CARLYLE - The Carlyle Cougars Powered by 306 AG have selected their provincial team and they are excited about the high quality players they will have.
Presently in the regular season the Cougars are in fifth place, and according to co-head coach and general manager Tyler Fleck, they hope to end up in third place, but it will be a race to the final game.
They must focus on the provincial series coming up and the roster is based around the leagues team.
Fleck said that this year the league team was comprised of players from some larger centers which has put them in the highest category based on population.
They spent considerable time finding guys that would give them a shot at this.
There are a few factors that go into the roster. First, how is the league team doing in the regular session and this will dictate how aggressive the team is.
They take the best from what they have from the league team and supplement that with the best players they can find.
The core will always be local players, and seniority is also a factor.
In the “A” category, they need three high-end lines to even compete, and this year they were able to find some extremely high-quality players to help the Cougars.
Added to the roster is a total of seven players, five of them are ex professionals and three of the five have signed contracts with the NHL at one point.
Forward David Dziurzynski was once signed by the Ottawa Senators and appeared in 26 NHL games. They also have Darin Dziurzynski as a forward. He was drafted in the 5th round, 141st overall by the Phoenix Coyotes from the NHL.
Another forward is Jesse Gabrielle, and he was once drafted by the Boston Bruins in 2015. He signed a three year entry level contract with the Bruins in 2016.
Zeanan Ziemer is a member of the OCN Blizzard and the Dauphin Kings of the MJHL, scoring an impressive 116 goals and 139 assists.
Three defensemen will join the roster, Austin Crossley who played two seasons in the ECHL as a member of the Florida Everblades. He will be joined by Eric Bollefer who played five seasons at Minot University registering 25 goals, and 52 assists.
Eric Soar played for the Minot State University, and he has 15 goals, and 68 assists. He played for Team Canada in 2023.
In total the Cougars have rostered the full 25 players allowed by provincials.
Fleck thinks that this is likely the first time that has ever happened with the team, and this in itself is exciting.
“It is going to be a great experience for our players to play at this higher level and we love the support from the community,” said Fleck.
Their first round of playoffs will begin in February, with the first game in Carlyle against Raymore on February 9. The game will start at 2:30 p.m. and Fleck assures that people will be home in time to watch football.
Game 2 and 3 will be played in Raymore on February 14 and 16, if necessary, as it is the best out of three games.
The provincial play offs team roster is Curtis Meger, Landon Audet, Adrien Riddell, Ben Johnstone, Brett Turgeon, Zach Brown, Cade Bendtsen, Brent McLean, Josh Romanyk, Austin Crossley, Riley Niven, Marc Shaw, Branden Lequyer, David Dziurzynski, Randen Schmidt, Tyran Brown, Darian Dziurzynski, Jon Gaudet, Taysen Holt, Eric Soar, Eric Bollefer, Jesse Gabrielle, Zeanan Ziemer, Kaelan Holt and Dakota Rose.
Coaching staff is Tyler Fleck, Brad Pierson, Chris Meger, Allan Fleck, Todd Holt, Connor Hewitt and Marlee Cormier.
At the same time, they will have their league playoffs as well, which is the best out of five.
“We are excited about out roster and will give it everything we have to compete with the best senior teams in Saskatchewan once again,” said Fleck.
“The support is fantastic in Carlyle, and we love playing in front of a sold out house,” he said.
