Red, white and blue in Battlefords’ threads

Becker, who as a 2000 birthday, still has a year remaining in midget eligibility this season, said he hoped to make the leap to play junior this year. When the opportunity arose to come to camp with the North Stars, Becker said he jumped at the chance.

“I researched a lot of junior A leagues. SJHL, AJHL, all these western leagues and a lot of good guys come out of these leagues,” Becker said. “I thought it would be in my best interests to come out here and showcase kind of what kind of player I am and try to get a scholarship up here playing junior A.”

With seven goals, 20 points through 48 games as a rookie this season, the “Wisconsin Wonder,” Becker enters the postseason playing his best hockey of the season, having picked up eight points over his final six games of the regular season.

Chad Duran

Chad Duran, a 20-year-old Littleton, Colorado product who spent last year in Florida playing for the Tampa Bay Juniors of the USPHL Elite League said the chance to come to Canada to play in the SJHL was one he just couldn’t pass up.

“After last season I was actually almost done with hockey, honestly,” Duran said. “But when I had the opportunity to come up here [to the SJHL], I just couldn’t pass up on it. The hockey in Canada is just so good. The junior A experience is something I would regret not taking advantage of. So far, I’ve really loved it.”

Duran, who started the season with La Ronge, was acquired by the Stars in late November. Since joining the Battlefords, Duran won six of his eight starts with the team, posting a 2.09 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in the process.

Ryan Gil

Ryan Gil, known as “The California Kid,” in the Battlefords for good reason, hails from the Torrance/Huntington Beach region of California.

Gil bounced around quite a bit last season, playing for four different teams in different locations, moving from New York to the Battlefords, before then heading to Kansas, and eventually back home to California after Christmas.

Gil said of all the playing destinations last season, there was something special about the Battlefords that stuck out in a unique way for the forward, making the decision to return to the Stars this season an easy one.

“There were a couple of teams that wanted me, but after coming over last year, I just couldn’t say no [to the Stars,]” Gil said. “It was a great organization, great ice, great fans, and I loved it. It was the atmosphere that really brought me here.”

After registering four points in four games with the team last year, Gil finished fourth in goals (19) and fifth in points (39) with the Stars this season.

Garrett Johnson

For Garrett Johnson, who was the team’s lone addition at the SJHL trade deadline, the trip to the Battlefords was one not nearly as long as the 26-hour commute from his hometown of Goodrich, Michigan to the prairie community.

Prior to joining the Stars, Johnson played 31 games last season for the Drumheller Dragons of the AJHL, the same team Stars’ head coach Brayden Klimosko worked for last season as an assistant.

“When I was [in Drumheller] in the spring I kind of got to know [Klimosko],” Johnson said. “When I got the phone call that I could possibly come here to join this team mid-season it wasn’t much of a decision. He’s such a good guy and it’s such a good organization that it kind of just fit.”

Since being acquired by the team in early January, Johnson has picked up 61 penalty minutes in 16 games with the North Stars, using his 6’3″ 185 pound frame to impose his will physically on a nightly basis.

The North Stars will begin their postseason with game one of their quarter-final matchup with the Flin Flon Bombers Friday, March 15 at the NB Civic Centre.

Ultra Print Pregame Show begins at 7 p.m. with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. on NAPA North Stars hockey on 1050 CJNB.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1

by Martin Martinson

Red, white and blue in Battlefords’ threads

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