Golden Bears: Canada West Preview, Part 2

This is part two of a two-part series previewing the University of Alberta Golden Bears and their Canada West Conference of the CIS. Part one of the series can be found here.

Each post briefly gives an overview of how each club noted played last season, any significant players leaving, and an overview of the new recruits for this season. The University of Alberta Golden Bears open their season this Friday at home at the Clare Drake Arena.

University of Calgary

12-12-4, tied for 4^th (in points) in Canada West. The Dinos were not nationally ranked last season. The team’s top two scorers Chris Collins and Elgin Pearce, who tied for the team lead with 27 points, are both back this season.

New Recruits

• Matthew Greenfield, goal; Greenfield played 55 games for the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers between the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. He split the 2015-16 season between the USHL’s Tri-City Storm and the BCHL’s West Kelowna Warriors.
• Braiden Doucette, defence; The 6.00, 185lbs rearguard played 109 games for the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors from 2011-2013. For the 2013-14 season he moved to the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs where he played two seasons before finishing his junior career with the Canmore Eagles. Doucette put up 53 points in 54 games last season.
• Darcy DeRoose, forward; The 6.03, 195lb forward bounced between the WHL and SJHL from 2011-2016. He suited up for the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors and Everett Silvertips. In the SJHL, he wore the jersey of the Estevan Bruins and of the Kindersley Klippers. He had career highs of 53 games, 28 goals, and 76 points for Estevan last season.
• Mac Colasimone, forward; The smaller forward played last season for the Colorado Jr. Eagles of the WSHL. He scored 23 goals and 90 points in 50 games.
• Riley Roberts, forward; Roberts was a teammate of Mac Colasimone in Colorado and scored 56 goals and 102 points in 52 games in the WSHL last season.
• Luke Harrison, forward; Luke “Suitcase” Harrison played for 6 WHL clubs (Chilliwack, Victoria, Kamloops, Spokane, Brandon, and Prince George) from 2010-2016. He had career highs with 69 games, 12 goals, and 23 points for Kamloops back in 2014-15.
• Logan Fisher, forward; Fisher played a full four seasons for the WHL’s Victoria Royals. Set career highs of 11 goals and 33 points in 72 games last season.
• Justin Maiolino, forward; Maiolino played 2 games for the OHL’s Erie Otters the year before Connor McDavid played for the team. The diminutive (5.07) forward played the rest of his junior career in the OJHL. He had 20 goals and 60 points in 53 games for Newmarket in 2013-14.
• Jared Hauf, defence; The massive 6.05 Hauf has played for the Seattle Thunderbirds since 2010. Definitely not a scorer with his best season producing 15 points in 72 games,
• Coleman Vollrath, goal; Vollrath is a veteran of 4 WHL seasons with the Victoria Royals. He started 51 games last season and managed a 0.912 SP. He also appeared in a single playoff game for the ECHL’s Ontario Reign in the spring of 2014-15.
• Max Mowat, defence; The 5.10 defenceman played two seasons for the BCHL’s Vernon Vipers followed by two seasons for the AJHL’s Okotoks Oilers.

Calgary went 3-1-2 in the preseason including back to back overtime losses to the Golden Bears on September 30th and October 1st. Calgary battles their provincial rivals to the north for the first time when they visit for the first game of a home-and-home on November 11th.

University of Manitoba

13-13-2, tied for 4^th (in points) in Canada West. The Bisons were not nationally ranked last season. Winnipeg native, and a top point producer in the Canada West, Jordan DePape, is back for the 2016-17 season. He had 41 points in 28 games last season.

New Recruits

• Blake Heinrich, defence; After 3 seasons with Sioux City of the USHL Heinrich moved to Portland of the WHL where he was a teammate of Oilers’ prospect Caleb Jones. He scored 10 goals to go along with 21 assists for the Winterhawks last season. Heinrich was drafted in the fifth round by the Washington Capitals in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
• Nick Zajac, forward; The 5.10 winger had 20 goals for the Saskatoon Blades last season.
• Remi Laurencelle, forward; Laurencelle played for both the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Everett Silvertips over a 5 year WHL career. He scored 28 goals in 69 games last season.
• Kamerin Nault, forward; The 6.01 forward played four seasons for the Winnipeg Blues of the MJHL. Had career highs of 37 goals and 76 points last season.
• Shawn Bowles, forward; Bowles is a veteran of 4 MJHL seasons which were all played for the Portage Terriers.
• Garrett Johnston, defence; Johnston played for the MJHL’s Swan Valley Stampeders before playing four seasons in the QMJHL. While in the Quebec Major Junior League he suited up for Moncton, Chicoutimi, and Acadie-Bathurst.
• Brad Bowles, forward; Bowles had a prolific season scoring 45 goals and 102 points in 60 games for the Portage Terriers last season.
• Quintin Lisoway, forward; Lisoway has had an interesting junior career suiting up for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan, and the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons.
• Dasan Sydora, goal; The 5.09 Sydora played in 3 of the 4 Western Canadian Junior ‘A’ leagues after suiting up for the: Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL), La Ronge Ice Wolves (SJHL), and Winkler Flyers (MJHL).
• Michael St. Croix, forward; The Bisons will eventually be adding Michael St. Croix to their forward mix. The prolific junior scorer will be familiar to Edmonton hockey fans as he scored 45 goals and 105 points for the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings in 2011-12. St. Croix was drafted by the New York Rangers in the fourth round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Since 2013 he has played for the ECHL’s Greenville Road Warriors, the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, and the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. The Bisons will need to wait 365 days from St. Croix’s last game with Greenville in 2016 before he is eligible to play in the CIS.

