The Ice Wolves are currently second last in the SJHL standings. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

opportunity

Ice Wolves set for SJHL Showcase

Nov 14, 2023 | 2:04 PM

It will be quite the week for the La Ronge Ice Wolves as they play two games in Warman as part of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Showcase.

The annual Showcase is an opportunity for players to demonstrate their abilities in front of college scouts, who are on the look out for athletes to offer scholarships to bolster their own hockey programs. Ice Wolves head coach Kevin Kaminski explained the scouts usually look for a few specific traits such as work ethic, skating, hockey intelligence, vision, competitiveness and the pride players have in their game play.

“It’s good to see all the coaches and chat about things,” he said. “You get to talk to the college’s staff as well. It’s an awesome event. It’s run out of a very nice facility. It’s for the players. This is what they are playing for. It’s a good opportunity to show what they can do.”

During the Showcase, the Ice Wolves will play against the Humboldt Broncos on Tuesday and Kindersley Klippers on Wednesday at the Legends Centre. Aside from the scouts, Kaminski noted it’s a good chance for himself to see what the other teams are all about, as well as assess players for potential trades and determine the strengths and weakness of individual teams.

The Ice Wolves are currently sitting in 11^th place in the league with 14 losses and five wins for 12 points. They sit just above the Notre Dame Hounds with 11 points and the Yorkton Terriers with 14.

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“I thought we would be in a better position with the team we had on paper, but paper doesn’t win you games,” Kaminski said.

“I think as a coaching staff, we still believe we have one hell of a team. Now, it’s time for them to start believing in themselves, in the systems and we found ways to wins. We’ve been in so many close games, but we found ways to lose instead of finding ways to win this year.”

Later this week, the Ice Wolves will play back-to-back home games against the Battlefords North Stars, who are currently in third place with 27 points. The games will be held Friday and Saturday at the Mel Hegland Uniplex with 7:30 p.m. start times. With such a formidable opponent in town, Kaminski mentioned it would be nice if fans packed the rink and cheered on the team.

“When the Mel has 800, 900 to 1,000 people, it’s rocking and the boys really enjoy that atmosphere,” he said.

“We’ve got a tough schedule ahead, but it’s a good test for us and it will show our true character of what we’ve got. We have to play everybody throughout the year. You have to accept a challenge like we do today against Humboldt. Humboldt is one hell of a team, but we have to go in there and steal two points. However we do it, we’ve got to do it.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com

by Derek Cornet

Ice Wolves set for SJHL Showcase

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