The Rundown - Prospect Week

With every Canada West school on break for exams and the holiday season, The Rundown has very little to report. If you follow along on this blog, though, I try to keep up with the recruits that the schools have been announcing, and there have been many thus far for the eight teams in western Canada. I follow CollegeCommitments.com for all the recruiting that happens in U SPORTS and the NCAA, but even they miss some of the announcements. Honestly, you should bookmark that site because they do good work even if they miss an announcement or two. I just wish they'd remove some of the old recruiting information. Nevertheless, I want to run down the list of players for each Canada West school this week because the recruiting staffs have been very hard at work! Please note that stats are current as of today as best that I could find.

Canada West Recruits

Alberta Pandas

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Madison Willan	St. Albert	AB	F	15	14
Isabelle Lajoie	St. Albert	AB	F	1	0
Taylor Ankor	St. Albert	AB	D	2	4
Payton Laumbach	Lloydminster	AB	F	5	6
Stephanie Fischer	Irma	AB	F	20	7
Tianna Yaremko	Lloydminster	AB	D	0	0

There are a ton of goal-scoring threats that head coach Howie Draper will have at his disposal next season. Willan leads the Slash in goals and points while Fischer is leading Irma in goals. Needless to say, the strong remain strong in Alberta.

UBC Thunderbirds

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Katarina Jobst-Smith	Memmingen	DE	D	3	3
Aimee Brucker	Delta	BC	F	7	2
Reese Hiddleston	Delta	BC	G	2.33	.909
Mackenzie Kordic	St. Albert	AB	F	10	4
Sydney Neustaeter	POE	BC	D	0	6
Chanreet Bassi	POE	BC	F	0	0

UBC finds some solid talent. Kordic is second in goals on the Slash at this moment while Brucker is second in goals for Delta Academy. I'd like to see Hiddleston's numbers improve somewhat, but she's a big, solid netminder who should be able to make the transition to U SPORTS hockey. If you notice the "DE" above, UBC will have a German woman on the roster next season!

Calgary Dinos

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Kate Wagner	Swift Current	SK	D	1	4

Calgary always seems like they're the last to announce anything, but Kate Wagner's addition will make that defensive unit better as she moves the puck well, but is responsible in her own zone. She's also going to be a noticeable player with the Dinos as she stands at 5'10". Opposing forwards might be in for a tough time with Wagner!

Lethbridge Pronghorns

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Brooklyn Palmer	Lloydminster	AB	D	4	8
Sage Sansregret	Red Deer	AB	F	2	2
Ali Aitken	Battleford	SK	F	10	14

Lethbridge reportedly has more recruits to be announced, but adding Palmer to the blue line makes them stronger as she moves the puck well and can jump into the offence. Sansregret is playing on a struggling Chiefs team right now, but she's just three points off the scoring lead. She should be a nice addition. Aitken leads Battleford in goals, assists, and points, so Lethbridge will add a legitimate scoring threat next season.

Manitoba Bisons

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Kate Gregoire	St. Mary's HS	MB	F	5	11
Halle Edwards	Central Plains	MB	F	6	8
Camille Enns	Eastman	MB	D	1	6
Samantha Sichkaruk	Regina	SK	F	5	7
Jamie Ricklefs	Thunder Bay	ON	F	na	na
Molly Kunnas	Thunder Bay	ON	F	na	na
Polina Goncharova	HTI Stars	ON	F	1	4
Camryn Gillis	Wpg Avros	MB	D	0	4
Sarah Dennehy	St. Mary's HS	MB	F	10	11
Hanna Bailey	Regina	SK	F	8	7

I'm not sure if you want to call this a rebuild, but Manitoba seems to have recruited half of a team. In any case, Dennehy leads the SMA Flames in goals and scoring while teammate Gregoire is second in points. Edwards leads the Capitals in goals and points. Ricklefs and Kunnas have great chemistry with Thunder Bay in previous games I've witnessed (why doesn't their website show stats???) where they've been the most dangerous players on the ice for the Queens. Polina Goncharova is a Russian-born player playing at with the HTI Stars in Toronto as Manitoba dips back into international waters for a player. Hanna Bailey leads the Rebels in goals and points (and PIMs).

