Matt Flodell may not have had a chance to lead the Bombers for long this year, but he knows where he'll be playing next season. The outgoing Bomber captain has committed to join an NCAA Division III team next season.
The Prince Albert native and Bomber vet will join the Univ. of Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils, a team that plays in the five-team Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) against other satellite schools in the Univ. of Wisconsin system. In a COVID-19-shortened 2020/21 season, the Blue Devils went 4-7 through an 11 game schedule.
Flodell was a part of the Bombers' system since 2015, when he was the team's last pick in the first-ever SJHL bantam draft. From there, Flodell played his entire junior career in Flin Flon, spending parts of four seasons with the Bombers. Gaining a reputation as a solid two-way winger and penalty killer, Flodell racked up 24 points in his time as a Bomber, including scoring eight goals. Flodell became an assistant captain for the Bombers midway through the 2019/20 season and began the aborted 2020/21 season as the Bombers' captain, playing two games with the "C" before the season was suspended and eventually cancelled.
Flodell won't be playing with any Bombers at Wisconsin-Stout, but he will be playing against two former Flin Flon teammates - the Univ. of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets, who won this year's WIAC championship, feature former Bomber defenseman Troy Quinn and forward Zach Bannister, who played with Flodell in Flin Flon in 2019/20. Both players joined the Yellowjackets straight after aging out of the Bomber program last season and will enter their sophomore seasons next year.
Four players from this season's Bombers team, including Flodell, have accepted scholarships for next season - forwards Hayden Clayton, Chase and Easton Haygarth each accepted offers from the Red Deer College Royals in February.
