PRE-CAMP POWER RANKINGS AND HOT LIST

Press Release

SJHL POWER PRE-TRAINING CAMP POWER RANKINGS

1-NIPAWIN HAWKS
All-Stars at every position and plenty of depth. A strong rookie crop will make them that much stronger.

2-FLIN FLON BOMBERS
Lots of firepower and the acquisition of Josh Roach should result in a potent powerplay. Both goalies are eligible to return.

3-ESTEVAN BRUINS
Steven Glass was a strong starter in goal as a rookie and is back. Kauk and Yano lead a mobile, talented defense. Neufeld and Olson should be one of the more dynamic duos up front and there is plenty of depth.

4-MELVILLE MILLIONAIRES
Ian McNulty is an early favorite to win a scoring title on a team that should score a ton of goals. Alex Wakaluk impressed in limited duty as a rookie in goal last year, but he won’t have much in the way of experience in front of him.

5-HUMBOLDT BRONCOS
Lot of turnover, but they are not decimated. Hrynkiw returns in goal, Ballas and Pettapiece should be a big part of the defense, and there are some skilled forwards and decent size up front led by the likes of Lawrence, Landry, Zbitniff, and Antkowiak.

6-WEYBURN RED WINGS
Questions in goal and on forward, although Pereira and Kennelly could be prolific. The return of Struthers and Borstmayer on defense mean this team will be competitive regardless.

7-YORKTON TERRIERS
The net will be turned over to Kale Thomson after he performed well in limited duty last season. The defense is small on size, long on character and abundant in skill (Norish twins, McMullen). Giebel, Thompson, and Majkowski give them three feared forwards up front.

8-NOTRE DAME HOUNDS
They’ve made a move to shore up the goaltending, acquiring WHL veteran Michael Salmon to go with impressive Ty Reichenbach. Grolla, an early Defenseman Of The Year candidate, is also returning. If they can locate some offense, they’ll be fun to watch.

9-BATTLEFORDS NORTH STARS
Workhorses on defense are gone, a top line that played in all situations is also gone. Connor Creech may prove to be very valuable in goal while the defense, led by all-star Brody Luhning, gets experience. Up front, Kyle Hall and Braeden Johnson figure to see big minutes.

10-MELFORT MUSTANGS
If they can keep the shots against down, Jesse Wilkins will steal some games. He may not have to this season if the defense shows improvement and everybody from last year is eligible to return. Another step forward from Sloan and Zentner on forward and this team will surprise.

11-KINDERSLEY KLIPPERS
Finding a true number one goalie has been difficult in recent years, they think they have him now (Shymko). It looks like D Jay McGrath, Alex Laird, and Brandon Lauder will be counted on for offense and the defense looks like it will be tougher for opposing teams to score.

12-LA RONGE ICE WOLVES
Top players at every position are gone, but the team may have the league’s best coach and top recruiter running their organization. Expect a steady climb up the rankings as the season moves along.



WHO’S HOT

1-Ian McNulty, Melville
He was, arguably, the league’s best player in the second half of last season and was a real difference maker in the playoffs. An early favorite to win the scoring title.

2-Cole Olson & Calder Neufeld, Estevan
While their third member of the trio from last year is gone, these two figure to light up a lot of lamps this season and it would be a shock not to see them in the top half dozen of league scoring by the end of the season.

3-Davis Jones, Nipawin
Hands down, the top goalie in the league to enter the season, he also happens to be on a team that should win plenty of games with just average netminding.

4-Josh Roach, Flin Flon
The Bombers will score a lot of goals and Head Coach Mike Reagan is expected to give the 20-year-old all kinds of offensive creative opportunities.

5-Riley Storzuk, Flin Flon
Academically, he should be one of the first players NCAA schools target this year. That also translates into on-ice smarts and he will put up monster numbers.

6-Miguel Pereira & Jack Kennelly, Weyburn
Not quite Ross, Sanderson, and Bruce; but not a bad follow-up act.

7-Brandon Sloan & Jarret Zentner, Melfort
How much more improved the top two forwards on the Mustangs will be, might be directly tied to how much improvement the team has in the standings.

8-Sean Aschim, Melville
A late arrival to the team (January 10) last year, he wasn’t completely healthy and never really seemed to get on track. He will have a full season and lots of opportunity. He was sensational with Melfort two years ago.

9-Brody Luhning, Battlefords
Get used to seeing him on the ice for 30-plus minutes a game. He can play in all situations and could emerge as one of the league’s most dangerous powerplay point men.

10-Carter Struthers & Tyler Borstmayer, Weyburn
When assessing size, skill, and toughness there may not be a better pair of defensemen in the league on the same team.

(Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)