CANMORE – Riley Dekowny is making an early name for himself in the Canmore Eagles dressing room following the opening weekend of the 2021-22 season.
The Swift Current, Sask. native tallied a pair of goals in the team’s 3-2 overtime season opener win in Olds on Friday (Sept. 17) and opened the scoring the following night in the home opener against the Calgary Canucks, giving him three goals and landing second in the league in scoring.
“I just came out and wanted to shoot, wanted to get pucks on net and get back to my game. The past few games that’s worked and hopefully I can stick with it and keep riding the season that way,” said Dekowny.
Eagles assistant coach Kyle McLaughlin praised Dekowny’s solid offensive start to the season and was quick to highlight his work off the puck as well.
“Riley’s got to be one of the most team first players that we have and it’s contagious throughout our team. He’s getting some success because he’s doing the little things right,” said McLaughlin. “His positioning is outstanding and he’s worked really hard on his shot and it’s showing.”
Joining Dekowny on the all-rookie line includes centre Kayden Smith, who has two assists through the first two games, and right-winger Kyle Young, who’s scored a goal and added a pair of helpers. As a line, they are the Eagles' most productive unit through the opening weekend.
Dekowny said the line has found its groove and the chemistry is clicking right now, adding that their speed has been a major factor in their early success.
“Smitty is a great centreman, he’s fast, and Kyle has got some speed, too. We can carry a lot of speed into the offensive zone and we’ve been able to outwork teams and wear them down, which has led to our success. We’ve been able to use our smarts and our speed to our advantage,” Dekowny said.
Before the start of the season, Eagles general manager and head coach Andrew Milne – who is serving a 15-game suspension due to his comments about the team’s COVID-19 outbreak last season – identified speed as one of his team’s strongest assets. McLaughlin echoed Milne’s sentiment following the 5-4 win against the Canucks on Saturday (Sept. 18).
“For us, we look at the speed of an individual, but also the pace of the game. Something we have been working on is when we get the puck we want to be able to use the speed we have to transition quickly and attack the opposition when they are vulnerable,” said McLaughlin. “We have arguably some of the fastest players in the league, so it is about using that speed and maintaining a high pace of play throughout a full game.”
Part of the team's quick transition has been rookie goaltender Andreai Proctor-Ramirez’s ability to handle the puck and set up the defencemen for a quick breakout or to make long stretch passes to the forwards in the neutral zone.
“Andreai so far has been incredible for us," said McLaughlin. "The players have a lot of confidence with him back there not only saving shots but also the way he is able to play the puck. He’s part of our strategy because he is able to play the puck."
Proctor-Ramirez backstopped the team to back-to-back wins, making more than 40 saves in each game. While the 19-year-old goaltender has been busy, the majority of the shots he's faced have been from the outside perimeter of the ice, allowing him to make an easy save.
“He’s played really great for us and we want to play well in front of him,” said veteran defenceman Zach Cunningham. “We want to reward him for what he’s done back there.”
Cunningham said the team cannot continue to give up more than 40 shots a game and expect Proctor-Ramirez to steal games for the team. The Eagles blue line features three 20-year-olds, including Cunningham, Drae Gardiner and Cale Lyons and three rookies.
“We’re fortunate to have three 20-year-olds that are able to help guide the younger guys Boris [Protosenko], Emanuel [Hudson] and Nathan [Ellis],” said Cunningham. “There’s definitely been some coaching moments on the bench, this was just these guys' second game in the AJHL. They are still learning, but it’s great to be part of their development into the players we know they can be.”
Before the weekend, the team released one of its eight 20-year-olds, Tye Carriere to the Blackfalds Bulldogs, the league’s newest franchise. Carriere featured in just eight games for the Eagles over two seasons, due to multiple injuries and he was unable to attend this year's training camp.
“We weren’t sure we would be able to give him the opportunities to showcase what he is capable to do under the current crunch of the 20-year-olds,” said Milne. “Blackfalds has been pursuing him for a while. He’s from the area, he know’s the coach there and I think it was in the best interest of Tye to move him.”
Devin Chapman did not dress for the Eagles in the past two games because of the league’s cap of six 20-year-olds in the lineup. As a result, Chapman has requested a trade, and Milne is looking to facilitate one as soon as possible.
The Eagles' next game will be on Saturday (Sept. 26) on the road in Okotoks to face the Oilers and return home for a Sunday (Sept. 26) matinee against the Blackfalds Bulldogs.
