The Beaver Valley Nitehawks are a hungry group entering a new Kootenay International Junior Hockey League season. In their Quick Shift team preview, when asked what they would like to improve on from last season, head coach-general manager Terry Jones responded by saying, “I’d like to win six more games. We felt like getting to the league final would have been a topper on a great season. To come up short, that’s a real sticking point with our returning players and they’re eager to try and get to that next step and challenge for the league title.”
KIJHL: What should fans be excited about when it comes to this team?
TJ: Our nucleus of players has been together for a few years. I love how we came to camp in condition and shape and the leadership has been awesome from Connor Stojan, Bobby Hristov, Joel Smyth and Beau Manegre. The guys have all done a great job and I’m really, really excited about some of our emerging guys like Liam Ray, Hunter Hanson, Owen Dickson and Roan Crowe – these are guys who have really worked hard in the offseason and had a good training camp. It’s a pretty exciting time.
KIJHL: What areas are you looking to improve from last season?
TJ: We’ve returned a lot of forwards and both goaltenders look terrific in net. Defensively, we gotta work on our defensive depth and get to a place where our team defence is really solid.
KIJHL: Are there any returning players that you are expecting to have big seasons? Talk about what you are hoping to see from them.
TJ: Liam Ray is a key guy because he’s a super talented kid, who plays a rough and tumble style, and we need him to also contribute offensively. We really need him to play strong and tough but play a disciplined way because in order for him to reach his full potential, he has to stay in the game. He’s a terrific kid and a hard worker, a great leader and I’m super excited about how far he could step up. He had 26 points in 39 games.
Hanson has had a terrific training camp and is a relentless worker, shoots the puck well, really thinks the game well. I’m really looking to see how he’s going to emerge as a leader. He had 30 points in 40 games.
Ollie Clement is an engine for us. He’s full of energy, life and spirit and plays the game hard and is super talented. He is a great skater that is showing to be a top scorer in our league, so we look for Ollie to contribute in all those ways. He had 45 points in 42 games last season.
Goalies Connor Stojan and Landan Uzeloc both have had terrific camps and are really playing and prepared well. It’s nice to see Landan has really emerged so we look forward to seeing him and Connor to be a top 10 in the league. Last season they combined for a .920 save rate and 2.43 goals against average with five shutouts.
KIJHL: Are there first-year players who are ready to make an immediate impact?
TJ: I’m really impressed with the play of Sam Chartres and Johnathan Strecheniuk and Mason Dixon – those three guys have shown a lot of poise and are really working on their game. Up front, I have been really impressed with Owen Dickson (four goals) and Brock Robertson (five goals), they’ve really hit the back of the net and have shown to be hard workers and playing the right way.
KIJHL: When it comes to your leadership group, what are the important characteristics that you want each player to possess?
TJ: The thing about our leadership group is that I’m hopeful that guys have learned from our past leaders. You can see them doing the right things all the way through training camp and it shows how they lead the team, conduct themselves and I think whether or not one guy emerges as the team spokesperson – like previous captain Kaleb Percival was – there’s definitely somebody who will do that. We’ve got lots of guys who provide different elements of leadership. Clement brings a lot of spirit and Joel Smyth brings a relentless work ethic and Hristov has a sense of humour and levity, but also competes on both sides of the puck and is a really fiery competitor. Stojan provides a sense of steadiness. All of those guys provide the work ethic and competitiveness daily that it takes to be a leader. We will see who emerges.
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