This year’s SJHL-MJHL Showcase isn’t going ahead, but the SJHL has revealed who would have played on the league’s three all-star teams. A whopping 10 Flin Flon Bombers made the cut.
As in past years, each league would have sent three teams of players, each made up of the league’s best NCAA-eligible players, each named after former SJHLers who made it to the NHL. This year, the SJHL would have sent a team of its best 2003- and 2004-born players (Team Schwartz) along with teams of the league’s best 2001- and 2002-born players (Team Kunitz from the Sherwood division, Notre Dame Hounds and Battlefords North Stars, with Team Mitchell covering the rest of the league).
As part of Team Schwartz, four Bombers would have headed to Winnipeg and played with the prospects’ team. That includes forwards Kylynn Olafson, Jeremi Tremblay and Jacob Vockler, along with defender Cole Tanchuk. The quartet of rookies have each found a steady slot in the lineup, with each playing more than 30 games this season. Tremblay leads the group in scoring with 35 points, while Vockler has 31.
The other six players would have joined up with Team Kunitz, including a top-five unit made up entirely of Flin Flon players. The team’s first line was slated to see Cole Duperreault on the left side, Jaxon Martens at centre and Jaeden Mercier on right wing. On defence, Xavier Lapointe and Cole Vardy would have been the team’s top pairing.
Lapointe leads the group with 43 points and is so far the only member of the group to have an NCAA Division I scholarship, which he received before coming to Flin Flon - the defender will be going to the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers next season.
The three forwards aren’t far behind, with Martens racking up 40 points so far this season and Duperreault having 36 in 50 games. Mercier has 35 points on the year, but did so in 31 games - he would be on a 66 point pace if he played all games this season.
In the crease, Cal Schell would join La Ronge’s Xavier Cannon as the team’s two goalies. Schell leads the SJHL in shutouts with six, is tied for second in the league with 23 wins and has a .926 save percentage.
The showcase’s emphasis on players eligible to play for top-tier American colleges means a group of prominent players would not make the trip down Highway 6. The exclusions include Zak Smith, the Bombers’ captain and leading scorer, and defenders Cory King and Rylan Thiessen – all three players have played in the WHL for extended periods, making them ineligible for NCAA play. Drew Kuzma and Brett Wieschorster are the top scorers on the Bombers to not be named to a team – both players are NCAA-eligible and have not played major junior hockey.
