The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs hope the successful end to their exhibition games will carry over.
The team bested the Battlefords North Stars 4-3 in their last exhibition game on Sept. 8.
Pontiacs assistant coach T.J. Millar said a focus was introducing the younger players to what would be expected of them in the upcoming season, which kicks off on Friday, Sept. 13 when the Pontiacs face the Whitecourt Wolverines on enemy territory.
“It was just bringing the guys in, seeing where they’re at, and showing them what it takes for them to play at this level,” he explained. “I know with our first game, especially against the Grande Prairie Storm, they had an older lineup and it was a great taste for those guys coming in. I was thrilled and excited with the work ethic they showed.”
Head coach Rick Swan added, “As we go through exhibition season, the final game should pretty much be the makeup of what we’re going to see during the regular season… We had some veterans sitting out of the line-up because it was more important for us to evaluate whether our young guys can play a 58-game Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) schedule.”
Although the coaching staff is only looking to cut their roster from 26 players to 25, Millar and Swan agreed they still have a very tough decision moving forward.
“We love the game, and we know that our heads have to be involved at this level because there’s high expectations on T.J., Neil (Langridge), and myself to ensure that we’re putting together the best group,” Swan continued. “But, we’re humans and with humans you have emotions. You have a heart, and that’s the most difficult thing you do is to look somebody in the eyes and let them know that maybe they’re not the right fit for us this year for what we expect for our organization and what we expect from the players in our organization to perform at a higher level all the time.”
After such a successful season last year, the players they’re bringing in this time around have higher expectations from Swan and Millar.
“Not only are we working harder, but we’re bringing in a different type of players that will allow us to (advance farther). We’re excited as coaches, because the group is a high character group, and that high character group, we think, is going to translate into the greater successes that we’re hoping for,” detailed Swan.
It will be veteran Joel Ray leading the players as captain this year, a title Swan believes is well deserved.
“Joel’s our third-year veteran. He’s gone from a regroup year, where we decided last year that we were going to trade lots of players, when Joel went through the rebuild year, our best season ever, I think he’s just an (outstanding) individual, human being, and captain… Joel gives us confidence in knowing that we’re going to be okay in that dressing room with an individual like him.”
With the regular season quickly approaching, Millar stressed the team’s biggest test will be themselves.
“Depending on how we prepare for games, what we put into practice, it’s not the opposition we’re worried about. It’s making sure we have the right mindset, the right accomplishments, and goals that we have to achieve day in and day out,” he explained. “At the end of the day, we’re playing ourselves because we know what we’re capable of doing as a team already. It’s a great group, and it’s just a matter of doing it right every day.”
The Pontiacs home opener will be against the Drayton Valley Thunder on Friday, Sept. 20. The puck drops in the R.J. Lalonde Arena at 7 p.m.
