Blizzard off to a good start in hockey season

A Manitoba-based Junior A hockey team is proving it will be a force to be reckoned with this season. And the Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) Blizzard is enjoying its share of success so far this year by icing a roster comprised predominantly of Aboriginal players.

Besides being an early favourite to capture the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) crown, the Blizzard has also been ranked nationally, in a list of teams believed to be the cream of the crop from Canada’s 10 Junior A leagues.

Of the 25 players on the OCN roster, 19 of them are Aboriginal. Sixteen of them are from various First Nations while three others are Metis.

The Blizzard managed to get off to a flying start this season, winning nine out of its first 12 matches. The club also earned a single point from an overtime loss.

So, with its 19 points, the Blizzard was not only sitting atop the standings of the league’s six-team Sher-Wood Division, but it also had the best record in the 11-squad Manitoba league.

The OCN start is not a surprise to Blizzard general manager Derek Fontaine.

“I thought we’d do okay,” he said. “I knew we had the team to compete.”

In recent years the Blizzard, which plays its home contests in The Pas and is owned by the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, has seen a dramatic increase in its number of Aboriginal players.

Last season, the club had about a dozen regulars who were Aboriginal. But just four short years ago the team only had two Aboriginal players, including TJ Constant, the current Blizzard captain.

Besides Manitoba, the Blizzard roster this year also includes Aboriginal players from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
Fontaine was confident the Blizzard could ice a decent club with numerous Aboriginal players  having key roles.

“There’s a lot of talent out there,” he said of Aboriginal players in general. “Given the opportunity, they show that.”

And Fontaine doesn’t hide the fact the franchise purposely recruited several Aboriginals.

“We identified the top guys that were available,” he said. “And we went after them and got them for this team.”

Constant believes one of the reasons for the Blizzard’s early successes this season is that all of the team’s players, including the non-Aboriginals, have quickly formed a special bond.

“We get along so well,” he said. “We’re a team already and we do everything together. Everyone is always hanging out together off the ice.”

This camaraderie has been aided by the fact the team members have staged movie nights they all attend. Or sometimes they all get together to play baseball or soccer. And other days it’s simply been hanging out at an individual’s home and playing video games.

“There’s always something going on,” Constant said of the various OCN team activities.

Fontaine likes the fact how quickly team members have bonded.
“They’re a hockey team,” he said. “They’re family in that dressing room.”

And though it’s still early in the season, members of the Blizzard could be building something special this season. Like possibly a championship season?

“It’s too early to predict that,” Fontaine said. “But I’d like to think we’re going to compete for the championship.”

The Blizzard, founded in 1996, captured five consecutive MJHL championships from 1999 through 2003. But the club has not won a league title since then.

Fontaine said he is still looking to upgrade his roster this season. He’s hoping to add a couple of high-end forwards, and possibly another defenceman before the league trading deadline in February.

At this point he’s not looking to change the Blizzard goaltending situation. He’s more than happy with the play of both his netminders, Justin McDonald and Alex Henry. Both puckstoppers are new to the team this season.

McDonald, 20, had spent the past two seasons with the Kindersley Klippers, members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. And Henry, who is 18, played last season with the MJHL’s Neepawa Natives.

Both McDonald and Henry were among the league leaders for their goals-against averages. McDonald had a stingy 1.70 GAA in his first eight appearances. He also has two shutouts. Henry’s GAA after six appearances was 2.46.

“They’ve both showed they can stop the puck,” Constant said.
The Blizzard debuted in the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s weekly Top 20 rankings at the Number 9 spot for the week starting Oct. 1. The club was then ranked sixth in the next two rankings.

“We’re happy with that,” Fontaine said of his team’s national ranking. “It’s hard to get a good picture though from the other leagues.”