While the number of players still on the Battlefords North Stars roster is a large one heading into the start of their exhibition schedule Sunday night, head coach and general manager Brandon Heck had a simple message for those still looking to crack the final roster.
Bring your ‘A’ game against the host Bonnyville Pontiacs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League or you might not have another opportunity to prove yourself to the coaching staff.
“We’ve been telling a lot of guys that that they are just hanging on here,” Heck said. “We’re going to be dropping a few guys each day so they need to outplay who they are matched up against if they want to live and fight another day.”
After chopping down their roster from 70 players to 46 following Friday’s scrimmages, the North Stars bid farewell to four more players after Saturday afternoon’s Black and White game to conclude training camp.
No longer in the mix for a spot on this year’s squad are goaltender Noah Wiens, defenceman Turner Rea and forwards Michael McTighe and Luke Fennig.
“We actually argued in the room about if we should cut more guys or not,” Heck said.
“For some players, I told them to give me a reason why they should still be here. For many of them, we’ve put the pressure on them to come out and respond here in the next few games.”
Heck was pleased with what he saw Saturday at the Civic Centre in the intrasquad game as Team White picked up a 4-2 win over Team Black.
“I was really happy with the effort level and the intensity that was out there,” Heck said.
“Many of the guys that we challenged to step up their play in the meetings we had on Friday all responded positively, so we were really pleased about that.”
Layne Young led the way with a pair of goals for Team White, with their other goals coming from Josh Sielsky and Jayden Cantre.
Logan Spence and Noah Form replied for Team Black.
After their trip to Bonnyville Sunday, the North Stars first pre-season game at home will take place Monday against the Pontiacs at 7 p.m.
It’s a hectic exhibition slate for the defending league champions as they will play eight games in seven days.
A meeting at the Civic Centre is set for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against the Humboldt Broncos before a trip to Humboldt a night later.
Following a day off, the North Stars will host the Kindersley Klippers in a 7:30 p.m. tilt Friday and then visit the Klippers Saturday.
Their final pre-season game will take place in Saskatoon next Sunday when they’ll take on the Yorkton Terriers at the Rutherford Arena.
Roster Construction
Five goaltenders remain on the team as Jake Davidson (Warman Wildcats), Austin Prior (Lloydminster Midget Bobcats), Dawson Rodin (Aldergrove Kodiaks) and Jake Taylor (Delisle Chiefs) are all vying for the backup job behind the returning Taryn Kotchorek.
Joel Grzybowski, who is eligible to return to the North Stars, is still in the mix for a spot with the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades following a 27-save performance in a 3-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos in a pre-season game held in Regina Friday.
Among the 13 defencemen still in camp are the returning Conor Jensen, Levi Kleiboer, Connor Manegre and Cody Spagrud, along with Michael Fradette who was acquired from the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Kirkland Lake Gold Miners this summer.
The new faces looking to earn a spot on the blueline are Jayden Cantre (Beardy’s Blackhawks), Anthony Cuglietta (Edmonton Canadians), Hunter Cuthbert (Leduc Riggers), Mathew Fletcher (Saskatoon Blazers), Noah Form (Saskatoon Riverkings), Brayden Pruden (Kalkaska Rhinos), Sunil Sahota (Chase Heat) and Austin Wieler (Saskatoon Contacts)
Up front, 24 forwards are battling it out for a spot, in a group that includes returning players Troy Gerein, Owen Lamb, MacGregor Sinclair and Layne Young,
Also in the mix are Connor McIntosh and Jayden Nachtegaele, who started the season with the North Stars last year before being sent down to the Prairie Junior Hockey League’s Saskatoon Quakers.
The remaining forward core includes Keith Anderson (Alberni Valley Bulldogs), Tre Doyon (Lloydminster Bobcats), Josh Sielsky (Neepawa Natives) and Jacob Tibbatts (Yellowhead Chiefs), who are all acquired by the team during the off-season.
Colton Adair (Beardy’s Blackhawks), Mike Curran (Dallas Stars U18), Dayden Dvernichuk (Beardy’s Blackhawks), Blake Fennig (West Central Rage), Austin Hope (Midwest Red Wings), Zac Horn (Carolina Eagles), Dakota Huebner (Leduc Riggers), Elijah Loon-Stewardson (Thunder Bay Kings), Justin McKinley (Lloydminster Midget Bobcats), Ryland McNinch (Midwest Red Wings), Ty Muench (Swift Current Legionnaires), Tanner Robin (Saskatoon Contacts), Ryan Rothenburger (Weyburn Red Wings) and Logan Spence (Battlefords Stars) round out the skaters still on the roster.
SJHL Pre-Season Update
The 2017 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League exhibition slate got underway at the Centennial Arena in Nipawin Saturday night.
Talon Thomas tied the game on the power play with less than five minutes remaining and then helped to set up Tristan Weigel’s game-winner with 31 seconds left as the Flin Flon Bombers scored three unanswered goals in the third period for a 3-2 win over the Nipawin Hawks.
Boston Bird had two assists for the Bombers in the win, with 2002-born defenceman Hendrik De Klerk scoring their other goal.
Jaden Mayer and Caleb Paisley both found the back of the net for the Hawks in the loss.
In addition to the North Stars trip to Bonnyville, two more pre-season games will take place Sunday as the Melville Millionaires will visit the Yorkton Terriers and the Bombers host the Hawks.
Van Os-Shaw Dealt
The biggest news of the weekend came out Friday afternoon as the Humboldt Broncos traded forward Chris Van Os-Shaw to the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Spruce Grove Saints in exchange for forward Conner Lukan and a player development fee.
A native of Regina, Van Os-Shaw led the Broncos in scoring and was seventh overall in the league last year with 68 points in 56 games.
The 20-year-old’s 36 goals was the second most in the SJHL during the 2016-17 campaign, as he was just one marker behind Ben Duperreault of the Notre Dame Hounds.
Lukan, a 20-year-old from Slave Lake, Alta. is coming off his best season in the AJHL as he had 31 points in 56 games to finish sixth in team scoring during his third season with the Saints.
Legien Heading Back to the WHL
Another top scorer from the 2016-17 SJHL campaign found a new home Thursday as 19-year-old Jared Legien signed a contract with the Western Hockey League’s Victoria Royals.
After parting ways with the Kootenay Ice, where he had just nine points in 84 career games after being drafted ninth overall in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft, the Pilot Butte product made an immediate impact for the Terriers has he potted home 30 goals and had 26 assists in 51 games.
The Royals added Legien to their protected list over the course of last year and inked him to a deal after a strong training camp.
