Tye Carriere’s first trip to the Scotiabank Saddledome as a player didn’t end they way he hoped for.
The Red Deer Optimist Chiefs ran out of gas during the 40th annual Mac’s Midget AAA World Invitational Hockey Tournament championship game yesterday, losing to the Regina Pat Canadians 4-0.
“This was my first time in the Mac’s and it was a really good experience. We played good as a team, getting better along the way and we all probably took one step forward this week,” said the 16-year-old Chiefs centre. “Obviously playing in the Saddledome was a dream come true. It would have been nice to win here, that’s all. I would love to be back here with the Hitmen one day if they give me the opportunity.”
Carriere looked impressive in the final. He was moving well, engaging physically, dive-bombing into the corners for loose pucks and ramming Pat defenders. He also had a glorious chance to net the first goal of the game when he was stationed in front and a rebound landed at his feet. Carriere couldn’t get on top of the puck as he was also being checked from behind, launching the puck clean over the net.
Later in the third, he dished perfect feeds over to Josh McNeil and Ryan McBeath, but they couldn’t finish the play.
It was the your textbook Carriere game, according to his coaching staff.
“Tye is a good player. His value to a team doesn’t come in points, it comes in the minutes he plays. We use him lots; on the power play, penalty kill and he’s our go-to guy to take a key faceoff late in the game,” said Chiefs Assistant Coach Mike Moller, who was named the MVP and Top Scorer for the Mac’s in it’s inaugural year 1978, leading the Chiefs to the championship. “He’s never really been a great points guy, but he makes the other guys around him better. Guys on his line relish in the fact that he gets them the puck in certain spots.”
Red Deer impressed just by winning their pool, which contained the defending champion Belarus National U17 and perennial strong tourney teams, the Calgary Flames and Saskatoon Contacts.
Carriere finished the tournament with only one assist in six games, as he was slowed down with a nagging hip injury.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound right-handed centre is having a fine season with the Chiefs in the Alberta Midget Hockey League. Through 24 games, he has nine goals and 15 points. His Chiefs are contenders in the Chrysler Division, too. The currently sit third at 16-3-5, just two points back of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Undrafted following his bantam AA season with the Red Deer Ramada where he scored 29 goals and 45 points in 33 games, the Calgary Hitmen listed him Oct. 24, 2016 after his hot start in the Alberta Minor Midget Hockey League with the Chiefs.
The Hitmen invited Carriere to training camp, but the prospective player was unable to attend camp due to appendicitis. But that doesn’t mean that the club hasn’t been keeping a close eye on him.
Carriere frequently takes calls from Hitmen Director of Player Personnel Dallas Thompson, as he checks in with the young centre. Carriere says that Thompson is impressed with his skating ability and likes his game as a whole.
“Tye is one of those players who has a good frame but hasn’t quite filled it out yet. He is strong on the puck and strong on his skates, and once he adds another 10 to 15 pounds, he will be able to get better body position on the ice, getting to pucks and maintaining more pucks,” said the former Lethbridge Bronco Moller. “We are pleased with the season he is having and expect him to be a good player for us and a good player ready to move on to the next level after this year.”
Carriere wasn’t the only Hitmen prospect competing this past week at the Mac’s.
The Hitmen listed Cale Elder Oct. 4 of this season and he was between the pipes for the Prince Albert Mintos this week, where he went 1-1-0 with a incredible .980 save percentage, 0.50 goals against average and one shutout. This season in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League, Elder sits 7-5 with a 2.64 goals against and a .910 save percentage. The 17-year-old goaltender stands 6-foot-1 and is on the lighter side at 150 pounds. Elder was not at Hitmen training camp this past summer since he wasn’t listed by the team until this past fall.
Local product Connor Brock scored one goal in the Flames 3-2 loss to Carriere and the Chiefs in the Mac’s opener. Brock finished second on his team with a pair of goals and one helper in four games.
“Connor played really consistently all week and utilized his skills. He’s a great straight-line skater and shot the puck a lot. He got into space where he was able to create offence and played his role,” said Flames Head Coach Sean Kibyuk. “I think Connor will provide offence wherever he goes. He’s a good, steady presence on the wing, gets the puck out of the zone and finds space in the offensive zone to go to work and has a great release. I see him being a top-six forward eventually.”
The left-handed winger was one of two Hitmen draft picks on display in the tournament. The Hitmen nabbed him in the 10th round, 214th overall during the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft. This season with the Flames, he has eight goals and 16 points in 23 games. Brock stuck with the Hitmen through the annual Black versus White intrasquad game Aug. 28, but was reassigned to the Flames afterwards.
Cam Newson was the other draft pick in the tournament. He was selected in the ninth round, 183rd overall during the 2017 Draft. In eight games with the Valley West Hawks of the B.C. Major Midget League, he has no points. In 17 games with the Semiahmoo Ravens of the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association, he has five goals and 17 points. This week as an affiliated player, he only appeared in one game. The 15-year-old blue liner stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 160 pounds. The Surrey product was in camp with the Hitmen but reassigned following the Young Guns Game Aug. 27.
All players have now returned to their respected homes and will fire up their seasons this weekend, as they look to bolster their resumes before next year’s training camp.
