Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League

PLAYERS OF THE MONTH (March)

By Mike Stackhouse

RBC SJHL PLAYER OF THE MONTH:  Quintin Loon-Stewardson, Battlefords North Stars
2000 F Quintin Loon-Stewardson (Sioux Lookout ON) paced all SJHL players in the month of March by scoring 8-goals and 8-assists in 12-games played.  He ended the regular season with 3-goals and 1-assist in 3-games played as the Stars finished strong to overtake Kindersley and Humboldt to win the Global Ag Risks Solutions Division and earn the number two seed in the postseason.  He followed that up with 3-goals and 6-assists in 7-games against Flin Flon as the Stars won that series to advance to the semi-finals. He had 2-goals and 1-assist in the first two games against Yorkton, including the game winner in a 1-0 overtime victory in game two.  Runner-up: Colby Brandt, Yorkton.

SJHL DEFENSEMAN OF THE MONTH:  Cody Dubas, Yorkton Terriers
1999 D Cody Dubas (Rama SK) emerged as a top defenseman in the March, logging upwards of 30 minutes a night on the top pairing for the Terriers and picking up the bulk of the slack when injuries hit their blueline.  Dubas picked up a helper in the final home and home set of the season against Melville and then embarked on a splendid playoff where he excelled at both ends of the rink. He collected two more helpers in the three game series win over Notre Dame before embarking on a six game tear against Nipawin where he scored 1-goal and 5-assists in a 7-games series victory.  He’s poised to lead the Terrier blueline next year. Runner-up: Matthew Fletcher, Battlefords.

SASKTEL SJHL GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH:  Noah Giesbrecht, Melfort Mustangs
1999 G Noah Giesbrecht (South Surrey BC) went 6-and-1 with a 1.72-GAA and .942-SPCT during the month of March as he led the Mustangs into the SJHL semi-finals.  He did his part stopping 19-of-20 in the second to last game of the regular season against Nipawin in a first place showdown. He then allowed just 8 goals in 4 starts against Kindersley in the quarter-finals, winning all four games in the process and then he led the Mustangs to a 2-0 series lead against Estevan by giving up just three goals in the two appearances.  Runner-up: Joel Grzybowski, Battlefords.

DIRECTWEST SJHL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH:  Jaxsen Wiebe, Nipawin Hawks
2002 F Jaxsen Wiebe (Moose Jaw SK) wrapped up his first SJHL season by scoring 3-goals and 5-assists in 10-games during the month of March.  One of his goals came in the final three games of the regular season, but it was in the playoffs against Yorkton where he stepped up and made his mark as a premier player in the SJHL by firing 2-goals and 5-assists in 7-games.  He had points in six of the seven games, getting a game winner in game five and picking up two points in a game three loss. Still midget eligible next year, he figures to be a first line player for the Hawks in 2019-20. Runner-up:  Ryan Ouellette, Yorkton.