Having participated in both his, and the organization's most successful season in recent history, last years NEAJBHL MVP Dallas Ansell completed a remarkable u-turn Oct. 4 as he turned out for the Cold Lake Jr. B Ice just months after indicating his time with the team had come to an end.
Following last year's NEAJBHL championship and provincial bronze with the Ice, Ansell decided he would be moving on to university this fall with his twin brother, former Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiac Levi Ansell, to study kinesiology. That left the Ice without any of last year's first line forwards returning, before Ansell stated his intent to sign on for his final year with the organization, where he is now faced with the unenviable task of trying to balance school with hockey.
“I'd been thinking long and hard all summer about (my decision to leave the Ice) and I talked to (head coach Neil Langridge) a few times about what his opinion would be on me playing for another year with the Ice,” Ansell said. “Basically I'd come back up on weekends and play, and then go back to school during the week.”
Last season, Ansell recorded 110 points in 34 regular season games with the Ice en route to a third consecutive NEAJBHL championship, but he believes this year's team is every bit as good as previous sides, saying he's looking forward to seeing individuals on the roster stepping up to fill the void left by the likes of Niko Bourget, Matt Laboucane, Dustin Hyde and Ashton Restau.
“Even though we lost some big players in the off season, the team still has enough skill and enough guys that can get the job done to win another championship,” Ansell said. “I think this team has the quality to replicate the success the Ice has had in the past. Guys like Niko and Laboucane are going to be missed for sure, but we have a lot of young guys here that will do their best to fill the void and one way or another, I think they'll get the job done.”
One player Ansell said fans should keep an eye on this season is Christian Nypower, who last season scored an unprecedented eight goals in a single playoff game for the Ice, as he believes fans are about to see a breakout season from the young forward.
“I kind of see Nypower as leading the team in scoring this year, he's an extremely skilled player and I think he'll be huge for the team this year,” Ansell said.
Ansell added that he was hoping to take on more of a leadership role with the organization this season, stating he wanted to show some of the new players what is expected of them as new members of the Cold Lake Ice.
“Individually, I want to set an example to some of the new guys. I think we have six or seven guys who are completely new to the league so I think it's important to teach these guys some of the basics – blocking shots, taking face offs that sort of thing,” Ansell said. “As long as I can be a leader for some of these guys, that's the number one goal.”
Although it's going to take “a lot of work” attempting to balance school work with playing hockey over the weekend, Ansell said he believes it will all be worth it come the end of the season, where he hopes the Ice will be able to make a run to secure their fourth league championship.
The Cold Lake Ice started the home portion of their 2013-14 schedule by raising their third straight championship banner to the rafters on Oct. 11.
The Ice didn't get the outcome they would have liked as they dropped their home opener 4-3 in overtime to the visiting Lloydminster Bandits.
The team bounced back the next night with a 8-2 stomping of the Vegreville Rangers at the Cold Lake Energy Centre.
The Ice, who are now 3-0-1 on the season, will host the Saddle Lake Warriors on Oct. 18 in Cold Lake before traveling to face the Border City Onion Chiefs on Oct. 19.
