Jr. Ducks teams taste success at recent NHL Youth Cup tournaments
The NHL Youth Cup agrees with the Anaheim Jr. Ducks.
All five Jr. Ducks teams finished with winning records at the West weekend on Jan. 2-5, and the 2010 and 2005 birth years won their respective divisions.
The NHL Youth Cup provides NHL-affiliated AAA youth hockey clubs an opportunity to play a weekend series of games against each other for birth years from 2005 through 2010.
The 2010 team, coached by Sandy Gasseau, went 6-0 at Great Park Ice, defeating Dallas 6-2 in the final. The Jr. Ducks Squirt A3 team, playing out of Lakewood Ice, outscored its opponents by a 47-18 margin.
“It was very competitive tournament,” Gasseau said. “Our team likes to play good teams. They elevate their games. They look forward to the challenge.
“You might notice offense, but we’re getting stronger defensively. Our goalie Jack Urtel is outstanding. He’s a competitor.”
Stellan Gasseau led the tournament with 19 points, including seven goals. Ryan Cleveland added 17 points (tournament-best nine goals) and Noah Rodriguez had 16 points (seven goals).
The 2005 team, coached by T.J. Miller, went 4-1 in Colorado. The 14U AAA team capped its weekend by defeating Nashville 3-2 in a shootout at the University of Denver.
Joshua Armbruster and Francois Devilliers scored shootout goals after Mason Miller and Jake Hultenius tallied in regulation. Miles Roberts, who had a 2.25 goals-against average for the tournament, made 18 saves in the finale.
Two other Jr. Ducks teams reached championship games.
The 2006 team went 4-2 at Great Park Ice, defeating Colorado 3-2 in the semifinals. Coached by Darryl Tiveron, the 13U AAA team was led by Aidan Yi with nine points and Tyler Kedzo with eight.
Also at Great Park Ice, the 2008 team, coached by Eugene Kabanets, went 4-2 and defeated Colorado 9-2 in the semifinals. The 11U AAA team outscored their opponents 34-20. Brendan Russell (six goals) and Zane Torre (seven goals) each had 12 points.
And the 2009 team went 3-1-1 in Colorado and defeated Arizona 4-3 in the third-place game. Tanner Penn scored the game-winning goal on a power play during the third period to lift the Jr. Ducks. Kyler Cheung, Mason Moreland and Andrei Brataneau also scored. Daniel Greenbaum led the 2009s with nine points in the five games.
— Chris Bayee
(Jan. 23, 2020)
