BATTLEFORDS NORTH STARS
When the Battlefords North Stars return from a three-games-in-three-nights swing through southern Saskatchewan this weekend 19-year-old forward Elijah Loon-Stewardson could have set personal bests in every statistical category.
The product of Sioux Lookout, Ont., has seven goals and nine assists in 17 games this season leaving him one point shy of his output in 45 games last year with the North Stars. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Loon-Stewardson already has eclipsed the five goals he netted as a freshman and with three more helpers he will match his playmaking production from a year ago.
Loon-Stewardson has nine points in his last five games so it appears to be just a matter of time before he moves into unchartered waters. This increased production should not be overly surprising as Loon-Stewardson finished his first year in the Battlefords on a positive note when he had five points in eight post-season contests last spring.
Prior to making the move out west, Loon-Stewardson finished his midget career with 34 points in 43 games with the Thunder Bay Midget AAA Kings. Loon-Stewardson also got his first taste of Junior “A” action that season as he appeared in one game with the Thunder Bay North Stars of the Superior International Junior Hockey League.
As a 16-year-old, Loon-Stewardson registered 13 points in 40 games with the Kenora Midget AAA Thistles following up a minor-midget campaign that saw him collect 41 points in 49 games with the Thunder Bay Minor Midget Kings.
The Battlefords have lost plenty of firepower from last year’s squad, especially with the graduation of league scoring champion Layne Young, so it is up to players like Loon-Stewardson to pick up some of the slack and from the early results it appears he is more than ready to make a solid contribution.
