Red Deer Sutter Fund Chiefs head coach Mickey Girard didn’t want to get overly excited about the talent he has on his squad this season, but he’d certainly be disappointed if they’re not ranked among the elite teams in the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League.
“We expect to be there in the end,” he said. “Hopefully we can do some good things, but we’ll take it one step at a time.”
The Chiefs were one of the top teams in the league last season and with 13 veterans back and two third-year transfers from Okotoks they’re no worse for sure.
“We have a solid D core and we only lost two forwards,” explained Girard.
“We have a lot of depth up front, which allows us to move Taylor Hall back to defence and she’s doing a very good job.”
The two biggest names the Chiefs lost last season are winger Janelle Froehler, who is with the University of Alberta Pandas, and goaltender Camille Trautman, who is with the RDC Queens.
Veteran Emily Lougheed has stepped in on the wing with returnees Ashley Graf and Jade Petrie while veteran Megan Kirkland and Jennifer West have filled in nicely between the pipes.
Both Kirkland and West played with Girard two years ago in bantam.
Kirkland played 749 minutes with the Chiefs last season, posting a 1.28 goals-against-average and a .930 save percentage. West played with the Red Deer Better Bodies midget A boys’ squad.
“We had both of them two years ago and they can certainly do the job,” said Girard, who feels the Petrie-Graf-Lougheed line is as good as there is in the league.
“Lougheed is very quick and brings a scoring touch,” he said. “They could be the best line in the league.”
Speedy winger Krista Wilson, who is one of eight 16 year-olds on the roster, is off to a great start and is tied for Petrie and Graf with seven points in their first six league games.
“She is off to a great start, she’s using her speed and has an excellent shot,” said Girard, whose squad is 5-1.
Two of the premier defenders in the province — Hannah Mousek and Taryn Baumgardt — will anchor the defence. Both have been named to play with Team Alberta at the Canadian U18 championships.
Others returning are forwards Reanna Arnold, Suze Vanderlinde, Presley Hollman and Emma Malsbury. Rikki Leonard also returns on defence.
Defencemen Jess Reid and Holly Sutherland both played the last two years for Okotoks. Reid is from Water Valley and asked the league to allow her to play in Red Deer, which makes for a better commute, while Sutherland moved to Red Deer.
Kelsie Reed, who is from Lacombe, played one game with the Chiefs last year, while forward Shelby Schlosser moved up from the midget A Chiefs.
Despite a solid start to the season Girard knows they can be even better.
“We can be better in front of our net,” he said. “We give up lazy goals at times when our coverage breaks down. If we do what we want them to do that doesn’t happen. Plus our power play can be better, but then we haven’t worked on it yet. We’ll get that going soon.”
The Chiefs travel to Calgary Sunday to face the Flyers. They host Highwood Oct. 15 at 4:30 p.m. and the Calgary Chaos Oct. 16 at 12:45 p.m. Both games are at Kin City Arena B.
drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com