Welcome to a Special Road to Memorial Cup edition of CHL coast to coast where you’ll get to listen to three conversations I had with players, between the first and second round, looking to make deep runs to the 2025 Memorial Cup in Rimouski.

First up is Philadelphia Flyers prospect and London Knights captain Denver Barkey. Then we check in with top draft prospect Caleb Desnoyers from the Moncton Wildcats and last but not least Seattle Kraken prospect and Spokane Chiefs captain Berkly Catton sits down with us.

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.