The new man behind the bench for the Calgary Junior A Mustangs is not tempering expectations in his first year with the organization.
“I would be extremely disappointed if we didn’t finish somewhere in the top half of the South division,” said Mustangs head coach Mario Amantea, who took over when David Haas was let go in the offseason. “Whether it’s first, second, third or fourth who knows there’s so many factors at play.”
That confidence stems from the team’s depth.
“I’m very, very pleasantly surprised with how competitive all 12 of our forwards are,” Amantea said. “On any given night that gives us the flexibility of moving guys around and we can get secondary scoring from our third and fourth lines without any problem at all.”
The Mustangs, fourth place in the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s (AJHL) South Division last season, lost leading scorer Corey Scott, an AJHL MVP nominee in 2011-12, captain Simon Skrudland and scoring winger Steven Fernie to graduation, leaving Chase McMurphy as the clear go-to-guy offensively among returning Mustangs.
The 18-year-old McMurphy will be joined up front by a couple of key off-season acquisitions. The Mustangs picked up veteran forward Matt Heseltine from the Calgary Canucks, Blair Wentworth from the Dauphin Kings in Manitoba and brought back Damien Kulynych, who spent last season with the Bonnyville Pontiacs.
On the backend, twin tower blueliners Austin Frank, a former Western Hockey Leaguer with the Seattle Thunderbirds, and veteran Jared Van Ree are expected to lead.
“Jared’s been outstanding through the early parts of this season,” Amantea said.
Returning defencemen Jeffrey Wildeman, Doug McDonald and rookie Devin Henes should also contribute on the back end, said Amantea.
If there’s one area of uncertainty for the Mustangs it’s in goal. Jay Deo, a league nominee for goaltender of the year last season, moved to the British Columbia Hockey League’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs in the offseason. Rookie netminders Ravi Dattani and Jake Tamagi as well as Junior B veteran Bryce Halverson have been competing to fill the gaping hole between the pipes.
“We have three guys in camp right now that are battling and looking good,” Amantea said. “We haven’t determined a number one guy as of yet and are going to utilize the beginning of our season here to solidify our roster.”
Key losses: Corey Scott, F, Simon Skrudland, F, Jay Deo, G
Key returnees: Chase McMurphy, F, Jeffrey Wildeman, D, Doug McDonald, D
Key additions: Matt Heseltine, F, Blair Wentworth, F, Damien Kulynych, F, Austin Frank, D
