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.
No comments:
Post a Comment