By Wes Gilbertson /
Brett Goulet climbed one big rung on the ladder.
Nobody imagined so many of his former pupils would be joining him — at least not so soon.
In his first season as head coach of the Alberta Midget Hockey League’s UFA Bisons, the former Airdrie X-Treme bench boss has carded more 1994-born players than any other AAA team in the province.
“We know that we’re going to go through some growing pains, but everybody is on board with that and they’re all buying in and wanting to get better every time we get together,” Goulet said.
”We’re not so much worried about age anymore. We’ve seen what the 15-year-olds are capable of doing.”
Goulet guided the X-Treme to the Western Canadian Championship last winter before moving up to replace Rick Puttick as the Bisons’ bossman.
Plenty of familiar faces have followed him to the Midget AAA ranks.
Netminder Devon Fordyce, defencemen Dustin Cave and Shayne Gwinner and forwards Mason Burr, Connor Chartier and Mike Winther all made the jump from the X-Treme to the Strathmore-based Bisons this winter.
Add fellow AMBHL graduates Keaton Lubin (Okotoks Oilers) and Josh Smith (Red Deer Rebels – Black) plus former Notre Dame Hounds forward Levi Bews, and a total of nine Bisons aren’t even old enough to drive their own vehicles to practice.
By contrast, the Red Deer Optimist Chiefs, who wrapped up the month of October in sole possession of top spot in the South Division, don’t have a single 1994-born skater on their roster.
The Calgary Northstars and Flames have one apiece, while the Royals and defending champion Buffaloes are both grooming a pair of true rookies.
The Bisons weren’t banking on a youth movement. According to Goulet, the 15-year-olds earned their stripes.
“It almost came to the point that if they weren’t playing AAA Midget this year, we weren’t going to see them next year anyways because they were going to be in the Alberta Junior Hockey League or the Western Hockey League,” he said. “They just wouldn’t let us cut them. They just kept getting better and better and better.”
It’s not unusual for first-year Midgets to make an impact in the AMHL, and Bisons fans have seen it first-hand.
In fact, UFA’s top offensive threat last season was centre Ty Rattie, who needed a place to hone his skills for one season before jumping to the WHL’s Portland Winter Hawks.
Chances are, some of the 1994-born stars won’t stick around much longer. As Goulet points out, this is not being billed as a rebuilding season in Strathmore.
He watched six of his players celebrate a Western Canadian Bantam AAA Championship last spring and knows they’re gunning for a rare double.
It is a league that is dominated by 16- and 17-year-olds, but at the same time, the thing that we were blessed with is kids that know how to win,” Goulet said. “That’s kind of their expectation and we wanted to bring some of that personality in. [Age] is a concern, but every time we try to put these kids in a difficult situation, they’ve come through in shining colours, and that’s still going on.” |