Major turnover up front isn’t stopping Steinbach Pistons from aiming high

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This article was published 22/09/2023 (953 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fans of the Steinbach Pistons who pick up a game program for their first home game inside the La Broquerie arena will see a lot of unfamiliar faces to start the season.

The reigning Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) champions are dealing with the highest turnover they’ve ever seen as a team according to head coach and general manager Paul Dyck.

“We have 25 bodies here, and 16 of them are new,” Dyck said.

“It’s considerable change, but there’s some familiar faces on the back end that bring stability and leadership. (They) set the tone for a lot the newer players in terms of how we do things.”

The defensive core for the Pistons could be one of the best position groups in the league this season. Despite major turnover throughout the team, the Pistons are returning a deep defensive core, full of experienced players.

“(The defense) has a chance to be really good, it has a chance to be special,” Dyck said.

“Individually, there’s a lot of talent on the back end. They’re very mobile, they’re intelligent players, there’s a very high compete level in that group too.”

Since winning the league championship in 2014, Steinbach has been one of the most consistent franchises in the MJHL. In the 10 seasons post-championship, the team hasn’t finished lower than third in the league standings, and has made appearances in the finals five times. (The 2020/2021 season was cancelled part-way through due to COVID-19, and the playoffs were cut short in 2020 due to the pandemic)

“We want to be in contention at the end of the year,” Dyck said.

“We have different players, but that’s a goal that we certainly haven’t shied away from, and I believe we have the guys here that can do that again, and I think that’s their desire as well.”

The Pistons finished their move to La Broquerie Sept. 18, and are now settling into their new digs in advance of the start of the season. Steinbach will be playing out of the HyLife Centre in La Broquerie until the Southeast Event Centre’s construction is completed.

“Everybody’s been really good, it’s been a real positive experience so far,” Dyck said.

Up front, Kirk Mullen brings the most experience to the group. He had 20 points in Steinbach’s Turnbull Cup run last season.

The Pistons boast a laundry list of high-profile names who are have junior eligibility remaining, but have moved on from the MJHL.

Ty Paisley and Nik Mikan are both set to suit up for the United States Hockey League’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. Both players have committed to the University of St Thomas in Minnesota in the NCAA. Davis Fry, who has one more year of MJHL eligibility left, is now playing for Mercyhurst University.

Those three players accounted for 140 points last season. Forwards Travis Hensrud, Ian Amsbaugh, Dawson Milliken, Landon Roberts and Davin Griffin all also aged out of junior last season.

Dyck admitted with so many new faces, the lineup to start the season are still a work in progress.

“The lines we’re going into this weekend with might look a little different in two, three weeks, it’s hard to tell,” he said.

“We’ve found a few different pairings in particular up front that seem to work well. The one thing is they’re all hard working. It’s a lot simpler when the DNA of a line is all very similar. We have a couple lines where it’s effort-based, they’re finding it pretty simple to play with one another.”

The defensive core isn’t coming into the season unscathed either, with Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick Warren Clark heading to St Cloud State University. Clark was the highest scoring defenseman on the team last year.

Dyck said he was pretty happy overall at training camp, with no major surprises.

“It’s a long couple of weeks, and it gets a little intense with the number of bodies that are here, but overall we saw what we were hoping for,” he said.

“It was very, very competitive. (We) were encouraged by some of the young players playing U18 this year. We saw some of our returning players step into a leadership role, which was good to see.”

Steinbach will kick off their season on the road this year, visiting Virden for a re-match of the 2023 Turnbull Cup final to open the season Sept. 22, before returning to Selkirk the next day.

“I don’t mind it, getting out on the road early,” Dyck said, noting he couldn’t remember the last time Steinbach had no home games during the opening weekend of the season.

“(Virden) should be a real good test for us out of the gate, and then coming home late and playing a team in Selkirk that played us really tough last year.”

The team’s home opener is set for Thursday, Sept. 28, as the Pistons are officially welcomed to La Broquerie in a matchup with Portage.