Midget A Mavericks Set For The Season

By Robert Thomas

“It should be a pretty good season,” says Mike Botterill head coach of the Midget A Mavericks.

The Mavericks Midget squad is a mixture of ages which Botterill said is challenging.

“We have the makings of a really good team here but it is going to be a challenge in the variance in ages.”

The Midget A Mavericks is a team with girls starting at first year Bantam right up to third year Midget aged players.

“Despite the younger ages of some of the younger players the skill level is tremendous,” Botterill said.

And head coach Botterill should know as he brings a wealth of experience in hockey both on and off the ice.

On the ice Botterill spent five years as a left winger and center with the defunct Moose Jaw Junior A Canucks playing with most notably Chris Chelios.

From 2005 until 2018 Botterill served as a head coach or an assistant coach within Moose Jaw Minor Hockey.

Three seasons ago he served as head coach for the Bantam A Mavericks with Stephan Gauvin as assistant coach and the following year the pair switched jobs.

Botterill said being a coach within the Mavericks system in the past and the level of coaching players received in the past is a definite advantage.

Size-wise the Midget squad is not the biggest but he said the players “make up for it with their skills, speed and their smart play on the ice.”

“We are not going to be very big in size but the skills our players have is going to be big. We are going to be competitive.”

There will be the return of four players – third year Midget players Lindsey Daniel and Kaelyn Logan, second year Midget players Courtney Botterill and Makayla Anderson.

Daniel, Logan and Botteril last year played with a midget squad out of Wood River. Anderson sat out last season due to a knee injury.

Ten players from last year's Bantam A Mavericks provincial finals team make the jump to Midget division play this season.

Sydnee Christmann, Ember DuSomme, Sidney Ellingson, Nikita Halyk, Taylor Luciak, Keana Maclachlan, Mattea May, Jadyn Palaschuk, Taryn Sandbeck and Eowyn Stokes were all members of the Saskatchewan Female Hockey League 2019 Midget A Bantam southern championship squad.

Kami Schumack from Pense joins the team as a second year Bantam aged player after playing male hockey out of Regina.

Brooklyn Nimegeers, Ashley Breitkreuz and Shay Camphaug make the jump from first year Bantam to Midget play.

Ryan Ellingson, James Stokes and Mikayla Swallow serve as assistant coaches.

Botterill pointed out assistant coach Swallow is a great addition as the Sask Pyrotechnic student previously played in the Mavericks hockey system before playing hockey in Calgary at Mount Royal University.

“She is a great asset and help to the team,” he said.

The Midget A Mavericks have an 18 game schedule in the 10 team division with three teams in the north and seven in the south. The furthest travel for team is to Leroy and the shortest is to Regina.

The format is one game at home and one game away on the road.

The Moose Jaw Midget A Mavericks open the season October 19th at 1:45 PM at Mosaic Place versus the South East Goldwings out of Weyburn.

All Midget Mavericks home games are free to attend but the team encourages those attending to purchase 50/50 tickets with all proceeds helping to fund the team.

moose jawOctober 10, 2019