The Bisons went 7-2 in the preseason. Their last preseason game was a 5-1 loss to the NCAA North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Manitoba squares off against Alberta for the first time when the Bisons visit on November 18th and 19th.

Mount Royal University

17-8-3, third in the Canada West. The Cougars saw time in the national rankings last season and reached as high as sixth spot in week 13. Leading scorer Tyler Fiddler is not back this season and the team will look to Cam Maclise (a former Edmonton Oil King) to continue his production from 2015-16.

New Recruits

• Jesse Lees, defence; Lees played a full five years in the WHL. He started with Kelowna and finished with the Prince Albert Raiders. The 5.11 defender scored 23 goals and 58 points for the Raiders last season.
• Taylor Green, defence; The ‘Chara-like’ 6.07, 220lb defenceman played in the WHL from 2010-2015 with Seattle, Brandon, and Moose Jaw. He finished his junior career in the BCHL playing with both the Nanaimo Clippers and the Coquitlam Express.
• Dominic Thom, defence; Thom played in a variety of locales during his junior career. In 2013-14 he played for the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings and the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs. During the 2014-15 season he played for the WHL’s Prince George Cougars. In 2015-16 he again played for the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs, dressed for 7 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings, and also played 21 games for the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
• Colton Waltz, defence; The 6.01 defenceman played in 65 games and scored 5 goals and 30 points split between the Saskatoon Blades and Brandon Wheat Kings last season.
• Jamal Watson, forward; The scoring winger played a full 5 years in the WHL suiting up for: Lethbridge, Seattle, and Swift Current. Scored a career high 26 goals in 2014-15 for the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
• Wyatt Hoflin, goal; Hoflin played four seasons for the WHL’s Kootenay Ice and the past two as the starter. He had a 4.12 GAA and 0.893 SP last season.

Mount Royal went 2-3 in the pre-season including a 4-2 victory over the Bears on September 24th. They dropped their final 3 pre-season games against NCAA competition.

University of Saskatchewan Huskies

22-6-0, 1st in the Canada West. Won the Canada West Championship over the Golden Bears. Finished the season ranked third in the nation in the CIS rankings. Super rookie Kohl Bauml enters his second season for the Huskies. He had 33 points in 28 games last season. Along with Bauml, Saskatchewan had a fantastic crop of freshmen in 2015-16. Rookie Levi Cable lead the team with 16 goals and another rookie, Andrew Johnson, finished third in team scoring. Saskatchewan has opened the season ranked third in the CIS national rankings.

New Recruits

• Jordan Tkatch, forward; The centreman played 5 years in the WHL. He spent 3 season with the Prince George Cougars and the past two with the Prince Albert Raiders. Had his first 20+ goal season in 2015-16 with 24.
• Connor Gay, forward; A four year WHL veteran with the Regina Pats, Red Deer Rebels, and Saskatoon Blades. Had a career high with 72 points for the Blades last season.
• Colby Harmsworth, defence; Played four years for the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL. Career high of 70 games played and 17 points back in 2013-14.
• Tanner Lishchynsky, defence; Lishchynsky is a veteran of 4 WHL seasons. He put up 8 goals and 23 points in 60 games for the Kootenay Ice last season.
• Carson Stadnyk, forward; The 6.02 winger played four full seasons for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. Stadnyk had a career high of 27 goals and 69 points in 71 games in 2014-15.
• Lukas Sutter, forward; The gritty forward has a famous last name. He played for both Saskatoon and Red Deer during his 5 year WHL career. He was drafted in the 2nd round by Winnipeg in the 2012 NHL entry draft. Left unsigned, he was again drafted in the 7th round of the of the 2014 NHL entry draft by the New York Islanders. He played 17 games in 2014-15 for the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The same season he also suited up for the ECHL’s Stockton Thunder.
• Wyatt Johnson, forward; The four year WHL veteran split the 2015-16 season between the Red Deer Rebels and the Spokane Chiefs.
• Daniel Wapple, goal; The 5.11 goalie started his WHL career with Moose Jaw in 2012. He went on to play for Medicine Hat, Regina, and Vancouver. He was the starter in Regina in 2014-15 playing 56 games.

The Huskies went 1-3 in the pre-season including an overtime loss to Alberta on September 23rd. The Huskies are already 2-0 in the regular season as they swept UBC in two games last weekend to open Canada West play. The Huskies are the opponent for the Golden Bears’ regular season and home opener when the two teams kick off a weekend series this Friday at the Clare Drake Arena.

