UNews - Alberta Junior Hockey League

Horns hockey announces recruits

trevor.kenney — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 21:12:14 +0000

After adding four defensemen and a goalie earlier this summer, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's hockey team announced the commitmentment of four forwards for the 2012-13 season.

Headlining the latest recruits for the Horns is the former captain of the Kamloops Blazers' Chase Schaber. The 6'0" centre from Red Deer, Alta. set career highs in goals and points during his final season with 23 goals and 52 points in only 61 games.

Schaber suited up for 277 career WHL games with the Blazers and Calgary Hitmen, tallying 68 goals and 102 assists. He is also the second WHL captain that the 'Horns have added this season, with the other being former Victoria Royals captain Hayden Rintoul.

"It is always a good thing to add a WHL captain to your dressing room," says Horns head coach Greg Gatto. "Chase is the number one centreman we've been looking for and he'll bring a tremendous amount of leadership to our team."

Joining Schaber directly from the WHL is Cody Chikie. Another centre, Chikie joins the 'Horns after playing the last three seasons with the Kelowna Rockets. Last season, Chikie tied his career high in goals with 18 and set a career high in points with 33 in 60 games.

Chikie began his WHL career with the Saskatoon Blades and finished with 201 career games and registered 49 goals and 48 assists.

"Cody's biggest asset is his speed, and he is going to be a big addition to our specialty teams," says Gatto. "We also feel that he'll be able to chip in offensively."

Former WHLer Killian Hutt joins the 'Horns after playing his 20-year-old season with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. With the Oil Barons, Hutt recorded 61 points in 52 regular season games and 27 points in 21 playoff games as the Oil Barons lost in the AJHL final to the Brooks Bandits.

Prior to joining the Oil Barons, Hutt played three seasons in the WHL with the Portland Winterhawks, Regina Pats and Swift Current Broncos. Hutt suited up in 116 games during the three seasons and scored a career high 13 goals as a rookie with the Winterhawks.

"Killian will add some much needed skill to our power play," says Gatto. "He proved last year that he has some offensive up-side and produced during the Oil Barons playoff run."

Rounding out the 2012-13 recruiting class is former AJHLer Taylor Fraser. The St. Albert, AB native played three full seasons with his hometown Steel, before wrapping up his junior career with the Spruce Grove Saints. In 231 games in the AJHL, Fraser registered 77 goals, including a career high 35 during the 2010-11 season and 78 assists.

"Taylor provides us with a big body on the right side and he can put the puck in the net. He scored 35 times as a 19-year old in St. Albert," says Gatto.

The 'Horns kick-off their non-conference schedule this weekend playing the newest Canada West member, Mount Royal Cougars, Friday night in Calgary before returning home to host the Calgary Dinos Saturday night, 7 p.m. at Nicholas Sheran Arena.

Reid, Tait added to Horns' roster

trevor.kenney — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:54:39 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's hockey team bolstered its present with an eye on the future Thursday, introducing two new goaltenders to the mix.

With incumbent and 2009-10 Canada West All-Star Scott Bowles entering his final year of eligibility, Horns head coach Greg Gatto announced the signing of a pair of Western Hockey League graduates, former Spokane Chief James Reid and Lethbridge Hurricane Dylan Tait.

"Bowles has been the backbone for us his entire career but we felt it was important to bring in quality competition and set ourselves up heading into his graduation after this season," says Gatto. "The last thing we want to do is go into a season with nothing but true freshmen as starting goalies."

Reid, a six-foot Calgary native, is coming off an outstanding final season of junior hockey where he was named the Western Conference nominee for the WHL goalie of the year. During his final year of junior hockey, Reid led the Chiefs to the Western Conference final. In 50 regular season appearances, his 2.52 goals against average was fourth best in the WHL and he recorded 35 wins, sixth in the league despite missing significant time due to injury.

"Reid has been one of the top goaltenders in the WHL the last few seasons and we are really excited to have him join the Horns," says Gatto.

