NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE SJHL
BY: JAMIE NEUGEBAUER
VOICE OF THE ND HOUNDS
1. Stop the Presses, We Got a Good Ol’ Fashioned Blockbuster! – Yes indeed! On Halloween, no less, La Ronge and Melville both shook up their squads big time, with Ice Wolves’ captain and all-star forward Zach Bannister, and offensive defenceman Dylan Thackeray heading to the Mils, in exchange for elite puck-moving blue liner James Philpott, and the shifty forward Booker Chacalias. It’s a pretty even hockey trade overall, and so I’ll reserve my judgement for the “winner” after a couple of weeks. In terms of filling the biggest need on paper, I’d give the edge to La Ronge, as they did not truly have a real power-play quarterback; or at least nothing like what Philpott is capable of!
2. Neutral-Site Week for ND – The Hounds (with myself in tow) will hit the road for two neutral-site games this week, forfeiting literal home-ice advantage (though ND will still have last change) to give some small towns around the province a shot to see some Junior A puck in their local rink! Tuesday night it will be ND and Estevan in Southey, which will be nice for us Regina-dwellers as it is, of course, only about 40 minutes north of the provincial capital. Saturday night will be a bit of a later night, as the trip east to Moosomin to face Weyburn is about three hours, and the plan is to return home the same day. The neutral-site games last year, in Moosomin and Gull Lake, were a blast, and I can’t wait to get to both of them! They also come at a good time, as the Hounds are on a three-game winning streak, have taken points in five of the last six, and are playing well.
3. Stars Keep On Rolling – Speaking of playing well, Brayden Klimosko’s North Stars just keep winning. They actually trailed in both of their last two games, including by a score of 3-0 at home to Nipawin last Tuesday; but they have the heart of champions and never quit. Too bad they don’t play in Brooks though, so that they could actually get the No. 1 rankings in the country (cough cough). A 19-1 record, and a No. 2 spot in Canada, is not too shabby though. Their captain Matt Fletcher is at 1.25 points-per-game as a defenceman, and they have 11 guys in double digits in points through 20 games…impressive stuff.
4. Nipawin and Kindersley Shake Things Up – A 4-0 home loss to Humboldt last Friday did not sit well with Doug Johnson and the Hawks faithful, I’m sure, but things are not dire at all in Nipawin (though maybe by their lofty standards…). They also sit tied for fourth in the standings with three quarters of the season to go. Either way, DJ decided to shake things up this past week, dealing 2000-born forward Eric Sorensen, and cash, to the Kindersley Klippers, for the Klips’ leading scorer and 1999-birth year forward Dawson McKenzie. This makes a fourth team in two seasons for McKenzie, who started last year with Flin Flon, was dealt to Weyburn in the big deadline Cade Kowalski trade, and then was moved to Kindersley in the off-season. Pretty good add talent-wise, though, for a Hawks team that has not found scoring goals easy again this season.
5. Broncos Jeckyll and Hyde Week – And how about Scott Barney’s Broncos? I really enjoy them for their pluckiness, their team speed, and the potential to see a big-time future WHLer in ’03 birth year Karter McNarland every time I see them, but as with any young teams, they can be prone to inconsistency. Humboldt flew to a 4-0-win Friday night in the barn of the much-more veteran Nipawin Hawks using three power-play goals to get there; but then came home the next night and let themselves down against the high-flying La Ronge Ice Wolves, losing 5-1 at the EPA. I know they are probably the club I work for’s biggest rival, but they have a quality to them that I admire.
6. Bombers to the Overage Max – It’s early November and Mike Reagen and the Flin Flon Bombers are at the overager max of eight…what else is new? They have brought in big 6’4 defenceman Troy Quinn from Merritt in the BCHL, and are on average the oldest team in the league. Something to be said for having a whole bunch of experience!
7. Yorkton’s Streak Ends, and is Still Alive – The Terriers lost 3-2 in Battlefords in overtime, ending their five-game winning streak since adding Ryan Ouellette back in net, who returned from the North American Hockey League’s Minnesota Wilderness ahead of their Oct. 22 4-2 home win vs. Melfort. Losing to the No. 2 team in the country on the road in overtime is nothing to sniff at though, of course, and they remain unbeaten in regulation in seven. Hehr has his guys going, and their captain Chantz Petruic is on some sort of heater to start the year. There is no question to me: Petruic is the most dangerous man in the SJHL.
8. Some Respect for Hammer? – Speaking of dangerous men, how about we see some respect for ND captain Jared Hamm? He now has goals in three straight, with five points over that span, and is creating chances left and right since being put with 2001-born forward Braydon Iwaschuk. Those two work like dogs, and with Hamm’s skill in tow, and with the tenacity of Jarrett Penner on their wing, I don’t expect he will stop producing any time soon. He is the runner-up player of the week (to Petruic), but hopefully he’ll get a PoW nod sooner than later!
9. Never Seen a Team Like These Bruins – I’ve never seen a team put in consistently good team performances, and get no results, like these Estevan Bruins. At time of writing they sit in 11th in the 12-team league, with six wins, yet every time I see them, they play with a really good pace, intensity, and at least some skill with the likes of Isaiah Thomas and Jayden Davis leading the line. I’m sure things will turn around, not to mention that I expect their GM and coach Chris Lewgood to bring in reinforcements, like he always does.
10. The Showcase is Back! – Finally, the SJ/MJ Showcase is coming back to Regina Jan 21 and 22! I can’t wait! It is a great way to replace a concept of an all-star game, and is always really intense and full of skill. Make sure you check it out!
(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)
