Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. It's October again and excited kids and parents all across Jasper are already on the ice and looking forward to another fun hockey season. This year Jasper will ice three girls’ teams, two boys’ teams and four combined teams with kids aged four to 18 years old.
Here’s the breakdown.
Initiation this year will be led by the Derksen clan, with Alex, Matt and Ross teaching the youngest Jasper skaters the basics, helped out by Dave Miller, back for another year. Having this level of talent and commitment on the ice teaching our kids can only mean good things for future generations of Jasper hockey players.
The novice kids also have four experienced coaches, Royd Erwin, Jim Campbell, Blair Campbell and Paul Schmidt, leading them through the drills. Not yet in league play, the Novice crew will be hitting the ice with some early tournaments and some of the most exciting end-to-end hockey you will ever witness. Keep an eye on young Justin Bartziokas for his skills and leadership on this team.
The Atoms will be led once again by Jim Koss who seems to strap on his skates in October and only remove them once the snow subsides in April. Coach Koss will be helped out by Eric Bouchard, meaning that Jasper’s nine- to 11-year-old skaters will be in great shape as some enter into regional league play for the first time. Look for the Fawcett boys, Dexter and Donovan, to dominate the blue paint and blue line, while Griffin Shepherd lights up the scoreboard in this stacked team.
This year I’ll be following the PeeWees, with Coaches John Polard and Geno Tassoni behind the bench. They will be guiding a talented squad with some hard skating first year players like Lucas Oeggerli and Dana Angebrandt joining gifted second year PeeWees, led by Matteo Tassoni. I’m looking forward to spilling ink with these kids through to March.
I’ll also be on the road with the Bantam boys who will see the return of Coaches Steve Malcolm and Gary Hilworth who will put them through their paces in what will be an inaugural season of a blended Sturgeon-Pembina/16-60 league. They’ll be trying out a two goalie system, icing first-year Duncan McLeod and veteran Severin Golla between the pipes. It should be wild.
The Midget boys have already played some games and have shone with Coaches Chuck Barker, Tony Bielec, Matheau Belliveau and Reid Jackson leading practices. This year will see Chase Thompson strap ‘em on as a skater following a successful goaltending career to date, and a bevy of keen goal scorers led by Bryn Malcolm and Morgan Poirier.
With all my spare time this year, I’m committing to taking in more girl’s hockey given the depth of talent and enthusiasm that Jasper has. This year the Novice girls' team is entrusted to Coaches Jay McArthur and Pat McLeod, both keen hockey-dads and experienced play-makers.
Wielding the clipboard this year for the PeeWee girls is Wendy Hall, supported by a motley crew of Peter Hayashi, Paul Hardy and Paul Fonger. Look for Griffin’s big sister, Skylar, and Sarah Hayashi to lead the charge with a ton of enthusiastic talent.
Darian Sillence will be guiding the girls' Midget team through their season this year and I will definitely be taking in some of their hockey. Without question, the most complete team-game I’ve seen in Jasper was during a Midget girls' tournament three years ago and I’m eager to experience more.
It’s going to be an exciting hockey season, and I hope to see many of you in the stands, channeling Joe Couture's infectious enthusiasm for amateur sport. He will be dearly missed.
John Wilmshurst
Special to the Fitzhugh
