Gualberto was very impressive in this tournament. While his team is loaded with talent, which can sometimes cause him to be overlooked, he showcased his strong offensive skills and smart two-way play throughout the event. He scored several impressive goals, most of which came from in front of the net. He was unafraid to battle for position in that area, and his pure determination led to some intense battles. He also demonstrated exceptional hand-eye coordination; one standout goal came from a deflection when he redirected a shot heading wide into the net. Overall, he was very responsible in his own end and demonstrated a strong commitment to backchecking, consistently ensuring he supported his defense.

Finishing fifth on the team in points at camp Paulo Gualberto Jr. tallied one goal and three assists, and he showed some flashes of skill that alluded to perhaps an even better player within him. He showed great skill on the puck in his ability to receive passes in stride and continue bearing down on the defense as he pushed the pace of play. His mobility was very effective off the rush and he used his lateral movement to gain the inside and find passing lanes down low to slip the puck in behind the defense. He was also able to turn those cuts to the middle into dangerous shooting opportunities for himself, showing off a strong shot that was able to really test the goalie. His head was constantly up and he scanned the ice well, making some very good cross ice passes in transition to attack the weak side of the defense. I didn’t find him incredibly effective in any one particular game, but I liked his play and his habits. It's easy to see that he can be more effective in perhaps a different setting and that this was maybe just a few games he wasn’t as impactful in.

Paulo Gualberto Jr. formed a dynamic duo with linemate and Mount St. Charles teammate Braiden Scuderi as the two showed some great chemistry by making some high-end offensive plays throughout the event. Gualberto’s vision, stick handling, and overall playmaking ability continues to be the strongest asset of his game as he was able to consistently connect on passing plays off the rush showing a great deal of creativity in his passes by being able to adjust his stick and his body positioning whether on his forehand or backhand to find ways to get passes through defenders. The fluidity of his movement and stickhandling altogether make him a very difficult forward to read when the puck is on his stick which allowed him to catch defenses off guard on certain sequences in this event where he quickly funneled pucks to the net from the outside of the zone. He is very composed with the puck in the offensive zone, never looking to force plays when they aren’t available and showed off his sweet set of hands around the net beating goaltenders on a few occasions throughout the event with some slick moves when in alone around the blue paint.

One of the more well-rounded players of the tournament, Paulo Gualberto Jr. was a swiss army knife for the champion Mount St. Charles team, being used in all situations thanks to his excellent playmaking ability, stick skills and hockey IQ. He’s an aggressive forechecker who uses his stick well to disrupt passing lanes on breakouts or to take space away from opponents carrying the puck out of their zone and is quick to turn turnovers into scoring chances the other way which also made him an effective penalty killer throughout the tournament by translating those skills to the defensive zone. He does a good job at controlling the play with the puck on his stick in the offensive zone by using a smooth and slick set of hands to avoid stick checks with a combination of quick direction changes and shoulder fakes to open up passing lanes where he often made quick reads when lanes presented themselves showcasing a dynamic playmaking ability, catching opponents off guard with creative no-look passes or firing pucks to the net from all angles to create second chance opportunities.

Setting up the opening goal of the game and coming out of the match with 2 assists, Paulo Gualberto Jr. was yet again an effective playmaking force his team. He set up the first goal of the game with a nice move to the middle of the ice high in the zone, fighting through a check with some good puck protection, he hooked a pass to the crease to Brayden Willis. Gualberto Jr.’s puck movement and carrying ability made him highly effective in transition. In only a few strides he was able to build his speed and power his way around opponents in the neutral zone. With his stocky frame and good strength, he absorbed contact nicely as well, giving him room to drop the shoulder and carve out some space towards the middle lane, ultimately drawing in pressure and creating ice for his teammates on the wings and nearby the net. On the ice for the game winner, he was a part of the powerplay unit that was so effective all tournament long as well.

One of the most noticeable forwards on the ice from start to finish, Gualberto put his exceptional puck skills and footwork on display multiple times in this game to create dangerous scoring chances for his team. He was all over the puck in this one, generating a handful of chances by exploding off the boards into the middle of the ice and showing off his impressive playmaking ability to slip pucks to teammates around the net or challenge defenders off the rush with his quick stick handling and agility. He made a highlight reel pass on his team’s second goal of the game after he swung around the back of the net with the puck and subtly slipped the puck back to the short side for Cover who was left with a wide open cage. All throughout, he posed problems to the Little Caesars defence as he garnered quality looks for himself and his teammates shift-after-shift.

