A Swiss-army knife of a forward, Alexander Milojevic showed off a lot of good for Team Orange, being a standout name in each and every game. Arguably one of the top scorers on his team, showing a high degree of versatility to his methods, he managed to get good looks at the net from all over the ice, both in tight, from range, on the backhand, along with on the forehand. He seemingly always found a way to creep into that soft ice and set himself up for success. When carrying the puck and playing a bit more from the outside, he worked well with his teammates to move the puck quickly, pull defenders out of position, and upon retrieval of the puck flexed a firm wrister with a nice ability to change the release angle, adding a layer of deception to his game. He has a great frame and is likely one of the more athletic players in the class, giving him the ability to make plays under close physical scrutiny, taking the brunt of physical contact, and slipping passes off to open teammate as he navigates the ice. A wickedly effective penalty killer as well, he pressured puck carriers with intelligent bouts of aggression and made life extremely difficult for his opponents, giving them next-to-no time to breathe and or think. It’s always interesting seeing Milojevic play, as after the fact I always feel like he did just about everything at an 8-out-of-10 level of effectiveness and was above average in just about everything you can ask for, but at times still feels mildly underappreciated. Lots of projectable habits from Milojevic here.

One of the top dual-threat forwards in the event, Alexander Milojevic offers a little bit of everything in regard to impacting the game. The powerful stride he owns propels him up ice and accelerate in extremely quick order, powering around and through defenders, he’s a dominant transition puck-carrying threat, with great dynamism and evasion as he slips by bodies and sticks. His small area play when working close to his body, along with in close to opponents allows him to pull in checkers, draw plenty of attention, and ultimately opens up ice elsewhere for his teammates. He threaded passes through seams with a nice level of creativity, and awareness, he connected on tape-to-tape passes to teammates in shooting opportunities, both high and low in the zone. When placed in a shooting position himself, he could rip a shot on net, firing a hard and heavy puck on the net, flashing a great release with good power behind it. The tenacity and effort he played with across all 3 zones was another strength of his game, getting sticks on pucks, initiating body contact; he was a pain in the side of many of his opponents as he hunted down the puck on retrievals.

Milojevic is perhaps the ultimate utility player – and by no means is that a shot at his high-end talent, more so, he is so good at every area of the game that his impact is impossible not to notice during the majority of his games. Starting with his offensive gifts, he is an incredible intelligent forward away from, and on the puck. He gets himself in position to receive passes in stride on the rush along with swooping into the slot momentarily, catching a pass, and ripping a shot on net with a heavy wrister all in one fluid motion. He’s constantly on the move, pushing and pulling defenders around the offensive zone with deceptive fakes, pivots, and even by simply threatening dangerous areas of the ice with give-and-go plays. There isn’t quite one thing that pops within his offensive arsenal, but he can finish plays from tricky areas not all players can, makes creative moves under pressure to set up teammates, and knows when to make the simple play. Away from the puck he shines just as much as he does when he has it. He is a relentless forechecker with some of the greatest levels of compete I’ve seen from this 2009-born class thus far. Each and every shift he’s hassling puck carriers, pressuring defenders, forcing turnovers, and battling hard in corners for pucks. He’s not necessarily the biggest player, but he has great strength for his size and understands angles and leverage quite well. Superb on both special teams, and in any role within those special team units, the versatility of Milojevic cannot be overstated. In my previous work, I covered the 2007-born Americans, and the only comparison I can make akin to Milojevic from a class of players I’m familiar with is that of Cullen Potter – not so much in regard to stylistic play, but from an overall-impact side of things.

Alexander Milojevic just continues to impress at every event and every viewing we see of him. Such a strong multidimensional forward who can succeed in just about every situation, he provides so much value to his team in so many different ways. On Day 1 of this showcase he used his speed and strength often to make aggressive middle-lane drives, overpowering defenders, stepping through checkers with great speed and puck control, opening up shooting lanes for himself from the Homeplate region in which he ripped heavy wristers towards the net on a regular basis. I wouldn’t pigeon-hole his game into being called a power forward, since he can really do everything, but he has strong power forward characteristics which he relies on when making steep cuts to the net. On one play he bulldozed his way to the slot with the puck that created a rebound chance for teammate Justin Fernadez to hammer home. He was extremely valuable in transition as well. One of the better players at being capable of skating across both bluelines with control and speed, he’s overwhelmingly strong at points, has great balance, and is constantly analyzing the play to make decisions.

