The South Central Alberta Hockey League (SCAHL) all-star weekend will be on high alert. There’s a pack of Timberwolves on the prowl; Bow Valley Timberwolves.
The Bow Valley program is sending two Midget-aged players, three bantams and four peewees. And they’re all coming in hungry - hunting for some high-end hockey at the Jan. 19-20 all-star extravaganza in Okotoks.
“I haven’t really been a offensive producer before, but this year it’s really starting to click,” said Timberwolves Midget AA 17-year-old defenceman Mac Niewchas. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound rearguard has bagged nine goals and nine assists in 25 SCAHL games this season. With defencemen Brydon Beston, Craig Packard and Logan Brown all migrating to the Cochrane Generals junior program this season, Niewchas and his Bow Valley defensive partners have performed admirably.
“The boys are working hard,” Niewchas noted. “We’re really picking it up.”
“Mac’s our stud back there,” Midget Timberwolves head coach Evan McFeeters observed. “He eats up all the big minutes and plays in all the situations out there.”
Brett Berndt, meanwhile, leads the team in points with 10 goals and 24 assists in 25 contests.
“You know what you’re going to get from him every night,” McFeeters says of his 5-foot-10, 150-pound forward. “He’s going to give you the top effort and he’s going to execute our game plan every night.”
It’s Berndt’s first all-star appearance.
“Looking forward to it,” the 17-year-old said. “I just hope I can represent the team; to show what Bow Valley is made of.”
On the Bantam side, three Timberwolves will be stalking the opposition in Okokoks - forward Kyle Gordon, defenceman Devon Latchuck and goalie Jackson Bader.
“My coaches did everything to get me here,” Bader, one of three goalies from the league selected, said. “I wouldn’t have made the all-star game if they didn’t push me as hard as they did.”
The 14-year-old self-described “hybrid-style” stopper has nine wins, three losses and a 2.36 goals-against average.
Clearing out the ice in front of him is Latchuk.
“He’s our horse,” Bantam T-wolves head coach Dave Strang says of his 14-year-old defenceman. “He’s been our strongest defensive player all year.”
To go with that defence, Latchuck has contributed two goals and 10 assists so far this season.
“Definitely an honour to be picked,” Latchuck said. “It’s going to be a fast-pace game with some pretty big hits.”
Up front, Gordon is second in league scoring with 24 goals and 25 assists in 26 games.
“He’s one of the most skilled players in the whole league,” Strang assessed. “On- and off-ice leadership - he’s our captain.”
“I’m on a good line,” the 14-year-old forward said. “I’m just finding a way to put ht puck in the net more.”
At the peewee level, Bow Valley’s Austen Wong, Seth Fyten, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Eric Hanna were chosen to attend.
The Timberwolves will all be playing for the north teams, who take on the league’s South all-stars. All three games Jan. 20 at Okotoks Recreation Centre’s Murray Arena with the peewees starting at 10 a.m., the Bantams at 12:45 and the Midgets at 3:30 p.m.
