They've taken some time to consider their options, and more than one-third into the 2022-23 Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) season, the Airdrie Techmation Thunder's coaching staff have unveiled the four members of the squad's leadership team.
Moving forward for the remainder of the season, Dace Carlson will be the Thunder's captain, while Jacob Cathcart, Will Barrett, and Dylan Westlake will be the junior B team's assistant captains.
Head coach Randy Buckle said the coaches wanted to wait until part-way through the season to notice who the team's leaders were, and feel they have figured out who should don the 'C' and 'A' on their sweaters this year.
“We tried a lot of different players in different situations and it seemed the same guys kept on leading,” he said.
Of the four players, three are alumni from the Airdrie Cochrane Athletic Association (ACAA), which oversees Airdrie's AAA hockey stream. Before their junior careers, Cathcart, Barrett, and Carlson all suited up for the Airdrie Bisons U18 AAA team.
“Jacob Cathcart, he’s a 21-year-old who’s been here for three or four years now and has put in his time,” Buckle said. “He’s starting to develop as a leader and we thought he’d be a good fit. With Will coming in, he’s just a steady D-man who leads by example. Dace has been inside the dressing room and everyone respects him. Dylan Westlake is a leader by example too. Right now he’s injured, but when he’s out there, he gives everything he’s got.”
The team's next outing is an away trip to Three Hills on Nov. 9 to take on the Thrashers. The game was originally scheduled for last weekend but was postponed due to the recent snowstorms.
Before that, Airdrie earned a big win in a comeback effort against the Red Deer Vipers at home on Nov. 4. Despite trailing 3-1 after the first two periods, the Thunder potted four unanswered goals in the third stanza to secure the 5-3 victory. Cathcart and Jared Miller each recorded three points for the Thunder.
“The boys had a little bit of a slow start, but as we kept going, we started taking over the game,” Buckle said. “The boys took over in the third period and played the way we’ve been trying to get them to play the whole year.”
In goal, Austin White stopped 31 shots to post a .903 save percentage.
After their road trip against the Thrashers, Airdrie will host the Three Hills team just two sleeps later, with puck drop slated for 8 p.m. at the Ron Ebbesen Arena on Nov. 11. They'll have a short rest before taking on the Rocky Rams in Rocky Mountain House the following night.
As of press time on Wednesday, the Thunder were sporting a 6-5 record, putting them in third place of the HJHL's north division.
“Hopefully we’re making the right steps in the right direction,” Buckle said.
