By John DeCoste
The Advertiser
NovaNewsNow.com
Fans of the Acadia hockey Axemen really might want to pick up a program this season. It could be the only way to keep track of all the new players.
The Axemen, who see their first action of the new season this weekend when they host the annual Don Wells tournament, feature no less than 14 new players on the roster.
“I’m very happy so far,” Burns said last week of the Axemen pre-season training camp. “The guys are showing a lot of energy and a good work ethic, two things we’re going to have to rely on this year with so many new players.”
Acadia has only a handful of returnees from last season – goalie Lanny Ramage, defensemen Pierre Mitsou and Dale Good and forwards Brad Horan, Joel Isenor, Blair Jarrett, Dave Lomas, Paul MacFarland, Scott Giles and Stu Patterson.
“There aren’t a lot of returning guys,” Burns said, “but I feel we have a lot of quality in our returning players.”
MacFarland, in his second year with the Axemen, has earned the job of team captain this season and Burns is looking for veteran leadership from Jarrett and Horan, who should be able to return full-time to his natural forward position.
As part of his larger-than-usual recruiting job, Burns “made an effort this year to find players with character and also to identify players who might have slipped under the radar of other teams, but who we felt might fit well into our program.”
He’s optimistic that he’ll strike gold again as he did with players like Isenor and former Axemen Matt Quinn and Brian Sutherland, none of whom was highly regarded coming out of junior but who ended up making their mark in the AUHC.
He’s hoping for the same from players like Alex MacDonald, Chris MacDonald, Adam McIlwraith and Danny McKinnon, all Maritime Junior A grads, and Zach MacMillan, who last played Junior A in Manitoba, as well as a couple of late recruits, forward Matt Scrivens and defenseman Ryan O’Connor, both of whom sat out last season.
Players need to step up immediately
In a normal year, Burns wouldn’t put a lot of pressure on his new recruits or ask them to make a significant contribution right away. This year, “all the guys need to come to the rink every day looking to prove they belong in this league.”
He’s pleased the recruits “have the courage to come here and accept the challenge of working together to make our program a success. Guys show up wanting to be here, they aren’t put off by hard work or a steeper than normal learning curve, and the fact we’re a young team and rebuilding doesn’t scare them.”
The same thing happened four or five years ago, though not quite to this extent. Within three seasons, the Axemen were contenders and the following year they were AUHC champions.
Burns is excited about this year’s squad. “I like the group we’ve put together,” he said. “We probably won’t be the most polished of teams and there are bound to be mistakes and growing pains, but hopefully no one in the league will work any harder.”
Burns expects this year’s Axemen to be once again a team that stresses defense first. In that regard, he has a great starting point in Ramage, a fifth-year veteran who “showed up to camp in great shape and ready to go.”
Five of seven defensemen on the roster are rookies, but to Burns the advantage, as it will be with the entire team, is “we’re all starting at the same time and in the same place, and can grow together. The key will be character, hard work and a strong work ethic.”
He expects for a solid year from Pierre Mitsou, the only returning veteran on defense, and second-year man Dale Good. Among the newcomers, Zac Firlotte and Nathan Welton are both highly regarded and have looked good.
Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s will open the Don Wells tourney Saturday at 1 p.m., with the Axemen taking to the ice against Carleton, a CIS expansion team, Saturday evening at 7. The consolation final will be at 1 p.m. and the championship goes 6 p.m. Sunday.
The Axemen will have three additional exhibition games, all on the road, before their regular season opener Oct. 12 at Acadia Arena against SMU.
Acadia will play Queens Oct. 4 in Ontario; Clarkson College, an NCAA Division 1 team, Oct. 6; and the University of Vermont, also a D-1 school, Oct. 7. “It should be a great trip to start the season,” Burns said, “and a chance to do some team-building as well.”
