The Power Dodge Estevan Bruins enter the 2016-17 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season with a crop of young athletes looking to reach their peak level of play while doing everything they can to be part of a winning team.
The Bruins are returning only eight players from last season with a big part of the 2015-16 roster graduating after the club failed to advance past the round-robin portion of the Crescent Point Energy Western Canada Cup in early May. Replacing that veteran help are a bevy of 1998-born SJHL rookies on both offence and defence as well as a sprinkle of younger junior-A talent from the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Superior International Junior Hockey League and North American Hockey League.
“We skate well,” said Chris Lewgood, head coach and general manager of the Bruins. “This is a hardworking team that gets around the ice really well. If the team continues to play with the tenacity they had in the pre-season with their skating ability I think it can cause trouble for opponents and give us a chance every night.”
Lewgood said a group of big-bodied guys that can play in the hard areas as well as a number of skilled players have been added to the forward corps this season to compliment their veterans. He said their defence is the biggest area of concern entering the year considering how young the majority of their blueliners are and they’ll be keeping an eye out for the potential of bringing in a veteran defenceman, but the club is prepared to move forward with who they already have.
“With (goaltender Nathan) Alalouf coming back from last year’s club he’s the incumbent and the other guys will have to fight it out for the minutes,” he said. “We’ve got three (goalies) to start the season and their play in net is really going to determine who’s who.”
Close to a fifth of the Bruins’ schedule this season will involve the team facing off against their Viterra Division and Highway 39 rivals. The Bruins and Weyburn Red Wings will meet 10 times this season with a lot of points in the standings going to whoever controls the series.
“They’re all four-point nights and those games also set the tempo for the emotional state of the team,” said Lewgood. “We’ve had success for the last few years against the Wings and we want to continue to do so, so those games are important.”
