After a 5th place finish last year, the Wingham Ironmen are hoping to build back to a championship caliber.
GM Rob Harrison says that despite some key losses, the team is looking forward to new players coming into the fold to help the cause, including an impressive young goaltender with championship experience.
With respect to the forwards, you might be hard pressed to find a team in junior that's lost as much at the top of their roster as the Ironmen have. Gone are all 3 top scorers last year, as Ryan McNeil moves on to school, Mitch Deelstra has graduated to Junior B Listowel, and Keifer MacInnes has aged out. Harrison says it was still unclear how many of last years players would be returning up front, but did key in on Matt McCracken to take a bigger offensive load this year, and improve on his 25 points in 28 games. Greg Scott will also take on a bigger role offensively as well.
Defensively, the Ironmen lost Darren Kerr, which will hurt their depth. One young player that GM Rob Harrison made note of watching this year is Carter Stewart, who in 17 games and limited ice time showed flashes that he can handle the rigors of junior hockey and become a key player. Greg Hansford, last year's leading D scorer for the Ironmen, may return as well, but it hasn't been confirmed. His 22 points in 30 games would be hard to replace, but would be a welcome addition to a group the Ironmen are trying to replenish through signings and camp. Harrison noted that the Ironmen are working on some late signings, but couldn't say who for obvious reasons.
Goaltending will also see a major overhaul, as Ben Nelson moves on after starting 27 games, winning 14 of them. Also not returning is capable backup Braeden Ellis, who took on 11 games last year. But the one key bright cog to this year's roster will be new young goalie prospect Alex Metzger, who won the Midget AAA Telus Cup last year with a great Waterloo Wolves team. Metzger had a great stat line last season, going 22-8-1 with a .918 save percentage and a 1.57 GAA. Really impressive stats, but how will he adjust to the much quicker, more skillful pace of junior? That will be the big question this year in Wingham. With much of the roster in flux, a team that gets great goaltending could always surprise. Metzger looks like a real deal talent, and if he can replicate his AAA performance, the Ironmen could conceivably win more games and move up the standings.
As a team looking to rebuild their championship form from 2014 and years past, listen to Ironmen GM Rob Harrison teeing up the upcoming Junior C campaign in Wingham:
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