Oil Capitals gaining experience as they push for playoffs

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This article was published 07/01/2022 (1465 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With several young players and new veterans joining the Virden Oil Capitals in the off-season, head coach and general manager Tyson Ramsey wasn’t quite sure how things would go for the squad when the 2021-22 Manitoba Junior Hockey League campaign got underway.

As the team prepared to host the Portage Terriers on Friday evening in their first game since the Christmas break, the Oil Capitals had a 14-14-2-0 record and were tied with the Neepawa Titans for third place in the West Division.

“If you had told us that’s where we would be at this point before the year started, I think we would have been OK with that,” Ramsey said.

“We weren’t necessarily a young group, but we did have a lot of turnover and some of our older guys were new to us. There are some games where we would have liked to have had a better fate in of course, but we’re pretty pleased about where we are at.”

Although they suffered a pair of shutout losses to the Steinbach Pistons ahead of the holidays, the Oil Capitals were a strong side in December as they had a five-game winning streak prior to their meetings with the league leaders.

“All the parts of our game have really been improving and getting better all the time,” Ramsey said. “I really liked the way we played against Steinbach in our rink (on Dec. 17) and we probably deserved a better fate than what we had (a 3-0 loss). We had a lot of pressure on them but we just couldn’t get a goal.

“There were a few games early on where we had leads in the third period and we couldn’t come away with the win. That may have been due to the youngness of our group and not being able to lock things down, but we’re getting better at that and I think those losses tend to even out as the season goes on. You have games where you play well in but don’t get the win and then you have games where things don’t quite go your way and you get the two points.”

The Oil Capitals are the only team in the MJHL that has a goaltending tandem that is in their first full campaign in Junior A hockey.

Eric Reid joined his hometown club after two years with the Southwest Cougars U18 program, while Ethan Kadatz arrived in Virden after spending last season in the Alberta U18 AAA ranks with the St. Albert Raiders.

The pair have split time between the pipes thus far, with Reid posting a 6-8-1-0 record with a 3.07 goals-against average, a .903 save percentage and two shutouts, while Kadatz has a 6-4-1-0 mark with a 3.52 gaa and a .896 save percentage.

“We knew that there was going to be an adjustment period for both of them as they got used to playing junior hockey,” Ramsey said.

“Eric went on a pretty good run there at the end of the first half and Ethan’s last couple of games before the holidays were really good as well. The guys have been playing hard in front of them as they’ve worked hard to get better every day and I think you are going to see more improvement from them in the second half.”

Captain Logan Rands leads the way on the Oil Capitals blue-line.

The 20-year-old from Portage la Prairie is set to smash his previous best season-high point total of 27 in his final season with the club as he has 20 points — four goals and 16 assists — in 29 games going into this weekend.

“He’s as close as you can get to a complete player back there,” Ramsey said. “He defends well, he moves the puck well down the ice with his offensive instincts and he plays special teams for us.

“Logan’s a well-rounded guy that’s really reliable. When you look down the bench and you need someone to get the job done in certain situations, he’s someone that stands out for us. He’s a tremendous leader for us both on and off the ice and we’re grateful to have a guy like him be so loyal to our program.”

The rest of the Oil Capitals defence features a mix of youth and experience. 

“Jackson Orr, Nathan McInnis and Bray Rookes are older guys that are really hard to play against with the experience they have in our league,” Ramsey said. “Trevor Hunt only got in a handful of games last year before everything got shut down (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) but he’s someone that we’ve been really excited about and we’re looking forward to watching him grow as a player.

“David Bielik is another young guy with an extremely high hockey IQ that has stepped and performed well already, and Nolan Wallace has done a tremendous job as a rookie. He’s been in and out of the lineup for us so far, but I think he’s going to be a great player moving forward.”

On offence, the Oil Capitals are led by 19-year-old Winnipeg product Braden Fischer, 20-year-old Brandonite Dylan Halliday and 17-year-old Carson Buydens of Gladstone.

Fischer’s 43 points — 19 goals and 24 assists — have him tied with Brayden Foreman of the Winnipeg Blues for fourth place in the league scoring race.

“Braden’s an experienced guy (having played for the Blues and the British Columbia Hockey League’s Salmon Arm Silverbacks before joining the Oil Capitals this summer) and he’s a really deceptive skater who loves to have the puck on his stick,” Ramsey said.

“His ability to score and put up points is well known, but I think one thing that maybe people don’t know about Braden is just what a good leader he is in the room, especially with our younger guys. We’re really happy he chose to come here.” 

Halliday is tied with Dauphin Kings forward Kaden Bryant for the second-most goals in the MJHL this season with 20, while Buydens’ 28 points are just one marker behind Steinbach’s Davis Fry for the rookie scoring lead.

“Dylan is Dylan,” Ramsey said. “He’s not the fastest guy on the ice but he can do some amazing things with the puck on his stick.

“Carson’s so good already and he has a lot of potential to get even better. He’s one of our best players night in and night out, and to see him commit to a school like Princeton is really exciting.”

Second-year forwards Branden Huminuk and Tyler Thoendel are also key contributors up front with 20 and 19 points respectively, while 16-year-old Evan Groening has recorded 16 points in his first season of junior hockey.

“Branden and Tyler are basically rookies as they only had a handful of games last year before the season ended,” Ramsey said. “They’ve really come on here lately and we really liked what we saw from them heading into the break.

“Evan was someone that we really liked during his first camp with us in 2020 and he made a ton of improvements with his game when he came here this year. He handles the puck and thinks the game really well for a young guy and we’re really happy to help him develop on his road to joining the (Brandon) Wheat Kings.”

With the Oil Capitals and the Titans holding a slight edge over the Swan Valley Stampeders and the OCN Blizzard in the battle for the last two playoff berths in the West Division, Ramsey believes that continued improvement from his side will assure them of a spot in the post-season.

“With how close the league is this year, it’s important to make sure that we keep getting better as a group and that we are mentally ready for what’s ahead of us,” he added.

“I think everyone has a chance of making the playoffs and having a strong run this year, which should make things pretty exciting for the players, coaches and everyone else involved with this league, along with the fans.”

ICINGS: The Waywayseecappo Wolverines postponed their home game with the Steinbach Pistons Friday for the protection of their community and fans. The two sides will square off Sunday in Steinbach. 

 

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