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Red-hot Bisons bolster roster with junior veterans

“We’re always on the hunt to make our team better, but we’re pretty fortunate when there’s kids looking to come to our program.”
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Okotoks Bisons forward Adam Kirkpatrick scored two goals in the team’s 5-1 victory over the Red Deer Vipers on the road on Nov. 20. (Brent Calver/Western Wheel File Photo)

It just got more difficult to slow down the herd.

The first-placed Okotoks Bisons (17-1-1) have bolstered their roster with the additions of Okotokian Lucas Watkins, former Okotoks U18 AA blueliner Ryland Semaniuk and Heritage Junior Hockey League veteran Jake Snashall up-front.

“When you have a good program and you’re doing well, kids reach out to you and Jake wasn’t playing,” said Bisons general manager Ryan Rarick. “We’re always on the hunt to make our team better, but we’re pretty fortunate when there’s kids looking to come to our program.”

Watkins, an Okotoks minor hockey product, played in 40 games in the Alberta Junior Hockey League over the past two seasons with the Spruce Grove Saints and Calgary Canucks.

“I think you’ll see a little bit more offensive upside and he’ll be put into a role where he’s able to show that,” Rarick said. “He’s got a really good shot. He played Saturday and made an immediate impact and we’re lucky to get Lucas.

Semaniuk, a two-year skater on the Okotoks U18 AA Oilers, started this season with Lake Cowichan’s Jr. B squad on Vancouver Island.

“He’s a player that I’ve coached for a couple years in (U18),” Rarick said. “He went out to Cowichan Valley and wasn’t liking being away from home.”

Snashall is a familiar name to HJHL fans as a star underage forward with the High River Flyers in the 2019-20 season. The 6-foot-1 forward — a fourth-round pick by the Regina Pats in the WHL Bantam Draft dating back to 2018 — started this season with the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs.

“He’s been skating with us for a couple weeks now,” Rarick said. “I think he’ll be able to step right in and do well, but because he hasn’t played for a month-and-a-half where he was off the ice, it could take some time.

“We’re hoping and expecting him to do quite well.”

The changes to roster cut-down sizes and dates this year allow teams to carry up to 25 players until the Jan. 10 deadline, giving the Bisons the room to potentially make some more moves over the next six weeks or so.

Both Watkins and Semaniuk made their Bisons debut in the 5-1 road victory over the Red Deer Vipers on Nov. 20, to extend Okotoks’ winning streak to nine and its points streak to 17.

Adam Kirkpatrick and Austin O’Bray each scored twice with Simon Smith-Burness also tickling the twine. Layton Draper made 27 saves for his league-leading 27thvictory in between the pipes.

Red Deer entered the game on a seven-game winning steak.

“(Head coach Brad Cobb) talked to the kids about rising to the challenge and wanted a strong week of practice last week,” Rarick said. “I think Red Deer was a little undermanned, they had some kids that got banged up there in the game, and they would probably like to have another opportunity against us, but at the same time we were missing a couple key players as well.

“I thought we played really well and there wasn’t a moment in that game where I was sitting and watching and ever felt like we weren’t in control.”

This weekend, Okotoks has its first three games in as many days stretch of the campaign to date with a pair of road matchups bookended by a home finale.

The Bisons are in High River on Nov. 26, hit Coaldale the following night and return home to battle the surging Medicine Hat Cubs on Nov. 28, a 1:15 p.m. puck-drop at the Murray Arena.

“It’s nice that we’ve brought in these extra-bodies, we still have a couple kids out with injuries,” Rarick said. “This weekend is going to be tough.”

For more information go to okotoksbisons.com.


Remy Greer

About the Author: Remy Greer

Remy Greer is the assistant editor and sports reporter for westernwheel.ca and the Western Wheel newspaper. For story tips contact [email protected]
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