KITCHENER | All eyes were on Shane Wright on Wednesday at the CHL Top Prospects Game. It didn’t go exactly as he would have hoped as his team, the Reds, was outplayed and lost 3-1 at Memorial Auditorium in Kitchener.
Those who doubted Wright were certainly reassured a little from the first moments of the first period. The one who is still considered the best hope of the 2022 vintage used his acceleration force from the first seconds to escape but his shot missed the target.
In his next appearance, he demonstrated his skating skills again when he got rid of Conor Geekie’s cover to make it two-on-one with Danny Zhilkin and then redirected his pass behind Tyler Brennan.
The captain of the Reds, however, was calmer afterwards. We don’t know if it was the solid check from Gatineau Olympiques defender Noah Warren that slowed his momentum, but he wasn’t as visible afterwards.
“I think I had a decent game. I could have done better but in general I liked the experience and I will learn from it.
Wright didn’t believe that the fact that all eyes were on him bothered him too much.
“There will be scouts in the stands until the end of the season. There will always be people watching. I did not approach this match differently. In his defense, however, he is not the only one to have had a half-hearted match. The entire Reds team was fairly dominated throughout the game.
On the other side, the Whites developed chemistry quickly, scoring three unanswered goals including that of Quebec Remparts forward Nathan Gaucher who, well placed in front of the net, redirected a pass from his line partner and member of the Gatineau Olympiques Antonin Verreault, to make it 3-1.
All this to the delight of his teammates who had gathered at the Videotron Center to watch the game of no. 91.
“Antonin and I play in the same league so we know each other well,” said Gaucher. I know what kind of player he is so I try to position myself well to receive his passes. He sees the game really well and that’s what paid off today.”
The team’s only scorer, Wright was named his team’s most valuable player. On the White side, it was Jagger Firkus who received the honour. The Moose Jaw Warriors forward finished with a goal and an assist.
If he didn’t register on the score sheet, defender Warren also earned points. His check on Wright early in the first period was one of the highlights of the game.
“I think I played well,” said the 6’5″ giant. I managed to demonstrate from the start that I was a physical guy and able to play hard. […] When I come around, I don’t look who the guy is. It fell that it was him [Shane Wright] and I finished my check well.”
thing promised, thing due
Speaking of finishing his checks, Maveric Lamoureux responded to Antonin Verreault’s call at the start of the game.
On Tuesday, the Olympiques forward and the defender of the Drummundville Voltigeurs had launched arrows in the media, Verreault asking Lamoureux to avoid cross-checks against him.
Definitely, the great right-handed defender did not take into account his opponent’s request. From their first appearance, he served a solid check to Verreault before concluding with a small cross-check in the back, question that he does not get up too quickly.
“He gave me a cross-check in the back and he let me know. He told me ”hold my criss!”, told the colorful Verreault, who concedes a foot to his opponent (5 ft 7 in against 6 ft 7 in).
For his part, despite the defeat, Lamoureux was all smiles.
“The whole match, I really had fun and I had a big smile. […] When I tackled him, I was smiling and when I crosschecked him, I was smiling too. We talked and got a little annoyed during the match. At one point also, in front of their bench, Noah [Warren] and Verreault annoyed me and threw me business, ”he said.
Goyette shines in the tests
A few Quebecers distinguished themselves during the ice tests held on Tuesday, including David Goyette. The Quebecer, who plays for the Sudbury Wolves in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), finished third overall, behind forwards Matthew Savoie of the Winnipeg Ice and Vinzenz Rohrer of the Ottawa 67’s.
Among other things, the forward distinguished himself during the agility trials in transition, with and without the puck, where he finished fourth. He also took third place in the event testing player reaction speed.
Also note that defenseman Noah Warren was the fastest over 30m without the puck, with a time of 3.81 seconds.
“I was surprised this morning to be No. 1. I told myself that it must have been a mistake. It’s fun to see that I’m improving day by day,” he said.
Nathan Gaucher finished just behind Warren, in second place in this test, with a time of 3.829 seconds.