Great Lakes Junior C Midseason Review

It might be a week or two premature for a midseason review of the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League, but with enough games already in the books, it’s time to take a look at how the Great Lakes teams stack up.

Let’s start locally.

The Dresden Kings have without question struggled from a lack of veteran defenders. In fact, with the exception of John Montgomery and 16-year-old Brady Hogg, the Kings have been relying on forward-converts to eat most of their minutes on the back end. That vulnerability has shown on more nights than the Kings would like, and have them sitting near the bottom of the standings, not far ahead of their Highway 78 rivals in Wallaceburg. Help on the blueline is a must.

Speaking of those lowly Wallaceburg Lakers, I’m not sure many anticipated yet another dozen game losing streak to start the season. Even a veteran coach like Marc Swayze has been unable to mold this roster into a competitive club. It’s clear, yet again, that a much deeper, more pervasive cleansing of the Lakers organization is needed, and a rampant marketing campaign to prospects is needed immediately to right this ship. A few wins are giving players and fans hope, but it’s not enough to think the Lakers are building a contending club, yet.

Crossing Chatham-Kent, the Blenheim Blades have relied on a flash and dash offence paced by league leaders Zach Horvath and Drew Marlatt. On night’s, the Blades have looked dynamic and like they could make the leap many have been predicting over the last few seasons, but inconsistency reigns supreme for the Blades. When things aren’t going their way, their stars and veterans look invisible. With much season remaining, the Blades will stay in contention for the 3-4 playoff spot, and will be fighting for home ice.

In the North, the Alvinston Flyers and Mooretown Flags both started shaky, but have shown positive gains recently. Alvinston would be a nightmare first round matchup for Essex or Amherstburg, as the pesky Flyers have shown an ability to play giant killers already. Mooretown on the other hand, has beaten the teams they need to, but haven’t shown an ability to hang with the big boys.

Turning back South, the Wheatley Sharks, excuse me, the Wheatley Omstead Sharks, looked like they’d be too young this season, and they are, at least to contend. Still, the veterans, most notably Brett Bowman, and acquisition Nick Tavolieri-Essex, have been excellent. The Sharks are a long way off, but they’ve been strong at home, which is usually a good indicator.

The Lakeshore Canadians are good, but not that good, at least not right now. Steven Sartor has been a pleasant surprise in his second season with the Canadians, but the team didn’t have enough of that internal growth from elsewhere, or find a stud returning from Jr. B to move into the upper echelon. They’ll hang out with Blenheim and Mooretown/Alvinston/Wheatley in the 3-4 slot, looking for home ice.

Who knew adding the name “Integrity” to the Integrity Amherstburg Admirals name would actually cause the team to act, and play with integrity. The Admirals have shown the legitimate ability to compete with, and beat the Essex 73s, something no team has been able to do with any consistency in the past. Sure they got pounded nearing that mid point, and rumours of off ice issues have been trickling back in, but it’s not too late for the Admirals to step out of the shadows. Amhertburg’s calling card? Depth. More than half their nightly roster hit double digits in points before the midway point of the season.

Well, well, well. We’re almost midway through the season and the Essex 73s are atop the Great Lakes standings. Just like Amherstburg, Essex features a deep lineup at all positions. Michael Vieira has blossomed into a scorer, Matt Rosati is setting up everyone from the backend. Here’s the key line: these Essex 73s are not unbeatable. That’s been proven already. As they always do though, Essex will continue to get better as cuts trickle down; how the other teams keep up will decide the season. Essex is the team to beat, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Thoughts? Opinions? Anything to add? Comment below.