Tait, a Lethbridge Athletic Association product, joins the Horns after his lone full season in the WHL with the hometown Lethbridge Hurricanes. Last year, Tait made 27 appearances for the Hurricanes and finished 6-10-1 with a 4.13 goals against average and 0.883 save percentage. Just 19, he gives up his final year of eligibility in the WHL to begin his post-secondary career.

"The last couple of years, seeing what kind of program was taking shape here and knowing some of the guys who have played here and really enjoyed it, I was really looking for an opportunity to come here," says Tait.

Prior to suiting up with the Hurricanes, Tait played with the Drumheller Dragons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

He's excited about the opportunity to work under Bowles, learning not only the goaltending position at the Canada West level but also how to balance an academic career. He plans on studying biological sciences.

"A big thing for me is the school aspect. I've heard he's a great student so hopefully he can show me how to create a good balance between hockey and school because he does such a great job with both," says Tait.

The Lethbridge native developed in the LAA and was part of the goaltending tandem with the Y's Men Titans that led the Alberta Midget Hockey League South Division with a 25-4-7 record and surrendered a league low 84 goals. Tait finished with a 11-2-3 record and a 2.91 goals against average.

"It is important for our program to have quality local guys return or stay in Lethbridge," says Gatto. "Dylan will battle and give us great depth at the goaltending position."

Tait joins a growing list of southern Alberta products to join the Horns in recent years with the likes of Taylor Gal, Mason Conway, Winston Day Chief and Cam Creighton.

Sound advice allowed Robinson to seek path

trevor.kenney — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:49:47 +0000

Derek Robinson (BA '00, MEd '03) always knew what he wanted to do – he just needed someone to tell him it was OK.

The former ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's hockey forward had an interest in psychology that he wanted to pursue but it wasn't until a career counselor at the U of L affirmed it was a realistic path, that Robinson really believed he had the right stuff.

"Most of the guys I played with were in education or management and pretty much told me I'd never get a job in psychology," Robinson, now a mental training consultant at the Canadian Sport Centre in Calgary who works primarily with Canada's National Long Track Speed Skating team, says.

So he continued on, studying psychology but never fully committing to a major until his third year.

"I always wanted to be a psychologist and obviously loved sports but I was a hockey player, I swore in the dressing room, drank beer in the pub and never really thought I had the material to be a psychologist," he says.

"I think back now to the sessions I had with the counselor and everything we talked about I actually ended up doing."

The events he refers to include research projects, working with elite athletes and coaching at the highest level of sport. In February, Robinson will be in Vancouver as the long track speed skating team looks for a golden harvest at the 2010 Olympics.

A Victoria, B.C. native, Robinson found the U of L to be a perfect fit when he came to campus in the fall of 1995. The size of the city suited him well and he was joining a hockey program fresh off its first national title. However, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ would prove to be much more than just a hockey stop.

"The U of L was a great fit," Robinson says. "Lethbridge is a great place to go to university and it was a really good experience getting my BA there and playing for the Horns. Obviously I liked it enough to go back and complete my master's degree."

The research focus for his master's thesis was on the prevalence of mental training in hockey, specifically the Alberta Junior Hockey League, and whether the league's coaches felt it would be beneficial. The majority did but were lacking the resources to add a mental trainer to their staff.

"Over the course of my thesis, I formed a great relationship with Dr. Kerry Bernes," Robinson says. "I really respect both he and Dr. Kris Magnusson, who was running the program at the time. Those two guys were pivotal through my master's and were really helpful for my career."

He's looking for a career high note in February, after which he'll try and curtail his travel schedule and devote more time to his family.

"I'll be with the support staff at the Games," Robinson says. "Working with the athletes on such a personal level, it's very exciting to see them excel and I'll be thrilled if they do well in Vancouver."

GET THE FACTS

• Robinson and his wife Lisa (now an art teacher) both came to the U of L from Victoria and they have two children, a four-year old son and 18-month old daughter.

• Robinson has also worked in private practice with the Calgary Health Region.

• While at the U of L, Robinson had a 20-goal season in 1998-99.

UNews - Alberta Junior Hockey League

Horns hockey announces recruits

Related Topics

Reid, Tait added to Horns' roster

Related Topics

Sound advice allowed Robinson to seek path

Related Topics