England was one of the standout stars at this tournament, finishing as the top scorer in the tournament with four goals and nine points in five games and landing a spot on the tournament all star team. I thought he was the most electric and dynamic player at the tournament, generating chance after chance. His stat line likely undersells how dominant he was as I’d argue he was inefficient in burying the chances he created. His warts in finishing the play and propensity to miss the net are the only real weaknesses in what is otherwise an explosive offensive arsenal. He has so much power in his stride and gets up to top speed faster than any of his peers. He is in constant acceleration with linear crossovers and blows past defenders often. His raw speed is a great base to build from but it’s his skill level and ability to make plays while driving that separates him from others. He can be a bit selfish off the rush but it’s not due to lack of awareness or because his head is buried. There were numerous moments of outstanding vision at high pace in this tournament however his confidence level is so high that he tends to favour creating his own chance. England is not only productive off the rush, but he also shows deceptive strength in board battles, is physical on entry, mucks it up with the best of them, and has an edge that can throw the opposition off their game. I expect we’ll hear England’s name called early in the draft.

Projection: Top Line Forward
Projectable Skills: Speed, Shot power
Development Opportunities: Forechecking, Changing pace, Use more manipulation tactics

It doesn’t take a genius to see how fast Brock England can be in transition. He has the ability to accelerate and put even the best defenders on their heels very quickly. His four directional balance and fluidity of stride is excellent and leads him to attempt all sorts of variations of attack off carried entries. He can bring a puck back behind his hip pocket and shoot off balance across his body off his front foot. When he is confident, he can break a game open and shoot accurately just above the pad far side on netminders. With those long strides and turns he can live through the power of his motions instead of his agility and adaptability. Due to this being true, the results of Brock’s puck rushing are varied at this moment. He can garner way more opportunities on his own than the average player but needs to find a way to finish off those plays with more consistency to truly tap into his elite potential. On the forecheck, he has a tendency to sweep through and apply little pressure on defenders instead of outthinking their approach and countering. I thought Brock was making adjustments throughout the year and his stint with U18 gave him confidence to use his speed without hesitation. He’s one of the most improved players this season overall and unlocking more of that potential will be the goal.

To anyone who has seen Brock play, you’ll quickly come to understand how much he loves shooting in motion. As his skating stride has build more explosive power and he has been able to find separating space off the rush more and more, he shoots with heavy whip and unabashed confidence. At this point it isn’t a question of if he can garner shooting opportunities for himself. That is supremely evident. Now it is about adding more deception to his release and a bit of diversity in attack to try and capitalize with consistency on the chances. The upside with him is massive since he can outskate almost anyone in the draft class off the rush.

When I’ve watched Brock this season, you can clearly see from the stride power, to the separation speed, to the shot power off the rush and in the high slot, there are tools there which are up there with the best in the class. However, I found he was shooting from too far away, drifting too far away in the offensive zone, watching a few possessions when he could have been attacking lanes, and other little stylistic plays from him. All that to say, I thought we saw some of the best hockey all season from Brock in this event in the games I watched. He was engaged, got early chances off the rush and on 2on1 opportunities, and was powering to the slot areas to use his heavy wrist shot release. There were still some less than ideal shot selection moments but overall he did a great job of picking spots short side, skating around heavier in motion through the neutral zone, and was showing a bit more diversity in his attack. That type of speed and power can really turn heads.

He’s a shoot-first, powerful stride forward who loves to step into releases off the half wall or off the rush. He has the capacity to spin away from pressure, win puck races, and change the course of a game with his power and intensity. He’s playing on a star-studded roster at Edge this season and he’s yet to find that true efficient groove in the young season but all the tools are there.

Our highest rated Canadian skater from the event, Brock England claims the silver medal from the CCM 68, out of Western Canada and playing for the Red Deer Chiefs AAA program, he was a dominant play driving threat each and every time he was in possession of the puck. It’s usually pretty hard to tell what players are really playing center at an event like this, but it was clear England was manning the middle of the ice and was likely the best center in attendance. He had the hockey IQ to make plays from the middle, matching pace and speed of the flow of the game, he could bump pucks out wide to his wingers in all 3-zones, neutralizing pressure and being quick to be the foundation of the offensive transition up the ice. Solid speed, footwork, and puck control let him evade pressure with ease, pivoting around opposition and opening up his hips to utilizing heel-to-heel twists-and-turns, he strung together a series of slick moves back-to-back-to-back to extend possession and overall be untouchable at times. Seemingly blending his playmaking and goal-scoring ability into one, it was dependent on the game as to which strong-side would come out. Owning a strong wrist shot with a deceptive release, good power, and the wherewithal to use it accordingly, he’s a lethal shooting threat on top of his playmaking ability. On odd man rushes he was perhaps the best player at capitalizing on these chances. Being so dangerous regarding both his passing and shooting ability, he was so hard to shutdown, as defenders and goaltenders had to play him perfectly to stop him – in which most of the time this was not the case.