Scoring 1 goal and picking up 3 assists along the way for 4 points in the lopsided victory, Paulo Gualberto Jr. did an excellent job displaying his playmaking acumen, mixed in with good power and strength to get into difficult areas of the ice and succeed while doing so. He set up the opening goal of the game early on, as on the penalty kill, he followed up a forechecking effort, eventually finding himself nearby the puck carrier, stripping them of the puck and sending a quick and accurate pass to the goalmouth to Steven Cover for the opening goal. One of his greatest strengths in this game was his ability to win those pucks in tight, getting physical if need be, but also pulling away and protecting the puck shortly after forcing a turnover, using his dynamic hands and balance to dance around sticks and bodies. He had a few great looks from the inner slot as a result of his dynamic moves, combining both skill and physical resilience. Despite only scoring 1 goal, he had plenty of great scoring opportunities and displayed a very nice release, quickly snapping shots on net with very little space to generate power. A player that occurred later in the game that didn’t quite result in a goal came on a 2-on-1 chance, running out of space as the defender played the shot, Gualberto Jr. executed a tight spinning hook-pass on his forehand over to Steven Cover for another great look. His lone goal came as a result of going to the net and banging home a rebound, giving his team their ninth goal of the game, extending the lead to 9-2. As a whole, the power and puck protection ability of Gualberto Jr. made him an excellent puck distributor, who played well under pressure and executed plenty of great – and simple, plays that facilitated offense and long-drawn instances of offensive pressure for his team.

Some of the more dominant shifts for this Jr. Mounties team came with Gualberto one the ice. His calm and calculated approach from the perimeter created extended offensive zone possessions for his team where he was able to roam around the zone waiting for plays to develop and lanes to open. He did a great job at funnelling plays towards the front of the net and creating chances using crafty saucer and slip passes through seams to teammates from the outside of the zone. He was able to pick up a goal in this game from a great heads up play from the side of the net as he banked a shot in off the goaltender from below the goal line after a point shot went wide and bounced off the back wall.

I thought there were flashes in Paulo Gualberto Jr.’s game that are the types of plays that show how he can be such a dangerous player at any moment. Very strong on his feet, he can endure some physicality as he works around the ice with the puck, pulling off a few tight turns with a checker on his shoulder, the evasive element to his game bought him some time to relieve pressure and move the puck to open teammates. He scored the opening goal for his team, deflecting a point shot from the slot, once again pointing to his ability to work under pressure and in close quarters to opposition. He later tallied an assist banging at a puck around the crease, in which found its way onto Gunnar Conboy’s stick to give Team Purple the 2-1 lead. Even in a game where I felt he wasn’t the most prominent, he still walks away with a goal and an assist, something not all players can do.

It was such a creative display of playmaking from Gualberto when he had the puck on his stick in the offensive zone. He set up two grade A scoring chances with no-look passes to teammates in front of the net while also showing some sweet stick handling and puck protection abilities in the process. He was very deceiving with the puck, trying to surprise his opponents by quickly throwing pucks to the net when circling around the o-zone with a good use of shoulder fakes to freeze defenseman which he used to perfection on a wraparound goal to open the scoring in the game just a minute and a half in. I also thought he was very committed to playing a 200-foot game, he was actively supporting his defenseman under the hash marks and was reliable on the penalty kill where he picked up a shorthanded assist on Pelosi’s fourth goal.

Capping things off for the standouts from Mount St. Charles, Paulo Gualberto Jr. wasn’t quite the most dominant offensive force as we’re used to, but showed some great multidimensionality to his game, getting involved physically, playing a sound positional game, along with slipping in some skilled plays from around the goalmouth to flash what he’s capable of at his best. He made a nice play in the offensive zone winning a battle and being quick to center a puck to a teammate, narrowly missing the pass, but displaying good urgency and awareness to execute the play in short order. He had a sneaky wraparound attempt late in the game, using a strong mohawk turn coming around the net to attempt to stuff the puck in but was ultimately denied. He tallied an assist on the 6-1 goal, sending a pass through the crease at the goalmouth to Braiden Scuderi to end things off.

One of the more dynamic forwards for Mount St. Charles in this game, Gualberto Jr was impactful on the ice from puck drop. He was able to create chances early on by being an aggressive forechecker and creating turnovers deep in the offensive zone and it paid off as he was able to score just over 4 minutes into the game by drifting into empty space in the slot and firing a shot past the goalie in close quarters and then just a few minutes later where he disrupts a breakout and then gathers a loose puck in front and beats the goalie just over the left pad. He would manage to complete the hat trick from a one-timer in the slot but also flashed some playmaking abilities by making some impressive cross-ice passes to open teammates and late in the third period finding his teammate crashing the net across the zone for a backdoor tap-in. He created space for himself in the offensive zone using a slick set of hands to avoid stick checks and quick changes of direction which gave him a couple more chances to score in this game.