Panthers' Bench Boss thoughts on 2020-21 season

September 4th, 2020
North Saanich, B.C.

Our entire organization enters the season with a taste of unfinished business. Every player in our room felt badly for the twenty year olds who were robbed by COVID of finishing their last season of junior hockey. I think that will provide some additional motivation for the next few months.
We had a lot to be proud of last year: the most wins in a season by the franchise, special teams were amongst the best in the league, first playoff series win in a few years and being named VIJHL Most Sportsmanlike team to name a few.

Each year we assemble a “Leaders” group of about 6-7 key players. The players involved are those who lead by example. They can always be depended upon and are really the DNA of the team. The coaches meet with this group every month or so just to ensure there are no dressing room issues, game day issues or other little things that make the team run smoothly. They are also the players I can ask their opinion of and they will give me an answer that is honest and with the team’s best interests at heart. I truly believe the success over the last couple of years is a direct reflection on the leadership of this group. They are committed to making themselves better and that makes everyone else better.

The graduation of three of the VIJHL’s top defensemen in Thomas Spink, Skyler Diamond-Burchuk, and Alex Benger creates a hole on the blue line. Connor McKillop’s 26 wins led all VIJHL goaltenders. Their absence forces us to change the dynamics of our team. This year the game plan might have to be winning 8-4 instead of 5-2. These four players were half of our leadership group.

Up front, Josh Lingard, Tanner Wort, Riley Braun, Logan Spiers and Denver Maloney make the coaching staff’s job very easy – open the door. There are few teams that can match that group of five. Skill, speed, hockey sense and determination. Their offensive prowess will provide those extra couple of goals while a young defense group gains some experience. Don’t be surprised if you see a 5 forwards power play unit.

Lucas Thomson-Fiddes, Sterling Lyon and Jonah Ragsdale provide depth and will play bigger offensive roles. Thomson-Fiddes and Lyons are a great pair of penalty killers as well. Both played huge roles in last year’s playoffs.

Hunter Jensen and Matt Seale will anchor our defense core. They might be only 18 but they both play with the poise and maturity of a grizzly veteran. Eric Horricks showed flashes throughout a season that was hampered a bit by injuries. We need him to be healthy and show the physical force he is known for.

During the season we have always had our prospects and affiliate players practice with us. Many of them will step into the lineup. We have a blend of skill and grit. They all are coachable and we believe their learning curve will be shorter than most. I’m old school and have seen too many young players reading press clippings (now internet sites).  Their expectations get over-blown and unrealistic. The VIJHL is a very talented league with both physical and mental challenges. It creates humility very quickly. For that reason, I am not going to mention specific names and prefer to just let them grow into the league with no expectations to worry about. They are all great kids who happen to be great hockey players. We will introduce them individually as they get their feet wet in the league. I will just tell you we are not losing any sleep worrying about our young core.

The major load of the goaltending with fall on Brayden Evans. We were made aware of the three-year junior hockey veteran’s possible move from Edmonton to Victoria early in the Spring. It took a while to finalize things but he is ready to go. It appears Carter Johnstone will make the jump to junior to fill in our roster.

We are also fortunate to have Rachel Schmidt back as the Athletic Therapist. She does a great job for us keeping the players healthy and assisting in recovery from injuries.

We all know that 2020 will go down as one of the craziest years on record. Uncertainty creates a full spectrum of emotions. The operational changes of the protocols is never questioned as our player’s health trumps any inconvenience. The cooperation from the players has made our jobs very easy and we are very grateful. The cooperation and partnership with the Panorama staff has been excellent – thank you. The frustration for Pete and me has been the changing rules and differing protocol interpretations.  Finally --hockey is on the horizon!!
Stay smart, stay safe, stay healthy.