KIJHL Notebook: Tait, Desabrais trade
Grand Forks Border Bruins head coach-general manager David Hnatiuk never forgot the performance by Jasper Tait when he stopped 33 of 35 shots to help the Summerland Steam win its home opener 3-2 on Sept. 22, 2023.
“He was the difference maker,” said Hnatiuk. “He solely won that game. Not just that game, I know he’s capable of doing that and playing that way.”
Liking Tait’s play and experience led to Hnatiuk dealing forward JP Desabrais and goalie Alex Jessey to the Williams Lake Mustangs for Tait. Hnatiuk said it was hard to part with Desabrais, who was “a big part of our team last year, but in order to get something, you have to give up something.”
When it comes to balancing the playing time in their crease, Hnatiuk said it’s going to be good.
“You need to have a tandem that works well together and supports each other and are their own team inside the team,” he said. “He’s a good veteran goalie in our lineup. You need two to have a good run.”
More on the trade from the Mustangs’ perspective will come later in the KIJHL Notebook.
Bill Ohlhausen Division
Princeton Posse forward Matthew Langdon became the first KIJHL player to hit 10 goals this season when he did it on Oct. 19 against the Quesnel River Rush. That game he scored twice. He’s had four two-goal games this season. Levi Astill of the Grand Forks Border Bruins joined him a day later when he scored his 10th goal against the Columbia Valley Rockies.
Langdon said it feels good to get there first.
“I’m just hoping to continue where I’ve left off and create more success for myself and the team,” said Langdon, 20, who came to the Posse last season after playing in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League with the OCN Blizzard (now known as the Northern Manitoba Blizzard).
The Sherwood Park, Alta., product credits many in the Posse organization, but especially the coaching staff and his teammates, for his success. The 6-1, 185-pound forward likes how he’s been playing, however, he knows there are steps he can take to be better. He’s always considered himself a point-producer.
“I’ve always had an offensive knack and been able to set up plays and put the puck in the net, but it helps to have a bit of a better group around you as well. Coming to Princeton too, is helping me,” he said.
In 18 games last season, Langdon scored nine goals and had 16 points, then added six goals and nine assists in 18 Teck Cup playoff games.
Jiri Novak didn’t like their game against the Beaver Valley Nitehawks in a 3-1 loss, and in Spokane, he was happy the Revelstoke Grizzlies found a way to win that game 4-3 in a shootout.
“I was really happy with how we started the third game in three days in Nelson and I think it was probably one of the best two periods we had so far,” said the Grizzlies head coach of their 7-2 win in Nelson, in which they scored four first period goals. “The effort, how the guys were dialed in, and we had a good start set the tone for the rest of the game. We competed, stayed with the structure and played how we wanted to, I saw a lot of positive things there.”
Connor Shymoniak has three goals and an assist in his last five games. Novak said that Shymoniak is a smart player and has a lot of tools.
“He’s big, is a good skater and possesses skills with the puck,” he said. “It took a bit for him to get familiar with the system of how we want to play. Now, he has found a way to be even better.”
Merritt Centennials head coach Wes McLeod sarcastically said that goalie Andrew Krakora “is human, because we weren’t sure going into the third game.”
Krakora was named the KIJHL’s Top goalie after he posted back-to-back shutouts and had his streak end at 162 minutes, 31 seconds after Owen Ivanov of the Kelowna Chiefs beat him 2:31 into the third period. Krakora helped the Centennials earn a 3-2 shootout win over the Chiefs on Tuesday.
“He is obviously seeing the puck well and guys are competing hard in front of him,” said McLeod. “We have two good goalies and we’re blessed to have that on our team.”
Along with Krakora being in a zone, McLeod feels the team is in a good spot along with their morale.
“When pucks hit him, they seem to stick and he’s not shooting a lot of rebounds,” added McLeod. “He’s made some timely saves and big saves for us. The guys in front of him have really picked up their defensive play as well so it’s a mixture of both.”
