Game On Magazine - April 2017 Game on Preview Edition | Page 22

Dauphin Kings
(17-36-7 41 pts)
Head coach Marc Berry and
his staff have much higher
expectations this season after
their club struggled with a
young lineup in 2016-17 and
finished out of the playoff hunt
with a 17-36-7 record.
A plus-.500 record and post-
season berth could be within
reach as the team expects to
return nearly a dozen play-
ers from a year ago. Those
returnees include defenseman
Riley Shamray, who is expected
to anchor the team’s defense,
and forwards Riese Gaber, Kyle
Oleksiuk, Grady Hobbs and
Brett Piper.
“We want to make sure we
promote confidence in the
guys. We’re a little young but
we want them to know we can
compete,” Berry said. “We’re
going to be a fast team and we
have a ton of skill. We have a
lot of speed and a lot of skill.
We’re not blessed with a ton of
size yet but that’s still a bit of a
work in progress.”
Neepawa Natives
(21-33-6 48 pts)
The Neepawa Natives (21-
33-6) caught fire in the second
half of 2016-17 and clinched
the MJHL’s final playoff berth
in the dying days of the regular
season, giving the Steinbach
Pistons a run for their money
in a quarter final series loss.
Head coach Dustin Howden
and his staff are looking to
build on that momentum this
season. They appear to be in
good position to do so with
all but two players eligible to
return from last year’s squad.
Goalie Evan Robert, who was
obtained last year in a trade
with the Selkirk Steelers, will
be looking to build on a solid
first year in Neepawa. He’ll
have some help on the back
end from Griffin Chwaliboga, a
fourth-year shut-down D-man
with some offensive ability. Up
front the team will be led by
forwards Justin Metcalfe, who
led Neepawa with 38 goals last
year, and Ashton Anderson.
“We’re going to be a fast
team. We’ve got good speed
up front and on the back end,”
Howden said. “We’re not going
to give other teams a lot of
time or space. We’re gritty,
gritty but skilled.”
OCN Blizzard
(39-17-4 82 pts)
It was turn back the clock
time for the OCN Blizzard in
2016-17. The team posted its
best regular season record in
years (39-17-4), pushed the
eventual league champion
Portage Terriers to the limit in
the MJHL final and enjoyed
some of its biggest home
crowds in a decade. They also
managed to survive a potential
funding crisis and are back on
solid financial footing.
Head coach Doug Hedley
said the key to his team’s on-ice
turnaround last season was a
work ethic that was second to
none and expects hard work
to be a cornerstone of this
year’s team. OCN could have as
many as 16 returning players
including goalie Matt Kustra,
defenceman Ethan Constant
and forwards Brady Valiquette,
Anthony Keeper, Lantz Hiebert
and Daylon Campbell.
“Up front we have some real-
ly good quality guys. We’ll have
at least three really good lines
up front. Last year we scored
by committee and I think we’ll
have the same thing this year,”
Hedley said. “We’ve lost five
20-year-old defensemen. That
will be our biggest concern, to
fill that backend.”
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Selkirk Steelers
(39-18-3 81 pts) Steinbach Pistons
(49-10-1 99 pts)
The Selkirk Steelers took
a quantum leap forward last
season, improving from 22
wins the previous year to 39.
Although they lost a number
of key veterans to graduation,
the pieces are in place for the
Steelers build on that momen-
tum with as many as 15 players
eligible to return.
One of the key returnees
will be workhorse netminder
Hayden Dola, who will be
helped out on the back end by
defensemen Mark Wilson and
Ryan Gardiner. Up front, the
Steelers will be led by the likes
of forwards Nathan Halvorsen,
brothers Connor and Carter
Barley and Nico Labossiere.
“To start the year, we’ll be
built from the crease out. Our
back end will be our founda-
tion,” head coach Dustin
Hughes said. “I think we’ve
got enough offence with some
speed and size that we could
pose some problems for other
teams. We’ll be a three or fo ur-
line team up front.” After compiling the best
regular season record in
the league in 2016-17, the
Steinbach Pistons (49-10-1)
were eliminated in the second
round of the playoffs by the
eventual league champion
Portage Terriers. While it
wasn’t the kind of finish the
team had hoped for, head
coach Paul Dyck has no
concerns about there being
any lingering disappointment
when the season opens.
The Pistons will ice a vet-
eran team with a solid core of
experienced returnees in for-
wards Braden Purtill, Bradley
Schoonbaert, William Koop
and Drew Worad, defencemen
Mark Taraschuk, Darby Gula
and Declan Graham and net-
minder Matthew Radomsky.
“We’ll have some skilled
guys up front. One thing I
know is we’ll be a little bigger
this year. I think we’ll have a
little more grit too,” Dyck said.
Anthony Keeper will be back to lead OCN