We are now less than a week away from the inaugural CHL USA Prospects Challenge presented by Kubota. Last week I sat down with TSN’s Director of scouting, Craig Button to talk about the new event.

In my conversation with Craig we discuss the upcoming CHL USA Prospects Challenge, emphasizing the importance of international competition for player evaluation and development. Craig tells us how players can showcase their skills in different roles, we talk about Team CHL captain Porter Martone and the significance of leadership within teams, the expectations for both Team CHL and Team USA. Craig explains how the experience can impact player growth, and the overall excitement surrounding the event.

In our first CHL USA Prospects Challenge edition of the CHL Top 10 Show I recently had the opportunity to talk with one of the captains of the USNTDP U18’s, defenceman Asher Barnett as well as captain of Team CHL, Brampton Steelheads’ star Porter Martone.

Martone is off to a hot start for the relocated Steelheads sitting near the top of the O scoring race in goals and points. We chat about the excitement around the new event, reuniting with his former Team Canada teammates, how he plans to bring Team CHL together fast, what challenges Team USA presents them and how things are going in Brampton this year.

Asher came through the Chicago Mission program and is in his second season with the USNTDP. He tells me how excited the Americans are to come up and play against the CHL, how their team is constructed and the style of game they play. How much they know about the CHL players and what they’ll have to do to come away victorious.

Welcome to another Road to Memorial Cup edition of the CHL Top 10 Show, this week I chat with a player from each of the leagues that earned sweeps last round. Cam Squires from the Cape Breton Eagles, Trevor Wong from the Saskatoon Blades and Justin Ertel from the North Bay Battalion.

Cape Breton’s Cam Squires has four or more points in three games already this post season. He leads the entire CHL playoffs with a +18 in 9 games helping lead the Eagles back to the Q semi finals for the first time since 2007.

Trevor Wong and the Saskatoon Blades are back in the WHL’s conference final for a second straight season. Last year the Blades needed 14 games to make it to the third round, eventually running out of gas against Winnipeg. This year they make it there in just 9 games.

The North Bay Battalion have lost in the conference finals to the eventual OHL champions the past two seasons. The last time they faced Oshawa in the conference final was in 2015 when the Gens went on to win the Memorial Cup. Justin Ertel tells us why this year will be different.