Monday, January 17, 2011

Events and Participants Announced for 2011 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Skills Competition

Press Release

Toronto, ON – The Canadian Hockey League today announced the four events and participants for the 2011 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Skills Competition set for Tuesday January 18 at 7:00 pm at Air Canada Centre.

40 of the CHL’s top prospects eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft have been divided into four different events including the Fastest Skater, Hardest Shot, Shooting Accuracy, and a Showdown Breakaway Contest. Following the four events, all participants will have the ability to showcase their skills in a 3-on3 game before fans and scouts in attendance.



The competition opens with the top two ranked OHL defencemen in the Fastest Skater event including Team Orr’s Dougie Hamilton of the Niagara IceDogs who is ranked seventh by NHL Central Scouting and Team Cherry’s Ryan Murphy of the Kitchener Rangers who is ranked 10th. The Hardest Shot contest features a pair of WHL defencemen including Team Orr’s David Musil of the Vancouver Giants who is ranked 26th, and Team Cherry’s Duncan Siemens of the Saskatoon Blades who appears 14th on the NHL Central Scouting midterm rankings. Second ranked forward Sean Couturier of the Drummondville Voltigeurs and Team Cherry will compete in the Shooting Accuracy along with Saint John Sea Dogs’ sniper Zack Phillips of Team Orr.

This season’s Breakaway Contest competitors include Team Orr’s number three ranked Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Red Deer Rebels and fourth ranked Sven Bartschi of the Portland Winterhawks. They will try and outperform Team Cherry competition that includes internet shootout sensation Tomas Jurco of the Saint John Sea Dogs ranked 24th by NHL Central Scouting, and 19th ranked Ryan Strome of the Niagara IceDogs who scored arguably the nicest goal in the OHL this season.

The Showdown Breakaway Contest made its debut last season in Windsor and will again feature six players per team taking two attempts on goal before a panel of four judges that will score each attempt based on creativity, originality, degree of difficulty, execution, showmanship, and the ability to score. First round pick and Carolina Hurricanes rookie Jeff Skinner won the Breakaway Contest last season as a member of the Kitchener Rangers against some stiff competition that included current Boston Bruins rookie Tyler Seguin of the Plymouth Whalers and New York Islanders first round pick Nino Niederreiter of the Portland Winterhawks who scored a one-handed backhand goal to the amazement of the sold out WFCU Centre crowd.

Other winners last season included first round pick and current Atlanta Thrashers rookie Alexander Burmistrov who won the Fastest Skater event, while Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds captain and Tampa Bay Lightning third round pick Brock Beukeboom had the Hardest Shot. Florida Panthers first round pick and Canadian National Junior Team member Quinton Howden of the Moose Jaw Warriors claimed first place in the Accuracy Shooting.



The best individual score in each event receives a goal for their team, with another goal awarded for the best team average from each event for a total of eight available goals. The 3-on-3 game consists of two 15-minute periods with running time with all goals scored counting towards the overall competition score.

Tickets can be purchased individually for the 2011 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Skills Competition on January 18 beginning as low as $10, with tickets for the January 19 game beginning at $40 for purchase at www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling 416-872-5000.



The 2011 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game is supported by associate sponsors Bank of Montreal, Subway, and CCM. The game will be broadcast live to a national audience on Rogers Sportsnet and RDS beginning at 7:00 pm Eastern.

2011 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Skills Competition Participants:



Skill 1 – Fastest Skater



Team Orr:

Dougie Hamilton, Niagara IceDogs

Shane McColgan, Kelowna Rockets

Nathan Beaulieu, Saint John Sea Dogs

Daniel Catenacci, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds



Team Cherry:

Ryan Murphy, Kitchener Rangers

Mark McNeill, Prince Albert Raiders

Tobias Rieder, Kitchener Rangers

Rickard Rakell, Plymouth Whalers



Skill 2 – Hardest Shot



Team Orr:

David Musil, Vancouver Giants

Stuart Percy, Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors

Vincent Trocheck, Saginaw Spirit

Reece Scarlett, Swift Current Broncos



Team Cherry:

Myles Bell, Regina Pats

Scott Harrington, London Knights

Duncan Siemens, Saskatoon Blades

Tyler Wotherspoon, Portland Winterhawks



Skill 3 – Shooting Accuracy



Team Orr:

Lucas Lessio, Oshawa Generals

Zack Phillips, Saint John Sea Dogs

Boone Jenner, Oshawa Generals

Colin Jacobs, Seattle Thunderbirds



Team Cherry:

Sean Couturier, Drummondville Voltigeurs

Matthew Puempel, Peterborough Petes

Shane Prince, Ottawa 67’s

Phillip Danault, Victoriaville Tigres



Skill 4 – Show-Down Breakaway Contest



Team Orr:

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Red Deer Rebels

Brandon Saad, Saginaw Spirit

Sven Bartschi, Portland Winterhawks

Vladislav Namestnikov, London Knights

Jonathan Huberdeau, Saint John Sea Dogs

Xavier Ouellet, Montreal Juniors



Team Cherry:

Ty Rattie, Portland Winterhawks

Tomas Jurco, Saint John Sea Dogs

Nicklas Jensen, Oshawa Generals

Ryan Strome, Niagara IceDogs

Mark Scheifele, Barrie Colts

Joe Morrow, Portland Winterhawks



Goaltenders:



Team Orr:

Jordan Binnington, Owen Sound Attack

Liam Liston, Brandon Wheat Kings



Team Cherry:

Christopher Gibson, Chicoutimi Sagueneens

David Honzik, Victoriaville Tigres

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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