Brock is certainly another player I’m quite familiar with and I feel like he was looking to announce himself a bit in these games. He has the ability to really push the rush up ice while being a high-level threat to score whenever the puck is on his stick. He has a quick snapshot and loves to shoot from multiple stances which can throw off a goaltender’s rhythm. He often was looking to find small windows on the short side and did so throughout the games. That level of aggression can certainly open up playmaking options for him laterally too once players see him as a shoot-first player. In the final, you could see him trying to curl into the slot and using little drag moves to change the angles. I liked his physicality too. He was finishing checks and battling along the boards but not getting out of position by being aggressive.

England was the catalyst to finally end the lengthy streak without a goal, serving up a gross, no look, backhand dime to the back door after attracting the opposition’s collective eyes with blistering speed into the slot. This came mere moments after unleashing a little stutter step ankle breaker to gain separation in the neutral zone and enter the offensive zone. Sometimes it takes a special play from a special player to break the dam and that’s exactly what Alberta got from England in the game. He added two goals to his initial assist and was another player that Alberta leaned on for pushback when the wheels could have fallen off early.

I can probably pencil England in as a standout in every contest as I think there has been no player more effective at generating chances. The explosiveness in his skating stride is so far ahead of his peers that there’s really no correct way to approach him defensively. If a tight gap is kept, he finds a way to blow past the defender on an odd man opportunity, if the defender sags off, England uses the extra space to find teammates or get into smart shooting areas. The only main complaint I have ever had with England is that his finish can let him down and again in this game despite chance after chance he couldn’t crack the code. The execution and precision seen elsewhere on the ice can fail him at the last second as he looks to bury. If he can dial in his focus and hit the net more consistently, I think he could be an exceptional offensive weapon.

From a physical tool perspective, I’m convinced England could step into a junior roster right now. He is such an impressive athlete with explosiveness and a picture-perfect stride. He always seems to have an extra gear and routinely makes otherwise competent defenders look like “AP’s” as he blows past them. His assist on the first goal was a classic case of him overwhelming the defender with pace before finding his teammate for a back door tap-in. The fact that his hands and mind can keep up with his feet make him ever more dangerous. Nobody creates more chances in a consistent basis than England and if he can lock in some execution warts, particularly missing the net too frequently when shooting, I think the sky is the limit. He collected three assists in a dominant performance today.

I was expecting big things from Brock and he didn’t let me down at all. He’s such a no-nonsense player because of how powerful he can be to drive through the neutral zone and attack with force. He’s certainly a shoot-first player but in the back half of the game he began delaying more and opening that space for teammates into the high slot and it paid off a few times. He’s got power, aggression, a strong release, battle, and consistency to his game. This is why he projects to go quite high in the 2024 WHL Draft. He can spin in motion, fire heavily, apply pressure on the PK as the F1, and attack from the wing as well as in the middle of the ice. He’s a missile out there.

LA White really didn’t have much going for them outside of Brock England and Jax Pereira, Brock England being the more impressive of the two in my eyes. An extremely smooth puck handler, he created so much space in the offensive zone with his work along the perimeter, great speed and strength to battle through checkers, pull in defenders, and open ice through the middle in which England possessed great playmaking and vision to connect on seam passes to teammates in high danger areas of the ice. He’s a naturally quick player – not so much explosive, but quick. He moves his feet fast, along with his hands, and gets the jump on opponents because of this. On a defensive zone draw he intercepted the puck right off the faceoff and transitioned out of his own end, slipping around 2 checkers in the process, and ultimately gaining the offensive zone blueline with control as he got the nearest defender turning around thanks to his impressive speed. Throughout the game he managed to put defenders on their heels time-and-time again, being the leading catalyst off the rush for his team. I really liked England as a playmaker, just making quick passes to teammates with speed through traffic, but when he elected to fire the puck, it was clear he is a player whose shot you must respect as well. Even with defenders immediately in front of him he was able to rip a heavy shot on net through them, avoiding their stick check and firing a heavy shot. England did just about everything right in this one and I’m sure his positive momentum will continue in the rest of the games.