Kindersley sits fourth in the Sherwood Conference of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and still had two of the top players from the month of December.
Klippers forward, and former Battlefords Midget Star, Colby Daniels was named the SJHL player of the month. Daniels had seven goals and nine assists in nine games in December. He recorded points in eight of the nine games during the month and has 17 goals and 16 assists in 31 games on the season.
The other Klipper honoured was Shaun MacPherson. The defenceman was named the rookie of the month after notching three goals and five assists in nine games.
The defenceman of the month was Josh Roach of the Flin Flon Bombers. This is the second time Roach has earned the praise, as he was named the defenceman of the month for October. Roach had five goals and five assists in nine games with Flin Flon during December. He is the top scoring defenceman in the SJHL with 10 goals and 28 assists in 36 games.
The goaltender of the month honour goes to the same netminder who won the November award - Matt Hrynkiw of the Humboldt Broncos. Hrynkiw was 4-2 during the month and had a 1.34 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage. He ended the month with two shutouts and has allowed two or fewer goals in 11 of his last 12 starts.
Perhaps the biggest news coming out of the SJHL at the end of 2012 was that Weyburn Red Wings legendary coach Dwight McMillan, was relieved of his duties.
He was on a leave from the team to deal with a family matter and after a discussion with the team's president his resignation was announced. McMillan recorded more than 1,000 wins as a coach with the Red Wings won two national titles and countless league and division banners. He was first hired in 1973. Weyburn's assistant coach Darcy Pindus will take over the coaching duties on an interim basis.
Along with McMillan looking ahead to his future, which includes spending more time with his grandchildren, two SJHL goalies have made commitments for their futures.
Flin Flon's Devin Buffalo committed to Dartmouth College in the NCAA Division I ECAC division. Buffalo intends to return to the Bombers for his 20 year-old season next year and join the Big Green in Dartmouth for the 2014-15 season.
The other goaltender to sign a letter of intent is Nipawin Hawk Davis Jones. Jones has committed to Alaska-Fairbanks, a Division I program for the 2013-14 season. He was named the league's goaltender of the year last season and showed why in his impressive playoff performance against the North Stars last season.
The Source Embroidery Power Rankings were last updated Dec. 24 and at the top of the list were the Yorkton Terriers. Humboldt, Notre Dame, Flin Flon and Melville rounded out the top five while the Battlefords North Stars were in sixth after an impressive month of December.
Weyburn remained in the 12th spot, but are hoping a coaching change can help salvage the season and make a push at the playoffs.
The trade deadline is just weeks away and it will be interesting to see which teams are selling, which are buying and which are holding pat for this season.
