Canmore Eagles head coach and general manager Andrew Milne grew pretty tired of watching his team get pushed around last season, causing injuries to mount and a promising season to fade away.
This year’s Eagles squad will be bigger, stronger and deeper than in years past, said Milne following the club’s first AJHL exhibition game of the pre-season, a 4-0 loss to the Calgary Canucks.
“Our mandate was to get bigger and I think we accomplished that. I think we got pushed around a little last year, we got pushed off pucks. We put out to our scouts that we wanted to get bigger and I‘m really happy with where that’s at right now,” Milne said.
Big bodies were in ample supply at camp, as several players over 6 foot 2 all competed for spots. Players like Brett Radford, Bryan Huck, Jaden Sveinson and Ryley Risling are all over 6 foot 2, and they pushed for jobs.
Several returning players have also bulked up over the summer. Simon Philp and Luke Simpson spent their summer in the gym, and it appears to have paid off.
“Luke Simpson is stronger, Jeremy Gordon is a lot stronger, Johnny Stevens is playing a physical role,” Milne said.
While hitting shouldn’t be a problem, scoring pressure will fall to younger players. Milne believes Jeremy Margeson will play a bigger offensive role with the team. He’ll look to improve on his five goals and 10 assists from last year.
“You’ll see more offence out of Jeremy Margeson. He has the ability to do it. You have Nils Moser and Simon Philp who didn’t play much last year due to injury. Both guys have the ability to put up good offence on a regular basis,” Milne said.
Last season’s leading goal scorer, Luke Simpson, will also be counted on to be a leader, building on his 44 point season.
“Simpson is on a mission this year. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t get 30 goals. His body has gotten stronger and his skating has improved. But again, he’ll need help. Connor Wilson is a guy who can produce offensively, so is Jordan Revie. I think we have the right mix of size, scoring and ability,” Milne said.
Milne said the Eagles are a playoff team, and this year home ice advantage is the goal for the regular season.
For Philp, he’s coming into the season with a lot to prove. After missing all but 15 games last year with a hip injury, he’ll be a go-to player for the Eagles.
“I’m looking to be a top six forward on this team; put pucks in the net and be a 19-year-old vet,” Philp said.
Recovering from his injury, he said he had a lot of time to watch from the sidelines last year and figure out what is needed to be a leader. He’s excited about some of the additions to the club this year.
“It looks like we have a lot of young talent – it’s the best I’ve seen. We’ve got a lot of strengths this year. We’re solid up front with Luke Simpson, and we have a lot of young defence – like Brett Schimmel. All around it’s a strong team. I expect us to go far.”
After a mini-exhibition tournament in Calgary this weekend, the Eagles open their season at home on Sept. 6 against the Drumheller Dragons. The camp of 76 players has now been cut to 25.
The Eagles are still looking for billets. Families who agree to house an Eagles player will receive $350 a month, 10 per cent off of groceries at Sobeys and seasons tickets for the Eagles.
