Olds Grizzlys head coach Dana Lattery is happy with the way his team played in the annual Alberta Junior Hockey League Showcase Tournament last weekend.
The Grizzlys emerged with a 1-1 record in the three-day tournament, which wrapped up Oct. 1.
They lost 3-2 in overtime to the Whitecourt Wolverines on Thursday, Sept. 29, but rebounded to edge the Grande Prairie Storm 3-2 on Saturday, Oct. 1.
“It was good,” Lattery said during an interview with the Albertan. “We got three out of four points, played two very good hockey teams. We just keep going.”
Going into last Friday's road game against the Okotoks Oilers, the Grizzlys were at .500, with three wins, three losses and two overtime losses for eight points in eight games played.
This year's edition of the Grizzlys is still rookie-laden.
“We've still got about 10, 11 rookies; three or four new guys who are older on top of that. So we're a new team,” he said. “I expect us to compete a little better – be a stronger team. We've got a little more depth this year. But yeah, new faces, new kids -- it's exciting.”
In net, the team plans to rotate 20-year-old returnee Ben Giesbrecht and 18-year-old rookie Andrew Henderson. Giesbrecht will likely get the bulk of the work, depending on who's playing the best.
“Bennie's starting and we'll just see,” Lattery said. “It never hurts to have two goalies who are hot. We ran into some problems last year with that so we'll definitely get Bennie to start and keep throwing Andrew in and keep him hot as well.”
Offence is a concern.
“I'd like to see a little more production. Our power play's not good. It's at three per cent right now. It should be up to 20,” Lattery said.
However, he pointed out there are lots of rookies on the team.
“Just all the new faces. Guys just haven't clicked yet,” Lattery said.
“The fact that we're still at .500 and our power play hasn't even clicked yet is an upside. It's just now us trying to tweak it and get them throwing pucks in the back of the net and help out.”
Lattery is hoping for better things on defence as the season goes along.
“We lost four defencemen coming down the stretch, kind of season-ending injuries. We went out and recruited. We're young on the back end. We've only got one 20-year-old back there, a couple of 19s and then everybody (else) is younger,” he said.
“The way I look at it this year we're going to do it by committee and not by an individual on the back end. You know, the D have done well; it's a big learning curve for them, jumping into junior. But they've worked well together and helped us out back there.”
For the moment, the team is carrying its limit of 25 guys. Lattery notes changes may still be made to the roster by the Jan. 10 deadline.
“We'll just take it day by day and see how things go and make assessments as time goes on,” he said.
"We've still got about 10, 11 rookies; three or four new guys who are older on top of that. So we're a new team," he said. "I expect us to compete a little better – be a stronger team."DANA LATTERY HEAD COACH OLDS GRIZZLYS
