The Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy (POE), proud members of
the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) have announced that Tyler Benson,
the 1st overall draft pick in the 2013 Western Hockey League (WHL)
draft by the Vancouver Giants, has committed to play for the Pursuit of
Excellence Midget 18U team in the NAPHL for the 2013-14 season.
Benson, 15, was a standout for the Edmonton based Southside
Athletic Club (SSAC) Lions Bantam AAA team last season. The Edmonton
native set a new scoring record for the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey
League (AMBHL) last season when he tallied 57 goals and 89 assists for
146 points in only 33 regular season games. The previous record was held
by the Portland Winterhawks’ Ty Rattie when he notched 131 points as a
member of the Airdrie Xtreme during the 2007-08 season.
“I chose POE because I feel it’s the best place to develop my game
and take it to the next level,” Benson said. “They have proven results
with Justin Schultz and Curtis Lazar and I look forward to try and
follow in their footsteps.”
The 5’11/185 lbs. forward helped lead his team to a league best
28-1-4 record during the AMBHL regular season. The Lion’s captured the
AMBHL Provincial Championship going 10-1 through the playoffs. Benson
led all scorers with 37 points (15g-22a) in 11 games. Southside also
claimed the Western Canadian AAA Bantam Championship going 4-0-1 in the
process.
Benson tied as the top scorer for the tournament with nine goals
and four assists for 13 points in five games. Most impressively he
scored a hat trick that included the game winning and insurance goals in
the gold medal game to lead his team to a 5-3 win over North Shore
Winter Club.
“POE is very excited to work with a player of Tyler’s’ ability and
enable him to develop his skills to prepare him to play in the WHL next
year,” President and Owner David Roy said. “Tyler exemplifies the kind
of character that we pride the POE program on; he is determined,
passionate and eager to learn.”
The Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy is a 10 month academy
dedicated to enriching the lives of young hockey players both on and off
the ice. They have been members of the NAPHL since the 2011-12 season.
(Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment