New faces, new optimism as Eagles begin new season
The Canmore Eagles came within one win of reaching the Alberta Junior Hockey League championship series last spring. Now with a large veteran presence, experienced additions and some key rookies they will be looking to go even further this season.
Canmore returns 13 players as the team gets ready to drop the puck on a new season on Friday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Canmore Recreation Centre against the defending champion Calgary Canucks.
On defence, the team has just two returning blue liners (with hometown, year born and AJHL regular-season totals) in Nolan Kazeil (Edmonton, 2004, 98GP-1G-14A) and Keston Beagle (Rimbey, 2006, 30GP-1G).
The team has added veteran major junior defenceman Jaren Brinson (Airdrie, 2004), who played for five WHL teams and 202 games over four years, and junior A veteran Carter Davis (Elk River, Minn., 2005, 26GP-3G-9A) acquired from the Grande Prairie Storm.
A pair of high school rookies round out the grouping in Jack Bousquet (Dallas, Tex., 2007), who played at IHA-Calgary last season, and Liam Magnuson (Calgary, 2007), who played at St. George’s in Vancouver.
Returning forwards include Owen Jones (Canmore, 2004, 118GP-34G-43A), Ethan Look (Calgary, 2004, 93GP-15G-49A), Rhett Dekowny (Swift Current, Sask., 2004, 116GP-25G-32A), Kayden Rawji (Edmonton, 2004, 103GP-17G-20A), Nathan MacPherson-Ridgewell (Tsawwassen, B.C., 2004, 40GP-11G-17A), Cohen Daoust (St. Albert, 2006, 43GP-2G-10A), Bryson Insinger (Calgary, 2006, 34GP-5G-4A), Tavynn Schlaht (Cypress Country, 2005, 37GP-3G-3A), Haruki Morikawa (Banff, 2005, 35GP-4G-2A), and 2005-born twins from St. Edmonton, Carter (44GP-2G-4A) and Zach Coutu (48GP-8G-13A).
Newcomers include teammates from the junior A Chatham Maroons (Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League), Josh Cleary (Windsor, Ont., 2006) and Braden Burke (Tecumseh, Ont., 2005). Cleary averaged better than a point per game last season with 49 (21G-28A) in 40 games, while Burke registered 40 (21G-19A) in 50 games.
The rookie presence includes Aidan Tkachuk (Calgary, 2006) and Brayden Schwartz (Okotoks, 2006). Tkachuk played with the Calgary Royals U18 (Alberta Elite Hockey League), registering 44 points (17G-27A) in 38 games and 50 penalty minutes. Schwartz played in 29 high school games at Edge Academy last season collecting 21 points (10G-11A).
The goaltenders are Alex Scheiwiller (Calgary, 2005, 39GP-3.15GAA-.991S/Pct.) and rookie Hudson Sedo (St. Albert, 2006, 2GP-3.00GAA-.882S/Pct.). Scheiwiller chose not to return to the Spruce Grove Saints of the B.C. Hockey League. Sedo had a memorable junior A debut last season with a 14-save shutout performance against the Olds Grizzlys.
After a tumultuous 2023-24 campaign for the AJHL, the league appears back on steady ground with 12 teams and a return to split divisions of North and South.
Gone are the Brooks Bandits, Okotoks Oilers, Blackfalds Bulldogs, Sherwood Park Crusaders and Spruce Grove, bolting to the B.C. Hockey League – regarded as a non-sanctioned entity by Hockey Canada.
The AJHL added the Devon Xtreme to bring the league back to a dozen teams and as mentioned two divisions. The South Division includes Canmore, Calgary, Olds, Drumheller Dragons, Camrose Kodiaks and the Drayton Valley Thunder. The North contains Devon, Whitecourt, Grande Prairie, Lloydminster Bobcats, Fort McMurray Oil Barons and Bonnyville Pontiacs.
Teams will play a 54-game regular-season schedule with six games against each division rivals and four against each non-division team. The top four teams from each division will advance to the playoffs. The eventual champion will represent the AJHL at the Centennial Cup – the national championship for junior A hockey – in May 2025 to be hosted by the Calgary Canucks.
EAGLES NEST: Canmore drops the puck on its 30th season with the annual tailgate party in the arena parking lot before the start of Friday’s game. The Grizzly Paw, The MooseShed BBQ, Al’s Chimney Cakes along with DJ Strength will be on location. . . . Tickets for Canmore Eagles’ home games are available at canmoreeagles.ca/tickets. . . . You can also watch all Eagles’ games and the rest of the AJHL online, along with much more live and on-demand sports, through a FloSports subscription available at flohockey.tv.
Russ Ullyot
