The Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs are having one of their best seasons in franchise history, and they’re being recognized for it.
Last week, the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) announced the top 20 teams so far in 2019. Out of 133, the Pontiacs came in at number 14.
“We’ve been (on the list) for 13-consecutive weeks since the beginning of the season,” expressed head coach Rick Swan. “We’ve been on the list every week that it’s come out, which is a franchise best.”
The rankings are decided by an independent scouting service. Some factors taken into account include winpercentage and the league each group participates in.
Brent Ladds, president for the CJHL, said seeing where a local team ranks nationally can create additional interest for fans.
“If we didn’t do it, people would really speculate to how (each team) would do nationally. People that aren’t familiar with the product wouldn’t have the basis for trying to determine how their team might stand up in the west versus a team in the east,” he explained.
Along with the Pontiacs, there were two other AJHL teams included on the list. The Brooks Bandits took the number one position, while the Sherwood Park Crusaders came in at ninth.
Swan noted that some years, the Pontiacs haven’t made the top 20 at all, but their consecutive appearance this year is due to the strength of the team they put together.
“Our plan that we embarked on last season to try something different to put us in a position that we’re in now, it’s great to see that it worked, or it has been working... It’s something that took a leap of faith to be able to do, and not focus strictly on what we had going on last year, that we wanted to be broader than that, and to look beyond what last season was in order to put ourselves in a better position this year at this time,” Swan explained.
In past years, the top 20 rankings have been a good indicator for how a team will do through the season.
“The other thing it does is, given the national perspective, they’re saying ‘where you’re right now and how you’re playing, you should end up here, but, it’s up to you to accomplish that,’” noted Ladds.
While they’re happy with making the list, Swan said the teams going to keep working hard for the remainder of the season.
“We’d like to be higher, but not often are you in control of that. All you’re in control of is what you do everyday to try and prepare your players the best that you can, and try to push them everyday to improve so that you can continue to stay there.”
