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.

Post Penticton Audio

Smokies Forward Nick Sandor

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Smokies Forward Scott Jacklin

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Smokies Defenceman Eric Walker

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Smokies Coach Jim Ingram

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Smokies Forward Steve Oursov (Pre-Game)

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Post Game: Salmon Arm 8 Trail 7 (OT)

Salmon Arm, BC - Trail couldn't hang on to five different leads in an 8-7 overtime loss to the Silverbacks on Sunday. It was a wild and sloppy effort by both teams that Greg Noyes ended early in the second extra frame.

The Smoke Eaters took an early 3-2 lead after the first period on goals by Travis St. Denis, Darnell Dyck and Nick Sandor.

Trail extended their lead in the second period as Steve Oursov scored his first goal since returning to the Smoke Eaters and Matt Wilkins made it 5-2 on the power play. However, the Silverbacks responded with the hard work of their third and fourth lines. Devin Gannon, Josh Manson and Matt Cassidy scored in the second half of the period to tie the game up.

The Smokies again took the lead twice in the third period. Sean Nugent scored to make it 6-5 and Oursov's second of the game gave Trail a 7-6 lead. Again they wouldn't hold up as goals by Noyes and Travis Statchuk sent the game to overtime.

St. Denis has 3 points for Trail while Oursov, Dyck, Wilkins and Paul Mailey had 2 each.

It was the second consecutive overtime loss for Trail as they've now earned 2 of a possible 6 points since returning from holiday break. The next action for the Smokies is Tuesday night at home against Peneticton. They'll welcome Merritt to the Cominco Arena again on Saturday.

ON THE TRAIL: Thomas Abenante was out of the line-up for Trail and is likely done for the remainder of the season after suffering a serious ankle injury against Merritt. Graeme Strukoff also missed the game with a lower body injury while Mike Betz was scratched ... The Smokies held BCHL points leader Mark Zengerle to a single assist but were burned by Salmon Arm's improving depth. The Silverbacks are starting to get some more production from their third and fourth lines as they make a push to challenge the three Okanagan clubs ahead of them in the Interior ... Garrett Beckwith made 25 saves in a losing cause for Trail. Kurt Williams stopped 32 of 39 Trail shots to get his second win against the Smokies this season ... Trail hadn't given up 8 goals in a game since November 13th in Vernon ... The Smokies now have a win, an overtime loss and a tie in six games against Salmon Arm this season. It's their best showing against any of the Interior's top teams. The two clubs face off again in February.

(I'll have highlights and post-game reaction tomorrow night on Mountain FM's Overtime. I also wanted to quickly congratulate Eric Walker's cousin Luke and Team USA for making the gold medal game at the World Junior Championship. They'll have a very tough time stopping Canada's quest for six straight wins, but it should be a heck of a game on Tuesday. You can watch that one at 4:30pm right before heading to the rink for the Trail game against Penticton.)

Christmas Eve Audio

This audio has nothing to do with Christmas in particular it's just the day I'm posting it. I had the chance to chat with Castlegar's Luke Walker and his father Gord after Luke was selected to the American World Junior Championship team's roster. I also caught up with several Smokies after their win over Victoria on Saturday. Here is that audio. Make note of the video game trash talk by Strukoff. I think he and Oursov have to have some kind of tournament to settle this once and for all. Happy Holidays to all Smokies players, staff, volunteers and fans!

American Junior Team Forward Luke Walker

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Former NHLer Gord Walker

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Smokies Captain Paul Mailey

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Smokies All-Star Graeme Strukoff

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Smokies Goaltender Garrett Beckwith

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Smokies Coach and GM Jim Ingram

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Luke Walker makes US Team, Roche and Dubie at Spengler Cup

Congratulations are in order to Castlegar's Luke Walker. The cousin of Trail Smoke Eaters defenceman Eric Walker has made the final roster for the American entry at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Walker did all that despite suffering a pretty severe injury to his face when he was hit by a puck in a recent game.

Instead of walking away and giving up the dream he threw on a full face shield and went to the evaluation camp anyway. Walker must have made quite an impression to get on the team despite being less than 100% at the time. That heart and determination will be a big help to the US squad as they start the tournament on boxing day.

