Log jam up front, opportunity on defence and in net at Hawks training camp

To say there’s a log jam up front for the Hawks is an understatement.

Center Arik Breton and left-wing Christian Bosa were the only two forwards to age out of Junior A Hockey. Rookie Jaxsen Wiebe – who scored 13 goals and 13 assists in 48 games as a 16-year-old – signed with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League (WHL), and right-wing Colton Nikiforuk was traded to the Weyburn Red Wings in the off-season for goaltender Cody Levesque.

Returning are the team’s leading scorer and right-wing Austen Flaman, centre Jake Tremblay, left-wing Jordan Simoneau, right-wing Carson Erhardt, center Brodie Girod, forward Jeremy Bisson, left-wing Michael Makarenko, center Joshua Lester, forward Eric Sorensen, and local Nipawin center Caleb Grandfield.

At least 10 Hawks forwards from 2018-19 are back, which means there could potentially be a low amount of spots available for new recruits and prospects.

The SJHL allows eight 20-year-old players on a roster. Bisson, Erhardt, and Simoneau will take up three spots being born in 2000, and next season there could potentially be eight up front.

Johnson knows he and the coaching staff will have tough decisions to see who will wear the Nipawin black and yellow in 2019-20, but ultimately the players will make that decision for him.

“We’ll be aware of the fact we have eight 20-year-olds next year too. Now that doesn’t mean we’re only going to go with eight 19-year-olds, but if things are close, we’re going to go with a younger guy because we have that depth and experience up there,” he said. “Our returners have come in with a chip on their shoulders and if you watch camp they’re the best players out there, and there’s a reason because they battled through it last year.

“Some of the recruits – Burke Simpson and Andrew Schaab – have looked outstanding so far through the two sessions. I’m very happy with them and there are numerous other guys too. That’s not even getting into our young guys who aren’t quite ready yet but have really shown up well and shown they put the work into the gym.”

The Hawks’ current training camp roster doesn’t include other prospects who are attending their respective WHL training camps, such as Tisdale Trojans forwards Kalen Ukrainetz with the Kamloops Blazers and Davis Chorney with the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Defence

Unlike the forwards, the Hawks’ defence has changed drastically over the summer.

Captain Gage Misskey and Walker Cote have aged out, Zach Ziegler was traded to the Kindersley Klippers in the off-season for a player development fee and a third round pick in the 2020 SJHL Bantam Draft. Colten Gerlib recently committed to play collegiate hockey at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C.

Jack Lenchyshyn and Luke Penner will be the returning blue liners for the Hawks.

The Hawks acquired 18-year-old Dylan DiTomaso from the St. Michael’s Buzzers in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, and former Estevan Bruins defenceman Bronson Adams is leaving a good impression at training camp.

With Adams and the 20-year-old forwards, the Hawks still have four 20-year-old spots to explore adding a veteran defenceman to fill out their line-up. Johnson hopes the answers are already in their pipeline, such as 17-year-old Evan Bortis who scored four goals and 26 assists in 2018-19 with the Saskatoon Contacts of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL).

Johnson said the Hawks are still waiting to hear if Cole Nisse – an 18-year-old defenceman who was recently acquired from the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the British Columbia Hockey League – will report.

Goaltending

The Hawks will have a completely different look between the pipes.

Declan Hobbs and Patrick Pugliese, who finished first and second respectively in SJHL save percentage in 2018-19, won’t be back. Hobbs aged out and Pugliese was selected 14^th overall by the New Jersey Junior Titans in the 2019 North American Hockey League Draft.

The Hawks have the previously mentioned Levesque in as an option to be the starter. The 19-year-old, 6-5 goalie had a rough transition in his 31 Junior A Hockey games with the Weyburn Red Wings in 2018-19. He finished with an 0.888 save percentage which ranked third worst in the SJHL.

However, Levesque had success in the SMAAAHL, finishing the 2017-18 season with a 0.920 save percentage with the Swift Current Legionnaires in 24 games.

Just like with defence, Johnson hopes the answer to his goaltending stays within their training camp roster.

“The goalies are still getting used to the rink,” he said. “Our rink is a little different with the dimensions and angles. Right now it’s almost unfair for the goalies; it’s so scrambled. We’re seeing good things not only from Cody, but all goalies here. We’re going to have some tough decisions to make and that’s all we can ask for.”

Expectations

It wasn’t evident on the ice that the returning Hawks had chips on their shoulders, as Johnson was able to speak with them prior to training camp.

“They knew at the end of last year that an opportunity slipped away from them,” he said. “They know the expectations haven’t changed from the last five years. It’s to hang banners, win championships, and make sure everyone leaves with a ring on their finger. There are three guys that have had that and I think they want it again. It’s a special feeling; we had an opportunity that fell, and didn’t seize it. It’s a good lesson for the young guys to come back stronger and better.”

Training camp concludes on Saturday, Aug. 31, before the Hawks kick off their exhibition schedule at Centennial Arena against the Flin Flon Bombers on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m.

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Aaron.Schulze@jpbg.ca

by Aaron Schulze

Log jam up front, opportunity on defence and in net at Hawks training camp

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