CANMORE – Whether it’s at the Eagles nest or someone else’s barn, the Canmore Eagles are finding success wherever they have spread their wings early on this season.
Off to their best nine-game start in at least two decades with a 6-2-1 record and 13 points, the Eagles are in the hunt to be at the top of the league standings and only sit one point behind the AJHL champion Calgary Canucks and Drumheller Dragons.
“It just seems like we’ve caught our stride quicker than other years,” said third year Eagles forward Rhett Dekowny.
The club is coming off a successful three game northwestern road trip (Oct. 4-6), where the junior A hockey club picked up five out of a possible six points with wins over the Grande Prairie Storm, 5-1, and the Whitecourt Wolverines, 3-2, and an overtime loss to the Drayton Valley Thunder, 3-2.
Zach Coutu had one goal and four points over the weekend. The forward leads the Eagles with 10 points (four goals, six assists).
Dekowny thinks the team getting on the same page early has made a major difference than in previous seasons.
“We play simple hockey and we play as a team,” said Dekowny. “It’s a lot easier than trying to play pond hockey and trying to do it all yourself so … we’ve caught on that quick and it's worked so far.”
Two areas that the club has benefited in are a resilient penalty kill (88.6 per cent, second best in the league) and competitive goaltending from Hudson Sedo and Alex Scheiwiller, particularly the play of rookie Sedo who is unbeaten in four games.
“They both want to be successful and win and we’ve got healthy competition within them and I think that’s great when you see goaltenders that are pushing each other to be good,” said head coach and general manager Andrew Milne.
“For us, that’s a coach’s dream to have to make a tough decision every night [on who to put in net].”
As one of the hottest teams in the AJHL, Milne said the team is aware and preparing that the rest of the league is likely to elevate their game when suiting up against Canmore and give them their best punch.
“(...) The guys feel comfortable and confident they can win every night and I think in junior hockey, that’s half the battle,” said Milne. “When the guys feel comfortable and the guys feel good about themselves, good things can happen and I think we’re seeing that.”
The Eagles return to Canmore to face the Bonnyville Pontiacs in back-to-back games on Saturday (Oct. 11) at 7 p.m., and Sunday (Oct. 12) at 2 p.m.
Roster changes
Defenceman Jack Bousquet, 16, was picked up by the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League after six games with the Eagles this season. He had one assist.
Filling the spot on the blueline is Christian Luke, 18, who the Eagles acquired from the Calgary Canucks on Oct. 2 for future considerations. The left-handed defenceman has one assist this season.
Former Eagles captain signs with AHL’s Reign
Colton Young, 26, former captain of the Canmore Eagles junior A team, signed a one-year AHL contract with the Ontario Reign for the upcoming season.
Playing on the Eagles in the 2015-16 season until 2018-19, Young went undrafted after the Eagles, but has stayed active at the NCAA level and then in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). This included Young being featured on ESPN’s top 10 list with a beauty of a goal.
Earlier this year, Young played in 19 games with the Reign, the affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, scoring two goals and four points during his professional tryout contract with the club. He then signed on for the 2024-25 campaign with the team this past summer.
