NAHL Top Prospects concludes on Tuesday
Bismarck forward Quinn Rudrud led the 2022 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament in scoring with four points.
The 2022 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament concluded on Tuesday with three more games as the Selects, Central, and NTDP all picked up wins.
The event was a big success with scouts from all over the NHL and NCAA in attendance. Several standout performances by NAHL players saw their stock rise as more NCAA commitments are sure to happen in the coming weeks.
NAHL Selects 3 vs. Midwest 2 – Stepan Kuznetsov (Corpus Christi) had a goal and an assist and Tomas Bolo (St. Cloud) stopped all 21 shots that came his way as the Selects picked up their first win of the Top Prospects Tournament, handing the Midwest their first loss of the event, 3-2. The Selects opened up a 1-0 lead with a 1st period goal from Zion Green (Maine). Midwest had an answer in the 2nd period as defenseman Cooper Morris (Anchorage) scored on the power play. Midwest took a 2-1 lead early in the 3rd period as the NAHL’s leading scorer Cole Dubicki (Springfield) lit the lamp for a 2-1 lead. The Selects were quick to storm back as goals from Kuznetsov and Luke Van Why (Maryland) secured the 3-2 win. Arthur Smith (Lone Star) also played in the win for the Selects, stopping 19 of 21 shots in the win. For the Midwest, Croix Kochendorfer (Chippewa) stopped 22 of 23 shots in the loss, while Ethan Roberts (Springfield) stopped 14 of 16 in the loss.
Central 5 vs. South 2 – Quinn Rudrud (Bismarck) was the offensive star of the day, recording two goals and two assists as he led the Central to their first win at Top Prospects as they handed the South their first loss by a 5-2 score. The Central jumped out to a 3-0 lead as defenseman Nikolai Charchenko (Minot) led off the scoring in the 1st period and Rudrud scoring back-to-back goals in the 2nd period to make it 3-0. The South came back with back-to-back goals from Dominic Schimizzi (Amarillo) and Mike Manzo (Odessa) to make it a 3-2 game early in the 3rd period, but goals later in the 3rd period from Austin teammates Carson Riddle and Nick Catalano made the final score, 5-2. Klayton Knapp (Austin) played the entire game for the Central and made 24 saves in the win, while William Proctor (Odessa) and Beni Halasz (New Mexico) made 15 saves apiece in the loss.
NTDP 7 vs. East 0 – Despite the two teams being even at 39 shots apiece, the NTDP put up seven goals in a 7-0 shutout of the East, who fell to 0-2 at Top Prospects, while the NTDP went 2-0. Will Smith put up two goals and two assists in the win for the NTDP. Smith scored the lone goal of the 1st period to make it 1-0. Goals from Alex Weiermair and Gabe Perreault in the 2nd period make the score 3-0. The NTDP put the game away in the 3rd period as Smith scored his second goal of the game and Ryan Leonard, Austin Burnevik, and Brady Cleveland also scored. NTDP goalie Carsen Musser stopped all 39 shots that came his way in the win. Luca Di Pasquo (Maryland) stopped 11 of 14 shots and Jon Howe (Jamestown) stopped 21 of 25 shots in the loss for the East.
