BY SCOTT HADDOW
The Copper Cliff Redmen minor midget team is
gaining momentum and on track to have their players recognized
by OHL scouts.
 |
| name="valign"
top >
From L to R: R.J. Panton, Calum
Macleod and Owen Peltier-Naponse square off against the
Don Mills Flyers in London. |
The Redmen, assembled this fall, have
asserted themselves well against more established minor midget
teams from across the province.
The Redmen compete regularly in the Nickel
District major AA midget league, which is full of 15, 16 and
17-year-old players, but the Redmen are strictly
just 15-year-old players.
The team competed in the renowned Green and
Gold AAA Midget Tournament in London last month, and skated
away with an impressive 2-2 record, including two wins over
American teams from Pittsburgh and Rochester.
The squad then competed at the Brantford
99'ers Tournament recently, forging a 0-2-1 record.
"We're moving in the right
direction," said head coach Denis Aubut. "We have all
worked really hard. I thought the Brantford Tournament was our
best performance of the year. We had a lot of scouts comment on
how great the team's work ethic is."
The Redmen coaching staff had to deal with
overall team confidence issues to start the year, but after
some rather successful showings around the province, the team
is becoming galvanized after realizing they are quite capable
of competing against the best clubs in Ontario.
"The London tournament was a positive
step forward," said Aubut. "It was definitely a
confidence booster for our guys."
The bottom-line goal is to get as many
players as possible drafted into the OHL. Interest is growing
in Redmen players.
"So far, we have had many inquires about
many of our players," said Aubut. "In some cases, we
have had multiple inquires from a few OHL scouts. It's an
encouraging sign and keeps us going."
The attention is appreciated.
"We're actually ahead of where we
thought we would be at this point," said GM Rod Larocque.
"While it's still early and a lot can change, the
bottom
line at this stage of the game is we're
gaining notoriety and momentum within the southern Ontario
circuit. This is a real tribute to the players and
staff. It's nice to see scouts following
our development."
All areas of the Redmen are giving it their
all.
"Our goaltending has been solid and gets
better every game," said Aubut. "The physical play of
our defence has improved as well along with their mobility.
We're also getting good performances from several
forwards...We're sure a handful of players are on the verge
of breaking out offensively."
The Redmen will compete in the upcoming
Waterloo minor midget tournament in early December, as well as,
the Toronto Marlies Holiday Classic in December and the Steel
City Invitational in Sault Ste. Marie in January 2006.
