NAX September Newsletter

With the first month of the season officially completed our student-athletes have begun to adjust to the daily routine and grind of the hockey and school year. This year 80 student-athletes will represent the Northern Xtreme across four teams while attending Riverview Middle School and John Maland High School in Devon.

NAX Alumni Spotlight:

This month’s alumni spotlight player is Carter Souch. Carter spent the 2016/17 season with the NAX Elite 15s and joined the Midget Preps the following year before the called the fourth rounder up for the remainder of their season. In total Carter played 36 games and recorded 34 points while at NAX. Now in his second full season with the Oil Kings, Carter has four points in six games this season.

Around the Rink: 99 former NAX players currently find themselves on junior or university/college rosters this season with the following breakdown: • 34 AJHL • 19 WHL • 11 • 11 ACAC • 5 CapJHL • 4 SJHL • 3 ACHA • 2 AJFHL/MJAHL • 1 BCHL/KIJHL/MJHL/NOJHL/NWJHL/VIHHL/NCAA Div 1/NCAA Div 3

Four NAX student-athletes were selected to represent Team Alberta Men’s U16 at the 2019 WHL Cup that will take place this month in Calgary. Best of luck to forwards Billal Noori, Bowden Singleton, and Nate Danielson, as well as defenseman Cale Ashcroft.

Former Elite 15s forward and current Sherwood Park Crusader Carter Savoie was named the Alberta Ford Dealer Player of the Month in the AJHL for September. Carter recorded nine goals and eight assists in seven games played.

Jaden Little stopped 20 of 22 shots to record his first ever SJHL win with the Flin Flon Bombers on September 28, 2019. Jaden spent the 2017/18 season with the NAX Midget Prep team, capturing a CSSHL league title.

The following NAX alumni scored their first career junior goals this month: • Ethan Edwards (/AJHL) • Greg Nelson (/AJHL) • Kye Whillans ( Thunder/AJHL) • Myles Hilman (/AJHL) • Sam Popowich (Spruce Grove Saints/AJHL) • Marc Lajoie (Tri-City Americans/WHL)

Midget Prep forward Jack Parker played in his first AJHL regular season game when the called him up on October 5, 2019 against the .

Now in his second WHL season former NAX Midget Prep forward Connor McClennon scored the first ever goal for the Winnipeg Ice on September 20, 2019. Elite 15s defenseman Logan Cunningham signed a Standard Player Agreement with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. The 2019 WHL Bantam Draft third round pick is in his first season at NAX.

Goalie coach Allen York has been hard at work with all four teams focusing on: • Stance options/expectations • Movement mechanics • Tracking habits • Introduction to positional play • Overview of situational play options and expectations

Bantam Prep

Meet the 2019/20 Bantam Prep team:

# PLAYER NAME POS HT WT HOMETOWN

1 Logan Cunningham G 5'11" 155 Sherwood Park, AB

2 Saige Weinstein D 5'10" 160 Edmonton, AB

5 Carter Kowalyk D 6'1" 163 St. Albert, AB

6 Ryan Arnold F 5'9" 150 St. Albert, AB

7 Bret Hymers F 5'7" 145 Botha, AB

8 Eastyn Mannix D 6' 150 Wainwright, AB

9 Zachary Wilson F 5'8" 145 Wetaskiwin, AB

10 Tristen Doyle D 5'7" 130 Bonnyville, AB

11 Teydon Trembecky F 5'8" 140 Strathcona, AB

12 Morgan Brady D 5'7" 125 Woking, AB

15 Kooper Gizowski F 5'9" 165 Edmonton, AB

16 Anthony Wilson F 5'8" 166 Swift Current, SK

17 Alex Muir D 5'6" 140 Toronto, ON

18 Reid Varkonyi F 5'7" 140 Sherwood Park, AB

19 Colin Doherty F 5'4" 105 Sherwood Park, AB

21 Evyn Hansen F 5'11" 155 Grande Praire, AB

22 Kai Matthew F 5'11" 160 Edmonton, AB

23 Matthew Gillard D 5'8" 132 Yellowknife, NT

27 Simon Hamilton F 5'6" 145 Bay Tree, AB

35 Tyson Endall G 6'1" 160 Chestermere, AB

The Bantam Preps have been starting every day with floor hockey tournaments with the coaches team winning every major series so far which included a thrilling goal by Reid Varkonyi in overtime of game nine to secure a five to four Summit Series win, and most recently a three game sweep of the best of five Classic Series last week. In practice the team has worked on defensive zone and individual responsibilities and how they contribute to overall team defense. The team has worked on neutral zone and how to quickly transition the puck, powerplay, penalty kill, and line rush offense and will be working on zone attacks in the coming weeks.

