Greatness exemplified
If you follow Flyers Cup History you’ll recognize the name, Scott Chamness, it’s synonymous with everything that the Flyers Cup Tournament was meant to be, became, and has always been. Scott “The Shot”, as he was referred to earned the nickname because of his blazing hard, and pinpoint-accurate shot. It didn’t matter if it was the slapshot, wrister, or snapshot as they were equally as hard and of the utmost precision. The great Don Mckee, writer, and former Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist coined the term in the late seventies when the high school post-season tournament was known as the Eastern Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championship a few years before the inaugural Flyers Cup Tournament in 1980. Scott helped shape the tournament bringing high school varsity ice hockey into the same discussion as other area sports like football and basketball. Scott was the student face of the game back in the Flyers Cup’s early years and since then it’s become a wildly popular annual event for high school ice hockey players. To this day, almost 45 years later, Scott Chamness still owns many of the regular, and post-season scoring records, including some in the Flyers Cup Tournament.
Scott’s legacy is that he remains the greatest male high school hockey player in Delaware Valley history, and the time has come to include a female of his equivalent, enter, Ava Thomas.
Girls High School Ice Hockey is on the rise!
Girls’ high school ice hockey is still relatively young and growing. The Flyers Cup “Girl’s Class” has only been around for 15 years, and the talent is becoming much stronger and accepted as players are much more skilled than they once were and the popularity continues to grow. Ava Thomas is a testament to how far girls’ hockey has come compared to where it once was. She is a dominating presence and while any record always has a chance to be broken it’s not likely many of hers will be any time soon.
Ava Thomas, the Downingtown West high school hockey player, took the Flyers Cup girl’s bracket by storm in her second year of eligibility in eighth grade. Girls, high school hockey allows students in eighth grade to participate at the high school level if they are deemed able. If you aren’t aware, Ava actually began playing Varsity hockey in seventh grade, her 2019-2020 season. At the time seventh graders were allowed to play at the high school level but that has since gone away, players must now be in eighth grade to be eligible. Ava’s skill transcends the norm in southeastern Pennsylvania girl’s hockey. It’s not very common for anyone to possess the ability to skate gracefully, handle the puck with dominance, see the ice as if there is nobody else out there, and shoot the puck with laser precision. She has a focus, and sense of confidence like no other player on the ice. In the last 2 years, Thomas has eclipsed her 2021 Flyers Cup point production by leaps and bounds and she still has next year’s senior season with the Whippets to expand on her historic career in youth hockey. These stats will change, I can guarantee.
STATISTICAL DATA:
Downingtown West Whippets Regular Season:
- 11th Grade – 2023-24:
8GP | 21G | 5A | 26PTS - 10th Grade – 2022-23:
9GP | 39G | 8A | 47PTS - 9th Grade – 2021-22:
?GP | ?G | ?A | ?PTS - 8th Grade – 2020-21:
8GP | 23G | 7A | 30PTS - 7th Grade – 2019-20:
18GP | 54G | 18A | 72PTS
Philadelphia Jr Flyers Regular Season:
- 2023-24:
53G | 26A | 79PTS - 2022-23 (19U):
54G | 66A | 120PTS - 2021-22:
90G | 60A | 150PTS - 2020-21:
30G | 30A | 60PTS
Current Flyers Cup Tournament Totals:
9GP | 38G | 17A | 55PTS
FLYERS CUP TOURNAMENT STATS:
2024 FLYERS CUP 11TH GRADE:
2GP | 6G | 4A | 10PTS
– Flyers Cup All-Tournament team
– Flyers Cup Highest scorer award
– Flyers Cup Bobby Clarke MVP award
3GP | 21G | 6A | 27PTS
– Flyers Cup All-Tournament team
– Flyers Cup Highest scorer award
– Flyers Cup Bobby Clarke MVP award
– Daily Local News of West Chester Player of the Year
– Daily Local News of West Chester First Team All-Area
2022 – FLYERS CUP 9TH GRADE:
2GP | 7G | 3A | 10PTS
– Flyers Cup Highest scorer award
2021 – FLYERS CUP 8TH GRADE:
2GP | 4G | 4A | 8PTS
– Flyers Cup All-Tournament team
– Flyers Cup Highest scorer award
– Flyers Cup Bobby Clarke MVP award
– Daily Local News of West Chester Player of the Year
– Daily Local News of West Chester First Team All-Area
U18 USA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM STATS:
2024 – Represented Team USA at the 2024 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship (Gold medalist)
6GP | 3G | 6A | 9PTS
2023 – Member of the 2022 and 2023 U.S. Under-18 Select Team at the Under-18 Series vs. Canada
3GP | 0G | 0A | 0PTS
2022 – Invited to participate in the 2022 and 2023 USA Hockey Women’s National Festival
3GP | 0G | 0A | 0PTS
*High School regular season, postseason, and, club hockey statistics are incomplete or unable to be found. If/when they become available they will surely be added. If anyone feels inclined, please use the contact form on the right side of this page to reach out to me with any or all supporting data.
