After a 21-year championship drought, the Mount Forest Patriots have established a new winning tradition by going back-to-back in the Pollock Division.
Last year's squad featured a host of returning players from the 2016-17 team, and they marched their way to another impressive regular season and playoffs, again dispatching the Walkerton Hawks in the final after finishing first in the divisional standings with 64 points, losing just 7 times. However, if the Patriots want to go for an unprecedented three-peat, they'll need to gel quickly under a new coach, and with some key veterans moving on. This team still looks incredibly deep, and will benefit from the return of some of their best players at each position. Matt McCann takes over as the bench boss after serving as an assistant under the departed Trent McClement, who left for Jr. B St Marys. Luckily, McCann is familiar with the squad, and they him, and he'll have some weapons to work with.
Up front, the Patriots will sorely miss MVP and leading scorer Blair Butchart. His skill set and the fact he plays centre will be near impossible to outright replace, and his 79 points led the division. Butchart will join Trent McClement in St. Marys. Also departing is talented winger Riley Cribbin, the little puck wizard who could dazzle with his stick handling and play making dynamics. Cribbin was third in team scoring with 54 points, and was a big catalyst in the post season. However, the team got great news in learning that leading goal scorer Klayton Hoelscher will return, alongside cousin Luke. Klayton broke the franchise goal record last year, potting 42 times, with 67 points, as he was a constant threat from anywhere inside the blue line. Luke was named the Most Improved Player and will get a bigger role this year after putting up 29 points himself. Another major returnee is the team's Swiss Army knife, Michael Stefanelli. His versatility makes him an asset in every facet of the game; even strength, penalty kill, power play, on the wing, taking draws, blocking shots and shutting down the other team's top players. He's as close as you can get to a Henrik Zetterberg-type player in the division. Troy Weber will return and get a bigger role, as will Blake Lewis, Brady Becker and local boy Jack Francis for his overage year. GM Rob Nixon says the team has added some new young players from the area as well that could make some significant impact on the score sheet. This team lost a couple big chunks, but still has enough meat up front to put up big goal totals.
On the back end, the Patriots lost the heart and soul of their D-core and maybe their locker room as ever-reliable veteran Shawn Lantz has aged out. Lantz was a two-way force his entire career, and he was an exemplary captain, again posting a solid points total last year of 32 as he quarterbacked the power play and put his body on the line killing penalties. His loss will certainly be felt, but the Patriots will benefit from the return of last season's late addition from Jr. B Waterloo, Thomas Haffner. Haffner suffered some concussion problems early in the season and eventually decided it was best to not have Waterloo wait on him to get healthy. When he was released and finally felt better, he joined the Patriots and in his 10 regular season games, he put up 6 points and then went off even more in the playoffs. Haffner will now assume the power play control, and though smaller in size, he plays physical and can block shots, but it's his passing ability and his skill in starting rushes that will help the Patriots the most. Joining Haffner in returning is Dylan Brown, Derick Acheson, young Nate Bolger (who's brother Dawson will be playing up front) and Derek Williams, who Nixon refers to as "Mr. Steady." This group will have enough veteran talent and experience to hopefully offset the loss of Lantz, and still be a threat to generate points. Though the unit as a whole is more of a defensively sound group, Haffner will help a lot offensively and whoever pairs with him will see their totals tick upward. The penalty kill should continue to be a big strength with this group. Losing Brock Philips in a trade to Hanover will hurt a bit, but this unit remains strong and skilled.
In net, the Patriots have zero worries, as they will have David Lobsinger return to lend his steady play and competitive spirit to the group. Lobsinger was a great story last year, joining the Patriots after taking the better part of 2 years off from high end hockey, and stepped right in to post a 19-7-0 record, a .924 save percentage, and a stellar 2.40 GAA. He was excellent in the regular season and playoffs, and as a smaller goalie, he relied a lot on his excellent athleticism and speed to make incredible stretch saves that would take the wind out of a lot of shooter's sails. He may well be the biggest returnee that the Patriots have in terms of impact and importance. Aiding Lobsinger in net will be another returning player in Aiden Quish. Last year in relief duty, Quish was excellent, posting a 12-2-0 record with a .913 save percentage and a 2.80 GAA. Mount Forest shouldn't have any issues in the blue paint.
For more on the upcoming Mount Forest Patriots season, here is the full length interview with GM Rob Nixon:
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