SJHL.ca story about Red Wings!

(courtesy of sjhl.ca)

AGE NOT A FACTOR IN WEYBURN

Only the most astute Weyburn Red Wings fan can recall when the last time was the Wings were in a full-blown youth movement. Oh sure, the Wings had teams that started out young and struggled through the first half of the season, only to take on a much different identity after Christmas, usually one full of 20-year-olds, that made a push toward a Credential Cup.

But, this year’s Weyburn Red Wings club is different. They have just two 20-year-olds (defenseman and captain Kyle Haines & scoring forward Josh Bray) following the trade departures of Jared Smale, Sean Bassingthwaite, and Kyle McConnell. And, yet here are the usually slow starting Wings challenging for first place in the Sherwood Conference; and it is only November!Long time General Manager Ron Rumball doesn’t remember an undertaking quite like this year. “It was just a situation where we had a high number of 88s (19-year-olds) coming back and not a high number of 87s. Some of the 87s we did have didn’t want to be in Weyburn, so the necessary moves were made. Bringing in some of the people we did, we ended up getting younger, quality people that also give us an extra year lease on the program. So, it wasn’t a move we set out to make by design, but the quality of the people coming back was the big factor and we think we’ve made a good investment.”

Last month’s trade of McConnell left the Wings with two 1989 born goaltenders. Rumball admits Weyburn doesn’t usually carry two goalies the same age, let alone two goalies who are both in their first year of Junior ‘A’. “We had Boyd Ballard and Geoff Derouin in 1997-98 when we went to Summerside for the Royal Bank Cup and they were both 19. I don’t recall ever having two 18-year-olds, but my memory could be failing me,” joked Rumball, indicating age does not appear to be a factor at all when looking at the equation in the crease. And, it probably shouldn’t be. AJ Whiffen has played with the poise and presence two years older than what he really is. Privately, Newfoundland hockey people will tell you Whiffen was the best 1989 born goaltender in the province last year and he may have been the difference maker for a team at the Telus Cup if he had been given that opportunity. And, then there is local product Tanner Erickson, who is much less heralded, but not a whole lot less thought of in Rumball’s eyes. “We knew Tanner had a great season at AA last year and he was the best goalie at SaskFirst. We had a lot of confidence in his ability to step in and perform at this level.”“When we saw AJ was ready to be a starter, we didn’t hesitate to go in that direction. At the same time, Kyle McConnell’s importance to our organization shouldn’t be forgotten. He joined us last year at a time when we were desperate for goaltending. Aric Renchko quit over the Christmas break and Jason Lindner had vision problems that resulted in puck stopping problems. Kyle stepped in and his play is why we played in the playoffs last season,” said Rumball.

Rumball has seen the makings of numerous championship teams in Weyburn and yet this one doesn’t remind him of any of the years past. Even the 97-98 club with Ballard and Derouin between the pipes had some unbelievable skill with the likes of Wes Dorey, Jean Dufour, Mark Hartigan, Darcy Verot, and Kevin Schurack. “We do have Preston Shupe (top fifteen in SJHL scoring), Torrey Lindsay, and Josh Bray,” said Rumball, who also claims to be impressed with a re-dedication Bray made to his hockey career prior to the season. “He said he was coming back a better hockey player and the numbers indicate he’s done that,” says Rumball. “I think it is simply uncharacteristic of the Red Wings to have this kind of make-up where we may not have the best talent on paper, but we have a very cohesive group. We know we need more experience on the back end to help our powerplay and we would like to add more 20-year-olds. We are not shy about doing that. But, they are hard to get without giving up some of your best young talent. We are on the cusp of being a serious contender and a couple of additions could put us over the top. It doesn’t matter if he’s 19 or 20; but usually that experience is what gets you through some long stretches in January.”Of course adding a prominent 20-year-old likely means a current member of the Red Wings will have to accept a lesser role down the stretch and for some teams, a trade for a veteran can upset the apple cart and result in turmoil. When the Yorkton Terriers won their second championship in 2005-06, Head Coach Ed Zawatsky was adamant that he would not bring in players to displace the likes of defensemen Brett McRuvie and Dustin Nehring after the two had to accept lesser roles as 19-year-olds when Perry Faul and Josh Garbutt arrived from the Western Hockey League and became key contributors to their 2004-05 league title. The non-move paid off in spades. “That is a management dilemma,” says Rumball. “I think it was Bob Seger that once said you are standing on the shore and you can head out or head in. Which journey costs you more?”