University of Alberta

19-7-2, second in the Canada West. Alberta finished the season ranked fifth in the CIS national rankings after opening the 2015-16 in the number one position. The Bears are ranked fourth in the top-ten in the CIS rankings to begin the 2016-17 season. Lost to the Saskatchewan Huskies in the Canada West playoff final and they lost their only game in the University Cup. This is a year of transition for the Golden Bears after their entire first line graduated and they lost key players on the blue-line. Top scorer Jordan Hickmott signed a contract with Banska Bystrica HC 05 of the Slovak Hockey League and has 9 points in 11 games so far this season. Levko Koper has played 5 games (3 points) so far for the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones after signing an AHL/ECHL deal with the Carolina Hurricanes organization. Former captain Kruise Reddick signed with Vita Hasten HC in Sweden and has 4 points in 9 games. Joining Reddick in Vita Hasten is the Bears former leader from the back-end Jordan Rowley. He has scored 4 points in 9 games. Obviously the loss of these players and others like Thomas Carr and Brett Ferguson leave a huge holes to be filled on the Bears roster. Second year coach Serge Lajoie will look to returning Bears like (former Oil King) Stephane Legault and winger Jamie Crooks. Crooks is a former 37 goal scorer with the WHL’s Victoria Royals. Alberta will also be banking on some of their new recruits like Jason Fram, a blue-liner who scored 46 points in 55 games for the Spokane Chiefs last season, and Tyson Baillie, who had 95 points for the Kelowna Rockets in 2015-16, stepping up in their freshmen years.

New Recruits

• Nick Charif, defence; Charif played in the CIS last year with the University of Western Ontario. Prior to his time in the OUAA, he split the 2014-15 season between the Red Deer Rebels and the Spokane Chiefs (where he played with fellow recruit Jason Fram). He started his junior career in the AJHL with the Sherwood Park Crusaders before moving the the BCHL’s Victoria Grizzlies and then onto the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels.
• Taylor Cooper, forward; Cooper played four Major Junior seasons with four teams: Brandon (WHL), Lethbridge (WHL), Regina (WHL), and Chicoutimi (QMJHL). He had a 25 goal season split between Lethbridge (12) and Regina (13) in 2014-15.
• Tyson Baillie, forward; With 43 goals and 95 points last season with the Kelowna Rockets last season Baillie brings great offensive potential to Alberta. He played in Kelowna with current Oiler Leon Draisaitl.
• Luke Philp, forward; Character comes with the addition of Philp to the green and gold. He was named captain of the Red Deer Rebels after only a short time with the team after a trade. He had a career high of 82 points in 71 games with the Kootenay Ice in 2014-15. He also had back-to-back 30 goal seasons in 2013-14 & 2014-15.
• Cole Linaker, forward; Linaker was a training camp invite by the Edmonton Oilers in 2015 and played against the Bears with Connor McDavid in the 2015 Bears vs Oilers’ rookies game. The checking forward played parts of 5 seasons with the Kelowna Rockets (2011-2016).
• Todd Fiddler, forward; The offensive forward won’t be available to play until November as he waits for 365 days to elapse from his last professional game in the ECHL. Fiddler is 23 years old and has been playing professionally in the ECHL since 2013. He had 14 goals and 28 points in 58 games between Quad City and Ontario in the ECHL in 2013-14. A great scorer in the WHL he had 48 goals and 88 points in 52 games for the Prince George Cougars (WHL) in 2013-14 and 42 goals and 77 points in 70 games for the Spokane Chiefs (WHL) in 2012-13.
• Jason Fram, defence; The offensively minded rearguard was invited to the San Jose Sharks 2016 training camp. Fram had a career high of 46 points in 55 games for the Spokane Chiefs last season.
• Ryan Rehill, defence; The 6.03 and 218lb defenceman played four season for the Kamloops Blazers from 2012-2016. He also played a single game for the Albany Devils of the American Hockey League in 2016.
• Ben Carroll, defence; A player familiar to Edmonton hockey fans as Carroll played four seasons for the Edmonton Oil Kings from 2012-16. He was a WHL and Memorial Cup Champion in 2013-14 and had career highs of 9 goals and 32 points in 54 games in 2014-15.
• Graeme Craig, defence; The 6.05, 202lb Craig red-shirted for the Bears last season as he waited for 365 days to elapse from his last professional game. He is 23 years old and split time in 2014-15 between the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) and Oklahoma City Barons (AHL). Played parts of 5 WHL seasons from 2009-14.
• Brendan Burke, goal; The goaltender is the son of former NHL goaltender Sean Burke. He was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 6th round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He was a Memorial Cup winner last season (as the backup) with the OHL’s London Knights.
• Kenny Cameron, goal; Cameron played for U of A coach Serge Lajoie at NAIT during the 2014-15 season. He was undefeated at NAIT (21-0) for the 2015-16 season.

The Golden Bears went 6-2-2 in the preseason with a 3-2 victory in their last preseason game against the NCAA University of Nebraska-Omaha. The Bears kick off their season at home this weekend with a two game series versus the defending champion University of Saskatchewan Huskies. You can purchase tickets for the Friday and Saturday night games here.