Although the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team only played one game in Halifax, some players on the roster were able to catch the eyes of scouts in attendance.
“Obviously, the game was an outstanding game,” said Tom Watt, pro scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs. “The goaltending at both ends was great and [Patrick] Killeen—the goaltender for Carleton—played a great game.”
“He stood out,” Watt said. “It was a goaltender’s game, [Jordon] Cooke at the other end was outstanding as well. Well over 100 shots for two goaltenders, I think the game was really about goaltending.”
Watt, whom previously coached the University of Toronto men’s hockey team to nine national titles, usually only scouts NHL games, but was in Halifax to take in the University Cup.
“I thought [David] Weckworth played well. Welychka played well,” he said. “They stood out, but the game itself, I think, was all about goaltending.”
Watt did note some hurdles could come between CIS players and a chance at the professional ranks.
“One of the problems—not just with Killeen, but with some of the better players in the CIS—a lot of them have played Major Junior hockey until their twentieth year, then they start university and so on,” he said. “So a lot of the better players are 24 and 25 years old.”
“Well, now that’s a stretch not just for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but any pro team to sign them because at 25 then you got to go to the American League and what not, so their future in the National League has got to change around pretty quickly to have a National League upside,” he said.
Chris Mooring, the Atlantic Canada Head Scout with the International Scouting Services, said he also was impressed with the play of Killeen.
“He played a little deep in his net for me, but I’m looking at guys for both minor pro and Europe, so he stood out as being one of [Carleton’s] better performers,” he said.
Another player that stood out for Mooring was third-year forward Mike McNamee.
“He was one of the more offensively gifted players that I saw on the team,” he said. “I thought he skated really well.”
“One of the more consistent efforts on both ends of the ice. He stood out as one of the better players and one of the better performers,” he said.
Although Mooring does not scout for a particular organization, he is on the lookout for players with potential for minor pro hockey or european markets.
“It all depends on how you develop—some players don’t develop until later in life and you’re wanting to find one of those gems here and hopefully they go to a minor pro organization and play in the AHL and see if they get a chance to play with the big team,” he said.
“I think it’s all in the development but the CIS, I wouldn’t say it’s a development league, I think it’s more what they do when they get to the end of their career and how much they perfected their game, how much they compete, and how much they want it, to go on to the next level and to play pro.”
