NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE SJHL
By: Jamie Neugebauer
Voice of the ND Hounds
1. Can They Hang On? – If you haven’t heard, the Yorkton Terriers will have to do without their 100-point plus man Chantz Petruic for a total of six games due to suspension; and the question thus is how will they do without him? Well, big credit to Matt Hehr’s men, who have won three in a row, including a wild one Tuesday night at home over the Nipawin Hawks. Hehr has done an incredible job piecing together this roster, one that had an incredibly rough start, using resources, players falling into his lap, and shrewd moves to sit No. 3 in the SJ. We will see if young Matt Pesenti, or Philippe Bond, are the answer in net, but this team still finds ways to win games. How long can they do it without Petruic though? Will they stay in the home-ice spots? We’ll see!
2. Just Call It Rest – There is no panic from the Battlefords coaching staff despite injuries to Quinten Loon-Stewardson, Rylan Nivon, and Steven Kesslering, which may not be that surprising given that they have been way out in first place in the league since Day 1. They are still winning, so it only serves to wonder how scary this cohesive unit will be when they come back. Guys like Dylan Esau (who I’ve admired from a far since he joined the league), and Kaden Boser have done such a great job carrying some of that load. No idea how serious those injuries are, though, and they will need all hands-on deck for what I expect will be an incredibly grueling playoff.
3. Foster’s Due – Have to give Humboldt Broncos star forward Logan Foster his due. The league’s fifth-leading scorer has been dangerous almost every time he’s touched the ice this year, and has done a great job with Humboldt’s young crew. Lots of talk at the Showcase were about what the SJ would look like if it had Petruic, and Flin Flon’s QMJHLers Alec Malo, and Cole Rafuse available – I think Foster was just as big of a miss (all due to their major junior experience). A great skater, who plays with such authority on the puck – some Canadian University team will hit the jackpot adding this kid!
4. Kudos to Steinke – Speaking of Canadian University, kudos to Melville captain Aidan Steinke for committing to the new USports program at Trinity Western in Langley, B.C. Mils bench boss Kyle Adams loves this kid, and so do I – so much guts, a great face-off guy that eats shot blocks on the PK. I don’t think he’ll ever be a big-time points guy at the next level (what do I know?) but you need characters like him around to win.
5. Way To Go Larry – How about the job Larry Wintoneak has done this year in Kindersley? Got pretty solid young return as a General Manager for the likes of vets Austin Nault, Kyle Bosch, and Dawson McKenzie, and as a coach has kept his young team – with what has to be the youngest D-corps in the league by a mile – relevant in the playoff race all year. They certainly have great leaders in Tyler Traptow and Brendan Borbely, and have found gold in 2003-born defenceman Michael Neumeier (who, to be completely honest, I was super high on last year while he was with the Notre Dame Argos Midgets), while Liam Fraser and Scott McKenzie have blossomed into legitimate stars in this league. I really like their goaltending in Matt Sankner and Steven Bacovsky too, so they are really well set up for next year in my opinion.
6. Told Ya Hardy Was Good – Points in three straight, but could have had a ton more, ND’s silky smooth skating defenceman Hardy Wagner is starting to show how elite he is in this league. In this day and age, where all the analytics talk is about how the best way to play defence is to have the puck, Hardy is a kid that has the puck a lot on his shifts, and gets away from forecheckers so effortlessly. I love watching him play night in and night out, and I’m happy pucks are finally going in for him.
7. No Commitment Issues – Since committing to the University of Denver, Tristan Lemyre of the Flin Flon Bombers has not missed anything close to a beat. The 2001-born speed-demon has points in 17 of 18 games, and 11-contests in a row right now, and the Bombers are really blitzing the league and on fire as a club. Nobody wants a piece of Lemyre and company in the playoffs, I promise you.
8. Cool Doc On Q – Check out the great documentary Sportsnet put together on Notre Dame forward and Nunavut native Qaritaq Kusugak! Check it out here: https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1225213206282588160! Great story on a great kid.
9. Philpott Worth A Mention – Have to take a minute to shout out to the La Ronge Ice Wolves defenceman James Philpott, who has been outstanding since his acquisition from the Melville Millionaires earlier this year. A Calgary native with BCHL experience with the West Kelowna Warriors, Philpott is just under a point-per-game as a defender, and moves and creates with the puck so well. That he has exploded on a talented offensive squad like the Wolves is a surprise to nobody who knows his game, but kudos to him for finding his spot. Admired him from afar since last year!
10. It’s Playoff Time! (bonus) – The USPorts playoffs kick off their playoffs next weekend, and the U of Regina women, and the U of Saskatchewan men and women are all in the mix! The Cougars women needed more than the three points they got from the home-and-home with the Huskies to get home-ice, but they will head to Calgary to take on the Mount Royal Cougars with at least the confidence of knowing they match up well. The UofS men will await the highest seed remaining after Round 1, which will likely be the Calgary Dinos, while the Huskies women will host the UBC Thunderbirds as heavy favourites in Round 1’s Best-of-Three series. If you’re in or near the Saskatoon area, make sure you check out some great University playoff hockey!
(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)
