2009-2010 Trail Smoke Eaters Awards

The Smoke Eaters handed out their regular season awards tonight in front of a packed house at the Riverbelle in Trail. I was impressed by how many people turned out to celebrate the boys on the same day as the big Canada/Russia match up.

I know having the game on Mountain FM tonight sure saved me as I was able to listen to it while making the drive in from Castlegar. What a game it was too! I hope the fans will be dedicated enough to join us on Mountain FM for the first game of the playoffs during the big Olympic semi-final between Canada and Slovakia on Friday night. I say watch the Olympic game on TV while listening to the Smokies on the radio. It's a can't miss prospect.

As for the awards, I loved the new style trophies the boys got. Very classy. In addition each player received a framed photo and CD full of their pictures from Randy Emery. It's amazing how much work he puts into that every year. The Smoke Eaters are very lucky to have him as such a dedicated fan and volunteer. The club also recognized their departing 20 year old players Sean Nugent, Nick Sandor and Taylor Swaffield with a team watch. That will be one way for them to remember the motto that, "When you play for the Smoke Eaters you are a Smoke Eater for life."

Here is a list of the award recipients:

• Most Valuable Player: Scott Jacklin
• Top Scorer: Scott Jacklin
  
• Top Defenceman: Eric Walker and Steve Koshey
• Rookie of the Year: Sam Mellor
• Most Improved Player: Wade Bennett
• Fan Favourite: Graeme Strukoff
• Most Dedicated Player: Sean Nugent
• Most Inspirational Player: Josh McEwan
• Ed Shelley Memorial Award: Paul Mailey
• Randy Emery's "Ultimate Warrior" Award: Scott Jacklin

I don't really have a ton to add to the list of winners. Jacklin has clearly proven he is among the better all around players in the league. There aren't too many people questioning the deadline deal to get him now. Plus how can you argue with a mullet like that? Of course it's difficult in some ways to recognize one member of that line without recognizing all of them. Jacklin, Sandor and Mellor have played together most of the season with very consistent success. As much as they need to get scoring from everyone to win, the Smoke Eaters will need that line to lead the way against the Warriors.

Congrats to all the very deserving winners for their regular season success. Now we can put that behind us and turn our attention to the playoffs. After an early exit at the hands of the Westside Warriors last season... the Smoke Eaters have some revenge on their mind! Join us on Mountain FM for Games 1 and 2 from West Kelowna. The scene will then shift to the Cominco Arena for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Tuesday in Trail. Don't forget the 7pm start time for those games.

BCHL scoring leaders by age group

1989

1. Mark Zengerle 74
2. Denver Manderson 69
3. Trevor Bailey 53
4. Brooks Robinson 49
5. Mitch MacMillan 46
6. Trevor Hertz 41
7. Braden Pimm 40
8. Nick Sandor 39
9. Taylor Holst 35
10. Brendan Ellis 35
11. David Dziurzynski 35
12. Tyler Gubb 34
13. Tye Lewis 34
14. Luc Olivier Blain 34
15. Grant Toulim 34
16. Corey Chakeen 33
17. Andrew Wallace 33
18. Jordan Heywood 33
19. Alex Allan 32
20. Jonathan Milhouse 32



1990

1. Mike Collins 49
2. Colton Beck 42
3. Sam Muchalla 42
4. Mitch Krgovich 40
5. Scott Jacklin 39
6. Chad Niddery 37
7. Andrew Pettitt 36
8. Connor Jones 36
9. Kellen Jones 36
10. Alex Szczechura 34
11. Cody Bremner 33
12. Greg Noyes 33
13. Jordan Grant 32
14. Travis Statchuk 32
15. Kevin Ross 32
16. Cole Wilson 31
17. Dustin Johnson 30
18. Cory Kane
19. Brandon Fagerheim 29
20. Colton Sobchak 29



1991

1. Beau Bennett 53
2. David Killip 50
3. Cam Reid 45
4. Garrett Milan 31
5. Dustin Mowrey 30
6. Richard Vanderhoek 28
7. Trent Murdoch 27
8. Joel Lowry 27
9. Steve Koshey 27
10. Jeff Jones 25
11. Andrew Gladiuk 25
12. Tyler Krause 24
13. Jackson Garrett 23
14. Darnell Dyck 21
15. Dennis Robertson 20



