Whenever you watched Long Island in this tournament, it was nearly impossible not to notice Brooks DeMars. He was the engine behind the Gulls’ success and one of the main play drivers on his team. Defensively responsible and relentless on the backcheck, he battled hard in his own end, consistently disrupting opposing plays and making life difficult for opposing players. He was a key part of Long Island’s breakout game, often retrieving pucks and making smart plays off the boards to find teammates in stride through the neutral zone, allowing for smooth and efficient zone entries. Once in the offensive zone, he showed off his great playmaking and amazing release. He was constantly moving, working to find soft areas and create space. His shot was a serious weapon; a couple of his goals were absolute rockets from the half circle on the power play. He also had the poise to curl back to the blue line, reassess, and open up new passing lanes when the initial look wasn’t there. He capped off an incredible tournament by finishing third in scoring with thirteen points, a testament to his consistency and impact on both ends of the ice.

DeMars was pure offense throughout the tournament, consistently making an impact in every game. Whether he was delivering pinpoint passes to his teammates or rifling powerful shots from the half circle, he was always a threat. His shot was particularly impressive, showcasing a quick release and a laser-like accuracy that ensured he got it through on net every time. He had a particular love for the one-timer from the half circle, and the sheer power behind his shots made each attempt a dangerous one. His passing was equally impressive, especially on the power play, where he demonstrated exceptional vision and a knack for making plays. His constant movement in the offensive zone was key to his success. He never stopped working to get open and always found a way to create space for himself and his teammates. His hands in tight were also a standout, allowing him to execute short, precise passes that had to be perfect to connect, and he did so with ease.

As one of the more physically developed players at the camp standing at 6’1, DeMars was able to use his combination of size and hockey IQ to be an offensive force for his team. He showed the ability to process the game quickly with plenty of heads up plays from around the net to generate high quality looks for his teammates with the help of his long reach to be able to protect the puck from his opponents and extend around stick checks to slip passes to the middle of the ice. He was able to singlehandedly drive plays up the ice with the puck carrying skills to effectively gain the offensive blue line and settle into offensive zone possessions which not only created opportunities but led to a handful of goals for his team. His anticipation of plays allowed him to be an effective forechecker as well often using his reach to win loose puck battles or to dispossess defenders behind the net before quickly funnelling plays towards the net again. DeMars picked up 5 points in the 4 contests at the camp which made him the fourth highest point scorer on Team Gold.

It was an excellent showing from DeMars in this quarterfinal matchup. He was an incredibly impactful presence on both ends of the ice, using his vision and playmaking ability to consistently create chances inside the offensive zone while also showing the awareness on the defensive end to get in front of opponents plays and help retrieve pucks low in the zone. His puck movement was probably his greatest strength in this one, displaying great composure with the puck to curl back away from defenders in transition to create separation and look to hit the trailer and even showing the ability to connect on quick one touch plays on the PP to whip pucks around the zone and get quality looks. He made a drop pass off the rush to Lemoyne halfway through the first that led to the game’s opening goal and he finished off the period by adding a goal off a one-timer from below the right dot on the powerplay to come away with a goal and an assist in this contest.

DeMars was outstanding in this game and was all around the puck. Every time the Gulls had good chances, it seemed like he was involved in the play. His passing in this game was perfect. It didn’t matter where his teammate was, he always found them. On one specific occasion, he pulled off a beautiful spin and, without even turning his head, sent a perfect pass to the slot. He was involved in both of the Gulls’ goals. He scored one himself with a beautiful shot from the slot, and he also had a nice pass on the power play, threading a cross-ice feed to his teammate for the finish.

A strong and powerful kid who had some strong moments of playmaking off the rush and who made a positive impact in all three zones, DeMars was probably the most consistent Gulls attacker throughout the duration of this game. He was forcing a ton of turnovers in the offensive zone, using his frame to knock them off the puck and funnel pucks to the middle of the ice. With the puck on his stick he was very difficult to knock off stride which allowed him to shed off defenders and work his way into space before finding open passing options. He had a strong defensive presence as well, getting his stick into lanes and supporting breakouts down low by engaging himself in board battles to fish out loose pucks. He scored his team’s second goal of the game on the power play by blasting a one timer from the circle that beat the goaltender over his shoulder.

DeMars was a standout in this game, showcasing his incredible shot and making his presence felt in both offensive and defensive situations. He was relentless in shooting the puck, and it paid off scoring two crucial goals, both coming from powerful slap shots in the right circle. Each shot was a missile, underscoring just how lethal his release is. His ability to get open and find shooting lanes made him a constant threat. But he wasn't just about offense. He also made key plays on the penalty kill, demonstrating his all-around game. One of his best moments came when he executed a perfect stick lift to disrupt a pass and help clear the puck out of the zone.

Brooks Demars was the final piece of that dominant Long Island Gulls top line. Ending the game with 1 goal and 2 assists for his efforts, his power and skill made him a tough player to contain across multiple areas of play. He worked extremely well with Rooney to create give-and-go plays between one another with speed. Not quite as pacey at Rooney, Demars did a nice job at being an effective puck handler to buy Rooney time to get into spots before dishing off an accurate pass to him. On the 1-1 tying goal Demars was responsible for gaining the line with some blazing speed, forcing the defenders to collapse, along with attracting all the attention before he sent a pass over the wing, which ultimately resulted in the tying Rooney goal. He was the recipient of the 2-1 goal a few moments later. Using his tenacity and strength to battle his way into position around the net, being first on the loose puck, the relentless momentum of his line continued. His size and skill in these tight quarters, and whilst under pressure made him a very effective possession player. Opponents struggled to get the puck off of him at times, giving his linemates time to get into position. The power to his stride and top speed routinely allowed him to open up ice off the rush to generate chances as well. Tough to play against in this one, he was a large reason as to why when his line was on the ice, the Jr. Mounties didn’t get much done on the offensive side of the puck.

After looking back on his line’s scoring attempts, it seemed like DeMars was constantly the one orchestrating plays and generating high danger scoring chances from in the front of the net by slipping pucks into perfect positions for his teammates to get quick shots off. It started with his assist on his team’s second of the game when he set up Arnone in tight with a pass from the perimeter that led to a quick tic-tac-toe play for the score and all throughout, he continued to make similar passes, funnelling pucks to the net which lead to great scoring chances and second chance opportunities from in tight. He came so close to tying this game after squandering the 5-1 lead with a shot coming from a broken play in tight that beat the goaltender but hit an opponent’s skate on the goal line keeping the score at 6-5 for Kelly Green.

I debated heavily on the first star of this game as it seemed there were multiple players on Team Gold who had such big impacts but after looking back at my game notes, it was hard not to credit DeMars with the honour as he was the creator of so many quality chances for his team which saw him pick up 4 points in this contest. He kickstarted a lot of plays for his team including the zone entry that led to the second Team Gold goal as well as the forced turnover behind the net that he centered to Abolenskiy just a few minutes later for their third goal and all throughout remained an effective forechecker who was able to slot chances with quick passes into the middle of the ice. In the offensive zone, he extended plays by using his reach to swing around defenders or give him that little amount of extra space to get passes off his stick and capped off his performance with an impressive snipe on the short side from the right circle late in the second period for his second of the game.