Here’s how the month of September played out for the Bantam Preps: DATE TIME AWAY HOME LOCATION

Sat, Sep. 28 4:00P CT Northern Alberta 6 Notre Dame 4 Duncan McNeill Arena

Sun, Sep. 29 12:00P CT Northern Alberta 5 Notre Dame 2 Duncan McNeill Arena

The Bantam Preps play seven games in October including their home opener which they won on October 4, 2019: DATE TIME AWAY HOME LOCATION SITE

Fri, Oct. 4 6:00P MT OHA Edmonton 2 Northern Alberta 6 River Cree Twin Rinks South

Sat, Oct. 5 12:00P MT Northern Alberta 5 OT Edge 4 Edge School Kyle Stuart Arena

Sat, Oct. 19 2:00P MT Northern Alberta Edge Edge School Kyle Stuart Arena

Sun, Oct. 20 11:45A MT Edge Northern Alberta River Cree Twin Rinks South

Fri, Oct. 25 9:30A PT Northern Alberta Yale Summit Centre East

Sat, Oct. 26 9:15A PT Burnaby Northern Alberta Summit Centre East

Sun, Oct. 27 11:30A PT Northern Alberta Delta Green Summit Centre West

Elite 15s:

Meet the 2019/20 Elite 15s:

# PLAYER NAME POS HT WT HOMETOWN

1 Erick Roest G 6' 155 Lethbridge, AB

2 Cale Ashcroft D 5'9" 165 St. Albert, AB

4 Dominique Cyr D 5'11" 164 Legal, AB

6 Eric Martin D 5'9" 164 Edmonton, AB

7 Reid MacKay F 6' 155 Irma, AB

8 Levi Fesyk F 5'9" 159 St. Albert, AB

9 Ben Hemmerling F 5'5" 125 Sherwood Park, AB

10 Jackson McDonnell F 5'9" 150 St. Albert, AB

11 Tyler Miller D 5'8" 139 Medicine Hat, AB

12 Roman Cherniak F 5'10" 152 Medicine Hat, AB

14 Mason Hartley F 5'11" 151 Fort Saskatchewan, AB

15 Nolan Kazeil D 5'7" 125 Edmonton, AB

16 Lucas Schuett F 5'9" 160 Grande Praire, AB

17 Aiden Fink F 5'6" 127 Calgary, AB

18 Landon Van Engelen F 5'6" 142 Tofield, AB

19 Logan Cunningham D 6'1" 160 Yellowknife, NT

22 Carter Spirig F 5'8" 156 Edmonton, AB

23 Nicholas Wolfenberg D 6'1" 205 Calgary, AB

27 Billal Noori F 5'11" 170 Edmonton, AB

30 Spencer Borsos G 6' 165 Calgary, AB

The Elite 15s played three games at the end of September while the rest of the month leading up to the Edge showcase was used to get the team game ready. Habits such as shoulder checking, calling for pucks, supporting pucks properly, and getting your hands away from your body while receiving and making passes were key focuses. The team started working on their forecheck, neutral zone, defensive zone and offensive zone structure, as well as powerplay and penalty kill. While Wednesday and Thursday practices were used for team related skills, Monday and Tuesday’s were spent with the NAX skills coaches working on skating and edge work, puck protection and making plays under pressure, proper defensive techniques (stick on stick/body on body), and basic puck skills.

