CANMORE – The Canmore Eagles got an early Christmas present in some W's, but there's still one gift the team needs ASAP.
The Junior A club is cruising in December with a 3-1-1-0 record after going 2-7 last month, sitting six points back of third place in the south division.
“Our group has battled pretty hard through some adversity and had a tough November and we’ve responded here in December and we’ve seen some success from the work,” said Andrew Milne, Eagles head coach and general manager.
After struggling in net this season, goaltender Andreai Proctor-Ramirez game is “all-star material right now”, winning three of his last four starts with a .934 save percentage.
Perhaps his sweetest save of the season came against the Drayton Valley Thunder on Sunday (Dec. 11), when the 20-year-old goalie flashed the glove for a “highlight of the year material” save to secure a 4-3 victory in the final minute of the third.
“He’s just in a zone and when he gets in the zone, as we’ve seen in the past, he’s hard to beat,” said Milne of the 2021-22 all-star. “The guys know they can make a mistake and their goalie will bail them out and the whole process helps the guys.
“I say it all the time with junior hockey players, there is so much confidence that has to go into everyone’s game, starting with our goaltenders.”
Hometown player pursuing school
Nathan Ellis left the Eagles to attend the University of Victoria and will start kinesiology schooling in January.
The 19-year-old born and raised Canmorite was accepted to the program during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but deferred his acceptance when sports returned. However, January 2023 is the latest the deferral could go and Ellis’ found more motivation in school than hockey.
“I was trying to give it 100 per cent, but mentally, I was just not there. It’s detrimental to the team,” said Ellis. “I was going to do it a lot earlier, but just with everyone coming and going, at one point we had 10 forwards and five D.
“I didn’t want to leave them in a bad spot like that so I waited until the lineup was steady again.”
The Eagles have fought through injuries and lack of depth issues for most of the season.
Ellis added that leaving the team has been the “hardest thing he’s ever had to do.”
“When I look back at my pretty short junior career, there’s nowhere I’d rather do it than Canmore,” said Ellis.
In 75 games with the Eagles, the 19-year-old forward scored four goals and 13 points.
A hard-nosed grinder on the ice and energy guy in the locker room, Ellis said his points came in a different way.
“I look at finishing checks or how many battles did you win as my goals and assists,” he said.
Ellis is the second Eagles player this season to leave the team for school. The other was forward Carter Myrol.
It’s been a season of players coming and going in the past few months. Three players were dealt after requesting trades since October, and the Eagles have completed five trades since August.
Milne doesn’t think there’s an issue in the Eagles locker room currently and isn’t concerned with the direction the team is headed.
He said players have started to self-reflect and contemplate their futures more, especially during the COVID-19 era, which is resulting in more trade requests and retirements around different leagues.
“Maybe hockey isn’t for everybody,” said Milne. “It’s such a cultural part of our society and everyone is so ingrained in it that once some guys step back and look at it differently, maybe it wasn’t necessarily in their path or their goals and aspirations have changed.”
Ellis’ departure adds to a player-shortage problem that the Eagles have faced for most of the season.
The Eagles have minimal trade assets, but the urge is “immediate” to fill Ellis’ absence.
“We’re going to be in a tough spot. We can do our best to acquire via money, but there’s not a lot of guys. Everyone is in the same boat,” said Milne.
The Eagles have four games left in 2022. Three are at home starting Friday (Dec. 16) against the Calgary Canucks. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
On Dec. 21, the Drumheller Dragons are in town. To close out the calendar year, the Okotoks Oilers visit Dec. 30.
