A special year in Wingham will be one tinged with emotional weight, as the team continues to heal from a summer tragedy.
Star rookie defender Turner McKenzie tragically lost his life in a car accident on July 15. The team will be honouring Turner throughout the year and will make the team's 50th anniversary celebrations about celebrating Turner's life and impact on his team and team mates. GM Cory Hamilton says the franchise remains "devastated" and will be trying to adjust to the extremely emotional situation all year. Everyone here at CKNX Jr. Hockey continues to send love and thoughts to the McKenzie family, and everyone who considered Turner a friend, including us up in the broadcast perch.
Overcoming that emotional toll will not be easy, but in terms of the roster this year, the Ironmen should enjoy a fruitful 50th campaign, an incredible achievement for a local junior team. Cory Hamilton says they're excited about the roster despite some key losses.
The losses of course begin with losing one of the best players in the league, Kyle Stanbury. A career Ironmen, Stanbury grew from promising rookie into dominating power forward, pacing the team last year with 56 points and 29 goals. They will miss his playmaking ability and huge reach that allowed him to toy with defenders along the walls. Also not returning is veteran defender Dawson Fahrer, one of the best two-way defencemen in the loop. Jonah Burley, who would hit anything that moved, will also age out. Joining them is Matt Toltan, another long-time Ironmen who played in all situations for the team.
Up front, the Ironmen will enjoy bringing back third year player Nate Bloemberg, a local kid who has taken leaps and bounds since coming in as a 16-year-old. He will be the engine driving the bus this year after a stellar 32 points in 41 games, second best on the team. His skating ability, size and creativity make him a danger no matter the situation. He will be joined by Micah Kraayenbrink, a rookie last year who supplied 11 points and forechecks extremely well with his quick feet. Noah Wettlaufer also returns after a 16 point outing as a rookie himself, already displaying a great 200 foot sense of the ice, which helped Wingham allow the third fewest goals in the division with 109. Another rookie last year, Nigel Kreager, will get a chance to snag more ice time after an 8 point outing down the lineup, along with fellow sophomores Josh Dales and Brandon Bishop, who had 13 and 10 points, respectively. A new face Hamilton is excited about is Ethan Smith, who played in the playoffs a bit for Kincardine, and Owen Rahn, a veteran out of the Tavistock program. The team has the luxury of returning a lot of talented youngsters who now take on the role of veterans who must take ownership of the offence.
Defensively, the team will bring back a number of key players that helped the team finish as a top 3 defensive group. Coleson Fischer returns after a very impressive 25 point campaign, and is one of the smoother skaters in terms of recovering and getting back to break up plays. His coverage in his own zone is excellent, and he takes away a lot of passing lanes with an active stick. He will serve as the captain this year. Tayt Bramhill, who led the D core in scoring with 29 points in 41 games, good for third in team scoring. Hamilton says he wouldn't be shocked if he led the team in scoring due to his "nifty mitts" and elite playmaking ability. He will make hay on the PP this year with his passing or his ability to squeeze shots into tight areas. A new face includes veteran Darcy Scott, who plied his defensive trade in Elliott Lake last year after being a former Walkerton player. He's a big, rangy kid who has excellent reach. A rookie from last year, Tyson Fischer, rounds out a very steady top 4, and he will get ample opportunity to build on the 6 points he had last season. Keaton VanDerHoek, a product of the Huron Bruce Minor Hockey system, also joins the team this year as a rookie, along with Wade Robinson, an AP player in Wingham last year and a home town kid.
In net, Wingham gets a massive boost, with the return of reigning MVP, Garett Golley. Simply put, there was no one better at stopping pucks last year. Golley put up a line of 23-8-2-1, a 2.29 GAA, a .914 save percentage and a wild 9 shutouts, a record to boot. He played over 2,000 minutes and absolutely carried the mail. All platitudes aside, he's as good a returning player as anyone you'll find league wide, and always provides some flair with his goalie mask. Backing him up will be Caleb Meyer, a Huron Bruce product who has a lot of potential as the future number one on this team when Golley ages out at year's end. He can't ask for a better teacher in Golley.
Once again, the Wingham Ironmen have a deep roster, exciting young players, and an elite goalie. Same old story the last few years. They will absolutely challenge for a top 3 finish, and depending on the development of last year's players, maybe more. That's up to them, but they have a capable group here who can do plenty of damage.
For a full interview with Wingham Ironmen GM Cory Hamilton, click here courtesy of the Instigating with Clarkey and Drury show:
