Lucas Punkari
It may be the time of year for rest and relaxation, but it certainly has been anything but that for the Fort Frances Lakers.
Ever since the local Junior ‘A’ squad was eliminated from the SIJHL semi-finals by the Dryden Ice Dogs back in March, Lakers’ head coach/general manager Wayne Strachan and the rest of his staff have been scouring Canada and the United States to find players for the 2011-12 season.
“We’ve put together our recruiting list with the players that we would like to attract here, and we’ve talked to about 50-60 players,” Strachan noted.
“We also have put together our protected players list with 40-45 names on that, and that includes our returning players, affiliated players from last season, and potential recruits,” he added.
“Our next step is to get those new guys that will fit in with our returning players, and allow us to build up our roster for next season.”
The Lakers re-signed Blake Boaz and Byron Katapaytuk last week—two forwards who will be among those looked upon to lead the team to the Dudley Hewitt Cup in Thunder Bay next spring.
“They will be two big keys to our team as we move forward,” Strachan said. “If you look at our stats from last season, they were our top scorers that were eligible to return this season.
“So to have them both come back will give us a solid core to build on with our forwards,” he reasoned.
With as many 15 players eligible to return next season, Strachan feels his team has a good chance to accomplish its goal of reaching the Dudley Hewitt Cup, along with capturing the SIJHL crown.
“Losing out in three-straight semi-finals is tough, so our focus this year is to make it into the finals,” he stressed.
“We have a great opportunity this season with the North Stars hosting the Dudley Hewitt Cup, so if we can get into the finals and Thunder Bay is the other team there, we will get into the Dudley that way,” Strachan explained.
“However, every team in the league will be trying to do the same thing,” he conceded.
Seven players from last year’s team graduated from junior hockey following the end of the Lakers’ post-season run, but six of those will be continuing their hockey careers at post-secondary institutions this fall, with forward Jace Baldwin being the only one yet to find a place to play.
Tyler Stevenson (Concordia College in Edmonton), Morgan McNeill (Ryerson), Matt Caulfield (St. Olaf College in Northfield, Mn.), Garrett Nystedt (Northland College in Ashland, Wis.), and Dan Smith (Bethel University in St. Paul, Mn.) are among those pursuing higher educations this fall.
Defenceman Phil Jennrich, meanwhile, will be attending school in Utah.
“It’s not only a great thing for them, but also for our team and the league as a whole,” Strachan noted.
“It says a lot for our organization as we’re not only giving these guys a chance to play hockey in our league, but also give them the opportunity to follow their dreams,” he remarked.
As for new faces, the Lakers selected a number of 1995 birth date players during the SIJHL draft, which was held June 4 during the league’s annual general meeting in Thunder Bay.
The complete list of those who were selected has not been released yet, however, as the SIJHL waits to see if a proposed franchise in the Quad Cities area gains approval from USA Hockey.
In a similar situation to what occurred with the Duluth Clydesdales and the Wisconsin Wilderness last season, the bid was rejected by the USA Hockey Council and now is going through an appeal process.
Those who were drafted by the Lakers, along with other players, will have their first opportunity to impress Strachan during the team’s summer identification camp July 15-17, which will take place at Bronco Arena over in International Falls.
“For someone new coming in, this will be our first chance to see what they can do,” said Strachan, who has confirmed 18-22 players will be arriving for the camp next month.
“This will be a great opportunity for a player to impress us, and if they do well enough, we will invite them back to our main camp in the fall,” he noted.
