As the Blackfalds Bulldogs season came to a close last Wednesday it marked the end of a remarkable playoff run.
It also symbolized the final farewell to players who helped launch the franchise that was founded just three years ago.
Next season, the Bulldogs will have to move on from six overage players and continue to build on what they started.
Among those are Blackfalds native and captain Brett Meerman, starting goaltender Matthew Hennessey, leading scorer Tyler Wallace, Jason Siedem, Kasey Hiemstra, and Evan Mitchell. Four of them have committed to play Division 1 hockey in the NCAA next year.
Meerman said getting to play for his hometown Bulldogs was a dream.
“It was an honour,” he said.
“This is going to be a good organization for a long time and being able to wear the ‘C’ was obviously a huge opportunity that I’m super grateful for.”
He added the team’s growth since their inaugural 2021-22 season has been exponential and that they have a bright future.
“We made a lot of new additions but I feel like the culture in the room changed a lot too,” he said.
“The coaching staff knows what they’re doing here and like I said I like the culture. Guys we’ve brought in and new guys coming in they have a standard and I’m sure they’ll meet it.”
The Bulldogs’ season ended recently after they were swept by the Brooks Bandits in the South Division semi-finals. It was the farthest the Bulldogs had made it into the postseason in their short existence.
In the regular season, they finished second in their division with a record of 39-18-1-2. This led to playoff wins against the Calgary Canucks and the Drumheller Dragons.
Meerman also had a fantastic season individually finishing just behind Bandits star Aiden Fink for the league lead in points with 94.
“There were a couple of rough patches throughout the year but every junior team’s going to have that. I felt like we dealt with adversity well and I think they’ll continue to do that next year,” he added.
Playing alongside his fellow 20-year-olds he said they were all great guys and developed relationships with all of them.
Meerman will play in South Dakota next season for the Augustana University Vikings and strangely enough, it’s a very similar situation the Bulldogs were in when he played his first season in the black and gold.
This upcoming campaign will be the team’s inaugural season.
“I’ve been a part of that before, I know the process. There’s going to be highs and lows but just being able to be a part of another inaugural program will be fun,” Meerman said.
Forward Jason Siedem said he loved playing in Blackfalds the last two years and is grateful for the opportunity.
“I think the growth of our team and the organization is pretty impressive and I loved it,” he said.
Siedem’s career in Blackfalds came after he was traded by the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the British Columbia Hockey League before the Bulldogs’ first season.
From that point on he served as an assistant captain and embraced the role.
“I didn’t know much about the league but I loved it and I’m super happy it all worked out,” he said adding he doesn’t regret his time in Blackfalds.
Next year Siedem will play hockey at the University of New Hampshire, which will be close to his hometown of Madison, New Jersey. He’s looking forward to a new challenge.
“Playing division 1 was something I’ve dreamed about and looked forward to for a long time. Just getting there and going to a really good program I’m very excited about,” he said.
Bulldogs sniper Tyler Wallace will play for Niagara University and Evan Mitchell will play for St. Lawrence University.
Meanwhile, Hennessey and Hiemstra have yet to commit to an NCAA school.
