INSIDE THE SJHL

By Dan O'Connor, the voice of the North Battleford North Stars

The post-season has arrived for the SJHL.

56 games of blood,sweat and tears and finally fans in the SJHL have a second-season at their grasp.


Itech Conference:

The Humboldt Broncos (45-8-1-12) ran away with the Itech Crown. They finished with 93 points, and only lost 8 in regulation all season. They once again have to be considered the favourite to emerge out of the Itech. Defenceman Brady Wacker finished third in the SJHL scoring race with 82 points.

The Flin Flon Bombers (32-30-3-1) had their hands full with the Melfort Mustangs down the stretch, but managed to finish in the second spot. The Bombers are led offensively by Tommy Castonguay who finished the season with 71 points. He has a great supporting cast with Alex Lamontagne, Reid McCloud and defenceman Michael Young.

The Melfort Mustangs (27-26-1-2) captured the third spot in the Itech thanks in large part to a great second half. Blake Hietela, Devon Stillar and Kyle Fraser were all studs up front for the Mustangs, and they should certainly give Flin Flon all that they can handle in the second round.

The Nipawin Hawks finished the year 26-26-2-2 and will get home-ice advantage in the Itech Conference Best-Of-Five Survivor Series. They were led offensively by Tory Dyck and Brent Ottman. They have decent depth on the blue-line and two capable goaltenders in Wyatt Wasalenchuk and Mark Currie.

The Battlefords North Stars had 15 wins on the year, and yet still earned a playoff birth in the Survivor Series. The North Stars are a very young team, especially on the defensive end. They hit an offensive dry-spell in the last week of the season, managing only four goals in their last five games. They'll be in tough against the Nipawin Hawks in the Itech Survivor Series.

The La Ronge Ice Wolves didn't have a single win in 2009. They lost a ton of their veterans at the trade deadline, and didn't make it to the post-season for the first time in a long time.


Sherwood Conference:

If there is one team in the SJHL that has the tools to dethrone Humboldt, it's the Weyburn Red Wings. They finished first in the Sherwood with an impressive record of 38-16-2-0. The Wings have a great core of forwards with Preston Shupe, Torrey Lindsey and Rhett Bly leading the way. Add two capable goaltenders in AJ Whiffen and Tanner Erickson, and the Wings SHOULD come out of the Sherwood Conference.

But the Melville Millionaires could stand in the way. The Mil's got off to a wicked start, but stumbled down the stretch finishing at 37-16-3-0. Had they not lost six straight after the trade-deadline, they would have easily finished first in the Sherwood. The Mil's are a big team with four solid lines that can score. Goaltending is no problem for the Mil's as Travis Bosch was the best statistical goaltender in the SJ.

If there is one team that nobody can figure out it is the Yorkton Terriers. At 30-18-1-7 they finished comfortably in third. Yet they don't have any true studs up front. They've got a slough of GOOD forwards with Derek Serdachny and Bryan Hull, but nobody that I'd call a "game-breaker." Defensively though this team is excellent. Greg Coburn might be the most underrated defenceman in the league, and he's got a great cast to work with on the back end. If Yorkton surprises anybody though, it will be thanks to their stud goaltender Devon Peters.

The Kindersley Klippers finished fourth with a record of 28-17-2-7 but this team was awful down the stretch. They'll face the Estevan Bruins in the Sherwood Survivor Series, and I'd be stunned if Kindersley wins that series. Offensively they are led by one line, and the rest of their team had trouble contributing on a regular basis. Now saying that, their one line is pretty damn good. Brett Leedahl, Kirk Peace and Jordan Braid are all excellent offensive players that do have the potential to take over a whole series.


The Estevan Bruins are my dark-horse favourite in the Sherwood. Yes they finished fifth, but they may have the best 12 forwards collectively in the Sherwood. They're tough, fast, and healthy. Anybody in the SJ will tell you that winning in Estevan is a very tough thing to do, given the small ice surface. If Tommy Legault plays well in goal, Estevan could definitely beat Kindersley in the Survivor Series.

The Notre Dame Hounds fell short of the post-season for the second straight year, yet they boast the best offensive player in the league. 17-year-old forward Rylan Schwartz was the SJ Scoring champ, and his younger brother Jaden was also a top 10 scorer in the league. It's unfortunate that the Schwartz's won't get to play in the post-season because these are the two most dynamic forwards in the league and both will be a shoe-in to get drafted to the NHL.



My Itech Conference predictions:

Nipawin def. The North Stars in four games.

Humboldt def. Nipawin in five games.

Flin Flon def. Melfort in seven games.

Humboldt def. Flin Flon in five games.


Humboldt advances to the SJHL Final.


Sherwood Predictions.

Estevan def. Kindersley in four games.

Weyburn def. Estevan in seven games.

Yorkton def. Melville in seven games.

Weyburn def. Yorkton in six games.


The Final:

Humboldt beats Weyburn in six games to capture the SJHL title for a third straight year.