Walker can play for them because he was born in the US while his father Gord was playing pro hockey. We'll have interviews with both Gord and Luke Walker tonight on Mountain FM's Overtime. They'll be on in the first hour of the show and later on the podcast. I'm sure everyone around the West Kootenay will wish Luke the best of luck but we'll all probably still want to see Canada get that gold medal. Maybe Luke can score a hat trick and go +3 in a 4-3 Canada win over the US in the gold medal game.

SPENGLER CUP

Speaking of international competitions, Canada's Spengler Cup team will have a distinctly Smokie feel to it. Former Smoke Eaters Travis Roche and Wade Dubielewicz will suit up for Coach Craig MacTavish and Team Canada in what should be a terrific opportunity for them to showcase themselves to NHL clubs. Roche is playing for Bern in the Swiss league while Dubielewicz is with Minnesota's AHL farm team in Houston. Both guys have been to the big dance before and I'm sure would like nothing better than a chance to show they deserve a chance to get back there again.

We'll have more Smoke Eaters alumni talk over the holiday break as I get you up to date on what other former Smokies are doing this season. I know for example that one NCAA school has been trying out an all Smoke Eater line recently. Stay tuned to the blog for more on that and audio from this past weekend coming up over the next couple of days. Also scroll down to get video highlights from Trail's two wins before the holiday break.

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.

Tuesday Smokies Audio

(McEwan fights in his first game - Photo Randy Emery)

Eric Walker on his scholarship

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Assistant Coach Barry Zanier

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Defenceman Mitch Kaufmann

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Forward Josh McEwan

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Walker Commits to Northern Michigan

I want to send out a huge congratulations to 16 year old defenceman Eric Walker who today committed to Northern Michigan University for a full ride scholarship starting in the 2011-2012 NCAA season. Walker has impressed many with his sound and physical play as a young rookie through the first month and a half of his BCHL career. The scouts were circling early and Northen Michigan grabbed him. Of note Walker's uncle Steve Bozek (check out the the resemblance to a young Bozek) went to Northern Michigan for three seasons. Eric told me that talking to his uncle helped convince him that this was the right move for him to make.

If you look at the other side of the family his uncle Gord Walker and Gord's son Luke Walker both went the Western Hockey League route. Given Eric's size, strength and mature play he will certainly be a target of WHL clubs. However, it looks like Walker is going to play this year and next with Trail before heading off to college. I think it's a great move for him. You can already see a special player developing and he's getting the opportunity to learn in all situations on a young Smokies back end. I'm looking forward to seeing how much he grows over the next year and a half.

This also marks the second consecutive year that Trail's lone 16 year old found an NCAA home so early in his BCHL career. There is so much talent in the West Kootenay region. Travis St. Denis of Trail of course got his full ride to Quinnipiac last season and now Walker -- a Castlegar boy -- joins him as a 16 year old writing his ticket for a great education. Smokies forward Sam Mellor also earned a scholarship as a 16 year old, but he did it in the KIJHL.

Tune in to Mountain FM's Overtime tonight for an interview with Walker and audio reaction to Trail's games against Cowichan Valley and Prince George on the weekend. I also have my first interviews with new Smokies Mitch Kaufmann and Josh McEwan. Again that's tonight from 6pm to 10pm on Mountain FM. I'll have the audio on the blog sometime after it all airs on the radio. Also don't forget tomorrow night's broadcast of Nelson Ford Trail Smoke Eaters play by play live in Burnaby.

Congrats again, Eric! It's well deserved.

Trail 7 Williams Lake 2

(Sam Mellor scores his second of the game - Photo Randy Emery)

Trevor Lewis and Sam Mellor both had two goals and an assist in a 7-2 Trail win over Williams Lake today. Matt Wilkins had three asists while Travis St. Denis added two points. It was also a celebration for Eric Walker, Ben Matthews and Marc-Antoine Chaput as they each scored their first BCHL points. Mellor's first goal was his first BCHL marker. Kiefer Smiley stopped 36 of 38 shots for the win in his first start as a Smoke Eater. It was the second straight game that the Smokies put up more than 40 shots. There was lots to like about this afternoon's game, but the biggest thing is that the "monkey" is off their back. Now the team should be looser and more able to perform up to their ability. We'll have all sorts of interviews and reaction tomorrow night on Mountain FM's Overtime from 6pm to 10pm. Trail's next game is Tuesday night in Salmon Arm.