NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE RINKS

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

SJHL Playoffs, what we know: The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoffs start March 18 and as we enter the final week of the regular season, the most basic things we know for sure are the eight teams that are in the post-season, the No. 1 seed (Estevan), and the No. 2 seed (Humboldt). Notre Dame’s win on Saturday at home to Yorkton clinched the final playoff spot for the Hounds, and while it seems all-but-certain that ND will face Estevan Round 1, no match-ups are in stone at the time of writing.
SJHL Playoffs, what we don’t: As I just said, we don’t know any of the match-ups! The battles left are 3-5, and 6 and 7, and while that latter situation is in the hands of Yorkton Terriers with two games in hand on the already-done La Ronge Ice Wolves, and only two points behind, the former is right up in the air! Battlefords still has four games in hand, but sits fifth three points and one point back of Melfort and Flin Flon, respectively. To make things more intense, the Mustangs and Bombers have a home-and-home series this week, so that’ll be awesome! I expect the Northern Lights Palace and Whitney Forum to be packed! Cannot wait!
Give Duts his due: Have to tip my cap to the consistent production of ND rookie Elliot Dutil. It’s always hard to predict how a guy will transition into the SJHL from an eastern league like the Quebec Junior AAA league, but the ’03 birth year Dutil has more than answered the bell with an almost under-the-radar 36 goals on the year, a total worth second in the league at the moment, and the leader three tallies ahead – Mark Rumsey of Estevan – is finished. Elliot’s footspeed needs work, and he isn’t the biggest guy, but those hands and instincts around the net are absolutely remarkable…if you could bottle what he has and sell it, you’d make a fortune. When he plays well, he scores, when doesn’t, he often still seems to score, and it’s uncanny. He’s also a great, driven young man that at his heart really really wants to win, and while he has areas to grow, I really can’t see how D1 scouts can overlook that kind of production out of someone so young. The last time a Hound scored as much as Elliot it was 2016-17 and WHL veteran Ben Duppereault was ripping it up, and the 20-year-old had 37 over the full season while Duts has three more games to go. Something to watch for sure, but Elliot absolutely has a gift.
RP at the Centennial?: Was pumped to hear that Rod and the RP Show crew will be at the Centennial Cup in Estevan at the end of May! They can cover and pull audiences like nobody else in this province, and more than anything it’ll be great to see my good pal and yours Rodney Pedersen Esq. I’ll say this a bunch of times in the next months, but the two SJ teams there will be very real threats to go very far in the event, you just watch.
Regina Bruins: If you know me, you know I love talking about university commitments, and I also love USports, so it’s great to see the Canadian schools pull the trigger on a couple of SJ kids this past. Former Swift Current Broncos captain Eric Houk will become the fifth Estevan Bruins alum on the Regina Cougars next year (if Turner Ripplinger comes back from England?), and this is just a really good job by UofR Coach Todd Johnson of retaining some of that abundant local talent. Hope the Cougs can keep building off their first playoff berth this year moving forward!
SJ to Lakehead, Krahn: In other SJ to USports news, Lakehead University in Thunder Bay just got some themselves some real elite speed and skill. QMJHL veteran Olivier Pouliot of the Estevan Bruins, long-time Terrier and former Portland Winterhawk Kishaun Gervais will head to the northern Ontario club, and if there was an SJHL fastest skater competition, there would be many who would put those two guys as some of the favourites to win it. Excellent two-way centreman and Melville captain Jonathan Krahn will head to the SJ-full Trinity Western Spartans next year! Love to see TWU’s coach Barret Kropf dig into the very capable SJHL for some veterans and leaders, and Krahn is as good as they come in that department!
Joby: On the much-younger side, got a couple good looks at Notre Dame’s next hot U-15 aged, highly-touted WHL prospect Joby Baumuller, and boy are there some impressive raw materials there. He looks a solid 5-11, 180 pounds already, skates well, protects the puck, and when he learns to play with his linemates, he’ll be really, really good. He’s on the shortlist to make Team Saskatchewan for the next Canada Winter Games in Feb. 2023, so hopefully, the local Wilcox boy can make it! In the meantime, I think he’ll be great playing up for Del Pedrick’s Hounds U18AAA, the No. 1 team in Sask U18 hockey…
SaskU18 playoffs: And those playoffs, chock-a-block full of WHL and SJHL prospects, will start Friday night and the storylines are really cool right away. First off Berkly Catton will be the headliner in the Battle of Saskatoon as the Contacts and Blazers will square off right away (the WHL No. 1 overall pick to Spokane has found this level very, very easy), while the Trans-Canada Clash U18 edition between the Regina Pat Cs and Moose Jaw Warriors will feature league champ Ben Riche of Regina face the club that bears the name of his future WHL squad. The No. 1 seeded Hounds are big favourites against a very workmanlike Battlefords squad, and the Prince Albert Mintos will look to upset the recently-scuttling Warman Wildcats. Predicting Round 1, let alone the rest, is daunting, though the red-hot ND Hounds have to be the favourites to go all the way as we set out.
AJ playoffs: Just to the west and the Alberta Junior League playoffs are underway and so far it hasn’t been easy for favourites Fort McMurray and Drumheller. The No. 6 Whitecourt Wolverines are two up on the talented No. 3 Bonnyville Pontiacs, so it’s been really interesting to follow so far. If there was a team other than No. 2 Spruce Grove that gave the huge favourites Brooks some trouble this year, it was Drumheller, so I am kind of hoping they can get past scrappy Calgary set that up eventually. No matter what, everyone expects Brooks to cruise to the Inter Pipeline Cup and then Estevan, so anything other than a smash fest will raise eyebrows!
Personal note: I got a message from awesome Bamboo Shoots producer and my pal Rusty asking the last time I called a playoff game, and I have to say it has been a while! I am very excited for the post-season in general, and I have never actually called a Best-of-Seven ND Hounds series since coming to Sask in 2017, so this will be fun! The young Hounds will be massive underdogs against the Estevan Bruins, but they have beaten them this year!