Hockey: I may've just seen the next Phenom

[DeToxRox]

It's silly to annoint phenoms in hockey, especially kids in THIRD GRADE but this weekend I was helping run a AAA tournament in Michigan and I saw a kid who at 11 years old had scouts all over him. He was the only kid being scouted. He is from Quebec and plays for Claude Lemeuixs team in Pheonix. Well, he plays all over. His dad (who is loaded) flies him all over to play with the best teams and it shows. He literally looked like a man among boys. He is small but he is quick. His big thing is his hands and vision. Literally saw everyone on the ice and seemed like he had the game playing in slow motion with how well he got everyone involved.

Like I said .. I never say these things and I've seen a lot of kids play but to me this kid could be worth the hype.

[bbor]

Check out John Tavares next time you have a chance.He is gonna be the next one.This kid was 16 last season in the OHL and put up over 100 points on a horrid team.

Having coached for a long time there is a lot that can happen to kids between 11 and the age that they have to really start impressing scouts.Having said that i hope he sticks to it and sees it through.Nothing like another phenom to hype up hockey a bit.

[Toddzilla]

I've told this story before and I'll tell it again here:

I went to college with a guy from Pennsylvania who grew up playing very competitive youth hockey. His last year in the program was on the 16-17 year olds team. Anyway, his story goes that at the end of the last practice before the season started, the coach gathered the team to tell them a new kid was going to play with them, but he was only 13. All of the players were hemming and hawing and generally upset that a younger kid was allowed to play with them. Anyway, this new kid shows up a few hours before the first game to get ready, meet some of the other players, and get comfortable. My friend says he looks big for 13, but was still smaller than everyone and wasn't that impressive.

Anyhow, the game starts and this new kid just starts kicking everyone's ass. Knocking the other team all over the ice, skating circles around everyone, and scoring goal after goal. The rest of the team kept looking at each other and saying "Holy Shit!" every time the 13-year-old would check an opponent across the ice or score with relative ease.

The kid? Jeremy Roenick.

[johnnyshaka]

Picture it, fall of 2001, I'm sitting in the waiting room at my dentist's office waiting to get my wisdom teeth pulled and I'm reading a recent issue of Sport's Illustrated. I'm glancing at the reader's letters and one particular letter catches my eye. I guess in a previous issue they had an article about hockey phenoms that were up and coming at the time and this particular letter was talking about a youngster from Cole Habour, Nova Scotia...yeah, Sydney Crosby. I had heard of him by that time, Hockey Night in Canada had done a bit on him previously. But, what caught my eye was the name of the author of the letter...the name seemed familiar.

Well, got my wisdom teeth removed and once I sobered up I finally figured out where the name from the letter was from...he lived across the hall from me in residence at university. So, did some digging and found his email address and sent him a note about the SI letter. We hadn't spoken to each other in close to ten years, so it was nice to touch base and we still chit chat via email every week now.

All because of Sydney Crosby and my wisdom teeth...

[DeToxRox]

Check out John Tavares next time you have a chance.He is gonna be the next one.This kid was 16 last season in the OHL and put up over 100 points on a horrid team.

Having coached for a long time there is a lot that can happen to kids between 11 and the age that they have to really start impressing scouts.Having said that i hope he sticks to it and sees it through.Nothing like another phenom to hype up hockey a bit.

Yup -- I know Tavares. Helluva' talent.

And the sick thing is this. This kid I talked about isn't 11. He told me he was in third grade *they had to sign in* and he didn't learn cursive yet. So he has to be 9 tops. This kid was awesome, and just a good kid to be around. Everyone loved him at the tournament and his dad was a great guy too. Things can change but I have high hopes for this youngster.

[sabotai]

Do you remember what his name was?

[WSUCougar]

Mario Gretzky?

[Suburban Rhythm]

We hadn't spoken to each other in close to ten years, so it was nice to touch base and we still chit chat via email every week now.

All because of Sydney Crosby and my wisdom teeth...

Wow...that kid really CAN do everything!

[DeToxRox]

Do you remember what his name was?

I believe Derek Sporgan.