(Photo courtesy/Broad Leaf Media)

By Ben Tompkins

2024/25 season preview

Mustangs hitting reset ahead of ‘title defence’ campaign

Sep 19, 2024 | 5:00 PM

The Melfort Mustangs 2024/25 SJHL campaign begins this weekend, as the club looks to maintain their status as the league’s best.

While of course there are championship aspirations for a group which brings back a large chunk of their core and plenty of valuable experience, even the thought of playoffs are still many months away, as 56 regular season contests separate them and the middle of March.

With that in mind, this year’s team is hitting the reset button, as if this is just any season, rather than one where they feel extra pressure to defend the title of those before them.

“I think that when you have success, you hit the reset button, just like you would if you were having some troubles. We do a great job with our mental toughness to make sure we stay in the present and control what we can control, in the moment,” said Mustangs’ head coach Trevor Blevins.

“I think every year is a new year, that’s how he always positioned it and I think every team does that too. When you start the season, it’s exciting because there can be 12 champions. Just because we’re the defending champions, I don’t think that puts a target on our back, per se, but at the same time, we want to continue with that momentum and use that experience and positivity that brings us to play well every night.”

FSIN

Chief Bobby Cameron re-elected for fourth term as FSIN Chief

13h ago

Economy

Economy stalled in August, Q3 growth looks to fall short of Bank of Canada estimates

19h ago

Take a break

Hawks hope hiatus helps to turn season around

Oct 30, 2024

Melfort will begin their season on the road, Friday night in La Ronge, before coming home on Saturday to host the Flin Flon Bombers for a finals rematch.

Ahead of that contest, following a shorter summer than most, the Mustangs will lift their championship banner into the rafters.

“I think we’re all excited to get going, although we had a bit of a short summer, the guys are really pumped up to get started. They came back in really good shape and with the right mindset and culture, which is excellent. We definitely want to start our season this weekend with as close to full 60-minute efforts as possible,” Blevins added.

“We also like the new guys we brought in this season because they’re very intelligent players. Everyone has picked up a lot in practice, we’ve had a pretty productive two weeks, and I think we’re farther ahead than we have been in most years based on that fact. Great job by the returning players also to guide and lead, and we’re excited for the first year and new players that have arrived to see what they can contribute.”

The Stangs lost nine 20-year-olds this offseason, along with a pair of 19-year-olds.

A season ago, which saw plenty of injuries for the Blue and Green, however, presented plenty of opportunities for their rookies.

Now a tremendous class of 2005-born, who are way ahead of the curve, are going to be the ones counted on to fill significant roles.

“I circle back to how our 05 group looks coming in this year, I’m really excited for them. The opportunities and experience they got last year, you really see that in their development here at the start of September,” concluded Blevins.

“I think that just shows the benefits of what we went through last year, and it’s up to them to continue on with that momentum. Everything looks real positive right now, so we just got to go into this opening weekend and the rest of the season with the focus of making sure we play heavy and play well defensively.”

–

Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8