The Flin Flon Bombers stacked up their blueline even more July 14, adding their final offseason recruit - Winnipeg-born player Lucas Fry - to the club.
The 2002-born defender comes to Flin Flon with more junior A experience than other players his age may have. Fry played 20 games last season with the Steinbach Pistons of the MJHL, gathering an assist with the club.
A right-shot defenceman, Fry is a product of Winnipeg’s Rink Hockey Academy, playing with the club at the U16 and U18 level. As a member of the academy’s top prep-level team the Canadian Sports Schools Hockey League (CSSHL) in 2018-19, Fry put up 15 points in 34 games.
Fry is also a former Manitoba bantam AAA champion, winning the provincial title in 2017 as part of a stacked Winnipeg Monarchs team.
"Lucas is a big strong shutdown type defenceman. He's a really good defender and likes to keep things simple,” said Bombers assistant coach Cole McCaig in a statement from the team.
“Any time you can add a young defenceman with 20 games of junior experience, especially with a program like Steinbach, you have to be excited."
Fry is the last of the new commits the Bombers have signed this offseason. The team recruited heavily on the blueline this year, with arguably the Bombers’ top three defencemen from last season - Dane Hirst, captain Mason Martin and Troy Quinn - aging out of junior hockey.
On the blueline, the Bombers signed local product Jordan Pfoh from the Norman Northstars U18 AAA program along with Regina Pat Canadians standout Noah Kuntz, Manitoba behemoths Ethan McColm and Fry, B.C. products Ayden Lane and Collin Jennings and Reece Richmond, younger brother of current Bomber Ryder.
The Bombers didn’t neglect the forward corp either, finding six new forwards including offensive dynamos Cole Duperreault and Nathan Gagne, Manitoba U18 star Drayden Kurbatoff, former training camp invitee Jaxon Martens and ex-affiliate players Mackenzie Carson and Ashton Ferster.
To top off the class, the Bombers added in goaltender Jared Thompson. The Regina Pat Canadians ‘keeper is the reigning provincial U18 AAA goalie of the year and a former teammate of Kuntz.
Several top scorers from last year’s team, including forwards Tristan Lemyre and the Haygarth twins, Chase and Easton, are available to return to the Bombers this season.
Only one skater used as a Bomber affiliate player last season, defenceman Marek Schneider, did not formally join the club. Schneider, who played games with both the Bombers and the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades last season, is slated to join the expansion Warman Wildcats U18 AAA club this year.
