NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE SJHL
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Virtual SJHL Showcase is coming this Friday and Saturday, the 29thand 30th of January, and I could not be happier to talk about something other than Covid! This event is meant, as best as possible, to replace the extremely successful SJHL/MJHL Showcases that ran each of the last three years in Regina. More specific details of the event, that will include full play-by-play and colour commentary teams over twitch and on SaskTel MaxTV can be seen on the league release here: https://www.sjhl.ca/sjhl-to-hold-virtual-showcase.
I do hear, as you might want to know, that Rod Pedersen and Darren Dupont are likely to do at least one game.
Here’s a bit of a preview:
Global Ag Risk (North 2002s and younger)
My first thought about this group is that the northern coaches sure have done a fabulous job mining talent from Saskatchewan U18 hockey! A total of 15 out of the 20 on this team are out of Sask’s fine U18 loop, either last year or the year before. Flin Flon’s Cole Duperreault was the league’s second leading scorer this past campaign with 30 goals and 73 points in 43 games for Beardy’s, while the entire D-corps are excellent alumni from that level.
The biggest two names on the team in terms of sample size at the SJHL level are Melfort’s magnificent 2002-born centreman Ben Tkachuk, who might be the best all-around young forward in the league, and Kindersley’s 2003-born D-man Michael Neumeier, who played huge minutes for the Klippers last year alongside their captain Brenden Borbely, a man four years his senior. Both of those guys can do it all at both ends of the ice, and are very much trusted by their respected coaches.
Two other names of great interest to me are Jaeden Mercier, the speedy former Saskatoon Contact and current Flin Flon Bomber, who might have turned even more heads a year ago had he not been behind a murderers row of veteran forwards on the Bombers, and Joel Favreau, the ex-P.A. Mintos and present Melfort Mustangs net-minder, whose play in the pre-season and the beginning of this year made him the toast of the SJHL.
Battlefords Head coach and GM Brayden Klimosko absolutely raves about Jake Southgate, while La Ronge’s Kevin Kaminski feels the same way about Narek Alexanyan – lots of interesting guys with small sample sizes at the SJHL level in this group!
Viterra (South 2002s and younger)
Certainly the man with the biggest pedigree in at the junior level in this group is Estevan’s Cody Davis, and 16 goals as a rookie in this league, which he put in last year, is absolutely excellent. Caelan Fitzpatrick, his fellow Bruin, and Weyburn’s Connor McGrath were part of what might have been a Telus Cup-run with Moose Jaw U18s a year ago, and both are prospects that are going to light up the SJHL very soon if they get to stick around.
The second name that should jump off the page is Notre Dame’s lightning fast winger Kevin Anderson, a former well-thought-of Winnipeg Ice WHL prospect, who recently committed to Princeton University; Kev is the only NCAA committed player at this event. His teammate Raythan Robbins out of Alaska looks as polished on and off the ice as any 18-year-old goaltender I’ve ever seen at the Junior A level.
Humboldt’s Noah Barlage is by far the most experienced member of this defence-corps, and while he is at his best playing a simple game, I expect he’ll be playing a big role for the Broncos for years to come.
If you have watched the SJ at Noon Show at all this year, you’ll know Rory and I are massive fans of Yorkton’s 2004-born Vaughn Watterodt. He’s fast, he’s fearless, he has a nose for the net, and you have to think the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, who own his rights, will be paying close attention to him whenever real hockey can get going again.
Sherwood (North Vets)
If you wanted one of the teams for a seven-game series, this is probably it. To use former NHL GM and current pundit Brian Burke’s words: this is a belligerent, truculent team.
I’ve written before that Nipawin’s Jake Tremblay, though not a large man, is the most complete player in the SJHL this year, while La Ronge’s behemoth Spencer Kennedy packs equal parts bruising physicality with fantastic offensive instincts (and just a super kid too…we had him on our show not long ago!). Holden Knights, Kennedy’s teammate with the Wolves, compares himself to Calgary Flames star Matthew Tkachuk, and I can really see it: great shot on a bulldozer.
Burke Simpson of Nipawin, like Knights, just scores goals wherever he goes, and is one of the most dangerous pure snipers in the league.
The blueline is more steak than sizzle, which is exactly how I want my D-corps anyway. Timon Prexler of the North Stars was the No. 5 on that corps last year, which just goes to show how insane of a unit Klimosko had up there. He’s one of my all-around favourites in the league this go around, and for guys like him, a 2000 who has not yet scratched the surface of showing how good he could be, I really really hope we get some sort of real-life hockey for 20-21.
Jack Lenchyshen has played 115 SJHL games for the Nipawin Hawks over his career; still not sure he’s ever made an error in any of them. So smart, so steady; his defensive awareness might be not be matched in the league, and I really believe he’s one of those guys that could play a role in any Junior A league in North America.
Don’t get Melfort Mustangs broadcaster Matty Barrett started on Andrew Hunt: he adores him.
Sasktel (South Vets)
Rory and I both pegged this as the best team at the tournament…it’s stocked with Humboldt Broncos and Estevan Bruins, in my opinion the two best teams in the SJHL, so I guess that probably makes sense. The speed on this team would absolutely dizzying to watch in real life.
This group also includes seven of the Top 20 scorers in the SJHL, and the 13 that aren’t on this team are mostly WHL loanees who aren’t eligible for this event anyway.
I snuck a peak at the lines, and Notre Dame’s experienced pure sniper Ethan Stuckless between speed demons Eddie Gallagher (Estevan) and Luke Nkwama (Melville) is absolutely tantalizing.
Humboldt’s 2001-born winger Logan Kurki is the complete package offensively, and led the league in scoring at time of shutdown with two points-per-game through six; he is also the highest rated video game player in the simulation at 89.
Estevan’s Kade McMillen has been a fine piece of an excellent Bruins blue line for the last couple years, while Weyburn’s smooth-skating Nolan Cunningham was probably the breakout sensation of the pre-season.
Hardy Wagner’s return from the BCHL in the pre-season was a huge boon for the Notre Dame Hounds, and the all-around man with the beautiful skating stride is definitely one to watch at this event.
Tanner Marshall, a former attendee of the RBC Cup with the Alberta Junior League powerhouse Brooks Bandits, has been excellent for the Broncos this campaign, and with Joe Young forms a very capable tandem.
(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)
