Last Friday, the Spruce Grove Saints defeated the Okotoks Oilers by a score of 3-2 in Game Five of the AJHL’s Championship Series. The win capped off an incredible stretch of hockey that saw them end the regular season on a 20-3 run before losing just once in three best-of-seven series en-route to capturing the Inter Pipeline Cup.
From the day that the calendar flipped to 2018, the Saints were one of, if not the best ‘Junior A’ team in the country, so from an outside perspective it was hardly a surprise to see them become AJHL Champions last week. However, it wasn’t exactly “championship or bust” from the get-go for Spruce Grove.
“We didn’t start as the best team in the North, nevermind the league,” said the team’s Head Coach Bram Stephen “We just try to be our best every day. We try to pursue a standard of excellence every day and try to hold each other accountable and pull each other long to progress every day.”
In speaking with the team’s Head Coach, something that was very apparent was how high the organization values doing things the right way. Developing players and young men is more important than winning hockey games, but if you do one right, the other will come.
This past season was a great example of that.D The young talent that they worked to develop throughout the season, really shone through as the games got more important.
“We saw a lot of growth from our 18 and unders, with that by the end of the year, we had a lot of depth because of that growth,” added Stephen.
You need depth to go through the rigorous grind of three playoff series, but you also need high-end talent and the Saints had no shortage of that.
Forward Chris Van-Os Shaw was acquired in September from Humboldt and quickly became the key to Spruce Groves offence. In the regular season, Van-Os Shaw led the league with 97 points in 59 games and continued that production during the playoffs where he was a goal per game player.
To go with Van-Os Shaw, the team also had 20-year-old forwards Josh Harris and Chase Olsen who continually provided the team with both offensive production and veteran leadership.
Those veterans won’t be back, and a few others may be leaving as well to pursue college hockey, but that doesn’t bother Coach Stephen, who recognizes the real goal of junior hockey.
“Unless you’re in the NHL, your goal is to move players on and that’s the way we’ll continue to approach it,” he added.
Looking ahead to next year is very premature. The team still has a lot they want to accomplish this season. The group has there eyes on The Doyle Cup, which is a best-of-seven series against the Wenatchee Wild, who are the BCHL Champions.
The series starts tomorrow night and if the Saints can knock off the Champions from BC, they will punch their ticket to the RBC Cup in Chilliwack, BC and have a chance at bringing home a National Championship. If they go all the way, they’ll be just the second AJHL team to do so in the last 17 seasons.
Getting back to practicing and preparing for another month of hockey after winning a league title can be challenging and that’s something Coach Stephen acknowledged.
“It’s human nature, you win a championship and it feels like the end, but there are two other prizes to win,” said the Saints Head Coach “our guys are motivated to move forward, but at the same time, it’s a grind this week and our guys need to do whatever they can to get both mentally and physically ready for it.”
Since the calendar flipped to 2018 the Saints have been almost unstoppable and their AJHL Championship is no small feat, but don’t think for a second that they’re content with just one trophy.
The Doyle Cup and RBC Cup would both be incredible achievements and this is an organization that’s highly motivated to not only keep winning but continue developing high-end hockey players and fine young men.
