A quartet of former Flin Flon Bombers made positive contributions in their first season with the University of Regina Cougars.
Dillan McCombie, Stefan Virtanen, Tyler Bell and Andy Desautels all helped the Cougars in Canadian Interuniversity Sport play in their own way during the 2015-16 season.
“I’ve been happy with the first-year guys,” head coach Todd Johnson said. “They came in and played a lot of minutes. … That is not always easy to do.”
McCombie, a Flin Flon native, played for the Bombers from 2010 to 2014. He capped his junior career with the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings and the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs.
As a rookie with the Cougars, McCombie had three goals and eight points in 25 games.
Johnson said McCombie plays a “grindy, feisty type of game.”
“He is an extremely hard-working player,” the coach said. “He just wasn’t rewarded for that hard work before Christmas. … After Christmas, he was a guy who had an opportunity to play a top-six role.”
Bell, a defenceman, played his final junior season last year in Flin Flon. The Regina product came to the SJHL after playing three seasons in the WHL with Kamloops, Moose Jaw and Lethbridge.
In his first season with the Cougars, Bell recorded a goal and 38 penalty minutes in 24 games.
“He is strong,” Johnson said. “He is physical. He likes to play that rough style of game. He is hard to play against.”
Virtanen joined the Cougars this season after playing two seasons at Selkirk College in Castlegar, BC. There, he helped the Saints win two consecutive BC Intercollegiate Hockey League championships.
With the U of R, the defenceman saw action in 13 games and had 12 penalty minutes.
“He is a very competitive guy,” John said. “…He is a guy who works hard on and off the ice.”
Virtanen played 2010-11 with the Bombers. During his junior career, the defenceman from Abbotsford also played in the BCHL and the AJHL. His younger brother is Jake Virtanen of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks.
White City, Saskatchewan’s Desautels was limited to five games due to injury this season. The goaltender had a 1-2 record with a 5.26 goals-against average.
“He works extremely hard in practice. … He will have an opportunity to prove himself next year,” Johnson said.
Desautels played 25 games with Flin Flon as a junior hockey rookie in 2011-12. His junior career also included time in the BCHL and in the WHL with Everett and Prince Albert.
