SMHA teams soar into postseason

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The Strathmore Minor Hockey Association (SMHA) brass could not be any happier to see how much success teams have had in the 2014-2015 season, as 18 of 22 squads made it to the postseason.
That has been the highest amount of teams in recent memory.
“I think this is the best number since I joined the board. That means we put most of the players where they belong and have most of the teams where they belong in the Central Alberta Hockey League (CAHL),” said Blair Wilson, SMHA president.
“In the tiering rounds, it’s tough to tell where a team is going to belong. I think we only had two misplaced (teams) this year, so that makes a big difference.”
Wilson believes that a lot of the success this year has to do with the coaching that is involved.
“We’ve got a lot of great coaches that really know the system,” said Wilson. “They’re asking a lot of questions and want to learn more with doing some of those coaching clinics with Dan (MacDonald) and trying to get coaches to participate in them.
“It’s a good indication of player development. I really believe that a lot of our teams ended up in the Top 4 or 5.
The credit goes to the association of how they develop the players.
“I think it’s more in general a minor hockey philosophy to try to develop our players,” said Wilson. “It’s not to become the NHL star, but to succeed.”
The biggest factor that he thought contributed to the turnaround was the evaluation process.
Vice president, and soon-to-be president, Kevin Brelis, thought the success of the teams came from everyone involved in the association.
“It makes me proud of our community,” said Brelis, “our coaches and all the other people involved in hockey, at all levels in and around Strathmore,”
He believes that the consistency of teams this year was work in progress over the last number of years and that was built up with the right people involved.
“This isn’t just a reflection of this year’s effort, it has been an evolving process over the past several years, involving lots of dedicated people with the right motivations,” said Brelis. “I believe we are just starting to see the fruits of all that work.”
He added that this will ease him into his role next year, but knows the focus is for the task at hand.
“It sets high expectations for sure, and expectations keep everyone working hard to strive to keep getting better,” said Brelis. “It’s important for us to keep our focus though, which should continue to be around player skill development, as it has been.”