by KELLY FRIESEN
Journal editor
Riley Kieser couldn't have finished his junior hockey career on a brighter note. He not only won a WHL championship and MasterCard Memorial Cup, but he also did it on his hometown club, the Edmonton Oil Kings.
"It was an unbelievable experience," said Kieser, who played a half of a season with the Humboldt Broncos in 2011-12. "To win a championship is something everyone dreams of and to get to do it in my last year and in my own city was great."
The Oil Kings brought Kieser in last offseason through a trade with the Vancouver Giants. Head coach Derek Laxdal saw a lot of upside in the move because of the 6-foot-1, 185-pound centre's character, grit and work ethic.
"Last year we talked about Riley as a player who could bring into the dressing room to kind of solidify the character," Laxdal told Yahoo! Sports. "And then we had a chance to trade for him when Stephane Legault retired. He's fit in right from training camp. He's a glue guy. Our young guys gravitated to him right off the hop."
From Kieser's perspective, he was thrilled to go from a rebuilding Giants team to a contender.
"It was an exciting time when I found out about the trade," said Kieser, who turned 21 in April. "I knew the Oil Kings were a great organization and they had a really good team. I couldn't have asked to go to a better team."
With Kieser not bringing a lot of offensive production to the table, as he scored 14 goals and 35 points in 72 games, there were some rumours that the Oil Kings were looking to upgrade his overage spot at the trade deadline. Edmonton, however, didn't make the move because of the little things that the Sherwood Park, Alta., native does right.
"To be honest with you, there were rumours flying around at the trade deadline that we were going to bring in a 20-year-old guy, but we looked at it, 'what's going to be the balance," said Laxdal. "What's going to be the tipping point for our team?' You have to have guys like Riley. If you bring in another scorer you have seven guys that want to play in the top six. He's stepped up, he's accepted his role and he thrives on it."
Kieser believes he thrived in his energy role with the Oil Kings because of the opportunity they gave him. He played alongside two quality third-line players, Mads Eller and Luke Bertolucci. In addition, he was given the opportunity to play a role on their penalty kill.
"I was given every opportunity to succeed," he said. "I was surrounded with great players and a dressing room full of great leaders. It was a great team to be a part of."
Before Kieser made the jump to major junior with the Giants as an 18-year-old, he spent 31 games with the SJHL's Broncos in 2011-12, scoring eight goals and 13 points. He believes his time in Humboldt was quite valuable to his development in hindsight vision.
"It was a good opportunity to play for them because they were hosting the RBC Cup that year," said Kieser. "I learned a lot mostly because Dean Brockman was a great coach. He runs a good program and was happy to be a part of it for a little while."
Brockman also has fond memories of Kieser.
"He was a very smart two-way player that understood what it took to win," said the Humboldt head coach. "He was also a great person on and off the ice."
With Kieser passing the age limit to play junior hockey, he's moving on to CIS next year where he'll play for the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
"I'm looking forward to it," said Kieser. "It will be great to take the next step in my hockey career. They're a great organization that has had a lot of success."
