Hockey may not be on the minds of most in the Battlefords, but Battlefords North Stars head coach and GM Ken Pearson never seems to take a break.
Although Pearson is gone to the East Coast for a holiday he still finds time to get players to commit to the North Stars. Pearson announced earlier this week three more players committed to play junior hockey in the Battlefords.
One of the players, Calder Neufeld, is a familiar name to North Stars' fans. The younger brother of North Stars forward Shay Neufeld suited up for a couple games last season with the Battlefords North Stars and put up a point in his debut.
Neufeld played with the Tisdale Trojans of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League last season and recorded 30 goals and 15 assists in 44 games.
The 18-year-old from Carrot River is a hard shooting winger, who "should be able to contribute offensively," said Pearson.
The second player signed is Tim Rollins of Lac du Bonnet, Man. Rollins had 22 goals and 21 assists in 32 games with the Eastman Selects of the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League last season. He also played well in the playoffs, as the Selects lost in the league final and Rollins recorded 11 points in nine playoff games.
"Rollins is a skilled winger who has a very good work ethic," said Pearson in a press release.
The third player signed this week was Colin Phaneuf. The 20-year-old forward sat out last season, but during the 2008-09 season he recorded four goals and five assists in 13 games with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the B.C. Hockey League.
Pearson also believes he will add some offence to the North Stars' roster next season.
"The North Stars are very excited to be able to add players of this ability and would like to welcome them to the team," said Pearson.
The three new commitments join forwards Tanner Schwab and Kyle Hall, who signed earlier this month.
