TISDALE — With a young, skilled team, the Tisdale Trojans are ready to hit the ice for the new Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League season.
The club opens the campaign on Friday against the Swift Current Legionnaires at the Tisdale RECplex. The next night the Trojans tangle at home with the Regina Pat Canadians. What can fans expect of this season’s team?
“We’re going to have speed,” Tisdale head coach Dennis Kubat said. “We’re going to be fast. We have some big boys, but if you look at our D they’re a little bit smaller but they know how to make plays. That’s kind of our motto – we want our boys to make play, hold onto the puck, and have that puck possession game. It’s going to be a learning process, but we got a lot of skill and speed.”
The Trojans bench boss emphasized he is excited to see where this group is three to four months later. He has been impressed with the team’s willingness to learn.
“They are really respectful toward the coaching staff,” Kubat said. “They take our knowledge and try to implement it into the game. It is a really good, young group that wants to improve. As a staff, that’s all we can ask for. There’s bigger and better things on the horizon if they continue the way they’re going.”
The Trojans will likely only return a handful of players from last season’s squad. Third year forward Kylynn Olafson of Lanigan is listed on the roster, but he has been at the Flin Flon Bombers’ camp trying to crack the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team’s roster. Defenceman Cole Barry of Saskatoon and goaltender Cody Wilson from Archerwill are both back for their second seasons.
“Both [Wilson] and Barry have been great leaders and are setting the culture we want here and the standards we want to hold our guys to here,” Kubat said.
In net, the Trojans will have Wilson and Preeceville’s Brady Kashuba. Of his goaltending tandem, Kubat said:
“They’re going to be tested. We are going to give up scoring chances just because of how we want to play. Just to have confidence in both of our goalies back in net from the boys to the coaching staff is going to help a lot.”
Up front, the Trojans forward group includes Finley Radloff, Nipawin; Pavel Mckenzie, Cumberland House; Carter Ralston, Unity; Jack Bechard, Regina; Trey Penrod, Saskatoon; Parker Dunn, Regina; Matty Healey, Warman; Ashtyn Shields, Esterhazy; Madden Wallis, Shaunavon; Kale Margolis, Kinistino; and Matthew Van Blaricom, Southey.
Along with Barry, the team’s defence includes: Owen Myhre. Nipawin; Luc Bourdon, Prince Albert; Zach Reeder, Regina; Turner Krahn, Saskatoon; and Simon Martin, Lumsden.
“We’re excited about them all,” Kubat said of his team’s young players. “They are all going to have opportunities to define what roles they end up playing.”
The Trojans last week
Preseason
Thursday, Sept. 16 in Prince Albert
Prince Albert 7, Tisdale 4
Trojans Scorer: Parker Dunn, Carter Ralston, Pavel Mckenzie, Madden Wallis
Mintos Scorers: Jacob Cossette (3), Zachary Bansley (2), Matthew Cudmore, Travis Swanson
Goalies: Cody Wilson, Tisdale, 27 saves on 34 shots; Nicolas Jensen, Prince Albert, 16 on 20
Notes: Tisdale was 1-for-11 on the powerplay, while Prince Albert was 1-for-10. Cossette played for Tisdale last season.
This Week
The Trojans wrap up the preseason on Tuesday on the road in Warman. They open the regular season on the weekend. Tisdale hosts Swift Current on Friday and Regina on Saturday.
