The Troy Mick era with the Salmon Arm SilverBacks officially began at the BCHL Showcase last weekend but after losses to the West Kelowna Warriors (6-0) and the Nanaimo Clippers (2-1), there appear to be questions about the team’s offence.
Rookie Josh Bowes was the lone Gorilla to find the back of the net. The Sturgeon County, Alta. product beat Clippers netminder Jayson Argue with a shot low to the glove side after coming down the right side in Sunday’s 11 a.m. game. An unassisted goal, Bowes is the only player with a point so far on the season.
“I think the biggest thing after the weekend is our compete level needs to be there every night,” said SilverBacks captain Bennett Hambrook. “There was a big turnover from last year, lots of guys are new to Salmon Arm; scoring is going to have to be done by committee, that’s clear to all the guys.”
Something else that will boost the ’Backs production is the development of the power play. Shane Hanna and Sean Flanagan are returning defencemen with offensive flair but team went a combined 0-9 on the weekend.
“We’ve had a few days of practice working on (the power play) and we’re still trying to build chemistry,” said Hambrook. “There’s tons of skill on those two (power play) units.
“Nanaimo and West Kelowna pushed really hard on their penalty kill (but) when we get those chances on the power play, we’ve got to make them count.”
Alex Gillies was not in action at the Showcase as he recovers from an injury sustained in the preseason. His return to the lineup will help scoring matters as well.
“He’s definitely going to be a big part of our offence,” noted Hambrook. “He’s got tons of character and brings a lot to the dressing room and on the ice. We’re expecting him to have a big year.”
It was unfortunate Gillies was not able to play in the showcase because about 200 college and professional scouts were in attendance at Chilliwack’s Prospera Centre, so there was plenty of exposure for players.
“I was incredibly surprised by the amount of scouts there; I didn’t expect it to be that big,” said Hambrook. “It’s something that’s great to be a part of, especially in my last year here.”
“It was sort of like a trip back to bantam or midget hockey, like a tournament experience,” said Hambrook of the early daytime starts. “But after getting a run in and taping your sticks, it feels like a 7 (a.m.) start; we’ve played lots of hockey games by now so we were ready to go.
The nice thing for the SilverBacks and their new players is they won’t have any trouble getting motivated for the coming weekend which features a home-and-home set with the Vernon Vipers. The rivalry has been impressed upon the new players.
“We spread the word around the dressing room pretty quick,” said Hambrook. “There’s a buzz in town; we’ll be ready to go this weekend.”
Salmon Arm’s home opener is a 7 p.m. puck drop on Friday at Shaw Centre against the Vipers.