Our final standout from the Florida Alliance Elite is once again Alexander Milojevic who I’d wager is going to be a consistent standout player in several different events this season. The thing I’ve noticed with Milojevic early on in my time seeing him is that he owns the elite skill to pull of dazzling moves, but often elected to consistent, safe, and reliable plays that utilize smart body positioning, decision making, and team involvement. He had several plays driving hard to the crease, leaning on the defender and occasionally making a quick stop to throw things off, then sliding a puck to the middle. Pull in the defender with physical contact, utilize some good edges to quickly stop up, and use a quick pass to funnel a puck to an open man – simple, effective, replicable. It’s clear to see at this point he’s one of the better transition players in the class. Not necessarily due to elite speed either, as he’s a fast player but I wouldn’t say he’s the fastest – but he takes such smart routes, has great deception and puck control, and can work through these congested areas, take on physical contact, and work his way across the line with control. I’m excited to see how his game develops going forward.

It would be tough to find a player who wasn’t as noticeable on a shift-by-shift basis than Alexander Milojevic. Amazing hockey sense, pace, effort, capped off with some above-average skill – and you have yourself a difference maker across multiple planes of play. It seemed there was almost no situation Milojevic couldn’t handle. He did a great job playing without the puck to get into open ice and collect pucks in gritty parts of game. Whether it be getting involved physically on the forecheck or battling hard for rebound chances in front and finishing off chances in tight. He has great physical resiliency and strength, along with the mindset that he is determined to win pucks and battles. When in possession of the puck he flaunted some nice moves going wide with speed, extending the stick, getting the feet moving, and going around opposition as he carved out some ice to work with along the rush. It was seldom you saw Milojevic attempt a flashy 1-on-1 move, although I believe he has the skill to execute these similar to other top players in the class, he elects not to and goes for the more effective, safer, play that is established in strong athleticism, speed, and body positioning. He finished off a few plays with a heavy wrist shot. Likely one of the better shooters in the class regarding power on his shot, he has an absolute bullet and when it finds the net it gives goaltenders a challenge. Because of his tenacity he also found himself to be a very strong 200-foot player. Intercepting pucks in his defensive end, supporting defensemen on the backcheck, laying the body and keeping puck carriers wide – he supplied value all over the ice. Milojevic is going to be one of the most interesting players going forward in this class.

It’s not too often you see a player from the Florida Alliance AAA program be apart of a Pro Hockey team at one of these events, but the Illinois-born Alexander Milojevic fit right in as one of the more exciting players on the roster. A unique blend of high-end skill and thinking, combined with some tenacious grit and physicality, he left his mark on the game in seemingly every situation. When handling the puck he made some nice passes through seams in transition, connecting on perfectly placed cross-ice passes to open teammates in both the neutral zone and within the offensive zone. He retained possession of the puck well when being checked and shoved, strong on his feet, a mix of a decent reach coupled with soft hands and a sturdy core let him make plays when under pressure, even overpowering opposition at times and getting into the middle of the ice with control of the puck. At no moments during play did I see Milojevic panic when engaged in these physical battles, he was always in control, used body positioning, leverage, and his silky hands to box opponents out, and ultimately shake off his checker in due time. An element of his game that set him apart from many of his peers was his ability to lay clean, heavy and hard bodychecks consistently that resulted in turnovers and regaining of possession.

