Melfort’s own Meyers heads Mustangs leadership group

He added it’s good to have community guys wearing the letters this year.

Joining Meyers as assistants are defencemen Jake Hobson, Alex Rondeau, and fellow hometown boy Nolan Kadachuk, and forward Kenzie Arnold.

Meyers talk about the previous captains they’ve had and how they lead a team in different ways, he said he plans to draw from a few previous captains.

“I’m just going to try and keep everyone positive in the room,” he said. “And just be a leader on the ice through my actions.”

Head Coach Trevor Blevins said it’s not all about on-ice performance when it comes to choosing leaders.

“They’re all quality individuals, that’s where it starts,” he said. “They respect others and they come with a good attitude every day and a strong work ethic. To me it’s all about by example, and all five guys definitely bring that every day.”

Meyers has played his whole Junior A career with the Melfort Mustangs, dating back to the 2016/2017 season where he was called up for three games. In total, Meyers has 97 career SJHL games under his belt including playoffs tallying 48 points.

Kadachuk, also from Melfort started his Mustangs career in the 2017/2018 season. He’s moved his way up the depth chart through his seasons with the team, and is now a heavily relied upon blue liner. Kadachuk has played a total of 121 regular season and playoff games with Melfort, scoring 53 points.

Arnold is the most experienced player in the group when it comes to games played in the SJHL. Arnold is in his second season with the Mustangs and as of Oct. 10, he leads the team in scoring. The 20-year-old forward has played in 199 games through the regular season and playoffs (69 of which with Melfort). He’s also the only Mustang with a championship ring, one he won as a member of the Nipawin Hawks in 2018. He currently sits at 85 points on his career.

Back on the blueline, Alex Rondeau will also have an ‘A’ on his jersey this season. Rondeau came to Melfort for the beginning of last year and was one of the top rookie defencemen in the SJHL. In the offseason, Rondeau was traded to the Alberta Junior Hockey League before being traded back prior to the start of the season. The Drummondville, Quebec native has a total of 86 games under his belt as a Mustang, and 34 points to go along with it.

Lastly, Jake Hobson will also be an assistant captain for the Mustangs. Hobson is the only one on the leadership group with Western Hockey League experience as he played 54 games with Portland and Swift Current. He also had 23 games of AJHL experience before coming to Melfort early in the 2018/2019 season. In 80 career SJHL games, Hobson has tallied 57 points including playoffs. All but two of his games were with Melfort (he played two games for Weyburn in 2015/2016).

Blevins said they like to do it democratically and let the players have a big say in who wears the letters.

“That’s first and foremost in my opinion,” Blevins said. “It’s the player’s dressing room, it’s their team. They have their own pecking order I guess you could say. But at the end of the day there is going to be some leadership that helps everyone down the line and these guys are going to bring these young players along and do a great job.”

In total, there are 583 games of SJHL experience on the Mustangs leadership group this season.

Melfort currently sits with a 7-2-3-0 record on the year and will be back on the ice on Friday, Oct. 11 when they host the Kindersley Klippers at the Northern Lights Palace.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6

by Mat Barrett

Melfort’s own Meyers heads Mustangs leadership group

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