Season preview: Trojans hope focus on player development leads to team success

Center Trenton Curtis, left-wing Kalen Ukrainetz, and right-wing MacKenzie will start the year in Tisdale playing their final season of midget AAA hockey.

Curtis and Ukrainetz were mainstay top-six players in 2018-19, with both finishing top 40 in Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) scoring. Curtis scored 38 points (19 goals and 19 assists) in 38 games, while Ukrainetz finished with 35 points (17 goals and 18 assists) in 37 games after recovering from a mid-season concussion.

Carson forced his way into the top-six mid-season. After a quiet first half of a goal and two assists in 28 games, he finished the year with 15 points (seven goals and eight assists) in 16 games and stayed in the top-six throughout the post-season.

Jayden Wiens, a 16-year-old center, will begin his season with the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for their first two games against the Prince Albert Raiders on Sept. 20 and 21 before being re-assigned to Tisdale. He was the Trojans’ Rookie of the Year in 2018-19 with 34 points (seven goals and 27 assists) in 44 games.

The Trojans will have six rookies committed to begin the season: 15-year-olds Carter Briltz, Jordan Normand, Kylynn Olafson, and Kayden Ostrom, and 16-year-olds Keagon Little and Noah Wills.

Kubat said he, his coaching staff, and Simpson have a tough decision to see who will win the final two or three spots remaining at forward, but likes the current crew already committed.

“We have a whole bunch of rookies that are going to push our vets extremely hard and they’re going to want to take their jobs,” Kubat said. “That will put a lot of pressure on them and we’ll get the best out of both worlds. We’ve got a lot of things we’re looking forward to but we’ll see how the season plays out.”

Defence

Only two defencemen are back for the Trojans.

Zac Robins returns to Tisdale for his final season on midget AAA hockey following a season where he saw top-pair minutes. He scored 13 points (four goals and nine assists) in 44 games.

Jeremy Hancock, 16, is back following a rookie season where he scored eight points (four goals and four assists) in 44 games and looks to take on a bigger role in 2019-20.

The rest of the blue line will be filled out by three rookies and a new veteran.

A duo of Tisdale locals, 16-year-old Drayton Hvidston and 15-year-old Nicholas Andrusiak, will play their first full seasons with the Trojans. Cole Tanchuk, 15, is the third and final committed rookie.

A Star City local, 17-year-old Rylan Donald, comes to the Trojans two full seasons with the Yorkton Maulers. He scored 12 points (four goals and eight assists) in 41 games.

Melfort Mustangs fans may recognize Rylan as the younger brother of Boedy Donald, who spent three seasons with the Melfort Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) club.

Kubat believes there could be stretches where the 15-year-old defencemen adjust to the quality of SMAAAHL competition.

“Being a 15-year-old D in this league is tough,” he said. “You’ve got to put in the work. There are going to be ups and downs but we’ll have to see how mentally strong they’ll be.”

Kubat admitted his defence squad might have to produce offence by committee – given the loss of last year’s SMAAAHL leading defence scorer in Landon Kosior – but the offensive upside is within his group.

“I think we have a little more depth than we did last year at times on the point and a little more experience,” he said.

Goaltending

A monkey wrench was thrown in the Trojans’ goaltending plan last week.

The intention was for 16-year-old Carter Serhyenko – who spent the previous two seasons with the Battlefords Stars in the SMAAAHL – to be the starting goaltender after last year’s goalies Tanner Martin and Bryson Garton aged out.

However, the Prince Albert Raiders signed Serhyenko on Sept. 13 and is projected to be the team’s backup goaltender.

“We’re definitely happy with him being able to make P.A. not even being a listed guy and going in there to crack that line-up,” Kubat said. “With that loss comes another person’s gain, so we’re just trying to figure out who can compete.”

Rookie Hunter Lolacher, 16, is the only goaltender committed to the Trojans. He played 18 games for the Prairie Storm Midget SS team last season and stopped 18 of 20 shots in the Trojans’ 3-2 pre-season win over the Mintos.

Damion Lindskog and Pierson Marquette, both 17, were the only other goaltenders to play pre-season minutes for the Trojans. Lindskog stopped all 15 shots he faced in 30 minutes during the Trojans’ 4-1 loss to the Blazers, while Marquette stopped 10 of 14.

Expectations

Kubat knows the Trojans will have a challenge topping last season’s Telus Cup Bronze Medal and Western Regional championship during the new regime’s first season.

He won’t mention a goal of wins for the 2019-20 SMAAAHL season, but the Trojans’ main focus is ensuring their players work hard on the ice, in the community, and in the classroom.

“Our goals are to get better each day, build [our players], make them better people, and try and get them to the next level,” he said. “When they get to the WHL or SJHL, they know how hard the grind is in midget, so they’re ready to compete at the next level and know what it takes. If we do that and everyone buys in, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be successful.

The Trojans open their regular season schedule on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Tisdale RECplex against the Swift Current Legionnaires.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow

by Aaron Schulze

Season preview: Trojans hope focus on player development leads to team success

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