County Panthers vs. Chatham-Kent Cyclones

Back and forth game with both teams trading goals through the first two periods. Chatham – Kent pulled away in the third with a 7 – 3 win. Many excellent performances from players for both teams in one of the more exciting AAA games in recent memory.

#91 – Jonas Youssef, F, Sun County Panthers – Good work early from Youssef in this game. Had a goal off the 2 – on – 1 and used his size to cause havoc in front of the net. A timely penalty against him hurt him in the game. Worked well on the forecheck.

#10 – Koen Taves, D, Sun County Panthers – Best player for Sun County in this game. Excellent skater with puck skills at high speed. Pushes the play well and is very mobile on the backend. Excellent passer. Responsible defensively.

#23 – Seth Martineau, D, Sun County Panthers – Big player for this age group and uses his size well. Isn’t afraid to show his physical side as he put out some punishing hits in this game. Surprisingly mobile for his size. Outlet passes well. Strong defensively.

#13 – Jacob Julien – F – Chatham-Kent Cyclones – Player of the game for me. Did everything you’d want him to offensively scoring off the 2-on-1 and setting up another goal on the 2-on-1. Perfect energy for this game and did the dirty work in his own end with big blocks.

#42 – Noah Szabo – D – Chatham-Kent Cyclones – Like his skating and mobility. Was good offensively with two goals in this one. Has a good Hockey IQ and moves the puck well when in trouble.

#44 – Ryan Richardson – F – Chatham-Kent Cyclones – Scored two goals in this game by going to the dirty areas. Wasn’t afraid to spend any time in the paint in this game. Has a good work ethic on the ice.

Video Highlights of the Game: