REGINA, SK
Humboldt looking to get back to its winning ways
As frustrating as 25-26 was at the Elgar Petersen Arena, head coach/GM Brayden Klimosko and his staff did a great job retooling on the go, which should give Broncos fans plenty to look forward to in 26-27.
Klimosko and former Flin Flon general manager Mike Reagan pulled off a huge deal at the deadline a year ago, which saw Humboldt’s captain (Ryder Knutson), starting goaltender (Charlie Tritt), and one of its top forwards (Connor Miller) go to the Bombers for mostly future considerations. As much as the narrative for the Broncos this year is far more than ‘whether those futures will pan out,’ whatever that looks like has to be considered important for this year’s group.
Humboldt expects to get a strong number of its Top 10 scorers back from last year, including the returned Miller, along with an experienced back end led by Nathan Da Silva, and Kai Holowachuk, and an elite No. 1 netminder in local boy Brady Holtvogt. Klimosko and his scouting staff are as connected as any in the league to bring in reinforcements, too, so the Broncos should improve on how they ended a year ago.
Either way, Humboldt’s great fans are used to playoffs and contending every year, so missing the post-season for a second year in a row has to be considered absolutely out of the question for Klimosko and crew.
Youngsters to keep a close eye on include a pair of offensive dynamos from RINK Kelowna Prep of the CSSHL – Nate Macphee and Brody Bradshaw – as well as a real coup in nabbing Estevan Bears U18AAA star Boston Schmidt, who finished third in goals in the Sask U18 league a year ago.
Let’s take a look at some key numbers from the last regular season for Humboldt:
SJHL Co-Director of Media Jamie Neugebauer sat down with Head Coach/GM Brayden Klimosko ahead of the 26/27 season and got his thoughts on the upcoming year.