Alexander Milojevic has been a name of significance over-and-over again in this young season and is one of the premier forwards in the class. His game is fueled by a never-ending motor that is always on max effort. He plays with great effort, power, and pace. When playing without the puck he is dogged on the forecheck, taking smart routes and quickly converging on opponents, capable of forcing turnovers through a disciplined stick along with crushing body checks. On the penalty kill he sticks to the puck carrier like glue regarding matching movements and playing a strong positional game, even against some of the most evasive puck handlers, he can match their lateral movements with good strength, power, and control of his edges as he crosses over and stays square. His skill itself is above-average but I wouldn’t suggest at this point he has top-10 talent, but the rest of his game elevates him above many other skaters to round out his impact across multiple areas. In transition he’s established himself at one of the best at travelling across both bluelines with great speed, getting going in his own defensive end with quick crossovers, he explodes up ice, gets around opponents with his long reach and soft pucks handles, and makes steep, strong, and aggressive middle lane drives on defenders, most of the time succeeding and opening up shooting lanes for himself. Few players at this stage have been able to effectively demonstrate success on such a simple, but impressive play as Milojevic has been able to do. The low-risk play of simply taking the puck to the net with speed has given him plenty of quality looks. His shooting talent is one of his best offensive strengths, he owns a strong set of shots, from on the backhand in tight under pressure, a wrister from range, a snapshot in motion, or a one-timer on the occasion he can utilize that. The scoring ability from multiple different areas and situations further rounds out his game, making him useful in all types of roles. Because of the versatility of his game, I can see Milojevic being a consistent talking point within this class, being the bar of what constitutes a well-rounded player amongst his peers. Milojevic will be playing with the Florida Alliance Elite AAA squad this season, which appears to be one of the stronger teams in the 14u AAA circuit as of now.

Rounding out a strong set of games throughout the camp, Alexander Milojevic left this one with one goal to show for his efforts. He scored the initial tying goal for Team Orange as he managed to break free from coverage, found some time alone and snapped a shot 5-hole on the goalie. The scoring touch displayed all event was seen once more, furthering displaying his versatility in scoring goals, being capable of scoring with wrist shots, snapshots, slapshots, or in tight. Shortly after, he made another nice play, hooking a pass to Jonathan Cygan in the slot with a heads-up read from low in the zone. Later in the game I felt he came back alive again after a bit of a lull, using more speed and power attacking defenders 1-on-1 to pull pucks around them, and or make the effort to dance through them with some good puck control. Although offensively he wasn’t the most prevalent outside of his early goal, the speed and power he displayed traversing the ice was something that hadn’t gone away.

Although not his most effective offensive game, one thing I will always appreciate about Alexander Milojevic’s game is that no matter how he plays in any given time, it can always be assured that he will at the very least, be a dogged puck pursuing option, using physical tools to disturb opponents and retrieve pucks for his team. Early in the game he did a great job at crashing-and-banging in the corners of the offensive zone, overpowering opponents with good strength, carrying his momentum into battles, and using soft hands in close quarters to fish pucks out of scrums. In puck races he got the jump on many of his peers, owning what is one of the stronger strides in the class, he quickly powers up ice on loose pucks, wins position, and protects the puck calmly upon reception. He had a few strong scoring chances directed at the net. His ability to change the angle of his shots last second does a mighty-fine job at this level to freeze opponents and quickly dance around them to sneak into a better scoring location. His shot is heavy and always is a threat, the accuracy can be lethal at times as well, keeping defenders on their toes as at this age-level, he can score from distance if given space.

As consistent as ever, Alexander Milojevic was a strong two-way piece for Team Orange in their loss, doing a bit of everything. One of his first chances came when receiving a pass just outside the faceoff dot, and with some good backward movement, managed to change the angle of his shot, inch closer to the middle lane of the ice, and zip a strong wrister at the net. ‘Twas a simple play, but the patience and puck handling ability to wait that extra half-second to glide into better ice is a testament of his poise and smarts. He had another play later in the game that caught my eye, once again a small-detailed one, but effectiveness nonetheless; ricochetting the puck between himself and the boards off the half-wall, he spun around a man and had some space to work with lower in the zone. When put in a pinch, he handled the puck calmly, and seemingly always had an out, whether it be with a finesse move, or some great physical strength, working with a man on his back, and spinning them off. He scored one goal, going to the net and hammering a one-timer on the net, showing off some good shooting talent. Milojevic will be joining the Chicago Mission program for the upcoming season.

