Ryan Roseboom, right, scores a goal against Summerland in a recent game. Roseboom is one of several Coyote veterans who have returned to the team this season. Coach Ken Law says Roseboom parks himself in front of the net during power plays and he’s a hard man to move. His point totals reflect that. (Richard McGuire file photo)
The Osoyoos Coyotes started the 2016-17 hockey season as a young team with many rookies, but a number of trades in the lead-up to last week’s trading deadline have transformed the team, giving it more depth and experience.
The hope is that this will be the year the Coyotes move beyond regular season success to come out on top in the playoffs.
The Coyotes have seen the return of four – and possibly five – former players who have been with the hockey team in previous seasons.
It started in mid-October when the Coyotes brought back Ryan Roseboom, who played with the team in the 2014-15 season.
The 20-year-old from Terrace, B.C. has become a key to the Coyotes’ deadly power plays and he’s earned 25 points in the 16 games he’s played this season.
More recently, the Coyotes have seen the return of Colton Rhodes, a small, but fast and strong defenceman from Sherman Oaks, California. Rhodes played for the Coyotes last year.
Also rejoining the team is Cody Allen, who has played for the Coyotes for the past two seasons.
Reid Wilson, another who played with the Coyotes last year, is back on the roster.
And Michael Crawford, who played for the Coyotes in 2013-14, has been acquired, but it’s unclear whether the rules will allow him to play.
Head coach and general manager Ken Law and team owner Randy Bedard are thrilled by the return of these experienced Coyote players, but they deny there was a strategy to woo these former Coyotes back to the team.
“It was all orchestrated by the teams they were with,” said Law. “They weren’t happy, I guess, and asked to go back to Osoyoos.”
Law said having a young team at the start of the year wasn’t a bad thing.
“At the same time, we had an opportunity to bring some veterans back in and these guys are excited about coming back,” he said. “It’s always nice when you’ve got some guys that have been through a couple of wars themselves.”
Law and Bedard say Osoyoos is a place many players want to be – because of the support from the community, for the Coyotes’ organization itself and because the strong teams in recent years have been on the radar of hockey scouts.
The team began the season with 45 carded players, Law said, but as of the Dec. 1 trading deadline, they were only allowed 25. By the next deadline, on Jan. 10, the numbers must be down to 23.
In fact, Law actually cut numbers to 19 ahead of the December deadline so there would be room for new acquisitions.
In addition to the returning Coyotes, the team also picked up defenceman Austin Steger from Nelson, who both Law and Bedard say is proving to be a big asset to the team. Unlike the others, Steger has not previously played with the Coyotes.
“I don’t think he was utilized to the ability that he has,” Law said referring to Steger’s experience in Nelson. “He’s got such a vision on the ice and he’s so patient. He’s got silky smooth hands that are better than a lot of forwards have.”
At five-foot-nine, Steger, like Rhodes, isn’t a hulking goon, but Bedard suggests he was Nelson’s best D-man.
“We’re always a very fast team,” said Bedard. “I think we’ve got enough size not to get bullied, but we have the smaller players and they’re very quick. I think that’s the kind of team that Ken (Law) likes to put together.”
Acquiring Steger meant giving up Carter Shannon, who was a leading point-getter for the Coyotes, but Bedard thinks it has paid off. Since the trade in mid-November, the Coyotes have been on a winning streak.
“That was just a deal that came together,” said Law. “I don’t know what happened there. It was God shining down on us. He’s a fantastic addition to our team.”
But despite the new additions, or partly because of them, the Coyotes have also had to shed a number of players – some of them with lots of potential, but perhaps not yet with enough experience. Or perhaps the chemistry wasn’t right.
Defenceman Kyle Rosolowski was picked up by Osoyoos in September, but was traded to Nelson just before last week’s deadline as part of the deal for Crawford.
Brayden Durante and Ryan Morrell were given up as part of the deal with the Comox Glacier Kings for Wilson.
Damian Deo was sacrificed to obtain playing rights for Rhodes.
Other players were also shed, often for financial compensation, as the Coyotes had to pare down their roster prior to the trading deadline.
Levi Lambert, Colton Nikiforuk, Brett Lisoway and hometown boy Evan Loura have all had to bid farewell to the Coyotes.
“Ken is always looking to upgrade,” said Bedard, adding that he has the utmost confidence in Law and leaves him to make the tough player decisions.
“Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of some players that have to go,” Bedard continued. “It’s very heartbreaking for them. It’s difficult for all involved – the organization, the billet homes, the families and the players. It’s very, very hard, but it’s something he’s got to do to make the team better. It comes with the territory in junior hockey.”
It’s even hard on the seamstress, who has to keep revising jerseys, Bedard added, pointing to the wide-reaching impact of the trades.
There’s some irony in the fact that all these trades are occurring at a time when the Coyotes have 19 wins, only five losses and are at the top of the Okanagan Division.
“Usually when you’re a struggling club, that’s when you make all these changes,” said Bedard. “I would have to say it’s a bit unusual for a team that is in first place and near the top of the league. But from an owner’s point of view, I don’t micromanage. Ken is hired to do a job and I trust him to do the job.”
Bedard recognizes that Law is excellent at recruiting, identifying talent and making it inviting for players to want to come and play in Osoyoos.
“It’s always about finding the chemistry in the dressing room,” said Law. “It’s about having the players buy into the system that you want to put in place. We’ve been fortunate in that every guy we brought in here fits that mould.”
But the obsession with continuous improvement and building a perfect team probably also reflects the history of the club in recent years.
The Coyotes have had excellent regular seasons, but they haven’t carried that strength through the playoffs. In recent years, the potential champions have been snuffed out in the conference round.
“I think we need to get deeper in the playoffs and I think Ken feels the same way,” said Bedard. “He also thinks we’ve got a really good shot at it this year. He’s pushing it a little bit more this year, trying to build, and perhaps is a little more hungry for a championship.”
Law isn’t making predictions.
“It’s the unknown,” he said. “Last year was probably the year that everybody thought we would win it all, but you get a couple of bad bounces, you come up against a team that’s hot. Hopefully this year with the changes we’ve made, we’ve brought in some better talent, some guys that have been around the playoffs before.”
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
