Okotoks Trio Return, Winning Ways Next?

September 30th, 2009 · No Comments

After a three day audition for Team Canada West in Okotoks, Garrett Milan, Sean Bonar and Joey LaLeggia are back in the Peach City, and the Vees couldn’t be happier about their attendance in the locker room.

LaLeggia, Bonar and Milan will be back in the line-up on Friday

One day after a humbling 5-4 loss to the Merritt Centennials, one is inclined to feel Milan, LaLeggia, and Bonar seem to be more valuable than they were just days ago. While the results of their tryout for the Western Canadian entry to the World Jr. ‘A’ Challenge isn’t yet, known, the results for the Vees with a short bench are all too apparent.

The Vees have two losses through nine games on the year (7-2-0-0), yet Garrett Milan hasn’t been on the ice for either! Neither has Ben Sexton, for that matter, who compounded the Vees short labour supply last night, as he was sidelined with flu like symptoms.

In fact, the Vees have only played three games this year with what can be considered a ‘full’ compliment of players so far, if you overlook Adam Zamec’s pending return from off-season surgery. Right out of the gate Isaac MacLeod was absent for the first three games up North. Then after a Saturday Night game in PG that featured a near line brawl, the Vees lost 6 man-games to suspension with NCAA committed Szczechura, Sexton and Milan banished for a pair each. Then last night Team Canada West’s ‘evaluation camp’ for the World Jr. A Challenge robbed the Vees from anything resembling a full roster.

Give Merritt credit for a gusty win that saw them erase a 4-2 deficit in the last half of the contest, but the Vees were missing four impact players from their line-up who will all play College Hockey in the next few years.

One final note on this ‘evaluation camp’. Team Canada East also had a try-out style camp to help craft their roster, but it was held before the season started. I for one hope Team Canada West follows suit next year so as to limit the loss of impact players from regular season play. Last year the Vees missed the 3rd seed in the playoffs by losing a tie-breaker. With points at such a premium in the Interior Conference, the loss of a player (nevermind three) for anything short of the WJAC event itself seems a touch unnecessary.

I caught up with Garrett Milan, Sean Bonar and Joey LaLeggia after the team’s workout today…

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