The Tisdale RECplex ice rink saw the Trojans' training camp from Aug. 29 to 30, but it's still unknown when it will be able to host a sanctioned Saskatchewan Hockey Association game again. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Trojans Waiting For Puck Drop

Trojans wrap up training camp, staying prepared for season’s beginning

Aug 31, 2020 | 10:00 AM

The last time the Tisdale Trojans hit the Tisdale RECplex ice, their postseason run ended abruptly due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Nearly six months later for training camp, Trojans Head Coach Dennis Kubat said he, the staff, and the players haven’t taken playing hockey for granted, albeit in a scrimmage format.

“It was almost the best thing, watching hockey again. You forget how much you miss it,” Kubat told northeastNOW.

Because of guidelines set out by the Saskatchewan Health Authority amidst the coronavirus pandemic, hockey clubs are only able to have a maximum 30 participants – coaches and officials included – on the ice during a session, and 50 participants in a mini league or training camp. Although Kubat said the pandemic version of training camp wasn’t overly different from previous years.

“Before we had numbers that were a little bigger,” Kubat said. “We love showcasing [our program] to as many as we can. We weren’t able to do that having the small numbers, but we got the guys in here that we wanted and overall, it was a good weekend.”

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Roster

Nine players from the 2019-20 Trojans are slated to return. The forwards are Carter Briltz, Jordan Normand, Kylynn Olafson, Kayden Ostrom, and Noah Wills. The defencemen are Nicholas Andrusiak, Jeremy Hancock, and Cole Tanchuk. Starting goaltender Hunter Lolacher also returned.

Two players – defenceman Drayton Hvidston and forward Keagon Little – moved on to Swift Current and Moose Jaw respectively.

The Trojans signed 10 players on “signing day” and added defenceman Lare Pahtayken shortly after.

The largest question for the Trojans in 2020-21 is scoring goals. Four of their top five scorers from 2019-20 won’t be back due to aging out of U18 hockey. Kubat admitted goal scoring was a concern of the coaching staff, with the first and third leading goal scorers in the SMAAAHL in Kalen Ukrainetz and Mackenzie Carson both graduated, but training camp put any potential worries about the forward core at ease.

“Just a year under the belt with our vets here you see how confident they are,” Kubat said. “The best thing is the new guys coming in are going to challenge them. We loved all our signed forwards. They came in, worked hard, and weren’t out of place by any means. Are we going to maybe have someone who scores 40 goals? Who knows. But I think I like our balance scoring a lot more. I think we can compete with anyone with our four lines and depth.”

A few of the Trojans’ new recruits have ties in and near northeast Saskatchewan. Forward Jacob Cossette, 16, played with the North East Wolfpack U15 AA team in 2018-19. Forward Zackery Somers, 16, is from Melfort and played for the Wolfpack. And goaltender Cody Wilson, 16, is from Archerwill and played for the Wolfpack.

There were some northeast players picked up elsewhere, most notably by the Prince Albert Mintos. Kubat said the Trojans’ criteria for recruits includes hockey IQ, a mindset for development, and competitiveness.

“I don’t care where you’re from in Saskatchewan, those are the guys we’re looking at,” he said. “It’s nice having a few locals, but you’re not going to get them all. I’m happy those guys have the opportunity to play AAA. Maybe they didn’t fit our program; it’s got to go both ways. They’ve got to want to be here and we’ve got to want to have them, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way. Hopefully when we can get fans in the building, they’ll appreciate the 20 guys on the roster.

“They’re an exciting group. They’re going to be energetic. They’re great kids and they’re going to work good in the community.”

Waiting for the season

Normally, the SMAAAHL season begins in September.

However, Sask Hockey said during its Aug. 12 update that no hockey games of any kind in the province are sanctioned until approval is provided by the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

Puck drop for the 2020-21 SMAAAHL season is still unknown, but Kubat intends for himself, the Trojans staff, and players to be ready whenever.

“We’ll have our workouts in, go through our systems, have our skill days, and do our work as best we can in the community,” he said. “We’ll run it like we’re going to be playing. Who knows when, but we’ll make sure [the players are] positive and enjoy their time in Tisdale. As a staff, that’s a challenge for us, making practice fun and making sure they get better.”

The Trojans begin practice when the academic year begins on Sept. 8.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow