It’s what you might call a good problem to have.
Tasked with only allocating two defenceman and two forwards all-star nods, Okotoks Bisons head coach Chris Beston had more than a few good options for who to send to Medicine Hat for the Heritage Junior Hockey League showcase.
“We selected four and then the goalies are elected by the whole (league),” Beston said. “We were allowed to take two D and two forwards, we had lots of guys we could choose from and took the two top scorers.
“We could have sent our whole team, really.”
Earning all-star nods for the Bisons are forwards Tyson Scott and Tyler Alger, the top two scorers in the league, along with blueliners Mitch Wolfe and Kale Hawryluk as well as the backbone of the Bisons, goaltender Devin Reagan.
With six skaters in the top-20 in league scoring that means the likes of captain Tyler Witzke, the third most productive player in the Heritage, along with forwards Austin O’Bray, Jagger Thiessen and Evan Woods are on the outside looking in despite enjoying excellent campaigns.
On defence, Wolfe is going to his second all-star game in as many years for the Bisons. The smooth-skating blueliner leads the team in scoring from the back-end with 18 points.
He’ll be joined by a fellow Okotoks minor hockey product in Hawryluk.
“Kale is a very talented offensive defenceman,” Beston said. “He’s good defensively too, but guys don’t really see it, he’s not a flashy guy, but he’s very smart.”
Hawryluk, who played the past two seasons with the the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s Columbia Valley Rockies, has 13 assists in 19 games with the herd.
“At the start of the year I wasn’t sure if I was going to play again, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” said Hawryluk. “I’m really happy I did, having a lot of fun. We’re a fairly good team and rolling right now.”
The 5-foot-9 defender has been a fixture on the powerplay and has made the most of his ice-time playing for the hometown squad.
“Just the simple plays, not trying to complicate things too much on the ice and just playing how I usually play,” Hawryluk said. “It means a lot, I haven’t really got (the opportunities) in the past and right now it’s really nice that I’ve been keeping my spot there and proving myself.”
The Bisons, a veteran-laden team made up largely of 1999-born skaters, are also sending their two youngest players — Okotokian Hayden Hale and power forward Dylan Wenzel — to Med Hat for the inaugural Top Prospects Game as part of the all-star weekend.
“Hayden has come a long way since the start of the year, he’s a good defenceman,” Beston said. “He tried out as a forward and we moved him back. He’s just smart back there, he’s a good skater, a good heads up player and he competes.”
Wenzel, who tips the scales at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, has 5 goals and 9 points in 11 games with Okotoks.
“He’s added a lot of toughness to our team,” Beston said. “As well as he can play the game, he’s a physical presence out there, but he puts the puck in the net as well.”
The HJHL All-Star Game and Top Prospects Game run Jan. 5 at the Medicine Hat Kinplex, getting underway at 1 p.m.
For more information go to heritagejunior.com
