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Dragons shuffle roster

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Some Dragons are on the move after the team announced a number of trades and player commitments this month.

Brothers Scout and Roc Truman have committed to attend and play for the U Mass Lowell River Hawks of the NCAA Hockey East Conference.

From Lethbridge, Alberta, the Truman brothers are playing in their first full season of junior hockey. Sixteen-year-old Scout is a 5’10 left winger who through 22 games has scored 3 goals and added 13 assists for 16 points. The skilled playmaking forward is the youngest player in the AJHL this season and played last season in the CSSHL with Yale Hockey Academy.

Roc Truman is a 5’11 seventeen-year-old center who through 29 games this season has scored 13 goals and added 12 assists for 25 points in his first year with the Dragons. Roc is a shooter who uses his size and grit to play effectively around the net. Roc also competed in the CSSHL with the Yale Hockey Academy Prep team located in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

The Drumheller Dragons have completed a trade with the Melville Millionaires of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League acquiring the CJHL rights of Regina prospect Dylan McCabe.

McCabe is a 6’1 left shot defenseman who started his Junior A career with the Weyburn Redwings. With 111 junior games played, McCabe brings a wealth of experience from a tough and respected League. In 22 games played this season with the Redwings, McCabe has contributed 2 goals and 12 assists. He was the assistant captain before being traded to the Melville Millionaires in a November 24 transaction.

The Drumheller Dragons announced the commitment of twenty-year-old goaltender Hunter Virostek to Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut. The Falcons will debut in the fall of 2019 in the Division III ranks of NCAA College Hockey.

From Turner Valley, Alberta, Virostek earned a starting position with the Dragons in his first season three years ago.In three seasons, the 6’1 goaltender has played in 110 regular season games and 13 play-off games. This season he has played 1258 minutes and holds a 15-win 6-loss record with a 3.10 GAA and .894 SV%.

Titans, Terps honoured at football banquet

While snow has covered the grassy gridiron for the season, Titans and Terrapins gathered one last time to celebrate a great season of football.

Drumheller Community Football held its annual awards ceremony on Sunday, December 9 at the Stampede Barn. This was an opportunity to acknowledge the hard work and success by Drumheller football players on the field.

Up first were the Drumheller Terrapins, Peewee Football. The team had a great year and were able to win the C Division Championship.

This season Tanner Harvie was the Offensive Player of the Year, Wyatt Scott was the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Dexter Nastiuk was the Offensive Lineman the of Year. Defensive Player of Year was Teagan Watson and the Defensive Rookie of the Year was Luke Messom, Defensive Lineman of the Year was Dillon Lewis.

This year the Leadership Award was presented to Gavan Cassidy, the Heart Award went to Devon Landon and the Coach’s Choice went to Kael Webster.

The Bantam Titans also had a successful season. While it was a slow start, the team built its identity throughout the season successfully and it paid off in the field.

This year’s Most Improved Player is Spencer McNamara, Defensive Lineman of the Year is Kieran Wilson and the Most Sportsmanlike Player went to Tiegan Sattler. The Defensive Player of the Year was Haydn Jones. The Most Dedicated Player Award was given to Daxton Mulgrew and the Coach’s Choice went to Ben Messom.

The Offensive Lineman of the Year was Barrett Green and Rookie of the Year was Keifer Cullum. The Leadership Award went to Kynan Perry, the Offensive Player of Year was Luke Myles and the Most Valuable Player was Brody Ewing.

The team also took time out to honour coach Ryan Hatch. He was this year’s Bantam head coach and has spent 11 seasons with the Titans. He has decided to step away from football for a few years and there were many touching tributes.

The Senior Titans were also presented awards for their hard work. Raedon Kipling won the Leadership Award, Defensive Lineman of Year was Achille Ghesquire and Offensive Lineman of the Year was Vincent Jakl. The Special Teams Award went to Marshall Johnston, the Most Sportsmanlike Player was Nolan Ranger and Most Dedicated was Ethan Duncalf.

The Offensive Rookie of the Year was Chase Sattler, the Defensive Rookie of Year was Gavin Armstrong, the Most Improved is Ethan Jones and Coach’s Choice was Gavin Armstrong. The Defensive Player of the Year was Marshall Johnston, the Offensive Player of the Year was Ethan Duncalf and the Most Valuable Player is Connor Enns.

Minor hockey opts for balanced approach to novice changes

Minor Hockey season is underway and the novice players are expanding their skills on full ice and half ice.

Hockey Canada has begun to implement new rules for novice hockey. They have mandated that novice players will begin playing on a half ice rink. This allows players to get more touches and improve their skills. They have allowed a transition year for the change and in Drumheller, that means some novice players are working out on full ice, while other are scrimmaging on half ice.

Drumheller Minor Hockey president Lyle Caweizel says the novice hockey ranks are strong with three teams; two are playing on full ice and one is playing on half ice.

“We did consultations with the parents and the second year novices that began playing on full ice still would rather keep playing on full ice. So our full ice teams are primarily second-year players and the half ice guys are primarily first-year players,” said Caweizel.

He says next year they will make the complete transition to half ice at the novice level.

“That will be the same across the board. Everybody will be playing half ice no matter where you are playing at,” he said.

He says individual associations were able to decide on how they were to proceed this year with the changes, so it was a last minute decision. While many opted for full ice, Caweizel says there are positive aspects to the smaller game.

“I think people like it. It allows for more touches and a closer confined game. Overall they are pleased with how it is going so far,” said Caweizel. “As it goes forward and becomes the norm and it is accepted that this is how it is done, hopefully, we’ll see the results.”

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