Former Bisons vying for Alberta Junior Hockey League title
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Tyler Lowey Photo
That lesson hasn’t gone over so well for AJHL rookies and former Strathmore Foothills CFR Bisons teammates Kaden Hanas and Tyson Scott, who now call the Drumheller Dragons home.
After shoving aside the Calgary Canucks 3-1 in the first round best-of-five Viterra AJHL South Division playoff, the Dragons ran into the defending league champion and RBC Cup finalist Brook Bandits in the divisional semifinals.
“We knew this series was going to be a whole different animal. When you think of the AJHL, you think of Brooks. They are the team to beat and it’s always a treat to take them on. We knew it was going to be tough and we’re learning stuff along the way and hopefully it gets better from here on out,” said Hanas, a local product.
When the evening’s games wrapped up March 19, the Bandits grabbed a commanding 3-0 series stranglehold in the best-of-seven matchup after shelling the Dragons 6-1 at the Drumheller Memorial Centre.
The Dragons showed some fight and won twice with their backs up against the wall, but a 6-3 loss in Game 6 sent the former Bisons into summer mode.
With each game comes a new lesson for Hanas and Scott, as they continue to lay the groundwork on what they hope is a solid career.
“The regular season and playoffs have been a learning curve for myself. It’s harder to get to the front of the net here, the hitting is harder, the shots and passes are harder and you aren’t playing against kids each night. These guys are 20-year-old men and some of them can play 35 minutes a night and take over a game. It’s a lot to handle, but it’s a treat to compete in this league,” said Scott.
Getting acclimated in the league was made easier playing alongside familiar faces. Goaltender Hunter Virostek and Scott have been playing together since novice, and Scott and Hanas have been skating alongside one another for the past four seasons. All three Dragons were members of the Bisons 2015-16 team.
For Hanas, playing a little closer to home has helped the cause, too.
“I have some friends in this league who play 10 to 12 hours away from home; I couldn’t imagine doing that. Sometimes we get Sundays off, so I can head home and have dinner with my family; that’s always been a treat and allowed me to love every minute of this season,” said Hanas.
The home cooking has helped Hanas, as he buried seven goals and 13 points in 49 regular season outings, along with winning the Dragons’ Hardest Worker and Scholastic Player of the Year award. His teammate Scott had an even better regular season with 13 goals, 31 assists and 44 points in 56 games.
In his third season with the club, Virostek went 24-15-4 in the regular season with a .894 save percentage and a 2.74 goals-against average.
Hanas, Scott and Virostek aren’t the only former Bisons vying for the Inter Pipeline Cup.
Hanas and the Dragons knocked out his former teammate on the Bisons, Tyler Petrie in the first round of the best-of-five series 3-1.
Petrie suits up with another former Bison, Jordan McConnell. In 30 games, Petrie potted 10 goals and 17 points, while McConnell sniped 18 goals and 33 points as an alternate captain playing in his fourth year in the league.
Playing with Hanas and Petrie last season was Jackson Salt with the Calgary Mustangs. This year in 44 games, Salt finished with 13 goals and 13 assists, and is close to nailing down a scholarship to a school in the States. But the playoff dream was short lived, as the Mustangs were swept in the opening round by another former Bison, Zach Vinnell and the Camrose Kodiaks.
In his third season in the AJHL with his third club, Vinnell supplied eight goals and 31 assists in 59 games.
The Kodiaks advanced to the second round where they are currently taking on the top-seeded Okotoks Oilers and former Bison Blake Wells.
The Oilers were the top team in the AJHL by nine points this season, as Wells racked up 10 goals and 14 assists alongside an older former Bison in Kyle Gordon. This year as an alternate captain, Gordon has powered the Oilers with 25 goals, 37 assists and 62 points in 58 games.
The Oilers earned a first-round bye and swept the Camrose Kodiaks in the divisional semifinals.
Up next for the Oilers is the highly anticipated divisional final against the No. 2 ranked Bandits. Game 1 and 2 go March 30 (7 p.m.) and 31 (7 p.m.) at the Pason Centennial Arena in Okotoks.
On the other side of the Viterra playoff bracket, the tandem of Will Conley and Shane Fraser earned a first-round bye with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons. It has been quite the season for the Strathmore duo, as Conley has racked up multiple Player of the Week awards and one Player of the Month during his tear that saw him lead the league in goals with 48, to go with 32 assists in 58 games. His partner in crime and team captain Fraser won the Don McNabb Memorial award as most dedicated player in the AJHL, all while picking up 21 goals and 54 points in 59 games.
The Oil Barons are currently battling former Bison Tanner Foster and the Whitecourt Wolverines in the second round. Last year, it was the Wolverines that dethroned the Oil Barons, a chance at the previously named Gas Drive Cup.
For the second-straight season, the Oil Barons were upset by the Wolverines in the playoffs.
Last year, the Oil Barons were the No. 1 seed in the North and lost in six games to the second-seeded Wolverines in the divisional final.
This year, the Wolverines needed overtime in Game 7 to knock off the higher-seeded Oil Barons.
Yannik Bertrand buried a loose puck at the 10:11 mark of the extra frame to advance to the divisional finals.
In his second season with the Wolverines, Foster finished with four goals and 25 assists in 56 games.
In the other North Division semifinal, former Bison captain Brett Trentham is enjoying his first year of junior alongside former Wheatland Athletic Association bantam Warrior Nolan Kent with the Spruce Grove Saints.
Trentham bagged eight points in 46 games, while Kent went 15-4-0 with an incredible 1.52 goals against average and .934 save percentage.
The Saints hold a 3-0 series lead over the Grande Prairie Storm.