Months after an extended playoff run which had hopes high for the Yorkton Terriers, the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team is into a massive rebuild.
The Terriers, who head into their fall camp starting Thursday, graduated eight players last spring, not an unusually high number in terms of Junior hockey.
But, the loss of the 20-year-olds was only the tip of a very large iceberg in terms of players leaving the team.
Dino Antoniadisis headed to the NCAA to play college.
Casey McDonald is on a try-out with a team in United States Hockey League.
Ryan Ouelette who emerged as a stand out goaltender in the playoffs is headed to the North American Hockey League.
Aiden Bulych and Tyson Janzen are hoping to make the cut with Swift Current in the Western Hockey League, while Kishaun Gervais is in Portland and Vaughn Wilgosh is in Victoria.
And then if all the moves weren’t enough; Benjamin Solomon and Cody Dubas retired from the game over concussion concerns.
So Terrier head coach and general manager Mat Hehr has a huge job ahead, with no goaltenders returning, only three players on defence, and five forwards back in the fold.
“I think we’ve done a good job of moving guys in to the next level,” said Hehr, but it does leave a lot of holes.
Hehr spent the summer scouring the country looking for players, and there will be about 60 at camp, but he admits he won’t know exactly what he has until they start skating.
It won’t be a quick process.
“With all these new faces, everyone needs to be patient,” he said, adding “it will take extra time to jell” as he tries to find the right combinations from among the hopefuls.
Hehr did find a goaltender he hopes can stabilize things on the back end in 19-year-old Philippe Bond from Quebec.
Relying on video, and word-of-mouth, Hehr said he hopes the prep school netminder, while lacking Junior experience, can take the step as an older rookie.
“Based on his age and experience I think probably he has a lead right now of all the goalies,” said Hehr, who added he expects six goalies at camp.
On defence Tanner Skraluk from St. Albert should step into one of the top pairings, as should Kurri Woodford.
Up front the Terriers do return Chantz Petruic.
“I think he has the highest points among returnees in the league,” said Hehr. Petruic had 32 goals and 84 points in the regular season.
Hehr is hoping Jordan Guiney acquired in a trade with the Victoria Grizzlies will be the right wingman for Petruic, noting at 6-foot-2 Guiney “is a power forward” who should be able to go in the corners to get the puck for his hoped offensive line mate.
Other forwards Hehr thinks can contribute to the rebuild include Carson Henry, 18, from St. Albert, AB, who the coach expects to be “top-six.”
Evan Sare who was an unlisted player from Regina has been added too. He was a point-a-game AAA Midget player with the Moose Jaw Generals, Hehr said he has expectations of.
To help with experience three 19-year-old Junior ‘B’ players have been added.
Riley Egan had 38 points in 47 Junior ‘B’ games last season, while Brett LeGrandeur had 47 in 35 games.
Luke Woodrow is a Junior ‘B’ rearguard with 15 regular season points, adding 10 in 15 playoff games.
Three Yorkton AAA Midget players who will get a close look, although all three are eligible to return to the Maulers are Mason Ziola, Tanner Hoffman and Kael DePape.
