Former Bisons return in AJHL Strathmore showcase
By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter
Tyler Lowey Photo
The first of a guaranteed two games — with the possibility of two more in the New Year — took place Nov. 19, as the Calgary Canucks hosted the Okotoks Oilers.
It’s almost illegal after the departure of the Foothills CFR Chemicals Bisons to talk about Junior A hockey in Strathmore and not mention the league’s interest in either expanding or relocating to the Family Centre.
Viewed as a litmus test gauging the public interest in the AJHL in the area, 276 paying customers filed into the local rink with several more kids from a variety of teams in the Strathmore Minor Hockey Association to witness the Oilers skate away with a tightly played 2-1 victory.
“The crowd was awesome and the energy in the building was really cool,” said Oilers Head Coach and General Manager Tyler Deis. “It was good to show our brand of hockey for the local people of Strathmore.”
While most of the fans were travelling supporters of the two of the closer franchises, locals did migrate to the arena that appeared to be about 65 per cent full.
Alex Wilkins put the pseudo home team up 1-0 at the end of the first, getting credit for a point shot that ricocheted a few times on the puck’s path to the net.
Okotoks answered with a pair of goals in the second.
First, Tanner Laderoute popped in his ninth of the year following an Oilers power play, followed by Dylan Holloway scoring through a screen at the 15:44 mark.
“It was a fantastic game of hockey,” said Canucks Interim Head Coach Darryl Olsen. “Okotoks came at us with a ton of speed and they’re very talented, we would have just liked to have won that game.”
During the first intermission, the ice was split in half and hosted a pair of Timbits Hockey games. Following the game, members of the Strathmore Storm received the opportunity to visit the clubhouse and get autographs from the Canucks.
Upstairs in the lounge at the Family Centre, members of the Strathmore Minor Hockey Association were on hand to oversee the 50/50 sales, along with silent auction items. Nearly $1,000 was raised by SMHA and given to the peewee programs.
Also in the lounge were rosters for the two teams. Any former Bison fan would have noticed a pair of names on the sheet from last year’s brilliant season.
Canmore product Landon Melzer has suited up on the blue line for the Canucks in eight games this season. He was a healthy scratch in his return to the Family Centre, where he played one season with the Herd, where he played in 31 games, scoring three goals and 12 points.
“Landon is a fantastic kid and a great skater. Right now, we are just trying to adjust his game at the higher level,” said Olsen. “He has great hands and skates so well, but right now, his thought process is just holding him back. Figuring that out will just come with experience and once he gets a hold of that, he’s going to be one heck of a defenceman for us.”
On the other side, a heavier Blake Wells was playing in his 21st game for his new team. Playing closer to his home of Blackie, Wells has one goal and seven assists this season.
Upon his return, it didn’t take long for memories of last season’s memorable playoff run to come flowing back to him.
“I love being at this rink. As soon as I walked through those doors, the emotions came back to me. It felt really good,” said Wells, who scored 13 goals and 29 points over 34 games with the Bisons. “The biggest moment I remember was (Brandon) Machado jumping into the boards after he scored the double overtime winner against the (Calgary) Buffaloes in Game 4.”
“The sky is the limit for Blake. To see a guy with his size that can skate like that is really special to see. He’s going to be a great player for us,” said Deis.
It was announced Nov. 20 that Wells was one of 60 players name to the Team Canada West selection camp roster in advance of the 2017 World Junior A Challenge. Team West will come together Dec. 2-5 at the Markin MacPhail Centre in Calgary for four days of practices and games.
Seeing the AJHL jerseys whirl around the Family Centre naturally got people talking about the possibility of having a franchise of their own. Bringing a team here would mean the need for another arena.
Currently, the Family Centre struggles to find ice for all the local hockey and ringette teams, along with skating programs. As of this moment, there has been no official decision on a new arena, but the new mayor has heard all the reasons for one and has said in the past that he is open to the idea of a new pad.
So are current coaches in the AJHL.
“I haven’t heard anything about a team moving out here,” said Dies. “With the Canucks being one of the original teams and myself a Calgary boy, I would be a little sad to see them move. But at the same time, I think it would be a great market to have a team in. I have helped out with the Bisons in the past and I think it would be a great place for a team.”
“There’s word of one of the Calgary teams moving to Strathmore or Cochrane. I think a move out here would be fantastic. Strathmore is a great hockey town, they have always supported local teams,” said Olsen. “There couldn’t be a better place to play Junior A hockey than in Strathmore.”
The AJHL however, does not agree.
When commissioner Ryan Bartoshyk was asked if there were any ongoing talks about the league relocating or expanding a franchise to Strathmore, the answer was blunt.
“No.”
He later added, “Communities hold these types of satellite games for teams around the league and are executed to engage those communities in the region to attract non-AJHL fans to our league to see if we can expand our fan base.”
With no near plans to bring an AJHL franchise to town, local hockey fans will have to wait until Dec. 8 for their next taste of Junior A hockey, when the Canucks host the defending league champion Brooks Bandits.
There is talk about two more Canuck games being scheduled in the New Year, but the Canucks are looking for a bigger turnout than the one they received last week.