1992

1. Dylan Walchuk 38
2. Sam Mellor 33
3. Travis St. Denis 33
4. Mark MacMillan 33
5. Teal Burns 30
6. Joey Laleggia 28
7. Grayson Downing 25
8. Tim Daly 17
9. Wesley Myron 16
10. Michael Betz 15



1993

1. Victor Newell 23
2. Lyndon Martel 16
3. Manraj Hayer 14
4. Colton Sissons 13
5. Spencer Graboski 11
6. Luke Fenske 11
7. Eric Walker 6
8. Sam Grist 5
9. Stefan Nicholishen 4
10. Max Fielder 4



DEFENCEMEN

1. Brendan Ellis 35
2. Greg Noyes 33
3. Jordan Heywood 33
4. Kevin Ross 32
5. Wes McLeod 29
6. Derek Hills 28
7. Joey Laleggia 28
8. Steve Koshey 27
9. Brad Pawlowski 26
10. Elliot Raible 26
11. Darcy Huisman 26
12. Victor Nowell 23
13. Josh Pineiro 23
14. Dan Nycholat 23
15. Justin Fillion 22

Thoughts? Nice to see the Smokies with at least one player among the top scorers in each age group. When you realize that only one top scorer (Sandor) on the Trail roster is a 20 year old there is a lot of hope for the core of this team. I'm not just talking about for future years either. Any good team at this level will have guys contributing in all age groups. That balance allows you to build a solid foundation year in and year out.

Game Day Audio

After last night's 8-2 win over Quesnel I had the chance to chat with several members of the Smoke Eaters about that win and tonight's game with Prince George. The Smokies lead the season series with the Spruce Kings 2-0-0-1. They beat Prince George twice on the road, but lost in overtime when the two teams last met at the Cominco Arena. This is the last game Trail will play this season against any of the northern teams. Their record so far is 7-3-0-1. Another win tonight for Trail tonight would bring them within 1 point of Quesnel and 2 of the Spruce Kings.

Smokies Forward Tye Lewis

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Smokies Defenceman Steve Koshey

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Smokies Goaltender Kiefer Smiley

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Smokies Coach Jim Ingram

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DeKeyser to Western Michigan

Congratulations are due to former Trail Smoke Eater Danny DeKeyser who has committed to Western Michigan in the NCAA. Last season's Smokies defenceman of the year has earned that elusive Div 1 scholarship that so many terrific junior players are after. It's also a perfect fit for Danny as the school is only two and a half hours away from his family home. It couldn't happen to a more deserving young man.

DeKeyser was one of at least 10 BCHL level defencemen in Trail's training camp last season. He came from being a relative unknown in these parts to earning a spot among the eight guys who broke out of camp on the back end. Danny and the other rookies in that group each took their turns sitting out some games early. It didn't appear that he was necessarily going to emerge from the pack.

After those first few weeks of the season DeKeyser never sat again. He especially emerged as a force when an injury put Brandon Clark out of the line-up. Clark had been the obvious leader of Trail's back end early in the season and was at the time likely the team's MVP. When Clark went down a lot of ice time opened up and DeKeyser stepped up to prove he was one of the top young players in the league. He finished the year with 8 goals and 17 assists, but the majority of those points were scored as his game evolved in the second half of the year.

Danny was a pleasure to watch last season and everyone who watched him play knew it was only a matter of time before the scholarship offers came his way. DeKeyser chose to play closer to home this season in the USHL where he has 4 points in 7 games. However, I'd say his year in Trail was what woke up the hockey world to how much potential the Michigan native has. As Danny's game continues to grow this season in the USHL and he continues to mature physically, I believe he'll be a player to watch in the NCAA.

That whole back end from last season has made tremendous strides. DeKeyser is the first of the 08 rookies to line-up a scholarship, but it won't be long before guys like Koshey, Strukoff, Zmurchyk, Reardon and Smutek get those calls coming in. I also certainly expect Patrick Raley (who while technically not a rookie was like a whole new player last season compared to when we first saw him) to find his way to college opportunities. They were all part of a very exciting run to 11th spot in the national rankings last fall. It's just to bad that some key injuries pulled the rug out from under that team.

