When Flin Flon Bombers head coach Mike Reagan was asked a couple weeks back about unsung players on his squad, many of the names that came to him were defencemen.
He feels that the Bombers blueline has been a strength all season, but he believes the group can be overlooked.
“They are a lot better than the credit they receive,” Reagan said.
One of the blueline corps’ strengths – like the rest of the Bombers’ team – is its chemistry.
“We all believe in one another. Everyone is really close,” said defenceman Joseph Leonidas. “Everyone just pushes each other to get better every practice.”
Leonidas is in his fourth season of junior hockey and has experience in three different leagues. The 19-year-old from Calgary said that this is the best D core he has been a part of.
Leonidas said a big reason for the group’s success is how the different players complement each other.
“Every one of us on the D core has a role, and in my case it’s to be a strong defensive defenceman,” added Braden Lacoursiere, 19, “and a big part of our team’s success is everyone buying into our roles.”
Offensively, Leonidas is counted on to help the team score. Heading into Wednesday’s games he was the sixth-highest scoring defencemen in the SJHL, with 26 points in 38 games.
Curtis Roach, an 18-year-old from Saskatoon, was 15th in blueline points. With 18 points in 38 games, he has far surpassed the five he accumulated in 20 contests as a rookie.
Mason Etter, a 19-year-old from Cedarburg, Wisconsin, is also enjoying a successful second season with the Bombers. His 13 points in 43 games tops the two he had in 34 outings last season.
While the trio regularly appears on the scoresheet, Leonidas said the defensive work of Lacoursiere, Brandon Masson and Pierre-Luc Morin doesn’t get enough credit.
Masson, a 19-year-old from Oak Lake, Manitoba, is back in the lineup after an early season lower body injury. Bringing a physical presence, the second-year man has two points and 74 penalty minutes in 18 games. He usually is paired with Etter.
Lacoursiere has eight points and 49 penalty minutes in 34 games this season.
“Braden Lacoursiere has been just a warrior for us,” said Reagan, who regularly pairs him with Leonidas. “He is tough to play against.”
Morin is the D core’s lone 20-year-old. The Ste-Hélène-de-Kamourask, Quebec, product has provided five points in 25 games and leadership since joining the team.
“He is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever had the chance to play with and, with him being a 20-year-old this year, I have picked up on a few things that he does really well,” said Roach of his regular defensive partner. “Even though this is my second year in the league, I have learned a couple new tricks to get out of tough situations because of him. It’s very easy to play with a guy that’s always in the right position, backing you up, shift in and shift out.”
The team also has three young defencemen that it believes have great potential.
Reagan said that on other teams, 18-year-old Ben Lanfermann and 17-year-old Cory Thomas would be in the lineup every night. When those two are your seventh and eighth defencemen, he said, you have a strong D core.
Lanfermann, from Lloydminster, Alberta, has two assists in 26 games. Reagan said he has been steady on the backend.
Thomas, a St. Brieux, Quebec, product, has a goal and three assists in 26 games. He recently played in the Canadian Junior Hockey League Prospects Game.
The Flin Flon blueline also includes 18-year-old Rylan Tkachuk from Boyle, Alberta. He has seen action in seven games this season.
Tkachuk is on a Junior B card and also sees action with the West Central Rage of the Prairie Junior Hockey League. Reagan praised his character and attitude.
The squad has a lot of belief in the young trio of Lanfermann, Thomas and Tkachuk.
“We are all really confident in them,” Leonidas said. “They are fantastic hockey players. Next year and the year after that, they are going to be deadly.”
He said the team is going into games listening to Reagan’s instructions, trying to carry them out and knowing they are going to win.
“Our chemistry on the team as a whole is good,” Lacoursiere said. “We all come to the rink every day and want to be better. We have the tools and support to go far this year, but we just have to take it day by day.”
