The 2024-25 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League campaign begins Friday, Sept. 20, and it is a new day for the Battlefords North Stars.
Head coach and general manager Brayden Klimosko departed early in the off-season for the vacated job in his hometown of Humboldt. He left the reigns in the skillful hands of Battlefords local and assistant coach Gary Childerhose.
Back-to-back SJHL MVP Kian Bell has moved on to graduation, as have the likes of perennial star defencemen Alex Izyk and Tanner Gold, among others from the Centennial Cup silver medal-winning team from 2023. So, it will have to be seen whether this year is a rebuild or a reload. Given the terrific culture at the club and the quality of the off-season additions, the expectation should be the latter.
The Stars finished fourth, scored more goals than anyone else in the league, and fell in Round 2 to a juggernaut Flin Flon Bombers squad in the post-season last year.
Let’s look at some key numbers from the last regular season for the Battlefords.
Record: 36-15-4-1 (77 pts, 4th place)
Special Teams: PP: 23% (3rd); PK: 80.4% (4th)
Goal Differential: GF: 254 (1st); GA: 189 (5th); Diff: +65
Special Teams Frequency: Power-Play Opportunities: 274 (3rd); Times Shorthanded: 250 (9th)
Goaltender Stats from 23-24:
Logan Cunningham, 13-3-0, 3.44 GAA, .894 SV%, 0 SO
Matthew MacArthur, 4-5-2, 3.73 GAA, .895 SV%, 1 SO
Top Scorers from 23-24:
Kian Bell: 41GP, 37G, 57A, 94PTS
Ben Portner: 50GP, 28G, 41A, 69PTS
Bradley Blake: 55GP, 20G, 36A, 56PTS
Alex Izyk: 50GP, 17G, 39A, 56PTS
Tanner Gold: 51GP, 11G, 39A, 50PTS
Returners like Rylan Williams, Jackson Allan, and Elijah Anderson will be looked to to pick up some of the slack of the many household names who have departed. Childerhose and his staff have added some fascinating pieces, including Ukrainian international Nikita Ivashchenko from the Swedish U20 league, Brett Boucher, and Anthony Campbell from Fort McMurray of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
SJHL Co-Director of Media Clark Munroe sat down with Coach Childerhose ahead of the 24/25 season and asked his thoughts on the upcoming year.