Here’s how the month of September played out for the Elite 15s: DATE TIME AWAY HOME LOCATION SITE

Fri, Sep. 27 1:15P MT St. George's 5 Northern Alberta 12 Edge School Rink 2

Sat, Sep. 28 6:00P MT Northern Alberta 6 Delta 5 Edge School Kyle Stuart Arena

Sun, Sep. 29 8:15A MT West Van 2 Northern Alberta 3 OT Edge School Rink 2

The Elite 15s play six league games in October plus a mid-month Lethbridge tournament: DATE TIME AWAY HOME LOCATION SITE

Sat, Oct. 5 2:15P MT Northern Alberta 3 OHA Edmonton 0 Royal Glenora Club -

Fri, Oct. 11 2:00P MT Northern Alberta Edge Edge School Kyle Stuart Arena

Sat, Oct. 12 12:30P MT Edge Northern Alberta River Cree Twin Rinks North

Sun, Oct. 13 9:30A MT Prairie Northern Alberta River Cree Twin Rinks South

Fri, Oct. 25 6:00P MT Notre Dame Northern Alberta River Cree Twin Rinks North

Sat, Oct. 26 1:00P MT OHA Edmonton Northern Alberta River Cree Twin Rinks South

Female Prep:

Meet the 2019/20 Female Prep team:

# PLAYER NAME POS HT HOMETOWN

1 Megan Decker G 5'4" Toronto, ON

2 Sara Kazeil D 5'5" Edmonton, AB

4 Robyn Short D 5'5" St. Albert, AB

5 Hannah Prinsen D 5'9" Edmonton, AB

7 Andie Proulx D 5'8" Sherwood Park, AB

8 Olivia Michelutti D 5'7" St. Albert, AB

9 Brooklyn Moore F 5'4" Paradise Hill, SK

10 Abby Soyko F 5'5" Prince Albert, SK

12 Camryn Frasz F 5'8" Brooks, AB

14 Paige Ring F 5'6" St. Albert, AB

15 Teagan Webster-Locke F 5'10" Salmon Arm, BC

16 Matayah Metz F 5'6" Medicine Hat, AB

17 Cheyenna Harden F 5'8" Leduc, AB

18 Sadie Makokis F 5'5" St. Albert, AB

19 Mya Healey F 5'5" Calgary, AB

20 Alli Soyko F 5'5" Prince Albert, SK

21 Kennedy Taylor F 5'8" Camrose, AB

27 Sarah Raymond D 5'9" Camrose, AB

30 Madeline Stoik G 5'4" Edmonton, AB

35 Elle Boyko G 5'8" St. Albert, AB

The Female Preps have been working through a transition in which all our student-athletes have done an incredible job having an open mind and applying themselves to team success. Our team has spent practice working on defensive zone principles and priorities. We have started laying the foundation for reading pressure and providing close puck support. Angling opponents into battles then outnumbering opponents when we are in battles to gain possession and start translation quickly. We will continue to work on options from gaining possession for polished breakouts. In October we will continue to work on player movement when opponents have possession with the puck. We will also make tying-up and boxing out in and around our blue paint a high priority. Our neutral zone has established positioning on possession and different lanes available to advance pucks. Our forecheck in all zones has established priorities of position to eliminate passing options of opponents creating higher chance of a turnovers. We have spent time on zone entries and finding quiet ice for low net plays. We have also worked on offensive zone face-offs and responsibilities. In October we will look to add defensive zone draws to get pucks moving north quicker.

Our special teams have established a breakout option and some power play movement. In October we will raise efficiency of our opportunities when created. Our penalty kill has established a forecheck and player movement. In October we will look to be more aggressive on opponents at our blue lines and in zone below the dots line.

For skill work we have worked on our starts, weight transfers, passing and pass reception, shoulder checks and reading plays, shooting under pressure, puck protection, stick checking and pinning. We still have much to do in these areas in October.

Off ice we are creating a strong learning environment and have fun when we can. Creating a winning culture can take time and much adversity. We are developing strategies to deal with difficult situations. We hope to take a big step as a group with our consistency as we have our student-athletes sort themselves into roles for our group.

