The die has been cast for the Flin Flon Bombers - the team’s roster is set, the stretch run is looming and the players have 18 games and counting to put their own mark on the team’s history.
Six weeks are left before the Bombers’ final regular season game March 11, a rivalry matchup at home against La Ronge. In that time, the team hopes to gain momentum while avoiding the same slips and falls that they encountered last year.
Both of the Bombers’ main roster deadline pickups, Zach Cain and Barron Stibbe, have played multiple games in maroon and white. Stibbe has yet to score a point, but Cain has added two goals in his first four games.
To get Cain, the Bombers had to give up forward Jaxon Martens. The 20-year-old was having a solid year and played in the top six in Flin Flon - Bomber head coach and general manager Mike Reagan said the trade was tough, but he feels the team is better now than before.
"We love Jaxon - he was a good player for us. It's not always about how many points you put up. There's some intangibles that we felt Cain had... everything that we've done is to try to build a team for the playoffs, not just the regular season," said Reagan.
"For one, Cain is a penalty killer. He's versatile, he can play centre or the wing. He's a gritty, physical guy. He brings a physical presence as well as being able to produce offence."
The coach was adamant that Martens was a good player and a good Bomber, but that Cain better fit the team’s needs down the stretch.
"This is not to take anything away from Marty. He's a good, offensive-minded player. We feel that Cain is probably just a bit better as a 200-foot player and brings some other things to the table," Reagan said.
"We feel like we didn't lose any of the offensive output, but we gained in other areas that we think are going to be beneficial come playoff time."
As for Stibbe, Reagan was compelled to the diminutive North Dakotan after hearing about him from a former hockey connection down south. Stibbe’s game includes a desire to compete, Reagan said, hoping the player will be a key depth piece down the stretch.
"We did some homework on him and watched him and found his will to win is high, his compete level too - he is not going to cheat you with effort," Reagan said.
"We wanted to acquire another forward - we wanted to make sure that we had one more forward come in to help with the depth of our team. When we look at last year, you know in the league final, we had lost Cole Vardy, Mason Kaspick and Rylan Thiessen all around the same time - you can never have too much depth. We wanted to bring in a guy that was going to help with that and play with a lot of energy. He checked off a lot of the boxes."
Reagan said that the Bombers had plans to go further at the deadline, mentioning that he had a list of eight players that he had his sights set on, including a few unnamed players from the QMJHL who might have been in play, searching for a mix of grit and skill.
“There were a lot of things that fell through,” Reagan said.
Cain wasn’t initially on that list because the Bombers did not know he would be in play - once the team found that he was interested in being a Bomber shortly before the deadline, he shot up the list, Reagan said.
“As we got closer and found out that Cain wanted to be a Bomber, he became more of a priority than he was, let’s say, a week before the deadline,” said Reagan.
“If we could have acquired the grit and not moved Marty, we would have done that. It’s part of the business and it’s my job to try and make us better and give us the best chance to win in the playoffs as possible. It’s part of the job of being a coach and GM - you’ve got to make tough decisions.”
Remaining games
The rest of the season - 18 games and counting, as of Friday afternoon - contains more home games than away ones, with 10 games on Whitney Forum ice. The Bombers have been dominant at home, going 14-2-1-1 and getting 30 of 36 possible points, but have struggled on enemy ice, going 10-9-1-0, including a loss earlier this month to the last-place Kindersley Klippers on the road.
Four of those road games will take place during the team’s last four-games-in-five-nights southern swing, taking place in mid-February, but seven of the Bombers’ last 11 games will be at home.
Reagan said that on occasion after the roster deadline heading into the stretch run, players can be unsure of where they fit in with the team, but said he likes where the Bombers currently stand as a squad.
“I think that anytime you come out of a trade deadline, sometimes you get a shot in the arm right off the get-go, then sometimes you get a little bit of a lull. It’s a stressful time for the players - you’ve got two new bodies coming in and guys are feeling like, ‘Where do I fit in the mix?’” he said.
“I like our team. I think we've been a good team all year. Do I like that we lost two out of three on the road? Nope - it felt kind of strange, we won five in a row and then we lost three out of our last four games. If you look at that, it would have been nice to beat Kindersley and come home with two out of three on the road, but we know that there’s work to be done and we’re going to do that.”
Last year’s Bombers bellyflopped into the playoffs, winning just three of their final 11 games before the playoffs began, but turned their fortunes around with a dramatic playoff run that brought them one win away from their first league title in almost three decades. Reagan hopes that this year’s team won’t have the same downward dive in the stretch run, adding that he wants to ensure the team is ready for the playoffs.
“We're going to do whatever we have to do to make sure that we're ready for the playoffs and hopefully don't go through the same lull that we did last year at this time,” he said.
