Photo by Marcel Vander Wier
HUSKIES鈥圱O鈥圚OWL鈥圓GAIN 鈥� The Whitehorse Huskies have been revived for a Coy Cup run this season. Team organizer Clayton Thomas, pictured in a team practice Sunday night at Takhini Arena, hopes senior hockey can become a fixture in Whitehorse.
Photo by Marcel Vander Wier
TALKING STRATEGY 鈥� Huskies organizer Clayton Thomas (27) takes a break during practice Sunday to talk with Robbie Stuckey, left, Jared Tuton, centre, and Jon Rudolph, right.
The Whitehorse Huskies have been revived.
The Whitehorse Huskies have been revived.
The local senior hockey team, best known for winning the Allan Cup in 1993, will take aim at another trophy this season 鈥� the Coy Cup.
The Coy Cup is awarded annually to the senior AA champions of British Columbia.
The Huskies team has been dormant since 2009, when it reassembled for one season to take another shot at the Allan Cup 鈥� a historic trophy awarded to Canada鈥檚 top AAA amateur men鈥檚 team.
That year, they were eliminated after losing all three games in the Pacific finals to the Powell River Regals.
Team organizer Clayton Thomas said the time is right to make a run at the AA championship.
鈥淲e were in a little bit over our heads last time,鈥� Thomas told the Star this week.
鈥淓veryone had a bad taste in their mouths after the Huskies鈥� last run. AAA鈥坕s a different monster. It costs a lot of money and it was hard for Whitehorse to do.鈥�
Last season, Thomas joined the Fort Nelson Yeti as a mercenary alongside fellow Yukoners Evan Campbell, Kane Dawe and Cory McEachern.
Thomas, Campbell and Dawe played starring roles for the Yeti, but ultimately watched as the Williams Lake Stampeders won the trophy on home ice.
鈥淲e got a good understanding of what it鈥檚 about,鈥� said Thomas of the tournament, which is full contact. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty intense.
鈥淚 think we鈥檝e got a really good team. We鈥檙e going to have a competitive team, and we鈥檙e going to do it with local guys.鈥�
The Huskies will head to Fort Nelson, B.C., this weekend to play two of six sanctioned games required in order to be recognized by B.C. Hockey.
Once those games are completed, the Huskies will need to beat the Fort St. John Flyers in a two-game series to earn a berth into the four-team Coy Cup tournament, scheduled to occur in Fort Nelson in late March.
Stocking a team with local talent is one of the team鈥檚 highest priorities, Thomas said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something we should always have,鈥� he said of the Huskies. 鈥淲e can do it with local guys. It gets fans out and it鈥檚 a way to give back to the communities, including hockey parents and players.鈥�
鈥淗aving that calibre of hockey to look up to is important. My goal is to keep this going. It鈥檚 an attainable thing.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a lot of talent on this team 鈥� a lot of skill guys,鈥� Thomas concluded.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to get pushed off this team in a couple years.鈥�
In an interview last month, defenceman Jared Tuton said many players on the current squad grew up watching the Huskies.
In recent years, as a solid core of local ex-college players returned home to Whitehorse, discussions turned to reviving the senior hockey team.
Players expected to 麻豆社区for the Huskies include Adam Henderson, Derek Klassen and Rob Warner.
鈥淲e鈥檝e talked about it a lot and the whole point is to see where we stand,鈥濃�坰aid Tuton, who captained the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves as a senior in 2009.
鈥淲e鈥檙e taking this seriously and we want to keep it going for sure. A lot of guys on our team are fresh out of competitive hockey ... and I think it will help keep kids interested.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always exciting to see the rink full of fans, and I feel it gives the younger players something to strive for.鈥�
Tuton鈥檚 older brother, Mike, is expected to be behind the bench as the Huskies鈥� head coach.
A final roster has not yet been named, as the team currently sports about 20 players for practices.
The team will be whittled down to three lines by January, when the Huskies will host four home games at Takhini Arena.
A pair of two-game series are scheduled to take place in Whitehorse in January.
The Yeti will visit Jan. 9 and 10, followed by the Powell鈥圧iver Regals Jan. 30 and 31.
Fort St. John will host the two-game playoff series 鈥� decided by combined game scores 鈥� expected to take place in early March.
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Comments (1)
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scott howell on Dec 7, 2014 at 6:53 pm
I was president of the WSHL for the better part of 14 years and the original Huskies were the result of the last 8 years of a directed program. We kept kids involved with the league, sponsored players to the North, traveled to Alaska dozens of times, hosted for just as many and learned what it took to win. Although Yukon players got better over the years and more and more went on to play at higher levels outside (there is no argument that the program was a success), we still had an ex NHL player as a coach and used several key pick-ups (including a former Allen Cup championship goalie (Ken Kinney)) to win.
The Huskies Allen Cup team was primarily based out of a full contact men's league, chock-a-block full of players who all had some pedigree of experience.
I wish the Yeti all the luck in the world, but at the same time I hope that they can see that winners are not just thrown out there, they are built. As well the the old Yukon hockey ethic, shared by the likes of Sheardown and Fowler, never carries an element of ego.
It is my greatest hope that perhaps this is a revival of the old Whitehorse Senior Hockey League, and that all of the lessons and spirit can be shared again.