With 22 new faces, don’t be surprised if Selkirk Saints coach and general manager Jeff Dubois hands out name tags at the team’s upcoming training camp. However, with several WHL and Junior A veterans joining the Saints this year, don’t expect opposing coaches to offer much sympathy Selkirk’s way.
The team starts training camp on August 25 at the Castlegar Complex and that will last a week. The Saints then have about a month to prepare for the upcoming BCIHL season which opens on Oct. 2 when the team travels to the University of Victoria.
“We have 26 players coming to camp, 22 of those are new guys,” said Dubois, who is also new behind the bench for the Saints.
The team has only four returning players: Jordan Wood, Justin Sotkowy, Sandro Moser, and Nick Cecconi.
Wood, a rookie forward last year, led the team in scoring with 42 points including 23 goals. He finished third overall in BCIHL scoring and was named a league first all-star. Sotkowy was one of the top scoring defencemen in the BCIHL last year with 23 points in 22 games. Moser was close behind with 20 points in 24 games. Cecconi, a rugged forward, added 13 points and 98 penalty minutes in 24 games.
“With 22 new guys we’re going to be behind most teams in terms of chemistry and familiarity between the players,” said Dubois. “With only four returning guys, we’re going to have to do a lot of evaluation right off the bat and try to find some combinations and chemistry that works with the new guys and figure out, at least going into the pre-season, where we’re going to slot guys in on the depth chart, how the defence pairings and forward lines are going to look.”
Despite being new behind the bench, Dubois is familiar with the four returning players after managing a strong SFU (Simon Fraser University) team, which plays in the same league as Selkirk.
“We had the luxury of working in fewer new guys the last few years at SFU,” he said. “So we had that team identity from a large group of returning players. The four guys we have coming back from last year will all be key guys for us. But ultimately it was a team that won five games last season and so the expectations are much higher. There won’t be as many guys to lead the way for the first year players. Ultimately, we’ll have to get big contributions from guys just coming in the door in order to have the kind of season we’re looking at having.”
As for the strengths of the team, Dubois points to depth as number one.
“With no disrespect to the guys in the program last year, but they had a good top line and some good defencemen, but depth-wise it fell off pretty quickly,” he said. “We’ve got 16 forwards, seven defenceman, and three goalies who can all play in our league. So we’re going to be a much deeper team. We’ve got a real high skill level. I don’t think we’ll have a problem scoring goals.”
Dubois says he’ll be able to put out three strong lines with the depth the Saints have.
“I think we’ll have three lines that can contribute offensively right off the bat,” he said. “We’re going to be a speedy team, not necessarily the biggest team. Certainly, there will be an opportunity for guys to step up in the role player mode. We’ll need those guys to identify themselves quickly.”
After several years of being play-off also-rans, Dubois thinks the Saints are poised to make a strong play-off run.
“The theme is that this is going to be a real turnover year for the program,” he said. “It’s hard to identify without seeing the other teams in the league exactly where we fit. But we’re certainly looking at making the post-season for the first time ever. I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think we’ll be one of the top two or three teams in the league. I Don’t see why the guys can’t go into the season looking at us as a contender and wanting to go for a championship.”
Selkirk’s first home game is Oct. 12 against Trinity Western University from Langley at the Castlegar Complex.
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