It was a busy week on the ice for the Humboldt Broncos with three games but an even busier week off of it.
With the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) trade deadline approaching on Jan. 10, the Broncos were busy making changes to their team.
First the team traded local favourite and acting captain Jarrett Fontaine to the Weyburn Red Wings. Fontaine had been the acting captain since November when captain Anthony Kapelke went down with a knee injury.
A few days later, the team traded Kapelke to the Steinbach Pistons of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
Kaplke said he鈥檚 going to miss a lot of people throughout the Broncos organization and throughout the city of Humboldt.
鈥淚鈥檓 just going to miss every part of it, the guys, the coaching staff, they鈥檙e all great to us and the community is such a tight knit community, there鈥檚 lots of community support there.,鈥� he said.
After spending nearly three full seasons in Humboldt Kapelke said that leaving his billets is going to be one of the hardest parts.
鈥淢y billets have been a huge part of my life the past three years and I鈥檝e seen the young boys grow up and that鈥檚 going to be really tough as well is to leave them cause I know we鈥檝e built such a strong relationship but I know that it doesn鈥檛 end here,鈥� he said.
Despite the trade Kapelke has nothing but great things to say about both the organization and the community.
聽鈥淏oth past and present players can vouch that Humboldt is one of the best places to play junior hockey. My experience here has been unreal, from my billets, to the fans, to my teammates and the community, everyone that I met through the
Humboldt Broncos organization. It鈥檚 really been first class,鈥� he said.
Kapelke admitted that he wasn鈥檛 totally surprised by the trade since the team was moving to get younger and he desired to win a championship. He said it was a hard and busy day but something that he needed to do.
鈥淚t was something I had to do individually to better myself, just as Moro and Fontaine did. It鈥檚 sad but exciting at the same time to start a new opportunity in Steinbach,鈥� he said.
Humboldt Broncos Assistant Coach Brayden Klimosko was really sad to see Fontaine and Kapelke go since he started as an assistant coach the year both players joined the Broncos.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to miss Pelks (Anthony Kapelke) and Fonzy (Jarrett Fontaine). They鈥檙e a big part of our team but it鈥檚 time for our young guys to step up. Sooner or later Anthony Kapelke and Jarrett Fontaine were going to be gone from this team and now it鈥檚 time for some of those guys to step into those roles and be a big part of this team for years to come,鈥� said Klimosko.
With the Broncos trading away both their captain and acting captain there is a leadership vacancy within the team. Klimosko said that the coaches will sit down in the coming days and decide whether or not they will name a new captain. He said with the trade deadline going on the coaches have been really busy and haven鈥檛 had much chance to discuss it yet but he noted that he isn鈥檛 concerned about their leadership going forward.
鈥淲e鈥檙e obviously going to rely on Trevor Posch, Corey Dambrauskas, Josh Bergen, Connor Swystun, those 19-year-olds that have been in this league for the last two years and I feel pretty comfortable with that group,鈥� he said.
Klimosko has already seen a positive change in those players.
鈥淭hey really seem engaged and they like the part of them being the guys now,鈥� he said.
In addition to trading Kapelke and Fontaine the team also dealt Brayden Uhrich to the Miramichi Timberwolves of the Maritime Hockey League and Colin Woods to the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. Uhrich was acquired from the Calgary Mustangs in November as part of the deal sending goalie Brett Clarke to Calgary.
The Broncos were also busy acquiring talent receiving Chris Van Os-Shaw and a third round pick from Weyburn in the Fontaine trade, Carter Seminuk from the Drayton Valley Thunder of the Alberta Junior Hockey League and future players from both the Uhrich, Woods and Kapelke trades.
Seminuk was acquired for a player development fee and is expected to compete with current starting goalie Ryan LaRochelle down the stretch for the starting job. Both goalies would be eligible to return to the team next season as well.
Last Week
The Broncos had a trifecta of games last week with a pair of road matchups followed by a home game.
The first game of the week was also the Broncos first of 2016 and first since Dec. 19 and it came in Wilcox against the Notre Dame Hounds.
The Broncos got off to a slow start that night falling behind 2-0 just after the midway mark of the first period. The Broncos were never able to recover from digging the early hole and fell to the Hounds 4-1.
After such a long break and everyone going home for Christmas the Broncos struggled with a little bit of, as coach Darcy Haugan put it, 鈥渢urkey stench鈥�.
It was not a good thing, says Klimosko.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not really fair to anyone really, we just weren鈥檛 quite ready. It took us a while to get going and we just didn鈥檛 seem to have it that night.鈥�
The teams鈥� second game was the first half of a back-to-back, home-and-home with the Nipawin Hawks.
The Broncos got off to a much better start in Nipawin grabbing the lead from the Hawks less than four minutes into the period. The period remained back and forth with the Broncos also taking 2-1 and 3-2 leads. A Hawks power-play goal with one second left in the opening period sent the teams into the intermission tied at 3.
Bronco鈥檚 Rock Ruschkowski and Chase Thudium of the Hawks, traded second period goals to keep the score tied, this time at 4, heading into the third period.
Michael Korol scored a powerplay goal but the Hawks scored three of the own in the third period to take the first game of their home-and-home 7-5.
Klimosko said a few mental mistake and a few bad breaks were this difference in the loss.
鈥淭here was times when we played really good in that game but there was some things that we didn鈥檛 do overly smart. We were up 3-2 and they scored a late goal in the first period to make it 3-3 and that was one that I think we should have just played a little bit smarter, there was a couple bad bounces here and there but the effort was pretty solid,鈥� he said.
The Broncos retuned home the next night with revenge on their minds.
The Broncos came out of the gate flying that night scoring twice in the opening period and limiting the Hawks to only six shots, however, like the night before the Broncos gave up first period goal in the final minute and took a narrow 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
Unlike the night prior, the Broncos didn鈥檛 let the late goal turn the momentum of the game as they came out playing even better in the second period drawing three Hawks penalties and scoring three times to take a commanding 5-1 lead into the second intermission.
The teams traded third period goals and the Broncos pulled out a much-needed 6-2 win. Klimosko was very pleased with his teams play that night and felt the result was well earned.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a tough week for everyone losing some of our 20-year-old guys through the trade deadline. It鈥檚 been hectic for everyone and they battled through and they deserved to win tonight. They played well and it鈥檚 nice for us to get rewarded for some of the hard effort that we鈥檝e been putting in the last couple of days,鈥� he said.
Next Week
The Broncos will play a pair of big home games this week as they continue their push for the playoffs.
Their first matchup will see them play a rematch of last week鈥檚 game against the Notre Dame Hounds, who currently sit three spots ahead of the Broncos in the standings.
鈥淲ith Notre Dame, it鈥檚 a rematch with the game that we played against them a week ago roughly and they鈥檝e had our number this year. It鈥檚 time for us to start winning some hockey games against them, they鈥檙e one of the teams that we鈥檙e trying to chase in the second half of the season so they鈥檙e big four point games for us,鈥� said Klimosko
The teams鈥� second game of the week sees them face-off with the team directly ahead of them in the standings. The Yorkton Terriers come to town sitting one point ahead of the Broncos for the final playoff spot in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
鈥淵orkton is as big as it comes, really. That鈥檒l be a playoff style game on Saturday so we better be ready for it. It鈥檚 not going to come easy for us, they have a youth movement there as well and I expect it to be a pretty intense game and I鈥檓 looking forward to that,鈥� said Klimosko.