The Centennials recently added depth to the roster with the signing of Dylan Kruchten, who came from the Melfort Mustangs of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
“He’s a big body (6-2,192-pounds), a right-handed shot, which is something we were lacking up front. He plays a power-forward game and takes pucks hard to the net and we think he’s gonna add value to our forward group.”
In their 8-0 win over the Golden Rockets on Oct. 18, Kruchten had a goal and an assist.
Building consistency is a focus for the Sicamous Eagles, while minor penalties have been a problem. Head coach-general manager Liam McOnie believes they are second in the league for power play opportunities given – 75, which is only behind the 100 Mile House Wranglers. He said, “we need to clean that up.”
The Eagles recently added Vernon product Maguire Nicholson from Olds of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. McOnie is familiar with Nicholson, who first debuted in the league with the North Okanagan Knights as an affiliate player in 2022-23. He had two goals and four points in four games. Last season he played with the Knights in three games as an affiliate.
“I think McGuire can be an offensive and physical right winger. He has a lot of great tools, so it’s just a matter of time before he takes off and is able to really start producing and playing up to his potential,” said McOnie. “He’s doing a pretty good job right now of getting simulated with the group. It’s a big weekend for him to really step up and show the team and league what he is as a player and how he can help the team win.”
Kelowna Chiefs head coach-general manager Nick Deschenes believes they are still in the early stages of dealing with inconsistencies in their game. He added they want to play their best hockey at the end of the year.
“Wins are great, and we scored a lot of goals on the weekend, but I feel there are some things that we have to be better at,” he said. “Most of the game is played without the puck and that’s an area we need to improve.”
Deschenes said there has to be growth through the lineup and what he’s seeing requires more patience from him.
“We have a good team, we’re just not quite firing on all cylinders,” said Deschenes, adding that new and some returning players are still adapting to how he wants them to play.
Deschenes anticipates things getting going from Christmas on.
It’s been nearly a decade since Oliver native Tyler Seminoff played in his hometown.
“It’s pretty cool for my last year of junior hockey to be able to come back and play,” the Osoyoos Coyotes defenceman said.
He came over in a trade from the Nelson Leafs, and while in Nelson, he was counted on to play as a defensive defenceman. With the Coyotes, he’s getting more opportunities to contribute offensively, especially on the power-play.
“I already have more points right now this year than I did last season,” he said. “I just feel like coming into my 20-year-old year, and this kind of goes for everybody, not even just going to a different team, you get more opportunity as you get older and develop a little more and I’m definitely getting that opportunity here playing for Osoyoos and Ken. I’m just happy I’m able to showcase some of my talent.”
Prior to a tough 9-2 loss to the Columbia Valley Rockies, Seminoff said they had a good stretch of games. He has belief in their group.
“I think a lot of people in this league have our team severely underrated,” he said. “We 17 rookies – our team is very, very young. We have a lot of talent that we are just starting to gel together and I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people throughout this league.”
Doug Birks Division
After a slow start returning from an injury, 100 Mile House Wranglers captain Ethan Davey is playing like he is capable and feels his confidence is back. After collecting two points in his first six games, Davey now has 13 points in his last seven.
With a strong hockey IQ, Davey has a knack for scoring big goals.
“I’ve been able to find the back of the net randomly too, like on Friday against Williams Lake, I had two goals that rarely go in,” he said. “I shot one from the goal line and I hit the goalie’s shoulder and then another was a fluke and it went five-hole. There’s a little bit of luck in it, but I’ve been finding the back of the net pretty good.”
Davey likes how they are playing and feels they could go on a deep run.
“I’d really like to do that with these guys,” said Davey, who had 23 goals and 34 points in 42 games last season and has six goals and 15 points in 13 games this season.
Kamloops Storm head coach Jan Ludvig knows they are facing a strong opponent in the Beaver Valley Nitehawks this weekend.
“It’s going to be another good test for us,” he said. “We had a fairly successful road trip. We need to keep building. I keep telling the boys, now it’s about details. We’ve finished some of the stuff that we had to fix like passing, pass reception and now we can concentrate on detail, because that’s sort of the separating factor in my mind between the average team, good team and the really good teams.”
