NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE RINKS

By: Jamie Neugebauer
Voice of the ND Hounds/DUBNetwork MJ Warriors Beat Writer

1. Pats add a D:  Some early deck shuffling going on the Western Hockey League as NHL roster situations become clearer, and teams give their general managers a little taste as to what they are. The Pats sent forward Sloan Stanick to the Prince Albert Raiders Tuesday in exchange for solid young defenceman Adam McNutt, and while McNutt is a fine player (I like him a lot, in fact) Stanick is a decent offensive producer on a Regina team that really needs help beyond the great 98. I’m sure there will be more moves ahead as John Paddock looks to improve Bedard’s supporting cast.
2. PA will be fine: Obviously not an ideal start for the PA Raiders: 0-4, five goals-for, 21 against…but look at this D-corps coming back (hence the move of McNutt). Kaiden Guhle, Nolan Allan, and Landon Kosior will all be there this year starting now, and the goaltending can only get better – surely Carter Serhyenko is better than he has shown so far. Sure, there isn’t a ton of offence behind Ozzy Wiesblatt, but I still believe in my pal Keaton Sorensen to be a very good WHL Top 6 forward, and they will make moves. Be patient PA fans, it’ll get better! 
3. Warriors add a D: If I’m the GM of what I hope is a contending team, I want one 20 year old in net, one 20-year-old on the blue line, and one somewhere up front so that the experience is well-spread out; and I guess Moose Jaw’s Jason Ripplinger agrees. Also on Tuesday, the Warriors brought in veteran and big blueliner Majid Kaddoura from the Prince George Cougars. A steady experienced defence-first presence is exactly what the Warriors need on the back end, so I think it’s a great pickup. PG is going young, so Kaddoura’s 127 WHL games make more sense on Moose Jaw. Also, the Cougars’ captain Jonny Hooker, assistant captain Connor Bowie, and star goaltender Taylor Gauthier are all 2001s…so that’s why the return was only a seventh. Good move for both teams.
4. Can’t stop the ICE: Can I just reserve a spot every week to declare my love for the Winnipeg ICE? They play such an entertaining, electric style for Coach James Patrick, and they’re getting awesome contributions from all over the line-up. Youngsters Matt Savoie, Zach Benson, Conor Geekie, and Chase Bertholet don’t even need to be the superstars, like young guns on other squads do, so it’s just a great start for a well-put-together roster. Carson Lambos, Ben Zloty, and Karter Prosofsky are a great three to start the D-core, but I bet you they’ll add someone.
5. LET’S GO: Of course, all the coverage is on the NHL kicking off Tuesday night. I’ll be honest, because of SJHL and USports stuff I have paid very little attention to the pre-season. New Jersey did well in the pre-season, as did Arizona…so who cares about the pre-season!? I think it might be good for the Leafs to miss Austin Matthews a little bit, obviously they’re better with him in, who wouldn’t be…but maybe they’ll have to play as a team, and learn to grind out results a little in the early going. How will John Tavares look? Who is going to be leaned on in the net? How healthy is Jake Muzzin? Which Willy Nylander will we see? Far more questions than answers. 
6. Canada’s NHL teams?: Fun stat to throw at you: the teams with the most Canadians on them in the NHL are Rod Pedersen’s own Las Vegas Golden Knights, the Montreal Canadiens, the Edmonton Oilers, and Team Saskatchewan AKA Seattle Kraken. Will the Kraken be great? Probably not. But they have about a thousand Saskatchewan boys on the team, so they’ll play very, very hard. I have adopted them as my No. 2 team for sure.
7. Oh those ‘Stangs: In SJHL land I marvel at how Trevor Blevins has his Melfort Mustangs playing playoff-style hockey already. Okay sure, they are very, very old with a more-than full complement of 20-year-olds…but so does La Ronge and while the Ice Wolves are a blast to watch with some great talent, they aren’t firing anywhere near the way Melfort does. Do you want to be entertained as a neutral? Maybe the Mustangs aren’t for you, but if you want a team that plays incredible team defence, makes very mistakes, and has a different hero every night, then maybe they are. Big-time kudos to Blevins and those kids up there: I love to watch a well-coached team. Also if I was pressed into choosing the most complete forward in the SJHL, the only right answer is Ben Tkachuk. 
8. The young Hounds: The Notre Dame Hounds have won three of four, and the only loss in there was a hard-fought, playoff-style Showcase battle with those Mustangs, who played their game plan to a perfect tee. ND is the youngest team in the league for sure, but the heart and soul in that locker room blow me away every time I’m around those boys. The ups and downs will continue to come, little will come easy, but it isn’t just my bias speaking when I say Brett, Mitch, Travis, Trevor, and all the staff have done an awesome job recruiting this group. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: Trey Taylor is the best shot-blocker in the SJHL.
9. A good York Region boy: Speaking of good recruiting, I definitely took notice when Humboldt coach/GM Scott Barney brought in 2002-born forward Lucas Ceccarelli; mostly since he played U15 and U18 for my buddies Mark and Brett Joslin in Richmond Hill, ONT. Lucas is not from far from where I am (I need to ask him exactly where); I’ve seen him listed as Richmond Hill or King City, both very close, but either way, I’m super impressed with his instincts, 200-feet play, and goalscoring. I was saying to Barney that I think he might lead the league in opposition icings negated: I love those little details that win you hockey games, and this kid clearly gets it. He was the captain for both of the Joslins (Mark is the dad, Brett is the son, and Brett’s cousin Derek played in the NHL!), and if those guys vouch for a guy, I take it as a word of gold. Great people.
10. MLB playoffs: I don’t care who wins as long as it’s not Boston or the Houston Cheaters. Braves or Giants would be cool…who are you going for?

(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)