Expectations for breakout season high for Bantam AAA Tigers

The Bantam AAA Tigers opened their season on Saturday at home against the Leduc AAA Oil Kings, running into a red-hot Jack Thompson between the pipes in a 3-1 loss.

A game in which SEAC outshot Leduc by a 33-23 count, while also committing seven penalties in their first game of the year.

“We got to be a little bit more disciplined, we maybe took a couple of undisciplined penalties,” said Desjardins. “But, I love our passion, I love our desire to stick together and want to be better. So, I’m excited to go with this group.”

SEAC’s lone goal of the afternoon came off the stick of a familiar face in assistant captain and centreman Dawson Seitz, who scored an individual beauty in the second period.

“[Desjardins] has been telling me to drive the defencemen and then cut to the net,” said Seitz. “So, I’ve been working on that and that was the exact play that he wanted me to work on. So, it felt pretty good to pull that off.”

Seitz is expected to carry much of the team’s water offensively in 2019-20, one year removed from leading the Tigers in goals as a rookie with 23 markers in just 33 games.

Desjardins said he’s already seen Seitz’s ability to take over games and is looking for the 14-year-old to drive play against their opposition.

“He’s a special player,” he said. “He’s a guy that wants to get better every single day. You see his skill at the forefront, if he doesn’t work that hard off the wall it doesn’t happen. So, it comes down to how hard he wants to work and how bad he wants to be a player before his skill can take over.”

Along with Seitz, SEAC’s leadership group this season includes returnees Josh Van Mulligen and Elias Eisenbarth.

The remaining 16 players are all brand new to bantam hockey however, a level that introduces physical contact and increased speed.

However, Desjardins isn’t worried about his rookies adjusting to the flow of the bantam game.

“At the end of the day, the first-years that are here are really good hockey players,” said Desjardins. “You don’t make this league unless you’re a really good player. It’s just relaxing and letting them use their skill, and understanding there are going to be some mistakes along the way.”

Thanks to lessons being transferred from his WHL-coaching father Willie, the younger Brayden has been putting his players through the paces early in the season.

According to Seitz, some of those paces include drills being run at the NHL level by the Vancouver Canucks.

“It’s unbelievable, I don’t think I can name many other teams with coaching like we have here,” said Seitz.

SEAC earned their first point of the season on Sunday with a 2-2 draw against the visiting Airdrie AAA Xtreme to bring their record on the year to 0-1-1, full box scores were not available as of Sunday night.

After the Tigers bottomed out in 2015 and 2016 with just two wins over two seasons, they’ve slowly began a rebuild of the program.

That included a 13-15-5 record in the 2018-19 campaign, good enough for third place in the Ram South Division and a first round upset of the Okotoks AAA Oilers.

Seitz said the goal this year is to post the club’s first winning record since 2013, a mark the players feel confident they can achieve.

“I think we’ll be able to be above .500 this year,” he said. “It’s the first game, we haven’t had as many practices. Once we get flowing into the season it will be a lot better.”

The Bantam AAA squad hits the road next weekend for a pair of games against the Red Deer AAA Rebels and Calgary AAA Flames before returning home October 6 to face Okotoks.

SEAC’s Midget 15 Tigers will get their turn opening their season on Saturday afternoon, kicking off their 2019-20 campaign against the CNHA Blazers at 2:00 pm at the Hockey Hounds Recreation Centre.

by Scott Roblin

Expectations for breakout season high for Bantam AAA Tigers

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