Neepawa evaluating young core to start MJHL season

Just two weeks into the regular season, the battle in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s West Division is already heating up.

Every team had at least one win and one regulation loss and at least three points in the standings after two weekends worth of action.

That includes the Neepawa Titans, which have played in a pair of overtime games to start the season, dropping games to Portage and Steinbach.

Head coach Ken Pearson noted the Titans are a young squad this year, and will need to develop over the course of the season, like many other teams in the MJHL this year.

“I thought we’ve played well in spurts, definitely some of our youth is getting exposed, but that will come,” Pearson said following a 5-0 loss in Steinbach Sept. 25.

“We just have to have our patience with some of our young guys.”

With the NCAA changing eligibility rules and the B.C. Hockey League able to nab talent without trading for players as they are not a Hockey Canada-affiliated league, teams in the MJHL are working to adapt to a higher rate of player movement year-to-year.

“I think for the most part we’re close to where we want to be with our group to at least go for the next 20-30 games to see where guys are at,” Pearson said.

“There’s going to be some learning and some mistakes that are made and the only way we’re going to get better is learning from those mistakes.”

Pearson said Neepawa is going to have to defend well and win tight games to find success this season.

“We’re going to have trouble scoring,” he admitted.

“We will need to score by committee… It’s a little bit of a learning curve realizing the kind of time and space they have. They’re going against 20-year-old men and not 15-year-old boys.”

Neepawa went five periods without scoring a goal as they dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Selkirk and the shutout loss to Steinbach. Pearson said he thought the team was just “gripping their sticks to tight,” and should bounce back once the puck starts to find the back of the net.

“It’s going to be a process with our group,” he said.

“We’re looking at the first 5-10 games as hovering around 0.500 and seeing where things go from there.”

Two of the players in that group hail from the Eastman region, with Dominion City’s Grayson Slaney and Lorette’s Jacob Reimer playing for the Titans this season.

Both players were born in 2008. Slaney, a forward, suited up in 48 games for Neepawa last season, while defenseman Reimer spent last year with the Eastman Selects program and is in his first full year of Junior A.

“(Slaney) is a good 200-foot guy for us, he plays all situations, his skill and his speed are going to be great assets,” Pearson said.

“(Reimer) is a guy that’s going to have to figure out the pace and the strength and all that, but again, he’s a guy that’s willing to learn and he’s going to learn from his mistakes… Guys are going to find out quick that you’ve got to play a certain way to have success here and as things go along and everyone tightens up and gets better, you’re not going to be able to do some of the stuff you did early in the season.”

The Titans are next in the region when they play Niverville Oct. 30.

For more MJHL coverage including game recaps, stats and scores, be sure to check out the print edition of The Carillon