Koch SUPERU – Change the Way You Grow
Dave Leaderhouse
When the world was normal the Estevan Bruins were a team that was building for the future as that franchise and city had been awarded the 2022 Centennial Cup championship.
As hosts for that event, the Bruins knew they would be playing significant hockey in May, 2022, but they wanted to be more than that and as early as last season they started sprinkling their line-up with younger players that would be expected to play major roles in helping the team not only host the national championship event, but also to be a serious contender to go through the front door by winning the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League title.
With all of the recent disruptions due to the worldwide pandemic it is unclear if the road remains the same, but the goal certainly hasn’t changed and one of those players that the Bruins are counting on to achieve high levels of success is 18-year-old defenceman Alex Von Sprecken.
The 6-foot-1, 186-pound homegrown product gained invaluable experience last season when in 39 games with the Bruins he registered 11 points, but also amassed 103 minutes in penalties. Prior to being shut down two weeks ago when play was halted once again due to the rising numbers of Covid-19 results, Von Sprecken had played a big role in helping the Bruins move to the top of the Viterra Division standings with a 4-1-1 record in six games played. Von Sprecken had three assists and 17 penalty minutes during the early start to the current campaign and when play resumes it is clear he will surpass all the marks he set last season as a 17-year-old freshman.
A sixth-round pick of the Spokane Chiefs in the 2017 Western Hockey League bantam draft, Von Sprecken split his Midget AAA career with two clubs playing 39 games each with the Notre Dame Argos and Prince Albert Mintos and putting up nearly identical numbers during each stop. As a 15-year-old, Von Sprecken posted 14 points and 56 penalty minutes with the Argos and one year later those stats increased slightly to 17 points and 73 penalty minutes. Von Sprecken also got his first taste of Junior “A” hockey as a 15-year-old when the Bruins got him into five games.
Not only is Von Sprecken emerging as a premiere defenceman in the league, it appears that his attitude is in the right place to take his game to a higher level.
“I don’t want to leave the rink after practice, or games, thinking that I could have done more,” says Von Sprecken in listing his goals not just for this year, but for the future as well. “I want to leave everything out there – and have fun.”
Von Sprecken is hoping that his hard work will eventually land him an opportunity to play NCAA Division 1 hockey somewhere, but he is also setting his expectations high to include plenty of team success while playing for the Bruins. Von Sprecken’s continued improvement will undoubtedly make those goals a reality.