Ludvig believes what the team learned during its three-game road trip is that they can pretty much play with anybody in the league.
“We weren’t at that point yet where we can play with the best teams for 60 minutes,” he said. “The eye-opener for some of our young guys was the game against Revelstoke when I go back a few games. They laid a licking on us 7-2. In the first few minutes, it looked like we’re gonna run away with it, we were up 2-0, but this trip there was a lot more consistency. The boys I think realized that we can play and be really good even against some of the best teams, but it’s all about consistency and playing 60 or 60-plus minutes if needed.”
Ludvig noted they have a relatively young team, especially on defence. They need time to fix some things.
“All these measuring sticks, like what’s coming up our way now, is always a good way to reassess and see where we’re at.”
The Chase Heat have been working on their compete level and head coach-general manager Kyle Evans has been pushing the pace in practice, pushing the intensity and raising the standards of what he’s expecting.
“We felt losing 50/50 races and puck battles was our biggest downfall last weekend, so that’s something we’re addressing and then we’re also looking to shore up our neutral zone,” he said, adding that those areas cost them games on the weekend.
An advanced stat that Evans focuses on is expected goals. Their expected goal differential is plus 15 or 16.
“It means we’re generating high quality chances, we’re not giving up a ton of high quality chances, which we’ve been happy with. Now we need to capitalize and take advantage of the things that we’re doing well,” he said.
Evans noted that rookie defenceman Aryx Siefker has started to “find his groove a little bit.”
“We had high expectations for him and he’s come in and done very well and is starting to settle into a role where he’s figured out how to adapt to the junior level,” added Evans. “He’s been playing a little bit more physical, using his size to his advantage a lot more. He’s started to contribute offensively and be a big factor on both sides of the puck.”
Up front, Jace Koskimaki works hard each day in practice and is a motor.
“He’s out there on the ice causing havoc, being good on the forecheck, causing turnovers and he’s been able to generate a lot of scoring chances. He had been a little bit snake bitten over the start of the season.”
Playing a complete game and being strong defensively has been the focus for Quesnel River Rush head coach-general manager Logan Maxwell.
Maxwell feels good about how the players are adapting to how he wants them to play.
“It’s a learning process, it’s gonna take time, but as long as it’s changing that’s all you can really ask for,” he said. “Our forecheck, when we’re on, has been very good when we’re doing it the right way. When we play as a team, everyone’s buying in, but sometimes it gets away from us.”
Cash Anderson has impressed of late, as has captain Bennett Kuhnlein with his leadership. Maxwell said it’s been nice having him back. He’s also been happy with the play of Jayden Mackie, Isaiah Bagri and Evan Murray.
In trading goalie Jasper Tait to the Grand Forks Border Bruins for forward JP Desabrais and goalie Alex Jessey, Williams Lake Mustangs head coach-general manager Tyrel Lucas has handed the keys to their crease to local Evan Leggett, while adding forward depth.
“It was definitely a tough trade,” said Lucas, adding that Tait is an amazing person and a very talented goaltender.
In Desabrais, 19, Lucas gets a player excited for a new start and brings experience. In 58 career regular season games, the Red Earth Creek, Alta., native has 59 points. He had six points in 11 Teck Cup playoff games last season.
“He’s a big body (6-2, 205-pounds) with a great shot and he’s a good skater,” said Lucas. “He has a high compete level, a high drive and was noticeable against us (Desabrais had a goal and assisted on the winner). I think he probably had six or seven shots against us. It seems he’s a difference maker and going off what he did last season with his points, he’s not just putting the puck in the net, but helping set plays. I think he’ll help on the power play and in all situations. To have an older presence like that in the lineup is exactly what we’re hoping for.”
Leggett takes over with a win in three games and a .911 save rate and 4.02 goals against average. Jessey was 1-1 for the Border Bruins with an .864 save rate and a 4.50 goals against average.