This year marks 50 years of Mitchell Hawks Hockey.
President of Hockey Operations and Head Coach Kory Dietz says he wants to give a community that's very excited some winning hockey. After a 4th place regular season last year with 34 points from a 17-19 record, a talented roster could provide just that.
Offensively, a major hole will need to be filled after losing local kid and scoring leader Jalen Aitcheson, who notched 53 points for the Hawks last year, good for 4th in the league. Despite that loss, Dietz says Nathan Templeman can take a big step forward, after finishing 2nd in team scoring with 41 points in only 26 games. Complimenting him will be returning captain Tyler Pauli, along with the gritty offensive punch of Wil Marcy. The Hawks also got a huge boost adding Leamington Flyers forward Derek Elliot, who scored 36 points in 46 games in Junior B last year. Add in some of the other additions up front, featured in the below audio interview with Coach Dietz, and there should be enough offense to go around.
On the back end, the Hawks will enjoy another solid season from defensive team scoring leader Lucas Spence, who had 22 points and played a great two-way game. Unfortunately, fellow D-man Haydn Favacho will be attending a school up north, and might be able to return around Christmas, but Dietz says that's unlikely. But Chad Lemire, and Luken Van Pelt, an AP player from last year, should pick up the slack. Van Pelt won an OHF Championship last year with the Stratford Midgets, so playoff experience and a winning mentality will help him adjust to a full year of junior hockey.
In net, the loss of Windsor Spitfires draft pick Brock Baier will sting, but there is reason for optimism in the Hawks' crease. After a year on IR, Graeme Lauersen is ready to return ad is fully fit. Lauersen was healthy just after Christmas last year, but Baier was on a hot streak racking up 15 wins, coupled with Wyatt Nicholson, so Lauersen rested. He impressed a lot of people 2 seasons ago, and if he can return to that impressive form, and Nicholson continues his reliable back-up numbers, the Mitchell fans shouldn't expect to see a sharp increase in visitor goal lights going off this year.
For more on the team's outlook and significant roster moves, check out the full-length interview with President of Hockey Ops./Head Coach, Kory Dietz:
[audio wav="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/KORY-DIETZ-MITCHELL.wav"][/audio]