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Last weekend marked the first time that Jeremy Velazquez got a taste of what Junior A hockey with the Battlefords North Stars is like.
After playing for two years for Brother Rice High School in Chicago and spending last season with the Coeur d鈥橝lene Hockey Academy, it鈥檚 safe to say he鈥檚 eager for more.
鈥淚 absolutely love it,鈥� Velazquez said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot different than the other levels of hockey that I鈥檝e played in.
鈥淭he step into juniors is the biggest one that a player can take. A lot of the guys that I played with or against while at Coeur d鈥橝lene have all moved up into junior leagues like the BCHL (British Columbia Hockey League) so that competition has helped out the transition a bit.鈥�
It also doesn鈥檛 hurt that the North Stars are off to a strong start in their pre-season slate, as they improved to 3-0 following an 8-1 rout on the road against the Nipawin Hawks on Tuesday night.
Prior to that, the North Stars had a pair of wins over the Bonnyville Pontiacs of the Alberta Junior Hockey League over the weekend.
They came away with a narrow 4-3 win in Bonnyville Saturday and followed that up with a 5-2 triumph a night later at the Civic Centre.
鈥淲e鈥檝e switched up enough guys in each game that we had a mix of young guys in there along with some key leadership from our veteran players,鈥� North Stars general manager and head coach Nate Bedford said.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been successful so far, but we expect that out of ourselves no matter who is in the lineup.鈥�
The juggling of the lineups has allowed different players to stand out on offence during the course of the three games.
MacGregor Sinclair, who played with the Lloydminster Midget AAA Bobcats last season, had a goal and an assist Saturday.
Ryan Rosenberg, Logan Nachtegaele and Connor Logan each had a goal and assist at home Sunday, while Calgary鈥檚 Tayden Woods had two goals and two assists in Nipawin.
鈥淭hey are prepared and ready to go and that鈥檚 a good lesson for us as a team overall,鈥� Pontiacs general manager and head coach Rick Swan said.
鈥淗aving a chance to go up against a team from the SJHL really allows us to see how we look at this early stage, and it鈥檚 a good lesson for our younger guys to see what they need to do at this level. If you don鈥檛 learn from games like this, then you aren鈥檛 going to be successful.鈥�
Three different goaltenders have started for the North Stars so far in the pre-season.
Ryan Rewerts got the call Saturday, Dawson Rodin made his first Junior A start at the Civic Centre Sunday and Taryn Kotchorek was between the pipes Tuesday in Nipawin.
With Wednesday鈥檚 home game against the Hawks being cancelled due to logistical reasons, there are only two more games for players to impress Bedford and the rest of the North Stars staff in order to make the opening night roster.
They will travel to Kindersley Friday night before facing the Klippers once again Saturday in a 7:30 p.m. tilt at the Civic Centre.
鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be some hard decisions that we will have to make,鈥� Bedford said. 鈥淵ou kind of have an idea of what you鈥檙e going to do, but then the games happen and you have to make some adjustments.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be very competitive,鈥� Velazquez said. 鈥淵ou see that every place you go, with everyone battling for a spot and you never know what鈥檚 going to happen until the season starts.鈥�
The regular season will begin Sept. 16 when the Klippers pay a visit to North Battleford.
In other news, the North Stars are the highest ranked team from the SJHL in the Canadian Junior Hockey League鈥檚 pre-season rankings in 13th spot.
The Estevan Bruins are 20th while the two-time defending champion Melfort Mustangs were given an honorable mention.
The Portage Terriers of the MJHL enter the year as the top team in the country, while the defending RBC Cup champion West Kelowna Warriors are in fourth spot.
The first in-season rankings will come out on Sept. 26.
