Veterans to play an important role on rebuilding Titan
Every team needs veteran leaders.
That is especially true for a young team like the Acadie-Bathurst Titan that is building for the future.
With a lineup that boasts 17 players that have yet to celebrate their 19th birthday, including nine who are 17 or younger, those veterans will have a huge influence on the Titan for years after they finish playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
“I’m not the loudest guy in the room,” said forward Mark Simpson, who along with defencemen Mark Trickett and Garrett Johnson are the three 20-year-olds on the club. “I just try to lead by example and do my best to help the young guys out when they are playing their first couple of seasons in the Q and be a leader on the ice.”
Simpson, who calls Rothesay, N.B. home, is in his second season with Acadie-Bathurst, and his fourth in the QMJHL. His 14 goals and 30 assists, through 41 games this season, put him second on the club in scoring, and have brought his career total to 109 points in 143 games split between Acadie-Bathurst and the Moncton Wildcats.
“I think that I have been able to produce offensively like the coaches want me to this year,” said Simpson. “And I’ve played that defensive role that I’ve played my whole life, so I think on a personal level I’ve had nothing but success (this season). I’m hoping to keep that going in the second half. I’m just looking to be the best I can…and be strong in the first round of the playoffs. I’m looking forward to being able to be an underdog going in this year and hopefully produce in that first round (of the playoffs).”
Acadie-Bathurst struggled out of the gate this season, winning just three of their first 15 games. Since that time, heading into action on Jan. 12, the Titan had gone 13-11-1-2 including an impressive 5-0-0-1 in their final six games of 2015.
“I think at the start of the year we were playing well but we weren’t getting the results,” said Simpson, who was invited to training camp with the National Hockey League’s New York Rangers prior to the start of the season. “I think over the last six weeks the team is starting to come together and believe that we can win. Once you have that belief, that you can win, you know you are in every game. Then when you are in the last few minutes of the game you find a way to win. I think that’s been the big key.”
Finding a way to battle back and win games late has become a habit for the Titan this season, with nine of their 16 victories being come-from-behind wins. That includes a dramatic 6-5 overtime win over the Saint John Sea Dogs on Dec. 28, after Acadie-Bathurst trailed 4-0 heading into the third period. The Titan also fought back from a 4-1 third period deficit against the Sea Dogs in another game in December, only to lose 6-5 in a shootout.
Simpson said it is important the team never doubts they have a chance to win, even when they are trailing late in a game.
“You can’t think that way when you are down going into the third,” he said. “It is always a positive thing being a third period team, but I think that (also) means we need to get a little bit better in the second period so we don’t have to fight back every game – but it is definitely a positive being that strong in the third period.”
Titan head coach Mario Pouliot said Simpson is key to the team’s success each night.
“Simmer is Simmer,” he said. “He is our number one centre. He is banking a lot of minutes on the powerplay and on the (penalty kill). He is facing, night after night, the best forwards on the other side so he is a huge part of our success.”
Veteran blueliner Mark Trickett had a slow start to the season, but has been red hot for the Titan since returning to the lineup after an injury kept him sidelined for two weeks starting in late November.
“I had a little injury that was nagging me at the start of the season…but I came back 100 per cent,” said the Baddeck, N.S. native. “The coaches have helped me a lot to bring confidence back into my game; especially having (assistant coach) Brad (Flynn) back there on the back end really helped me.
“I think it (also) just trickles down. When your team is playing well, individual success comes that way.”
In his fourth season in the QMJHL, Trickett was originally drafted by the Prince Edward Island Rocket in the second round (24th overall) of the league’s 2012 entry draft. Heading into action on Jan. 12, the defenceman had played 205 regular season games for the Islanders, Victoriaville Tigres and Titan combining for 16 goals, 37 assists and 164 minutes in penalties.
Prior to his injury this season, Trickett had just three goals and eight assists in 26 games while going -19 (in the Plus/Minus category). That included just one goal and no assists through nine games in November. Since returning to the lineup he has doubled his point totals by combining for better than a point a game, with three goals and eight assists in 10 games while going +8.
“Since Trickett is back in the lineup he is playing really really good,” said Pouliot. “Honestly since he is back in the lineup, since he got hurt, he has played his best hockey since I am here. I think the rest he had helped him too. The way he competes right now; the way he uses his quality, he is a great skater, he is good with the puck, he keeps his game simple; he is doing really good lately.”
