The game breaking speed of Sasha Abolenskiy continues to make him a dangerous offensive threat whenever he steps on the ice. Whether it’s getting to loose pucks, pressuring opposing defensemen or carrying it up the ice, his constant presence around the puck allows him to be impactful in many facets of the game. He’s at his most dangerous when he’s pushing the pace of play, making quick decisions and processing the game at an elite level to create scoring chances for both himself and others. He possesses high-end puck skills to go along with his speed which allow him to pull off such high-end individual rushes up the ice at a higher rate than most where he flashes strong offensive instincts, knowing when to attack downhill and take the puck to the net or find a teammate and execute on a passing play off the rush. Abolenskiy is a skater who has caught my eye quite consistently over the last few months and he continues to show signs of progression early into the season.

The overall points leader of the camp with an impressive 10 points in 4 games, it was no surprise to see Abolenskiy find his way into every single Team Gold game report as he put together a string of dominant performances at this event. It became evident early on that there were very few defenseman who could handle his pace of play as he torched defenders game-after-game with his speed when coming down the wing as the puck carrier or even without the puck, getting multiple breakaways a game with well-timed bursts past the defence to catch pucks in stride along with the ability to finish his chances from in tight with his quick release or slick set of hands. Although most of his chances stemmed from his quickness, he always kept his opponent’s guessing with the puck on his stick as you never knew when he would sneak a slip pass through the defenders stick to an open teammate in the front of the net or attack the middle of the ice himself which added to his versatility as a chance creator and made him unpredictable as a distributor in the offensive zone. He’ll be an interesting player to follow along for the upcoming season to see how he’s able to build off this performance and continue to grow as a player.

With 2 points in this game, Abolenskiy put a bow on his impressive tournament accumulating 10 points in 4 games played. He wasted no time getting on the board in this one with a quick shot past the blocker on a breakaway within the first minute of the game and all throughout, continued to challenge his opponents using his separation speed and quick hands to pick up another breakaway a few shifts later and also beat defenders downhill on a few occassions. He did such a good job at slipping surprise passes through his opponents, since his speed was enough to draw the attention of the defenders every time he bursted down the wings, which led to him picking up an assist after sending a perfect pass onto the tape of his teammate Fox on an odd-man rush.

Although it wasn’t a performance up to the same level as his first two days of camp, it was still impossible to keep Abolenskiy out of the stand out performers of this game after picking up 3 more points at this event. Even in a game where he seemed quiet at times, he had moments where he flashed his tremendous combo of speed and skill to bolt down the wings and challenge defenders in one-on-one situations which led directly to his team’s third goal of the game when he swung around the net and slipped a perfectly placed pass into the path of his teammate cutting to the side of the net. He managed to seal the game and put an end to any hopes of a Forest Green comeback after picking off a cross-ice pass at the offensive blue line and depositing the puck into the empty net.

Another impressive performance on Day 2 for Abolenskiy who again dominated with his speed by blowing by defenders, getting multiple breakaway opportunities and even without the puck, driving down lanes full speed and involving himself in plays up in transition. His ability to make plays at high speeds was on display during this game as well with a potential “goal of the tournament” after he received a pass by tapping it between his legs then cut across the crease and roofed it on his backhand to put his team up 3-0. He also slipped a few passes through traffic to teammates in the slot and set up the sixth Team Gold goal after he hunted down a loose puck and quickly spun off, throwing a back pass to spring his teammates on a 2-on-0 which they converted on. He continues to impress at this event with two dynamic performances on each of the first two days at the Boys 15 Player Development camp.

Abolenskiy was one of the first skaters from Team Gold to catch my eye with his level of engagement in the offensive zone by making plays with a lot of pace and setting up teammates in the middle of the ice early on. He came away from this game with 2 goals as he showed off his quickness in the second period by getting in behind the Navy Blue defence for a breakaway, putting it into the back of the net with a sneaky shot through the goaltender’s five-hole and not too long after managed to turn a long rebound towards the left circle into a quick shot into the back of the net. The shift after scoring his second goal, he appeared in open space in front of the net and received a pass which could’ve easily resulted in a hat trick goal but some unfortunate puck luck didn’t allow him to connect on the play. I thought he often put himself in the right positions on the ice to receive passes and make quick reactionary plays showing off some impressive offensive instincts with and without the puck.

Alexander Abolenskiy opened the scoring in this one, making a strong move in tight to the goalie to quickly slide the puck around them moving them left-to-right. Throughout the game he used his speed and smart off-puck positioning to intelligently pressure puck carriers, land stick and body checks, and overall be a very competitive and hardworking skater when playing without possession. He had a few decent looks off the rush snapping a puck on net with his stride, once his feet got moving and he hit his top speed he was able to get a step on a few defenders, giving him some more ice to work with as he shot off the rush.