Vermilion Tigers one of NEAJBHL’s best teams

It’s a roar from the Vermilion Jr. B Tigers that hasn’t been heard like this in over a decade. 

With four games to go in the NEAJBHL regular season schedule, the Tigers have more wins than they’ve had throughout any season in the 2010s, boasting a gaudy 19-6-2 record. 

After several lean years in the decade, the Tigers were young and exciting last year, making the NEAJBHL’s 2nd round of playoffs. 

Now, they’re just two points out of first place down the stretch, and hope they’ve turned the franchise around. 

“At the start of the year, they wanted to win. And now when they come to the rink every night, they expect to win and they’re willing to put in the work,” said Danny Haygarth, coach of the Tigers. 

Haygarth, as he says, is no spring chicken. 

Hired to be the replacement for Ryan Earl in the summer, the Lloydminster man coached Junior B over 20 years ago, winning championships and esrning a trip to Westerns.

His one year with the Lloyd Blazers in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (Junior A) in 2000-01, saw the team finish 13 games above .500.

But with a young family, he stepped away from junior, and focussed on minor hockey and the Lloyd Heat’s Bantam program. 

“I’m coming out because I really want to win a championship with this hockey team. I’m proud to be coaching the Vermillion Tigers, and I’m enjoying every minute of it,” he told Lakeland Connect.  

“I had expectations going into the year. But I’ve been fortunate to have the players that are playing for us, like they are a great group of kids that want to work hard.”

A key reason is the team’s depth throughout the lineup. 

Connor Roscoe is enjoying a terrific season, leading the league in points with 14 goals and 37 assists, with still two years of eligibility left. 

But the Tigers have eight players who are scoring a point a game or better with contributions from Ethan Nelson, Ryder Kenyon, Landon Petiot, Brody Weitzel, and goaltending from Colton van Maarion. 

“Last year, we were a pretty young team, one of the youngest in the league,” said Roscoe.

“A year of growth for lots of us first years, now we’re second years. And then we also added a couple of new players this year that really helped our roster out.” 

Captain Evan Cooke echoed those sentiments, as the team has grown under Haygarth’s systems. 

Not to mention, the team has the most dynamic powerplay in the league, clocking in 29 per cent. 

“When we’re playing our best game, all four lines are rolling. And we’re so deep this year that any of our lines can play against any of theirs,” said Cooke. 

The North Eastern Alberta Junior B Hockey League is ultra competitive at the top, with St. Paul, Vermilion, Wainwright, and Killam separated by just four points. 

The Lloyd Bandits have been no slouch either in 5th. Cold Lake has faced its fair share of struggles, and Vegreville and Onion Lake are in the first seasons of rebooting their franchises. 

And while success this year is certainly a goal, the retention of Vermilion born players and attraction of players to Vermilion is another. 

With Lakeland College in town, Vermilion has a bit of advantage, where students can still play hockey while thibking about the future. On this year’s team, seven are full-time students and a couple of others are in the apprenticeship program. 

“We now have kids that want to come play. And that’s what we’re trying to do is build a franchise,” said Haygarth. 

“We’re not a second thought. We want to be the kid’s first choice if they’re going to play Junior B hockey, so they want to come to Vermillion and play.” 

The impact in the community is felt by the players and coaches as well. 

After enjoying a nine game postseason run last year, they are hopeful the Vermilion Stadium can get rocking for a playoff stretch, like it in 2008, the last time the Tigers won a championship. 

“Last year’s playoff is kind of when that got brought into perspective. How many fans were giving us the support, which was crazy, and then it’s kind of carried over into this year,” said Cooke. 

Vermilion finishes the season all on the road, playing Killam, Lloyd, Vegreville, and Cold Lake to finish out the slate. 

“This is a team that’s been around for 50 plus years. There’s tradition, and they got to be proud to be Tigers. And that’s what we’re really trying to do,” says Haygarth.