Junior B hockey in Okotoks is just around the corner as the defending league champions set their sights on winning a provincial title in front of their home crowd.
The Okotoks Bisons of the Heritage Junior B Hockey League hit the ice for training camp Sept. 1-4, officially kicking off the Heritage Junior B Hockey League (HJHL) team’s quest for a second straight league championship.
Bisons assistant general manager Dean Black said there’s extra motivation going into a season in which Okotoks hosts the 2012 provincial championship, held at the end of March at Murray Arena.
“A lot of them got their first taste of the provincials last year and it makes them hungry especially knowing that we’re hosting and all their families are going to be out here watching.”
The Bisons beat the Blackfalds Wranglers 2-1 in a best-of-three final to capture the 2010-11 league title, but failed to replicate their performance at the provincials after losing two of three games to miss out on the tournament playoff round.
Black said every spot on the roster is up for grabs heading into the exhibition season.
“At training camp you’ve got to come in and show you’re ready to play,” Black said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re returning or you’re new.”
Black said he’s looking for energy, effort and intelligence from the newcomers at camp.
“You come in to camp and you don’t expect to see them razzle-dazzle you, but you want to see that they’re willing to put the effort in.”
Black said the Bisons will carry most of their training camp roster during their four exhibition games before cutting down the lineup to the select few who’ll make up the 2011-12 squad.
The Bisons will be without two of their key players from last season, MVP and leading scorer Derek Schlamp and goaltender Christian Chivilo who was the team’s playoff MVP.
“There’s a lot of the kids that are coming back, a year older makes them a year better and a year stronger,” Black said.
“You can already see that in some of our returning guys who were 18 or 19 last year, they’re three steps ahead of where they were.”
Okotoks will benefit from several key returnees on the back-end, including top defenceman Lane Wagner, Michael Savage, Peter Soroka and Keaton Lackten.
“Up-front it’s going to be scoring by committee. Having that one guy is nice but it’s also pretty damn dangerous to only have one guy,” Black said.
Without Schlamp, who tallied 36 goals and 65 points in 35 games last season, forwards Chase Fallis and Phil Dillon, last season’s Rookie of the Year, will be relied upon to the find the back of the net. Dillon will be looking to carry on his scorching post-season scoring form as he led the Bisons with 13 goals and 21 points in the playoffs.
Okotoks starts its four game exhibition schedule with a home-and-home set with the High River Flyers beginning on the road on Friday, followed by a Sept. 10 faceoff at Piper Arena. The Bisons travel to Strathmore Sept. 11 before wrapping up their pre-season on Sept. 16 at Murray Arena versus the Wheatland Kings.
The Bisons have been the most successful franchise in the Heritage Junior B Hockey League since its inception, capturing a league high nine HJHL titles.
But there will be no shortage of competition for the Heritage Cup in 2011-12, said Black.
“It sounds like High River has had a pretty aggressive recruitment grab, Coaldale is going to be pretty strong, you never know what Medicine Hat brings. In the North, Cochrane, Airdrie, Blackfalds they’re always going to be strong.”
Okotoks begins its quest for a ninth HJHL title when it opens the season at Murray Arena on Sept. 18 against the Banff Academy Bears.
