The future of the CanElson Drilling Estevan Bruins was on full display Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 at the Mac’s Midget AAA World Invitational Tournament in Calgary.
Seventeen of the Bruins’ list players competed in the prestigious tournament, which features the top male and female midget players from across Canada, the United States and Europe playing in front of thousands of spectators at several arenas across the city.
Turner Ripplinger, a forward with the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League’s (SMAAAHL) Regina Pat Canadians and a Bruins’ prospect, earned a first all-star team selection as the tournament’s top scorer. Ripplinger potted five goals and added nine assists in Regina’s four round-robin wins over the South Island Royals, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Eastman Selects and Calgary Royals as well as their 4-2 quarter-final loss to the Vancouver Northwest Giants.
“We feel pretty good about ourselves,” said Ripplinger, 17, whose team currently sits first in the SMAAAHL with a record of 19-5-0-3. “We accomplished a lot. We went 4-0 in the round robin, but we battled injuries throughout it and just came up on the short end.”
Ty Barnstable, who earned a second all-star team selection for his four goals and eight assists performance playing on Ripplinger’s left side, said the Mac’s helped his team take some good steps in the right direction to give the squad a winning mentality. He said the team was down to eight forwards against Vancouver, but everyone stepped up and gave all they had in the loss.
“Last year we went to the finals (a 2-1 loss to the Cariboo Cougars), so it’s hard to beat that,” said Barnstable, 17, who scored one goal for the Bruins in his sole game up with the team on Nov. 17 against the Humboldt Broncos. “It’s exciting and you just want to win. You want to play your best and it’s a fun time.”
Barnstable was joined on the second all-star team by teammate and fellow Bruins' list player Jake Heerspink, who suited up for two games with the junior A team earlier this season. Bruins' list players on the Pat Canadians also include Matthew Chekay, Mark Edmands, Tylor Ludwar and Curtis Meiger.
Estevan’s Cole Fonstad, who also scored a goal in his only game with the Bruins on Dec. 16 against the Melville Millionaires, suited up at centre with the SMAAAHL’s Moose Jaw Generals at the Mac’s. The Generals failed to make it to the playoff round, posting a 4-2 win over the California Wave, 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames, 3-3 tie versus the SSAC Boston Pizza Athletics and 2-0 win over the Vancouver Northeast Chiefs in the round robin.
“It was a really good experience,” said Fonstad, 15, a fifth overall pick by the Western Hockey League’s Prince Albert Raiders in the 2015 bantam draft. “We could have easily won all four games. It was just a couple bad bounces that cost us a bit, but that’s how you learn I guess. We’ll be ready come our next tournament and the rest of the year in the league games.”
Fonstad, who is joined on the Generals by Bruins’ list players Conner Hayward, Austin King-Cunningham, Kyler Douglas, Tanner Manz, Devan Harrison, Jayden Davis and Tyson Manz, said all the games they played in at the Mac’s were tight, but that was the expectation heading in. He said they have a couple good goaltenders in Colby Entz and Hunter Arps and knew if they worked hard and stuck to the plan they could show everyone why they’re currently sitting second in the SMAAAHL with an 18-6-0-4 record.
“There were lots of scouts there,” he said. “You just got to go out and work your hardest and have a good attitude out there and show what you’re capable of and hopefully the scouts will get an eye on you.”
Also representing the Bruins at the Mac’s were Tristyn DeRoose of the Yorkton RawTec Maulers, who sit fourth in the SMAAAHL with an 18-9-0-1 record and went 1-3 in roundrobin action at the tournament, and the Tisdale Trojans’ Logan Foster, whose team has a 14-9-0-2 SMAAAHL record and 2-2 round-robin showing at the Mac’s.
Ripplinger said the Bruins’ prospects all played well at the Mac’s and showed they can be strong players for Estevan in the future. He said having groups of list players on teams like the Generals and Pat Canadians also helps them get to know one another and build relationships while competing together in these tournaments.
“We have a really tight group in the room and we all came together and we’ve got pretty skilled guys,” said Ripplinger. The Bruins “have a pretty bright future. They’ve done a good job bringing in good players and listing good players.”
