Bandits wanting to ‘write a new story’ in defending national championship

“It was pretty unexpected,” said Charleson. “Obviously that was the end goal the whole year, but we never really expected to do it the way we did. It was really exciting obviously.”

That was then and this is now however, as a new Alberta Junior Hockey League season lies ahead for the defending Canadian champions.

Concluding training camp with a scrimmage on Saturday evening, it was a much different group of players wearing the Bandits colours than the one that skated away with the NJAC trophy.

Brooks’ top eight scorers from last year were not present at the camp, with two-thirds of that championship group either graduating from the organization or moving onto the NCAA ranks.

That includes Bandits standouts like Plessis, William Lemay, Simon Boyko, Simon Gravel, Brandon Scanlin, Arnaud Vachon, Jake Theis, and Ryan Mahshie to name a few.

Head coach Ryan Papaioannou said there are a lot of openings on the depth chart this year with such a mass exodus after Brooks’ championship season.

“It’s a lot less experience,” said Papaioannou. “I think we’ve got a nice group of players, I just think that we’re going to take some time with this group. A lot of prep school kids from the east, junior B guys from Ontario, then we made a few trades.”

Brooks has been hard at work filling some of the holes left by the departing faces.

Forward Trey Thomas was brought over from the Bonnyville Pontiacs earlier this month, while the team is also coming off the acquisition of former NHL’er Michael Peca’s son Trevor from the OJHL’s Buffalo Jr. Sabres.

Papaioannou also added winger Chris Pappas from the Toronto Patriots, an 18-year-old speedster who averaged almost a point per game in Ontario.

Once he heard about the trade, Pappas said he was thrilled to be joining a program fresh off a Canadian title.

“There’s a lot to think about,” said Pappas. “Obviously a lot happened here last year and I obviously want it to happen again this year. So, I’m just going to try to do whatever I can to make that happen and contribute.”

While the Bandits are returning only a handful of players, they will have their all-star goaltender returning between the pipes.

Charleson will be back for his second go-around in a Bandits uniform, riding the high of a recent commitment to Michigan State University.

Playing in 70 games between the regular season, playoffs, Doyle Cup and the NJAC, Charleson only lost eight games all year and was a finalist for the AJHL’s Top Goaltender award.

A season and workload that the 19-year-old hopes to follow up with a strong sophomore campaign.

“It just builds the confidence that you know you can do it and you’ve been there before, so nothing really new can be thrown at you,” said Charleson. “So, it’s kind of nice that way.”

Charleson will be the last line of defence for a Bandits blueline that will be one of the youngest in the league.

Jordan DiCicco and Ethan Lund will be the relied upon veterans carrying the big minutes, but Papaioannou added Charleson will need to be at the top of his game if the team is going to make a run at another AJHL title.

“He needs to be our best player, I think he will be our best player,” he said. “But, he’s got a big job obviously in the net and then like you said, in the dressing room he can be one of the vocal leaders and I think he should be.”

Jobs on Brooks’ blueline will be up for grabs as the team takes part in pre-season action beginning this week, with one of the favourites expected to grab a spot being 16-year-old Corson Ceulemans.

Called up from midget AAA ahead of the Bandits playoff run, the then 15-year-old Ceulemans was the only player on the ice still wearing a cage and was still weeks away from being old enough to obtain his driver’s license.

That didn’t stop the University of Wisconsin commit from playing top-four minutes on the back end for the Bandits, netting three goals in five games in the national tournament.

Ceulemans has since skated at Team Canada’s U17 Summer Camp and said those two experiences have helped prepare him greatly for his first full season in the AJHL.

“I think it gave me a look at how tough the competition is going to be, how fast paced, and what I need to do to excel in the league,” said Ceulemans.

The Beaumont product is becoming Brooks’ most talked about rising blueliner since Cale Makar’s MVP days at Centennial Regional Arena.

Papaioannou is tempering expectations regarding their blue-chip prospect, but did say the two-way defender will get an extended look following the pre-season.

“Corson is going to get every opportunity here, I think Corson is a great player,” he said. “I think he’s a guy that just needs to learn, get more reps, and all that kind of stuff. But, he’s going to do well and he’ll be a guy that we rely on heavily.”

Playing competitive games just four months apart, comparisons will inevitably be drawn between this year’s Bandits team and the squad that captured the hearts and imaginations of the Brooks community.

With a new 60-game regular season on the horizon however, Papaioannou added the team is comfortable wiping the slate clean and penning a new chapter in 2019-20.

“I don’t think our guys should be focused on following it up, they have their own story to write,” he said. “As hard as that’s going to be to get re-started for guys like Jake Lee and some of the returners, that’s what they have to do. So, time to turn the page for them and let’s get moving again.”

The Bandits kick off the AJHL pre-season with home games on Monday and Tuesday against the Okotoks Oilers, before opening the regular season on the road September 13 in Drumheller.

by Scott Roblin

Bandits wanting to ‘write a new story’ in defending national championship

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