Some of the top hockey players in the foothills were presented with hardware following a banner season for AA and AAA squads this past season.
The Okotoks Oilers Athletic Association (OOAA) held its annual awards banquet April 16 at the Foothills Centennial Centre and the evening was an opportunity to recognize several of the top hockey players at the AA and AAA level.
Second-year forward Brodie Wilson, who missed nine games with an arm injury to start the year, made up for lost time en route to being named the Okotoks Midget AA Oilers’ most valuable player.
“With it being my second year there I wanted to make a bigger impact than in my first year so when I got hurt it was a letdown,” Wilson said. “When I got back I felt like I didn’t miss any time and really wanted to make up for the time I lost.”
He most certainly did.
Wilson potted 16 goals and 34 points in just 27 games and formed an effective partnership with sniper Sean McMaster, a linemate dating back to Timbit hockey.
The tenacious centre was a spark plug no matter where head coach Cliff Bordt lined him up or who his wingers were in his second season in the black-and-green.
“(Bordt) always told me I was a really good leader and I make the players around me better, I would make the line better,” Wilson said. “That really helped.”
It was a season of mixed results for the Midget AA Oilers. They weren’t able to pick up another provincial championship and were upset in the second round of the playoffs by Lethbridge, but earned a solid record of 21-11-5 in the regular season.
Looking ahead to a third season with Okotoks, Wilson said he took a giant leap forward under the guidance of assistant coach and former Okotoks Jr. A Oiler Andrew Owsiak.
“It was a learning experience of being in a leadership role and being in a role where your team depends on you,” said Wilson, an alternate captain for Okotoks. “Andrew Owsiak especially taught me a lot of new things about improving on your weaknesses and continually improving on your strengths because that will make you a better hockey player.”
The OOAA enjoyed championship seasons at the Bantam AA and Bantam female AAA levels and hosted the South Central Alberta Hockey League (SCAHL) all-star weekend in January.
The Bantam AA Oilers brought a balanced attack to the ice and cruised to a sweep of the playoffs, defeating the Wheatland Braves 3-0 in the SCAHL final.
Pivot Wyatt Derksen was selected as the team’s most valuable player, an honour the Grade 9 student at Okotoks Junior High School was not anticipating.
“That just surprised me so much. I was baffled and lost for words there,” said Derksen on receiving the award at the banquet. “I was just so happy.”
Derksen’s shock came down to the long list of candidates Oilers coach Keith Harris could have selected, including leading scorers Tate Laycraft and Travis Yee, and goaltenders Liam Aitken and Tanner Webster.
“Coach Keith basically said (I am) a hard-working kid who has tried out for all the top teams and usually doesn’t make it, is under the radar a lot,” Derksen said. “As he said before the speeches, it was really hard to pick because we don’t have that all-star player, everyone was so even.”
The 15-year-old centre admittedly struggled to impress at tryouts in his minor hockey career with the 2012-12 season marking his first at the AA level.
“Coach Keith told me at tryouts I’m really counting on you to get better,” said Derksen. “That’s what I did, I just worked on my shot and my skating as much as I could and as the year progressed I was getting more and more goals.”
Playing as a shutdown centre, Derksen’s late season surge led to totals of 18 goals and 39 points despite limited duties on the man-advantage.
The Bantam AA Oilers’ title was matched by seven Okotokians plying their AAA trade in Cochrane.
The Rocky Mountain Bantam AAA Raiders followed up a championship season the only way they knew how, by repeating the feat in 2012-13.
Team captain Amanda McLeod was named the Raiders’ most valuable player, finishing second on the team with 20 goals and 34 points.
“It wasn’t something I was definitely expecting,” McLeod said. “It was nice to know (my coach) thought that of me.
“It feels great to be with such a great group of girls who were so hard working.”
The Highwood Midget AAA Oilers’ much improved campaign led to a pair of awards for foothills players. Team captain Kaylin Snodgrass of Longview walked away as the best defenceman and Black Elk scholarship winner. Hard working winger Bailey McLellan of Okotoks took home the Oiler award.
Award winners
Okotoks Peewee AA Oilers
Most Improved Player – Kyle Tarasoff
Top Scorer – Peyton Krebs
Best Defenceman – Loeden Schaufler
Oiler Award – Kenshin Hayashi
MVP – Jackson Salt
Black Elk Scholarship – Luc Thorimbert
Okotoks Banta m AA Oilers
Most Improved Player – Nicholas VanderHeyden
Top Scorer – Travis Yee
Best Defenceman – Mitchell Wolfe
Oiler Award – Tate Laycraft
MVP – Wyatt Derksen
Okotoks Midget AA Oilers
Most Improved Player – Mike Stach
Top Scorer – Sean McMaster
Best Defenceman – Trent Schussler
Oiler Award – Hunter Young
MVP – Brodie Wilson
Black Elk Scholarship – Brodie Wilson
Rocky Mountain Bantam AAA Raiders
Most Improved Player – Kate Lloyd
Top Scorer – Nicolette Seper
Best Defenceman – Jane Jacobs
Oiler Award – Cassidy Trotter
MVP – Amanda McLeod
Black Elk Scholarship – Kennedy Brown
Highwood Midget AAA Raiders
Most Improved Player – Madison Nesom
Top Scorer – Emily Potts
Best Defenceman – Kaylin Snodgrass
Oiler Award – Bailey McLellan
MVP – Emily Potts
Black Elk Scholarship – Kaylin Snodgrass
Okotoks Bantam AAA Oilers
Most Improved Player - Brendon Borbely
Top Scorer - Markus Lavallee
Best Defenceman - Cameron Shorrock
Oiler Award - Nolan Steer
MVP - Cameron Shorrock
Black Elk Scholarship - Cody Grobowsky
Craig Kletzle Memorial Award - Owen Guenter
Rockyview M15 AAA Raiders
Most Improved Player - Jordan Grover
Top Scorer - Eric Theander
Best Defenceman - Josh Bishop
Oiler Award - Shane Fraser
MVP - Jacob Standen