For Trickett, the most important thing is helping the team have a chance to win every night.
“As a team we hope to have a bit of a run in the playoffs,” he said. “We have a deep team. We’re still young, but we’ve got a lot of good pieces and a lot of good players. I think stretches (where the team loses) are where we learn how to win. You have to look at the positives. I think we are just trying to move forward every night as a team and get better.”
Trickett admits he isn’t afraid to speak up when he feels something needs to be said in the dressing room either.
“I’m a bit of a louder type of guy,” he said. “I’ll speak up if I have to and just try and lead by example on the ice (by) having a strong work ethic and just doing the little details.
“I think each one of the older guys bring a different aspect of leadership to the team. Some guys lead by example, some are a little bit more outspoken in the room and will speak up. I think we’ve got three different leaders and that helps in a lot of areas.”
The other 20-year-old on the team is newcomer Garrett Johnston, who was acquired from the Chicoutimi Sagueneens just before the trade deadline ended earlier this month.
“It was clear the message we wanted to send to everyone…we are serious about this year as well,” said Acadie-Bathurst general manager Sylvain Couturier, when asked about the deal. “(Johnston) brings a lot of minutes. He is a quality D-man who can play both sides of the rink, he is good with the puck and he can play against the top lines. He is one of the top defenceman in the league and we are happy to have him.”
The Titan are Johnston’s third team this season, after the Winnipeg, MB native was traded from the Moncton Wildcats to Chicoutimi in October.
In his third season in the QMJHL, the rearguard has 14 goals and 45 assists, along with 56 penalty minutes, in a combined 164 regular season games with the Wildcats, Sagueneens and Titan (heading into action on Jan. 12). In just 29 games with Chicoutimi this season he was an impressive +16.
“It has been pretty good so far,” said Johnston, following his first week with the Titan. “I want to bring defence and a bit of offence at the same time. It is my third year in the league. My first couple of seasons I didn’t chip in offensively that much, but this year I think I want to chip in a little more offensively while trying to shut down the top lines.
“That is the kind of style I like play. I like to rush the puck sometimes, when I get the opportunity and I think I have space to go. That is what I like to do.”
Pouliot said it will take Johnston a few games to adjust to his new team, but said he likes what he has seen from the defenceman so far.
“He is a rushing D for sure,” said the coach. “He is a great skater, he has poise with the puck, and when he is moving his feet, when he is playing North, he is efficient. It is just…a lot of new stuff for him, so we will have to give time for him to be comfortable here, to be comfortable inside our system and to be comfortable with his new teammates. It is just a matter of time for all the pieces to fall into place.”
Johnston said he just wants to put his best effort forward every night. Even though he is still trying to remember the names of his new teammates, he knows as a 20-year-old he is still counted on to be a leader on the club.
“I just want to try and put my name out there to everyone and say that I can be a good player in this league,” he said. “I try to lead by example on and off the ice. Just work hard in the gym, work hard on the ice at practice and never give up. We were down a couple of goals tonight and it is important to show them to not give up because you are never out of the game.”
As for his future, Johnston said he hasn’t made any decisions about life after junior hockey yet.
Simpson and Trickett, meanwhile, are both leaning towards playing university hockey next season.
“A lot of schools have talked to me and expressed their interest,” said Simpson. “It is just a process of trying to see what the best fit is, the best fit for an education and also the hockey program. I’m going to take everything in and make a very educated decision on where I am going to go next year. The goal next year is to play AUS (Atlantic University Sport) or CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport). I’ve been leaning towards computer science and business. I’m trying to get something in those regards, maybe mix them together a little bit because technology is becoming a big part of the world and I think that would be a good fit for me.”
“I’m not really sure yet,” said Trickett. “I’m just listening to schools now. I want to go CIS. I’m kind of more focussed on the AUS now in the Nova Scotia area. It is only early right now, so I’m just listening and I want to enjoy the last couple of months here. I’m looking into business right now, forensic psychology interests me a lot as well, so I’m just kind of trying to sort through things and see what would fit best down the road.”
There is still plenty of hockey left to play before those decisions have to be made though, and until that time comes Pouliot admits he is very happy with the 20-year-olds who will finish their junior hockey careers with the Titan this season.
“They will be three big pieces of our puzzle,” said the head coach. “This is a really solid group of overage players. Since I’ve been here I think, no I know, this is the best group (of 20-year-olds) we’ve had.”
