Lakehead Thunderwolves mens hockey team Head Coach Don McKee and his staff have announced their roster for the 2008-09 season.
In determining the 2008-09 Thunderwolves mens hockey roster; the medical staff has determined to give Jesse Pyatt two months to fully rehab with the expectation that he will join the team at Christmas. McKee feels that this plan will allow Jesse to not only fully recover from his injury but to also give him enough time to establish his conditioning level and McKee knows that Pyatt will be a big asset to the team in their drive to OUA and national championships.
Because of the absence of Pyatt in the first half of the season, McKee has determined that he will keep a fifth forward line which will allow both veterans and new players to develop their potential and battle for lineup positions.
As a result; the Thunderwolves lineup consists of two outstanding goaltenders, Chris Whitley and Kyle Moir, eight strong defencemen, and fifteen forwards. Defenceman Jordan B. Smith has been released from the team. Defenceman Dan Rogers voluntarily left the squad last week to focus on his studies.
The defensive corps will be made up of assistant captain Drew Kivell, assistant captain and CIS First Team All Canadian and OUA First Team All Star Jordan C. Smith, Andy Zulyniak, Pierre-Marc Guilbault, Mitch Maunu, and newcomers Kalvin Sagert, Ryan Baird, and Bryan Wilson.
There will be 15 forwards and they are made up left wingers Dan Speer (OUA scoring champion), Kris Hogg (OUA All Rookie), Andy Hyvarinen, Devin Welsh, and Shandor Alphonso.
The centres will be OUA First Team All Star Brock McPherson, assistant captain Tobias Whelan, assistant captain Scott Dobben, Matt Maisonneuve, and Adam Sergerie. The right wingers are OUA Second Team All Star Mark Soares, Captain Andrew Brown, Brad Priestlay, Arron Alphonso, and Richard Molenaar. Released from the forwards was Nathan Breukelman.
Coach McKee admits that the 2008-09 training camp has been a gruelling five-week project in order to ensure that the team is prepared to be a great host, but more importantly, an authentic contender at the CIS National Championships that will be hosted by Lakehead. It has been an extremely challenging camp for both the players and staff but we have a great deal of optimism that this hard work will be reflected in our results this season.