Oil Caps score big off the ice

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/10/2023 (696 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TYSON Ramsey must have had a Christmas-in-October feeling this week.

The Virden Oil Capitals general manager and head coach received news that veteran forwards Braeden Lewis and Luke Robson were returning to the MJHL and he immediately plugged the pair into his lineup.

Robson, a 19-year-old released by the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, registered an assist in Saturday’s 1-0 Virden victory over the Waywayseecappo Wolverines and Lewis, a recent casualty of the WHL’s three-overage limit with the Swift Current Broncos, potted a goal as the Caps edged the hometown Portage Terriers 4-2 Wednesday night.

“When they get to be in the Western Hockey League and when they get to be 20, there’s always a chance that they could return,” said Ramsey Thursday. “We certainly had (Lewis’s return) in the back of our mind. We had to build a team without them because of the unknown of them coming back — but we’re certainly happy to have them.”

Lewis, who last played for the Oil Caps in 2020-21, has been slotted in on a top line with centre Nolan Chastko. Meanwhile, Robson, whose rights were acquired in June from Wayway for the price of a first-round draft pick and forward prospect Dawson Andries, centred a trio with Roux Bazin and Bruce Bryant.

Ramsey prefers to avoid labelling his forward lines.

“We’re trying to build a team that’s deep right through and I don’t like to call them one, two, three, four,” he said. “(Wednesday) night, our so-called fourth line — or the one that’s written down fourth on the page — was our best for a lot of the night.”

Proving Ramsey’s point about depth is third-line centre Josh Lehto, who leads the MJHL in scoring with a whopping five goals and 14 points in eight games.

“He had a good off-season,” said Ramsey of Lehto, who has been skating with wingers Naton Miller and Luke MacKenzie. “He worked hard at getting stronger — not that he wasn’t strong last year; he’s a physically strong kid who worked really hard on his feet and getting faster and that’s just allowing him to create some separation and do some of the things that he’s good at. He shoots the puck really well and then early in the season, we put him in the middle and he seemed to flourish there.”

The Oil Caps are off to a 4-3-1 start, which is good for second in the West Division, and aspire to improve a 2022-23 post-season run that ended with a loss to Portage in the league final.

“That’s the goal for sure,” said Ramsey. “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves because we’ve got a lot of work to do. Just getting the playoff spot is going to be priority No. 1, but the division looks like it’s going to be pretty tight again and so we’re gonna have to get better every day.”

GO WEST YOUNG MAN: Eric Alarie expected to be in Moose Jaw for his fifth and final season in the WHL.

Those plans changed when the Columbus Blue Jackets returned 20-year-old import forward Martin Rysavy to the Warriors, putting the club over its overage limit.

The Warriors subsequently shipped Alarie, who had played 220 regular-season games with the franchise, to Seattle for third- and fifth-round WHL draft picks. Alarie, a left-winger from Winnipeg, scored in his first game with the T-Birds, a 4-2 win over the host Spokane Chiefs on Oct. 6.

“It was kind of tough getting to that first game,” said Alarie. “I drove nine hours to Cranbrook from Moose Jaw and then four hours from Cranbrook to Spokane. So it was a quick turnaround — I had bus legs the first game but I’m pretty good now. I’ve had a few days to rest and my mental state is great as well.”

T-Birds GM Bil La Forge believes Alarie will be an excellent fit.

“He’s a big strong kid with a nose for the net and obviously he’s had some experience and even in his first game, he proved that for us,” said La Forge. “He had one chance to score (against Spokane) and he put it in the back of the net and scored the game-winning goal for us. He’s gonna provide offensive leadership and experience, I think, which is a big one for us.”

Alarie insists the T-Birds are a post-season team, despite losing many of the veterans that won a league championship last spring.

“I don’t think Seattle’s rebuilding,” said Alarie. “I think we’ve got some really, really good players on this team and I think we’re gonna make the playoffs. We might actually have home-ice advantage in the first round (of the playoffs).”

STELLAR DEBUT: Dakota MacIntosh is off to a flying start in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

The 19-year-old forward from Winnipeg started the season in Brooks, tallying two assists in three games with the defending league champion Bandits, before being traded to the Blackfalds Bulldogs. In six games with Blackfalds, MacIntosh has six goals and 14 points, including a career night on Oct. 6 when he scored five times, including the overtime winner, and added an assist in a 7-6 triumph over the Grande Prairie Storm.

The Merrimack College commit’s 16 points are good for second place in league scoring.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca