By Jake Webb
The Tigers had a monumental year last season that resulted in them placing third - the team’s best regular season finish since 2003. While it did not end with the AUS championship title, they played phenomenally and are gearing up this season to take the title.
With key players like Chandler Yakimowicz and Aiden Jamieson moving on, head coach Chris Donnelly had some vacancies on the roster that needed to be filled.
Filling two of those vacancies are Western Hockey League (WHL) veterans Jackson van de Leest and Zak Smith who will bring some much-needed speed to the lineup.
Van de Leest played for both the Calgary Hitmen and the Red Deer Rebels before coming to Dalhousie. The defenceman was both an assistant captain and a captain for the Hitmen before he moved to the Rebels.
“Jackson will help us to play better defensively than we did last year, while also improving our offensive output.,” says Donnelly.
Another Former Red Deer Rebel, Zak Smith comes to the Tigers from the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League where he led the team with 20 goals and 28 assists in 50 regular season games.
“Zak brings a strong work ethic and a fierce competitiveness to our program,” says Donnelly. “His versatility will make him a key component to every situation during games.”
While van de Leest and Smith are thrilling additions to the Tigers, there are a number of key returning players who will be integral to the Tigers success.
“We are looking forward to seeing the returning players’ development and the improvements they have made since last season,” says Donnelly.
Leading the way is standout goalie Reilly Pickard who was named an AUS first team all-star last season.
Pickard played great hockey last year, posting a personal-best save percentage of 0.921 and a goals against average of 2.84.
Team Captain Dillon Boucher and assistant captain Campbell Pickard will lead a group of 11 returning forwards including Shaun Miller who led the Tigers in assists last year.
On the defensive end, assistant captains Josh Wainman and Christian Huntley are joined by Jack Hanley, Kyle Yewchuk, Jarrett Baker and fourth-year goaltender Connor Hicks.
Donnelly, the 2021-22 AUS and U SPORTS coach of the year, hopes to lead his team deep into the playoffs this year but knows it won’t be easy.
“Every team in the AUS conference is an obstacle,” he says. “We are anticipating that nothing short of a team effort will be required every night for us to be successful this year.”
After a pair of pre-season losses to Saint Mary’s and UNB, the Tigers host the Acadia Axemen in their first regular season home game Wednesday, October 5th at the Halifax Forum at 7pm.
With 16 games in October and November, they’ll spend most of their time on the road before their final game of the first half at home on December 3rd.
After the break, the Tigers return with a home game against Acadia on January 6th, followed by a game with Saint Mary’s on the 7th. January and February are both filled with what are sure to be electrifying games, with the final game of the regular season being on February 11th against Saint Mary’s.