Competition at the Humboldt Broncos' 2019 training camp is expected to be heavy with more roster spots up for grabs (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff).

By Aaron Schulze

Broncos Training Camp

Youth movement expected to lead Broncos in training camp

Aug 30, 2019 | 5:48 PM

It’s not Scott Barney’s first training camp with the Humboldt Broncos, but it is his first as the team’s head coach.

One thing that is apparent under Barney’s first stint looking over the Broncos’ camp is the youth movement is expected to lead the way ahead of the 2019-20 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season, after they fell to the Estevan Bruins in seven games during their quarter-final series.

“We’ve got some vets coming back with great leadership,” Barney said. “They’ve been here a week earlier in camp and you don’t see that all the time. We have five or six veterans coming back, so it’s basically going to be a total rebuild.”

Forwards

During the Broncos’ first round playoff series against the Estevan Bruins in March 2019, Barney told northeastNOW he loves a wide open, offensive style of hockey.

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He’ll have a lot of spots available to see who will lead that same style of play in 2019-20.

Key players from the 2018-19 Broncos such as center Logan Foster, right-wing Bryson Cecconi, and left-wing Zach McIntyre are expected to step into more offensive roles moving forward as the Broncos’ top four leading scorers up front – Michael Clarke, Brayden Camrud, Owen Guenter, and Drew Warkentine – have aged out.

The Broncos did bring in some new forwards outside of their pipeline. Twenty-year-old Jordan Kazymyra – who scored 21 goals and 24 assists in 49 games in 2018-19 – was acquired from the Weyburn Red Wings in exchanged for prospect defenseman Graham Skinner, and 18-year-old prospect Griffen Ryden was brought in from the Yorkton Terriers in exchange for 17-year-old Riley Dekowny. Ryden had 15 goals and 20 assists in 43 games with the Beardys Blackhawks in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) last season.

One new forward Barney is excited for is Tristan Shewchuk, the former first overall pick in the 2016 SJHL Draft by the Melville Millionaires, who is coming off a rookie season of scoring 10 goals and 10 assists in 51 games.

“Tristan was a big acquisition for us,” he said. “Our scouts and I really liked the way he’s played. They watched him for a few years and really valued him a lot. He’s been really great here since he’s came in and we see big things from him over the next two or three years.”

Rhett Gibson, a 17-year-old forward who scored 17 goals and 21 assists in 38 games with the Saskatoon Blazers in the SMAAAHL last season, was part of the Weyburn trade involving Kazymyra and Skinner. However, he elected to play U18 hockey in the United States.

Defence

Two massive changes headline the Broncos’ defence ahead of 2019-20.

The team’s top scoring defenseman Josh Patrician (seven goals and 32 assists in 58 games) has aged out and 2002-born defenseman Chase Lacombe has signed a Western Hockey League (WHL) agreement with the Swift Current Broncos after playing 45 games during his rookie season in Humboldt.

Other than three younger returning defensemen in Chase Felgueiras, Kade Olsen, and Colin MacPherson, Barney expects a younger Broncos blue line.

“We have a lot of openings there,” he said. “We’ve already committed to a few younger players who we feel will add to us, so right now we won’t have any 20-year-old players back there, which is fine for me. [The younger players] can develop and become good at their position.”

Timber Lewis, an 18-year-old defenceman acquired from the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the British Columbia Hockey League in the offseason, will play hockey in the North American Hockey League.

Goaltending

After possessing one of the SJHL’s best goaltending duos in 2018-19, the Broncos will be starting from scratch.

Rayce Ramsay, the 18-year-old goaltender who stole the starting gig in Humboldt last season, will play in the WHL for the Kamloops Blazers. He had a .923 save percentage in 27 regular season games and a .925 save percentage in seven playoff games.

Barney said Dane Dow, the 20-year-old goaltender who had a .906 save percentage in 34 games with the Broncos in 2018-19, won’t be back for the upcoming season.

“We got six guys out here for camp and whoever the best two are at the end will be the two guys left,” he said. “I think the answer is [in camp] and they’ll show it to us here. I don’t really want to get eight 20-year-olds here like most teams carry, so we’re maybe going to carry four or five max. We’ll go with the younger guys and go a little different route.”

The six goaltenders attempting to lock their spots with the Broncos in 2019-20 are Humboldt native Dawson Cochrane, Prince Albert Mintos’ Carter Woodside, Michael Harroch, Robert Michetti, Brendan Forman, and Ethan Rycroft.

Preseason

With SJHL exhibition game taking place shortly after training camp ends, Barney said his timeline for deciding who will or won’t make the Broncos will be a longer one, as long as he’s not preventing them from accepting other opportunities.

“I don’t want to keep guys around [for the sake of it],” he said. “We’ll move guys if it takes two days, 10 days, or two weeks. Obviously at the end we’ve got to make some final decisions but we have no timetable or rush. We want to give everybody an opportunity but we don’t hold guys back from other opportunities as well.”

The Broncos begin their exhibition schedule on Monday, Sept. 2 at home against the Kindersley Klippers at 7:30 p.m.

Barney said the Broncos and Klippers agreed to not dress any 20-year-old players so both sides can give ice time to younger players trying to earn a spot.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow