Tyler Blocha officially becomes Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiac after trade

How does Tyler Blocha of the Bonnyville Junior A Pontiacs sound? 

“It sounds pretty awesome to be a Pontiac,” Blocha told Lakeland Connect, a couple hours after the trade was announced on Wednesday. 

The Bonnyville born and raised hockey player was acquired via the Sherwood Park Crusaders, after earlier this summer being shipped as part of a multi-player deal from the Brooks Bandits. 

This will be Blocha’s last season in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, and his acquisition sees him shore up a squad that aims to be competing near the top of the standings this upcoming season. 

“I was growing up watching this team and it being my hometown – it’s pretty special,” he said. 

Blocha started his junior career in Drayton Valley. In 2021-22, he was off to nearly a point-per-game pace before having his season shortened by a significant lower body injury. 

Then with the Thunder in the selling mode last year, he was picked up by the Brooks Bandits, where he contributed as part of their run to an AJHL championship and then a national championship. 

Rarely, if ever, have the Yaks had a player with those credentials on their roster. He hopes to bring some of what he learned through those experiences to this year’s team. 

“I took a lot away from it and learnt a lot. Hopefully I can bring that to this team here,” said Blocha. 

The Northern Michigan commit joins other local players Brent Hoshowski, Dylan Hebert, and St. Paul’s Nicolas Beaudoin. 

Drew Molde, also hailing from Bonnyville, is attending training camp and could find a roster spot as well. 

Training camp is set to begin on Thursday, with faces new and old. 

Head coach Mario Pouliot is back and hoping to build upon the successes of last season, which brought a trip to the North Division final. 

“I’m looking forward to the run that we’re going to have. I think we’re going to have a strong team. Obviously, they had a really good run last year and just fell short. But we hope to change that this year. Hopefully I can bring my experience to this team and see if we can go even further.”