Anneka Aspaas is part of the returning Sharks' core up front, that will lead the team into the 2024-25 season. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)
Building on strong season

AAA Sharks supplement core with key summer signings

May 16, 2024 | 5:00 PM

The Battlefords AAA Sharks recently announced a series of signings for the fall of 2024, as the team will see 12 returnees from last year’s roster, supplemented by the addition of two new forwards and five new blue liners to complement the core.

Between the pipes, the Sharks will see both goaltenders from last season – Cypress Classen and Mackenzie Seth – return to the team, continuing what was one of the elite goaltending tandems in female U18 AAA last year.

“Oh, it’s huge,” head coach, Nolan Horbach said of the team’s ability to return both their netminders. “We know there’s going to be times when there’s mistakes or you get the bad bounce, but having Cypress and Mackenzie back there I think helps the team to just play hockey and helps us as we grow and mature, and especially with four rookies on the backend.”

Headlining the club’s new acquisitions is defenceman Ayden Kehrig, who joins the Sharks after patrolling the blue line last season with the national champion, Regina Rebels.

“She’s someone we were recruiting last year, and now she brings that national pedigree to us [too], and I think that’s going to be so valuable for the girls in a mentorship role,” Horbach said of Kehrig’s addition.

The Bjorkdale, SK., product joins lone returnee on the backend, Kovi Serhyenko, as the only Sharks’ defencemen with a season of AAA under their belt, on what will be an otherwise youthful but talented blue line, fitting nicely with what the coach sees as the identity of the group this coming season.

“We have a really strong-skating group, we can transition the puck quick, and we’ve added some offensive defensemen, so I just look at it as a full-unit attack and that’s what’s exciting about this year,” Horbach said. “I’m looking forward to watching us use our speed even more than we did last year.”

Up front, the team will return nine of their 11 forwards, with an offensive attack headlined by second-year standouts, Danika Durreau and Anneka Aspaas, who led the team with 23 points (Durreau) and 11 goals (Aspaas), respectively.

In fact, with the returns of Sophie Brecht (17 points), Maggie Rauckman (16 points) and Sarah McNabb (15 points) as well, the Sharks return each of their five leading scorers from a season ago.

Horbach said the experience gained last year on the team’s first run to the semi-finals of the postseason, should only benefit the group this season, with many now heading into their second year in the league, just knowing more of what to expect.

“I think just understanding what it takes to play in the league, the busy schedule that comes with balancing the hockey with the school and the off-ice expectations, and having that experience and understanding of what it takes is huge,” Horbach said.

The coach added that coming off a hard-fought two-game defeat to Regina last spring in the semis – with both games decided by just a single goal – the team is also excited for what could be possible moving forward.

“I know the girls are motivated to build on where we finished last year after a tough series with Regina, and I think seeing Regina go on to win it all, the girls look at that and think maybe there is an opportunity to do something special with this group.”

Sharks’ 2024-25 roster breakdown:

New commitments:

Makayla Drabyk (F) Saskatoon, SK

Harbour Janz (F) Regina, SK

Ayden Kehrig (D) Bjorkdale, SK

Jessalyn Trenouth-Kemp (D) Saskatoon, SK

Savannah Mucha (D) Melville, SK

Kahli Keen (D) White City, SK

Ainslee Deobald (D) Regina, SK

Returning:

Anneka Aspaas (F) Melville, SK

Sophie Brecht (F) Saskatoon, SK

Cypress Classen (G) Regina, SK

Danika Dureau (F) White City/Ahtahkakoop First Nation, SK

Aidyn Konechny (F) Dalmeny, SK

Cambree Legge (F) Rosetown, SK

Sarah McNabb (F) Rabbit Lake, SK

Maggie Rauckman (F) Saskatoon, SK

Sami Riou (F) Regina, SK

Kovi Serhyenko (D) Saskatoon, SK

Mackenzie Seth (G) North Battleford, SK

Tristan Todosichuk (F) Yorkton, SK

Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1

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