Here’s how the month of September played out for the Female Preps: DATE TIME AWAY HOME LOCATION SITE

Sat, Sep. 28 1:30P MT St. Mary's 1 Northern Alberta 0 River Cree Twin Rinks South

The Female Preps play four regular season games in October, including their Shawnigan Lake showcase: DATE TIME AWAY HOME LOCATION SITE

Fri, Oct. 4 2:30P PT Northern Alberta 1 Pursuit 5 Charlie Purdey Arena -

Sat, Oct. 5 10:30A PT Okanagan 1 Northern Alberta 4 Charlie Purdey Arena -

Sun, Oct. 6 8:00A PT Northern Alberta Delta Westhills Arena -

Sat, Oct. 26 1:00P MT Banff Northern Alberta River Cree Twin Rinks North

Midget Prep:

Meet the 2019/20 Midget Prep team:

# PLAYER NAME POS HT WT HOMETOWN

3 Parker Berge D 6' 168 Edmonton, AB

4 Gannon Laroque D 6'2" 194 Edmonton, AB

5 Warren Marcotte D 6' 180 Calgary, AB

6 Ross Roloson D 5'11" 165 Woodbury, MN

8 Carsyn Good D 6' 150 Brooks, AB

9 Kaiden Wedderburn F 5'10" 180 Red Deer, AB

10 Jack Parker F 5'8" 155 Spruce Grove, AB

11 Adam Debrecht F 5'9" 165 Golden, CO

12 Ethan Mercer F 6'3" 190 Slave Lake, AB

14 Logan Lorenz F 5'9" 150 Consort, AB

15 Bowden Singleton F 5'8" 150 Calgary, AB

16 Dylan Leslie F 6' 165 St. Albert, AB

17 Matthew Quebec D 6' 170 Langdon, AB

18 Skyler Bruce F 5'10" 150 Winnipeg, MB

19 Nate Danielson F 6' 165 Red Deer, AB

20 Caleb Wyrostok F 5'9" 160 Medicine Hat, AB

21 Evan Arnold F 5'8" 150 Spruce Grove, AB

22 Zachery Burns F 6'2" 180 Eckville, AB

31 Tyler Palmer G 5'11" 180 Lethbridge, AB

35 Drew Sim G 6'2" 200 Tees, AB

The Midget Preps kicked off their pre-season with a trip to Minnesota in which a lot of players stepped up, leading the team to a 4-0 start. They continued their pre-season success with a two- game sweep against cross town rival OHA Edmonton. The team has faced multiple injuries early in the season which has led to a handful of Elite 15s getting called up for games. In practice the team has focused on systems play including forecheck, neutral zone, defensive zone, powerplay, penalty kill, and offensive rushes.

The Midget Preps headed to Minnesota for a showcase in September. While there the team checked out a Minnesota Twins game.

Here’s how the month of September played out for the Midget Preps: DATE TIME AWAY HOME LOCATION SITE

Fri, Sep. 27 6:00P MT Northern Alberta 12 IHA 2 Edge School Kyle Stuart Arena

Sat, Sep. 28 6:15P MT Banff 2 Northern Alberta 14 Edge School Rink 2

Sun, Sep. 29 10:30A MT Northern Alberta 4 Edge 0 Edge School Kyle Stuart Arena

The Midget Preps are the busiest NAX team in October as they play eight games: DATE TIME AWAY HOME LOCATION SITE

Fri, Oct. 4 7:00P CT Northern Alberta 2 Rink 6 RINK Training Centre -

Sat, Oct. 5 1:30P CT Northern Alberta 5 Rink 2 RINK Training Centre -

Fri, Oct. 11 7:30P PT Northern Alberta Pursuit Okanagan Hockey -

Training Centre

Sat, Oct. 12 2:15P PT Okanagan Red Northern Alberta Okanagan Hockey -

Training Centre

Sun, Oct. 13 8:15A PT Northern Alberta Okanagan Black South Okanagan Events -

Centre

Fri, Oct. 18 7:15P MT Northern Alberta OHA Edmonton Royal Glenora Club -

Sat, Oct. 26 3:15P MT Northern Alberta Edge Edge School Kyle Stuart

Arena

Sun, Oct.27 2:15P MT IHA Northern Alberta River Cree Twin Rinks South