Congratulations to Danny and his family. All their hard work and dedication over the years has paid off. An opportunity like this means that no matter what happens in hockey, Danny is setting himself up for life. That's what this is all about.

Post Game Audio: Trail 5 Salmon Arm 5

(Mailey and St. Denis against SA last season - Photo Randy Emery)

Nelson Ford Trail Smoke Eaters Hockey September 29th Highlights

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Smokies Assistant Coach Brian Youngson

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Forward Justin Brown

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Defenceman Steve Koshey

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Forward Travis St. Denis

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Future and Former Smokies in the KIJHL

Some good news for a few former Trail Smoke Eaters in the KIJHL this week. Firstly, congratulations to Miles Houston and Connor Gregory for getting named to the Neil Murdoch Conference All-Star team. Houston has been terrific for the Leafs since being returned to Junior B. It's no co-incidence that the Leafs have been the best team in the league since Houston and Brock Monroe returned to their line-up after starting the season in Trail. If you look at the scoring on Nelson you can see that they're a team with outstanding scoring depth. Adding Houston and Monroe allows Coach Simon Wheeldon the freedom to play with four lines that can score. Before their arrival he wasn't getting that scoring depth he wanted and the team was a little more inconsistent. I'm not suggesting Houston and Monroe are the only reason why things have come along so well in Nelson lately - far from it - but I do think they are a big part of that success and Houston earned a well deserved place on the All-Star team.

For Connor Gregory it's a nice honour after what has been a frustrating couple of years for him. I'm really glad to see that the season has been a success for him personally thus far. Could he earn a trip back to Junior A hockey thanks to this result? I guess we'll find out soon enough.

A couple of Nitehawks that were AP players with Trail also got All-Star nods. Steve Koshey will play on D for the Neil Murdoch Conference. Layne Stopanski gets a nod up front. You can also see Justin Brown playing in the prospect game earlier in the day. On another note, Wade Waters will be one of the goaltenders on the Neil Murdoch team and that's a nice recognition of the year he's had since performing well at Trail's training camp. Congrats to all those who qualifed for the teams. There are representatives from all the Kootenay Boundary teams and you can get the full list over at the KIJHL website. The games themselves will be played in Creston this Saturday. You could catch the prospect game at 3:30 before returning in time for the Smokies hosting the Vipers on Saturday night.

Another former Smoke Eater found his way to Beaver Valley this week. Goaltender Devan Hartigan has been making a lot of moves so far this year. Hopefully he's found a steady home now with the Nitehawks. First Hartigan moved from Trail to Prince George. After a few games there he ended up in the KIJHL with Fernie. Devan decided to take another shot at Junior A hockey by going to Ontario, but after that didn't really work out how he wanted he's back in the KIJHL. Hartigan apparently had his choice of several different interested teams, but he wanted to be back in this region and to have a chance on a successful organization like the Nitehawks. I imagine a goaltender of his skill, work ethic and experience could be quite a boost for Beaver Valley. They're certainly not out of the race for first place in their division yet, and Hartigan could be that extra piece of the puzzle.

With that move the Nitehawks traded goaltender Sean Muller to Creston. Muller was with Trail the weekend that Paul Barclay was away and seemed like a good guy. He'll get a chance to play behind Wade Waters in Creston and I hope all goes well for him there.

Don't forget the Smoke Eaters take on the Salmon Arm Silverbacks tomorrow night live from Salmon Arm. We'll have the game for you on Mountain FM with AM Ford Trail Smoke Eaters hockey. The pre-game show gets underway at 7:15. Friday it's off to Vernon for another road game. On Saturday the Smokies are back in town for one of only 3 home games this month. They could really use a big crowd out there for that one to help lift the team while they go on their toughest run of the year. Plus you'll have a chance at some round trip tickets from Pacific Coastal Airlines. They're doing a plane toss on Saturday night and it should be a lot of fun... especially for the winner.

Not to mention the fact that the games against Vernon this year have all been classics. Two out of three have gone to double overtime between these very evenly matched teams. Don't want to miss that one.

Now since we're getting near the trade deadline and rumours are swirling, it's time for me to "work the phones."