The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The January 10 deadline once again proved the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a loop full of parity and highly competitive clubs. No fewer than 11 teams were involved in final day dealings and it appears as though ten of the twelve teams feel as though they have a legitimate shot at hoisting the Credit Union Cup. In the Itech Conference, Humboldt got some veteran presence and some added physical toughness on the back end with the acquisition of Joel Belair from La Ronge. They also brought goalie Mathieu Larochelle back to Saskatchewan. The Amos PQ native played at Notre Dame as a midget. He should add veteran stability behind 1990 born Andrew Bodnarchuk. The Flin Flon Bombers adjusted their depth up front, sending Dan Lind to Estevan and replacing him with Louis Labbe, who was obtained from La Ronge. The team also gets a year younger going with Labbe over Lind. Flin Flon also has rookie forward Mathieu Lecours back from a broken thumb and defenseman Harley Garrioch is also ready to return from a lengthy injury layoff. The surging Nipawin Hawks welcomed back 1991 defenseman Koltyn Miller from the Regina Pats. They also got the word forward Matt Schneider has been cleared to play after missing the last two and a half months with a concussion. Forward Dean Prpick also, recently, came back from a broken wrist. Melfort, thought by many to be sellers of veteran players at the deadline, hung on to the likes of Tommy Brown and Kyle Fraser. They also secured the Junior 'A' rights to Mike Reich, formerly of the Saskatoon Blades. The rebuilding Battlefords North Stars moved depth forward Taylor Epp to Weeks of the Maritime Junior Hockey League. They already had a young team and appear content to stay the course and make the playoffs with the roster they have, giving their players valuable postseason experience. La Ronge, already sitting in the Itech cellar, liquidated themselves of several veterans and figure to come back next season new and improved. In the Sherwood Conference, the first place Melville Millionaires don't appear to be satisified with what has brought them to this point, so they went out and added forward Cody Hanson from the Regina Pats, defenseman Casey Dion from the La Ronge Ice Wolves, and goalie Brady Wilyman from the Lloydminster Bobcats. Dion has more points than any other current Millionaire blueliner and Wilyman brings a year and a half of junior experience behind Travis Bosch and will be excellent insurance for Bosch, who is a contender for league MVP laurels. Tyler Penny is coming home to Weyburn. The former Saskatchewan Midget 'AAA' Hockey League all-star was re-assigned to the team from the Red Deer Rebels. And, the Wings felt their depth up front needed an upgrade, so they got a little younger with the addition of Forrest Dell, who had 15-points in 31-games with the Winkler Flyers. Kindersley has, potentially, the best feel good story of the deadline. Defenseman Scott Linnell is going to give it a shot after missing all of the season to date with a chronic leg injury. Linnell, by the end of last season, was an all-star caliber player. His addition, sure to be major emotionally, should also help on the ice as well. Yorkton got goalie Joel Danyluk back from Prince George and also secured the services of Nick Dietrich from the Portland Winterhawks for added depth up front. They also traded for Swan Valley Stampeder defenseman Justin Giesbrecht, who was that club's second leading scorer. Estevan shuffled the deck a little with getting forward Dan Lind from Flin Flon, but their major move was landing goalie Shayne Barrie from the Everett Silver Tips. Barrie figures to challenge incumbent Tommy Legault down the stretch, and he'll also give the team a number one netminder for next year. Notre Dame was the only club to stand pat. They have a youthful squad already and even though Rylan Schwartz is only 18, there were some that thought the Hounds may treat him as a 20 year old because he figures to play in the NCAA next year. However, the Hounds have aspirations to catch Estevan for fifth and don't figure to be able to do that if they have a potential league leading scorer on another team. To further illustrate how close the races are, in the Itech the Broncos have run away for first; but the Bombers, Hawks, and Mustangs are just 10 points apart in the hunt for second. Nipawin and Melfort flip flop in the standings almost nightly. Battlefords is still just three points ahead of La Ronge for the fifth and final playoff position. In the Sherwood Conference, Melville is being challenged by Weyburn for first place. The Mils are two points ahead as of January 10. But, only 15 points separate the top five teams and then the Notre Dame Hounds are 10 points back of the Bruins for the last playoff position. Kindersley and Yorkton are just two points apart in the very important third place battle as that team will get a first round bye.
