The 2019-20 Tisdale Trojans faced roster changes and injuries in the first half of the SMAAAHL season, but hope the adversity they faced early will gear them up for a strong finish (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff).

By Aaron Schulze

Trojans 2019-20

Trojans face adversity in first half of season, aim for strong finish

Dec 31, 2019 | 10:55 AM

Halfway through the 2019-20 Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL), the Tisdale Trojans sit seventh in the overall league standings with 31 points (15-12-1) in 28 games played.

Entering 2020 in one of eight postseason positions is a good start for head coach Dennis Kubat, assistant Daven Smith, and general manager Cole Simpson, all of whom are in their first year.

It’s not just the win-loss record that has the new Trojans regime pleased, it’s their players’ off-ice performance.

“We’re even more happy with our team changing its culture; having an 89 average on its first report card term,” Kubat told northeastNOW. “Our team continues to go to work outs three times a week, yoga sessions, community events, coaching minor hockey teams, helping the elementary school at noon hour… I’ve been really happy with how the boys have responded to the big change. The guys coming in didn’t know any different. But the guys that were there, it’s nice to see that they’re open and still come to the rink every day with a smile on their face.”

Following their 2018-19 season where they won bronze medals at the Telus Cup national midget ice hockey championship, the Trojans only had five players return: forwards MacKenzie Carson, Trenton Curtis, and Kalen Ukainetz, and defencemen Jeremy Hancock and Zac Robins.

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With nearly a new team assembled for a first-year head coach, almost everything that could go wrong for Kubat’s Trojans has.

The Trojans’ projected first-line center Jayden Wiens earned a fulltime spot with the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Projected starting goaltender Carter Serhyenko attended the Prince Albert Raiders’ training camp undrafted and uncommitted, and earned their backup goaltending role.

After previously having one of their roster spots committed to him, the Trojans parted ways with Tisdale local and first-year center Connor Hvidston, meaning they would only be allowed to dress 11 forwards for the season.

On top of all that, the Trojans experienced long-term injuries. Center Keagon Little and defenceman Cole Tanchuk returned in late-November after missing nearly six weeks, although defencemen Rylan Donald and Drayton Hvidston and forward Mario Fortier are all still absent.

The Trojans never felt more shorthanded than a 4-2 win over the Regina Pat Canadians, where they only had nine forwards and three defencemen available. Curtis had to switch from playing center to defence during the game.

Kubat admitted his team faced a lot of adversity in the 2019. However, he loved that they got it out of the way early on.

“[Adversity] defines who you are as a character,” he said. “You get to see a lot as a coach who can thrive through adversity. Having the 2-6 start, going 8-1 after that, then [playing even record hockey] from there on. Our motto is fear nothing. You’re going to be given circumstances that may not be the best-case scenario, but you have a choice to let it get to you or keep getting better.”

With the influx of 15 and 16-year-old rookies – forwards Carter Briltz, Kylynn Olafsson, Jordan Normand, Keagon Little, Noah Wills, and Kayden Ostrom, and defenceman Cole Tanchuk and Nicholas Andrusiak – Kubat is happy to have veterans available to teach them how to adjust from Bantam AA to Midget AAA.

“It’s such a big jump,” he said. “When you’re second year in Bantam, you’re the go-to guy; get the power play, penalty kill, and are over 20 minutes a game. Then you come in as a 15-year-old… they may face adversity for the first time in their hockey career and it’s how do you respond to that. If you talk to most of the 15-year-olds, they may not be happy with their point totals. But as a coaching staff, I don’t think we can say enough good words about our 15-year-olds.

“They bring it every day in the gym, in the classroom, on the ice, you know what you’re going to get every day. Those are guys you want on your team and we as coaches want to support in our program. I think the future is bright with them, but even the present I think you’ll notice a big jump with them in their play after Christmas.”

Two Trojans veterans have provided leadership offensively. Ukrainetz and Carson are T-1^st and 3^rd respectively in SMAAAHL goal scoring with 24 and 21. Their 45 combined goals are nearly half of the Trojans’ total goal total of 94.

Ukrainetz was named captain of the 2019-20 Trojans, and he hopes to lead his younger teammates like his former captains Rhett Frey and Luke Arndt led him.

“As a 15-year-old it’s a scary time moving away from home,” Ukrainetz said. “It definitely helps when your captain is there for you. It’s getting used to the league the first year and ironing things out, but [our guys] seem to get their things on track pretty quick. Our team showed that we’re pretty tough and we can play through things and I’d like to see where this goes.”

The Trojans resume play on Sunday, Jan. 5 when they visit the Saskatoon Contacts at 4:45 p.m. Fans can tune in to the game on Saskatchewan’s New Beach Radio.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow