Ridge Meadows Flames' 2015-16 Preview, Two NHLer's to Drop Puck in Opener

By Colton Davies

Flames Hoping for a Bounce-back Year

2014-15 was a less than ideal season for Ridge Meadows, who finished last in the Harold Brittain conference, good for second-last in the PJHL. Head coach and general manager Jamie Fiset think his team's struggles last year had a lot to do with their inconsistency.

"There were points where we looked very good and points where we struggled. We had a really good start and a really good finish but we were really inconsistent in October and November, which hurt us", Fiset said. "When you have a good start, you either build off it or get complacent and I think we were all a little complacent".

With graduating junior players and others moving on to Junior A, the Flames will ice a team with 12 new players (11 rookies) on their roster, and only 10 returning players from last season. New faces, greater youth infusion and more experience for returning players gives the Flames a bright outlook to start this season. The Flames will also see all new players in captaincy roles leading the way on this young team.

2014-15 Record: 16-25-3 - 35 points (last in Harold Brittain Conference)

Key Additions:

Jake Holland ('95)
James Peakman ('97)
Nolan Ferguson ('98)
Daniel Kim ('98)
Daniyal Nussipaknyov ('97)
Tristan Tressel ('97)
Quenton Magnuson ('98)
Alex Furlan ('98)
Tyson Talhan ('98)
Jacob Dorey ('98)
Braedon Lau ('97)
Ryan Wellburn ('98)

Jake Holland will be the only new face on the Flames this season not in his rookie year of junior hockey, and should be a huge boost to the Flames offense.

The Maple Ridge native spent 2013-14 with Ridge Meadows, recording 13 goals and 24 points in 37 games. Holland spent all of last year playing junior A hockey in Ontario. He tallied 11 points in 15 games with the Fort Frances Lakers in the SIJHL, and had 55 points in 34 games with the Abitibi Eskimos in the NOJHL. With the departures up front of Danny Wilson, Grant Rostvig (graduated), and Jordan Rendle (junior A), the addition of Holland to the Flames' forward group will offset some of the team's losses.

With four rookie defenseman and 135 combined PJHL games of Flames blueliners, Ridge Meadows will have some learning curves on the back end this season. Nolan Ferguson, Daniel Kim, Daniyal Nussipaknyov and Ryan Wellburn will have their first cracks at junior hockey, while returning players Ben Chipman (46 games) and Cam Alder (89 games) round out the team's blue line. After losing Andrew Castagna and Joe Olson to junior A this offseason, Chipman and Alder will be the more heavily relied on to produce and lead a young cast.

As young as Ridge Meadows' blue line is, their netminders come in with even less junior hockey experience. Jeremy Tamelin, who was acquired in a trade with the Delta Ice Hawks last year and has 11 career games under his belt, will assume number-one duties in net to start the season, and he'll be backed up by rookie James Peakman. This could all change, however, as 16 year-old Langley native Jordan Hollett, who was expected to compete as the Flames' starter, is currently in WHL camp with the Regina Pats for at least the time being.

While the Flames have much less experience heading into the 2015-16 season, they possess loads of potential on their roster and should improve from their 35 point finish a year ago.

Newly-named captain Boston Colley and new assistant captains, Cam Alder, Brandon Inwood and Nick Maydaniuk, will have expanded leadership roles with the club. Returning players such as Andrew Strelezki and Halen Cordoni should bring a lot of energy in their second PJHL seasons and produce at a higher level. 18 year-old Bradley Crompton will likely build on the 15 goals he scored in 36 games with Ridge Meadows last season, and Maple Ridge products Quenton Magnuson and Tristan Tressel are two rookies who Fiset says have worked hard and impressed during the summer.

Skapski and Hunt to be in Attendance

Ridge Meadows Flames alumni Mackenzie Skapski and Maple Ridge native Brad Hunt will be a part of the ceremonial puck drop when the team hosts the Delta Ice Hawks on Friday to open their 2015-16 season.

Hunt is a defenseman in the Edmonton Oilers organization who has spent time between the pro team and their AHL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons, over the past two seasons. The undrafted 27 year-old appeared in 11 games with Oilers last season, posting a goal and two assists. He also put up 19 goals and 51 points in 62 games with the Barons.

Skapski was a sixth round draft pick by the New York Rangers in 2013. The netminder appeared in two NHL games last year, going 2-0-0 with a shutout and posting a 0.50 GAA and .978 SV%. Skapski played in 21 games with Ridge Meadows in 2010-11, as well as six playoff games.

