By Josh Lockhart
As the calendar year draws to a close, it is time to do a review of the top stories for the Kimberley Dynamiters.
As with any year, there were high points and low points.
Here are the top 10 stories about the Nitros in 2018, with commentary from head coach and general manager Derek Stuart.
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10. Baby Nitros. The Nitros fan base grew by two as the Stuart’s welcomed their second child, a son, in February; and assistant coach Byron Garrels and his wife Megan welcomed a baby girl.
9. Brock Palmer & Brandt Bertoia reach 100 career KIJHL points. Palmer and Bertoia both hit the 100 career mark within a week of each other. They are now both amongst the teams top 20 point scorers.
8. Local Talent. This years team is full of local talent. Harrison Risdon (Cranbrook), Lucas Chilton (Moyie), and Adam Andersen (Kimberley) were the returning local players. Then during the off-season, Stuart added: Erik Delaire (Cranbrook), Ryan Bennett (Cranbrook), Jackson Bohan (Cranbrook), Carter Spring (Cranbrook), and Braiden Koran (Kimberley). That is eight local players on this years team.
7. Players Advancing to College. Cody Campbell (University of Central Oklahoma), Nicholas Ketola (Bethel University), Devon Langelaar (Arizona University), and Matt Davies (University of Central Oklahoma), all advanced to the college level of hockey. “It means a lot to me, the organization, the players here now, and future players, that they can view Kimberley as a place that can help them get to the next level.”
6. Cam Russell returns. Russell had a short stint with the Calgary Mustangs. His impact was immediately felt as he earned the Kootenay Conference Player of the Month honours. He has had eight multi-point games, and has only been held pointless in two of the 16 games.
5. Chase Gedny named Captain. Gedny was voted by his peers, and approved by the coaching staff, to be the next Captain for the Kimberley Dynamiters. He is the third captain in the past three years, and is the first none-20 year old captain since Jason Richter. Gedny leads by example, and was honoured to be named captain.
4. Bryce McDonald’s injury. During the November 16th game against the Princeton Posse, McDonald took an awkward spill into the boards, breaking his ankle. “It sucked” was all Stuart could muster together, noting that the team really noticed his absence when they had his first practice without him.
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3. Training Camp during Evacuation Alert. August was unfamiliar territory for a lot of people as the City of Kimberley was placed under evacuation alert due to the Meachen Creek fire. While the alert had been in place for a week before camp started, it led to cancellations. But for Stuart, the biggest impact on turnout at camp were all the other camps going on at the same time.
2. Winning Bronze at the Cyclone Taylor Cup. Spoiler, after finishing the #1 story, the Nitros had to quickly go on the road to play in the Cyclone Taylor Cup in Richmond. While not their most consistent hockey. “We weren’t ready to go in our first game. Our second game we were great. Our third game we were awful. Then our fourth game we were really good again. When you go up and down in the tournament like that, you will be playing for third place.”
1. Winning the 2018 KIJHL Championship. “That would be our pick for the top story.” Stuart agreed. Noting that the team was very successful since the start of 2018, and then went 16-6 in the playoffs, finishing with a championship win on the road in Revelstoke.
Plus one heart warming story. During November, the Nitros wore green jerseys in support of Kidney Cancer, raising over $15,000 for Kidney Cancer Canada. The event was organized by Cliff Boychuck, in memory of Norma Ennis.