Bandits Courting championship repeat

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This article was published 15/11/2022 (1284 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Don’t look now, but the Brooks Bandits are at it again.

The kings of the Alberta Junior Hockey League are also defending national junior A champions and based on a 21-1-1-1 start to the 2022-23 regular season, good bets to duplicate that feat.

If they succeed, chances are good a core group of Manitobans will be at the forefront.

Included in that group are newcomers Sam Court, a 18-year-old blue-liner, and Jordan Hughesman, a 19-year-old forward, who have joined a pair of 19-year-old holdovers, defenceman Hughie Hooker and forward Hunter Wallace. All but Wallace, who calls Oak Lake home, hail from Winnipeg.

The four Manitobans are all performing key roles but it is Court — playing like a tsunami sweeping through the AJHL — who has taken the league by storm. Entering Tuesday’s matchup with the Calgary Canucks, the 5-10, 190-pounder, had 36 points, including seven goals, in 23 games.

Court, who plays first-pairing minutes with Hooker, leads all AJHL blue-liners in points and goals. He is fifth in league scoring, registering three goals and 18 points on the Bandits’ league-leading power play.

“We knew there was potential for him to be a high-end offensive defenceman,” said Brooks general manager and head coach Ryan Papaionnou by phone earlier this week.

“There are a lot of similarities to a player that was here last couple of years, Zach Bookman, but I think the difference with Sammy is that he’s gotten started as a rookie real quick. He’s had an opportunity to play on our top power-play group, which is the catalyst for a lot of the offence that he’s created.”

Bookman has graduated to the NCAA’s Merrimack College after piling up 102 points in 55 games last season while Court, who played prep hockey at Avon (Conn.) Old Farms School in 2021-22, is also heading to the NCAA after committing to the University of New Hampshire for next fall.

Hockey is a family affair for the Courts: Sam’s father Dean is an amateur hockey development and programming manager for True North Sports & Entertainment, while older brother Zach plays for the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush.

Court’s immediate destination came down to a decision between Brooks and the USHL’s Fargo Force and he chose the AJHL, in part, because he would immediately be expected to play prime-time minutes. There was also something to be said for Papaionnou’s success in developing elite defenceman.

“I knew little things (about Brooks) — obviously they won the Centennial Cup last year and they produced players like Cale Makar and Corson Ceulemans, who are both first-round NHL draft picks,” said Court, whose junior A rights were acquired from the MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons last summer.

“For a defenceman, I’m more of an offensive type, smaller guy that likes to produce offence, and with coach Pap here and (assistant coach) Taylor Makin, they let our D jump up in the play and that’s something I really like.”

Papaionnou believes the current squad is deeper than last year’s, and the tandem of Court and Hooker, now fully recovered from knee surgery 10 months ago, is a big reason for the club’s surge.

Wallace, currently out with an injury, and Hughesman, who was recently acquired from the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, have also been consistent offensive producers.

Court’s splashy debut was highlighted by two six-point games and the first hat-trick of his junior career. He was honoured as the league’s defenceman of the week three consecutive times.

“Sam has definitely improved considering the year he’s having but we understand each other well,” said Hooker, who was Court’s defence partner with the Winnipeg U18 AAA Wild in 2019-20. “And we have good chemistry together. We always know where the other guy is on the ice, so it’s been great playing with him.”

Prior to the season, Papaionnou was confident Court would have a major impact, particularly on a power play that was operating at an astounding 39.3 per cent before Tuesday’s game.

“We like his deception with the puck, we like his shot and then he certainly has the feet to be able to get himself out of trouble,” said Papaionnou.

With Court directing traffic, the Bandits roll out a first power-play unit that included forwards Aiden Fink, Dario Beljo and Hudson Malinowski, the league’s top three scorers, respectively, and Hunter Wallace (before his injury). Hughesman is slated to assume Wallace’s role on the first unit temporarily.

“We’ve had a lot of goals where all five guys on the ice have touched the puck and then it’s in the back of the net, which is pretty cool,” said Court.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14