After reaching the third round of the AJHL playoffs for the first time in franchise history the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs have raised the bar even higher for the 2015-16 season, setting their sights on the Gas Drive Cup.
“This year we jumped even further than I thought we would. We didn't just get to the North Final, we competed in the North Final,” said Pontiacs associate coach Larry Draper. “Next year it is not just a dream to win the North, our goal is to get into the Gas Drive Cup and win the darn thing.”
The Pontiacs 2014-15 season was a tale of two very different halves. Bonnyville struggled to find consistency through the first 36 games of the year posting a 15-15-6 record. A 12-day break at Christmas allowed the team to reset and they came back rejuvenated and ready to play. The team rattled off an impressive run going 15-4-5 in their final 24 games of the season, which included a 15 game point streak to end the year.
Their impressive turnaround was in large part due to three new 20-year-olds that were inserted into the Pontiacs lineup courtesy of three post trade deadline day trades.
Swan's first move came on Dec. 1, 2014 when he acquired 6-foot-5, 210-pound defenseman Cody Fiala from Drumheller.
Ten days later he struck a deal with division rival Whitecourt sending forward Luke Mahura and future considerations to the Wolverines for two-way centre and team captain Evan Warmington.
The final, and arguably biggest trade that Swan made, came on Jan. 8 when he sent defenseman Mark Zvonkovic to Melleville of the SJHL for former WHL netmider Troy Trombley.
The three veterans were inserted into the Pontiacs lineup and immediate given new roles and expected to be leaders of a young team.
“We told Fiala that he wasn't here to fight, he wasn't here to play that way,” said Swan. “Warmington was not going to be a third line guy on our team, he may have been in Whitecourt, but we expected him to be a leader here.”
“Those two guys embraced those roles because they were never given them before,” added Swan. “Then you bring in a Troy Trombley, he may have kicked around hockey for a bit, but we made him our number one guy and believed in him from the start.”
Warmington excelled in his role as the team's No. 1 centre playing on a top line with Dillan McCombie and Kyler Hehn. He notched 27 points in 27 regular season games with Bonnyville and then went on to score 10 points in 15 playoff games.
Fiala proved to be a tough opponent on the blue line and was rewarded with the chance to play in a variety of situations. In 32 regular season games with the Pontiacs he chipped in with four goals and 13 points.
Troy Trombley gave Bonnyville a goaltender who was able to provide quality starts night in and night out. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Trombley was a huge presence in Bonnyville's creases going 12-3-4 down the stretch with a 2.27 GAA and .923 save percentage.
Both Swan and Draper knew the Pontiacs had a good nucleus of players, feeling they just needed a few pieces to turn the team into a contender.
“Early in the year we played against Brooks with a skeleton roster due to injuries and we took them to overtime,” said Draper. “On that same trip we beat Canmore and played very well against Okotoks.”
The road trip Draper is referring to was from Oct. 22 to 26. Brooks, the No. 2 team in the South Division, edged them 4-3 in overtime. They defeated Canmore 5-2 and then lost to Okotoks 4-3 in overtime.
“It got to a point where we decided what we needed and we went out and got it and that made the difference,” said Draper. “The foundation was there, even though we were playing .500 hockey. When we played against the top teams in the league our guys were able to respond, they just needed a little bit of help.”
The trades did help and made Bonnyville into the best team in the AJHL for the latter half of the season. Their late season push saw them climb from fifth in the North Division up to third, just one point behind the second place Lloydminster Bobcats.
The Pontiacs impressive run carried on into the postseason where they swept the Drayton Valley Thunder in three games and knocked off the Bobcats in six games before losing the North Division Final to the Spruce Grove Saints.
“We were disappointed we didn't with the North Division Championship. We thought our guys deserved a better fate,” said Pontiacs head coach and GM Rick Swan. “A bounce here or there and we could have gone into Game 7.”
While many throughout the organization were disappointed after the team saw their season come to an abrupt halt on March 29, time has allowed those, including Swan, to reflect on the team's accomplishments.
“It is the farthest the team has ever gotten in franchise history in the playoffs,” said Swan. “We set attendance records in the playoffs and had over 13,000 people come and watch us. Our 50/50 jackpots regularly reached $15,000. It was fantastic.”
Days after seeing their season come to an end both Swan and Draper were hard at work preparing for next season. A season, which they feel is going to be even better than this past year's run.
“Our standard is the North Division Finals. That is where our standard has to start,” said Swan. “We have been there, so it is not just good enough to make the playoffs and compete. We have taken the bar and moved the standard to a higher place.”
The Pontiacs now have the task every junior team faces, the one of rebuilding their squad and replacing their graduating players.
This year Bonnyville will be losing seven players; Fiala, Warmingon, Trombley, Ryan Black, Brady Bakke, Mitch Fritz, and Dillan McCombie.
While the task of replacing these players may seem daunting, Swan feels as though the Pontiacs have a good group of young players that will be able to step into new roles.
“The great thing about growth is that other players get the chance to step in,” said Swan. “Look at the strides Brinson Pasichnuk made and he is only 17-years-old. Look at Erik Donald and Gen Bryshun and the improvements they made. Bobby McMann has the ability to be one of the most dominant forwards in the league.”
Those players will also be joined by a large group of veterans with Braiden Doucette, Steen Pasichnuk, Kyler Hehn and 16 other players able to return for another season.
“We didn't think we could replace a Spencer Foo last year, but Hehn stepped up and had (almost) as many points as Foo did last year,” said Swan. “We know guys will step up.”
Hehn went from seven goals and 25 points in 2013-14 to 28 goals and 60 points in 2014-15.
With that in mind the Pontiacs coaching staff has turned their efforts into recruiting, looking for several players to come in and fill the holes in their roster.
Their annual Top Prospects camp will be held at the Leduc Recreation Centre from May 22 to 24, where the coaching staff will get their first look at many of their top recruits.
