By Adam Dunfee /
There might not be a team from B.C. competing for the Telus Cup but there are several players from the province who are still in the hunt for the national Midget championship.
The West region winners and defending Telus Cup champion Notre Dame Hounds feature six B.C.-born players on their roster.
Defenceman Morgan Rielly, goaltender Riley Parker and forwards Josh Bruha, Nick Weiss, Scott Bolland and Marcus Basara all hail from B.C. and are a big reason why the Hounds are still fighting for the Telus Cup.
Rielly, the second overall pick in last year’s WHL Bantam Draft, led the team in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League playoffs with seven goals. The rookie rearguard rebounded from a slow start to finish regular season play as the league’s top scoring defenceman, collecting 55 points in 43 games.
“He’s a special individual,” said Hounds coach Del Pedrick.
“He’s a pretty smooth skater, sees the ice really well and creates a lot of opportunities offensively. He’s also learned the game on the defending side, he’s learned he can’t play high-risk all the time as he did early in the year.”
Parker has been stellar in net for the Hounds, finishing off the SMAAAHL playoffs with a 9-3 record and .916 save percentage.
“Riley’s best hockey has definitely come in the post-season. He was up and down all year in terms of his consistency but he certainly has found that through three playoff rounds and at the Telus regional,” says Pedrick.
After winning the SMAAAHL playoffs, the Hounds beat the Pembina Valley Hawks 6-3 in the final of the West regional tournament to get into the Telus Cup.
The Notre Dame Hounds play out of the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask. The team is able to attract out-of-province players because it is a boarding school and the students live there while they play. |