Photo Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
The CHL Top Prospects game was beauty on ice. These junior players converged in Calgary at the Saddledome to what seemed like almost a full house. With former Flames players Tim Hunter and Jim Peplinski as coaches, and the younger brother of previous player on Team Cherry, the Calgary Flames had indirect ties to the game.
It was Team Cherry vs. Team Orr as the best CHL junior players and NHL prospects took the ice to show the world what they were made of.
Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice and captain of Team Cherry, tallied one goal and one assist in the Top Prospects game. Sam is the younger brother of Max Reinhart, who plays for the Abbotsford Heat and has previously played for the Calgary Flames.
There were two players from the Swift Current Broncos who made headlines during this game. Brycen Martin and Julius Honka, both defensemen for Team Orr, play for the city where I was born and raised, the Swift Current Broncos. They made headlines during the game, but not in the best light.
Brycen Martin forced the refs to call a penalty shot in favor of Team Cherry because Martin had pulled down Nikolay Goldobin in Team Orr’s zone. But don’t let this taint the accomplishments of this talented D-man. Martin has 4 goals and 25 assists for the Broncos this season, proving that he is, indeed, a very talented young part of Swift Current’s blue line.
Julius Honka, talk of the small city in which he plays right now, has won gold with Team Finland recently in the World Juniors. As well, he’s garnered 12 goals and 24 assists for the Broncos. He’s been a fan favorite so far this season. During the Top Prospects game, Honka took a stick to the face, resulting in, I’m guessing, a few lost teeth while leaving a lot of blood on the ice.
In the end, Team Orr won over Team Cherry with a final score of 4-3. Shots on net were 35-33 in favor of Team Cherry (Calgary Sun).
Tim Hunter was coach for Team Orr and Jim Peplinski was coach of Team Cherry. Both coaches were part of the Calgary Flames 1989 Stanley Cup winning team.