#NewTeamSameDream: That’s the hashtag the Virden Oil Capitals have been using ahead of this weekend’s 2018 Comfort Inn fall training camp, and it sums up the team’s approach to the upcoming season.
After going to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League finals last season and posting their best record (40-17-3) since moving to Virden, the Oil Caps will ice a team with a number of new faces.
“It is an exciting year,” said Jamie Hodson, the team’s Director of Business and Hockey Operations. “Like our hashtag says, new team and same dream. We want to vie for a championship every year. Whether our average age is younger like this year or older like last year, our common goal is to attain that championship.”
The Oil Capitals’ quest to get back to the league finals begins in many ways at the fall camp, which runs Friday, Aug. 31 – Sunday, Sept. 2. It concludes with the annual Garry Cup intrasquad game, which is named for long-time dressing room attendant Garry Remple.
60 players at camp
The team expects to have slightly more than 60 players in camp. They range all the way from youngsters tabbed this year in the MJHL Draft who will play at least a season of midget hockey to 20-year-olds looking to cap their junior careers with a title.
“I’m looking forward to seeing my teammates,” said Virden’s Tristen Cross, a 20-year-old defenceman. “I’ve kept in touch with a lot of them, but haven’t seen them since the end of last season.
“I’m also just excited about getting the season started. It’s always exciting once August rolls around and you know that hockey is only a month away.”
The Oil Caps play their first three exhibition games on the road. They are in Portage on Tuesday, Waywayseecappo on Wednesday, and Dauphin on Sept. 8. The squad wraps up its exhibition season with a trio of home games. The Oil Capitals host Portage on Sept. 11, Dauphin on Sept. 13, and Swan Valley on Sept. 15.
Players at the fall camp will be looking to fill a number of positions vacated by departing players. Gone are eight 20-year-olds, including Kirklan Lycar and Kyle Salaway, who finished second (67 points) and third (63) on the team in scoring. Last year’s top scorer and MVP, Virden’s own Tyler Kirkup, Dylan Thiessen, a four-year Oil Capital, and 2017-2018’s starting goalie Riley McVeigh all left with eligibility remaining to play NCAA hockey in the United States.
In addition, defencemen Marco Creta and Garrett Sambrook are competing in WHL camps in Regina and Brandon, respectively. The league’s top rookie, Justin Lee, is trying to earn a roster spot in the United States Hockey League with Lincoln.
The success of players moving on is certainly a feather in the cap of the Virden organization.
“I think our coaching staff has done a good job,” Hodson said. “It really starts with our organization as a whole over the years and last year just taking that next step – just a professionally-run Junior A organization that tries to emulate a college or Western Hockey League program where kids are getting prepared better and better for the next step. Not only the next step in hockey, but the next step in life.”
Up front the Oil Capitals return six players. Ben Dalke, who will be in his fourth season in Virden, and Kolton Kanaski will be looked upon to lead as veterans. Jack Einarson, Hunter Cloutier, Josh Belcher, and Brayden Pawluk, who also plays defence, return after showing promise as rookies.
“In Brett Paddock, (Virden’s) Tanner Andrew (who played 15 MJHL games last season), and Parker Brakebill from California, we have some guys coming in that were highly sought after and players that are going to wear our crests with a lot of pride. We have some young guys who are going to take a run at things,” Hodson said.
On the blue line, the Oil Capitals return Cross and Jayden Wojciechowski, who had a good rookie season. In the summer, the team added veteran Brock Shwaluk, a LaSalle product and long-time friend of Dalke’s who played in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League last season. A number of players will compete for spots on the backend.
In net, Dalton Dosch returns after backing up McVeigh last season. Oak Lake’s Riley Wallace is striving to crack the roster. Various other athletes are looking to earn a spot in the Virden crease, but Hodson said, “We couldn’t be happier with that potential tandem.”
