The Mitchell Hawks are looking to take leaps and bounds up the Pollock Division standings this year.
That's the hope anyway from new GM and longtime team executive, Cory Broughton. After a 7th place finish last year, he's hoping some returning faces and exciting new signings can help the Hawks challenge for a top 4 seed.
Mitchell finished with an 11-26-3-2 record last season, good for 27 points, in a retooling year with a lot of young players. This season, the hope internally is that those young players take the next step, and some returning veterans help to push that development.
Daryl O'Connell is in as Head Coach and Troy McMann as Assistant Coach, and they'll be tasked with getting this team going despite some key losses.
Losing captain and over-ager, Callum McMann, will be a big challenge, as he was a heavy presence on the back end. Also not returning is Nolan Gagnier, a Hawks favourite and second leading scorer with 28 points. Hayden Hessel and his 17 points are also gone. Ethan Pearce was moved in a trade to North Middlesex as he is attending school in London.
Callan Ferguson, one of the better two-way defenders in the league who had 21 points from the point, is also gone. Another blow to the blueline is the departure of Brady Brezynskie, a fan favourite who always played hard and led by example. The Hawks blueline in particular has been hit hard with departures, but GM Broughton says there are some exciting newcomers that he feels will flourish with more ice.
Up front, there is good news in that leading scorer Jonathan Tenhag is returning, with an "A" on his sweater to boot. His 16 goals and 30 points both led the Hawks stat sheet, and his brother Ben will also return looking to build on a 20 point year. Owen and Patrick Holloway are both back, and Patrick will be tabbed as the captain this year, after missing time last season and only getting into 5 games, putting up 4 points. They will be counted on as leaders. Same goes for Aiden McMann, Callum's younger brother, who will to no one's surprise wear a letter for the team.
Rookie standout Isaac Nickel will hopefully return after an outstanding year where he finished tied with Nolan Gagnier for second in team scoring with 28 points. The Hawks feel he can make some serious offensive noise in year 2, though he is attending school in Windsor, but the Hawks are hopeful he can make it back to help them more often than not. Joining him is prized signing Nathan Jewitt, a Huron-Perth Lakers product who GM Broughton touted for his "elite shot." New addition Ethan Scrimgeour also joins up, and the team is expecting the 20-year-old to become a go-to-guy right away.
On the backend, new opportunities are the theme, and Broughton singled out returning rookie Cole Baier, who had 10 points in 33 games last year, as a key piece moving forward. The team already looks to him as a leader, and he will wear a letter this year. Also back is Wyatt Connelly, who put up 11 points last year and will likely eat up a ton of minutes with his skating ability and knack for making great outlet feeds. Carter Coates also returns and looks to earn more minutes with his physical style. Aiden McMann should round out what should be a well balanced top 4 for the Hawks, who have always prided themselves on a defensive-minded structure.
In net, star goalie Josh Jacklin won't be back, as he attends school in Waterloo. The team facilitated a move to New Hamburg to make it easier for him to keep playing. He won't be easy to replace, after posting stellar numbers on a rebuilding team. However, Tomas Brintnell, who starred himself in the blue paint, is back to take on the workload. Brintnell was brilliant last year, going 10-9-1-1 with a .915 save percentage, a 3.22 GAA and 2 shutouts in nearly 1,300 minutes of work. Considering the team was young and had some ups and downs, those are incredibly impressive numbers.
Joining Brintnell is Jack Bree, a Mitchell kid out of the vaunted Huron-Perth Lakers program who made an appearance last year for Jr. B Stratford. The team is very high on the '07 born Bree, and he will have a great mentor to learn from in Brintnell.
The Hawks will open their season at home on September 14 as they host the defending champion Hanover Barons at 7:15 p.m.
For a full breakdown of the upcoming Mitchell Hawks season, check out the full interview with GM Cory Broughton here, courtesy of Instigating with Clarkey and Drury: