Post Try Out Look- AYHL Pee Wee Major 98

 

It's a very important year for 98' Pee Wee Major teams this year. The National Championships are being held at the Ice House in Hackensack, NJ, home of the North Jersey Avalanche. Teams within the AYHL have begun an arms race to stack their rosters for the long and arduous run at Nationals. We will try and re-cap the many roster and coaching changes as well as try and gauge which teams have improved in their search for the recipe for a national championship. While the AYHL is a very strong league, some teams in the Midwest and other scattered throughout the country will have a major say as well as to who is next year's champion. We will take you through the AHYL first. The teams have been reviewed based on their order of finish in last year's peewee minor year.

 

1. NJ Colonials- having gone undefeated last year within the AYHL, the Colonials are clearly the team to beat. They surprisingly had several changes to an already strong roster. The Colonials have added several key players including former Avalanche forward Evan Wisocky. Wisocky is a 98 who played up at the 97 level and is considered a top skill player. The Colonials also added former chief's forward Cody Liguoiri and defenseman Eric Minoukian. In a surprising move the colonials also added 99' goalie David Tomeo. Tomeo has been a part of the 99' colonial team that has had huge success in the last several years. A huge step up for the 99' but by all accounts Tomeo is very strong in net. A lot of changes for an already strong roster, however, it appears the Colonials are poised to make a serious run at the national title.

2. NJ Rockets-the Rockets are coming off a very successful season that saw them give many of the top flight teams in the country a run for their money. The Rockets strength is in defense and goaltending as they are very stingy in giving up goals. The Rockets addressed a distinct lack of size by adding several players from the tier 2 level that may have addressed this concern. The Rockets also added former Colonial forward Jonathan Coffey to help the scoring. It remains to be seen if the Rockets have improved enough to overtake the top 98' teams.

3. Mid Fairfield-considered the top team in Connecticut, the Blues have been at the top of the 98 division for several years. A balanced offense combined with a very solid defense has put them at the top of the league. This year's team has added several key players including Adam Karashik, Colin Slyne , Colin Kelly and Sam Knowlton. Mid-Fairfield is considered a favorite in the AYHL and a very strong contender to come out of the New England district to compete at nationals.

4. Mercer Chiefs- the Chiefs have undergone a huge change in ownership and it's had an effect on most of its AAA teams. Former NHL defensemen Michel Petit will now man the reigns of the 98 team this year. The Chiefs have had several key losses to their roster. We are unsure of the additions to the 98 team; however, with a former NHL player behind the bench, the team should be well coached.

5. Philadelphia Little Flyers- after a slow start to last year's season, the Little Flyers finished strong and made some noise in the playoffs. Their roster has not been posted so it remains to be seen if they can build off of last year's strong showing. Several key players have shown up on other rosters.

6. Team Comcast- Team Comcast made it into the playoffs as the sixth and final seed last year, however, they made it to the title game giving the NJ Colonials all they could handle. A high powered offense drives the team as well as superb coaching from former NHL star Keith Primeau. Always tough to play against, team Comcast is considered one of the teams to beat this year. No definitive changes could be determined, however, the consensus is that this team is very strong.

7. Junior Flyers- one of the toughest teams to score upon last year has gotten much needed offensive help. With the additions of Reed Hirniesen and Tyler Riddle from the Little Flyers, the junior flyers team should get an offensive boost. Junior also added forward Calvin Leclair and goalie Kevin dorozinsky. Junior knocked on the playoff door last year. This year's team could be a contender.

8. Long Island Gulls-the gulls have added several key components to their back line that should help. Defensemen Liam Donnelly and Max Kestenbaum of the Avalanche and defensemen Aaron Weller and Jake Dima form the Royals have made the Gull's defense much stronger this year. The loss of Justin Grillo may hurt up front; however, scoring was never an issue with this group.

9. Long Island Royals- a very tough team to play against, the Royals have undergone a major roster overhaul. With the Suffolk PAL 98 team not in the league this year, the Royals were able to add several of their key players. The key additions include Dylan Susko on defense, Brandon Bussi in net and Mike Perrone at forward. The Royal's also added former gull's defensemen Franco Cascarino who teamed with Susko give this team a top flight defensive corps. The outlook for the Royal's team this year is very good.

10. New Jersey Devils-the Devils had a hard time offensively last year and addressed the scoring woes with four new additions to the forwards. Thomas Lammaccia and Daniel Farr are former avalanche forwards, Bjorn Kvaale comes over from the Mercer Chiefs and a new face in the AYHL Harry Bahrenburg has been added from the LA Junior Kings. If these forwards can add scoring punch, the Devils will be a much improved group.

11. Team Maryland- with the addition of Graham McPhee, Team Maryland is looking to climb the standings in a very tough division. McPhee played 97 last year and is considered a highly skilled and talented player. There are four other new players on this year's roster. The jury is out on Team Maryland.

12. Connecticut JR Wolfpack-two of Connecticut's AAA have merged to become the new CT Wolfpack- four CTWolves players and 8 CT Clippers players have merged along with several other players from the region. It may take this team some time to mesh and with the strength of the league, results might not happen quickly.

13. North Jersey Avalanche-the host team for the nationals this year, the Avs will have work to do to compete at this level. The team has undergone major changes over the past several years with key players having left the organization. One thing that remains constant for this year's group is the coaching staff.

It will be an interesting year in the AYHL for the 1998 birth year. There is a chance that up to four teams can come out of this league to represent their district at Nationals this season. Check back with Youth 1 for updates on different birth years and on the MWEHL and other leagues.

 

****Note- our information is gathered from interviews with coaches, managers and information from the web. We apologize in advance for any mistakes.

**** There may be other teams such as Hershey and Valley Forge who enter teams at this level.

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