The reigning Canada Under-18 Ice Hockey Champion (AAA) faces a difficult future following the inevitable departure of the veterans. But it’s not all black, the Direction assures.

With a dozen rookies in the ranks, the Moncton Flyers (2-4-2) are still looking for direction in the league they so dominated last year.

“We can talk about rebuilding with such a young team,” said John DeCourcey, head coach of the Moncton roster. With a squad of 10 players aged 15, that’s all. We have six players who made the leap into the QMJHL during the offseason. Seven others play with teams in the Maritime Hockey League. This means that 13 top-class players have left us.

Having so many new faces on the rink comes with its own set of challenges.

“Players have yet to adjust to the speed and intensity of play required at this caliber. We have 10 15-year-old players while other teams have 10 17-year-old players. They still have to learn all the hard work and effort it takes to be successful.”

This season, forward Jonah Leard – who played one game for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Sunday – and defenseman Thomas Hendrickson share the captaincy. Hendrickson is the team’s only veteran on the blue line.

When asked where he’d like to see his team in the standings, DeCourcey prefers to talk about progression.

“We don’t pay too much attention to the number of wins and losses. We’re just trying to get better every day. We lost four games by one goal, he recalls. The difference between a win and a loss is often minimal. We are confident that we will improve as the season progresses.”

What should young aviators do to get back on the road to victory?

“I think it’s important to play a good defensive game. It’s an aspect of our game that we’d like to improve. We score more goals than I would like, adds the driver. All 20 players have to be responsible and play well defensively.”

parity

If the Charlottetown Knights (6-1-0) seem poised to dominate the league, John DeCourcey isn’t ready to give them the title that easily.

“This league is very competitive this year. If you look at the results, any team can beat any other. I think we should expect a lot of parity this year. There won’t be just one or two teams that will win the title,” he predicted.

In addition to inexperience, injuries also undermine the development of the young squad.

“I think we’ve only played one game with a full roster so far,” DeCourcey said when asked about the health of his charges. These are just small things, but still. However, we have high hopes for our 15-year-olds, many of whom are closely followed by the scouts.

“We are very happy about this group”, he is convinced.