NEUGSIE’S AROUND THE SJHL: SHOWCASE WRAP
1. Showcase Time! – As someone who rarely can get enough hockey, I love Showcase time! The event in Warman went off without a hitch, with the best tilt to date, in my opinion, involving a third-period comeback Monday afternoon by the Humboldt Broncos over the Estevan Bruins. Every team in the league played two games between Sunday and Wednesday, and what a blast! But yeah, I’m a bit tired, I’ll admit it.
2. League’s Top Pairing? – Watched those Bruins closely at the event, and I have to say that while there are a bunch of solid options for the league’s top D-pairing, the Devan Harrison-Tylor Ludwar one is outstanding. If Estevan head coach and GM Chris Lewgood could, I’m sure he’d throw those two former Kamloops Blazers out there all night long. They hit, they move the puck, they both have cannons, and neither are afraid to mix it up with the rough stuff. Top lines are going to be sick of them all year, folks.
3. Estevan’s Uni’s – Of course a conversation about the 2019-2020 Estevan Bruins have to include a note on their audacious new jerseys. It seems in vogue to complain about them, but I’ll give the organization all sorts of credit for spending some cash, being bold, and making a bit of a name for themselves and the league around the hockey world. They aren’t that bad for me, though I have not yet called a Bruins regular-season game myself just yet; you can check back with me after that.
4. A Dark Night in Flin Flon – Mike Reagan’s men can score, no doubt about it. But with Calvon Boots and Tyler Higgins gone to graduation, his team will have to look at themselves hard in the mirror after his goaltending was hung out to dry pretty badly two out of three games in a row by Humboldt at home, and Battlefords at the Showcase. They did sandwich those by a dominating 7-2 win over the Weyburn Red Wings to open up their Showcase schedule, but I don’t feel it’s a stretch or disrespectful to say that Mike will be feeling that giving up nine goals-plus in a game twice over the course of a week is unacceptable.
5. A Deadly Line in Flin Flon – But the Bombers can score, and one wonders if there could possibly be a deadlier line in the league than QMJHL veterans Cole Rafuse, and Alec Malo, along with third-year Bomber Donovan Houle-Villeneuve. At time of writing, those are three of the Top 5 scorers in the league, and have combined for 36 points after six games. Malo and Rafuse aren’t the prettiest skaters in the world, but they are big, protect the puck so well, and can snipe into a tiny area. Houle can fly, and is a bull-dog that just keeps scoring, so far this year. It’s time for the likes of Tristan Lemyre, and the Haygarth brothers to prove the Bombers aren’t a one-line team.
6. Yep…Battlefords…Pretty, Pretty Good – Is it possible that the Stars are even better than last year? To say Brayden Klimosko’s men have come out of the gate strong would be a huge understatement: they have blown the gate right off its hinges. Thirty-one goals for, to only 10 against and a 5-0 start is pretty impressive, and that they did it against solid clubs like their dread rivals the Kindersley Klippers, the Estevan Bruins, and the Flin Flon Bombers is not bad at all either. I was talking to a bunch of college scouts at the Showcase, and I told them there isn’t a forward in the league I’d take ahead of Quintin Loon-Stewardson…someone snatch him up soon!
7. Hammer About to Explode – Every coach in the SJHL knows that Notre Dame captain Jared Hamm is one of the best players in the league, and I cannot help but feel like he’s just about on the brink of breaking out, and showing it to the stats monkeys. He did score his first goal of the year at the Showcase, on a great snapshot from a rebound vs. Melfort, and he is as slippery and quick as they come, so look out. I’m also just a huge fan of the young man as a person, so I have to admit it, I am cheering for him big time.
8. A Word For Bryce – I also have to give a nod to the development of ND’s massive steady eddy D-Man Bryce Fetzer out of Washington. At 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, he doesn’t hide from anyone; but he’s smart about when to be physical. I also really believe that as a 2001 with that size and brain, he has plenty of time and space to develop into a really valuable Division I-calibre piece.
9. What Do We know? – I love hearing fans, broadcasters, etc., talk about the standings, and win-loss records at this time of the year. I’m not saying I’m not guilty of it, I’m sure everyone is after five or six games, but honestly, it doesn’t matter if you’re 6-0 or 0-6 right now, other than for your sleep at night. Setting habits, details and a team culture are far, far more important at this point; but what do I know, right?
10. Growing Pains for UofR (Bonus) – Making no bones about it, it’s been a tough stretch for the extremely young University of Regina Rams football team. The defence looked fantastic in a tough place to play Sept 20 in Calgary, but the O struggled to put up points in a 20-7 defeat. Steve Bruce’s squad are now 1-3, but a win over the fourth-placed 2-2 Manitoba Bisons in Winnipeg on the 28th would go a long way in setting Regina’s sites back on the playoffs. There is a lot to like, both now and in the future, about this team, but we had to know it would take some lumps. The schedule is reasonable for the Rams the rest of the way, with home games against the struggling UBC Thunderbirds and Bisons, and a trip to Alberta in between, but none of it will matter if the offence can’t find a way to put up some points. I still really really like Josh Donnelly’s potential under centre for the UofR!
(Follow Jamie on Twitter at @Neugsie)
