Benny Walchuk
Doug, I know it was a busy weekend for your team, but you came away with five out of a possible six points on the three-game road trip. I’m sure you’re pleased with the results and the way your group found a way to get points.
Doug Johnson
I think that’s the big thing. We just found a way. On Sunday, when fatigue was setting in and guys’ minds weren’t really there, we had a player in Keil Schmalz step up and do a phenomenal job. He essentially scored the tying goal himself and then put pucks to the net that led to the second goal.
It was a huge performance by him, and Louie Nadeau was outstanding as well. Both guys played huge minutes all weekend as our only returning defencemen, and it was pretty remarkable what they were able to accomplish.
Our forward group is getting more confident all the time, and we’re getting some depth scoring. Connor Arco finally getting into the lineup gave our group a huge spark.
And, as has been the case in every game, we’ve had strong goaltending. Our goalies have given us three strong performances, kept us in every game and made some big saves for us.
I think it was a team effort, and our will to win was quite evident all weekend long.
Benny Walchuk
Keil Schmalz was named the SJHL Defenceman of the Week. We’ve talked about him being one of the veterans on that back end, so it’s nice to see him contributing offensively as well and helping the power play come through with a couple of key goals.
Doug Johnson
Absolutely. We just talked about the minutes he’s played, along with Louis Nadeau. Keil is a guy who, once he gets his feet moving up the ice, is really tough to stop. He’s a powerful, determined skater.
He’s also taken on more responsibility, which has been great to see. You can see the leadership in what he’s doing and how he goes about his business.
I’m incredibly happy for him. It’s well deserved, and I don’t think this will be his last award like that.
Benny Walchuk
Your only game this week is Friday night when the Battlefords North Stars come to town. They’ve struggled so far this season and haven’t played their best hockey, but how important is it to make sure your team is focused and doesn’t overlook the North Stars?
Doug Johnson
I think we’ve had a pretty determined, focused group all year. We haven’t laid a lot of stinkers. There have been lulls in our game over the course of 60 minutes, for sure, but we’ve always seemed to keep ourselves close, stay in the hunt and, more often than not, find a way to win.
It’s about staying focused and committed to the task at hand, making sure our leaders get everybody prepared and maintaining that hunter mentality. We want guys to go out there and be the ones who make a difference.
Benny Walchuk
And just lastly, Doug, I know you completed a trade with the Estevan Bruins, acquiring prospect Taren Anderson and defenceman Jack Bousquet. Can you walk us through that deal and how it came together?
Doug Johnson
With the injuries we’ve sustained to Brodie Hicks and Riley CraIgen, we’re short on experience on the back end. We really needed to find somebody who could help eat some minutes and play some of the tougher minutes, because we can’t keep having the same two guys playing those incredibly difficult minutes.
Jack was very appealing to us. He’s a very good skater, and we spoke to a couple of his former teammates, Hudson Binder and, obviously, Keil Schmalz. They both felt he would be able to help us on the ice.
The challenge with trades is that you never know if a player is going to report. Jack is looking at his life right now and deciding what he wants to do moving forward. I think he’ll be here eventually, but we probably won’t see him this weekend.
The deal got a little bigger, and moving Petruska hurts, but you have to move somebody to get somebody. He’s a phenomenal young man with a very bright future.
Nathan GardIner was another player we moved. He was a list player and essentially my first draft pick here. He didn’t want to come here this year and wanted to return to the comfort of AAA, and those aren’t the players we want.
We want guys who are uncomfortable, who want to be here and are committed to making things better. That’s what we’re seeing from players like Parker Salisbury and Kaleb Page. Those guys are just getting better.
We wanted to send a message, and we picked up an incredibly driven young man in Taren Anderson. I think he’s going to be a huge part of our success moving forward.
He’s a 2010-born player out of Pilot Butte with a bigger frame and a bit of a bull-in-a-china-shop mentality. He’s a great leader who wants to win and get better every day.
Those are the types of players we want to build around, because our goal is to win championships.
