NEWS PHOTO SEAN ROONEY Josh Van Mulligen takes a shot during South East Athletic Club Tigers practice Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019.
As they helped with the ice crew at last week’s World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, members of the South East Athletic Club’s bantam AAA team inevitably saw the scouts in the stands, looking for future stars of the game.
With their hometown 16-team tournament set to start tonight there won’t be as many people taking notes, but plenty of opportunity to impress.
“I think they’ve just got to worry about their own game,” said head coach Brayden Desjardins. “The biggest thing is we have some guys who played in this tournament last year, and they’ve done a good job of understanding what it’s been like, what it’s been through.
“They’ve done a good job, our leadership guys, of making sure kids are prepared. They know if they play their game, they’ll be fine.”
The 47th annual Hockey Hounds Major Bantam Tournament sees the Tigers up against B.C.’s Cariboo Cougars in their first matchup, 8:30 p.m. at the Kinplex. They’ll also meet Saskatchewan’s Martensville Marauders and the Burnaby Winter Club in their round robin pool.
Tigers captain Josh Van Mulligen is more excited about having some teammates back in the lineup after injuries or suspensions than worried about who might be watching.
“We’re really excited, we almost have our full team coming back finally, a lot of key guys coming back,” said the 6-foot defenceman, who leads his team in scoring with 11 points through 13 games. “We’re going to get going here.
“I don’t think it changes too much, I think we’ve got to play the same way we always play. A tough game.”
Top-scoring forward Dawson Seitz hasn’t played since the first weekend of the season due to injury, while Grady Martin served the last of a three-game suspension as the Tigers beat Okotoks 4-1 Saturday. That win broke a five-game losing skid and has added some confidence at exactly the right time.
“It helps a lot, it’s been a tough stretch there, playing a lot of tough teams,” said Van Mulligen. “We’ve got a lot of guys coming back so we’re going to get going here.”
How the host team fares this weekend won’t make or break them, but it can be a good signpost of where they’re at. With so many top teams in town from the western provinces, the Hockey Hounds tournament has long been a go-to for WHL scouts.
Desjardins figures Martensville, Burnaby and two-time defending champion St. George’s are the early teams to look out for, though Alberta squads like Leduc and Edmonton’s South Side Athletic Club are no slouches either.
He’s counting on players like Van Mulligen to lead the way. They’ve already proven their mettle through a tough start.
“It’s a big mark of a leader when your team starts the way they do, and we’ve started to turn around the last little bit,” said Desjardins, in his first year leading the AAA team after a couple years coaching AA. “A lot of that goes to how well Josh has been in the room, not only him but our leadership group, but to see Josh, the way he’s matured this team and calmed them down, it’s a big testament to him.”
The tournament picks up steam as the weekend goes on, leading up to Sunday’s 12:30 p.m. championship game at the Kinplex. Hockey Hounds and the Moose Rec Centre will also be busy with games starting at 5 p.m. tonight, 8 a.m. Friday, 10 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday.
