It was certainly a memorable season for the La Ronge Ice Wolves.
The team posted a 33-19-6 record and a .621 winning percentage, which was the second-best winning percentage in franchise history. The Ice Wolves finished the regular season with 72 points, which had them seeded fifth heading into the post-season. La Ronge was just one point back of third-place Melfort.
Like every junior A hockey team in Canada, La Ronge had its season cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ice Wolves were the middle of a first-round series versus the Yorkton Terriers, with things even at two games a piece heading into game five, which was scheduled for March 13 in Yorkton.
“I really thought that this was going to be the year to win a championship with the guys that we had,” said Ice Wolves Head Coach and GM Kevin Kaminski. “Now, no one will ever know, but that’s my feeling. It was a special year for the first year for myself coming in here and I thought the playoffs were going to be special too. We’ve got some unfinished business to do next year.”
The Ice Wolves were led offensively this past season by 20-year-old forward Daylon Mannon. Mannon, a Fresno, CA product, finished fourth in SJHL scoring with 80 points.
La Ronge was led offensively on the back end by 2000-born defenceman James Philpott, who finished first in scoring by defencemen in the SJHL with 51 points.
The Ice Wolves acquired Philpott and forward 1999-born forward Booker Chacalias from the Melville Millionaires in a blockbuster trade at the end of October. Going the other way was forward Zach Bannister and defenceman Dylan Thackeray. Kaminski admits, this was a big turning point in the season.
“Philpott really fit right into the systems and he took off, same as Booker,” said Kaminski. “They both played against their old team their first game and they were off to the races. Philpott was a big anchor back there, power play, penalty kill, five-on-five, four-on-four — he was a beast. Booker was on a tear when he first came until he got a little bit of a concussion. It took him a little bit to get back where he was, but towards maybe the last two weeks and playoffs, the light switch came on — and he was rolling as well.”
The Ice Wolves celebrated some league hardware this past season. La Ronge netminder Liam McGarva was named the Sher-Wood Division Goalie of the Year and Kaminski shared SJHL Coach of the Year honours with Brayden Klimosko of the Battlefords North Stars.
We will never know how the season would have turned out, but one thing that is for sure — the 2019-20 La Ronge Ice Wolves recaptured the imagination of hockey fans in northern Saskatchewan.
(PHOTO: The Ice Wolves celebrate a goal versus Estevan. Photo courtesy of Brandon White.)