Much like the rest of his team, it took Milojevic a while to establish himself in this game and despite scoring a goal I really don’t think he a great first half of the game. That all changed dramatically in the second half when he started to show his high-end small area skill game and playmaking acumen. He made a great play in the neutral zone that lead to his teams fifth goal when he blocked a pass in the neutral zone, skated the puck in while drawing the defender before making a slick drop pass that lead to an odd-man advantage. He scored his teams seventh goal of the game on a great individual effort by attacking the middle of the ice and shooting off the rush, picking up his own rebound and placing a perfect shot from a bad angle over the goaltender.

This is a player who possesses all the attributes of a power forward. He has a strong stride which allows him to generate momentum quickly, a big frame, and utilizes his reach well to position his body between the puck and other players. Alexander was the main producer for Florida's offense in this game. He was able to create rush opportunities through lateral movements up the neutral ice putting himself in scoring positions. The only power play goal of the game came from him off of an efficient transfer of momentum through shifting his weight on the shot to generate power.

Milojevic was another player on the Florida team who really switched gears after his team went down by a few goals. His execution seemed off at the start of the game, where he wasn’t able to generate much or extend possessions in the offensive zone but as the game went on, he found a way to flip the switch. He was such a threat off the rush when picking up speed through the neutral zone and attacking defenders head-on with the puck. He generated so many shot attempts in the home plate area by using what seemed to be such an unstoppable move when he gathered speed, cut across the middle of the ice and fired pucks to the net using the defenseman as a screen. On the power play, where he would swing up to the blue line and then burst into open space, Daley found him a few times for a couple high quality chances, but he wasn’t able to convert.

As consistent as ever, Alexander Milojevic had about 3-4 high-end plays that all looked eerily similar, using his powerful stride, processing speed, and puck handling to gain the zone, get in tight to the defender, force them to make a move, and dance to the middle lane and fire a puck on net. His patience and poise whilst handling the puck in the face of pressure, and willingness to take chances, outwait, delay, and deceive, allowed him to walk into the slot on multiple occasions, on both the rush and off the cycle. Throughout the entire game he had a nice dual-threat element to him, both a threatening shot, and a talented playmaker, he was able to create plenty of ice for others as defenders honored his scoring ability, enabling him to feather perfectly placed passes to teammates in shooting areas. A lot of smaller detail plays he excelled in throughout this game were pulling pucks off the wall from scrums and being quick to identify a passing lane to a teammate in motion. He ultimately scored the 1-1 tying goal, with a strong rush going wide on a defender, and beating the goalie clean with a powerful wrister. Later in the game he almost gave his team the lead as he drew a penalty on a partial break while shorthanded. The speed and power to his step, combined with great puck protection makes him an absolute handful to check.

Despite things not quite clicking for the Florida Alliance squad, Alexander Milojevic still played a strong game, utilizing his versatility in all situations and circumstances to leave an impact and be a constant threat to his opposition. I felt as a result of the Mid Fairfield Ranger’s stimy defensive system in the neutral zone it was hard for the Florida Alliance to get much rush-offence going in regards to getting a whole line involved, leaving many 1-on-1 situations, Milojevic was one of the few who managed to create chances independently, consistently using quick dekes in stride to the middle and all in one motion firing the puck on net for a crafty shot that was difficult to check. He had another quality rush chance later in the game when Florida seemed to be struggling, bulldozing around a defender and getting in tight on the goaltender, it was a very typical Alexander Milojevic-esque play combining relentlessness, skill, and speed. He ultimately got the first goal for his team, fighting away for a rebound on the powerplay, he hammered it home to get his team within 1. Another impactful play came late in the third, springing Max O’Regan on a breakaway chance with a beautiful 2-line breakout pass from deep in his defensive zone. I think no matter the situation, score, or circumstance, Milojevic will give you full effort and due to his skill, he further separates himself from others.

This is the second game where Alex was absolutely the most dangerous player in my mind. He moves into spacing so dangerously without the puck because there is always a quick plan of attack once he has it. He balances aggression without being too reckless in his attack and uses his teammates as well as one can. Off the rush, he doesn’t have to drag the puck too far back to get an accurate snap on his wrist shot which allows him to be a bit more deceptive with it too. This game was filled with quality chances and high-end puck control in his stickhandling.