The Cranbrook Bucks have licked their wounds following Sunday’s loss to Wenatchee which brought an early end to their playoff run.
The Bucks were bounced from the playoffs Sunday, losing their first round series in six games.
Head coach Ryan Donald is upset that the playoffs have come to an abrupt end for the Bucks, now he is focusing on building next season’s roster.
“I’m happy with what we were able to achieve and get done during the regular season,” Donald says. “At the same time, a little bit to be desired when we get into the playoffs. That’s when it’s the most fun and the reason you play the game, to compete for championships. I feel we should still be doing that.”
Now Donald is beginning to work toward recruitment, he looks forward to May’s spring camp.
“We do a few things over the summer months that are good at building the next wave of players in the Bucks organization,” says Donald. “That’s the next phase of our task list as coaches to be in that process. We do Bantam camp in August, but we also do our spring camp.”
For several players, Sunday’s loss marked the end of their junior hockey career.
This includes longtime Bucks captain Rhys Bentham and veteran defender Cam Kungle as well as Bauer Morrissey and Jeremy Tremblay who have all reached the end of their 20-year-old seasons and have aged out of junior hockey.
Meanwhile, several players have indicated their intentions to move on to the collegiate level next season including goalie Nathan Airey who announced his commitment to the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers earlier this year.
The Bucks set franchise records in the regular season for wins (36) and points (76), however they struggled to solve Wenatchee Wild goalie Andy Vlaha and forward Parker Murray in the playoffs which largely contributed to Cranbrook’s early playoff exit.
– Ryan Donald – Head Coach/General Manager, Cranbrook Bucks
Comments