Tournament In The Soo

Well this past weekend was a huge success, the Motor City Metal Jackets won it all in the Championship game. We were in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada for an international AAA tournament. Four regulation games were played and Devin played two, tending goal against the toughest team, who we met up again with in the championship game. His first win was 3-1 with their only goal coming at the end of the third period when our kids coughed up the puck behind our net with a minute left in the game. He got MVP for that game. In the championship game he got his shutout, 3-0 and again was MVP. We had two good teams with good competition, the other two teams were pretty weak and we won those easily. We ended up with five wins and a tie, the tie had the backup goalie in the net. One of the referee's, who reffed three of Devins games kept telling him how good he was and that he expected to see his name in the OHL draft next year. Just what the kid needs to hear, considering we dont want to go that route, though he does. Well we will see where it all leads.

San Jose Showcase

Well our second showcase is behind us and it was a great four days. We won all five of our games, two in shootouts in overtime, both of which Devin played. We played the team that was in first place, tied them 4-4 and then won in the shootout, taking over first place. At this time we have no losses in regulation, the only team out of 14 teams that has not lost a game in regulation. Though we did have alot of penalties in both of Devins games, 13 to be exact. Two of the penalties against the number one team were full 2 minute 5 on 3's. Once we get the penalties under control, we will do even better. The team is coming together well, passing is second to none and our speed is tremendous. Good coaching has a lot to do with the way the team is looking. After Devin returned home, Clarence received a call from the director of the USHL. He told Clarence that they have been watching Devin over the past few years and he has made every team he has been on better. He said Devin is a franchise player and that they consider him to be the number one goalie in the country. He also said that U of M, MSU, Ohio State, Ferris and a couple of other Division 1 colleges are interested in him. We have a tournament in the Soo next month and in December they go to Boston for the third showcase.

Minnesota is history

Well the first big showcase of the season is history and Devin's bus wheeled into Detroit at about 5 a.m. this morning. They had a successful five games and Devin played four of them. The first, second and third games were all ties and for the first time in his goalie career we lost all three in shootouts. Unfortunately our kids couldnt score at all and out of fifteen shooters, three goals went in, always the very last shooter. Though Devin was bummed, we were the only team without a regulation loss. And of course DWills redeemed himself by getting shutouts the last two games. Out of 24 teams we are number 5 and out of 24+ goalies Devin is number 5 with a 1.25 GAA and a .91 SV %. The sad thing was they left Detroit at noon last Wednesday and were on the bus until 2:00 a.m. After unloading the bus and getting to bed by 3:30, they had to get up at six to play their first game at 8:00 a.m. No rest for the wicked I guess. The goalie coach for the NTDP was there and watched two of his games as well as many college scouts. Next month they go to San Jose and I will send emails out with the schedule and arena times.

Motor City Metal Jackets AAA

Well the season has begun and Devin had his first tournament this past weekend. We tied two, won one, lost one (Devin wasnt in net). The team looks pretty good and Devin ended up with a 1.5 GAA. They are now getting ready for the Minnesota tournament, leaving tomorrow on the bus for five days. None of us are going, which is unusual in itself, so it will be his first time completely on his own. They have a room reserved so the kids can do their homework. Next month is the San Jose tournament, of which Clarence and I may be going. Will keep you posted on his games. Clarence is getting calls on a daily basis from advisors and agents, he keeps telling them we are not going with anyone at the moment. He has plenty of time for that, he isnt even 15 yet. Right now he needs to concentrate on his schoolwork, he will be missing so much school.

His First Letter.....

Well since the Rochester camp, Devin has received numerous offers from advisors, wanting to promote him in his hockey career. Being that he is not even 15 till October, this in itself is amazing; however, he has plenty of time for that. Right now his concentration is on his new Motor City Metal Jackets team, which has been practising since his vacation in Manistee ended. Though not long enough, he had a nice little break with no hockey whatsoever. He also received a letter from Michigan State University expressing an interest, wanting to give him more information on their program and hoping to have him attend an MSU hockey game sometime this season, to let him see how the NCAA level competes. He also attended the Collegiate Summit in Ann Arbor, where the Western Michigan head coach expressed a great interest in him also. He was able to meet two young men currently playing in the NHL who went the college route to get there. It was an interesting experience and he will need to take the required courses to meet the NCAA eligibility. The next few years should be exciting.

Rochester Update

Well the showcase camp in Rochester NY was a huge success for Devin. He set out to prove that last years 18th place was not a good showing and this year he ended up in fourth out of 24 goalies. In five games he got two shutouts, allowed two goals in two games and allowed one goal his last game to help bring his team to 2nd place out of 24 teams. His GA was 2 and his SV% was .946. Given that he was not picked in the Soo but invited later, he proved why he needed to be there. The two goalies who were picked came in 17 and 24, while the two goalies they invited later came in 2nd and 4th. And the goalie who came in second has been playing AAA with Honeybaked for five years whereas Devin has only had one year of AAA. All in all he had a great time and came home with a different attitude about where he wants to go. After attending some seminars, Devin has decided that he wants to go into the NDTP (as he planned) with the hope of moving on to U of M. He is taking the college route very seriously and is even looking into college prep classes to take in high school. Yeaaaaa!

News Flash

Well Clarence received a call from USA Hockey, as well as the assistant coach of the NTDP. They apologized to Devin for being overlooked in the Soo and have invited him to the national camp in Rochester, NY. They said they wanted to represent Michigan with the best players and Devin is the top goalie in Michigan, and in fact, the country so they want him there. Well we were pretty resigned to him playing in Ann Arbor and looking forward to the fall season; however, we are now very excited that he has been invited to NY afterall. The coach from the NTDP also told Clarence that Devin is targeted for the program so long as he continues to impress and improve over the next year and a half. It is now up to Devin to continue to take his game to the next level and he will get his wish to play with the US national team.