Coming off a 27-31-2 season and an early exit from the playoffs, it’s no surprise the Canmore Eagles have a lot of turnover on the roster.
Half of last year’s team is gone, and 11 rookies will be on the roster when the Eagles play their AJHL season opener against the Brooks Bandits on Friday (Sept. 11) at the Alex Kaleta Arena.
But while the team is full of fresh faces, many of those have championship rings around their fingers.
“We have a group that’s won. The culture we have this year is a little bit different. We’re trying to breed a little success with the rest of our group. To do that, you have to bring in winners and I think we’ve done that,” said Eagles general manager and head coach Andrew Milne.
The Eagles mined the junior B Kimberly Dynamiters for five players, including Braden Saretsky and Coy Prevost, who could both play major minutes with the team. Cole Noble, Sawyer Hunt and Canmorite Jonas Gordan were all part of the Dynamiters club that won the KIJHL championship, while goaltender Clarke Flegel won a bronze medal in the Saskatchewan Telus Cup at the midget AAA level.
“The character is great. I really like the youth we have and the experience some of them had last year,” Milne said. “It gives the current group an idea what it means to be a winner.”
After posting a 3-0-1 pre-season record, the Eagles showed goal scoring should be a strength. Most of the new forwards are fast and skilled, which provides Milne with a number of offensive options. Rookies such as Adam Tisdale, Jake Ashton, Daylan Marchi and Adam Kurylo will be expected to fix last year’s anemic power play and add punch through the lineup.
“They have a great hockey IQ. You look at a guy like Tisdale and his ability to play with the puck in traffic,” Milne said. “Ashton scored 20 goals last year in midget AAA and we saw through camp he has a nose for the net. Kurylo played two years midget; that is experience and poise. He skates like the wind. We see a lot of Connor Wilson in him. Marchi is an in your face type of player with great high-end skill. That group has been really fun to watch.”
Hunter Virostek and Clarke Flegel are penciled in on the opening night’s roster in goal, but Milne hasn’t picked a starter. He still expects to add a veteran goalkeeper early this season and believes there will be a lot of goaltenders available.
“(Goaltending) is a tough position for a young guy to be successful. They might have great games through the season or at the start. But with the experience Jeremy (Reich) and I have, we know it’s a grind. To be a young guy, especially in goal, is tough in this league,” Milne said. “We want to find the right fit for our situation.”
The team will have three local players on the opening night roster. Kyle Pauls returns to the forward group and will be counted on as a leader. He had an injury scare early in camp when he appeared to break his wrist, but has recovered.
“Pauls will be ready to play Friday night. We expect big things from him. It’s his time to step up in this league,” Milne said.
Jonas Gordon has also earned a spot on the opening night roster.
“We expect he will be with us for a while. He had huge success in the KIJHL, where he played a lot. We’re expecting him to take a giant leap. Jonas has a little more offensive talent, but played a great defensive role at the junior B level,” Milne said.
Adamu Tanaka could be a star in the making, as the Canmorite has shown flashes of brilliance in his early play.
“He’s a special player. He sees the ice well and has a good knack for the net. We have to control his defensive game a little bit to make him appreciate the size and speed of the league,” Milne said.
The league has seen a lot of turnover, and the team is excited by their pre-season success, but it’s difficult to figure out where a team with so many new faces – including two rookie goaltenders – will finish the year.
“That’s a loaded gun, to forecast where we’ll be,” Milne said. “I like our group. There has been such high turnover in the league, it’s difficult to predict where we are until we get our sights on every team in the league. Obviously, we know our first two games against Brooks will be difficult. They’ve recruited well out of Eastern Canada and the United States. They do a great job at finding top talent all over the country.”
The Brooks juggernaut has been an intimidating opponent for the Eagles, but with so many new faces, that might not matter, Milne said.
“Our guys are just naďve enough not to appreciate or understand that, so we shouldn’t be intimidated.”