Mount Royal Cougars

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Mackenzie Loupelle	Calgary	AB	F	2	1

Loupelle won't be the only recruit for Mount Royal. She's gotten off to a slow start this season, but her seven goals and ten assists last season were good enough to lead the Calgary Fire in scoring. She'll be a solid fit in Scott Rivett's scheme next season.

Regina Cougars

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Paige Hubbard	Westman	MB	F	12	14
Jadyn Kushniruk	Prince Albert	SK	F	5	5
Rachel O'Toole	Westman	MB	D	2	12
Heather Fiske	Melville	SK	F	3	4
Kaila Powell	Pembina Valley	MB	D	2	11

Regina did a great job in recruiting Westman's top goal scorer and points producer in Hubbard, and she'll be joined by O'Toole who has been dynamite from the blue line. Fiske and Kushniruk will be solid secondary scorers while Powell has been excellent for Pembina Valley's blue line. Credit Sarah Hodges and her staff for a solid recruiting class thus far.

Saskatchewan Huskies

Name	Current	Prv.	Pos	G/GAA	A/SV%
Kate Ball	Prince Albert	SK	F	8	10
Holly Angus	HTI Stars	ON	D	6	10
Miranda Heidt	Prince Albert	SK	F	13	11

Steve Kook won't be done with his recruiting, but getting Prince Albert's top points producer this season is a good start in any recruiting class. It should be noted that Saskatchewan also inked a commitment from Jasper Desmarais from Prince Albert for the 2020-21 season. It appears the Huskies are solidifying their squad for years to come! Adding Heidt from Prince Albert gives thema good one-two punch, and Angus from HTI should give the Huskies a little pop from the blue line.

You might be wondering how you can catch a glimpse of these next Canada West all-stars, and I can tell you there is a way to do so. From January 31 to February 3, the Female World Sport School Challenge will be held at the BellMTS Iceplex in Winnipeg, and there are ten teams listed above participating in this tournament! The only Canada West teams to not have a recruit at this tournament as it stands are Calgary and Saskatchewan, but I suspect they'll have scouts in attendance as this tournament attracts eyes from schools all over North America! If you can swing the trip to the Manitoba capital, I highly suggest you catch this tournament because it literally is the best of the best sport schools and AAA teams from across Canada - with a few US teams mixed in - at this event!

Alternatively, if you cannot make it, but want to see the games, the host school in St. Mary's Academy partners with HockeyTV for your viewing pleasure (for a fee). I am proud to announce that, for the third-straight year, St. Mary's will partner with UMFM for your listening pleasure (for free) in broadcasting all the games from the Canadian Tire rink at BellMTS Iceplex. If the schedule remains as it is in its current form, you'll hear the calls for the following teams as they take to that rink's ice: Ancaster Avalanche (ON), Calgary Fire (MB), St. Mary's Academy Flames (MB), Central Plains Capitals (MB), Thunder Bay Queens (ON), Eastman Selects (MB), Northern Alberta X-Treme (AB), Winnipeg Avros (MB), Lloydminster PWM Steelers (AB), Kimberley Academy (BC), and the Anchorage Northstars (USA-AK).

It should also be noted that the Friday night "Banner Game" will be a special game once again. UMFM's goal regarding women's sports is to get more women into high-profile sports broadcasting opportunities, and the St. Mary's Academy and the Anchorage Northstars game on Friday evening will be the second-straight year that students from St. Mary's Academy will do the play-by-play and colour commentary for the game! We are excited to meet the students who want to wear the headsets and call the action, and we'll be sure to mention this during our other broadcasts starting on Thursday, January 31 right through to Friday's game!

Adding even more craziness to the weekend, The Hockey Show will be live from BellMTS Iceplex on January 31 as the show will directly into the 6:40pm game between the Thunder Bay Queens and the Eastman Selects! If you're a fan of the Bisons, you'll get to see three players who will wear the brown-and-gold next season in that game if you make it down to the rink. And if you don't, you can hear Beans and I fill the airwaves from 5:30pm until 6:30pm on UMFM with our hockey chatter before we switch over to the Second Stream to call the game!

There will be lots of talk about who is playing where next season as we get closer to this event, so make sure you check back here for more updates as they happen. As it stands, it seems next season's rosters are already taking shape in Canada West with the outstanding young ladies who have been recruited above. Congratulations to all!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!