ALBERTA CUP SELECTIONS SPEAK TO LLOYDMINSTER TALENT

By Chris Roberts courtesy the Lloydminster Source

In recent years the emergence of Clarke MacArthur, the arrival of Braden Holtby and the continued progression of Scott Hartnell have put Lloydminster on the map as a booming hockey city, and as those players get older there are certain to be reinforcements; in fact, Lloydminster and area may be experiencing its biggest talent boom to date.

Earlier this month, six players from the Lloydminster Bantam Universal Heat were selected to represent the North East team for the Alberta Cup. Last year, three players from the Heat were selected to the championship-winning North East team and all three were selected in the WHL Bantam Draft weeks later.
This year’s selections – Kale Clague, Mason Shaw, Austin McGrath, Dallas Hines, Cole Johnson and Brayden Goulet – could all very well be chosen in the WHL Bantam Draft, as well as a select few others who didn’t make the competitive North East roster.

Neither this year or last year are expected to be anomalies.

“It’s always kind of been a good hockey town,” said Clague at Tuesday night’s practice session at the Servus Sports Centre. “There’s a couple first years on (the Heat) this year that’ll make the (North East) team next year and some kids from pee-wee coming up that are really skilled, so they’ll have a really good shot at making it in a couple years.”

Lloydminster Bobcats assistant coach Kyle Tapp works with Clague, Shaw, Hines and Johnson through his private skill development company. He was also the head coach of last year’s North East team that won gold, and said that this year’s team may even eclipse last year’s in terms of talent.

“From talking to the Hockey Alberta people and other coaches and friends around there, they’re definitely one of the heavy favourites to win, I think it’s probably the strongest team Northeast has had in a long time,” he said, before cautioning that it isn’t always the team with the most talent that wins a short tournament.

“It’s the group that comes together the quickest that’s going to win, not the group with the most talent.”

Tapp said he works with the players once or twice a week, sometimes at 7 a.m. before school, and up to three times a week in the summer, so the commitment level of the group should not be questioned.

“Our sessions because of school are 7 a.m. every morning, so the amount that they sacrifice just in sleep alone (is a lot). They’ve had to give up a lot, give up other sports, give up time at the lake.”

And it’s those sacrifices that will make the difference in the coming years as the Border City reaches its peak in terms of locals rounding out not only the WHL, but perhaps even more filling out NHL rosters.

Tapp, who sees the talent, dedication, commitment and desire of several of those players, agrees.

“We’re going to be very surprised in the next few years how many local Lloydminster kids are going to start to play professional hockey,” he said.

And while that might be hard to project, especially for kids who have yet to even play major junior, the hype is warranted, especially for Clague, who is a safe bet to at least be a top four pick in the WHL Bantam Draft on May 2 in Calgary.

The Regina Pats hold the No. 2 pick in the draft and it’s very likely that Clague could go there, but still, the defenceman who rewrote the AMBHL record books this season remains humble, just happy to be picked to play in the Alberta Cup.

“It’s quite an honour to get picked with all the (talent) in our zone, I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.

Tapp said the Alberta Cup is a “pressure cooker,” where players, for the first time, are playing amongst the truly elite in the province and in front of a bevy of WHL scouts who are looking for players to make last-chance impressions.

“Especially a kid like Kale … this tournament is huge for him to go up against (expected first-overall selection Tyler) Benson and showcase his skills,” Tapp added.

Clague, who at just 15 years old already answers questions with the careful demeanour of a seasoned NHL veteran, said he’s not trying to think too far ahead in terms of the WHL Bantam Draft.

“Just go to Alberta Cup, play for your team and play for each other, if you’re doing that then personal goals will be achieved,” he said.

Clague led all AMBHL defencemen in scoring with 77 points in 33 games this season, breaking Dion Phanuef’s record, but despite receiving the brunt of the hype from the Heat, he wasn’t the team’s leading scoring. That honour went to Shaw, a playmaking forward who had 86 points in 31 games, including 66 assists.

Like Clague, Shaw is grateful for the opportunity in front of him.

“You work hard for something like that, it’s obviously an honour to get selected to play with this team. You hear a lot of good players that have played in the Alberta Cup, I’m looking forward to the experience,” he said.

His importance to the Heat was felt no more than in this season’s playoffs; after he went down with an injury in the second round, the Heat seemed to lose steam, and it was especially noticeable in the league semi-finals, where they were swept by Benson’s Edmonton SSAC team.

Having spent much of his time since then recovering and getting back into game shape, Shaw expects to be ready for the Alberta Cup.

“I’ve worked hard to get back, it’s not fun when you’ve got to watch your team play and you wish you were out there battling with them, but the strength is coming back and it’s getting better,” he said.

Last year Lloydminster product Andrew Koep scored a hat trick in the Alberta Cup championship game and was then selected in the second round of the WHL Bantam Draft, and could very likely play in the league as early as next year.

This time next year, the same thing could very well be said about more than one player from the area.

“I think there could even be more (players from the area selected) next year and the year after,” added Tapp.