After a season with a fresh rebrand to an old favourite under their belt, the Walkerton Capitals are looking to take a leap forward this season following a 6th place finish in the standings.
Walkerton also happen to be one of 3 teams we cover celebrating 50 years of existence, a huge milestone. President and Direcotr of Hockey Ops James Lang and GM Jordan Turcotte, a former Walkerton player, are looking to ensure that the year is more than just a celebration of a number, with a brand new revamped locker room and a revamped roster to boot. Head Coach Chad Haggitt returns after shedding the interim label, and looks to lead a promising young group.
Not returning this year is, well, a lot of guys. Gm Turcotte says they expect to have roughly "5-6 guys from last year" coming back, with a huge amount of turnover and new faces. Departing players include Jett Morningstar, traded to the new Fergus franchise. his 27 points in 32 games will be missed as will his speed and leadership. Longtime soldier Kyle Durrer will also be missed, as will his offensive contributions of 39 points, tied for the team lead. This year is more about who will be back, and new faces.
Returnees are headlined by co-leading scorer Sam Shakes, whose 39 points featured a team leading 18 goals. He will be happy to have fellow overager Graham Gateman come back, after he put up a stellar 21 points in 23 games. Gateman has a great release and a nose for the net, and he will be relied on for a big piece of the offensive pie, so to speak. Clayton Fitzsimmons will return, as well, after he put up 8 points in 37 games and will look to take a step forward in his development. Ethan Kerr, who showed some brilliant two-way flashes last season, will also look to build on his 11 point output in 39 games. Owen Troyer, who had 10 points in 30 games, also comes back with more responsibility, and as GM Turcotte says, he's "relying heavily on those guys" to take their games to the next level. The team also acquired young forward Chase Lorenz out of Wingham, who had 9 points last season to add to the youth movement, and Markus Grajnar-Ptok, who GM Turcotte says is a guy they "picked up the phone and called on" right away when they heard he was available out of CCHL Brockville. He and Nathan Binkley, another youngster, will be relied on to provide an offensive spark.
On the back end, returning OA Keegan Fischer will not only come back and hope to improve on his 13 point outing in 27 games, he will lead the team with a "C" on his sweater. Fischer is a great defender who puts his body on the line every shift, evidenced by the injury-riddled campaign he suffered through last year. He will ensure everyone brings full effort every night. Nathan Doran, who got into 7 games as an AP call-up last year, will be a returning player of sorts but this time it will be in a full-time role. As stated, the team will not feature a lot of returning guys, as the Capitals look to make the most of new signings, local minor hockey products, and trade acquisitions, and as of right now writing this, they still have an OA spot open.
In goal, the Caps made a major addition, adding former Mount Forest Patriot standout Vance Meyer, who helped the Patriots win the Pollock Division last year. He's as steady and dependable a starter as you'll find league wide. Meyer went 19-7 last year with a 3.19 GAA, .902 save percentage and a shutout. He's a battler in the blue paint, and sometimes over commits, but you can never ever question his compete level and willingness to contort his body in any odd shape to keep a puck out. He adds a veteran calm to a team that allowed the second most goals in the division last year. Meyer will help quell that.
The Walkerton Capitals will be taking the ice with a lot of new faces, however, the returning players and new veteran goalie will give them a major boost heading into the year. It should be exciting watching the team play as they celebrate 50 great years of junior hockey in Walkerton.
For a full interview with Walkerton Capitals GM Jordan Turcotte, click here courtesy of the Instigating with Clarkey and Drury show: