The 2024-25 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League campaign begins Friday, Sept. 20, and for the La Ronge Ice Wolves, that means a home date against the defending Canterra Seeds Cup champion Melfort Mustangs.
The 2023-24 campaign was one of wild ups and downs for the Wolves as a team, but individuals such as Mason Bueckert up front and Parker Layton on the back end truly blossomed into SJHL stars. Coach Kevin Kaminski and his squad will be looking to turn some of that individual success into team success and prove that last year was a one-off in an otherwise terrific tenure for the man they call “Killer.”
Let’s look at some key numbers from the last regular season for La Ronge.
Record: 16-35-3-2 (37 pts, 11th place)
Special Teams: PP: 16.3% (12th); PK: 79.3% (7th)
Goal Differential: GF: 161 (11th); GA: 242 (11th); Diff: -81
Special Teams Frequency: Power-Play Opportunities: 263 (8th); Times Shorthanded: 271 (4th)
Goaltender Stats from 23-24:
Topher Chirico, 13-27-3, 3.80 GAA, .908 SV%, 0 SO
Eric Kahl, 1-10-0, 5.53 GAA, .870 SV%, 0 SO
Karl Soneff, 2-3-2, 4.62 GAA, .892 SV%., 0 SO
Top Scorers from 23-24:
Mason Bueckert: 56GP, 20G, 42A, 62PTS
Parker Layton: 54GP, 18G, 31A, 49PTS
Dylan Handel: 46GP, 17G, 20A, 37PTS
Jacob Cossette: 56GP, 14G, 18A, 32PTS
Rylan Silzer: 55GP, 6G, 21A, 27PTS
With Bueckert and fellow 20-year-old star forward Jacob Cossette set to return up front and former SJ/MJ Showcase star Rylan Silzer back on the blue line, Kaminski and company have a talented foundation to reload for the upcoming campaign. Graham Brown, one of the top goaltenders in British Columbia Junior B a year ago, looks to get the first crack in the net, and it will be interesting to see how Killer fills out the rest of this roster.
SJHL Co-Director of Media Clark Munroe sat down with Kevin Kaminski ahead of the 24/25 season and got his thoughts on the upcoming year.
