With new snow dusting the mountains around town, winter sports re-enter our collective imaginations. For many in Jasper, this means another season at the rink, playing and watching hockey under the guidance of Jasper Minor Sports and its new director, Analea Hayashi. I鈥檓 willing to bet that this is going to be as interesting a hockey season as Jasper has seen in a while.
Let鈥檚 start with PeeWee. I covered this team through its highs and lows last season but this season it will see many changes. For starters, the returning second-years are going to have to unlearn the body check. In an attempt to stem injuries and boost enrolment, the hockey establishment has woken up to stopping 11- to 13-year olds hitting each other on the ice. This means kids like Drew Tank and Cooper Hilworth who were laying their opponents out last season will have to cool it this year. Luckily they have many other talents to fall back on. The other big change will be the lineup. In a bid to improve its competitiveness, Hinton has added a AA PeeWee team to its league, inviting Jasper kids to try out. Five did, and all made the team. While this is a credit to the talent we have fostered in Jasper, we will miss seeing these boys in Bears鈥� jerseys. Best of luck to you all.
Double A in Hinton is also one of the reasons there will be no Bantam team in Jasper this year. This, attrition and graduation to Midget left the association without enough 14- to 16-year olds to lace-em-up here in town. Instead, Jasper will ice a Midget team, a feature that was missing last year and is a welcome return.
There has been no trouble getting the girls teams populated, though. This year, Jasper will have three teams at the Novice-Atom, PeeWee-Bantam and Midget levels. It鈥檚 great to see the women鈥檚 game grow in Jasper. One of the most inspiring performances I witnessed last year was the girls Midget Grizzlies league winner, and after watching Colleen Olson light up the NHL Alumni, as a local hockey fan, I hope this trend continues.
The Novice Bears team, led once again this year by coach Jim Koss, is gaining some impressive talent up from last year鈥檚 initiation skaters. As usual, this will be a tournament-only team. There is a home tournament on the Nov. 23 weekend, providing a great chance to see the NHL Alumni of 2053 get their start. Look for Dylan Skinner, Griffin Shepherd and Ty Crozier to lead the Novice team this year.
While the Atoms will be missing last year鈥檚 scoring star Matteo Tasoni (and his dad, the coach) to PeeWee this year, they are not going to be lacking in talent. Atom is when you first join a league, so for many kids and parents it is the first taste of regular weekend travel and local rivalries. For the second years, it is old hat, and a chance to mentor the new kids. It鈥檚 going to be a fun season for these eight to 10 year olds and I look forward to watching a lot of their games.
Without question, the most joyous hockey you will watch is when the initiation team takes the ice. The Tuesday immediately after Thanksgiving may be the first time for many of these boys and girls to skate with or without gear, and for parents, their first signs of lower back pain. But don鈥檛 be fooled by their raw skills, their intensity and heart at practice and in games is without equal. For good reason, their tournament is not until February, but it is hard for the fans of fun hockey to wait that long.
That is this year鈥檚 lineup. The Atom and PeeWee teams have started practice and will compete in regional tiering tournaments on the weekend of Oct. 19. A couple of weeks later, league action will begin.
Hope to see you at the rink.
John Wilmshurst
Special to the 51暗网
