TEAM BY TEAM RECAPS FROM THE SHOWCASE

This is the same article posted on the SJHL website:
BATTLEFORDS - Arguably, the most impressive team at the Showcase, the Stars appear to have two solid veteran goaltenders and head coach Kevin Hasselberg has done a terrific job with a defense that was, admittedly, a work in progress coming out of training camp. Captain Travis Sparrow, despite 1-assist in 13-games is a real force and needs to be watched to be truly appreciated.


ESTEVAN - They’ve done nothing to disprove the notion this is a young team contending earlier than anticipated. Steven Glass appears to have stolen the number one netminding job as he started both games at the Showcase and made upwards of 30-saves in both appearances. Dylan Smith is enjoying a coming out party and is the favorite to win the SJHL scoring title at the moment. Rookies Matt Brykaliuk and Taylor Reich also enjoyed good weeks and provide nice depth if they can continue to play well up front.

FLIN FLON - The top two lines of Riley Storzuk-Jay Young-Dylan Balaski and Cameron Blair-Dillan McCombie-Brett Penner are as good as any in the league. David Roper, Tanner Clark, and Brandt Weldon are three two-way defensemen that also belong in the upper class. Rookie goalies Andy Desautels and Devin Buffalo remind some of the Dan Bauer-Michael Clements combination from Nipawin a number of years ago. Lots to like and this team could be for real.

HUMBOLDT - The Broncos are above .500 despite running out three different goalies that have posted save percentages below .900. Don’t worry about them. They’ll be fine. Andrew Johnston and Robbie Ciolfi are continuing to develop chemistry, while there are a number of injuries and illnesses running through the roster right now too. The best is yet to come, but don’t expect massive changes. The core group is in place. They may add another forward with scoring punch, but expect the ship to be righted with the players on the current roster.

KINDERSLEY - The Klippers are better than the record indicates, although they’ll need to secure more consistency from the goaltending position. Fraser Abdallah gave the best netminding performance of the weekend on Saturday night against Flin Flon. Overall, the play of several returning veterans has to be somewhat disappointing; although rookies like Justin Lund, Troy Gedny, and Kyle Davies has to be encouraging. Tanner Kissick has taken a nice step forward too.

LA RONGE - Where’s the scoring? It’s smoke and mirrors for Bob Beatty right now. They went undefeated at the Showcase, but still don’t have a single player at 10-points despite playing 15-games. It’s difficult to see who’s going to emerge and lead this team. Skyler Hladun, Nathan Boyer, and Aaron Enns are key holdovers from last year and Enns was terrific against Nipawin on Saturday. Defenseman Matthew Weisensel is one to watch as his academics are, reportedly, very high and he’s attracted some NCAA interest already.

MELFORT - In a full rebuilding mode with new players, coaches, and executive members. Connor Bradshaw isn’t a natural goal scorer, but he’s going to be relied on heavily by Gavin Holcomb. Kyle Threndyle is a real nice surprise after seeing limited minutes last year. The acquisition of Godric Tham looks like a good one. Rookies Avery Vanblaricom and Landon Belchamber should continue to improve over time. Goaltending is one area where there are no concerns. Both Jesse Wilkins and Jesse Ehnisz have been as good as one could hope.

MELVILLE - If Alex Wakaluk is in goal, they are tough to beat (5-1-2). Take him out, and they are very beatable (0-3-1). The line of Mark Owen-Jesse Mireau-Ian McNulty may be the most dangerous in the league; although Mireau’s giveaway at centre late in the third on Saturday resulted in the game winning goal for Humboldt. So better two-way play is needed. Rookie defenseman John Stechyshyn, surely, had to come up on the radar of the scouts. When Lee Christensen comes back from a broken orbital bone, the defense should get a major lift. Michael Sagen’s offense is, quietly, coming around. And, this team has four players in the WHL that, at the moment, are part-timers and could come back at some point.

NIPAWIN - This weekend wasn’t a clear indication of how far this organization has come in a year. Doug Johnson is the runaway Coach Of The Year after the quarter pole of the season. Defenseman Jeff Datoff has been impressive at both ends of the ice and big steps forward from the likes fo Dan Szerlip and Brady Zerr have helped aid the progress of rookie Tad Kozun as opposing teams struggle to check a top line when there are actually four lines capable of scoring goals. Johnson has also gotten real good mileage from Justin Waskewitch and may get similar results from Wilson Dumais.

NOTRE DAME - At the moment, the Hounds have the best goalie in the league in Ty Reichenbach and may have the best all-around defenseman in Carson Grolla. Scoring has come from a number of sources, but Brandon Millin and Todd Christian are the two key guys. The players have bought into head coach Kevin White’s system and playing the Hounds is not an easy time. If they can find some scoring depth, possibly from within from the likes of Ben Morgan, Dayton Shaw, and Dillon Schwartzenberger, they’ll be closer to the top of the division than they will to the bottom of it.

WEYBURN - On paper, this isn’t a team to fear. But, Dwight McMillan is at it again. They slaughtered Nipawin on Sunday and looked like world beaters. Two days earlier, the rolled over for the Ice Wolves. Jack Kennelly is started to figure things out as he goes through the league a second time and looks like he’ll continue to be a scoring threat going forward. Of course, the big three of Jesse Ross, Coltyn Sanderson, and Keegan Bruce are as good as any. Ryan Whitell has developed nicely and is anchoring the defense. Local product Carter Struthers is playing well at the moment and the best is yet to come from goalie Mitch Kilgore. Kilgore won’t be asked to play every night anymore as Brett Teskey was added from the WHL and he should spell Kilgore a bit more than the previous back-ups.

YORKTON - They’ve been dogged by injuries, but it’s also clear they don’t have any gamebreakers up front and will need to score by committee. You can’t help but be entertained by Jamie Vlanich, who doesn’t have size, but someone forgot to tell him that. The defense is young with 18-year-old twins Brady and Chase Norrish playing big minutes with Devon McMullen. Sunday’s strong performance from Warren Shymko, who missed the previous 10-days with a groin injury, was encouraging. The return of Brent Struble, who had been out for the last seven months with injuries, was also welcomed and he paid immediate dividends with 5-points in 4-games over the course of 6-days.