BONNYVILLE - The Bonnyville Pontiacs of the AJHL made an exciting new addition this week acquiring forward Myles Gauld from the Camrose Kodiaks in exchange for forward Ludo Tardif.
Gauld, who was the Kodiaks captain, is expected to bring a leadership role to the Pontiacs.
“He’s got a great work ethic. We’re super happy to have him and we’re looking forward to big things from him,” says Associate General Manager Neil Langridge. “We’ve seen him make an impact already in three games.”
Expanding on the decision, Langridge thought a shake-up was needed and that Tardif was not having the year he wanted playing for the Kodiaks. Tardif and Gauld had similar point production with Tardif having one more point in four fewer games at the time of the trade. Last year, Gauld had 37 points as a rookie, but only managed 14 points this year on a struggling Kodiaks team ranked second last.
Captain injured
A couple weeks ago, Pontiac’s captain Nicolas Beaudoin received a vicious illegal hit from Brooks Bandits’ defender Ethan Beyer during the Nov. 25 game against the Bandits. Brooks is the AJHL’s top team. The hit resulted in a three-game suspension for Beyer while the Pontiacs lost 6-3.
Prior to sustaining an injury from the hit, Beaudoin was the second-leading point scorer for the Pontiacs with 26 points, behind leading scorer centre Luka Sukovic.
Fortunately for the Pontiacs, Beaudoin won’t be out long-term and is expected to be back within the next couple of weeks, hitting the ice before Christmas.
“When you’re missing him out of our lineup, not only as the captain of the team, but one of our top players, it’s been noticeable not having him in the lineup,” says Langridge. Beaudoin is a homegrown product, previously playing with the St. Paul Canadiens of the NEAJBHL, and growing up in St. Paul.
Tough stretch
After winning 9 of 11 games during the first quarter of the season, the Pontiacs have struggled recently on their two-and-a-half-week road trip, going 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. At the midway point of the season, the Pontiacs have gone 16-13-3, and are now seventh out of 16 teams in league standings. In their two recent games, the Pontiacs lost to the Calgary Canucks 4-3 and Canmore Eagles 5-1.
“We’ve had ample opportunities to score, but we just have’t been capitalizing,” says Langridge. “It takes all 20 guys on the ice every night from our goaltender to our defense to our forwards, to pay the price. We know we have a really good group and it’s just about dialing it in.”
Up next, the Bonnyville Pontiacs host the Blackfalds Bulldogs at the RJ Lalonde Arena on Friday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.