2nd Annual Chrohn's and Colitis Charity Classic

This Saturday, June 13^th Maple Ridge Planet Ice will play host to the 2^nd annual Crohn’s and Colitis Charity Classic. This is a hockey game brought together by Maple Ridge locals, Ben Payne and Victor Bartley. The doors open at 7 and ceremonial puck drop at 7:45. There are no tickets for sale, but entry will be by donation with all proceeds going to Crohn’s and Colitis research and education.

Those of you familiar with Bartley will know that he is a defenceman for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League. Bartley and Payne grew up together through the Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey Association and have been best friends ever since. Ben even visited Victor in Nashville when they played host to the Chicago Blackhawks in round one of the NHL Playoffs this year. The two have taken very different paths to their respective hockey careers, but one faced much more adversity.

Ben Payne was diagnosed with fistulizing Crohn’s disease in August 2013. The timing is never good for a scenario like this to occur, but for Ben it was especially bad considering he was just a very short time away from leaving the country to play professional hockey in France. Ben had been feeling a pain inside of his stomach for a few months but thought nothing of it until one doctor pointed out that indeed it was Crohn’s that was affecting him; but that wasn’t going to stop him from pursuing his hockey career abroad.

As any determined athlete would, Ben went on the journey to play hockey in France with Neuilly-sur-Marne in the FFHG Division 1 league. He was never able to reach his full potential on ice though with the ever-lasting pain he was facing. He couldn’t even make it through the season before having to be released from his team to come back home and get healthy again, whatever that may take.

After returning home Ben received surgery. He had to have approximately one foot of his small intestine removed. When diagnosed with fistulizing Crohn’s there is essentially blockages in your system. Food will get caught in crevices of the inside of the body and therefore unable to makes its way out of the body. As soon as Ben got out of surgery, he just wanted to get better and on came the road to recovery.

In talking with Ben he revealed that he’s feeling “better than he’s ever felt”. Just under two years after the original diagnosis he is back on track in life. Sure he has to take medication to keep away the return of the disease, but he is happy with how doctors were able to help him get back to 100%.

Ben has returned home for a little while, as he’s actually made a return to Europe. This past season he lead his team in scoring with EHC Zweibrücken Hornets, a Division Four team, not in France, but this time in Germany.

Not only does he have the opportunity to play in Germany, but he also gets to indulge in German culture. Learning the language, interacting with others, and taking in the surroundings. Luckily in Germany, there is a larger portion of people who speak English in comparison to anywhere in France. He is also getting the opportunity to coach while in Germany, which brought a giant smile to Ben’s face.

His story is one that can provide hope for those facing hardships such as his. His case was one of a quick, yet devastating, threat that could be treated right away, but he showed sincere care for those who have to face it every day of their lives. The way Crohn’s works is, the less severe the case, the less doctors are able to treat it.

This is the major reason why Ben and Victor have come together to try and raise money for research and education of Crohn’s and Colitis. The first annual event held last year brought in close to 300 fans and raised $5,000. With only a few weeks to prepare last year, Ben and Victor were elated with the amount of money they were able to raise, but with more time, organization, and experience this year, the boys hope to surpass that number in donations.

Not only does this event include a hockey game, but a star studded one. It will of course include Victor Bartley of the Nashville Predators, but also Brad Hunt, Maple Ridge native who is part of the Edmonton Oilers system, as well as Mitch Bartley who played four seasons with the Vancouver Giants. Every player on both sides has some sort of junior playing career and most have a local lineage. The Assistant coach of the Junior B Ridge Meadows Flames, Nick Bruns, will be suiting up, as well as Flames player Boston Colley, along with his younger brother Parker. And if you’ve followed the Flames as of late you won’t forget this name as Joe Olson who played the better half of the last two seasons in Ridge Meadows with the Flames will return to familiar territory to play for the good cause.

With a handful of Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey Alumni participating in the event, Ben described it as “more than just a game, but also more like a big family reunion.”

After the game there will be a social event with food, drinks, and time to mingle, but also a silent auction which will include signed NHL jerseys and a raffle.

Ben Payne isn’t simply doing this for his own benefit, but he is doing it because he genuinely cares for those who are being affected on a day to day basis. On numerous occasions in my conversation with Ben he brought up how his main goal is to raise funds for those in need, struggling more than he ever had to.

Expect to have a great time at this second annual charity event, but Ben made sure to mention that even though it is for charity, also expect this game to be extremely competitive.  

For full rosters, how to donate if you can’t make it, and any further information, follow this link: http://www.kintera.org/site/c.4nJIJXPrEbKSE/b.9263239/k.6E3B/2015_Golf_and_Hockey_Classic.htm